CUHK Series:The Other Shore: Plays by Gao Xingjian
Page 13
The problem is you’ve got to have something to talk about.
Man:
Except love—
Girl:
Don’t talk to me about love!
Man:
Tell me, what else is there to talk about with a woman?
(Girl stands up to get her overcoat.)
Man:
Where are you going?
Girl:
It’s none of your business.
Man:
I can ask, can’t I?
Girl:
But you really don’t want to know.
Man:
Why not? I do want to know.
Girl:
You only want a woman’s body, you don’t understand women, not even a tiny bit.
Man:
I don’t understand myself either.
Girl:
Well said. You’re such a pig!
Man:
And you?
Girl:
You think I’m that low-down?
Man:
That’s not what I meant.
Girl:
Your attitude, it’s disgusting!
Man:
To tell you the truth, I also disgust myself.
Girl:
What a wonderful confession! (Turns and puts on her overcoat.)
Man:
(Snatches away her overcoat.) Don’t go!
Girl:
What more do you want?
Man:
Don’t go! You’ve got to listen to me.
Girl:
You don’t have the right to stop me. (Struggles free.) I’ve got to agree first!
Man:
(Apprehensive.) Now that you’re here, well, of course I invited you, and I’m very glad—
Girl:
You—you’re an out-and-out bastard!
(Man laughs.)
Girl:
What are you laughing at?
Man:
Myself, I’m laughing at myself. What is it to you?
Girl:
Fine then, let me go.
Man:
(Blocking her.) I love you, really I do!
Girl:
Stop acting. (Pushes him away.)
(Monk picks up wooden fish and beats on it while chanting “Amitabha Buddha.” He exits left stage as Girl watches.)
Man:
I don’t understand, it’s really hard to figure you out.
Tell:
me, what are you going to do? What is it that you want?
Girl:
(Nonchalantly.) Don’t ask me, I don’t know. I only, only wanted to know…
Man:
You already know everything there is to know.
Girl:
What do I know?
Man:
That I’m a man. Other men, aren’t they the same?
Girl:
Don’t talk to me about men!
Man:
Then what shall we talk about?
Girl:
Something interesting, cheerful, something which makes people happy. How stupid can you get?
Man:
Really?
Girl:
You only think you’re smart.
Man:
And you’re a smart Girl.
Girl:
Not necessarily. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come here with you.
Man:
In fact I prefer stupid women.
Girl:
Because they’re submissive, gullible and easy to manipulate, is that it?
Man:
No, I’m only talking about myself, that way I can be more relaxed.
(Monotonous beating on the wooden fish. Monk has not yet entered.)
Man:
You want to drink something?
Girl:
No, I guess I’d better be going.
Man:
It’s raining outside.
Girl:
(Listening.) I don’t think so.
Man:
If I say it’s raining, it’s got to be raining.
Girl:
Who do you think you are, God?
Man:
I can hear it raining. I know all the sounds in and outside this place, the wind, the rain, the water heater, and the leaking toilet, every single one of them. I’ve owned this place for years.
Girl:
Leave me out of your ownership, I belong to me, and me only.
Man:
Is that very important?
Girl:
I don’t know, maybe. Anyway, I still haven’t found the right person to belong to.
Man:
Obviously I’m not that person.
Girl:
At last you’ve said something intelligent.
Man:
Thanks for the compliment.
Girl:
Intelligent men are a rare breed nowadays.
Man:
Most women are also stupid dingbats. Of course you’re an exception.
Girl:
Do you really think so?
Man:
I never lie, don’t you believe me?
Girl:
Do you say the same thing to every woman you’re with?
Man:
You know why I said it to you? It’s only because you like to hear people say that about you.
Girl You’re—really—very bad.
(Man laughs, and Girl laughs with him.)
Man:
Are you sure you don’t want anything to drink?
Girl:
Only if you promise not to mix anything in it. Nothing’s worse than that.
Man:
That’s to say you must have done it yourself. I’m sure you must’ve had tons of strange things happening to you before.
Girl:
I mean when somebody puts something in your drink and you don’t realize it even after you’ve drunk the darn thing.
Man:
You mean just now, at the bar? If anybody put anything in it, it was definitely not me.
Girl:
I meant it happened once, in India.
Man:
But this certainly isn’t India.
Girl:
I’m saying I went on a trip to India once.
Man:
With your friend, one of your many boyfriends, if I’m not mistaken?
Girl:
You might as well save that little bit of intelligence you have for something else. Of course I wasn’t alone. Travelling alone can bore you to tears.
