HANDS AROUND
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HANDS AROUND
[REIGEN]
A CYCLE OF TEN DIALOGUES
_By_
ARTHUR SCHNITZLER
COMPLETELY RENDERED
INTO ENGLISH
AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION
NEW YORK
_Privately Printed for Subscribers_
MCMXX
Copyright, 1920
By
A. KOREN
INTRODUCTION
Humanity seems gayest when dancing on the brink of a volcano. The
culture of a period preceding a social cataclysm is marked by a spirit
of light wit and sophisticated elegance which finds expression in
a literature of a distinct type. This literature is light-hearted,
audacious and self-conscious. It can treat with the most charming
insouciance subjects which in another age would have been awkward or
even vulgar. But with the riper experience of a period approaching
its end the writers feel untrammeled in the choice of theme by pride
or prejudice knowing that they will never transgress the line of good
taste.
So it was in the declining days of the Roman civilization when Lucian
of Samosata wrote his _Dialogues of the Hetærai_ and countless poets
penned their intricate epigrams on the art and experience of love. So
it was in England when the fine vigor of the Elizabethan and Miltonic
age gave way to the Restoration and the calculating brilliance of a
Congreve or a Wycherly.
But the exquisite handling of the licentious was elaborated into a
perfect technique in eighteenth century France. The spirit of the
Rococo with its predilection for the well-measured pose was singularly
well adapted to the artistic expression of what in a cruder age could
only have been voiced with coarseness and vulgarity. In the literature
of this period we meet again the spirit that animates the gracious
paintings of Watteau and Fragonard. The scenes we admire in their
panels recur in literary style in works like Choderlos de Laclos’
_Liaisons dangereuses_ and Louvet de Couvray’s _Les amours du Chevalier
de Faublas_. Again the same note is heard in Beaumarchais’ _Le
Mariage de Figaro_, in which the society of the period is travestied
with brilliant wit and worldly philosophy. The court of Louis XVI.,
quite unaware, looked on and applauded a play which Napoleon later
characterized as “the revolution already in action.”
During the closing years of the nineteenth century a similar spirit has
hovered over Vienna, when it was the last and staunchest stronghold
of aristocracy in the modern world. Its literature reflected the
charm of a fastidious amatory etiquette which is forbidden in sterner
and soberer environment, while it gayly ignored the slow gathering
of the clouds which foreshadowed its own catastrophe and martyrdom.
As Percival Pollard once so well put it: “All that rises out of that
air has had fascination, grace, insinuation, and intrigue. Neither
tremendous passion nor tremendous problems have stirred, to all
appearances, these polite artists of Vienna. Passion might be there,
but what was to be artistically expressed was, rather, the witty or
ironically mournful surfaces of passion.”
The literary master of this world is concededly Arthur Schnitzler,
in whom are curiously combined the sophisticated elegance of the
Viennese man of letters and the disenchanting wisdom of the practising
physician. He was born in Vienna in 1862, the son of a doctor. He
studied medicine himself, took his degree in 1885, and was for two
years connected with a hospital. Since then he has practised privately,
and has also found the time to write a long series of plays, both in
prose and verse, several novels, and many shorter stories. Of these a
considerable number have appeared in English.
_Reigen_, here translated as _Hands Around_, is a series of ten
comedies—miniatures in dialogue between man and woman in various ages
and walks of life. But transgressing the merely literary they are
psychological studies of the interplay of sex, and keen analyses of the
sophisticated modern soul, done with freedom and finesse. There are no
grim questions of right and wrong in these subtle revelations of the
merely human. In fact one might call them studies in the etiquette of
the liaison and all its nuances.
The cycle begins with a girl of the streets and a soldier. Then come
the soldier and a parlor-maid, the parlor-maid and a young man, the
young man and a young wife, the young wife and her husband, the
husband and a sweet young miss, the sweet young miss and a poet, the
poet and an actress, the actress and a count, until finally the cycle
is completed with the count and the girl of the streets. A vicious
circle, some may say, and such it surely would have been in the hands
of a lesser artist than Schnitzler, for he would only have made the
book hideously fleshly, instead of a marvelous psychological study in
the ecstacies and disillusions of love and the whole tragedy of human
wishes unsatisfied even in their apparent gratification.
But as it is the silken portières of discreet alcoves are opened
quietly before our eyes, and we hear the whisper of the most intimate
secrets. But with all their realism there is no word in these dialogues
which could antagonize the susceptibilities of any sincere student
or true lover of humanity. All stratagems of sex are uncovered not
through the curious observations of a faunic mind, but through the
finer eyes of a connoisseur of things human.
The Puritan fanatic with his jaundiced inhibitions or the moral
ideologist with his heart of leather may toss the book aside resentful
because of its inherent truth. The philosopher of human life, taking
the larger aspect of this drama, will close it with the serene smile of
understanding.
Any attempt to turn a dialogue so full of delicate shades as is
this of Schnitzler into a language like English, whose genius tends
rather toward a graphic concreteness and realism, is full of pitfalls
and difficulties. The translators, however, hope that they have
accomplished their task with reasonable success, thinking always of
the spirit rather than the letter. They also take this occasion to
express their appreciation to Dr. Arthur Schnitzler for his kindness in
granting them his authorization for this translation of _Reigen_.
F. L. G.
L. D. E.
New York
1920
HANDS AROUND
CHARACTERS
THE GIRL OF THE STREETS,
THE SOLDIER,
THE PARLOR MAID,
THE YOUNG MAN,
THE YOUNG WIFE,
THE HUSBAND,
THE SWEET YOUNG MISS,
THE POET,
THE ACTRESS,
THE COUNT.
THE GIRL OF THE STREETS AND THE SOLDIER
_Late in the evening near the Augarten Bridge._
SOLDIER
(_Enters whistling, on his way home_)
GIRL
Hello, my beautiful angel!
SOLDIER
(_Turns and continues on his way_)
GIRL
Don’t you want to come with me?
SOLDIER
Oh, I am the beautiful angel?
GIRL
Sure, who else? Do come with me. I live very near here.
SOLDIER
I’ve no time. I must get back to the barracks.
GIRL
You’ll get to your barracks in plenty of time. It’s much nicer with me.
SOLDIER
(_Close to her_) That’s possible.
GIRL
Ps-st! A guard may pass any minute.
SOLDIER
Rot! A guard! I carry a saber too!
GIRL
Ah, come with me.
SOLDIER
Let me alone. I have no money anyway.
GIRL
I don’t want any money.
SOLDIER
(_Stopping. They are under a street-lamp_) You don’t want any money?
What kind of a girl are you, then?
GIRL
The civilians pay me. Chaps like you don’t have to pay me for anything.
