A Comedy of Marriage & Other Tales
by
Guy De Maupassant
Part 1 out of 6
Produced by Tiffany Vergon, Sandra Brown and Distributed Proofreaders
GUY DE MAUPASSANT
A COMEDY OF MARRIAGE
MUSOTTE
THE LANCER'S WIFE
AND OTHER TALES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LA PAIX DU MENAGE
MUSOTTE
ADDENDA
THE LANCER'S WIFE
HAUTOT SENIOR AND HAUTOT JUNIOR
NO QUARTER
THE ORPHAN
A LIVELY FRIEND
THE BLIND MAN
THE IMPOLITE SEX
THE CAKE
THE CORSICAN BANDIT
THE DUEL
LA PAIX DU MENAGE
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
MONSIEUR DE SALLUS
JACQUES DE RANDOL
MADAME DE SALLUS
Time: Paris, 1890
ACT I.
SCENE I.
Mme. de Sallus _in her drawing-room, seated in a corner by the
fireplace. Enter_ Jacques de RANDOL _noiselessly; glances to see that no
one is looking, and kisses_ Mme. de Sallus _quickly upon her hair. She
starts; utters a faint cry, and turns upon him._
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! How imprudent you are!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Don't be afraid; no one saw me.
MME. DE SALLUS
But the servants!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh, they are in the outer hall.
MME. DE SALLUS
How is that? No one announced you
JACQUES DE RANDOL
No, they simply opened the door for me.
MME. DE SALLUS
But what will _they_ think?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Well, they will doubtless think that _I_ don't count.
MME. DE SALLUS
But I will not permit it. I must have you announced in future. It does
not look well.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_laughs_]
Perhaps they will even go so far as to announce your husband--
MME. DE SALLUS
Jacques, this jesting is out of place.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Forgive me. [_Sits_.] Are you waiting for anybody?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes--probably. You know that I always receive when I am at home.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I know that I always have the pleasure of seeing you for about five
minutes--just enough time to ask you how you feel, and then some one
else comes in--some one in love with you, of course,--who impatiently
awaits my departure.
MME. DE SALLUS [_smiles_]
Well, what can I do? I am not your wife, so how can it be otherwise?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Ah! If you only were my wife!
MME. DE SALLUS
If I were your wife?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I would snatch you away for five or six months, far from this horrible
town, and keep you all to myself.
MME. DE SALLUS
You would soon have enough of me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
No, no!
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, yes!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Do you know that it is absolute torture to love a woman like you?
MME. DE SALLUS [_bridles_]
And why?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Because I covet you as the starving covet the food they see behind the
glassy barriers of a restaurant.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, Jacques!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I tell you it is true! A woman of the world belongs to the world; that
is to say, to everyone except the man to whom she gives herself. He can
see her with open doors for a quarter of an hour every three days--not
oftener, because of servants. In exceptional cases, with a thousand
precautions, with a thousand fears, with a thousand subterfuges, she
visits him once or twice a month, perhaps, in a furnished room. Then she
has just a quarter of an hour to give him, because she has just left
Madame X in order to visit Madame Z, where she has told her coachman to
take her. If he complains, she will not come again, because it is
impossible for her to get rid of her coachman. So, you see, the
coachman, and the footman, and Madame Z, and Madame X, and all the
others, who visit her house as they would a museum,--a museum that never
closes,--all the he's and all the she's who eat up her leisure minute by
minute and second by second, to whom she owes her time as an employee
owes his time to the State, simply because she belongs to the world--all
these persons are like the transparent and impassable glass: they keep
you from my love.
MME. DE SALLUS [_dryly_]
You seem upset to-day.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
No, no, but I hunger to be alone with you. You are mine, are you not?
Or, I should say, I am yours. Isn't it true? I spend my life in looking
for opportunities to meet you. Our love is made up of chance meetings,
of casual bows, of stolen looks, of slight touches--nothing more. We
meet on the avenue in the morning--a bow; we meet at your house, or at
that of some other acquaintance--twenty words; we dine somewhere at the
same table, too far from each other to talk, and I dare not even look at
you because of hostile eyes. Is that love? We are simply acquaintances.
MME. DE SALLUS
Then you would like to carry me off?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Unhappily, I cannot.
MME. DE SALLUS
Then what?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I do not know. I only know this life is wearing me out.
MME. DE SALLUS
It is just because there are so many obstacles in the way of your love
that it does not fade.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh! Madeline, can you say that?
MME. DE SALLUS [_softening_]
Believe me, dear, if your love has to endure these hardships, it is
because it is not lawful love.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Well, I never met a woman as positive as you. Then you think that if
chance made me your husband, I should cease to love you?
MME. DE SALLUS
Not all at once, perhaps, but--eventually.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What you say is revolting to me.
MME. DE SALLUS
Nevertheless, it is quite true. You know that when a confectioner hires
a greedy saleswoman he says to her, "Eat all the sweets you wish, my
dear." She stuffs herself for eight days, and then she is satisfied for
the rest of her life.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Ah! Indeed! But why do you include me in that class?
MME. DE SALLUS
Really, I do not know--perhaps as a joke!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Please do not mock me.
MME. DE SALLUS
I say to myself, here is a man who is very much in love with me. So far
as I am concerned, I am perfectly free, morally, since for two years
past I have altogether ceased to please my husband. Now, since this man
loves me, why should I not love him?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You are philosophic--and cruel.
MME. DE SALLUS
On the contrary, I have _not_ been cruel. Of what do you complain?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Stop! you anger me with this continual raillery. Ever since I began to
love you, you have tortured me in this manner, and now I do not even
know whether you have the slightest affection for me.
