Whom Did Ilsa Really Desire?

Let's stop arguing about Mitt Romney and argue about something else for a couple hours. I'm presently in a discussion with some friends about whether Isla Lund really wanted to end up with Rick Blaine or Victor Laszlo. If you need to Google these names, skip this post.

I say she wanted to be with Rick. The explication here begins in the scene where she shows up at Rick's apartment holding a gun at him, and he says, "Go ahead and shoot; you'll be doing me a favor." Got it? Okay.

When she got there, she demanded the letters of transit for herself and Victor. That's when she pulled the heat. But she couldn't shoot. She melted into his arms and said roughly: Richard, you have to do the thinking for both of us. All I know is I love you and have always loved you.

At that point, I think it's clear she's flipped over to Rick. I think she even says to him, you will help Victor now, if I stay with you. Then Victor shows up, and then Capt. Renault. And then comes The Moment.

It's when Rick instructs Renault to sign the letters of transit--"in the names of Ilsa Lund and Victor Laszlo." The camera cuts to Ilsa at that moment, and there is clear shock on her face, and the violins go, da-DUM. I could go on, but that is the key moment. She is obviously shocked that Rick is sending her off with Victor.

The opposite case, near as I can approximate it, is that yes, she had the hots for Rick, but she really loved Victor, and she used Rick. Her surprise in the key moment is therefore explained by the fact that she thought she was going to have to stay with Rick, and she would have done it to get Victor out, so great was her love for the Czech partisan.

I am reminded that Harry and Sally argued about this in the famous, eponymous film, and that Harry said Rick while Sally said Victor, which makes me wonder if this will break down along gender lines, and basically men choose Rick because we like Rick better, while women choose Victor because they like him better.

I acknowledge that may be a factor, but I feel strongly that the evidence is on my side. Maybe here our winger trolls will actually participate in the conversation! Let's hear what you think.