by Lope de Vega
The product not of jealousy,
But of a soul that cannot cast
Aside such dark imaginings.
What I have said is not the fruit 345
Of any doubts I have of you.
But only of my fearful dreams,
Ill-founded fantasies.
LEONORappears at the window.
INÉS. Leonor
Returns. What is it?
ALONSO. Time for me
To leave, no doubt.
LEONOR. Yes, father is 350
About to go to bed. He wants
To see Inés.
INÉS. Then you must leave, Alonso. It can't be helped. Goodbye.
[Exit INÉSand LEONOR
ALONSO. Oh, when, God willing, will we meet
Again? Now that I must depart, 355
My life is at an end. Tello
Has not appeared. Perhaps he too
Finds parting difficult. I'll go
Alone and he can follow later on.
-152-
As ALONSOis about to exit, he is confronted
by a SHADOWY FIGURE*wearing a hat and
a black mask. He has his hand placed on the
hilt of his sword.
What's that? Who's there? He pays me no 360
Attention. Who are you? Speak! That I,
Who fear no one, should now be frightened by
This person! Are you Don Rodrigo?
Tell me who you are!
SHADOW. I am Don Alonso.
ALONSO. What?
SHADOW. Don Alonso. 365
ALONSO [aside]. Another Don
Alonso, clearly! [Aloud] If this
Is some deceit, I challenge you
To draw your sword!
[Exit SHADOW
He's turned away.
It would be madness to pursue him.
Oh, fearful imagination! The man 370
I saw was my own shadow! No,
Not shadow! For it seemed flesh
And blood and said that it was Don
Alonso. These things are fashioned by
My sadness, the product of a restless and 375
Unhappy mind. Oh, why does it
Torment me with this vision of
Myself? Such baseless fears are
The province of more superstitious minds!
Perhaps it is a trick of Fabia's 380
To stop me going to Olmedo.
She's always telling me to be
More prudent, not to journey at night,
And this because she knows, she says,
How others envy me. As for 385
Rodrigo, envy is impossible,
-153-
For I have saved his life, and he,
On that account, is in my debt.
For any gentleman of true
Nobility and worth, it is 390
An obligation he must not forget.
Indeed, this is the reason he
And I can now be loyal friends.
Ingratitude does not reside
In noble hearts, only in the hearts 395
Of those who, lacking noble blood,*
Are base and common. In short, it is
The very quintessence of
Ignoble minds and deeds that he
Who has received some benefit, 400
Should in return display ingratitude.
Exit Don ALONSO. Enter Don RODRIGO,
Don FERNANDO, MENDO, and LAÍN.
RODRIGO. Today shall see the end of both
My jealousy and Don Alonso's life.
FERNANDO. Your mind is finally made up.
RODRIGO. Yes, nothing can save him now. Did they 405
Not break the promise I was given?
Her wish to be a nun, a cruel trick!
And all the time his servant, Tello,
Pretending to teach her Latin,
While in reality he passed 410
Her letters from Alonso written in
Romance!* Don Pedro too, treating Fabia
As if she were the true embodiment
Of virtue! Oh, wretched Inés! I do
Not blame your innocence for falling foul 415
Of Fabia's evil spells! How could
You know, as modest as you are,
What trickery was in the air,
Or that our honour -- yours and mine --
Was being trampled underfoot? 420
How many noble families
-154-
Have been disgraced by bawds and witchcraft!*
Fabia is capable of moving mountains,
Of stopping rivers in full flood.
She rules the evil ministers 425
Of Acheron,* as does a lord
His servants. Fabia, on whose account
A man can be transported through
The air from here to places far
Away -- to burning equatorial lands, 430
To freezing Poles -- and she instructs Inés!
Could anything be more ironic!
FERNANDO. The very reason why I would
Not seek revenge!
RODRIGO. In God's name,
Would you have me be a coward too? 435
FERNANDO. Much better if you were indifferent.
RODRIGO. Perhaps you could be that. I cannot.
MENDO. My lord, listen! The echo tells
Us people come on horseback.
RODRIGO. If others come
With him, it means he is afraid. 440
FERNANDO. Do not believe it. He is quite fearless.
RODRIGO. Everyone hide, and not a word!
You, Mendo, behind the tree, your musket* at
The ready.
FERNANDO. How fickle is good fortune!
How unpredictable success! 445
Today he dazzled in the presence of
The King, admired for his deeds
By all. And now death lies in wait
For him. We are about to see his fall.