Man:
But if I were going on a trip, I’d never coax my female companion into doing drugs.
Girl:
It doesn’t take any coaxing, does it? We’re not kids any more.
Man:
Of course taking drugs is only human. Tell me, what do you use as a regular?
Girl:
I’m telling you I don’t have the habit!
Man:
But how come you said when you were in India—
Girl:
I was in this small village close to the Tibetan border. The sky was real blue, I’ve never seen such a blue sky before. The clouds were real close, and as I watched them dissipating strand by strand in mid-air, I got dizzy, I couldn’t climb up any more. My head was aching, my ears were ringing, as if some guy was ringing a bell like crazy next to my ears…He wanted to take some shots of the glaciers, you know, my friend was into photo- graphy, so I took the car and went back alone to a town where there was a small inn. There was this Indian man standing by the door and he asked me if I wanted any marijuana. He spoke some English, and he led me to his house to get some.
Man:
And you went with him just like that?
Girl:
Yes, I did, so what?
Man:
So what? It’s the same as your coming here with me, isn’t it?
Girl:
You sell marijuana too?
Man:
If you really want some
.
Girl:
You don’t know how to listen, do you?
Man:
Go on!
Girl:
I don’t want to tell you any more.
(Monk enters, one hand holding an alms bowl, the other carrying a small bell. As he chants “Amitabha Buddha” in a low voice, he sprinkles some water into the bowl with his middle finger and rings the bell softly.)
Man:
Did he force you to take any drugs?
Girl:
No.
Man:
Did he make love to you?
Girl:
He was very gentle and very polite.
(Man wants to say something but stops.)
Girl:
There were these two women in his house, the younger one must have been his daughter, and they both bowed to me. He asked me to sit down and told the women to bring some wine, it was kind of sweet. The women stood on the side waiting on us, they only watched and smiled at me. I drank two cups in one go, and then they brought in some dried fruit and some sticky rice cakes.
(Girl listens attentively to the ringing of the bell.)
Man:
Go on, go on.
Girl:
I didn’t know why but somehow I felt sleepy. I think for a whole week I was just lying down, not wanting to move.
Man:
Did you go back to the inn?
Girl:
No, I was in his room, on his bed—
Man:
Naked?
Girl:
Is that important?
Man:
When you’re telling a story, you’ve got to give details.
Girl:
Anyway, my body didn’t seem to belong to me, my hands and feet were too heavy to move, and my mind was totally blank…But I was still conscious…
Man:
Weren’t you scared?
Girl:
The two women would come in every now and then, whenever he was not there they would come to give me something to eat or drink. I wanted to speak and scream, but they didn’t say anything except to touch and stroke me all the time. Then without knowing it I fell asleep again until he came back and woke me up…
Man:
Did he rape you?
Girl:
No, I think…I don’t know…Maybe I accepted it, I also, enjoyed…Maybe I wanted it too, there was no way out. Do you find this exciting?
Man:
Not really, I mean, he ruined you.
Girl:
Didn’t you?
Man:
It’s not the same, under the circumstances, he could have abused you until you died and no one would know anything about it.
Girl:
He was very gentle from beginning to end, he didn’t force me at all, I gave him all he wanted without holding anything back…You know, I gave him everything I had until I became a total void…Except that after one week, I realized later that it’d been a whole week, it was either daytime or at night when I found myself completely paralysed, I didn’t even want to move a finger, the room had only one oil lamp and it smelled real bad.
Man:
Maybe it was burning tallow, or animal fat, a kind of beef oil.
Girl:
Have you been there as well?
Man:
I read about it in some travel book on Tibet. Didn’t you say the place was right next to Tibet?
Girl:
Uh-huh…
(The bell stops ringing.)
Man:
Go on, why have you stopped talking?
Girl:
What else should I talk about?
Man:
Talk about the smell.
Girl:
As I was saying, that was when I woke up for the first time, afterwards I didn’t smell it any more, I only felt I was warm all over, I thought, I must have had that smell on me as well. Afterwards I washed again and again but I just couldn’t get rid of…
Man:
That greasy muttony smell?
Girl:
No, the smell of his body.
Man:
Stop it! I’ve had enough.
(Monk has finished sprinkling and bends down as if to splash water onto the ground. He exits, holding up his sleeves with his hands.)
Girl:
(Collects her thoughts and turns to look at him.) Why?
Man:
There’s no why.
Girl:
You don’t like what I said?
