by Lope de Vega
And yet I should, for are not gallantry
And bravery essential arms
For any man connected with
The military life, not least
In one of such distinguished line 905
And family?
-199-
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 FEDERICOand 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-
ACT TWO
Enter CASANDRAand 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 CASANDRAand 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 CASANDRAand 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 CASANDRAand 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-
DUKE. I know
You did, my son. But loyalty
Like this deserves at least that I
Should say to you that I regret
The day I chose to marry.
FEDERICO. My lord, 170
If you want proof your marriage does
Not sadden me, and more than that,
That you enjoy my love, I'll ask
Aurora if it is her honest wish
To marry me. If she says yes, 175
I shall be happy to obey.
It would be wrong of me to do
The opposite of what you say.
DUKE. To judge by what she's said, she eagerly
Awaits that day.
FEDERICO. I think she may 180
Have changed, and that explains why now
She has the Marquis constantly
In train.
DUKE. And why is that of such
Concern to you?
FEDERICO. Because the man
About to marry does not want 185
To think that some gallant commands
His lady's thoughts, or when he marries her
That she's already bought.
DUKE. If men
Were constantly concerned about
The women in their lives, they'd have 190
To lock them up to keep them safe*
From prying eyes. Think of a mirror as
You breathe on it; the image disappears.
But take a cloth to clean the glass,
The surface that was soiled appears clear. 195
-208-
FEDERICO. I value such advice and wit
But offer you a different thought
That surely must counter it.
A blacksmith working in his forge,
When suddenly the furnace roars, 200
And spits its flames -- at once he pours
On water, thinking it will tame
The blaze, instead of which it is
Inflamed much more and in the end
Consumes the water. The same is true 205
Of any husband who, at first,
Believes he has contained the lover's fire
But then observes the flames of love
Leap higher still. And so I would
Do well to fear any man 210
Who loves, and not provide for him
The water that inflames his love
And in the process burns my honour.*
Aurora's purity were something you 215
Consider blackened. I'll not listen
Any more.
FEDERICO. My lord.
DUKE. I said no more.
[Exit the DUKE
FEDERICO. Wait, my lord.
BATÍN. I do admire, master
The way you try to win your father's favour.
FEDERICO. I welcome his displeasure more, 220
So I can truly say I have enjoyed
The fullest measure of unhappiness.
The depth of my despair* is such,
I do not really care if I
Should die; and if I were to die, 225
I'd want to live a thousand times
-209-
Again, so I could die again
As many times as I had lived.
And yet I neither wish to live
Nor die, because to live means I 230
Must suffer anguish in its way
As terrible as death; and if
I do not kill myself, it is
Because death is a lesser evil than
The pain that in this life I am 235
Obliged to bear.
BATÍN. In that case, if
You neither wish to live or die,
I'd say that you are just like what
They call hermaphrodite,* which is
To say a person who is neither man 240
Or woman really, but a bit
Of both of them, as you yourself
Are split between not knowing if
You are alive or dead. I tell
You truly, sir, the piteous sight 245
Of you upsets me so, you either tell
Me what is wrong with you or I
Shall go and be a servant somewhere else.
FEDERICO. Batín, if I were able to describe
What troubles me, it would be bearable, 250
A malady whose end would then
Seem possible. And yet, the anguish that
I feel is so intense, so terrible,
It cannot be described but only felt.
And if, in order to console 255