before I see you again. When you have returned from earth you will
come up before me again. Take heed and think well of some good deed to
do for your child. On that will depend which door shall be opened to
you up here. Now go, Liliom. [_He exits at left. THE GUARD stands at
attention. There is a pause._]
THE FIRST
[_Approaches LILIOM._] Come along, my son. [_He goes to the door at
right; pulls open the bolt and waits._]
LILIOM
[_To the old GUARD, softly._] Say, officer.
THE GUARD What do you want?
LILIOM
Please--can I get--have you got----?
THE GUARD
What?
LILIOM
[_Whispers._] A cigarette? [_The old GUARD stares at him, goes a few
paces to the left, shakes his head disapprovingly. Then his expression
softens. He takes a cigarette from his pocket and, crossing to
LILIOM--who has gone over to the door at right--gives him the
cigarette. THE FIRST throws open the door. An intense rose-colored
light streams in. The glow of it is so strong that it blinds LILIOM
and he takes a step backward and bows his head and covers his eyes
with his hand before he steps forward into the light._]
THE CURTAIN FALLS
SCENE SEVEN
SCENE--_Sixteen years later. A small, tumble-down house on a bare,
unenclosed plot of ground. Before the house is a tiny garden enclosed
by a hip-high hedge._
_At back a wooden fence crosses the stage; in the center of it is a
door large enough to admit a wagon. Beyond the fence is a view of a
suburban street which blends into a broad vista of tilled fields._
_It is a bright Sunday in Spring._
_In the garden a table for two is laid._
_JULIE, her daughter LOUISE, WOLF and MARIE are discovered in the
garden. WOLF is prosperously dressed, MARIE somewhat elaborately, with
a huge hat._
JULIE
You could stay for lunch.
MARIE
Impossible, dear. Since he became the proprietor of the Café Sorrento,
Wolf simply has to be there all the time.
JULIE
But you needn't stay there all day, too.
MARIE
Oh, yes. I sit near the cashier's cage, read the papers, keep an eye
on the waiters and drink in the bustle and excitement of the great
city.
JULIE
And what about the children?
MARIE
You know what modern families are like. Parents scarcely ever see
their children these days. The four girls are with their governess,
the three boys with their tutor.
LOUISE
Auntie, dear, do stay and eat with us.
MARIE
[_Importantly._] Impossible today, dear child, impossible. Perhaps
some other time. Come, Mr. Beifeld.
JULIE
Since when do you call your husband mister?
WOLF
I'd rather she did, dear lady. When we used to be very familiar we
quarreled all the time. Now we are formal with each other and get
along like society folk. I kiss your hand, dear lady.
JULIE
Good-bye, Wolf.
MARIE
Adieu, my dear. [_They embrace._] Adieu, my dear child.
LOUISE
Good-bye, Aunt Marie. Good-bye, Uncle Wolf. [_WOLF and MARIE exit._]
JULIE
You can get the soup now, Louise dear. [_LOUISE goes into the house
and reënters with the soup. They sit at the table._]
LOUISE
Mother, is it true we're not going to work at the jute factory any
more?
JULIE
Yes, dear.
LOUISE
Where then?
JULIE
Uncle Wolf has gotten us a place in a big establishment where they
make all kinds of fittings for cafés. We're to make big curtains, you
know, the kind they hang in the windows, with lettering on them.
LOUISE
It'll be nicer there than at the jute factory.
JULIE
Yes, dear. The work isn't as dirty and pays better, too. A poor widow
like your mother is lucky to get it. [_They eat. LILIOM and the two
HEAVENLY POLICEMEN appear in the big doorway at back. The POLICEMEN
pass slowly by. LILIOM stands there alone a moment, then comes slowly
down and pauses at the opening of the hedge. He is dressed as he was
on the day of his death. He is very pale, but otherwise unaltered.
JULIE, at the table, has her back to him. LOUISE sits facing the
audience._
LILIOM
Good day.
LOUISE
Good day.
JULIE
Another beggar! What is it you want, my poor man?
LILIOM
Nothing.
JULIE
We have no money to give, but if you care for a plate of soup----
[_LOUISE goes into the house._] Have you come far today?
LILIOM
Yes--very far.
JULIE
Are you tired?
LILIOM
Very tired.
JULIE
Over there at the gate is a stone. Sit down and rest. My daughter is
bringing you the soup. [_LOUISE comes out of the house._]
LILIOM
Is that your daughter?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
[_To LOUISE._] You are the daughter?
LOUISE
Yes, sir.
LILIOM
A fine, healthy girl. [_Takes the soup plate from her with one hand,
while with the other he touches her arm. LOUISE draws back quickly._]
LOUISE
[_Crosses to JULIE._] Mother!
JULIE
What, my child?
LOUISE
The man tried to take me by the arm.
JULIE
Nonsense! You only imagined it, dear. The poor, hungry man has other
things to think about than fooling with young girls. Sit down and eat
your soup. [_They eat._]
LILIOM
[_Eats, too, but keeps looking at them._] You work at the factory, eh?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
Your daughter, too?
