nonsense. And that's what you call logical consequences?... My opinion
is rather, that you are about to behave like a perfect fool. Anybody
else might do what you now propose: you are the only one who mustn't.
For when you propose such a thing, it becomes illogical, ungenerous,
not to say dishonest. You want to call a man to account for something
which, as he sees it, has been declared explicitly permissible.... In
his place I should laugh in your face. If anybody has the right to be
indignant here, and to demand an account, it is the Prince himself, and
nobody else--as he has not deceived you, but you him.
AMADEUS
Well, that's all one, as he undoubtedly will demand an account.
ALBERT
To do so, he must know.
AMADEUS
I'll see to that.
ALBERT
You mean to tell him?
AMADEUS
If you hold it the shortest road to what I have in mind...?
ALBERT
There's a man of honor for you! And is that the discretion you owe the
woman you love, do you think?
AMADEUS
Call me illogical, ungenerous, indiscreet--anything you please! I can't
help myself! I love Cecilia--do you hear? And I want to go on living
with her. But I can't do so until some sort of amends have been made
for the past--in my own eyes, in hers, and--I confess it--in the eyes
of the world. Sigismund and I must meet, man to man--nothing else can
end my trouble.
ALBERT
And how can it make the slightest difference that you two shoot off
your guns in the air?
AMADEUS
One of us must out of the way, Albert!... Won't you understand at last?
ALBERT
Now, my dear chap, that's carrying it a little too far! All the time I
have thought you were talking of a duel--and now I find that you are
after his life!
AMADEUS
Later on you may feel sorry that you could not refrain from inept
jesting in a moment like this even. The case is urgent, Albert. Please
make up your mind.
ALBERT
And suppose he should refuse?
AMADEUS
He is a nobleman.
ALBERT
He is religious. His father is one of the leaders of the Clerical Party
in the Upper House and a vice-president of the Society for the
Prevention of Dueling.
AMADEUS
Well, such things are not inherited. And if he won't, I shall know how
to make him. There's no other way out of it. There can be no other
alternative, if I am to go on living--with or without her. That will
set everything right, but nothing else will. It's the one thing that
can clear the air about us. Until it is over, we dare not belong to
each other again or--be happy.
ALBERT
I hope Cecilia won't insist on killing off Philine and a few others.
That would be just as sensible, but would complicate the situation a
great deal.
AMADEUS
Won't you go, please!
ALBERT
Yes, I am going.... And how about our opera?
AMADEUS
Oh, we'll have plenty of time to talk of that. However, just to
reassure you--all that is finished lies here in the second drawer,
everything properly arranged.
ALBERT
And who is to compose the third act?
AMADEUS
It can be given as a fragment, with some kind of ballet as a filler.
ALBERT
Right you are! Something like "Harlequin as Electrician," or
"Forget-me-not." (_He goes out_)
AMADEUS (_remains alone for a while; at first he seems to ponder on
something; then he returns to the writing desk and falls to work on his
papers; a knock is heard at the door leading to the garden_) What is
it?
PETER (_outside_)
It's me, papa. Can I come in?
AMADEUS
Certainly, Peter. Come on.
GOVERNESS (_entering with Peter_)
Good morning.
AMADEUS
Good morning. (_He kisses Peter_) Is it not a little too cold for him
out there?
GOVERNESS
He's very warmly dressed, and besides the sun is shining beautifully.
PETER
Papa, have you seen what mamma brought me?
AMADEUS
What is it?
PETER
A theater--a big theater!
AMADEUS
Is that so? And you have got it already?
PETER
Of course. It's over there in the summer-house. Would you care to look
at it?
AMADEUS (_glances inquiringly at the governess_)
GOVERNESS
Madame brought it to our room quite early, while Peter was still
asleep.
AMADEUS
I see.
PETER
I can play theater already. There is a king, and a peasant, and a
bride, and a devil--one that's all red--almost as red as the king
himself. And in the back there is a mill, and a sky, and a forest, and
a hunter.... Won't you come and look at it, papa?
AMADEUS (_seated on the couch, with the boy standing between his knees;
speaking absentmindedly_) Of course I must come and look at it.
CHAMBERMAID (_entering_)
Sir....
AMADEUS
What is it?
CHAMBERMAID
His Highness asks if you'll see him.
AMADEUS
What highness?
CHAMBERMAID
His Highness, the Prince Lohsenstein.
AMADEUS (_rising_)
What?
