DOMINIQUE: What a good woman!
JEANNE: I wish first to remove your chains, but no one must know it except my Prime Minister. Where is he? Ah, the whistle! [Blows whistle; instantly the King appears beside her]
DOMINIQUE [aside]: Where did he come from? I don't like this abrupt style of entering. Just when our affairs were going on so well, too!
PAUL [looks at the King]: This is strange! I have already seen this man somewhere. At the ball? No, is it not the man of the wine-shop? There is some trap here!
SCENE VI.
JEANNE [to King]: Take away those chains! [Aside] I need the secret — you will excuse me!
KING: Without doubt! [Aloud] Immediately, your Majesty! [Advances gravely towards the prisoners, and without effort, by merely touching the chains, he breaks them, ring by ring, with his fingers. The links fall to the floor with a crash]
DOMINIQUE: Ye gods! What a fist!
PAUL: It is he! [Leans over to study the King's face; the King disappears]
JEANNE [aside]: He is as discreet as he is devoted, that good Fairy! [Aloud] Now, you are free; the gates are open to you. Have you nothing to say to me?
PAUL [coldly]: We offer our thanks!
JEANNE [piqued]: Is that all?
PAUL [slowly]: What more do you wish? How do I know what motive —
DOMINIQUE [aside]: What imprudence! [Aloud] Ah, your Majesty, Queen, goddess, reflection of the moon! our hearts swell with gratitude!
JEANNE: Good! Would it not be better, rather than to continue on your dangerous way, to remain here in my kingdom?
DOMINIQUE: Certainly! For my part, I am willing.
JEANNE [aside]: He does not reply! [Aloud] I tell you, that in this city, at my Court, I will give you some high function.
PAUL [brusquely]: I refuse!
JEANNE: Even that of Prime Minister?
PAUL: Yes!
JEANNE [aside]: What does he wish, then? [Points to the middle arch at the back] Behold the capital of my kingdom, the great city of Pipempohé. It is twenty-five leagues in circumference, has three million inhabitants, six rivers, palaces of gold, houses of silver, and shops so numerous that a guide is necessary to conduct one through their maze of columns. I give it to you!
PAUL: I do not need it!
JEANNE: Ah, what pride! [To the Giant standing at blind R.] Raise the curtain!
(The Giant raises the gilt blind; a bay filled with vessels is seen in the distance, and in the rear a forest)
JEANNE: You shall have my port, my navy, my vessels, the whole sea, with its islands and its yet undiscovered countries.
PAUL: TO what purpose?
JEANNE: YOU will accept this, I hope! [To the Giant at L. arch] Raise the curtain!
(The Giant raises the blind and discloses a view of forbidding rocks, in the midst of which is a large block of dazzling whiteness)
JEANNE: That mountain is filled with diamonds. The magicians at my service shall procure them, and I will give you elephants with which to bring them away.
PAUL: That would be somewhat too heavy a burden, your Majesty!
JEANNE: IS it my throne that you desire? I can give you the right to occupy it beside me! [Tenderly] I would even descend from it, that you might occupy it alone, if you wish.
PAUL: My place is far distant from here. I have a great task to perform.
JEANNE: Ah! And what if I prevent you?
PAUL: It is something quite above your power to control.
JEANNE: But if I force you to remain here?
PAUL: I should still have the liberty to hate you!
JEANNE: Hate me! And you refuse my throne? What is this extraordinary mission?
PAUL: NO one may know that.
JEANNE: But I!
PAUL: YOU less than any other.
JEANNE: What audacity!
DOMINIQUE [aside]: Master! master! No more of such folly! With a single word she can order our heads off! If you do not want her throne, at least refuse it politely! Be calm! Be astute!
PAUL:" I fear nothing! The nearer I approach to the end of my quest, the clearer my mind becomes. And you, who now appear to me as a queen, surrounded by awe-inspiring grandeur, you are the same woman that tried to attract me with absurd affectations of elegance, and later attempted to win me with the charms of a vulgar happiness! I know you!
JEANNE [aside]: Unhappy that I am! Now he execrates me!