SOLDIER
Maybe you’re the girl my pal told me about.
GIRL
I don’t know any pal of yours.
SOLDIER
You’re she, all right! You know—in the café down the street—He went
home with you from there.
GIRL
Lots have gone home with me from that café… Oh, lots!
SOLDIER
All right. Let’s go!
GIRL
So, you’re in a hurry now?
SOLDIER
Well, what are we waiting for? Anyhow, I must be back at the barracks
by ten.
GIRL
Been in service long?
SOLDIER
What business is that of yours? Is it far?
GIRL
Ten minutes’ walk.
SOLDIER
That’s too far for me. Give me a kiss.
GIRL
(_Kissing him_) I like that best anyway—when I love some one.
SOLDIER
I don’t. No, I can’t go with you. It’s too far.
GIRL
Say, come to-morrow afternoon.
SOLDIER
Sure. Give me your address.
GIRL
But maybe you won’t come.
SOLDIER
If I promise!
GIRL
Look here—if my place is too far to-night—there … there…
(_She points toward the Danube_)
SOLDIER
What’s there?
GIRL
It’s nice and quiet there, too … no one is around.
SOLDIER
Oh, that’s not the real thing.
GIRL
It’s always the real thing with me. Come, stay with me now. Who knows,
if we’ll be alive to-morrow.
SOLDIER
Come along then—but quick.
GIRL
Be careful! It’s dark here. If you slip, you’ll fall in the river.
SOLDIER
Would be the best thing, perhaps.
GIRL
Sh-h. Wait a minute. We’ll come to a bench soon.
SOLDIER
You seem to know this place pretty well.
GIRL
I’d like to have you for a sweetheart.
SOLDIER
I’d fight too much.
GIRL
I’d cure you of that soon enough.
SOLDIER
Humph—
GIRL
Don’t make so much noise. Sometimes a guard stumbles down here. Would
you believe we are in the middle of Vienna?
SOLDIER
Come here. Come over here.
GIRL
You are crazy! If we slipped here, we’d fall into the river.
SOLDIER
(_Has grabbed her_) Oh you—
GIRL
Hold tight to me.
SOLDIER
Don’t be afraid…
* * * * *
GIRL
It would have been nicer on the bench.
SOLDIER
Here or there, it doesn’t matter to me… Well, pick yourself up.
GIRL
What’s your hurry—?
SOLDIER
I must get to the barracks. I’ll be late anyhow.
GIRL
Say, what’s your name?
SOLDIER
What’s that to you?
GIRL
My name is Leocadia.
SOLDIER
Humph! I never heard such a name before.
GIRL
Listen!
SOLDIER
Well, what do you want?
GIRL
Give me just a dime for the janitor.
SOLDIER
Humph!… Do you think I’m your meal-ticket? Good-by, Leocadia…
GIRL
Tightwad! Pimp!
(_He disappears_)
THE SOLDIER AND THE PARLOR-MAID
_Prater Gardens. Sunday Evening. A road which leads from the
Wurstelprater[1] into dark tree arcades. Confused music from the
Wurstelprater can still be heard; also strains from the cheap
dancehall, a vulgar polka, played by a brass band. THE SOLDIER.
THE PARLOR-MAID._
MAID
Now tell me why you wanted to leave.
SOLDIER
(_Grins sheepishly_)
MAID
It was so beautiful and I so love to dance.
SOLDIER
(_Puts his arm around her waist_)
MAID
(_Submitting_) But we aren’t dancing now. Why do you hold me so tight?
SOLDIER
What’s your name? Katy?
MAID
You’ve always got a “Katy” on your mind.
SOLDIER
I know—I know … Marie.
MAID
Goodness, it’s dark here. I’m afraid.
SOLDIER
You needn’t be afraid when I’m with you. I can take care of myself!
MAID
But where are we going? There’s no one around. Come, let’s go back!…
It’s so dark!
SOLDIER
(_Pulling at his cigar until it glows brightly_) There … it’s already
getting brighter. Ha—! Oh, you dearie!
MAID
Oh! what are you doing there? If I had known this before!
SOLDIER
The devil take me, if any one at the dance to-day felt softer and
rounder than you, Miss Marie.
MAID
Did you find it out in the same way with all the others?
SOLDIER
You notice things … dancing. You find out lots that way!
MAID
But you danced much oftener with that cross-eyed blonde than with me.
SOLDIER
She’s an old friend of one of my pals.
MAID
Of the corporal with the upturned mustache?
SOLDIER
Oh no, I mean the civilian. You know, the one who was talking with me
at the table in the beginning. The one who has such a husky voice.
MAID
Oh I know. He’s fresh.
SOLDIER
Did he do anything to you? I’ll show him! What did he do to you?
MAID
Oh nothing… I only noticed how he was with the others.
SOLDIER
Tell me, Miss Marie…
MAID
You’ll burn me with your cigar.
SOLDIER
Pardon me!—Miss Marie—or may I say Marie?
MAID
We’re not such good friends yet…
SOLDIER
There’re many who don’t like each-other, and yet use first names.
MAID
Next time, if we… But, Frank!
SOLDIER
Oh, you remember my name?
MAID
But, Frank…
SOLDIER
That’s right, call me Frank, Miss Marie.
MAID
Don’t be so fresh—but, sh-h, suppose some one should come!
SOLDIER
What if some one did come? They couldn’t see anything two steps off.
MAID
For goodness’ sake, where are we going?
SOLDIER
Look! There’s two just like us.
MAID
Where? I don’t see anything.
SOLDIER
There … just ahead of us.
MAID
Why do you say: “two like us”—
SOLDIER
Well, I mean, they like each other too.
MAID
Look out! What’s that there? I nearly fell.
SOLDIER
Oh, that’s the meadow-gate.
MAID
Don’t shove me so. I’ll fall.
SOLDIER
Sh-h, not so loud.
MAID
Stop! Now I’m really going to scream—What are you doing?… Stop now—
SOLDIER
There’s no one anywhere around.
MAID
Then, let’s go back where the people are.
SOLDIER
We don’t need them. Why—Marie, we need … for that…
MAID
Stop, Frank, please, for Heaven’s sake! Listen to me, if I had … known
… oh … come!
* * * * *
SOLDIER
(_Blissfully_) Once more… Oh…
MAID
… I can’t see your face at all.
SOLDIER
Don’t matter—my face…
* * * * *
SOLDIER
Well, Miss Marie, you can’t stay here on the grass all night.
MAID
Please, Frank, help me.
SOLDIER
Oh, come along.
MAID
Oh, Lord help me, Frank.
SOLDIER
Well, what’s the matter with me?
MAID
You’re a bad man, Frank.
