by Jean Cocteau
The Queen appears in a long nightgown, with her hair down.
GUINEVERE. Arthur, what’s the matter? Blandine had fallen asleep at last when I thought I heard a terrible cry. Are you ill?
Arthur stands motionless.
Blood. Ah!
The King points to the alcove, which she enters. Arthur sobs. After a moment, the Queen draws back the curtains and stands there petrified.
ARTHUR. Forgive me.
GUINEVERE. Don’t ask for my forgiveness, Arthur. You have acted as you had to act. You have done the only thing that could be done.
ARTHUR. He cried: Forgive me as I forgive you. I lost my head. Everywhere I kept hearing you both. Jealousy is a terrifying weapon. My hand found his dagger. It was my hand which struck him. It wasn’t me. He loved you. You loved each other. What was wrong in that? What was wrong, I say.
GUINEVERE. I’m not angry with you. You can see I’m perfectly calm. I had no idea he would return. I pinned up that letter without the slightest anxiety, I swear. It was fate which made you foresee this visit. It was fate which made you set this trap. It was fate which made you kill him.
ARTHUR. Kill me.
GUINEVERE. We were living a lie. Launcelot wanted to tell you everything. It was I who prevented him and insisted on your being kept in the dark. Everything was messy and impossible. Something like this had to happen. If you had exiled Launcelot, my duty would have been to make an effort to live with you. You have killed Launcelot. Now I must die with him.
ARTHUR. Guinevere. I forbid you. I’ll save you by force. Who knows where suicide leads to or what doors it opens? Don’t imagine that you can rejoin Launcelot that way.
GUINEVERE. I’m not going to kill myself, Arthur. I’m going to prove to you that marriages exist which are more legitimate than those on earth.
LAUNCELOT. Guinevere … is that you?
ARTHUR. He’s still alive. Thank God. Quick! Quick! We must save him.
LAUNCELOT. Guinevere, everything’s gone dark. Where are you?
GUINEVERE. I’m coming.
ARTHUR. What binds my limbs? Who is holding me back?
He can be seen struggling against a spell which holds him motionless.
GUINEVERE. The Elves.
VOICES OF THE ELVES. Launcelot of the Lake, Launcelot of the Lake, the Queen is yours. Take the Queen with you, Launcelot of the Lake.
ARTHUR. Don’t leave me alone.
GUINEVERE. Where Launcelot is taking me we shall surround you with a friendship more cunning than any lie. Do you think I want to abandon Blandine and Segramor? Stay where you are, Arthur. Obey and be witness to a miracle.
ARTHUR. The Grail was false and love has forsaken me.
LAUNCELOT. Britain, I die.
He falls back dead.
VOICES OF THE ELVES. Launcelot of the Lake! Launcelot of the Lake.
GUINEVERE. I must die, Arthur, in order that the Grail may return.
Music.
It’s easy. I shall lie down beside my beloved. At the bottom of the Lake I see the knight. The water distorts his form. Seen through the reflections and the ripples, it looks as if he moved. My new body is floating on the surface. It is sinking, gently, gently. And now Launcelot seems to be rising to meet me. I pass through luminous layers. Shadows escort me and prevent me from sinking too quickly. Don’t mourn for me. If you only knew with what sweetness the Lake is drawing me in. Now I can hardly see you up there. He is rising, rising.
The King sobs.
He is becoming distinct. His eyes are open and look into mine. His floating arms wave a greeting to me, like the plants which surround his resting place. My ears hear nothing. My limbs are laid beside his. Good-by, dear, dear Arthur. Launcelot. Launcelot. Here I am.
VOICES OF THE ELVES. Launcelot of the Lake, the Queen is your Queen, marry the Queen, the Queen is yours, the Queen is your Queen, Launcelot of the Lake.
The curtains of the alcove close.
ARTHUR, as he is released from the spell. Free! My children, my children, my friend, my wife, I will set you free, I will unite you, I will give you my blessing.
He comes out of the alcove.
Too late. It’s all over.
He collapses.
Over.
There is a knock at the door. The King jumps.
Who dares?
The door opens. Enter Segramor and Blandine.
BLANDINE, pushing her brother into the room. Segramor!
The whole scene should be played in a tumult of youth and high spirits round the motionless figure of the King.
