Anathema A Tragedy in Seven Scenes 3
The sun is burning mercilessly and the few small trees, with their
leaves curled up from the heat, are pining for rain; the dusty road is
deserted. Beyond the posts, where the road is turning toward the right,
there is a high precipice--the dust-covered tops of trees are seen here
and there in the descending distance. And embracing the entire horizon,
the sea has stretched itself in a smoky blue strip, sleeping peacefully
in the heat and glare of the sun._
_Sarah, David Leizer's wife, an old Jewess, exhausted by life, is
seated in front of her little shop. She is mending some rags and is
chatting languidly with the other shopkeepers._
SARAH.
No one is buying anything. No one is drinking any soda-water; no one is
buying any sunflower seeds or any fine candies which melt in the mouth.
PURIKES.
_Like an echo._
No one is buying anything.
SARAH.
One might think that all the people have died so as not to buy
anything. One might think that we remained alone with our stores in
the whole world--we alone in the whole world.
PURIKES.
_Like an echo._
We alone.
BEZKRAINY.
The sun has burnt all the customers--only the shopkeepers remained.
_Silence. The soft sobbing of Sonka is heard._
BEZKRAINY.
Sonka, yesterday you bought a chicken. Did you kill or rob anybody that
you can afford to buy chickens? And if you are so rich and you hide
your money, why do you deal here and hinder us from making a living?
PURIKES.
_Like an echo._
And hinder us from making a living?
BEZKRAINY.
Sonka, I am asking you,--is it true that you bought a chicken
yesterday? Don't lie, I know it from trustworthy people.
_Sonka maintains silence, weeping._
SARAH.
When a Jew buys a chicken, it is because either the Jew is sick or the
chicken is sick. Sonka Zitron's son is dying; yesterday he commenced
to die and to-day he will end it--the boy is tenacious and he is dying
slowly.
BEZKRAINY.
Why did she come here if her son is dying?
SARAH.
Because it is necessary to trade.
PURIKES.
It is necessary to trade.
_Sonka is weeping._
SARAH.
Yesterday we ate nothing, we waited for to-day; and to-day we will eat
nothing, waiting that to-morrow will bring us customers and happiness.
Happiness! Who knows what is happiness? All people are equal before
God, and yet one sells two cents' worth, while another sells thirty
cents' worth. And one always two cents' worth, while the other always
thirty cents' worth, and no one knows why happiness is given to a
person.
BEZKRAINY.
I used to sell thirty cents' worth, and now I sell only two cents'
worth. At that time I had no "noblemen's" cider, and now I have it, and
yet I sell only two cents' worth now. Luck is changeable!
PURIKES.
Luck is changeable.
SARAH.
Yesterday my son Naum came and asked me: "Mother, where is father?" So
I said to him: "What for do you want to know where father is? David
Leizer, your father, is a sick, unfortunate man, who is going to die
soon; and he goes to the seashore to commune in solitude with God about
his fate. Don't disturb your father, he is going to die soon--you had
better tell me what you want to say." And Naum answered: "I will tell
you, mother,--I am beginning to die!" That is what Naum answered. When
David Leizer, my old husband, came home, I said to him: "You are still
steadfast in your uprightness! Blaspheme God and die! For your son Naum
is already beginning to die."
_Sonka is weeping more loudly._
PURIKES.
_Suddenly looks around, frightened._
But what--But what if people should stop buying things altogether?
SARAH.
_Frightened._
What do you mean?
PURIKES.
_With ever growing fear._
What if people should suddenly stop buying things altogether? What are
we to do then?
BEZKRAINY.
_With alarm._
How is it possible that people should stop buying things altogether?
That's impossible!
SARAH.
That's impossible.
PURIKES.
It is possible. Suddenly everybody may stop buying things.
_All are seized with horror; even Sonka stops
weeping, and pale-faced, she surveys the deserted
road with her frightened, dark eyes. The sun is
burning mercilessly. Anathema appears in the
distance, at the turn of the road._
SARAH.
A customer!
PURIKES.
A customer!
SONKA.
A customer! A customer!
_She cries again. Anathema comes nearer to them.
Notwithstanding the heat, he wears a black coat
of fine cloth, a black silk hat, black gloves;
only his necktie is white, lending a solemn air to
his costume. He is tall, and, though grey-haired,
straight and stately. The face of the accursed one
is of a swarthy-grey color; his features are stern
and of peculiar beauty. When Anathema takes off his
hat, his enormous forehead is revealed, furrowed
by wrinkles. His head is unusually large and his
greyish black hair is dishevelled. Anathema's neck
is wiry and strong, but it is rather thin and long,
and in his nervous contortions he carries his head
like a heavy weight, giving it the appearance
of strange inquisitiveness, restlessness and
malignity._
SARAH.
Do you want perhaps a glass of soda-water, sir? It is as hot as in
Hell, and if you don't drink, you may die of a sunstroke.
BEZKRAINY.
Real noblemen's cider!
PURIKES.
Violet soda! My God, violet soda!
SARAH.
Soda, seltzer!
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기