They hide. Enter Don ALONSO.
ALONSO. Never before have I felt fear such 450
-155-
As this. And yet I think it caused
By sadness. The sound of running water,
Of leaves that gently rustle in
The wind, increase this sadness, and though
I journey on, I am persuaded to 455
Return. It is no proof of bravery,
But love and loyalty to both
My parents contradict my fears,
And so I am resolved, though I
Admit, to leave Inés so suddenly 460
Was harsh. How dark it is! So full
Of fearful shadows till the dawn
Begins to place its golden feet
On bright and flowered carpets. But now
The sound of someone singing. 465
Who can it be? A shepherd, perhaps,
Who now goes to his flock, the song
Still far away but coming closer.
The instrument he plays is sweet
And sonorous, not rustic. Oh, when 470
One's thoughts are overcome by sadness,
How melancholy music sounds!
[Singing off, backstage, and coming nearer
PEASANT. For at night they killed*
That noble soul,
The jewel of Medina, 475
The flower of Olmedo.
ALONSO. Heavens! Are my ears deceiving me?
If this is how you choose to warn
Me of what lies ahead, it is
Too late. I cannot now turn back. 480
This must be one of Fabia's tricks.
Inés has asked her to devise
Some plan to stop me going to Olmedo.
PEASANT. A shadow warned
He should not go, 485
And it advised
-156-
He should not go,
The jewel of Medina,
The flower of Olmedo.
ALONSO. You there, you, the singer!
PEASANT. Who
calls 490
To me?
ALONSO. I seem to have lost my way.
PEASANT. I'm coming.
Enter the PEASANT.
PEASANT. Ask what you will.
ALONSO. Everything
Now frightens me. Where are you going?
PEASANT. My work beckons.
ALONSO. Who taught you that song,
So full of sadness?
PEASANT. I learned it in 495
Medina, sir.
ALONSO. But I am from
Olmedo, the man the song refers to,
And, as you see, I'm still alive.
PEASANT. I cannot tell you more about
The song than what was told to me 500
By one called Fabia.* You heard its words.
Turn back! Do not go further than
This stream.
ALONSO. I am of noble birth.
To turn back would be cowardice.
PEASANT. And not to do so would be folly. 505
Go back, go back to Medina!
ALONSO. Accompany me!
PEASANT. I cannot.
-157-
[Exit the PEASANT
ALONSO. But these
Are phantoms, visions conjured up
By fear. Listen, wait! He's gone,
And yet no sound of footsteps! Wait! 510
The only reply my echoing words!
The songs says I am dead. It must
Refer to something in the past,
When someone from Olmedo* was,
Upon this very road, murdered 515
By others from Medina. I'm half-
Way there. What would be said of me
If I turned back? I hear footsteps.
If these are people going to
Olmedo, I'll gladly join them. 520
Enter DON RODRIGO, DON FERNANDO, and
their HENCHMEN.
RODRIGO. Who goes there?
ALONSO. A man, as you can see.
FERNANDO. Stop at once!
ALONSO. Gentlemen, if lack
Of money forces you to actions such
As these, my house is close at hand.
I've money there. In fact, it is 525
My custom and my honour to give alms
To those in need.
RODRIGO. Remove your sword.*
ALONSO. But why?
RODRIGO. Because I say so.
ALONSO. You know
Who you are speaking to?
FERNANDO. That person from
Olmedo, the slayer of bulls, who in 530
-158-
His foolish arrogance, offends
The people of Medina,* and who,
By using infamous bawds, insults
Don Pedro.
ALONSO. If you were truly men
Of noble blood, you would have challenged me 535
Before, not now, when I'm alone.
Why not the time you ran away
And left your cloak behind, instead
Of now, at dead of night, a group
Of you, courageous only in 540
Your arrogance? But even so,
I am indebted, for though you seem
So many, in truth you are but few,
And villains all!
[They fight
RODRIGO. I come to kill
You, not to challenge you! If that 545
Were so, this would be single combat!
Shoot him!
[Gunshot off-stage
ALONSO. Traitors all! If you did not
Have guns, you'd not have killed me.
FERNANDO. Well
Done, Mendo!
[Exit DON RODRIGO, DON FERNANDO, and their HENCHMEN
ALONSO. Little did I heed
Heaven's warnings. I have been deceived 550
By my own pride and murdered by
The jealousy of others. Who
Will help me in this solitary place?
Enter TELLO.
TELLO. Those riders galloping towards
Medina! I asked them if they'd seen 555
-159-
My master. They did not answer me.
