by Lope de Vega
It is not flattery to say
He's served you well, displaying both
Discretion and nobility,
Combining wisdom and true bravery.
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He is the image of yourself, my lord. 645
DUKE. You speak as if he copies me In everything, and you now have
A problem in distinguishing
Between the two of us. For this
I shall reward him as he properly 650
Deserves.
CASANDRA. It is Aurora whom
You now can serve more properly.
The Marquis wants to marry her,
And I have said you'll willingly
Agree to it.
DUKE. I am afraid that someone else, 655
Whose love and status is by far
Superior, has already asked for her.
The Count has made me promise her
To him.
CASANDRA. The Count?
DUKE. The Count.
CASANDRA. Has asked
For her?
DUKE. I'd say you are surprised, 660
Casandra.
CASANDRA. If someone else had told
Me this, I would have said he lied.
DUKE. To please the Count, the wedding shall
Take place tomorrow.
CASANDRA. If that is now
Aurora's wish, it shall be so. 665
AURORA. My lord, forgive me. I cannot marry him.
DUKE. What foolishness! The Count is far
Superior to the Marquis in
Good looks, nobility, in anything
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You care to name.
AURORA. But when I loved 670
Him, sir, he would not look at me.
And if he says he loves me now,
I cannot share that sympathy.
DUKE. I ask you do this not so much
For him, Aurora, as for me. 675
AURORA. I do not love him, sir. I swear To you. I shall not marry him.
[Exit AURORA
DUKE. How very strange!
CASANDRA. She may seem bold,
My lord, but acts most prudently.
DUKE. She'll marry him, I promise you, 680
Or pay the price for her temerity.
CASANDRA. To force her would be pure folly. No
One loves who does not do so freely.
[Exit the DUKE
I cannot bear to think the Count
Can contemplate such treachery! 685
Enter FEDERICO.
FEDERICO. Was not my father here?
CASANDRA. You dare
To speak to me when you have told
The Duke you wish to marry her!
What treachery is this?
FEDERICO. Casandra, hush!
The danger is too great.
CASANDRA. There is 690
No danger that can now compare
With all the anger that I feel
-256-
For you.
FEDERICO. Casandra, please! Speak quietly,
Or everyone will hear.
Enter the DUKE. He hides and listens.
DUKE. I must have proof. I'll listen to 695
Them both from here; far better if
I know the worst than be destroyed
By groundless and imaginary fears.
FEDERICO. Casandra, listen. What matters now
Is your reputation.
CASANDRA. Who would have said 700
That anyone would do what you
Have done when I have offered you
My love and therefore ask you recognize
Your obligation?
FEDERICO. My main concern
Was that suspicion should not fall 705
On us. But even so, I think
What happiness we had must end.
The Duke is not so base a man
He will not, once he understands
What we have done, take every step 710
To mend his name and reputation.
Our love consumed us like a fever.
We must regard it now as over.
CASANDRA. You are the greatest coward I
Have ever seen. Those earnest pleas, 715
Those sweet entreaties that you used
To steal my heart and then my honour --
How many women have become,
Like me, men's helpless prisoners? --
Are now the milksop pleadings of 720
A coward racked by fear!
DUKE [aside]. How can
I bear to listen any more
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And not be made of stone? They have
Confessed their sin without the need
To torture them. But who can say 725
There is no torture here if I
Am forced to listen to this foul
Confession? I need to hear no more.
What I am sure of is honour is
The judge of this offence and is 730
Thus called upon to pass and then
To execute the sentence. But it
Must be in such a way that my
Good name remains unsoiled, and cannot be
By public gossip then destroyed. 735
No living soul shall ever know
I am dishonoured. I shall take steps
To see the crime is quickly buried.*
For it is not enough for any man
To cleanse his honour, when others are 740
Prepared to speak of it forever.
[Exit the DUKE
CASANDRA. How women are abused! How false are men!
FEDERICO. I swear, my lady, I shall do
What you demand of me. My word
Bears witness to my loyalty. 745
CASANDRA. You promise me?
FEDERICO. As I stand here,
You can rely on me.
CASANDRA. I am
Convinced that love can overcome
All obstacles. I have been and
Shall always now be yours. If it 750
Is true that love can find a way,
I know that I shall see you every day.
