第4章

MASHA。Itisjealousy。However，thatisnoneofmybusiness。[A pause。JACOBwalksthroughtheroomcarryingatrunk;NINAcomesinandstandsbythewindow]Thatschoolteacherofmineisnonetooclever，butheisverygood，poorman，andhelovesmedearly，andIamsorryforhim。However，letmesaygood—byeandwishyouapleasantjourney。Remembermekindlyinyourthoughts。 [Sheshakeshandswithhim]Thanksforyourgoodwill。Sendmeyourbooks，andbesuretowritesomethinginthem;nothingformal，butsimplythis:\"ToMasha，who，forgetfulofherorigin，forsomeunknownreasonislivinginthisworld。\"Good—bye。[Shegoesout。] NINA。[HoldingoutherclosedhandtoTRIGORIN]Isitoddoreven？ TRIGORIN。Even。 NINA。[Withasigh]No，itisodd。Ihadonlyonepeainmyhand。 IwantedtoseewhetherIwastobecomeanactressornot。Ifonlysomeonewouldadvisemewhattodo！ TRIGORIN。Onecannotgiveadviceinacaselikethis。[Apause。] NINA。Weshallsoonpart，perhapsnevertomeetagain。Ishouldlikeyoutoacceptthislittlemedallionasaremembranceofme。 Ihavehadyourinitialsengravedonit，andonthissideisthenameofoneofyourbooks:\"DaysandNights。\" TRIGORIN。Howsweetofyou！[Hekissesthemedallion]Itisalovelypresent。 NINA。Thinkofmesometimes。 TRIGORIN。Ishallneverforgetyou。IshallalwaysrememberyouasIsawyouthatbrightday——doyourecallit？——aweekago，whenyouworeyourlightdress，andwetalkedtogether，andthewhiteseagulllayonthebenchbesideus。 NINA。[Lostinthought]Yes，thesea—gull。[Apause]Ibegyoutoletmeseeyoualonefortwominutesbeforeyougo。 Shegoesouttotheleft。AtthesamemomentARKADINAcomesinfromtheright，followedbySORINinalongcoat，withhisordersonhisbreast，andbyJACOB，whoisbusypacking。 ARKADINA。Stayhereathome，youpooroldman。Howcouldyoupayvisitswiththatrheumatismofyours？[ToTRIGORIN]Wholefttheroomjustnow，wasitNina？ TRIGORIN。Yes。 ARKADINA。Ibegyourpardon;Iamafraidweinterruptedyou。[Shesitsdown]Ithinkeverythingispacked。Iamabsolutelyexhausted。 TRIGORIN。[Readingtheinscriptiononthemedallion]\"DaysandNights，page121，lines11and12。\" JACOB。[Clearingthetable]ShallIpackyourfishing—rods，too，sir？ TRIGORIN。Yes，Ishallneedthem，butyoucangivemybooksaway。 JACOB。Verywell，sir。 TRIGORIN。[Tohimself]Page121，lines11and12。[ToARKADINA] Havewemybookshereinthehouse？ ARKADINA。Yes，theyareinmybrother’slibrary，inthecornercupboard。 TRIGORIN。Page121——[Hegoesout。] SORIN。Youaregoingaway，andIshallbelonelywithoutyou。 ARKADINA。Whatwouldyoudointown？ SORIN。Oh，nothinginparticular，butsomehow——[Helaughs]Theyaresoontolaythecorner—stoneofthenewcourt—househere。HowIshouldliketoleapoutofthisminnow—pond，ifbutforanhourortwo！Iamtiredoflyingherelikeanoldcigarettestump。I haveorderedthecarriageforoneo’clock。Wecangoawaytogether。 ARKADINA。[Afterapause]No，youmuststayhere。Don’tbelonely，anddon’tcatchcold。Keepaneyeonmyboy。Takegoodcareofhim;guidehimalongtheproperpaths。[Apause]Iamgoingaway，andsoshallneverfindoutwhyConstantineshothimself，butIthinkthechiefreasonwasjealousy，andthesoonerItakeTrigorinaway，thebetter。 SORIN。Therewere——howshallIexplainittoyou？——otherreasonsbesidesjealousyforhisact。Hereisacleveryoungchaplivinginthedepthsofthecountry，withoutmoneyorposition，withnofutureaheadofhim，andwithnothingtodo。Heisashamedandafraidofbeingsoidle。