LOUISE
Yes.
LILIOM
And your husband?
JULIE
[_After a pause._] I have no husband. I'm a widow.
LILIOM
A widow?
JULIE
Yes.
LILIOM
Your husband--I suppose he's been dead a long time. [_JULIE does not
answer._] I say--has your husband been dead a long time?
JULIE
A long time.
LILIOM
What did he die of? [_JULIE is silent._]
LOUISE
No one knows. He went to America to work and he died there--in the
hospital. Poor father, I never knew him.
LILIOM
He went to America?
LOUISE
Yes, before I was born.
LILIOM
To America?
JULIE
Why do you ask so many questions? Did you know him, perhaps?
LILIOM
[_Puts the plate down._] Heaven knows! I've known so many people.
Maybe I knew him, too.
JULIE
Well, if you knew him, leave him and us in peace with your questions.
He went to America and died there. That's all there is to tell.
LILIOM
All right. All right. Don't be angry with me. I didn't mean any harm.
[_There is a pause._]
LOUISE
My father was a very handsome man.
JULIE
Don't talk so much.
LOUISE
Did I say anything----?
LILIOM
Surely the little orphan can say that about her father.
LOUISE
My father could juggle so beautifully with three ivory balls that
people used to advise him to go on the stage.
JULIE
Who told you that?
LOUISE
Uncle Wolf.
LILIOM
Who is that?
LOUISE
Mr. Wolf Beifeld, who owns the Café Sorrento.
LILIOM
The one who used to be a porter?
JULIE
[_Astonished._] Do you know him, too? It seems that you know all
Budapest.
LILIOM
Wolf Beifeld is a long way from being all Budapest. But I do know a
lot of people. Why shouldn't I know Wolf Beifeld?
LOUISE
He was a friend of my father.
JULIE
He was not his friend. No one was.
LILIOM
You speak of your husband so sternly.
JULIE
What's that to you? Doesn't it suit you? I can speak of my husband any
way I like. It's nobody's business but mine.
LILIOM
Certainly, certainly--it's your own business. [_Takes up his soup
plate again. All three eat._]
LOUISE
[_To JULIE._] Perhaps he knew father, too.
JULIE
Ask him, if you like.
LOUISE
[_Crosses to LILIOM. He stands up._] Did you know my father? [_LILIOM
nods. LOUISE addresses her mother._] Yes, he knew him.
JULIE
[_Rises._] You knew Andreas Zavocky?
LILIOM
Liliom? Yes.
LOUISE
Was he really a very handsome man?
LILIOM
I wouldn't exactly say handsome.
LOUISE
[_Confidently._] But he was an awfully good man, wasn't he?
LILIOM
He wasn't so good, either. As far as I know he was what they called a
clown, a barker in a carousel.
LOUISE
[_Pleased._] Did he tell funny jokes?
LILIOM
Lots of 'em. And he sang funny songs, too.
LOUISE
In the carousel?
LILIOM
Yes--but he was something of a bully, too. He'd fight anyone. He even
hit your dear little mother.
JULIE
That's a lie.
LILIOM
It's true.
JULIE
Aren't you ashamed to tell the child such awful things about her
father? Get out of here, you shameless liar. Eats our soup and our
bread and has the impudence to slander our dead!
LILIOM
I didn't mean--I----
JULIE
What right have you to tell lies to the child? Take that plate,
Louise, and let him be on his way. If he wasn't such a hungry-looking
beggar, I'd put him out myself. [_LOUISE takes the plate out of his
hand._]
LILIOM
So he didn't hit you?
JULIE
No, never. He was always good to me.
LOUISE
[_Whispers._] Did he tell funny stories, too?
LILIOM
Yes, and _such_ funny ones.
JULIE
Don't speak to him any more. In God's name, go.
LOUISE
In God's name. [_JULIE resumes her seat at the table and eats._]
LILIOM
If you please, Miss--I have a pack of cards in my pocket. And if you
like, I'll show you some tricks that'll make you split your sides
laughing. [_LOUISE holds LILIOM'S plate in her left hand. With her
right she reaches out and holds the garden gate shut._] Let me in,
just a little way, Miss, and I'll do the tricks for you.
LOUISE
Go, in God's name, and let us be. Why are you making those ugly faces?
LILIOM
Don't chase me away, Miss; let me come in for just a minute--just for
a minute--just long enough to let me show you something pretty,
something wonderful. [_Opens the gate._] Miss, I've something to give
you. [_Takes from his pocket a big red handkerchief in which is
wrapped a glittering star from Heaven. He looks furtively about him to
make sure that the POLICE are not watching._]
LOUISE
What's that?
LILIOM
Pst! A star! [_With a gesture he indicates that he has stolen it out
of the sky._]
JULIE
[_Sternly._] Don't take anything from him. He's probably stolen it
somewhere. [_To LILIOM._] In God's name, be off with you.