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, you must admit that I have always been--good-natured.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh, you have played a queer little game! From the day I first met you I
felt that you were coquetting with me, coquetting mysteriously,
obscurely, coquetting as only you can without showing it to others.
Little by little you conquered me with looks, with smiles, with
pressures of the hand, without compromising yourself, without pledging
yourself, without revealing yourself. You have been horribly
upright--and seductive. I have loved you with all my soul, yes,
sincerely and loyally, and to-day I do not know what feeling you have in
the depths of your heart, what thoughts you have hidden in your brain;
in fact, I know-I know nothing. I look at you, and I see a woman who
seems to have chosen me, and seems also to have forgotten that she _has_
chosen me. Does she love me, or is she tired of me? Has she simply made
an experiment--taken a lover in order to see, to know, to
taste,--without desire, hunger, or thirst? There are days when I ask
myself if among those who love you and who tell you so unceasingly there
is not one whom you really love.
MME. DE SALLUS
Good heavens! Really, there are _some_ things into which it is not
necessary to inquire.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh, how hard you are! Your tone tells me that you do not love me.
MME. DE SALLUS
Now, what _are_ you complaining about? Of things I do not
say?--because--I do not think you have anything else to reproach me
with.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Forgive me, I am jealous.
MME. DE SALLUS
Of whom?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I do not know. I am jealous of everything that I do not know about you.
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, and without my knowing anything about these things, too.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Forgive me, I love you too much--so much that everything disturbs me.
MME. DE SALLUS
Everything?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Yes, everything.
MME. DE SALLUS
Are you jealous of my husband?
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_amazed_]
What an idea!
MME. DE SALLUS [_dryly_]
Well, you are wrong.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Always this raillery!
MME. DE SALLUS No, I want to speak to you seriously about him, and to
ask your advice.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
About your husband?
MME. DE SALLUS [_seriously_]
Yes, I am not laughing, or rather I do not laugh any more. [_In lighter
tone_.] Then you are not jealous of my husband? And yet you know he is
the only man who has authority over me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
It is just because he has authority that I am not jealous. A woman's
heart gives nothing to the man who has authority.
MME. DE SALLUS
My dear, a husband's right is a positive thing; it is a title-deed that
he can lock up--just as my husband has for more than two years--but it
is also one that he can use at any given moment, as lately he has seemed
inclined to do.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_astonished_]
You tell me that your husband--
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Impossible!
MME. DE SALLUS [_bridles_]
And why impossible?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Because your husband has--has--other occupations.
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, it pleases him to vary them, it seems.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Jesting apart, Madeline, what has happened?
MME. DE SALLUS
Ah! Ah! Then you _are_ becoming jealous of him.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Madeline, I implore you; tell me, are you mocking me, or are you
speaking seriously?
MME. DE SALLUS
I am speaking seriously, indeed, very seriously.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Then what has happened?
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, you know my position, although I have never told you all my past
life. It is all very simple and very brief. At the age of nineteen I
married the Count de Sallus, who fell in love with me after he had seen
me at the Opera-Comique. He already knew my father's lawyer. He was very
nice to me in those early days; yes, very nice, and I really believed he
loved me. As for myself, I was very circumspect in my behavior toward
him, very circumspect indeed, so that he could never cast a shadow of
reproach on my name.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Well, did you love him?
MME. DE SALLUS
Good gracious! Why ask such questions?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Then you did love him?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes and no. If I loved him, it was the love of a little fool; but I
certainly never told him, for positively I do not know how to show love.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I can vouch for that!
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, it is possible that I cared for him sometimes, idiotically, like a
timid, restless, trembling, awkward, little girl, always in fear of that
disturbing thing--the love of a man--that disturbing thing that is
sometimes so sweet! As for him,--you know him. He was a sweetheart, a
society sweetheart, who are always the worst of all. Such men really
have a lasting affection only for those girls who are fitting companions
for clubmen--girls who have a habit of telling doubtful stories and
bestowing depraved kisses. It seems to me that to attract and to hold
such people, the nude and obscene are necessary both in word and in
body--unless--unless--it is true that men are incapable of loving any
woman for a length of time.
However, I soon became aware that he was indifferent to me, for he used
to kiss me as a matter of course and look at me without realizing my
presence; and in his manners, in his actions, in his conversation, he
showed that I attracted him no longer. As soon as he came into the room
he would throw himself upon the sofa, take up the newspaper, read it,
shrug his shoulders, and when he read anything he did not agree with, he
would express his annoyance audibly. Finally, one day, he yawned and
stretched his arms in my face. On that day I understood that I was no
longer loved. Keenly mortified I certainly was. But it hurt me so much
that I did not realize it was necessary to coquet with him in order to
retain his affection. I soon learned that he had a mistress, a woman of
the world. Since then we have lived separate lives--after a very stormy
explanation.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What do you mean? What sort of explanation?
MME. DE SALLUS
Well--
JACQUES DE RANDOL
About--his mistress?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes and no. I find it difficult to express myself. To avoid my
suspicions he found himself obliged, doubtless, to dissimulate from time
to time, although rarely, and to feign a certain affection for his
legitimate wife, the woman who had the right to his affection. I told
him that he might abstain in future from such a mockery of love.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
How did you tell him that?
MME. DE SALLUS
I don't remember.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
It must have been amusing.
MME. DE SALLUS
No, he appeared very much surprised at first. Then I formulated a nice
little speech and learned it by heart, in which I asked him to carry
such intermittent fancies elsewhere. He understood me, saluted me very
courteously, and--did as I asked him.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Did he never come back?