SOLDIER
Yes, yes. Say, wait a minute.
MAID
Why do you leave me alone?
SOLDIER
Can’t you let me light my cigar!
MAID
It’s so dark.
SOLDIER
It’ll be light again to-morrow morning.
MAID
Tell me, at least, you love me.
SOLDIER
Well, you must have felt that, Miss Marie!
MAID
Where are we going now?
SOLDIER
Back, of course.
MAID
Please, don’t walk so fast.
SOLDIER
Well, what’s wrong? I don’t like to walk around in the dark.
MAID
Tell me, Frank … do you love me?
SOLDIER
But I just told you that I loved you!
MAID
Won’t you give me a little kiss?
SOLDIER
(_Condescendingly_) There… Listen—There’s the music again.
MAID
Would you really like to go back, and dance again?
SOLDIER
Of course, why not?
MAID
But, Frank, see, I have to get home. Madame will scold me anyway,—she’s
cranky … she’d like it best if I never went out.
SOLDIER
Well, you can go home.
MAID
But, I thought, Frank, you’d take me home.
SOLDIER
Take you home? Oh!
MAID
Please, it’s so sad to go home alone.
SOLDIER
Where do you live?
MAID
Not very far—in Porzellanstrasse.
SOLDIER
So? Then we go the same way … but it’s still too early for me … me for
the dance… I’ve got late leave to-day… I don’t need to be back at the
barracks before twelve o’clock. I’m going to dance.
MAID
Oh, I see, now it’s that cross-eyed blonde’s turn.
SOLDIER
Humph!—Her face isn’t so bad.
MAID
Oh Lord, how wicked men are. I’m sure you do the same to every one.
SOLDIER
That’d be too much!—
MAID
Please, Frank, no more to-day—stay with me to-day, you see—
SOLDIER
Oh, very well, all right. But I suppose I may dance.
MAID
I’m not going to dance with any one else to-night.
SOLDIER
There it is already…
MAID
What?
SOLDIER
The hall! How quick we got back. They’re still playing the same thing …
that tatata-tum tatata-tum (_He hums with the band_)… Well, I’ll take
you home, if you want to wait for me … if not … good-by—
MAID
Yes, I’ll wait.
(_They enter the dancehall_)
SOLDIER
Say, Miss Marie, get yourself a glass of beer. (_Turning to a blonde
who is just dancing past him in the arms of another, very formally_)
Miss, may I ask for a dance?—
THE PARLOR MAID AND THE YOUNG MAN
_Sultry summer afternoon. The parents of the YOUNG MAN are away in
the country. The cook has gone out. The PARLOR-MAID is in the kitchen
writing a letter to the soldier who is now her sweetheart. The YOUNG
MAN’S bell rings. She gets up and goes to his room. The YOUNG MAN is
lying on a couch, smoking a cigarette and reading a French novel._
MAID
Yes, Sir?
YOUNG MAN
Oh, yes, Marie, oh, yes; I rang, yes … I only wanted … yes, of course…
Oh, yes, of course, let the blinds down, Marie… It’s cooler with the
blinds down … yes…
(_The MAID goes to the window and pulls down the blinds_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Continues reading_) What are you doing, Marie? Oh, yes. But, now, I
can’t see to read.
MAID
You are always so studious, Sir.
YOUNG MAN
(_Ignoring the remark_) There, that’s better.
(_MARIE goes._)
YOUNG MAN
(_Tries to go on with his reading, lets the book fall, and rings again_)
MAID
(_Enters_)
YOUNG MAN
I say, Marie … let’s see, what was it I wanted to say? … oh, yes… Is
there any cognac in the house?
MAID
Yes, but it’s locked up.
YOUNG MAN
Well, who has the key?
MAID
Lini.
YOUNG MAN
Who is Lini?
MAID
The cook, Mr. Alfred.
YOUNG MAN
Well, then ask Lini for it.
MAID
Yes, but it’s Lini’s day out.
YOUNG MAN
So…
MAID
Can I get anything for you from the café, Sir?
YOUNG MAN
Thank you, no… It is hot enough as it is. I don’t need any cognac.
Listen, Marie, bring me a glass of water. Wait, Marie,—let it run, till
it gets quite cold.
_Exit MAID. The YOUNG MAN gazes after her. At the door the MAID looks
back at him, and the YOUNG MAN glances into the air. The MAID turns on
the water and lets it run. Meanwhile, she goes into her room, washes
her hands, and arranges her curls before the mirror. Then she brings
the glass of water to the YOUNG MAN. She approaches the couch. The
YOUNG MAN raises himself upon his elbow. The MAID gives him the glass
of water and their fingers touch._
YOUNG MAN
Thank you—Well, what is the matter?—Be careful. Put the glass back on
the tray. (_He leans back, and stretches himself_) How late is it?
MAID
Five o’clock, Sir.
YOUNG MAN
Ah, five o’clock.—That’s fine.—
MAID
(_Goes. At the door she turns around. The YOUNG MAN has followed her
with his eyes; she notices it, and smiles_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Remains stretched out awhile; then, suddenly, he gets up. He walks
to the door, back again, and lies down on the couch. He again tries to
read. After a few moments, he rings once more._)
MAID
(_Appears with a smile which she does not try to hide_)
YOUNG MAN
Listen, Marie, there was something I wanted to ask you. Didn’t Dr.
Schueller call this morning?
MAID
No, Sir, nobody called this morning.
YOUNG MAN
That is strange. Then, Dr. Schueller didn’t call. Do you know Dr.
Schueller by sight?
MAID
Of course, I do. He’s the big gentleman with the black beard.
YOUNG MAN
Yes. Then, perhaps, he called after all?
MAID
No, Sir. Nobody called.
YOUNG MAN
(_Resolutely_) Come here, Marie.
MAID
(_Coming a little nearer_) Yes, Sir.
YOUNG MAN
Still nearer … so … ah … I only thought…
MAID
Do you want anything, Sir?
YOUNG MAN
I thought… Well, I thought—only about your blouse … what kind of a
blouse is it … can’t you come closer. I won’t bite you.
MAID
(_Comes close to him_) What is the matter with my blouse? Don’t you
like it, Sir?
YOUNG MAN
(_Takes hold of her blouse, and draws her down to him_) Blue? It is a
nice blue. (_Simply_) You are very prettily dressed, Marie.
MAID
But, Sir…
YOUNG MAN
Ah… What is the matter?… (_He has opened her blouse. In a matter of
fact tone_) You have a beautiful white skin, Marie.
MAID
You are flattering me, Sir.
YOUNG MAN
(_Kissing her on the breast_) That can’t hurt you.
MAID
Oh, no.
