Three Major Plays (29 page)

MARQUIS. The compliment
Is most appreciated. As from
Today your wish is my command,
And I, if you agree, shall pay

For such festivities Ferrara now

910

Demands of all its gentlemen.
I thank you once again, most noble,
Honourable lady.

DUKE. The time has come
For you to rest.
^*
To take more time

In greeting you repeats the same

915

Mistake that other husbands in
The past have made. Let no one say
This husband is another fool,
Or love that I abuse this jewel.

[
Exit all with great ceremony, except
FEDERICO
and
BATÍN

FEDERICO. Oh, foolish, wild imagination!

920

BATÍN. What's foolish, master? What goes on?

FEDERICO. The man who says this life's a dream
^*
Is justified. We see such things
Not merely while we sleep but when

We are awake that in some sick

925

Or fevered individual
Would be dismissed as lies.

BATÍN. Oh, yes,
I quite agree. I swear that when
It comes to seeing things
^*
I always get

First prize. I do occasionally find

930

Myself with other gentlemen,
When I -- I don't know why -- am seized
By some mysterious urge to grab
Their throats and have a go at them.

And if I do this reckless thing

935

While standing on some balcony,
I'll break into a sudden sweat
And watch my life rush past me.

-200-

Or maybe I am sat in church,

And have to hear some boring text,

940

I can't help shouting at the bloke:
'Why can't we have a talk on sex?'
Or maybe it's a feller's funeral,
There am I, one of the crowd,

And seeing how they weep and groan,

945

I feel the urge to laugh out loud.
And if I see a game of cards,
And worry on the player's face,
I'll whisper as I'm going past:

'You'll never win. He's got the ace.'

950

Or maybe it's some lovely piece
I can but fancy in my bed;
You'd think I'd asked her to her face,
The way my pasty face goes red.

FEDERICO. May heaven protect me from such thoughts

955

And dreams that, though I am awake,
Refuse to let me rest! How can
I think these things? How can it be
That longings such as these possess

Me so entirely? I can explain

960

It only as some form of utter madness.

BATÍN. I think you'd better tell me what
It is in that case. Come on, master! Do
Confess!

FEDERICO. It's nothing that I've done,

Batín. It's only something that

965

I've dreamed. And since it never was,
Is not, or shall be, like all dreams,
Is pure fantasy. How can
You, therefore, say that I indulge

In any kind of secrecy?

970

BATÍN. You'd better know, my lord, you can't
Fool me. I know exactly
^*
what
This secret is.

-201-

FEDERICO. I think the sky
Might be ablaze with flowers,
^*
the grass

Adorned with showers of bright stars

975

Before you guess with any certainty.

BATÍN. You think so, master? Well, let's see
If I am right. I know you like
Your stepmother, and if we then

Put two and two together, that

980

Makes . . .

FEDERICO. No. Do not say more! But even if
It's true, am I to blame? Are not
Our thoughts at least completely free?

BATÍN. So free, my lord, a man can see

The nature of his thoughts as clearly

985

As in a mirror.

FEDERICO. My father is
The happiest of men.

BATÍN. Say that again.

FEDERICO. I envy him. He has what is
For me impossible.

BATÍN. That's true.

And her more suitable * by far

990

For you. You do quite right to envy him.

FEDERICO. Then I shall die of love that is
Impossible and at the same
Time prove that for a son to be

So jealous of his father is

995

Quite possible.

-202-

Enter
CASANDRA
and
LUCRECIA.

LUCRECIA. Your ladyship. I am amazed
By this.

CASANDRA. You think nobility
A guarantee against unhappiness?
It's even worse when there is vileness such

As this. What would I give to be

5

An ordinary peasant-girl;
To wake and find myself beside
Some good and honest countryman,
^*
Rather than dress in silk and gold and be

Despised by such a nobleman!

10

If I were only someone of
Low birth, I would have found a man
Who'd cherish me and at the same
Time recognize my proper worth.

There is as much contentment to

15

Be found with someone of low origin
As with some noble lord, if we
But realize that love at night
Is doubly blind,
^*
despises lineage,

And offers everyone the same reward.

20

The sun that with each dawn pours through
The finest window-pane will not
Find any man and wife embrace
More happily, or in some palace lie

More peacefully, than when it peeps

25

Through cracks in rustic walls, and sees
In happy couples joined one soul.
The wife is blessed who does not know
The nobleman's disdain; who, when

The morning comes, can rise and know

30

Her husband's love will never change.