ARTHUR. Segramor! What are you doing here?
SEGRAMOR. Father, haven’t you heard?
BLANDINE. The most extraordinary things have happened.
SEGRAMOR. I thought Launcelot would have told you. Where’s Mother?
BLANDINE. I woke with a start. I went to look for Mother and I found Segramor. Imagine my surprise!
SEGRAMOR. Launcelot must have gone to scout out the ground in advance. When he didn’t return to the hunting lodge I said to Gawain —
ARTHUR. To Gawain?
BLANDINE, laughing. It’s my turn. You tell the story so badly. Yes, Father, Gawain. The real Gawain. The only one.
SEGRAMOR. Can you imagine! Gawain wasn’t Gawain but a sorcerer’s apprentice who had assumed his form. The real one, our one, Blandine’s fiance —
BLANDINE. Was dying of hunger in a dungeon of the Dark Tower.
SEGRAMOR. The Dark Tower belonged to the sorcerer Merlin. Your Merlin, the master of the false Gawain who fooled us all under your very nose and made us ascribe his black magic to the Grail.
BLANDINE. Father. Father. Wasn’t I right to suspect your minister? He was ruining Britain and our castle, and making use of the Grail to set us all against each other.
SEGRAMOR. Poor Mother is going to have a good laugh when she hears that she was the second incarnation of the sorcerer’s apprentice. Sir Launcelot thought she was possessed by a devil.
BLANDINE. Poor Father. The story is crazy enough in itself and here we are telling it all higgledy-piggledy.
SEGRAMOR. And that’s not all. Thanks to the talking flower, we’ve made a magic journey. Poor Gawain is half dead with embarrassment. At the moment he’s trying to explain what happened to farm hands and kennelboys who can’t understand a single word he says. He doesn’t dare show his face inside the castle.
Blandine and Segramor burst out laughing.
BLANDINE. Father, why don’t you laugh? Are you angry?
SEGRAMOR. Why don’t you share in our joy? Gawain is safe, the forgers have been exposed, you are free, and Galahad will reveal the Grail to us all. Mother is going to be so happy.
BLANDINE. You’re crying.
ARTHUR. My children. Your story is so violent and extraordinary that it is bound to be a shock, and will take a little time to get accustomed to. I would ask you for the details now, except that I have news for you which is more serious than anything you can tell me.
SEGRAMOR. IS it bad news?
ARTHUR. Listen to me carefully. You are my grown-up son, and you are my grown-up daughter. I need your help. You are the only friends I have and I expect from you both, however violent the shock I may give you, complete obedience.
BLANDINE. Segramor!
She presses close to Segramor.
ARTHUR. What I have to tell you is usually hidden from children, and the world would disapprove of my conduct. But I have just put myself beyond the judgment of men. I stand alone, face to face with my deeds. Segramor, Blandine, your mother and Launcelot were in love. Their real life was with each other. I stole it from them and I have just given it back to them. Look!
He leads them before the curtains and discloses the bier.
BLANDINE, throwing herself on her knees. Oh!
SEGRAMOR. Mother!
He also kneels and lays his cheek against his mother’s hands.
ARTHUR. Pray. Try to understand. Forgive. I shall close the curtains and leave you undisturbed.
It is my order that this day be a feast day. All are to worship at the bier of the new bride and groom.
In exaltation he opens the door violently. The False Galahad, who was listening at the door, pokes his head into the room. Arthur starts back, stupified.
ARTHUR. Sir.
FALSE GALAHAD. Your Majesty. Excuse me. My mistake (mistyke). I must have lost my balance.
ARTHUR. What were you doing there?
FALSE GALAHAD. I was listening … I mean … er, I…
ARTHUR. Are you in the habit of listening at keyholes?
FALSE GALAHAD. Not exactly. Not exactly. You see, Unky-Wunky…
He catches himself.
… Your Majesty … where was I?
Mysteriously.
I was listening, in fact, I was trying to make (myke) out from the outside whether, on the inside, the place (plyce) was free.
ARTHUR. Free?
FALSE GALAHAD. Er, yes, whether you were alone. However, as I heard you talking and as it is the Queen’s room, well, naturally, I, you understand….
ARTHUR. I understand less and less.