The signs are ominous. I can't
Stop shaking!
ALONSO. Please God, have pity! I'm dying!
You know my sole intention was
To marry her. Oh, Inés!
TELLO. What voice 560
Is that? Its echo seems so full
Of sadness. It came from over there,
Just off the road. Why, every drop
Of blood has drained from me! My hair
Is stood on end so much, my hat 565
No longer needs my skull to offer it
Support! Sir!
ALONSO. Who is it?
TELLO. Oh, God!
Why doubt what I am seeing? My master, Don
Alonso!
ALONSO. Tello, it's good to see you!
TELLO. Why good if I have come too late? 570
Why good if, now I'm here, I find
You bathed in blood? You traitors, dogs
And villains! Come and kill me too!
You've killed the noblest, bravest, and
Most handsome knight who ever wore 575
A sword in all Castile!
ALONSO. Tello! Tello!
Such little time remains, think of
My soul. Quickly, help me on to
Your horse! Take me to see my parents!
TELLO. What? To bring them these glad tidings from 580
The fiesta? What will your noble father say,
Your mother, the people of the town?
Oh, merciful Heaven! Vengeance, I beg you!
-160-
Exit TELLO and DON ALONSO. Enter DON
PEDRO, DOÑA INÉS, DOÑA LEONOR, FABIA,
and ANA.
INÉS. So many favours from the King?
PEDRO. Today his Majesty revealed 585
His heart's nobility through all
His generous rewards. Medina thanks
Him, and I, for what I have received,
Now bring you both to kiss his hand.
LEONOR. He's leaving, then?
PEDRO. He is, Leonor. 590
The Infante awaits him in Toledo.
I cannot thank his Majesty
Enough, both for myself and for
The two of you who later on
Will profit from his kindness. 595
He has made me Warden of Burgos.*
You must kiss his royal hand.
INÉS. Fabia,
This means I shall be far away
From him.
FABIA. Fortune, it seems, still does
Not favour you.
INÉS. Since yesterday 600
I've felt the strangest kind of sadness.
FABIA. Don't be surprised if there's still worse
To come. Who can predict with certainty
What lies in store for us?
INÉS. What can
Be worse than absence? I think not even death 605
Itself.
PEDRO. Inés, this plan of yours . . .
Nothing would give me greater joy
Than if you now abandoned it.
-161-
It's not that I'd oblige you to,
Simply that I'd like to see you married. 610
INÉS. To change my mind would not be just
Because you wish it, father. There'd be
Another reason.
PEDRO. Well, what is it?
** LEONOR. Let me speak on your behalf, Inés.
The marriage you have in mind for her 615
Is one she doesn't want. There, I've said it.
PEDRO. Then, knowing of my love, you should
Have said so. If I had only known,
I'd never have considered it.
LEONOR. She loves a certain gentleman 620
The King has honoured with a cross.*
Her love is honourable, and honest too.
PEDRO. Then if he has such qualities
,
And you're in love with him, what can
I say? Marry him, Inés! You have 625
My blessing! Who is this gentleman?
LEONOR. Don Alonso Manrique.
PEDRO. Why, this
Is excellent news! You mean from Olmedo?
LEONOR. Yes, father.
PEDRO. A man of worth, quite clearly!
You've chosen wisely. I never thought 630
You suited to a convent! Come
Along, Inés! Speak up!
INÉS. Leonor
Exaggerates. My true intentions aren't . . .
PEDRO. Let's not go into it. It's time
To celebrate the wisdom of 635
Your choice. Consider him your husband as
From now. I shall be honoured by
-162-
A son-in-law so rich, so well-
Regarded, so nobly born.
INÉS. Thank you, thank
You, father. Fabia, I'm so happy. 640
FABIA. Let me congratulate you now,
Commiserate afterwards.
LEONOR. The King!
PEDRO. Approach, and kiss his royal hand.
INÉS. I do so happily!
Enter the KING, the CONSTABLE,
ATTENDANTS, DON RODRIGO,
and DON FERNANDO.
PEDRO. Your Majesty.
I offer humble thanks. You honour both 645
My daughters and myself in making me
Warden of Burgos.
KING. I have been pleased,
Don Pedro, both by your valour and
Your loyalty.
PEDRO. My one desire is
To be of service.
KING. Are you married? 650
INÉS. No, your Majesty.
KING. Your name?
INÉS. Inés.
KING. And yours?
LEONOR. Leonor.