-203-

The girl is happy too who washes in
The clear stream, quite free from care,
And, when she dries her face, knows well

She does not wipe away those tears

35

That she would shed if she were told
Her husband favoured someone else's bed.
He held me in his arms one night
In one entire month, since when

He has despised the very sight

40

Of me. But why complain that he
Behaves like this when we are told,
Through history, that men, however much
They try to change,
^*
obey those tendencies

That guide them from their birth? Besides,

45

The man who spends the nights away
From home will not be judged so badly by
The world when freedom to indulge
Himself
^*
is held to be man's privilege.

But that a man should treat a woman of

50

High birth with such contempt, a wife
With scorn, must surely be a sign
He is a total fool who'll soon
Regret the day that he was born.

The Duke is of the school that thinks

55

A wife is something to adorn
His house: an ornament, a piece
Of furniture to call his own,
An item he's gone out and bought

To decorate his drawing-room.

60

I will not willingly accept
Such terms, nor easily believe
That any man who loves his wife
Will use such methods to destroy

Her life and happiness; for if

65

She's genuine, a woman wants
To be a wife and mother, not
Another stick of furniture.
And if her husband proves a thankless man,

That's bad enough, without insulting her

70

-204-

As often as he possibly can.
And if he gives her cause to think
These things, much better try to put
Them right than leave them till it's far
Too late.

LUCRECIA. My lady, everything

75

You tell me fills me both with sadness and
Astonishment. That you should feel
Resentment such as this for what
He's done to you! Who would have thought

The Duke, once wed, would in so short

80

A time neglect his marriage-bed,
Or when he chooses to neglect
You so, would have such scant
Respect for you? If he were just

A young gallant, you'd understand

85

He'd want you to feel jealousy
And try to keep complacency
At bay. He might pretend he wasn't keen
On you, or praise some girl he'd seen

The other day, or maybe crack a joke

90

To show her how amusing he
Could be as she went by. But for a man
To move a wife to jealousy
By treating her like this, it seems

To me, deserves a place in history.

95

You really ought to write and let
Your father know just what the Duke
Has done to you.

CASANDRA. I can't, Lucrecia.
My eyes shall be the only witness to
My misery.

LUCRECIA. If I judged this

100

By nature's law and all that's fair,
There's not a scrap of doubt you and
The Count would make a better pair
By far. And if he'd married you,

-205-

Your son would guarantee the Duke's

105

Estate. From what I've seen of him,
The Count seems very sad of late.

CASANDRA. I cannot think he's sad because
He's thinking of some future son

That I might bear the Duke. It's far

110

More likely there'll be more to worry him.
If anything has brought about
His melancholy state, it is
The thought that both of us are but

The playthings of our destiny. *

115

Exit
CASANDRA
and
LUCRECIA.
Enter the
DUKE, FEDERICO,
and
BATÍN.

DUKE. If I had thought, my son, that sadness such
As this would be the outcome of
My marriage, I'd never have considered it.

FEDERICO. My lord, if that were true, it would

Be madness on my part. I know

120

You do not love me less for it.
If your marriage had distressed
Me, as you now suggest, I would
Have done my very best to hide

Unhappiness. The truth is this:

125

My face proclaims I am unwell.
The cause of it, no one can tell.

DUKE. The doctors of Ferrara have
Consulted with their counterparts

From Mantua, and wondered what

130

The cause of such a malady
Might be. They seem to think -- and I
Agree with them -- that marriage is
A medicine designed to soothe and ease

Away the ills associated with

135

The deepest melancholy.

FEDERICO. I think that may be so as far
As women are concerned, but as for me,

-206-

I doubt it would be any kind
Of remedy.

Enter
CASANDRA
and
LUCRECIA.

CASANDRA. You see? The Duke

140

Ignores me even now. The man
Exceeds the bounds of common decency!

LUCRECIA. How can you blame him, madam? I doubt
That he has even seen you.

CASANDRA. That's his

Excuse. To add pretence to his

145

Neglect is but a further cruelty.
Unless I am mistaken, I
Shall see to it that one day he
Shall pay for everything he's done to me.

[
Exit
CASANDRA
and
LUCRECIA

DUKE. Unless I am completely wrong,

150

I have in mind a match that you
Might even welcome, given that
You like the girl, and she is of
This kingdom.

FEDERICO. You mean Aurora?

DUKE. You read

My thoughts as though they are your own.

155

I have consulted all the wisest men
At Court. They say that marriage ought
To help eradicate the malady.

FEDERICO. Which only goes to prove they do

Not know me, if, as you have said,

160

They think I am aggrieved, and thoughts
Provoked by jealousy now fill
My head. They know I did not say
A single word against the marriage;
Rather, I approved of it, and felt 165
It must be for your good.

-207-