MME. DE SALLUS
Never, until--
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_interrupts_]
Has he never again tried to tell you of his love?
MME. DE SALLUS
No, never, until--
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_interrupts_]
Have you regretted it?
MME. DE SALLUS
That is of small importance. What is of importance, though, is that he
has had innumerable mistresses whom he entertains, whom he supports,
whom he takes out. It is this that has irritated and humiliated me--in
fact, cut me to the quick. But then I took heart of grace, and too late,
two years too late, I took a lover--you!
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_kisses her hand_]
And I, Madeline, I love you with my whole soul.
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, all this is not at all proper.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What do you mean by "all this"?
MME. DE SALLUS
Life in general--my husband--his mistresses--myself--and you.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Your words--prove beyond a doubt that you do not love me.
MME. DE SALLUS
Why?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You dare to say of love that it is not proper? If you loved me, it might
be divine, but a loving woman would abhor a phrase which should contain
such an idea. What! True love not proper?
MME. DE SALLUS
Possibly. It all depends upon the point of view. For myself, I see too
much.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What do you see?
MME. DE SALLUS
I see too well, too far, too clearly.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You do not love me?
MME. DE SALLUS
If I did not love you--a little--I should have had no excuse for giving
myself to you.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
A little--just sufficient to warrant that excuse!
MME. DE SALLUS
But I do not excuse myself: I accuse myself.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Then you did love me a little--and then--now--you love me no more!
MME. DE SALLUS
Do not let us argue.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You do nothing else.
MME. DE SALLUS
No, I only judge the present by the past; the only just ideas and sane
notions of life one can form are those concerning that which is past.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
And do you regret--
MME. DE SALLUS
Perhaps!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
And what about to-morrow?
MME. DE SALLUS
I do not know.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Is it nothing to you to have one who is yours, body and soul? MME. DE
SALLUS [_shrugs her shoulders_]
Yes, mine to-day.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_vehemently_]
And to-morrow!
MME. DE SALLUS [_shrugs her shoulders again_]
Yes, the to-morrow that follows to-night, but not the to-morrow of a
year hence.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_emphatically_]
You shall see. But how about your husband?
MME. DE SALLUS
Does he annoy you?
JACQUES DE RANDOL By heaven--
MME. DE SALLUS
Hush! [_Archly._] My husband has fallen in love with me again.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Is it possible?
MME. DE SALLUS [_indignantly_]
What do you mean by such an insolent question, and why should it not be
possible?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
A man falls in love with his wife before he marries her, but after
marriage he never commits the same mistake.
MME. DE SALLUS
But perhaps he has never really been in love with me until now.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
It is absolutely impossible that he could have lived with you--even in
his curt, cavalier fashion--without loving you.
MME. DE SALLUS [_indifferently_]
It is of little importance. He has either loved me in the past, or is
now beginning to love me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Truly, I do not understand you. Tell me all about it.
MME. DE SALLUS
But I have nothing to tell. He declares his love for me, takes me in his
arms, and threatens me with his conjugal rights. This upsets me,
torments me, and annoys me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Madeline you torture me.
MME. DE SALLUS [_quickly_]
And what about me? Do you think that I do not suffer? I know that I am
not exactly a faithful woman since I received your addresses, but I
have, and shall retain, a single heart. It is either you _or_ he. It
will never be you _and_ he. For me that would be infamy--the greatest
infamy of a guilty woman, the sharing of her heart--a thing that debases
her. One may fall, perhaps, because there are ditches along the wayside
and it is not always easy to follow the right path. But if one falls,
that is no reason to throw oneself in the abyss.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_takes her in his arms and kisses her_]
I simply adore you!
MME. DE SALLUS [_melts_]
And I, too, love you dearly, Jacques, and that is the reason why I fear.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
But, tell me, Madeline how long has it been since your husband reformed?
MME. DE SALLUS
Possibly fifteen days or three weeks.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Without relapse?
MME. DE SALLUS
Without relapse.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I will explain the mystery. The fact of the matter is this, your husband
has simply become a widower.
MME. DE SALLUS
What do you say?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
I mean that your husband is unattached just now, and seeks to spend his
leisure time with his wife.
MME. DE SALLUS
But I tell you that he is in love with me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Yes--yes--and no. He is in love with you--and also with another. Tell
me, his temper is usually bad, isn't it?
MME. DE SALLUS
Execrable!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Well, then, here is a man in love with you who shows his wonderful
return of tenderness by moods that are simply unsupportable--for they
are unsupportable, aren't they?
MME. DE SALLUS
Absolutely.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
If he wooed you with tenderness you would not feel fear. You would say
to yourself, "My turn has come at last," and then he would inspire you
with a little pity for him, for a woman has always a sneaking sort of
compassion for the man who loves her, even though that man be her
husband.
MME. DE SALLUS
Perhaps that is true.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Is he nervous, preoccupied?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
And he is abrupt with you, not to say brutal? He demands his right
without even praying for it?
MME. DE SALLUS
True.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
My darling, for the moment you are simply a substitute.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! no, no!
JACQUES DE RANDOL
My dearest girl, your husband's latest mistress was Madame de Bardane,
whom he left very abruptly about two months ago to run after the
Santelli.
MME. DE SALLUS
What, the singer?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Yes, a capricious, saucy, cunning, venal little woman. A woman not at
all uncommon upon the stage, or in the world either, for that matter.
