Â
PORTEN and BERGNER
(
Interrupt him
.) Let's change the subject.
Â
JANNINGS
All right. No more than five minutes had passed when a man in the park approached me. No, not a faggot â¦
(
He is interrupted by a girl who comes onstage from the right, a suitcase in her hand
: ALICE KESSLER.
She is wearing an afternoon dress and looks as if she had come to this performance by mistake. )
Â
ALICE
(
Puts down the suitcase, begins to speak very matter-of-factly
.) Is it you? Am I in the right place here? I heard you talking from a distance and came in. The sounds I heard were so inviting, voices and laughter, what is more beautiful than that? What are you showing to each other there, I'd like to see something too. What are you whispering about? I'd like to hear something too. (
She tosses her hat to VON STROHEIM. He is so disconcerted that he turns aside instead of catching it.
) How are you? (
Pause. All of them seem petrified.)
How are you?
Â
BERGNER
(
Suddenly loosens up and moves. She practices her reply.)
Fine? Fine. Fine! We're fine. Indeed! We're fine! (
Pause. She tries to talk normally again.
) And howâand how are you?
Â
ALICE
(
Answers quite naturally
.) I'm fine too. Though my hand is still trembling from carrying that heavy suitcase, and I'm still a little weak in the knees because I'm not used to wearing high-heeled shoes; but I can put up with all that because I'm so happy to see you. What are you doing here?
Â
BERGNER
(
Is glad to be able to answer so simply
.) We're talking.
Â
ALICE
And now you don't know how to go on?
Â
BERGNER
Perhaps. (
She falters
.) Yes. Yes!
Â
ALICE
Hello!
Â
BERGNER
Hello!
Â
ALICE
(
To the others
) Hello! (
They raise their heads, perplexed. As if awakening, still half asleep, not knowing yet what they are saying, they say one after the other
: “Hello!” Then they
comprehend what they have said and become lively. The stage light gradually turns into early-morning light again
. ) What time is it?
Â
(GEORGE
nudges
JANNINGS
in the hip.)
Â
JANNINGS
(
As if back to sleep already
) Don't you have a watch? (
He gives a start.
) “How late is it?” Of course: how late is it? Well, how late is it now? You could have said so right away. (
He opens his pocket watch in front of
ALICE.)
Â
ALICE
Thanks! (
He shuts the watch again
.)
Â
JANNINGS
(
After a pause
.) Don't mention it. (
He spreads his arms wide as if he just found a solution and plays with the answer.)
Don't mention it! (
To
GEORGE ) Ask me what time it is.
Â
GEORGE
(
Merrily
) What time is it? ( JANNINGS
shows him the pocket watch.
) Thanks!
Â
JANNINGS
(
Shuts the watch
.) Don't mention it.
Â
GEORGE
(
Merrily
) Thanks!
Â
JANNINGS
(
Cheerfully
) But I insist: don't mention it!
Â
(ALICE
holds
out her hand to
JANNINGS.
He shakes it in
stantly. She also holds out her hand to
GEORGE
and he shakes
it instantly. She holds out her hand to
PORTEN and PORTEN
shakes it gratefully.
VON STROHEIM
understands too and takes
her hand.
Now she takes off her gloves and everyone watches very inquisitively. She hands them to
VON STROHEIM
and he takes them. He now picks up the hat and tosses it playfully to
GEORGE. GEORGE
catches the hat and puts it on the table
. VON STROHEIM
adds the gloves to it. Everything is working well.
BERGNER
sits down, apparently relieved
.)
Â
ALICE
(To VON STROHEIM ) What do you have there in your hand?
Â
VON STROHEIM
(
Opens his fist
.) A necklace. Yes, a necklace!
Â
ALICE
It's beautiful!
Â
A VOICE
(
From the wings
) It's not beautiful.
Â
(ELLEN KESSLER
now appears from the left, also with a suitcase, dressed exactly like
ALICE.
She tosses
VON STROHEIM
her hat, then takes off her gloves and hands them to him
.)
Â
VON STROHEIM
(
Puts the things on the table and asks
ELLEN) So you would like to have it?
Â
ALICE
(
Replies
) Yes.
Â
(
He turns
to ALICE
and puts the necklace around her neck. She moves voluptuously
.
ELLEN
begins to walk around. She walks about with the same movements as ALICE did before. Shakes hands with everyone and says:
“Hello!”
They answer herâat least, the first two doâafter an initial pause; then they laugh at each other as over a joke. Behind her back
GEORGE
takes a cigar out of the box and shows it to
JANNINGS;
then he takes out a second one; they laugh silently
;
finally
GEORGE
shows
JANNINGS
a third cigar
, JANNINGS
becomes serious and looks to the left and right, but no one else appears.