GOVERNESS
Come, Peter--we'll go back and play in the summer-house. (_She goes out
with Peter_)
AMADEUS (_with dignity_)
Tell the Prince.... (_Turning away from her_) One moment, please. (_To
himself_) What can that mean...? (_Abruptly_) Ask him to come in.
CHAMBERMAID (_goes out_)
AMADEUS (_walks quickly to and fro, but stops at some distance from
the door when Sigismund enters_)
SIGISMUND (_is slender, blonde, twenty-six, elegantly dressed, but
appears in no respect foppish; he bows to Amadeus_) Good-morning.
AMADEUS (_takes a few steps forward to meet him and nods politely_)
SIGISMUND (_looks around a little shyly, but wholly free from any
ridiculous embarrassment; his manner is in every respect dignified;
there is a slight smile on his face_) We have not seen each other for
some time, and you'll probably assume that my visit to-day has a
special reason.
AMADEUS
Naturally. (_Pointing to a chair_) Please.
SIGISMUND
Thank you. (_He comes nearer, but remains standing_) I have decided to
take this step--which has not come easy to me, I can assure you--because
I find the situation in which we ... in which all of us have been placed,
untenable and, in a certain sense, ridiculous ... and because I think
that, in one way or another, it should be brought to an end. The sole
object of my visit is to put before you a proposition.
AMADEUS
I'm listening.
SIGISMUND
I don't want to waste any words. My proposition is that you get a
divorce from your wife.
AMADEUS (_shrinks back for a moment, staring at Sigismund; then, after
a pause he says calmly_) You wish to marry Cecilia?
SIGISMUND
There is nothing I wish more eagerly.
AMADEUS
And what is the attitude of Cecilia toward your intentions?
SIGISMUND
Not encouraging so far.
AMADEUS (_puzzled_)
Cecilia is absolutely in a position to decide for herself. And of
course, she would also have the right to leave me--whenever and
howsoever it might please her to do so. For that reason you must pardon
me if I find the object of your visit incomprehensible, to say the
least.
SIGISMUND
You'll soon find it comprehensible, I think. The discouraging attitude
of Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg proves nothing at all in this connection, I
must say. As long as Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg has not been set free by
you--even if that be done against her own will--she is, in a sense,
bound to you. To get this matter fully cleared up, it seems to me
necessary that you yourself, my dear Master, insist on a divorce. Mrs.
Adams-Ortenburg will not be in a position to choose freely until she
has been divorced from you. Until then the struggle between us two will
not be on equal terms--as, I trust, you would like to have it.
AMADEUS
There can be no talk of any struggle here. You misunderstand the actual
state of affairs in a manner that seems to me incomprehensible. For I
have no right to suppose that Cecilia has made any secret of the more
deep-lying reasons that have so far prevented us from considering a
dissolution of our marriage.
SIGISMUND
Certainly, I am aware of those reasons, but to me they don't by any
means seem sufficiently pressing--not even from your own viewpoint--to
exclude all thought of a divorce. And I am anxious to assure you that,
under all circumstances, I shall feel bound to treat those reasons with
the most profound respect.
AMADEUS
What do you mean?
SIGISMUND
You know, my dear Master, that the reverence I have for your art, even
if I am not always capable of grasping it, equals the admiration I feel
for the singing of Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg. I know how much you two
mutually owe to each other, and how you--if I may say so--complement
each other musically. And it would never occur to me to put any
difficulties whatsoever in the way of your continued artistic
relationship. I am equally aware of the tenderness with which you
regard your child--for whom, by the way, as you probably know, I have a
great deal of devotion--and I can give you my word that the doors
leading to the quarters of little Peter will always stand open to you.
AMADEUS
In other words, you would have no objection to seeing the former
husband of your--of the wife--of the Princess Lohsenstein, admitted to
your house as a friend?
SIGISMUND
Any such objection would be regarded by me as an insult to your--to
my--to Mrs. Cecilia Adams-Ortenburg, as well as to you, my dear Master.
With those provisions made, the new arrangement, which I am taking the
liberty to suggest, would be more sensible and--if you'll allow me a
frank expression--more decent than the one to which all of us now have
to submit. I am convinced, my dear Master, that, when you have had
chance to consider the matter calmly, you will not only agree with me,
but you will be surprised that this simple solution of an unbearable
situation has not occurred to yourself long ago. As for me, I want to
add that, to me personally, this solution seems the only possible one.
Yes, I don't hesitate to say that I would leave the city, without hope
of ever seeing Mrs. Cecilia again, rather than keep on compromising her
in a manner that must be equally painful to all of us.