Iamdevotedtohimandheisfondofme，butneverthelesshefeelsthatheisuselesshere，thatheislittlemorethanadependentinthishouse。Itistheprideinhim。 ARKADINA。Heisamiserytome！[Thoughtfully]Hemightpossiblyenterthearmy。 SORIN。[Givesawhistle，andthenspeakswithhesitation]Itseemstomethatthebestthingforhimwouldbeifyouweretolethimhavealittlemoney。Foronething，heoughttobeallowedtodresslikeahumanbeing。Seehowhelooks！Wearingthesamelittleoldcoatthathehashadforthreeyears，andhedoesn’tevenpossessanovercoat！[Laughing]Anditwouldn’thurttheyoungstertosowafewwildoats;lethimgoabroad，say，foratime。Itwouldn’tcostmuch。 ARKADINA。Yes，but——However，IthinkImightmanageabouthisclothes，butIcouldn’tlethimgoabroad。Andno，Idon’tthinkIcanlethimhavehisclotheseven，now。[Decidedly]Ihavenomoneyatpresent。 SORINlaughs。 ARKADINA。Ihaven’tindeed。 SORIN。[Whistles]Verywell。Forgiveme，darling;don’tbeangry。 Youareanoble，generouswoman！ ARKADINA。[Weeping]Ireallyhaven’tthemoney。 SORIN。IfIhadanymoneyofcourseIshouldlethimhavesomemyself，butIhaven’tevenapenny。Thefarmmanagertakesmypensionfrommeandputsitallintothefarmorintocattleorbees，andinthatwayitisalwayslostforever。Thebeesdie，thecowsdie，theyneverletmehaveahorse。 ARKADINA。OfcourseIhavesomemoney，butIamanactressandmyexpensesfordressaloneareenoughtobankruptme。 SORIN。Youareadear，andIamveryfondofyou，indeedIam。 Butsomethingisthematterwithmeagain。[Hestaggers]Ifeelgiddy。[Heleansagainstthetable]Ifeelfaint，andall。 ARKADINA。[Frightened]Peter！[Shetriestosupporthim]Peter！ dearest！[Shecalls]Help！Help！ TREPLIEFFandMEDVIEDENKOcomein;TREPLIEFFhasabandagearoundhishead。 ARKADINA。Heisfainting！ SORIN。Iamallright。[Hesmilesanddrinkssomewater]Itisallovernow。 TREPLIEFF。[Tohismother]Don’tbefrightened，mother，theseattacksarenotdangerous;myuncleoftenhasthemnow。[Tohisuncle]Youmustgoandliedown，Uncle。 SORIN。Yes，IthinkIshall，forafewminutes。IamgoingtoMoscowallthesame，butIshallliedownabitbeforeIstart。 [Hegoesoutleaningonhiscane。] MEDVIEDENKO。[Givinghimhisarm]Doyouknowthisriddle？Onfourlegsinthemorning;ontwolegsatnoon;andonthreelegsintheevening？ SORIN。[Laughing]Yes，exactly，andonone’sbackatnight。Thankyou，Icanwalkalone。 MEDVIEDENKO。Dearme，whatformality！[HeandSORINgoout。] ARKADINA。Hegavemeadreadfulfright。 TREPLIEFF。Itisnotgoodforhimtoliveinthecountry。Mother，ifyouwouldonlyuntieyourpurse—stringsforonce，andlendhimathousandroubles！Hecouldthenspendawholeyearintown。 ARKADINA。Ihavenomoney。Iamanactressandnotabanker。[A pause。] TREPLIEFF。Pleasechangemybandageforme，mother，youdoitsogently。 ARKADINAgoestothecupboardandtakesoutaboxofbandagesandabottleofiodoform。 ARKADINA。Thedoctorislate。 TREPLIEFF。Yes，hepromisedtobehereatnine，andnowitisnoonalready。 ARKADINA。Sitdown。[Shetakesthebandageoffhishead]Youlookasifyouhadaturbanon。Astrangerthatwasinthekitchenyesterdayaskedtowhatnationalityyoubelonged。Yourwoundisalmosthealed。[Shekisseshishead]Youwon’tbeuptoanymoreofthesesillytricksagain，willyou，whenIamgone？ TREPLIEFF。No，mother。Ididthatinamomentofinsanedespair，whenIhadlostallcontrolovermyself。Itwillneverhappenagain。