MME. DE SALLUS
Then that is why he haunts the Opera.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_laughs_]
Without a doubt.
MME. DE SALLUS [_dreamily_]
No, no, you are deceiving yourself.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_emphatically_]
The Santelli resists him and repulses him; then, burdened with a heart
full of longing that has no outlet, he deigns to offer you a portion.
MME. DE SALLUS
My dear, you are dreaming. If he were in love with the Santelli, he
would not tell me that he loves me. If he were so entirely preoccupied
with this creature, he would not woo me. If he coveted her, he would not
desire me at the same time.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
How little you understand certain kinds of men! Men like your husband,
once inoculated with the poison of love,--which in them is nothing but
brutal desire,--men like him, I say, when a woman they desire escapes or
resists them, become raging beasts. They behave like madmen, like men
possessed, with arms outstretched and lips wide open. They must love
some one, no matter whom just as a mad dog with open jaws bites anything
and everybody. The Santelli has unchained this raging brute, and you
find yourself face to face with his dripping jaws. Take care! You call
that love! It is nothing but animal passion.
MME. DE SALLUS [_sarcastically_]
Really, you are very unfair to him. I am afraid jealousy is blinding
you.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh, no, I am not deceiving myself, you may be sure.
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, I think you are. Formerly my husband neglected and abandoned me,
doubtless finding me very insipid; but now he finds me much improved,
and has returned to me. It is very easy to understand, and moreover, it
is the worse for him, for he _must_ believe that I have been a
_faithful_ wife to him all my life.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Madeline!
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, what?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Does a girl cease to be a faithful wife, if, when deserted by the man
who has assumed charge of her existence, and her happiness, and her
love, and her ideals, she refuses to resign herself--young, beautiful,
and full of hope--to eternal isolation and everlasting solitude?
MME. DE SALLUS
I think I have already told you that there are certain things which it
is _not_ necessary to discuss, and this is one of them. [_The front door
bell sounds twice._] Here is my husband. Please be silent. He is in a
gloomy mood just now.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_rises_]
I think I shall go. I am not in love with your husband any more, for
many reasons, and it is difficult for me to be polite to him when I
despise him, and when I know that he ought to despise me, and would
despise me when I shake hands with him, did he know all.
MME. DE SALLUS [_annoyed_]
How many times must I tell you that all this is entirely out of place?
SCENE II.
(_The same, including_ M. de Sallus.)
_Enter_ M. de Sallus, _evidently in a bad temper. He looks for a moment
at_ Mme. de Sallus _and at_ Jacques de Randol, _who is taking his leave;
then comes forward_.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Ah! Sallus.
M. DE SALLUS
How are you, Randol? Surely you are not going because I came.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
No, but my time is up. I have an appointment at the club at midnight,
and now it is half after eleven. [_They shake hands._] Have you come
from the first performance of "Mahomet"?
M. DE SALLUS
Oh! Of course.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
People say that it should be a great success.
M. DE SALLUS
It doubtless will be.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_shakes hands again with_ De SALLUS _and_ Madame de
Sallus]
Well, till I see you again.
M. DE SALLUS
Till then, my dear fellow.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Madame, adieu.
MME. DE SALLUS
Adieu, Monsieur de Randol. [_Exit_ Randol.]
SCENE III.
(M. de Sallus _and_ Mme. de Sallus.)
M. DE SALLUS [_sinks into an armchair_]
Was Randol here any length of time?
MME. DE SALLUS
No, possibly half an hour.
M. DE SALLUS [_meditatively_]
Half an hour plus a whole hour makes an hour and a half, does it not?
Time seems to fly when you are with him.
MME. DE SALLUS
What do you mean by an hour and a half?
M. DE SALLUS
Just what I say. When I saw the carriage waiting at the door, I asked
the footman, who was within. He told me that it was M. Jacques de
Randol. "Has he been here long?" I asked. "He has been here since ten,"
said the footman. Admitting that the man might have been mistaken, we
will say, in the matter of a quarter of an hour, that would make an hour
and a quarter, at the least.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, ho! What is this new attitude of yours? Have I not a right to
receive whom I like now?
M. DE SALLUS
Oh, my dear, I deny you nothing, nothing, nothing. The only thing that
astonishes me is that you do not know the difference between half an
hour and an hour and a half.
MME. DE SALLUS
Are you looking for a scene? If you wish a quarrel, say so. I shall know
how to answer you. You are simply in a bad temper. Go to bed and sleep,
if you can.
M. DE SALLUS
I am not looking for a quarrel, neither am I in bad humor. I only state
that time flies with you when you pass it in the company of Jacques de
Randol.
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, it does go quickly; far more quickly than when I am with you.
M. DE SALLUS
He is a very charming fellow, and I know you like him; and, moreover, he
must like you very much, since he comes here every day.
MME. DE SALLUS
These insinuations are distasteful to me. Please speak plainly and say
what you mean. Are you assuming the role of a jealous husband?
M. DE SALLUS
God forbid! I have too much confidence in you, and far too much esteem
for you, to reproach you with anything, for I know that you have too
much tact ever to give rise to calumny or scandal.
MME. DE SALLUS
Do not play with words. You think that M. Jacques de Randol comes too
often to this house--to your house?
M. DE SALLUS
I do not find any fault with you for that.