YOUNG MAN
But you sigh so. Why are you sighing?
MAID
Oh, Mr. Alfred…
YOUNG MAN
And what charming little slippers you have…
MAID
… But … Sir … if the doorbell should ring.—
YOUNG MAN
Who will ring now?
MAID
But, Sir … look … it is so light…
YOUNG MAN
You needn’t feel at all shy with me. You needn’t feel shy with anybody
… any one as pretty as you. Yes, really, you are, Marie… Do you know
your hair actually smells sweet.
MAID
Mr. Alfred…
YOUNG MAN
Don’t make such a fuss, Marie… Anyway, I’ve already seen you otherwise.
When I came home the other night and went to get some water, the door
to your room was open … well…
MAID
(_Covering her face_) Oh, my, I didn’t know that Mr. Alfred could be so
wicked.
YOUNG MAN
I _saw_ lots then … _that_ … and _that_ … that … and—
MAID
Oh, Mr. Alfred!
YOUNG MAN
Come, come … here … so—that’s it…
MAID
But if the doorbell should ring now—
YOUNG MAN
Now forget that … we simply wouldn’t open the door.
* * * * *
(_The bell rings_)
YOUNG MAN
Confound it… What a noise that fellow makes—Perhaps he rang before, and
we didn’t notice it.
MAID
Oh, no. I was listening all the while.
YOUNG MAN
Well, see what’s the matter. Peek through the curtains.
MAID
Mr. Alfred … you are … no … such a bad man.
YOUNG MAN
Please go and see…
(_Exit MAID_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Opens the blinds quickly_)
MAID
(_Returns_) He must have gone away again. Anyway, no one is there now.
Perhaps, it was Dr. Schueller.
YOUNG MAN
(_Annoyed_) Thank you.
MAID
(_Drawing close to him_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Evading her_) Listen, Marie,—I’m going to the café now.
MAID
(_Tenderly_) So soon … Mr. Alfred.
YOUNG MAN
(_Formally_) I am going to the café now… If Dr. Schueller should call—
MAID
He won’t come any more to-day.
YOUNG MAN
(_Severely_) If Dr. Schueller should come, I—I am in the café.
(_He goes to the adjoining room. The MAID takes a cigar from the
smoking-stand, puts it in her blouse and goes out._)
THE YOUNG MAN AND THE YOUNG WIFE
_Evening—A drawing-room furnished with cheap elegance in a house in
Schwind street. The YOUNG MAN has just come in; and, still wearing
his hat and overcoat, he lights the gas. Then he opens a door to a
side-room and looks in. The light from the drawing-room shimmers over
the inlaid floor as far as the Louis Quinze bed, which stands against
the opposite wall. A reddish light plays from the fire-place in the
corner of the bedroom upon the hangings of the bed. The YOUNG MAN now
inspects the bedroom. He takes an atomizer from the dressing-table,
and sprays the bed-pillows with a fine rain of violet perfume. Then
he carries the atomizer through both rooms, constantly pressing upon
the bulb, so that soon the odor of violets pervades the place. He then
takes off his hat and coat. He sits down in a blue velvet armchair,
lights a cigarette, and smokes. After a short pause he rises again, and
makes sure that the green shutters are closed. Suddenly, he goes into
the bedroom, and opens a drawer in the dressing-table. He puts his hand
in it, and finds a tortoise-shell hair-pin. He looks for a place to
hide it, and finally puts it into a pocket of his overcoat. He opens
the buffet in the drawing-room; takes a silver tray, with a bottle and
two liqueur glasses, and puts them on the table. He goes back to his
overcoat, and takes from it a small white package. Opening this, he
places it beside the cognac. He goes again to the buffet, and takes two
small plates and knives and forks. He takes a candied chestnut from
the package and eats it. Then he pours himself a glass of cognac, and
drinks it quickly. He then looks at his watch. He walks up and down
the room. He stops a while before a large mirror, ordering his hair
and small mustache with a pocket-comb. He next goes to the door of the
vestibule and listens. Nothing is stirring. Then he closes the blue
portières, which hang before the bedroom. The bell rings. He starts
slightly. Then he sits down in the armchair, and rises only when the
door has been opened and the YOUNG WIFE enters._
YOUNG WIFE
(_Heavily veiled, closes the door behind her, pausing a moment with her
left hand over her heart, as though mastering a strong emotion_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Goes toward her, takes her left hand, and presses a kiss on the
white glove with black stitching. He says softly._) Thank you.
YOUNG WIFE
Alfred—Alfred!
YOUNG MAN
Come, Madame… Come, Emma…
YOUNG WIFE
Let me be for a minute—please … oh, please, please, Alfred!
(_She is still standing at the door_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Standing before her, holding her hand_)
YOUNG WIFE
Where am I?
YOUNG MAN
With me.
YOUNG WIFE
This house is terrible, Alfred.
YOUNG MAN
Why terrible? It is a very proper house.
YOUNG WIFE
But I met two gentlemen on the staircase.
YOUNG MAN
Acquaintances of yours?
YOUNG WIFE
I don’t know. It’s possible.
YOUNG MAN
But, Madame—You surely know your friends!
YOUNG WIFE
I couldn’t see their faces.
YOUNG MAN
But even had they been your best friends—they couldn’t possibly have
recognized you… I, myself … if I didn’t know it was you … this veil—
YOUNG WIFE
There are two.
YOUNG MAN
Won’t you come closer?… And take off your hat, at least?
YOUNG WIFE
What are you thinking of, Alfred? I promised you: Five minutes… Not a
moment more … I swear it, no more—
YOUNG MAN
Well, then, your veil—
YOUNG WIFE
There are two of them.
YOUNG MAN
Very well, both of them—you will at least let me see your face.
YOUNG WIFE
Do you really love me, Alfred?
YOUNG MAN
(_Deeply hurt_) Emma! You ask me…
YOUNG WIFE
It’s so warm here.
YOUNG MAN
You’re still wearing your fur-coat—really, you will catch cold.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Finally enters the room, and throws herself into the armchair_) I’m
tired—dead tired.
YOUNG MAN
Permit me.
(_He takes off her veil, removes her hat-pin, and puts hat, pin, and
veil aside_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Permits it_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Stands before her, and shakes his head_)
YOUNG WIFE
What is the matter?
YOUNG MAN
You’ve never been so beautiful.
YOUNG WIFE
How is that?
YOUNG MAN
Alone … alone with you—Emma—
(_He kneels down beside her chair, takes both her hands, and covers
them with kisses_)
YOUNG WIFE
And now … now let me go again. I have done what you asked me to do.
YOUNG MAN
(_Lets his head sink into her lap_)
YOUNG WIFE
You promised me to be good.