PAUL: Woman, you are — admit it! — only the instrument of evil spirits. But I shall not succumb to your power any more than I have been vanquished by other temptations. Accumulate obstacles, if you wish! My will is stronger than your citadel, and prouder than your armies!
JEANNE: Insensate fool! [Calls] Send my negro slaves! [Enter four negroes, armed with daggers. Jeanne addresses the first two] Approach, you two! Draw your daggers! [They draw their daggers and approach Paul and Dominique. Paul is perfectly cool, but Dominique is almost fainting with terror. Jeanne speaks coldly] Kill yourselves! [The two negroes tremble and hesitate] Did you hear? [They plunge their daggers into their breasts and fall dead] Carry them out! [Exit the two remaining negroes, carrying the corpses] Now do you doubt my power?
DOMINIQUE [kneels]: No! No! But I didn't say anything, your Majesty!
JEANNE: Think you that with such a people I should lack for means to compel you to do my will? I have an iron tower built on a rock of brass in a lake of sulphur, and above it, in order to prevent prisoners from escaping, four griffins continually hover. Beneath it is a marble pit, narrower than a coffin, where the stones crush the captives and they can do nothing but die! I can, if I please, have you thrown under the wheels of my chariot, burned in my porcelain ovens, devoured by my tigers, or forced to drink a poison that will cause you to disappear from the earth, leaving not so much as a drop of blood behind! Well — go! You are free!
PAUL [crosses his arms]: In what way?
JEANNE: YOU are free to leave my kingdom. [Paul makes a gesture of doubt] Yes, — without any one to stop you.
PAUL: HOW can I be sure of that?
JEANNE [tears a bit off her scarf and impresses her seal upon it]: My seal on this scrap of satin will be sufficient to take you safely to the frontier; and perhaps some day, if you keep it, you will reproach yourself for having replied with ingratitude and insult to the most tender and magnificent offers ever received by a man from a queen! [Gives the satin to Dominique] Here, take it! Go! [They go out by way of_ the gallery. Jeanne follows them with her eyes]
SCENE VII.
JEANNE: What have I done that he should always fly from me? It was impossible to dazzle him with my power, and my generosity did not touch him. [Paces to and fro; looks about her] What need have I now of all this, since he refuses me? I will abandon this kingdom and follow him — everywhere — far away! [Sinks on the steps of the throne] Oh, I was happier formerly when I was only a poor milkmaid. I remember one day, when I went to the garret, he praised my pretty face and my hands, which he almost kissed. And now he has not only forgotten all that, but he hates me! By what ill luck has this come about? And why is he so bitter against these good fairies, when they are only working for our happiness? [A burst of sneering laughter comes from behind the throne] That must be my buffoons in the great saloon, who are amusing themselves. [Sounds of laughter] What gaiety!
SCENE VIII.
(Enter the King of the Gnomes in his Gnome costume)
JEANNE [alarmed]: What is this?
KING: Nothing! We are amusing ourselves very well — you have said it.
JEANNE: Those voices I heard — this strange appearance — what does it mean?
KING: Those who are laughing within there are genii who are infuriated at losing you, as well as your lover. I, who guided you everywhere, counselled you, and seemed to serve you, am their master, the King of the Gnomes!
JEANNE [terrified]: The King of the Gnomes!
KING: It is. my will that he shall never love you, and as soon as he sets foot on our grounds he is lost!
JEANNE: Impossible! I will run after him!
KING: TOO late! And even should he return, I am sure of his undoing.
JEANNE [impatiently]: No! No! No! I shall give orders —
KING: Oh, as many as you please!
JEANNE: You will oppose them, perhaps.
KING: On the contrary, you shall be punctually obeyed. Try it!
(Exit King, laughing; noise of laughter increases without)
SCENE IX.
JEANNE: Why are they so opposed to him, and with what object? What matters it? A peril threatens him. Perhaps he will fall! He may be lost! Ah, he must return! What shall I do? I do not know! Shall we fly? [Calls] General! [Enter the Chief Dwarf] Oh, not you! I want some one else. Call the others — the chief of my guard, the Chancellor, soldiers, some one! Quick! Quick!