FEDERICO. What matters most is that the Duke
Should be convinced of your love.
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He must believe that, when he lies 755
With you, you are his gentle, cooing dove.
CASANDRA. I shall convince him I am still
His treasure, though love, when it is feigned,
Does not contain the slightest pleasure.
[Exit CASANDRA and FEDERICO
Enter AURORAand BATÍN.
BATÍN. They tell me, fair Aurora, you 760
Are soon to marry my good friend,
The Marquis of Gonzaga. I've only one
Request: that when you leave, you let
Me come with you to Mantua.
AURORA. But why, Batín? You've always been 765
The Count's most loyal servant.
BATÍN. That's
The point, my lady. He who serves
Too well can almost guarantee
He'll never prosper. How often do
You hear them say to you: 'No, not 770
Today, you'll have to wait until
Tomorrow.' And when tomorrow comes:
'What cheek! You'll have to wait until
Next week.' There's no reward in what
I do. I know I'd rather go with you. 775
Besides, I don't know if the Count's
Gone mad. He's either happy or
He's sad. He either laughs from ear
To ear, or else his mouth drops down
To here. Then there's the Duchess, just 780
Like him, as if she's in a constant spin.
So what can I expect to get
If all they ever do is fret?
The Duke has conversations with himself;
He wanders round as if he's blind; 785
Pretends he is a perfect saint,
And looks
for what he'll never find.
-259-
What hope for me if I stay here?
I'll come with you to Mantua.
AURORA. If that is what you really wish, 790
And I am married to the Marquis, so
You shall.
BATÍN. I kiss your feet a thousand times.
I'm always at your beck and call.
Exit BATÍN. Enter the DUKE.
DUKE. How true that we are always bound
By honour's harsh and cruel rule!* 795
What man was it that brought this law
Into the world to prove himself
The most misguided of all fools?
But more than that, to make it all
Depend on woman's fragile nature, 800
When it is evident that man
Himself is easily the stronger!
A man, though he is not to blame,
May by another's guilt or deed,
Be quickly robbed of his good name.* 805
It proves that he who first invented such
A code was equally deceived,
And therefore for revenge made sure
That others also are aggrieved.
Aurora!
AURORA. Yes, my lord?
DUKE. It is 810
Casandra's wish that you should give
Your hand in marriage to the Marquis.
I wish to please her rather than
Fulfil the Count's desire.
AURORA. It makes
Me truly happy, sir.
DUKE. The Marquis should 815
Inform his family in Mantua.
-260-
AURORA. He shall at once, my lord. I'll see
To it myself he writes the letter.
[Exit AURORA
DUKE. I swear the punishment that I
Intend to take is sent from Heaven above. 820
The justice I now seek comes not
From any sense of private hurt
But from God's love. For this is His
Revenge, not mine, and I am but
The instrument of punishment divine. 825
I act not as a husband wronged,
But as a father called upon to thus
Avenge a hideous sin and so demand
A punishment without revenge.*
It is in any case what each 830
Of us by honour's law is clearly told:
Avenge the insult secretly,
Or else dishonour is twofold.
The man is doubly shamed who gives
The punishment publicity; 835
For having lost his honour once,
The world then knows his infamy.
The infamous Casandra I
Have bound securely, her hands
And feet both tightly tied, 840
A cloth across her face, a gag
Stuffed in her mouth to stop her cries.
It was quite easily done, for when
I told her that I knew the truth
And why I'd come, she fainted at 845
My feet. To kill her now, despite
Her pleas, is something pity could
Ignore, but when I think of killing him . . .
What heart would not immediately
Be rent in two? The mere thought 850
Of it fills me with dread and makes
My limbs grow weak. My blood runs cold
Through frozen veins; I cannot find
-261-
The strength to speak. I feel as if
My spirit faints; my eyes, despite 855
Myself, now weep. My heart beats hard
Against my breast; I find it difficult
To breathe, just as on some cold winter's night
A flowing stream will start to freeze.