AMADEUS
Oh, has it come to that all at once? Well, if the matter doesn't
trouble Cecilia or me, I think _you_ might well regard it with
indifference. I hope you know that we have arranged our life to suit
ourselves, without the least regard for popular gossip, and that I
don't care at all whether or no Cecilia be compromised--as you call it.
SIGISMUND
I know you don't. But I feel differently. A lady to whom I'm so
devoted, and whom I respect so highly that I would lead her to the
altar, must appear spotless to God and man alike.
AMADEUS
You might have kept that in mind before. Your previous behavior has
given no indication of such a view. You have been waiting for my wife
in the immediate vicinity of the opera; you have been walking with her
for hours at a time; you have visited her in the country; you have
followed her to Berlin and come back here in her company....
SIGISMUND (_surprised_)
But it was in your power to stop all those things, if they didn't suit
you....
AMADEUS
Stop them ... because they didn't suit...? What has that to do with
what I am talking of?--I am not the person who has found this situation
unbearable and compromising.
SIGISMUND
Oh, I understand. Considering, however, that you have placed such
emphasis on your indifference to popular gossip, I must say that your
tone sounds pretty excited. But permit me to assure you that this
impresses me rather pleasantly. Bear in mind that I am merely human.
What young man in my place would have refrained from meeting the adored
one, when everything was rendered so easy for him? And nevertheless I
didn't visit the Pustertal or make the tour to Berlin without an inward
struggle--in fact, I have often had to struggle with myself while
waiting for her near the opera. And I cannot tell you how I have
suffered under the searching glances directed at Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg
and myself when we were having supper together after one of the Berlin
performances, for instance, or when we went for an afternoon drive in
the Tiergarten.[7] Not to speak of the painful impression my aunt's
remarks made on me when I called to bid her good-by! Really, I can't
find words to express it.
[7] A large park in the center of Berlin, corresponding to
the Central Park of New York or the Hyde Park of London.
AMADEUS
How much longer do you mean to keep up this remarkable comedy, my dear
Prince?
SIGISMUND (_drawing back_)
Do you mean....
AMADEUS
What in the world makes you appear before me in a part which I don't
know whether to call tasteless or foolhardy?
SIGISMUND
Sir!... Oh...! You think.... I see now.... And you imagine that I would
have crossed your threshold again under such circumstances?
AMADEUS
Why should _that_ particular thing not be imagined?
SIGISMUND
Later on we shall get back to what you think of me. But a third person
is concerned in this matter, and I am not going to stand....
AMADEUS
May I ask whether you have been equally angry with everyone who has
dared to question the virtue of Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg?
SIGISMUND
You are at least the first one who has dared to question it to my face,
and the last one who may dare to do so unpunished.
AMADEUS
Do you think the punishment threatening the impertinent one in your
mind will be apt to restore the reputation of Cecilia? Do you think it
would put an end to the gossip if you, of all people, tried to champion
the honor of Mrs. Adams-Ortenburg?
SIGISMUND
Who could, if not I?
AMADEUS
If it is _not_ a comedy you are now playing, then you haven't the right
even!
SIGISMUND
Do you mean to say that Cecilia is the only woman in the world who must
stand unprotected against _any_ slander?
AMADEUS
If you are telling the truth, Prince Sigismund, then there is only one
person in the world who has the right to protect Cecilia, and that
person am I.
SIGISMUND
Considering what has happened, I have excellent reason to think that
you will neither avail yourself of that right nor fulfill that duty.
AMADEUS
You are mistaken. And if you will take the trouble of returning home,
you will soon be convinced of your mistake.
SIGISMUND
What do you mean?
AMADEUS
I mean simply that two of my friends are now on their way to your house
on my behalf....
SIGISMUND
Well...?
AMADEUS
To demand reparation for what ... (_looking Sigismund straight in the
eye_) I believed you guilty of.
SIGISMUND (_takes a step back; a pause ensues during which they stare
hard at each other_) You have challenged.... (_Reaching out his hand_)
That's fine!
AMADEUS (_does not accept the proffered hand_)
SIGISMUND
But it's splendid! I can assure you that the whole matter now assumes
quite a different aspect. And, of course, I shall be at your disposal
just the same, if you insist.
AMADEUS (_draws a deep breath, looks long at Sigismund, and shakes his
head at last_) No, I won't any longer. (_He shakes hands with him, and
then begins walking to and fro, muttering to himself_) Cecilia....