SCENE X.
(Enter an Officer, with soldiers, and the Chancellor)
JEANNE: Do you know why I called you? You must have in your possession the order for the torture of that man — you know, the man who wept the other day.
CHANCELLOR [produces paper with a deep bow]: Behold it, gracious Majesty!
JEANNE: Give it to me! [Tears paper into bits] I pardon him! [Chancellor looks at her amazed] Yes, a full pardon. Go and free him yourself, and see that he receives, so that he shall not suffer want in the future, three tons of silver and four camel-loads of corn. [Chancellor is about to go] Wait! There must be many slaves in my garden. Break their chains and send them all away in ships to their native country. Then you will search throughout the palace for all the vestments and draperies that are kept here: fur dolmans, coats brocaded with gold, robes of tissue embroidered with pearls; and you will distribute these among the inhabitants of my city, beginning with the poorest. Wait! I have not finished. Remove all the arms from the arsenals, and plant there instead flowering shrubs that will cheer the hearts of the widows. As I have too many perfumes, throw them out of the windows that they may wash the streets! I order the abolishing of all laws except those that I make this day. It is my will that there shall not be a single sorrowful soul in my kingdom, but that a universal smile shall shine on all faces! I will have no tears save those of joy, and blessings shall fall upon my head! [Re-enter Paul and Dominique R. with the Officer and soldiers] Ah! [To Officer] It is well! Leave us!
[Exit Officer and soldiers.
SCENE XI.
PAUL [ironically]: I suspected the sincerity of your clemency, O Queen!
JEANNE: Unhappy man, do you calumniate me still? Listen! this is a matter that concerns your welfare.
DOMINIQUE: And not mine? Have mercy!
JEANNE: Yes, even your life.
PAUL: What matters it? [Silence]
JEANNE: And you ask me that, — you, Paul de Damvilliers!
PAUL: Who told you my name?
JEANNE [proudly]: Ah! What matters that to you?
PAUL: Oh, I understand. You are assisted by the magic of the Gnomes; but I have the protection of the Fairies, and I defy you!
JEANNE: Ah, yes! insult me, despise me, execrate me! But, in the name of that which you hold most sacred, by the souls of those most dear to you, have pity on me, I implore you, and remain here!
PAUL: I shall go at once!
JEANNE: Why do you persist in doubting me?
PAUL: Because you have already deceived me under so many guises. A short time ago you overwhelmed me with offers and protestations, and then, for no reason whatever, you deprive me of that liberty which you were so reluctant to grant.
JEANNE: But you did not know that you were going to meet certain death, because I did not know it myself. Until now I have been the victim of evil spirits whose designs I did not suspect.
PAUL: Ah, is this another trick?
JEANNE: NO! NO! I swear it! Do not go!
PAUL: Any risk is less perilous than your vows!
JEANNE: Look at me! Have I the appearance of a liar?
PAUL: This is only a new snare. I say this because the more I look at you and study your face, the more it calls up memories of the past, and reminds me of another — a young girl! —
JEANNE: Go on!
PAUL: She was worth all the queens in the world; and I Should have done well to turn backward in my life, rather than press forward to discover the future.
JEANNE: Ah, heaven! What punishment!
PAUL: Nothing but justice.
JEANNE: But this is terrible! You do not recognise me, then, when I tell you — when you know —
KING [suddenly appears]: Beware!
PAUL [aside]: Again that man!
JEANNE: I did not summon you.
KING [salutes]: All the more reason that I should come, O Queen!
JEANNE: GO! Leave me! I will save him alone.
KING: But do you not see that the wretch does not wish your aid?
JEANNE [to Paul, who has gone up stage]: In heaven's name, return!
PAUL: Never! [Drags Dominique with him up C.]
JEANNE: In the name of the memory of which you spoke just now! Ah, must I give my life in order to convince you?
PAUL: I want none of your gifts!