MME. DE SALLUS
Thank you. You simply have not the right. However, since you adopt this
attitude, let us settle this question once for all, for I loathe
misunderstandings. It seems to me that you have an exceedingly short
memory. Let me come to your aid. Be frank with me. Through some
occurrence, the nature of which I do not know, your attitude is
different today from that of the past two years. Cast your memory over
the past, to the time when you began to neglect me in a manner that was
plain to all. I became very uneasy. Then I knew--I was told, and I
saw--that you were in love with Madame de Servieres. I told you how hurt
I was, how grieved I was. What did you reply? Just what every man
replies when he no longer loves the woman who reproaches him. You
shrugged your shoulders, smiled impatiently, told me I was mad, and then
expounded to me--I must admit, in a most skillful manner--those grand
principles of freedom in love that are adopted by every husband who
deceives his wife and thinks she will not deceive him. You gave me to
understand that marriage is not a bond, but simply an association of
mutual interests, a social rather than a moral alliance; that it does
not demand friendship or affection between married couples, provided
there be no scandal. You did not absolutely confess the existence of
your mistresses, but you pleaded extenuating circumstances. You were
very sarcastic upon the subject of those poor, silly women who object to
their husbands being gallant toward other women, since, according to
you, such gallantry is one of the laws of the polished society to which
you belong. You laughed at the foolish man who does not dare to pay
compliments to a woman in the presence of his own wife, and ridiculed
the gloomy look of a wife whose eyes follow her husband into every
corner, imagining that because the poor man disappears into an adjoining
room he is at the feet of a rival. All this was very airy, funny, and
disagreeable, wrapped up in compliments and spiced with cynicism--sweet
and bitter at the same time, and calculated to banish from the heart all
love for a smooth, false, and well-bred man who could talk in such a
manner. I understood, I wept, I suffered, and then I shut my door upon
you. You made no objection; you judged me better than you thought; and
since then we have lived completely separate lives. Such has been the
case for the past two years, two long years and more, which certainly
have not seemed more than six months to you. We go into society as
usual, we return from society as usual, and we each enter our own temple
of life. The situation was established by you in consequence of your
first infidelity, an infidelity which has been followed by many others.
I have said nothing; I have resigned myself to the situation; and I have
banished you from my heart. Now that I have finished, what do you wish?
M. DE SALLUS
My dear, I am not asking for anything. I do not even wish to answer the
very aggressive speech you have done me the honor to make. I only wish
to give you advice--the advice of a friend--upon a situation that may
possibly endanger your reputation. You are beautiful, always in the
public eye, and much envied. Scandal could have easy birth.
MME. DE SALLUS
Pardon me. If we are to speak of scandal, I must have leave to balance
my account with you.
M. DE SALLUS
Come, do not let us joke over this thing. I speak to you as a
friend--seriously, as a friend. As to what you have said about me, it is
all extremely exaggerated.
MME. DE SALLUS
Not at all. You have never tried to conceal, in fact, you have actually
proclaimed to all the world your infidelities--a fact which gives me the
right to go and do likewise, and, my friend, believe what I say--
M. DE SALLUS
One moment--
MME. DE SALLUS
Let me finish. According to you, I am beautiful, I am young, and yet
condemned by my husband to live, and watch him live, as if I were a
widow. Look at me [_rises_], is it just to consign me to play the role
of an abandoned Ariadne, while my husband runs from this woman to that
woman, and this girl to that girl? [_Grows excited_.] A faithful wife! I
cry you mercy! Is a faithful wife compelled to sacrifice all her life,
all her happiness, all her affections, everything, in fact, every
privilege, every expectation, every claim, which is hers by birth and
for which she has been born? Look at me! Am I made for a nunnery? The
fact that I married you should answer that question. And yet, you,
_you_, who took me from my father's house, neglect me to run after
others. And what others? I am not in their circle, neither am I one of
those who would share your life with others. So much the worse for
you--for I am free, and you have no right to give me advice since I _am_
free.
M. DE SALLUS
My dear girl, be calm. You misunderstand me completely. I have never
suspected you. Indeed, I have the most profound esteem and friendship
for you--a loving friendship which grows greater every day. I have no
wish to comment upon that past with which you reproach me so cruelly.
Perhaps I am a little too--too--what shall I say?
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! Say that you belong to the period of the Regency. I know that method
of excusing all male weaknesses and follies. Oh! yes; that eighteenth
century, that _dainty_ century, so full of _elegance_, so full of
delicious _fantasies_ and adorable _whims_! Alas! my dear, that is
ancient history.
M. DE SALLUS
No, no, you misunderstand me again. Believe me, I am and have been above
everything too--too--much of a Parisian, too much accustomed to turning
night into day, for the sedate life of marriage. I have been too much
accustomed to go behind the scenes of theaters, to various clubs, to a
thousand other forms of dissipation; and you know a man cannot change
all at once,--it takes time. Marriage seeks to change us all too
suddenly. It ought to give us time to get accustomed to it, little by
little. You would practically take away from me the joy of life were I
to behave as you seem to desire.
MME. DE SALLUS
I am so grateful; and now, perhaps, you wish to offer me a new proof--a
new proof--
M. DE SALLUS
Oh, as you please. Really, when a man who has lived as I have marries,
he can hardly help looking upon his wife as a new mistress--I mean to
say a faithful mistress--and it is only when it is too late that he
understands more clearly,--comes to his senses and repents.
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, my friend, it _is_ too late. As I have already told you, I mean to
have my innings. I have taken nearly three years to think it over. You
may think that is long, but I need some amusement as well as you. The
fact that I have taken nearly three years to think it over is a
compliment to you, but you fail to see it.
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline, this jesting is altogether out of place.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! no, because I am compelled to think that every one of your
mistresses was far more attractive than I, since you have preferred them
to me.
M. DE SALLUS
What sort of mood are you in?