In the meantime
, ELLEN
taps
VON STROHEIM
on the shoulder to greet him. He is talking to
ALICE. )
Â
VON STROHEIM
Why is it that I'm so sure I've seen you before whenever I look at you, although when I actually say it (He turns to ELLEN,
since she has tapped him on the shoulder, and continues talking to her as if it were quite normal)
, it strikes me as the usual cliche? (ELLEN
holds out her hand to him and he bends over it. She shies back, and
ALICE
says, “He bit
me!
” remaining motionless, while
ELLEN
performs the appropriate gestures.
VON STROHEIM to ALICE) In my imagination I was about to pinch myself in the arm.
Â
ALICE
(
Motionless
.) Already forgotten.
Â
VON STROHEIM
Already forgotten?
Â
ALICE
You always ask. Were you alone too long?
Â
VON STROHEIM
Why?
Â
ELLEN
Or did you work too hard?
Â
VON STROHEIM
Why?
Â
ALICE
Or do you pose counterquestions only to win time for your reply? Because you're figuring out a lie? Because in the meantime you're so washed up that you can't answer any more without lying? I came in quietly and you all sat there looking washed up, but you looked at me as though you had been quiet until then, and I, by entering so suddenly, should actually be the one to look washed up.
Â
VON STROHEIM
What are you talking about?
Â
ELLEN
About you. I only wanted to show you how you talk.
Â
(
She leans against his back, shoves one leg between his. He looks down at himself. She puts her arms around his neck. ALICE waves to him with a finger. ELLEN doubles the gesture by holding her hands to his face from the back and also bending a finger. He wants to take a step forward, and lean back at the same time, but remains standing there.
)
Â
VON STROHEIM
I'll talk as I please.
Â
(ELLEN
puts her hand over his eyes
.)
Â
ALICE
Then say something.
Â
VON STROHEIM
(
Opens his mouth and shuts it. He moves his hands as if he were looking for something that keeps eluding him. He stammers, but whenever his hand seems to seize something, he produces whole syllables: “be, what, un, re”; then he reaches for it and it escapes him again, and he goes on stammering. ELLEN takes her hands away from his eyes and he calms down instantly
.)
I can't; it's like reaching for a
piece of soap under water.
Â
ALICE
What?
Â
VON STROHEIM
Already forgotten. When you covered my eyes, I had it perfectly clear in front of me, but now I have forgotten it. (
He falters
.) “Already forgotten!” That was it! You said, “Already forgotten!” and I remembered something, but what? It escaped me again and again, and I had a feeling like searching for a piece of soap under waterâ(
He makes a perfunctory gesture, suddenly sniffs his fingers, repeats the gesture. Pause.
)
Â
ELLEN
Perhaps you'll think of it â¦
Â
ALICE
⦠if you watch me?
Â
ELLEN
(
With a flattering voice, ambiguously
.)
Perhaps, if you watch me, you'll also remember where you put meâ
(
She laughs.
) where you carried me toâ(
She laughs
.) in those days, do you remember?â(
She laughs.
) and you'll also remember what you should do with me now. (
She laughs. Because
ELLEN
stands behind him, one does not see her talking, although
ALICE
moves her lips and makes the appropriate
gestures.
)
Â
(
They let him stand there and skip and dance across the stage side by side. With a fervent pleasure in their work, nearly parallel in their movements, they busy themselves with the objects and with the people: while one takes off JANNINGS'S boots, the other is loosening
GEORGE'
S shoelaces: finished at the same time, they begin to brush
PORTEN'S
and
BERGNER'S
hair; again they finish at the same time and skip over to the open drawer of the chest; they return with four fancy cushions and stuff them, running helter-skelter but with similar movements, behind the backs of the four people. There is hardly time to perceive these actions when they are already back at the table with four glasses and two bottles and they place them before the characters.
But now their movements slow down and begin to contradict each other; the work of the one is revoked by the other: one takes the glasses and bottles which the other has placed there away again; one dishevels the hair the other has just brushed; then one takes away the cushions from the persons to whom the other has given them. At the same time the other removes the bottles and the glasses that the one ⦠Then one ties the shoelaces the other has untied, while the other in the meantime is taking away the cushions from ⦠whereupon the one dishevels the hair that ⦠while the other puts
JANNINGS'S
boots back on.
However, they stop at the same time and want to run offstage quickly in opposite. directions; they return once more
and change directions, finally run into the wings. As soon as they have disappeared, they cannot be heard running any more.