JEANNE: Listen! I am — [Exit Paul and Dominique. The King extends his hand towards Jeanne, who cries in a half-choked voice] Jeanne, the milkmaid! [She falls as if by a stroke. Enter Gnomes and Dwarfs; they rush on and dance around her, singing]:
GNOMES: She is dead! She is dead! At last we triumph! None shall thwart us henceforth. Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
QUEEN OF THE FAIRIES [appears upon the throne]: No, she is not dead! [Descends the steps of the throne slowly and spreads her mantle over Jeanne as if to defend her] Her self-sacrifice has saved her!
(The Gnomes, recoiling, form a circle around Jeanne and the Queen)
EIGHTH TABLEAU. THE ENCHANTED WOOD.
SCENE I.
DOMINIQUE [enters R.; takes short steps and looks about]: Lost! Just because I left my master one minute! Where is he, then? [Calls] Monsieur! Monsieur! Not here! Well, then, it's his own fault. What the devil put it into his head to bother himself with the Gnomes and the Castle of Hearts? I must look for him, however. Monsieur! Oh, that's right — run after him! I can see eyes shining among the leaves! No, it's only the way the sun strikes them. Curious effects one sees in the woods! I will go on. Forward! March! There's a bird flying away! Am I an idiot? That's what he'd do, in order to get away from here. I will try. [A branch touches him] Ah! [Turns] No one there. Heaven be praised! Rascally thorns, get out! Devilish branches, the thicker you grow, the faster I shall break you! [Trees strike him with their branches] But — but — it seems that I have the whole forest on my shoulders. Never mind! I shall get out. I say that I will get out! [Thrusts away a branch with each hand and breaks them. At that moment the forest opens before him, like the parting of curtains, forming a pretty green lane, with symmetrical rows of trees on each side. At the back, standing black and distinct against a rosy sunset sky, is the Castle of Hearts, so placed that only the - upper stories can be seen; its three slender towers have small windows, through which shines a red light. Dominique remains for some time silent and motionless with surprise]
A castle! The Castle of Hearts! It must be! It looks exactly as it was described. No, no, I am dreaming! It is impossible! [Pinches himself] No, I am awake! That black roof, those red lights — they suggest a monster staring at one. I must be calm. There is nothing to be afraid of — on the contrary, it is a great chance. I am the first to discover it. What joy it will be to Monsieur to know of it! But — since I am first to get here, the glory belongs to me! Why not? [Laughs wildly] The reward, the lady, the beautiful woman! The mansion appears seigneurial, and the land surrounding it makes quite a domain. This forest belongs to it, no doubt. How I shall cut into it! What swinging blows my men shall make — because I shall have servants. [Walks about, growing enthusiastic] I am a servant no longer! Good! I will have footmen like those of Sardanapalus; they shall have a red and gold livery with snug stockings, by Jove! and feathers on t
heir hats and buttons as large as plates; and in the vestibule, at the foot of the stairs, they will play all kinds of games with cards and dominoes; they will put on great style, and if they do not drive well — [Makes a gesture as if kicking some one]
Well, no one comes! That's bad luck. I've done all I can. However, I'll try once more. [Cries feebly] Monsieur! Monsieur! He cannot say I haven't called him! I'm done! Since he goes and hides himself in this way! — But I wish I had some witnesses here to testify how long I have been calling him. [All the trees on the side where he called feebly, bend their branches low; those on the other side shake their leaves in sign of denial] Ha! that's very odd! They move, although there is no wind; they move, like human beings! You do not comprehend me, surely? [Trees bend their branches, in a movement of assent] Horror! My marrow freezes in my bones! I am going mad! Am I about to die? Decidedly, there are things above human knowledge, and I have been wrong always to deny it. [Sits on the ground, appearing faint] I wish Monsieur would come now. I will wait for him. It was not a delicate thing that I meant to do — to rob him of his glory, poor fellow! after all that he has gone through. It is true that I have endured hardships with him, and until now I could always get out of any scrapes. Why should I fear that this may be any worse? That was only a little giddiness I felt just now — nothing more!
Complete Works of Gustave Flaubert Page 432