MME. DE SALLUS
In the same mood that I always am. It is you who have changed.
M. DE SALLUS
True, I _have_ changed.
MME. DE SALLUS
And that is to say--
M. DE SALLUS
That I have been an idiot.
MME. DE SALLUS
And that--
M. DE SALLUS
I am sane once more.
MME. DE SALLUS
And that--
M. DE SALLUS
That I am again in love with my wife.
MME. DE SALLUS
You must have returned to your youth.
M. DE SALLUS
What do you say?
MME. DE SALLUS
I say that you must have returned to your youth.
M. DE SALLUS
What do you mean?
MME. DE SALLUS
Let me illustrate. When you are young you are always hungry, and when a
youth is hungry he often eats things that he would not eat at another
time. Well, I am the dish,--the dish that you have neglected in your
days of plenty, the dish to which you return in the days of
scarcity--[_slowly_] for which I thank you!
M. DE SALLUS
I have never looked upon you as you think. You pain me as well as
astonish me.
MME. DE SALLUS
So much the worse for both of us. If I astonish you, you repel me. Learn
now, once for all, that I am not made for the role of a substitute.
M. DE SALLUS [_approaches her, takes her hand and presses a long kiss
upon it_]
Madeline, I swear to you that I love you, in truth, devotedly, now and
forever.
MME. DE SALLUS [_ironically_]
You must really believe it! [_Suddenly._] But who is the woman that
attracts--and repels you--just now?
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline, I swear--
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, a truce to your swearing! I know that you have just broken with one
of your mistresses; you need another and you cannot find one, so you
come to me. For nearly three years you have forgotten all about me, so
that now you find I am somewhat of a novelty. It is not your wife you
are seeking now, but a woman with whom you have formerly had a rupture,
and with whom you now desire to make up. To speak the truth you are
simply playing the game of a libertine.
M. DE SALLUS
I do not ask you whether you be my wife or not my wife. You are the
woman I love, the woman who possesses my heart. You are the woman of
whom I dream, whose image follows me everywhere, whom I continually
desire. It happens that you are my wife. So much the worse, or so much
the better. What matters it?
MME. DE SALLUS
Truly, it is a distinguished part that you offer me. After Mademoiselle
Zozo, after Mademoiselle Lilie, Mademoiselle Tata, you have the audacity
to offer to your wife--to Madame de Sallus--the place left vacant,
asking her to become her husband's mistress for a short space of time.
M. DE SALLUS
No; now, and--forever.
MME. DE SALLUS
Pardon me. You ask that I should re-become your wife forever? That is
out of the question; I have already ceased to entertain the idea. The
reason may be obscure, but nevertheless it is real; and after all, the
idea of making me your _legitimate_ mistress seems to be far more
entertaining to you than assuming the role of a _faithful_ husband.
M. DE SALLUS [_laughs_]
Well, why should not the wife become the husband's mistress? You are
right in what you say; you are absolutely free and I own my faults. Yet,
I am in love with you-for the second time, if you will-and I say to you,
here and now, Madeline, since you confess that your heart is empty, have
pity upon me, for I tell you that I love you.
MME. DE SALLUS
And you ask me to give you a husband's right?
M. DE SALLUS
I do.
MME. DE SALLUS
And you acknowledge that I am free, absolutely free?
M. DE SALLUS
I do.
MME. DE SALLUS
And you really wish me to become your mistress?
M. DE SALLUS
I do.
MME. DE SALLUS
You understand what I mean--your mistress?
M. DE SALLUS
Yes.
MME. DE SALLUS [_sarcastically_]
Well, well! I think I would rather accept another offer that I have, but
since you are good enough to ask me to give you the preference, I may
give it to you--for a fair sum.
M. DE SALLUS
What do you mean?
MME. DE SALLUS
Just what I say. Listen! Do you consider me as attractive as any of your
mistresses? Now, be frank with me.
M. DE SALLUS
A thousand times more!
MME. DE SALLUS
Really!
M. DE SALLUS
I swear it!
MME. DE SALLUS
What, better than the best?
M. DE SALLUS
A thousand times!
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, tell me, now, truly, how much has the one you liked best among all
your numerous mistresses cost you, let us say--in three months?
M. DE SALLUS
I cannot tell.
MME. DE SALLUS
Listen to me. I repeat the question. How much has the most charming of
your numerous mistresses cost you in the space of three months--not only
in money, but in gifts of jewelry, in dainty little suppers, in
ceremonious dinners, in theater boxes,--in everything?
M. DE SALLUS
How can I tell?
MME. DE SALLUS
You should be able to. Come, let us make an estimate. Did you give her a
round sum, or did you pay for everything separately? However, I know you
are not a man to bother over details, so I conclude that you gave her a
round sum.
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline, you are absolutely unbearable.
MME. DE SALLUS
Follow me closely. When you began to neglect me, you took away three
horses from our stables--one of them was mine and the other two were
yours. Then you took away a coachman and a footman; you then found it
necessary to make me economize at home in order that you might be
extravagant abroad.
M. DE SALLUS
That is not true.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! yes, it is. I have every date; do not deny it, for I shall confound
you if you do. You also stopped giving me jewels, for, of course, you
had other ears, other fingers, other wrists, and other necks to adorn.
You also deprived me of one of my nights at the Opera, and I do not know
how many other things less important. And all this, according to my
idea, should mean about five thousand francs a month. Am I not right?
M. DE SALLUS
You may be, but you are mad.
MME. DE SALLUS
No, no, confess; did the most expensive one of your mistresses cost you
about five thousand francs a month?