YOUNG MAN
Yes.
YOUNG WIFE
It is stifling hot in this room.
YOUNG MAN
(_Gets up_) You still have your coat on.
YOUNG WIFE
Put it with my hat.
YOUNG MAN
(_Takes off her coat, and puts it on the sofa_)
YOUNG WIFE
And now—good-by—
YOUNG MAN
Emma—! Emma—!
YOUNG WIFE
The five minutes are long past.
YOUNG MAN
Not one yet!—
YOUNG WIFE
Alfred, tell me truly now, how late it is.
YOUNG MAN
It is now exactly a quarter past six.
YOUNG WIFE
I should have been at my sister’s long ago.
YOUNG MAN
You can see your sister any time…
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, Merciful Heaven, Alfred, why did you tempt me to come?
YOUNG MAN
Because … I adore you, Emma!
YOUNG WIFE
To how many have you said the same thing?
YOUNG MAN
Since I met you, to no one.
YOUNG WIFE
What a foolish woman I am! If anybody had predicted … just a week ago …
or even yesterday…
YOUNG MAN
But you had already promised me the day before yesterday.
YOUNG WIFE
You plagued me so. But I didn’t want to do it. God is my witness—I
didn’t want to do it… Yesterday, I was firmly decided… Do you know I
even wrote you a long letter last night?
YOUNG MAN
I didn’t receive any.
YOUNG WIFE
I tore it up later. Oh, if only I had sent it to you.
YOUNG MAN
It is better as it is.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, no, it’s awful … of me. I don’t understand myself. Good-by, Alfred,
let me go.
YOUNG MAN
(_Seizes her, and covers her face with burning kisses_)
YOUNG WIFE
So … is that the way you keep your word…
YOUNG MAN
One more kiss—one more.
YOUNG WIFE
The last.
(_He kisses her, and she returns the kiss; their lips remain joined for
a long time_)
YOUNG MAN
Shall I tell you something, Emma? It is now for the first time that I
know what happiness is.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Sinks back into the armchair_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Sits on the arm of the chair, and puts one arm lightly about her
neck_) … or rather, I know now what happiness might be.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Sighs deeply_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Kisses her again_)
YOUNG WIFE
Alfred—Alfred, what are you doing to me!
YOUNG MAN
Wasn’t I right?—It isn’t so awfully uncomfortable here… And we are so
safe here. It’s a thousand times better than those meetings outdoors…
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, don’t remind me of them.
YOUNG MAN
I shall always recall them with a thousand delights. Every minute you
have let me spend with you is a sweet memory.
YOUNG WIFE
Do you remember the ball at the Manufacturers’ Club?
YOUNG MAN
Do I remember it…? I sat beside you through the whole supper—quite
close to you. Your husband had champagne…
YOUNG WIFE
(_Looks at him with a hurt expression_)
YOUNG MAN
I meant to speak only of the champagne. Emma, would you like a glass of
cognac?
YOUNG WIFE
Only a drop, but first give me a glass of water.
YOUNG MAN
Surely… But where is—oh, yes, I remember…
(_He opens the portières, and goes into the bedroom_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Follows him with her eyes_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Comes back with a water-bottle and two glasses_)
YOUNG WIFE
Where have you been?
YOUNG MAN
In … the adjoining room.
(_Pours her a glass of water_)
YOUNG WIFE
Now I’m going to ask you something, Alfred—and you must tell me the
truth.
YOUNG MAN
I swear—
YOUNG WIFE
Has there ever been any other woman in these rooms?
YOUNG MAN
But, Emma—this house was built twenty years ago!—
YOUNG WIFE
You know what I mean, Alfred … in these rooms, with you!
YOUNG MAN
With me—here—Emma!—It’s not kind of you even to imagine such a thing.
YOUNG WIFE
Then there was … how shall I… But, no, I’d rather not ask. It is
better that I shouldn’t ask. It’s my own fault. Every fault has its
punishment.
YOUNG MAN
But what is wrong? What is the matter with you? What fault?
YOUNG WIFE
No, no, no, I mustn’t think… Otherwise I would sink through the floor
with shame.
YOUNG MAN
(_With the water-bottle in his hand, shakes his head sadly_) Emma, if
you only knew how you hurt me.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Pours a glass of cognac_)
YOUNG MAN
I want to tell you something, Emma. If you’re ashamed of being here—if
you don’t care for me—if you don’t feel you are all the happiness in
the world for me—then you’d better go.—
YOUNG WIFE
Yes, I shall go.
YOUNG MAN
(_Taking hold of her hand_) But if you feel that I cannot live without
you, that a kiss upon your hand means more to me than all the caresses
of all the women in the whole world… Emma, I’m not like other young
men, who are experienced in love-making—perhaps, I am too naïve … I…
YOUNG WIFE
But suppose you were like other young men?
YOUNG MAN
Then you wouldn’t be here to-night—because you are not like other women.
YOUNG WIFE
How do you know that?
YOUNG MAN
(_Drawing her close beside him on the sofa_)
I have thought a lot about it. I know you are unhappy.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Pleased_) Yes.
YOUNG MAN
Life is so dreary, so empty—and then,—so short—so horribly short! There
is only one happiness—to find some one who loves you.—
YOUNG WIFE
(_Takes a candied pear from the table, and puts it into her mouth_)
YOUNG MAN
Give me half of it!
(_She offers it to him with her lips_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Catches the hands of the Young Man that threaten to stray_) What are
you doing, Alfred?… Is that the way you keep your promise?
YOUNG MAN
(_Swallows the pear, then, more daringly_) Life is so short.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Weakly_) But that’s no reason—
YOUNG MAN
(_Mechanically_) Oh, yes.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Still more weakly_) Alfred, you promised to be good … and then it’s
so light…
YOUNG MAN
Come, come, you only, only…
(_He lifts her from the sofa_)
YOUNG WIFE
What are you doing?
YOUNG MAN
It’s not so light in the other room.
YOUNG WIFE
Is there another room?
YOUNG MAN
(_Drawing her with him_) A beautiful one … and quite dark.
YOUNG WIFE
We’d better stay in here.
YOUNG MAN
(_Already past the bedroom portières with her, loosening her waist_)
YOUNG WIFE
You are so… O merciful Heaven, what are you doing with me!—Alfred!
YOUNG MAN
I adore you, Emma!
YOUNG WIFE
So then wait, wait a little… (_Weakly_) Go… I’ll call you.
YOUNG MAN
Let you help me—let us help you (_becoming confused_) … let …
me—help—you.
YOUNG WIFE
But you’ll tear everything.
YOUNG MAN
You have no corset on?