Cecilia...! (_Returning to Sigismund and addressing him in a totally
different tone_) Won't you please be seated, Sigismund?
SIGISMUND
No, thank you.
AMADEUS (_feeling repelled and suspicious again_)
Just as you please.
SIGISMUND
Don't misunderstand me, please. But I suppose this ends our conference,
my dear Master. (_Looking around_) And yet I must admit that your rude
treatment has made me feel a great deal more at ease. Isn't that
strange? And in spite of the fact that, after this unexpected turn, my
hopes must be held practically--I beg your pardon!--completely disposed
of.... In spite of this I feel actually in much better spirits than I
have done for a long time. Even if I am not to have the happiness of
which I have foolishly dared to dream so long....
AMADEUS
Was it so very foolish?
SIGISMUND (_good-humoredly_)
Oh, yes. But this is at least an acceptable conclusion. (_Shaking his
head_) It seems queer! If I hadn't come here at this very moment, you
might never have learned--you might never have believed--might have
believed that Cecilia.... And one of us might perhaps--must perhaps
have.... (_He makes a gesture to complete the sentence_)
AMADEUS
It was indeed a strange coincidence that made you choose this
particular moment....
SIGISMUND
Coincidence, you say? Oh, no, there are no coincidences--as you will
discover sooner or later. (_Pause_) Well, good-by then, and give my
regards to Mrs. ... Adams ...
AMADEUS
You can safely call her Cecilia.
SIGISMUND
... and tell her, please, that she mustn't be angry with me for having
taken such a step without her knowledge. Of course, my going away won't
surprise her. When leaving her yesterday, I told her that I couldn't
continue this kind of existence.
AMADEUS
And she...? What did she say?
SIGISMUND (_hesitatingly_)
She....
AMADEUS (_excited again_)
She tried to keep you here...?
SIGISMUND
Yes.
AMADEUS
So that after all...!
SIGISMUND
Now she won't try any longer, my dear Master. (_With a wistful smile_)
I have served my purpose.
AMADEUS
What do you mean?
SIGISMUND
Oh, I can see now why she needed me--of course, you were not at all
aware of it!
AMADEUS
Why did she need you?
SIGISMUND
Simply and solely as a means of winning you back.
AMADEUS
What makes you think...?
SIGISMUND
What...? That she has succeeded.
AMADEUS
No, Sigismund--she hadn't lost me--in spite of all that had happened.
In fact, I feel as if I had rather lost her than she--me.
SIGISMUND
That's awfully kind of you. But now--God be with you!
AMADEUS (_with something like emotion_)
And when shall we see you again?
SIGISMUND
I don't know. Perhaps never.---Please don't imagine that I might take
my own life. I shall get over it, being still young.--Oh, my dear
Master, if things could only become what they used to be, so that I
could sit here at the fireplace while Cecilia was singing--or hammer
away at the piano after supper...!
AMADEUS
Don't be quite so modest, please! The fame of your piano playing has
reached Berlin even, I hear.
SIGISMUND
So she has told you that, too?!--But you see, dear Master, all that can
never come back--we could no longer feel at ease with each other....
So--never to meet again!
AMADEUS
Never.... Why? Perhaps I shall see you very soon alone. I am
also--going away.
SIGISMUND
I know. We were talking of it yesterday, in the dining car. You are to
conduct your--number-which-one is it now?
AMADEUS
The fourth.
SIGISMUND
So you have got that far already?--And where are you going anyhow?
AMADEUS
To the Rhine district first of all; then by way of Munich to
Italy--Venice, Milan, Rome.
SIGISMUND
Rome...? There we may possibly meet. But you'll have to pardon me for
not coming to your concerts. So far I have not been able to understand
your symphonies.... But I am sure I shall sometime! One does grow more
and more clever, and sorrow and experiences in particular have a
maturing influence.... "Now he's making fun of it," I suppose you are
thinking. But, really, I am not in a very humorous mood. Farewell, my
dear Master--and my most respectful compliments to your wife. (_He
goes out_)
AMADEUS (_walks back and forth; takes a few deep breaths, as if
relieved; goes out into the garden; returns; sits down at the piano and
plays a few improvisations; gets up and goes to the writing desk, where
he begins to look for something among the papers_) Where's that Solo?
... She's going to sing it, and I shall be present...! (_He seats
himself at the piano again, apparently in a very happy mood_)
Cecilia!... Cecilia!