M. DE SALLUS
You are crazy.
MME. DE SALLUS
If you are going to answer me thus, I bid you good evening. [_She rises
as if to retire, but_ M. de Sallus _interposes_.]
M. DE SALLUS
Come now, Madeline, a truce to this jesting.
MME. DE SALLUS [_in a determined manner_]
Five thousand francs? Tell me, did she cost you five thousand francs?
M. DE SALLUS [_shrugs his shoulders_]
Oh, yes, thereabouts.
MME. DE SALLUS [_looks him straight in the face_]
Ah, ah! Well, listen. If you will give me immediately five thousand
francs, you may be my husband for a month--but only a month.
M. DE SALLUS
You have lost your head!
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, farewell, good night!
M. DE SALLUS
What a farce! Stop, Madeline, let us talk seriously.
MME. DE SALLUS
About what?
M. DE SALLUS
Of--of--hang it--of my love for you.
MME. DE SALLUS [_archly_]
But that's not a serious question at all.
M. DE SALLUS
I swear it is!
MME. DE SALLUS
Hypocrite! You make me thirsty with so much talk. [_Goes to a
chiffonier, where there is a decanter and various liqueurs, and pours
herself out a glass of water. At the instant she begins to drink_, M. de
Sallus _steals up and kisses her on the back of the neck. She turns with
a start and throws the glass of water in his face_.]
M. DE SALLUS
I suppose you think that funny.
MME. DE SALLUS
It may or may not be. Certainly what you have done, or tried to do, was
ridiculous.
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline, I ask--
MME. DE SALLUS
Five--thousand--francs.
M. DE SALLUS
But that would be idiotic.
MME. DE SALLUS
And why?
M. DE SALLUS
Ask me why a husband should pay his wife--his lawful wife--when he has
the right?
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, no, no. You may have the strength, but I can have my revenge.
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline--
MME. DE SALLUS
Five--thousand--francs.
M. DE SALLUS
I should be an object of ridicule forever if I were to pay my
wife--yes--not only an object of ridicule, but an idiot, an imbecile.
MME. DE SALLUS
Well, don't you think it is still more imbecile, when you have such a
wife as I, to--to go outside and--pay mistresses?
M. DE SALLUS
Madeline, I confess it; but now--we are husband and wife, and it is not
necessary to ruin me, is it?
MME. DE SALLUS
Allow me. When you took your wealth--the wealth which was also partly
mine by marriage--to pay for your folly, you committed an action that
was more than doubtful. In fact, it was criminal, for you ruined me at
the same time you ruined yourself. I use your own language. I have
refrained from asking you more about the folly that is in question;
moreover, the five thousand francs that you must give me will be spent
upon your own house. You must admit that is practical economy. But I
know you; I know that you are never in love with anything that is lawful
and right; so in paying dearly--very dearly, because I shall probably
seek an increase--for what you have the right to take, you will find
our--_liaison_--far more to your taste. [_Smiles_.] Good night, I am
going to bed.
M. DE SALLUS [_angrily_]
Will you take it in cash, or have a cheque?
MME. DE SALLUS [_haughtily_]
I prefer cash.
M. DE SALLUS [_opening a pocketbook_]
I have only three bank-notes. I will give you the rest in a cheque.
[_Writes a cheque and hands it to_ Mme. de Sallus.]
MME. DE SALLUS [_takes the cheque, looks at_ M. de Sallus _with disgust,
and Speaks in harsh tones_]
You are just the kind of man I took you to be. After paying your
numerous mistresses, you actually consent to pay me as if I were like
them--without any feeling of disgust or realizing the difference in our
situation. You have said that I asked too much, you have pleaded the
fear of ridicule, but you could not understand that you were consenting
to _buy_ me--_me_--your _wife_! You wished to possess me for a little,
as a sort of variation to your usual list, although your heart must have
told you that it was degrading to me to be placed on such a plane. You
did not recoil from such an idea, but pursued it, just as you pursue
them, and the more eagerly, because I was more expensive. But you have
deceived yourself, not me. Not thus will you ever regain possession of
your wife. Adieu, Monsieur! [_Throws the money in his face, and makes a
haughty exit_.]
ACT II.
SCENE I.
Madame de Sallus _alone in her drawing-room, as in_ Act I. _She is
writing; she stops and looks at the clock. A servant announces_ Monsieur
Jacques de Randol.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_after kissing_ Mme. de Sallus's _hand_]
I trust you are well, Madame.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, yes, thank you.
[_Exit servant_.]
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What is it all about? Your letter has completely upset me. I thought
some accident had occurred, and I came immediately.
MME. DE SALLUS [_looks at him steadfastly_]
My dear Jacques, we must decide upon some course of action immediately.
The important hour has come.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_surprised_]
What do you mean?
MME. DE SALLUS
For two days I have undergone all the anguish that a woman's heart can
endure.
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_still more surprised_]
What has happened?
MME. DE SALLUS
I am about to tell you, but I wish to do so with calmness and moderation
lest you think me mad. That is the reason why I sent for you.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You know that I am yours entirely. Tell me what I must do.
MME. DE SALLUS
I cannot live near him any longer. It is absolutely impossible. It is an
hourly crucifixion.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Near your husband?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, my husband.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What has he done?
MME. DE SALLUS
It is necessary to revert to the other evening, after you took your
leave. When we were alone he tried to make a jealous scene, with you as
the subject.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
With me as the subject?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, a scene which proved to me that he had been watching us.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
How?
MME. DE SALLUS
He had been questioning a servant.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Nothing more than that?
