by Molière
CÉLIE
(To Lélie, pointing to Sganarelle:)
Look, there’s my answer; you know the man, of course.
LÉLIE
Ah, yes—
CÉLIE
That sight should cause you deep remorse.
LÉLIE
The sight of him should make your cheeks turn red.
SGANARELLE
(Aside:)
My anger now has gathered to a head;
My courage is in full arousal, too;
And if I find him, carnage will ensue.
Yes, he must perish; nothing shall prevent it;
I’ve sworn to slay the villain, and I meant it.
(With sword half drawn, he approaches Lélie.)
I’ll cleave his heart with one stupendous blow—
LÉLIE
(Turning around.)
What foe are you seeking?
SGANARELLE
None; I have no foe.
LÉLIE
Then why this armor?
SGANARELLE
It’s something that I wear
In case of rain.
(Aside:)
Oh, it would be a rare
Pleasure to kill him! Come now, my heart, be firm.
LÉLIE
(Turning around again.)
Eh?
SGANARELLE
I said nothing.
(Aside, after slapping his face several times to rouse his initiative:)
Oh, you spineless worm!
You hateful coward!
CÉLIE
His presence here gives rise
To guilty thoughts, and so he offends your eyes.
LÉLIE
Yes, when I look at him I see your guilt;
How could you so unconscionably jilt
A faithful lover, who earned no such rebuff?
SGANARELLE
(Aside:)
Oh, for some courage!
CÉLIE
Traitor, I’ve heard enough!
Such brazen insolence I won’t abide.
SGANARELLE
(Aside:)
Hark, Sganarelle, the lady is on your side!
Take heart, my boy, let’s see some fire and vim.
Forward! And make a bold attack on him,
And bravely kill him while his back is turned.
LÉLIE
(Taking two or three aimless steps, which cause Sganarelle, who was
approaching to kill him, to retreat.)
Since all my honest words are fiercely spurned,
I’ll flatter you, and say that you’ve displayed
Sublime good taste in the choice your heart has made.
CÉLIE
My choice is sound, and the world can but commend it.
LÉLIE
You have no choice, alas, but to defend it.
SGANARELLE
She’s right indeed, sir, to defend my cause.
The thing you’ve done breaks all the moral laws:
You’ve wronged me, and were I not so self-controlled,
A scene of butchery might now unfold.
LÉLIE
Why this grim threat? Of what am I accused?
SGANARELLE
Enough; you well know how I’ve been abused;
Conscience should tell you that by Heaven’s decree
My wife is my exclusive property,
And that to act as if you owned her, too,
Is not at all a Christian thing to do.
LÉLIE
It’s quite ridiculous, this charge you make;
But put your fears to rest, for Heaven’s sake:
Your wife is yours, and I shan’t appropriate her.
CÉLIE
How smoothly you dissimulate, you traitor!
LÉLIE
What! You suspect me of some gross intent
Which this poor fellow rightly would resent?
D’you think me capable of such low acts?
CÉLIE
Ask him; he can support his charge with facts.
SGANARELLE
(To Célie:)
No, madam, pray speak on in my defense;
I couldn’t match your force and eloquence.
Scene 22
Célie, Lélie, Sganarelle, Sganarelle’s Wife, Célie’s Maid.
WIFE
(To Célie:)
Madam, I shall not make a great to-do
And fly into a jealous rage at you;
But I’m no fool, and I see what’s taking place:
Some passions, madam, are scandalous and base,
And you could have a loftier design
Than to seduce a heart that’s rightly mine.
CÉLIE
Well, that confession of love was frank and clear.
SGANARELLE
(To his wife:)
Slut, who invited you to interfere?
She was defending me. You’re jealous of her
Because you fear she’ll lure away your lover.
CÉLIE
(To Sganarelle’s Wife:)
Don’t worry; he doesn’t attract me—not one whit.
(Turning toward Lélie:)
So! All I said was true, you must admit.
LÉLIE
What can you mean?
MAID
Lord! When and how this mess
Is going to be untangled, I can’t guess.
I’ve held my peace, and listened as best I could,
But the more I’ve heard, the less I’ve understood.
It’s time for me to play the referee.
(She places herself between Lélie and Célie.)
Now, I’m going to ask some questions. Listen to me.
(To Lélie:)
You, sir: What is it you hold against this lady?
LÉLIE
That she’s thrown me over, despite the vows she made me;
That, when her rumored nuptials brought me flying
Hither on wings of love, my heart denying
That all its trustful hopes could have miscarried,
I found, on reaching home, that she was married.
MAID
Married! To whom?
LÉLIE
(Pointing at Sganarelle:)
To him.
MAID
To him, you say?
LÉLIE
Yes, him!
MAID
Who said so?
LÉLIE
He did, this very day.
MAID
(To Sganarelle:)
Is that the truth?
SGANARELLE
I only said that I
Was married to my wife.
LÉLIE
You won’t deny
That you had my portrait in your hands just now?
SGANARELLE
No. Here it is.
LÉLIE
And did you not avow
That you’d received it from a woman who
Was joined by matrimonial bonds to you?
SGANARELLE
(Pointing to his wife:)
Quite so. I snatched it from her, and learned thereby
What sins she was committing on the sly.
WIFE
Oh, stop these baseless accusations! I found
That locket, quite by chance, upon the ground;
(Pointing to Lélie:)
And later, when he had a dizzy fit
And I bade him come inside and rest a bit,
I didn’t even connect him with that painting.