[Hekissesherhand]Yourtouchisgolden。IrememberwhenyouwerestillactingattheStateTheatre，longago，whenIwasstillalittlechap，therewasafightonedayinourcourt，andapoorwasherwomanwasalmostbeatentodeath。Shewaspickedupunconscious，andyounursedhertillshewaswell，andbathedherchildreninthewashtubs。Haveyouforgottenit？ ARKADINA。Yes，entirely。[Sheputsonanewbandage。] TREPLIEFF。Twoballetdancerslivedinthesamehouse，andtheyusedtocomeanddrinkcoffeewithyou。 ARKADINA。Irememberthat。 TREPLIEFF。Theywereverypious。[Apause]Iloveyouagain，theselastfewdays，astenderlyandtrustinglyasIdidasachild。Ihavenooneleftmenowbutyou。Why，whydoyouletyourselfbecontrolledbythatman？ ARKADINA。Youdon’tunderstandhim，Constantine。Hehasawonderfullynoblepersonality。 TREPLIEFF。Nevertheless，whenhehasbeentoldthatIwishtochallengehimtoaduelhisnobilitydoesnotpreventhimfromplayingthecoward。Heisabouttobeatanignominiousretreat。 ARKADINA。Whatnonsense！Ihaveaskedhimmyselftogo。 TREPLIEFF。Anoblepersonalityindeed！Herewearealmostquarrellingoverhim，andheisprobablyinthegardenlaughingatusatthisverymoment，orelseenlighteningNina’smindandtryingtopersuadeherintothinkinghimamanofgenius。 ARKADINA。Youenjoysayingunpleasantthingstome。Ihavethegreatestrespectforthatman，andImustaskyounottospeakillofhiminmypresence。 TREPLIEFF。Ihavenorespectforhimatall。Youwantmetothinkhimagenius，asyoudo，butIrefusetolie:hisbooksmakemesick。 ARKADINA。Youenvyhim。Thereisnothingleftforpeoplewithnotalentandmightypretensionstodobuttocriticisethosewhoarereallygifted。Ihopeyouenjoytheconsolationitbrings。 TREPLIEFF。[Withirony]Thosewhoarereallygifted，indeed！ [Angrily]Iamclevererthananyofyou，ifitcomestothat！[Hetearsthebandageoffhishead]Youaretheslavesofconvention，youhaveseizedtheupperhandandnowlaydownaslaweverythingthatyoudo;allelseyoustrangleandtrampleon。Irefusetoacceptyourpointofview，yoursandhis，Irefuse！ ARKADINA。Thatisthetalkofadecadent。 TREPLIEFF。Gobacktoyourbelovedstageandactthemiserableditch—waterplaysyousomuchadmire！ ARKADINA。Ineveractedinaplaylikethatinmylife。Youcouldn’twriteeventhetrashiestmusic—hallfarce，youidlegood—for—nothing！ TREPLIEFF。Miser！ ARKADINA。Rag—bag！ TREPLIEFFsitsdownandbeginstocrysoftly。 ARKADINA。[Walkingupanddowningreatexcitement]Don’tcry！ Youmustn’tcry！[Sheburstsintotears]Youreallymustn’t。[Shekisseshisforehead，hischeeks，hishead]Mydarlingchild，forgiveme。Forgiveyourwickedmother。 TREPLIEFF。[Embracingher]Oh，ifyoucouldonlyknowwhatitistohavelosteverythingunderheaven！Shedoesnotloveme。IseeIshallneverbeabletowrite。Everyhopehasdesertedme。 ARKADINA。Don’tdespair。Thiswillallpass。Heisgoingawayto—day，andshewillloveyouoncemore。[Shewipesawayhistears]Stopcrying。Wehavemadepeaceagain。 TREPLIEFF。[Kissingherhand]Yes，mother。 ARKADINA。[Tenderly]Makeyourpeacewithhim，too。Don’tfightwithhim。Yousurelywon’tfight？ TREPLIEFF。Iwon’t，butyoumustnotinsistonmyseeinghimagain，mother，Icouldn’tstandit。[TRIGORINcomesin]Thereheis;Iamgoing。[Hequicklyputsthemedicinesawayinthecupboard]Thedoctorwillattendtomyhead。 TRIGORIN。[Lookingthroughthepagesofabook]Page121，lines11and12;hereitis。[Hereads]\"Ifatanytimeyoushouldhaveneedofmylife，comeandtakeit。