FALSE GALAHAD. Sir Launcelot was most persuasive. He promised me the earth. To cut a long story short, by the time I realized that I was conspiring against your royal person and that the Queen was in the conspiracy with us, it was too late.
ARTHUR. My mind is giving way.
He kneels at the prie-dieu.
Lord, protect me from the devil. Make me deaf to all deceitful wiles. Keep me faithful to penitence and justice.
He hides his head in his hands.
FALSE GALAHAD, shouting at Arthur’s back. Listen to me, will you? I have to tell you that I deceived you, that I plead guilty, that I was in the plot with Launcelot and that Launcelot was afraid of the loyalty, insight, and sincerity of your minister Merlin and that the whole thing was a sham, the chair, the Grail, the Quest, everything, and that Launcelot prompted all I said and did, and that I was involved in a conspiracy against my will.
He realizes that Arthur is not listening.
Mercy me, I don’t think he’s even listening. Do you hear, King Arthur? One might as well be haranguing a statue.
What’s the use. If he shuts his ears, I’m just wasting my spittle.
The trumpets of Galahad sound offstage. The False Galahad pricks up his ears.
The trumpets. This is the end. Each man for himself.
He rushes out. The clash of armor is heard. The door, which was left half-open, admits Galahad, who is looking back.
ARTHUR, getting up in a rage. Whoever you are, whatever has happened, this goes beyond all limits of decency and respect. I will not put up with this uproar. I exile you.
GALAHAD. Arthur, Arthur.
ARTHUR. I exile you. There are two dead people in this room; this room belongs to the Queen. I won’t stand it.
GALAHAD. Listen, Arthur, you must listen to me. You have been the victim of an absurd magic. I’m not the same person who left this room. I have just run head-on into myself, armor against armor. At first I thought I had smashed a mirror. To further his schemes, your Merlin would transform his young servant, Ginifer, into one or another of us in turn. The Galahad whom you quite rightly sent packing and whom I banged up against behind the door must be Gini-fer’s supreme incarnation, and I doubt whether in future Merlin will risk giving him the faces of his victims again. In giving him the face of a Knight of the Grail, he has gone beyond all bounds.
ARTHUR. The Grail. … What am I to believe? Who am I to listen to? The Grail has brought nothing to this place but disaster. Is it really true that you are not the wretch who confessed his imposture to me and accused Launcelot?
GALAHAD. I can imagine the sort of comedy which that scamp must have played for your benefit. No, Arthur. I am Galahad, the son of Launcelot and Melusine.
ARTHUR. I have killed Launcelot.
GALAHAD. The Grail will forgive you as I forgive you. Launcelot is not dead. The Queen is not dead. You have been living under a fatal spell. Where you were, nothing real could exist. Now everything is alive, everything can bleed. Nothing will act as a cushion or a drug to make life easy. Reality is beginning. Reality is harsh. Waking up will hurt.
ARTHUR. I was living upon illusions.
GALAHAD. Their charm is difficult to resist. In the place of the young charmer you lose, Blandine will get back her fiancé. You must be fair. The Grail and the elves are at work. They have so engrossed Blandine and Segramor that both have become deaf to all that is going on in this room and perhaps the elves are occupied with funeral rites, for they hate tombs and sometimes perform the work of grave-diggers.
ARTHUR. And I, Sir Galahad. What will become of me?
GALAHAD. You? You will efface yourself, you will endure everything, you will pay. For one must always pay, pay, pay. The old life is dead, long live the new. Expel Merlin and his servant from Britain. Give orders that this day of mourning be celebrated as a wedding day. Be brave.
ARTHUR. Galahad … Shall I ever see the Grail?
GALAHAD. That depends on you.
ARTHUR. Tell me, Sir Knight, tell me … in order to see it… does one have to die?
GALAHAD. That would be too simple. No, Arthur, one has to live. The whole error of the world lies in thinking otherwise.
Gawain and Merlin enter.
GAWAIN. Your Majesty, I demand justice.
ARTHUR. There, there.
GAWAIN. This scoundrel has imprisoned me, chained me up, starved me, and made me a public laughingstock. My indignation is met with giggles and obscene little hints. I daren’t present myself to Blandine. I’m too ashamed. Your Majesty, Uncle, if you have any love for Blandine and any respect for me, I beg you to punish this criminal and his valet, to make a public example of them.