Man:
I’m listening.
Girl:
What do you want to listen to?
Man:
It’s up to you, whatever you want to say.
Girl:
You want me to say that I’m horny all the time?
Man:
You said it, not me.
Girl:
Don’t you want every woman to be horny?
Man:
Women, they’re actually like that.
Girl:
That’s only in a man’s imagination.
Man:
Believe me, men are no different.
Girl:
Then what’s there to be curious about?
Man:
It’s just the sex that’s different.
Girl:
How about between one woman and another, are they the same to you?
Man:
Can’t you change the subject?
Girl:
Shall we talk about the smell then?
Man:
To hell with the smell!
Girl:
You’re really no fun!
Man:
What? Fine, fine, let’s talk about the smell then.
Girl:
I don’t want to talk about it any more.
(Monk enters tumbling in the air. He has taken off his kasaya and is dressed in a casual jacket and pants. He holds his breath and stands motionlessly kungfu style.)
Man:
(Looks towards Monk and speaks softly.) You can never understand what really goes on in a woman’s mind. (Loudly.) An interesting story, very interesting. (Turns to look at Girl.) How come he didn’t kill you?
Girl:
Why?
Man:
There’s no why.
Girl:
All you men want to do is to possess, possess, and possess until everything’s all busted and gone! (Sighs.) Men are so selfish, they only think of themselves.
Man:
Men this, men that, why do you have to keep babbling on about men?
Girl:
Aren’t you one of them?
Man:
If anything, I’m still a person, a real, tangible, living human being.
Girl:
But you haven’t been treating me like one. Let me tell you, I’m not just some plaything for venting your sexual desires. And one woman is different from another—
Man:
When we first started, we were talking in general terms, now it’s different—
Girl:
How different?
Man:
Now it’s you and me, and not men and women in the general sense. We’re face to face with each other, we can see each other, and we’ve had some contact, I don’t just mean physical contact, we’re bound to have some feelings, some understanding of each other, because we’re two living human beings.
Girl:
Wait a minute. You mean when you made love to me just now, you were treating me like your so-called women in the general sense, in other words, just a plaything.
Man:
Don’t talk like that, because you and I were in the same boat, weren’t we? We were like two people possessed—
Girl:
Let me finish. You didn’t even ask me my name, as soon as we entered the door, you…
Man:
Don’t forget, you didn’t exactly refuse me.
Girl:
That’s true, but…
Man:
I see, my sincerest apologies.
(Monk successfully completes a handstand. Then he tries to take away one hand to attempt a one-hand handstand, but at once he loses his balance and hurriedly lands his feet on the ground.)
Man:
(Softly.) What’s wrong?
Girl:
(At a loss.) Nothing.
(Silence. Monk again attempts a one-hand handstand.)
Man:
(Takes a look at her tote bag.) Tell me, what happened afterwards? How about that friend of yours?
Girl:
We split up a long time ago.
Man:
So now you’re on your own and you’re wandering all over the globe?
Girl:
I’ve been looking for a companion, but none lasted.
Man:
Yes, nowadays it’s the in thing to do, like fashion, which tends to change from one year to another, or from one season to the next.
Girl:
(Looks around.) You don’t look like you’re living alone, eh?
Man:
Of course I’ve had, how should I put it, a wife? What’s the matter? You don’t like that word?
Girl:
I can’t stand being tied down.
Man:
Well, I guess we’re no different from each other there.
(Both laugh heartily. Monk, who is doing a handstand, again takes away one hand and fails once more. He hurriedly lands his feet on the ground.)
Man:
(Very carefully.) May I ask your name?
Girl:
Is that important? Try to remember it well and make sure that you don’t get it wrong.
Man:
Why? Somebody did?
Girl:
I hope you’re not as bad.
(Both laugh somewhat bitterly.
Monk kneads his hands and attempts a handstand for the third time.)
Girl:
Maria or Anna, which one do you prefer?
Man:
The question is which one is your real name?
Girl:
If I told you it’s Maria, then would I surely be Maria?
Man:
That’s a real problem. But if I called you Anna, you’d still be you and not someone called Anna, therefore, you really shouldn’t worry too much about it.
Girl:
(Dryly.) I don’t want to be a stand-in for somebody else!
Man:
Of course. A name is just a code, what’s important is not the sign itself but the actual person behind that sign. You can call me whatever you like, even if it’s some name you’re familiar with, or some name that accidentally slips from your tongue, anything, I don’t think I’d mind.