CÉLIE
I fear I started all of this, by fainting;
I dropped the portrait when I swooned, and he
(Indicating Sganarelle:)
Then carried me into the house most gallantly.
MAID
If I hadn’t given you folks a little pill
Of common sense, you’d all be raving still.
SGANARELLE
(Aside:)
Is everything cleared up? It is, I guess.
Bu
t my brow felt hot for a while there, nonetheless.
WIFE
Not all my painful doubts have been relieved;
Though I’d like to trust you, I’d hate to be deceived.
SGANARELLE
Come, let’s suppose each other to be true;
Since that’s a greater risk for me than you,
You ought to find the bargain fair and square.
WIFE
All right. But if I catch you out, beware!
CÉLIE
(To Lélie, they having been conversing in low voices:)
Alas! In that case, what have I done? I dread
The fate to which my vengeful wrath has led.
I thought you faithless, and to give you ill
For ill, I bowed then to my father’s will,
And have agreed just now to wed at last
A suitor I’ve discouraged in the past.
I’ve promised Father, and I’m afraid that he . . .
But I see him coming.
LÉLIE
He’ll keep his word to me.
Scene 23
Gorgibus, Célie, Lélie, Sganarelle, Sganarelle’s Wife, Célie’s Maid.
LÉLIE
Sir, as you see, I’m back in town once more,
Full of a love as ardent as before,
And sure that, as you promised, you’ll soon confer
Your daughter’s hand on me, who worship her.
GORGIBUS
Sir, as I see, you’re back in town once more,
Full of a love as ardent as before,
And sure that, as I promised, I’ll soon confer
My daughter’s hand on you, who worship her.
I am your lordship’s humble servant, sir.
LÉLIE
Sir! Will you dash my hopes? Must I despair?
GORGIBUS
Sir, I but do my duty to Valère,
As will my daughter.
CÉLIE
My duty bids me, rather,
To keep the promise that you gave him, Father.
GORGIBUS
Is that what an obedient girl should say?
Do you forget that you agreed today
To marry Valère? . . . But I see his father heading
This way, perhaps to talk about the wedding.
Scene 24
Villebrequin, Gorgibus, Célie, Lélie, Sganarelle, Sganarelle’s Wife, Célie’s Maid.
GORGIBUS
Ah, my dear Villebrequin, what brings you here?
VILLEBREQUIN
A just-discovered secret which, I fear,
Will force me to go back on what I’ve said.
My son, whom your good daughter agreed to wed,
Has fooled us all: For four months, if you please,
He’s covertly been married to Élise.
Since her family’s rich, and she a brilliant catch,
I’ve no good reason to annul the match,
And so it seems—
GORGIBUS
No matter. For if Valère
Has made a marriage of which you weren’t aware,
I must confess that, long ago, Célie
Was promised to this fine young man by me,
And that, since his return today, I’ve banned
All others from applying for her hand.
VILLEBREQUIN
An excellent choice.
LÉLIE
(To Gorgibus:)
You’ve kept your word by this
Decision, sir, which fills my heart with bliss.
GORGIBUS
Let’s go and plan the wedding.
SGANARELLE
(Alone:)
It seemed so strong,
The evidence that my wife had done me wrong!
(To the audience:)
But as you’ve seen, in matters of this kind,
Appearances can deceive the keenest mind.
Remember my example, and be wise:
When things look simple, don’t believe your eyes.
END OF PLAY
JEAN-BAPTISTE POQUELIN MOLIÈRE (1622–1673) was a French playwright and actor. Molière’s plays include The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, The School for Wives, The School for Husbands, The Miser, Lovers’ Quarrels, The Imaginary Invalid and The Imaginary Cuckold, or Sganarelle, among others.
RICHARD WILBUR is author of more than thirty-five books, including works of poetry, translation, prose, children’s books and essays. Wilbur is the most prolific and gifted translator of Molière, and is credited with the explosive revival of Molière’s plays in North America, beginning in 1955 with The Misanthrope. Wilbur’s translations of Molière, Racine, Corneille and others are widely praised for incorporating the spirit of both language and author, while maintaining the original form and rhyme scheme. Wilbur is the only living American poet to have won the Pulitzer Prize twice. He has been awarded the National Book Award, the Bollingen Prize, two PEN translation awards and two Guggenheim fellowships. He served as U.S. Poet Laureate. Wilbur taught on the faculties of Harvard, Wellesley, Wesleyan and Smith (where he is poet emeritus). He lives in Cummington, Massachusetts, and is at present the Simpson Lecturer at Amherst College.
The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold, or Sganarelle are
copyright © 1992, 1993, 2009 by Richard Wilbur
Foreword is copyright © 2009 by John Simon
The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold, or Sganarelle are published by
Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor,
New York, NY 10018–4156
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights including, but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Peter Franklin, William Morris Agency, 1325 Avenue of the Americas, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019, 212-586-5100.
This project is funded by the Sidney E. Frank Foundation.
This publication is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.
eISBN : 978-1-559-36705-9
1. Molière, 1622–1673—Translations into English. I. Wilbur, Richard, 1921–II. Molière, 1622–1673. Sganarelle, ou, Le cocu imaginaire. English. III. Title. IV. Title: Imaginary cuckold, or, Sganarelle. V. Title: Imaginary cuckold. VI.
Title: Sganarelle.
PQ1825.E5W5 2009
842’.4—dc22 2009016305