YOUNG WIFE
I never wear a corset. Odilon[2] doesn’t wear any either. But you can
unbutton my shoes.
YOUNG MAN
(_Unbuttons her shoes and kisses her feet_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Slips into bed_) Oh, how cold it is.
YOUNG MAN
It’ll be warm in a minute.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Laughing softly_) Do you think so?
YOUNG MAN
(_Slightly hurt, to himself_) She ought not to have said that.
(_He undresses in the dark_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Tenderly_) Come, come, come!
YOUNG MAN
(_Mollified_) In a minute, dear—
YOUNG WIFE
It smells like violets here.
YOUNG MAN
That’s you… Yes (_To her_) you, yourself.
YOUNG WIFE
Alfred… Alfred!!!!
YOUNG MAN
Emma…
* * * * *
YOUNG MAN
Apparently I love you too much … yes… I am as if out of my senses.
YOUNG WIFE
… …
YOUNG MAN
I have been beside myself all these days. I was afraid of this.
YOUNG WIFE
Don’t mind.
YOUNG MAN
Oh, certainly not. It’s perfectly natural, if one…
YOUNG WIFE
No … don’t… You are nervous. Calm yourself first.
YOUNG MAN
Do you know Stendhal?
YOUNG WIFE
Stendhal?
YOUNG MAN
The “Psychologie de l’amour.”
YOUNG WIFE
No. Why do you ask me?
YOUNG MAN
There’s a story in that book which is very much to the point.
YOUNG WIFE
What kind of a story?
YOUNG MAN
There is a gathering of cavalry officers—
YOUNG WIFE
Yes.
YOUNG MAN
And they are telling each other about their love affairs. And each one
of them tells that with the woman he loved best—most passionately, you
know … that with him, that then—well, in short, that the same thing
happened just as it happened to me now.
YOUNG WIFE
Yes.
YOUNG MAN
That is very characteristic.
YOUNG WIFE
Yes.
YOUNG MAN
The story is not yet ended. One of them maintained … that this thing
had never in his life happened to him, but, adds Stendhal—he was known
as a great boaster.
YOUNG WIFE
And.—
YOUNG MAN
And, yet, it makes you feel blue—that’s the stupid side of it, even
though it’s so unimportant.
YOUNG WIFE
Of course. Anyway, you know … you promised me to be good.
YOUNG MAN
Sh-h! Don’t laugh. That doesn’t help things any.
YOUNG WIFE
But no, I’m not laughing. That story of Stendhal’s is really
interesting. I have always thought that only older people … or people
who … you know, people who have lived fast…
YOUNG MAN
The idea! That has nothing to do with it. By the way, I had completely
forgotten the prettiest of Stendhal’s stories. One of the cavalry
officers went so far as to say that he stayed for three or even six
nights… I don’t remember now—that is he stayed with a woman, whom he
wanted for weeks—_desirée_—you understand—and nothing happened all
those nights except that they wept for happiness … both…
YOUNG WIFE
Both?
YOUNG MAN
Yes. Does that surprise you? It seems very comprehensible—especially
when two people love each other.
YOUNG WIFE
But surely there are many who don’t weep.
YOUNG MAN
(_Nervously_) Certainly … however, that is an exceptional case.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh—I thought Stendhal said that all cavalry officers weep on such an
occasion.
YOUNG MAN
Look here, now you are laughing at me.
YOUNG WIFE
What an idea! Don’t be childish, Alfred.
YOUNG MAN
Well, it makes me nervous anyway… Besides I have the feeling that you
are thinking about it all the time. That embarrasses me still more.
YOUNG WIFE
I’m not thinking of it at all.
YOUNG MAN
If I were only sure that you love me.
YOUNG WIFE
Do you want still further proofs?
YOUNG MAN
Didn’t I tell you … you are always laughing at me.
YOUNG WIFE
How so? Come, let me hold your sweet little head.
YOUNG MAN
Oh, that feels so good.
YOUNG WIFE
Do you love me?
YOUNG MAN
Oh, I’m so happy.
YOUNG WIFE
But you needn’t cry about it.
YOUNG MAN
(_Moving away from her, highly irritated_) There! Again! I begged you
not to…
YOUNG WIFE
To tell you that you shouldn’t cry…
YOUNG MAN
You said: “You needn’t cry about it.”
YOUNG WIFE
You are nervous, sweetheart.
YOUNG MAN
I know.
YOUNG WIFE
But you ought not to be. It is beautiful even that … that we are
together like good comrades…
YOUNG MAN
Now you are beginning again.
YOUNG WIFE
Don’t you remember! That was one of our first talks. We wanted to be
comrades, nothing more. Oh, how nice that was … at my sister’s ball in
January, during the quadrille… For heaven’s sake, I should have gone
long ago… My sister expects me—what shall I tell her… Good-by, Alfred—
YOUNG MAN
Emma!—You will leave me in this way!
YOUNG WIFE
Yes—so!—
YOUNG MAN
Five minutes more…
YOUNG WIFE
All right. Five minutes more. But you must promise me … not to move?…
Yes?… I want to give you a good-by kiss… Psst … be still … don’t move,
I told you, otherwise I’ll get up at once, you, my sweetheart, sweet…
YOUNG MAN
Emma … my ador… …
* * * * *
YOUNG WIFE
My Alfred!
YOUNG MAN
Oh, it is heaven to be with you.
YOUNG WIFE
But now I’ve really got to go.
YOUNG MAN
Oh, let your sister wait.
YOUNG WIFE
I must go home. It is much too late to see my sister. How late is it?
YOUNG MAN
How should I know?
YOUNG WIFE
You might look at your watch.
YOUNG MAN
My watch is in my waistcoat.
YOUNG WIFE
Get it.
YOUNG MAN
(_Gets up with a jump_) Eight o’clock.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Jumps up quickly_) For heaven’s sake… Quick, Alfred, give me my
stockings. What shall I say? They must be waiting for me at home …
eight o’clock…
YOUNG MAN
When shall I see you again?
YOUNG WIFE
Never.
YOUNG MAN
Emma! Don’t you love me any more?
YOUNG WIFE
Just for that reason. Give me my shoes.
YOUNG MAN
Never again? Here are your shoes.
YOUNG WIFE
My button-hook is in my bag. Please, be quick…
YOUNG MAN
Here is the button-hook.
YOUNG WIFE
Alfred, this may cost us our lives.
YOUNG MAN
(_Unpleasantly moved_) In what way?
YOUNG WIFE
What shall I say, if he asks me where I’ve been?
YOUNG MAN
At your sister’s.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, if I only could lie.
YOUNG MAN
Well, you’ll have to.