MERLIN. Sir Gawain refuses to believe me. I would like him, Your Majesty, to hear from your own lips that his place was not so badly occupied and that, if he did have a double at the castle, this double had the good fortune not to displease Your Majesty.
ARTHUR. I’m taking my advice neither from you, nephew, nor from this fellow.
GAWAIN. He insulted the Queen. He dared —
ARTHUR. It seems to me, Gawain, that the Queen’s honor and the honor of my house are my business. In any case, kindly keep your temper. That is something we all need to do here. This man will leave the castle and Britain with his valet, Ginifer. I exile them.
Merlin bows.
GAWAIN. Your Majesty —
ARTHUR, to Merlin. Go. Leave the country.
MERLIN. Your Majesty is showing great courage in the face of reality. Apart from the little matter of a certain letter, my only policy has been to clothe reality with flowers.
ARTHUR. I wish life to return to Camelot.
MERLIN. Life, Your Majesty, seems to have made a good start in that alcove.
ARTHUR. I would rather have real deaths than a false life.
MERLIN. Bravo! The enchantment shall cease. All that remains is for me to hope that your realm will not find the disenchantment too severe.
He bows, then turns to Galahad who is standing motionless in front of the alcove.
Ginifer!
Silence.
Ginifer, come here. The joke is over.
GALAHAD. You have made a mistake, Merlin. It is the real Galahad who is talking to you. There is a time for you to make fools of others and a time for others to make a fool of you.
MERLIN. I give in.
GAWAIN. Uncle, I’ll go with him to make sure that your orders are obeyed.
Exeunt Merlin and Gawain.
ARTHUR. My poor little monkey. Was he really a demon?
GALAHAD. The spirit world swarms with tightrope dancers like him who keep your nose in the air while the master picks your pocket. You must make this sacrifice.
ARTHUR. But if I do, Sir Knight, will the Grail reward me? Will it show me any signs of its coming?
GALAHAD. Since the deliverance of the castle, it has never stopped manifesting itself
.
ARTHUR. Sir Knight, could I be allowed to see one of these signs with my own eyes?
GALAHAD. I shall show you one now. Release your children from the spell which has made them deaf and dumb. Call them from the alcove but don’t, on any account, show surprise when you see them. For, I warn you, you may be startled.
ARTHUR. What do you mean?
GALAHAD. Call them and see.
ARTHUR. Blandine! Segramor! Blandine.
He goes up to the alcove.
Come here.
BLANDINE. What, Father?
ARTHUR. Come out of the alcove.
SEGRAMOR. We’re coming, Father.
He draws back the curtains and appears first. He has become Launcelot and Blandine has become the Queen. Except for their clothes and hair, which are as before, they are the actors who played the roles of Launcelot and the Queen who have been substituted for those who played the roles of Segramor and Blandine.
ARTHUR, aside to Galahad. The likeness is incredible. Why did it never strike me before?
GALAHAD. All your illusions are beginning to vanish. The dead have passed into them.
The children throw themselves at their father’s feet and kiss his hands.
ARTHUR. Now, children, I insist that you dry your eyes. Today is a feast day.
Enter Gawain.
GAWAIN. Well, that’s that. They’re gone, and good riddance.
ARTHUR. Gawain. Your fiancée is here. You haven’t looked at her.
GAWAIN. Oh, Blandine, I’m sorry. I felt so ashamed I didn’t dare show my face in your presence. Heavens! Being away does make things look different. From a distance, I thought you were the Queen.
BLANDINE. Poor Mother.
GAWAIN, to the King. Uncle, please forgive me for the clumsy way I barged in on you just now, shouting and swearing when I should have been showing my sympathy. But I’ve only just heard.
ARTHUR. Let me repeat to you what I’ve been saying to your cousins. No one is to look sad or talk of mourning. That is an order. Blandine, Gawain. … You two must have a lot of secrets to tell each other.
Blandine and Gawain go into the embrasure of the window.
GALAHAD, to the King. Would you like to see another sign? Tell your son to touch his wound.
ARTHUR. Segramor, touch your wound.
SEGRAMOR, baring his chest. No — it can’t be — I’m cured. The skin is healthy. The wound has closed. It doesn’t bleed any more.