CECILIA (_enters_)
AMADEUS (_rising_)
Ah, there you are at last, Cecilia!
CECELIA (_very calmly_)
Good-morning, Amadeus.
AMADEUS
A little late.
CECILIA (_smiling_)
Yes. (_She takes off her hat and goes to the mirror to arrange her
hair_)
AMADEUS
What made you get out so early?
CECILIA
Various things I had to attend to.
AMADEUS
And may one ask...?
CECILIA
One may.--Look here, what I have got for you. (_She takes a letter from
a small bag_)
AMADEUS
What's that? (_He takes it_) What...? My letter to Philine...! Did you
go to her, Cecilia?
CECILIA
Well, I felt a little nervous about it. Now I think it was rather silly
of me.
AMADEUS
And how...?
CECILIA
Oh, the simplest thing in the world! I asked her for it, and she gave
it to me. It was lying in an open drawer in her writing desk--with
others. I think you can call yourself lucky.
AMADEUS
Cecilia! (_He tears the letter to pieces and throws these into the
fireplace_)
CECILIA
Well, you would never have made up your mind to demand it of her, and
that would have kept me in a state of irritation. I can't have anything
like that on my mind when I want to work.--And now that's settled.
(_She turns away_) Then I went to the opera, too. I have had a talk
with the Director. He's going to indorse my request to be set free.
AMADEUS
Your request to be set free...?
CECILIA
Yes, I shall go to Berlin on the first of January.
AMADEUS
But, Cecilia, we haven't talked it over yet....
CECILIA
What's the use of postponing a thing that's already settled in my own
mind?--You know I never like to do that.
AMADEUS
But it means a whole year of separation!
CECILIA
To start with. But I think it might be just as well to prepare
ourselves for a still longer period.
AMADEUS
Do you mean to leave me, Cecilia?!
CECILIA
What else can I do, Amadeus? That ought to be as clear to you as it is
to me.
AMADEUS
So it would have been a little while ago, Cecilia. But I have come to
see our future in a different light.... Cecilia ... Sigismund has been
here!
CECILIA
Sigismund?!... You have talked with him?... What did he want?
AMADEUS
What did he want...? Your hand.
CECILIA
And you refused...?
AMADEUS
He is sending you his farewell greetings through me, Cecilia.
CECILIA
So that's what has put you in such a good humor all at once! (_Pause_)
And if he hadn't come here?
AMADEUS
If he hadn't come here....
CECILIA
Speak out, please!
AMADEUS (_remains silent_)
CECILIA
You didn't mean to ... to fight him?
AMADEUS
I did. Albert was on his way to him at the time.
CECILIA
What vanity, Amadeus!
AMADEUS
No, not vanity, Cecilia. I love you.
CECILIA (_remains wholly unresponsive_)
AMADEUS
You can't guess, of course, what took place within me while his words
were gradually bringing home the truth to me! Once more the doors of
heaven have been thrown open to me!
CECILIA
The only thing you forget is that they must remain closed to me
forever.
AMADEUS
Don't say that, Cecilia. What has happened to me in the past seems so
very insignificant, after all.
CECILIA
Insignificant, you say?--And if it had happened to me, it would have
been so significant that people should have had to kill or be killed on
that account? How can you think then, that I might get over it so
easily?
AMADEUS
How can I...? Because you have proved it already. You knew just what
had happened, and yet you became mine again.... You knew that I had
been faithless, while you had kept your faith, and yet....
CECILIA
You say that I have kept my faith?--No, I haven't! And even if I should
seem faithful to you, I have long ago ceased to be so in my own mind.
_I_ know the desires that have burned within me.... _I_ know how often
my body has trembled and yearned in the presence of some man.... And
what I told you last night--that I am waiting with wide-open arms, full
of longings and expectations--that's true, Amadeus--no less true than
it is that I am standing face to face with you now.
AMADEUS
If that be true, what has kept you from satisfying all your
longings--you, who have been as free as I have?
CECILIA
I am a woman, Amadeus. And we seem to be like that. Something makes us
hesitate even when we have already made up our minds.
AMADEUS
And because you seemed guilty in your own mind, you remained silent?...
And for no other reason have you left me--me, whose sufferings you
might have relieved by a single word--to believe you as guilty as
myself?
CECILIA
Perhaps....
AMADEUS
And how long did you mean to let me go on believing that?
CECILIA
Until it became true, Amadeus.
AMADEUS
But there has been enough of it now, Cecilia. It will never become true
... never after this.
CECILIA