YOUNG WIFE
Everything for a man like you. Oh, come here … let me give you a last
kiss. (_She embraces him_)—And now—leave me by myself, go in the other
room.—I can’t dress, if you are around.
YOUNG MAN
(_Goes into the drawing-room, where he dresses. He eats some pastry and
drinks a glass of cognac_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Calls after a while_) Alfred!
YOUNG MAN
Yes, sweetheart.
YOUNG WIFE
Isn’t it better that we didn’t weep?
YOUNG MAN
(_Smiling, not without pride_) How can you talk so frivolously?—
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, how difficult it will be now—if we should meet by chance in company?
YOUNG MAN
By chance?—sometime?… Surely you are coming to Lobheimer’s to-morrow?
YOUNG WIFE
Yes. You too?
YOUNG MAN
Of course. May I ask for the cotillion?
YOUNG WIFE
Oh, I shall not go. What do you imagine?—I would… (_She enters the
drawing-room fully dressed, and takes a piece of chocolate pastry_)
sink through the floor.
YOUNG MAN
To-morrow at Lobheimer’s. That’s fine.
YOUNG WIFE
No, no… I shall decline … certainly decline—
YOUNG MAN
Well, the day after to-morrow … here.
YOUNG WIFE
The idea!
YOUNG MAN
At six…
YOUNG WIFE
There are cabs at this corner, aren’t there?
YOUNG MAN
Yes, as many as you want. Well, the day after to-morrow, here at six
o’clock. Please say “yes,” sweetheart.
YOUNG WIFE
… We’ll discuss that to-morrow night during the cotillion.
YOUNG MAN
(_Embracing her_) My angel.
YOUNG WIFE
Don’t muss my hair again.
YOUNG MAN
Well then, to-morrow night at Lobheimer’s, and the day after to-morrow
in my arms.
YOUNG WIFE
Good-by…
YOUNG MAN
(_Suddenly anxious again_) And what will you—tell him to-night?—
YOUNG WIFE
Don’t ask me … don’t ask me … it’s too terrible.—Why do I love you
so?—Good-by—If I meet any one again on the stairway, I shall faint.—Ugh!
YOUNG MAN
(_Kisses her hand for the last time_)
YOUNG WIFE
(_Exit_)
YOUNG MAN
(_Remains standing. Then he sits down on the couch. He smiles
reflectively, and says to himself_) Now, at last, I have an affair with
a respectable woman.
THE YOUNG WIFE AND THE HUSBAND
_A comfortable bedroom. It is half past ten at night. The WIFE is lying
abed and reading. The HUSBAND enters the room in a dressing gown._
YOUNG WIFE
(_Without looking up_) You have stopped working?
HUSBAND
Yes. I’m too tired. And besides…
YOUNG WIFE
Well?—
HUSBAND
I felt so lonely at my desk all at once. A longing for you came over me.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Looking up_) Really?
HUSBAND
(_Sitting down on the bed beside her_) Don’t read any more to-night.
You will ruin your eyes.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Closing the book_) What’s the matter with you?
HUSBAND
Nothing, child. I’m in love with you. But you know that.
YOUNG WIFE
One might almost forget it sometimes.
HUSBAND
One _must_ forget it sometimes.
YOUNG WIFE
Why?
HUSBAND
Because, otherwise, marriage would be something imperfect. It would …
how shall I express it … it would lose its sanctity.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh…
HUSBAND
Believe me—it is so… If we hadn’t sometimes forgotten that we are in
love with each other during the five years we have been married—we
might not be in love any longer.
YOUNG WIFE
That’s beyond me.
HUSBAND
The case is simply this. We have had perhaps ten or twelve
love-affairs with each other… Doesn’t it seem that way to you, too?
YOUNG WIFE
I haven’t counted them!
HUSBAND
If we had enjoyed the first one to the last drop, if I had from the
very beginning surrendered without restraint to my passion for you, the
same thing would have happened to us that has happened to millions of
other lovers. We would be tired of each other.
YOUNG WIFE
Ah … do you mean that?
HUSBAND
Believe me—Emma—in the early days of our marriage, I was afraid that
this would happen.
YOUNG WIFE
I, too.
HUSBAND
See? Am I not right? Therefore, it is wise every now and then to live
only as good friends.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh.
HUSBAND
And some can always experience new honeymoons, especially since I am
careful never to let such weeks of honeymoon…
YOUNG WIFE
Run into months.
HUSBAND
That is true.
YOUNG WIFE
And now … now it seems we are at the end of another such period of
friendship—?
HUSBAND
(_Pressing her tenderly to him_) So it might seem.
YOUNG WIFE
But if … if I should feel differently?
HUSBAND
You couldn’t. You are the wisest and most delicious being in the world.
I am very happy to have found you.
YOUNG WIFE
You know how to make love very well—every now and then.
HUSBAND
(_Who has also gone to bed_) Well, for a man who has looked about
in the world a bit—come, lay your head on my shoulder—who has seen
something of the world, marriage is really something much more
mysterious than it is for you sheltered young girls. You come to us
entirely innocent and … to a certain degree, at least, ignorant of
things, and therefore you really understand the essence of love much
better than we.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Laughing_) Oh!
HUSBAND
Certainly. For we get all tangled up by the many experiences that we
have to go through before marriage. You women, of course, hear a lot
of things, you know a lot of things, no doubt read too much, but you
can’t have any real idea of the things men experience. We men really
become quite disgusted with this thing people call love, for the kind
of creatures to which we are restricted really are…
YOUNG WIFE
Tell me—what kind of creatures are they?
HUSBAND
(_Kissing her on the forehead_) You ought to be glad, dear child, that
you never have had a glimpse of relations like that. After all most of
the poor things deserve pity—it is not for us to throw stones.
YOUNG WIFE
But—this pity—it doesn’t seem quite appropriate to me.
HUSBAND
(_With gentle benevolence_) They deserve it. You young girls of good
family, who wait quietly under the care of your parents for the man who
desires you in marriage,—you won’t know the misery that drives most of
these poor creatures into the arms of sin.
YOUNG WIFE
Do all of them really sell themselves?
HUSBAND
I would hardly say that. I don’t mean the material misery alone. There
is also—one might call it—a moral misery, a lack of appreciation for
what is permissible, and, especially, for what is noble.
YOUNG WIFE
But why are they to be pitied?—They seem to enjoy themselves.
HUSBAND
You have strange ideas, my child. You must not forget that such people
are predestined by nature to sink lower and lower. There is no stopping
them.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Cuddling to him_) It seems pleasant to fall.
HUSBAND
(_Hurt_) How can you say things like that, Emma? I should think that to
good women like you, nothing could be more repulsive than those who are
not!