LOUISE
Yes, be off with you. Be off. [_She slams the gate._]
LILIOM
Miss--please, Miss--I've got to do something good--or--do something
good--a good deed----
LOUISE
[_Pointing with her right hand._] That's the way out.
LILIOM
Miss----
LOUISE
Get out!
LILIOM
Miss! [_Looks up at her suddenly and slaps her extended hand, so that
the slap resounds loudly._]
LOUISE
Mother! [_Looks dazedly at LILIOM, who bows his head dismayed,
forlorn. JULIE rises and looks at LILIOM in astonishment. There is a
long pause._]
JULIE
[_Comes over to them slowly._] What's the matter here?
LOUISE
[_Bewildered, does not take her eyes off LILIOM._] Mother--the man--he
hit me--on the hand--hard--I heard the sound of it--but it didn't
hurt--mother--it didn't hurt--it was like a caress--as if he had just
touched my hand tenderly. [_She hides behind JULIE. LILIOM sulkily
raises his head and looks at JULIE._]
JULIE
[_Softly._] Go, my child. Go into the house. Go.
LOUISE
[_Going._] But mother--I'm afraid--it sounded so loud----
[_Weepingly._] And it didn't hurt at all--just as if he'd--kissed my
hand instead--mother! [_She hides her face._]
JULIE
Go in, my child, go in. [_LOUISE goes slowly into the house. JULIE
watches her until she has disappeared, then turns slowly to LILIOM._]
JULIE
You struck my child.
LILIOM
Yes--I struck her.
JULIE
Is that what you came for, to strike my child?
LILIOM
No--I didn't come for that--but I did strike her--and now I'm going
back.
JULIE
In the name of the Lord Jesus, who are you?
LILIOM
[_Simply._] A poor, tired beggar who came a long way and who was
hungry. And I took your soup and bread and I struck your child. Are
you angry with me?
JULIE
[_Her hand on her heart; fearfully, wonderingly._] Jesus protect me--I
don't understand it--I'm not angry--not angry at all---- [_LILIOM goes
to the doorway and leans against the doorpost, his back to the
audience. JULIE goes to the table and sits._]
JULIE
Louise! [_LOUISE comes out of the house._] Sit down, dear, we'll
finish eating.
LOUISE
Has he gone?
JULIE
Yes. [_They are both seated at the table. LOUISE, her head in her
hands, is staring into space._] Why don't you eat, dear?
LOUISE
What has happened, mother?
JULIE
Nothing, my child. [_The HEAVENLY POLICEMEN appear outside. LILIOM
walks slowly off at left. The FIRST POLICEMAN makes a deploring
gesture. Both shake their heads deploringly and follow LILIOM slowly
off at left._]
LOUISE
Mother, dear, why won't you tell me?
JULIE
What is there to tell you, child? Nothing has happened. We were
peacefully eating, and a beggar came who talked of bygone days, and
then I thought of your father.
LOUISE
My father?
JULIE
Your father--Liliom. [_There is a pause._]
LOUISE
Mother--tell me--has it ever happened to you--has anyone ever hit
you--without hurting you in the least?
JULIE
Yes, my child. It has happened to me, too. [_There is a pause._]
LOUISE
Is it possible for someone to hit you--hard like that--real loud and
hard--and not hurt you at all?
JULIE
It is possible, dear--that someone may beat you and beat you and beat
you,--and not hurt you at all.---- [_There is a pause. Nearby an
organ-grinder has stopped. The music of his organ begins._]
THE CURTAIN FALLS
Transcriber's Note
This transcription is based on images scanned from a copy made
available by Cornell University and posted by the Internet Archive at:
archive.org/details/cu31924026943195
These images were supplemented by images scanned from a copy made
available by Harvard University and posted by the Internet Archive at:
archive.org/details/liliomalegendin00glazgoog
The following changes were noted:
- For consistency, all names in the stage directions have been
capitalized.
- p. 12: I'll stand for no indecency in my establishment--Added a
period to the end of the sentence.
- p. 29: Which of you wants to stay. [_There is no answer._]--Changed
the period after "stay" to a question mark.
- p. 47: _The door to the kitchen is up Left and a black-curtained
entrance to the dark-room is down Left._--For consistency, changed
"_dark-room_" to "_dark room_".
- p. 49: [_with a sweeping gesture that takes in the camera, dark-room
and screen_]--For consistency, changed "_dark-room_" to "_dark room_".
- p. 75: _FICSUR'S head is quickly withdrawn. MRS. MUSKAT
re-enters._--Changed "re-enters" to "reënters". The hyphenation occurs
at the end of a line. Elsewhere in the text the word is printed with a
diaeresis.
- p. 162: THE MAGISTRAT--Changed the character title to "THE
MAGISTRATE".
Alternate spellings such as "irridescence," "moustache,"
"improvization," and "reënters" have been retained as has the
inconsistent spelling of Liliom's last name ("Zavoczki," "Zavocki,"
and "Zavocky").