MME. DE SALLUS
No. That in itself, however, is not of much importance, for I believe he
really likes you. But, after that, he told me of his love for me.
Perhaps I was a little too insolent, too disdainful. I do not know
exactly how far I went; but I found myself in such a perplexing, such a
painful, such an extraordinary situation, that I dared everything to
escape it.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What did you do?
MME. DE SALLUS
I sought to wound him so deeply that he would leave me forever.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Apparently you have not succeeded.
MME. DE SALLUS
No.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Of course not; that method never does succeed. On the contrary, it often
brings about a reconciliation.
MME. DE SALLUS
The next day, during luncheon, he was sulky, irritable, and gloomy.
Then, as he was rising from the table, he said, "I have not forgotten
your behavior of yesterday, and shall not let you forget it. You wish
for war, let it be war; but I warn you that I shall conquer you, because
I am your master." I answered him, "Be it so; but if you drive me to
extremity, take care,--it is not always safe to make a woman desperate."
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Especially when that woman is his wife. And what did he reply?
MME. DE SALLUS
He did not reply in words; but he treated me brutally.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Did he strike you?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes and no. He jostled me, he squeezed me, he suffocated me. I have
bruises all along my arms, but he did not strike me.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Then what did he do?
MME. DE SALLUS
He hugged and embraced me, trying to overcome my resistance.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Is that all?
MME. DE SALLUS
What do you mean by saying, "Is that all?" Don't you think that is
enough?
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You do not understand me. I only wish to know whether he struck you.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, no. I am not afraid of that from him; but luckily I was able to ring
the bell.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
You rang the bell?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What a thing to do! [_Smiles_.] And when the servant came, did you ask
him to show your husband out?
MME. DE SALLUS [_pouts_]
You seem to find this very funny.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Oh, no, my dear Madame; it is all exceedingly painful to me, but I
cannot help realizing the grotesqueness of the situation. Pardon
me,--and what then?
MME. DE SALLUS
I ordered my carriage. And then, as soon as Joseph had gone out, my
husband said, with that arrogant air which you know so well in him,
"Today, or to-morrow--it matters not which."
JACQUES DE RANDOL
And--
MME. DE SALLUS
And that is almost all.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Almost?
MME. DE SALLUS
Yes, because since then I have locked myself in my room as soon as I
heard him coming in.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Haven't you seen him since?
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh, yes, several times, but only for a few minutes each time.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
What has he said to you?
MME. DE SALLUS
Little or nothing. He either sneers or insolently asks whether I am less
savage to-day. Last night at the table he brought out a little book,
which he read during dinner. As I did not wish to appear embarrassed or
anxious, and desired to maintain my dignity, I said: "Your manners
toward me are certainly exceedingly courteous." He smiled and replied:
"What did you say?" "It is strange that, for reading, you should choose
the time that we are together," I said. He answered: "Great heavens! It
is all your fault, since you do not care to be amiable. Besides, this
little book is very interesting. It is the Civil Code. Perhaps you would
like to become acquainted with some clauses in it. They would certainly
interest you." Then he read me the law concerning marriage; the duties
of a wife and the rights of a husband. Then he looked me full in the
face, and asked me whether I understood. I answered in the same tone
that I understood too much,--especially did I understand the kind of man
I had married. Then I went out and I have not seen him since.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
Haven't you seen him to-day?
MME. DE SALLUS
No. He lunched alone. As for myself, I have thought over the situation,
and have decided not to meet him _tete-a-tete_ any more.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
But are you quite sure that at bottom his attitude is not induced by
anger, by wounded vanity, by disappointment, and perhaps by a little
bravado? Possibly he will behave himself better in future. To-night he
is at the Opera. The Santelli has scored a great success in "Mahomet,"
and I think she has invited him to supper after the performance. Now, if
the supper is very much to his taste, he will probably be in good humor
when he comes home.
MME. DE SALLUS
Oh! How provoking you are. Can't you understand that I am in the power
of this man, that I belong to him even more than his valet or his dog,
because he has those abominable legal rights over me? The Code, your
barbarous Code, puts me entirely in his power without any possible
defense on my part; save actually killing me, he can do everything.
Can't you understand that? Can't you realize the horror of my situation?
Imagine, save actual murder, he can do anything to me, and he has the
strength--not only physical but legal--to obtain anything from me. And
I, I have not a single avenue of escape from a man whom I despise and
hate. And that is the law made by you men! He took me, married me,
deserted me. On my part, I have an absolutely moral right to leave him.
And yet, despite this righteous hatred, this overpowering disgust, this
loathing which creeps through me in the presence of the man who has
scorned me, deceived me, and who has fluttered, right under my eyes,
from girl to girl--this man, I say, has the right to demand from me a
shameful and infamous concession. I have no right to hide myself; I have
no right even to a key to my own door. Everything belongs to him--the
key, the door, and even the woman who hates him. It is monstrous! Can
you imagine such a horrible situation? That a woman should not be
mistress of herself, should not even have the sacred right of preserving
her person from a loathsome stain? And all this is the consequence of
the infamous law which you men have made!
JACQUES DE RANDOL [_appealingly_]
My darling! I fully understand what you must be suffering; but how can I
help it? No magistrate can protect you; no statute can preserve you.
MME. DE SALLUS
I know it. But when you have neither mother nor father to protect you,
when the law is against you, and when you shrink from complicity in
those degrading transactions to which many women yield themselves, there
is always one means of escape.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
And that?
MME. DE SALLUS
Flight.
JACQUES DE RANDOL
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