\" TREPLIEFFpicksupthebandageoffthefloorandgoesout。 ARKADINA。[Lookingatherwatch]Thecarriagewillsoonbehere。 TRIGORIN。[Tohimself]Ifatanytimeyoushouldhaveneedofmylife，comeandtakeit。 ARKADINA。Ihopeyourthingsareallpacked。 TRIGORIN。[Impatiently]Yes，yes。[Indeepthought]WhydoIhearanoteofsadnessthatwringsmyheartinthiscryofapuresoul？Ifatanytimeyoushouldhaveneedofmylife，comeandtakeit。[ToARKADINA]Letusstayhereonemoreday！ ARKADINAshakesherhead。 TRIGORIN。Doletusstay！ ARKADINA。Iknow，dearest，whatkeepsyouhere，butyoumustcontrolyourself。Besober;youremotionshaveintoxicatedyoualittle。 TRIGORIN。Youmustbesober，too。Besensible;lookuponwhathashappenedasatruefriendwould。[Takingherhand]Youarecapableofself—sacrifice。Beafriendtomeandreleaseme！ ARKADINA。[Indeepexcitement]Areyousomuchinlove？ TRIGORIN。Iamirresistiblyimpelledtowardher。ItmaybethatthisisjustwhatIneed。 ARKADINA。What，theloveofacountrygirl？Oh，howlittleyouknowyourself！ TRIGORIN。Peoplesometimeswalkintheirsleep，andsoIfeelasifIwereasleep，anddreamingofherasIstandheretalkingtoyou。Myimaginationisshakenbythesweetestandmostgloriousvisions。Releaseme！ ARKADINA。[Shuddering]No，no！Iamonlyanordinarywoman;youmustnotsaysuchthingstome。Donottormentme，Boris;youfrightenme。 TRIGORIN。Youcouldbeanextraordinarywomanifyouonlywould。 Lovealonecanbringhappinessonearth，lovetheenchanting，thepoeticalloveofyouth，thatsweepsawaythesorrowsoftheworld。IhadnotimeforitwhenIwasyoungandstrugglingwithwantandlayingsiegetotheliteraryfortress，butnowatlastthislovehascometome。Iseeitbeckoning;whyshouldIfly？ ARKADINA。[Withanger]Youaremad！ TRIGORIN。Releaseme。 ARKADINA。Youhaveallconspiredtogethertotorturemeto—day。 [Sheweeps。] TRIGORIN。[Clutchinghisheaddesperately]Shedoesn’tunderstandme！Shewon’tunderstandme！ ARKADINA。AmIthensooldanduglyalreadythatyoucantalktomelikethiswithoutanyshameaboutanotherwoman？[Sheembracesandkisseshim]Oh，youhavelostyoursenses！Mysplendid，mygloriousfriend，myloveforyouisthelastchapterofmylife。 [Shefallsonherknees]Youaremypride，myjoy，mylight。[Sheembraceshisknees]Icouldneverendureitshouldyoudesertme，ifonlyforanhour;Ishouldgomad。Oh，mywonder，mymarvel，myking！ TRIGORIN。Someonemightcomein。[Hehelpshertorise。] ARKADINA。Letthemcome！Iamnotashamedofmylove。[Shekisseshishands]Myjewel！Mydespair！Youwanttodoafoolishthing，butIdon’twantyoutodoit。Ishan’tletyoudoit！[Shelaughs]Youaremine，youaremine！Thisforeheadismine，theseeyesaremine，thissilkyhairismine。Allyourbeingismine。 Youaresoclever，sowise，thefirstofalllivingwriters;youaretheonlyhopeofyourcountry。Youaresofresh，sosimple，sodeeplyhumourous。Youcanbringouteveryfeatureofamanorofalandscapeinasingleline，andyourcharactersliveandbreathe。Doyouthinkthatthesewordsarebuttheincenseofflattery？DoyouthinkIamnotspeakingthetruth？Come，lookintomyeyes;lookdeep;doyoufindliesthere？No，youseethatIaloneknowhowtotreasureyou。Ialonetellyouthetruth。Oh，myverydear，youwillgowithme？Youwill？Youwillnotforsakeme？ TRIGORIN。Ihavenowillofmyown;Ineverhad。Iamtooindolent，toosubmissive，toophlegmatic，tohaveany。Isitpossiblethatwomenlikethat？Takeme。