But I must not let love divert 860
Me from the task in hand when, as
The Scriptures tell us, it is God's
Command that sons must be obedient to
Their fathers in the things they do,
And not dishonour them, like Federico. 865
No, I must punish anyone
Who breaks God's law and brings such shame
Upon a father. For it is possible
That such a son is capable
Of murder too. Artaxerxes* 870
Killed fifty men and with less cause;
Torquatus, Brutus, Darius* stained their swords
With blood in order to enforce the laws.
No, love must never stay my swift,
Avenging hand when honour, now 875
Commanding reason, sets out cold,
Implacable demands. For it is truth
That prosecutes, and eyes and ears
That state the evidence of their guilt.
And though both love and blood speak out 880
In their defence, it is their shame
And infamy that now proclaim
Their lack of innocence. It is God's law
That in the end decides the case
When conscience writes man's guilt upon 885
His face. He comes. Why am I so
Afraid? I pray that Heaven now offers me
Its aid.
Enter FEDERICO.
FEDERICO. My lord, am I to think
That you've agreed Aurora's to
-262-
Be married to the Marquis of Gonzaga? 890
They tell me that he's soon to take
Her off to Mantua.
DUKE. I cannot say
That it is true or not. I do
Not know. Other, more important things
Preoccupy me now.
FEDERICO. No one 895
Who rules can rest, it's true. What is
It that so bothers you?
DUKE. It seems
A certain nobleman has, with the help
Of others, planned to bring about
My overthrow. He told his secret to 900
A woman who in turn told me,
Thus proving that we always place
Our trust in them most foolishly,
But at the same time flatter them
Most prudently. I summoned him, 905
Pretending there was something we
Must urgently discuss, and when
He came informed him that his little scheme
Had been revealed to us. He went
Quite pale as soon as I referred to it, 910
And then succumbed to what was clearly
A fainting fit. How easy it
Then was to tie him to the chair
And hide his true identity,
So when we put an end to him, 915
His name should not be publicized
Throughout the whole of Italy.
Now you are here, I take you in
My confidence, but no one else
Must know of this. I urge you take 920
Your sword and kill this man for me.
I shall observe from here if you
Have nerve enough to put an end
-263-
To my worst enemy.
FEDERICO. But is
There some conspiracy, or are 925
You merely testing me with this?
DUKE. If any father asks his son
To act on his behalf, does he
Then start to make a fuss and prove
Himself not half the man his father thought? 930
FEDERICO. Give me the sword. Wait here. I swear
That I do not feel fear. You say
The man is tied securely. Why is
It, then, my hands begin to shake
So uncontrollably?
DUKE. I'll go myself. 935
I'll get the deed done quickly.
FEDERICO. No.
You ordered me. I'll see it through.
And yet . . .
DUKE. You lack the nerve to go
And do it now.
FEDERICO. If it were Caesar, I
Would prove to you that I could run 940
[He draws his sword and leaves
DUKE. I'll watch
From here. He now approaches her.
He drives the sword right through. The man
Who by his actions stained my honour thus
Restores it.* Guards! Come quickly! 945
Servants! Members of my household! Hurry!
Enter the MARQUIS, AURORA, BATÍN,
RICARDO, and others.
MARQUIS. Why do you summon us? What makes
-264-
You call so loudly?
DUKE. Whoever saw
Such cold and callous treachery?
The Count had learned Casandra was 950
With child. He realized at once
That it would rob him of inheritance
And in his jealousy has murdered her.
I am the Duke. I order you
Take vengeance on the murderer. 955
MARQUIS. Casandra dead?
DUKE. Yes, there inside.
MARQUIS. I swear I'll not return to Mantua
Until the traitor has been duly tried.
DUKE. He comes. See how his sword is stained
With blood.
Enter FEDERICO.
FEDERICO. What have I done? I took 960
Away the veil that hid the face
And found the person you had claimed
A traitor was . . .
DUKE. You dare blame me
For your treachery? Kill him
At once.
MARQUIS. He has admitted guilt 965
And so must die.
FEDERICO. Why, father, why
Have you done this to me?
[Exit FEDERICO, pursued by the MARQUIS
DUKE. You will
Discover why on Judgement Day.
Aurora, you are free to leave
For Mantua. The Marquis is a good 970
And honest man. Of that be sure.
-265-
AURORA. I am confused. I cannot think
Of what to say.