YOUNG WIFE
Of course, Karl, of course. I was just thinking. Go on, tell me more. I
like it when you talk like this. Tell me something.
HUSBAND
What?—
YOUNG WIFE
Why—about these people.
HUSBAND
The idea!
YOUNG WIFE
But, I asked you a long time ago—you know, when we were first married
to tell me something of your younger days.
HUSBAND
Why does that interest you?
YOUNG WIFE
Aren’t you my husband? Isn’t it a sort of injustice that I really know
nothing about your past?
HUSBAND
You surely don’t think I have such bad taste, as to—No, Emma … it would
be like a profanation.
YOUNG WIFE
And yet you have … heaven knows how many other women you have held in
your arms, just as you are holding me now.
HUSBAND
Don’t say “women.” You are _the_ woman.
YOUNG WIFE
But you must answer one question … otherwise … otherwise … there won’t
be any honeymoon.
HUSBAND
That’s a nice way to talk … remember you are a mother … our little girl
is sleeping in there…
YOUNG WIFE
(_Snuggling against him_) But I want a boy, too.
HUSBAND
Emma!
YOUNG WIFE
Don’t be silly … of course, I am your wife … but I’d like also to be …
to be your sweetheart.
HUSBAND
Would you?…
YOUNG WIFE
Well—now my question.
HUSBAND
(_Accommodating_) All right.
YOUNG WIFE
Was there … a married woman … amongst them?
HUSBAND
Why? What do you mean?
YOUNG WIFE
You know what I mean.
HUSBAND
(_Slightly disconcerted_) What makes you think of a thing like that?
YOUNG WIFE
I would like to know if … I mean—there are such women… I know that very
well. But did you?…
HUSBAND
(_Seriously_) Do you know such a woman?
YOUNG WIFE
Well, I hardly know.
HUSBAND
Is there, perhaps, such a woman among your friends?
YOUNG WIFE
How can I be sure that there is—or that there isn’t?
HUSBAND
Did any of your friends … women talk about a lot of things—alone among
themselves—did any of them ever confess—?
YOUNG WIFE
(_Uncertainly_) No.
HUSBAND
Do you suspect any of your friends—that she…
YOUNG WIFE
Suspect … oh … suspect.
HUSBAND
It would seem so.
YOUNG WIFE
No, indeed, Karl, most certainly not. When I think things over—I don’t
believe there is any one.
HUSBAND
No one?
YOUNG WIFE
Not among my friends.
HUSBAND
Promise me something, Emma.
YOUNG WIFE
Well?
HUSBAND
That you will never associate with a woman about whom you have the
slightest suspicion that she … doesn’t lead a completely blameless life.
YOUNG WIFE
And you think it necessary for me to promise that?
HUSBAND
I know that you will not seek out the company of such women. But, it
might happen that you … in fact it often happens that such women, whose
reputations are not of the best, seek out good women, partly to give
them standing, and partly because they feel … how shall I say?… because
they feel a certain homesickness for virtue.
YOUNG WIFE
Do they?
HUSBAND
Yes. I believe what I just said is very true. Homesickness for virtue.
For all of these women are at heart very unhappy; you can believe that.
YOUNG WIFE
Why?
HUSBAND
You ask me, Emma?—How can you even ask?—Just imagine what a life these
women lead! Full of lies, perfidy, vulgarity, and danger.
YOUNG WIFE
Yes, of course. You are right.
HUSBAND
Truly … they pay for their little happiness … their little…
YOUNG WIFE
Pleasure.
HUSBAND
Why “pleasure”? Why do you call it “pleasure”?
YOUNG WIFE
Well,—there must be something in it—! Otherwise, they wouldn’t do it.
HUSBAND
It is nothing … an intoxication.
YOUNG WIFE
(_Pensively_) An intoxication…
HUSBAND
No, it is not even intoxication. Like everything—it is dearly paid for,
that much is certain.
YOUNG WIFE
Well … it has happened to you, hasn’t it?
HUSBAND
Yes, Emma.—And it is the thing I most regret.
YOUNG WIFE
Who was she? Tell me! Do I know her?
HUSBAND
The idea!
YOUNG WIFE
Was it long ago? Was it very long before you married me?
HUSBAND
Don’t ask me. Please, don’t ask.
YOUNG WIFE
But, Karl!
HUSBAND
She is dead.
YOUNG WIFE
Are you in earnest?
HUSBAND
Yes … it sounds almost ridiculous, but I have the feeling that all such
women die young.
YOUNG WIFE
Did you love her very much?
HUSBAND
One doesn’t love women who lie.
YOUNG WIFE
Then why…
HUSBAND
An intoxication…
YOUNG WIFE
Really?
HUSBAND
Don’t talk about it any more, please. All that is passed long ago. I
have only loved one woman—that is you. You only love where there is
purity and truth.
YOUNG WIFE
Karl!
HUSBAND
Oh, how secure, how happy one feels in such arms. Why didn’t I know you
as a child? I am sure I wouldn’t then even have looked at other women.
YOUNG WIFE
Karl!
HUSBAND
And how beautiful you are!… beautiful!… Oh, come…
(_He puts the light out_)
* * * * *
YOUNG WIFE
Do you know what I am thinking of to-night?
HUSBAND
What, sweetheart?
YOUNG WIFE
Of … of … of Venice.
HUSBAND
Our first night…
YOUNG WIFE
Yes…
HUSBAND
What then? Tell me!
YOUNG WIFE
You love me as much to-day.
HUSBAND
Yes, just as much.
YOUNG WIFE
Oh … if you would always…
HUSBAND
(_In her arms_) If I would what?
YOUNG WIFE
My Karl!
HUSBAND
What do you mean? If I would always?…
YOUNG WIFE
Well, yes.
HUSBAND
Well, what then, if I would always?…
YOUNG WIFE
Then I would always know that you love me.
HUSBAND
Yes. But you must know that anyway. One cannot always be a lover,
sometimes one has to go out into the cold world to struggle and
achieve! Don’t forget that, my child. There is a time for everything in
marriage—that is the beauty of it. There are not many who can remember
their Venice after five years.
YOUNG WIFE
True!
HUSBAND
And now … good-night, my child.
YOUNG WIFE
Good-night!
THE HUSBAND AND THE SWEET YOUNG MISS
_A private dining-room in the Riedhof, comfortably furnished with
moderately good taste. A gas-grate is burning. The HUSBAND and the
SWEET YOUNG MISS are disclosed. The remains of dinner are on the table,
cream-cakes, fruit, cheese. In the wine-glasses is a Hungarian white
wine._
HUSBAND
(_Is smoking a Havana cigar, and leaning against the corner of a sofa_)
MISS