Takemeawaywithyou，butdonotletmestirastepfromyourside。 ARKADINA。[Toherself]Nowheismine！[Carelessly，asifnothingunusualhadhappened]Ofcourseyoumuststayhereifyoureallywantto。Ishallgo，andyoucanfollowinaweek’stime。Yes，really，whyshouldyouhurryaway？ TRIGORIN。Letusgotogether。 ARKADINA。Asyoulike。Letusgotogetherthen。[Apause。 TRIGORINwritessomethinginhisnote—book]Whatareyouwriting？ TRIGORIN。AhappyexpressionIheardthismorning:\"Agroveofmaidenpines。\"Itmaybeuseful。[Heyawns]Sowearereallyoffagain，condemnedoncemoretorailwaycarriages，tostationsandrestaurants，toHamburgersteaksandendlessarguments！ SHAMRAEFFcomesin。 SHAMRAEFF。Iamsorrytohavetoinformyouthatyourcarriageisatthedoor。Itistimetostart，honouredmadam，thetrainleavesattwo—five。Wouldyoubekindenough，madam，toremembertoinquireformewhereSuzdaltzefftheactorisnow？Ishestillalive，Iwonder？Ishewell？HeandIhavehadmanyajollytimetogether。Hewasinimitablein\"TheStolenMail。\"AtragediancalledIzmailoffwasinthesamecompany，Iremember，whowasalsoquiteremarkable。Don’thurry，madam，youstillhavefiveminutes。Theywerebothofthemconspiratorsonce，inthesamemelodrama，andonenightwheninthecourseoftheplaytheyweresuddenlydiscovered，insteadofsaying\"Wehavebeentrapped！\" Izmailoffcriedout:\"Wehavebeenrapped！\"[Helaughs]Rapped！ WhilehehasbeentalkingJACOBhasbeenbusywiththetrunks，andthemaidhasbroughtARKADINAherhat，coat，parasol，andgloves。Thecooklookshesitatinglythroughthedoorontheright，andfinallycomesintotheroom。PAULINAcomesin。 MEDVIEDENKOcomesin。 PAULINA。[PresentingARKADINAwithalittlebasket]Herearesomeplumsforthejourney。Theyareverysweetones。Youmaywanttonibblesomethinggoodontheway。 ARKADINA。Youareverykind，Paulina。 PAULINA。Good—bye，mydearie。Ifthingshavenotbeenquiteasyoucouldhavewished，pleaseforgiveus。[Sheweeps。] ARKADINA。Ithasbeendelightful，delightful。Youmustn’tcry。 SORINcomesinthroughthedoorontheleft，dressedinalongcoatwithacape，andcarryinghishatandcane。Hecrossestheroom。 SORIN。Come，sister，itistimetostart，unlessyouwanttomissthetrain。Iamgoingtogetintothecarriage。[Hegoesout。] MEDVIEDENKO。Ishallwalkquicklytothestationandseeyouoffthere。[Hegoesout。] ARKADINA。Good—bye，all！Weshallmeetagainnextsummerifwelive。[Themaidservant，JACOB，andthecookkissherhand]Don’tforgetme。[Shegivesthecookarouble]Thereisaroubleforallthreeofyou。 THECOOK。Thankyou，mistress;apleasantjourneytoyou。 JACOB。Godblessyou，mistress。 SHAMRAEFF。Sendusalinetocheerusup。[TOTRIGORIN]Good—bye，sir。 ARKADINA。WhereisConstantine？TellhimIamstarting。Imustsaygood—byetohim。[ToJACOB]Igavethecookaroubleforallthreeofyou。 Allgooutthroughthedoorontheright。Thestageremainsempty。Soundsoffarewellareheard。Themaidcomesrunningbacktofetchthebasketofplumswhichhasbeenforgotten。TRIGORIN comesback。 TRIGORIN。Ihadforgottenmycane。IthinkIleftitontheterrace。[HegoestowardthedoorontherightandmeetsNINA，whocomesinatthatmoment]Isthatyou？Weareoff。 NINA。Iknewweshouldmeetagain。[Withemotion]Ihavecometoanirrevocabledecision，thedieiscast:Iamgoingonthestage。Iamdesertingmyfatherandabandoningeverything。Iambeginninglifeanew。Iamgoing，asyouare，toMoscow。Weshallmeetthere。