The Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays (17 page)

Read The Ride Across Lake Constance and Other Plays Online

Authors: Peter Handke

Tags: #Fiction, #Literary

Everyone onstage is holding his breath. Suddenly, out of their state of complete immobilization,
JANNINGS
and
GEORGE
leap up and rush to the suitcases that have been left onstage. They fling them into the wings after
ELLEN
and
ALICE,
but no crashing sound can be heard. They listen. Then they stop listening. While they are returning to their places, PORTEN suddenly leaps up too and throws the remaining things, hats and gloves, into the wings after the girls, tossing the hats as if they were gloves, letting the gloves sail through the air as if they were hats. One hears them crashing like suitcases.

They all settle in their places.
)

PORTEN

Gooâ(
as in good
)

(
The others turn instantly to
BERGNER.)

PORTEN

I'm
speaking. (
They turn awkwardly to her.
BERGNER
seems to have fallen asleep.
) Hello!

GEORGE

(
A little too late.
) Hello!

PORTEN

(
A little too late
.) How are you?

GEORGE

(
A little too late.
) Fine. (
A little too late
.) And how are you?

PORTEN

(
A little too late
.) FineâPlease hand me the paper.

(
A brief pause. Only then does GEORGE hand her the newspaper from the table. She holds it in her hand. Pause. Only then does she look into it.
)

GEORGE

Is there anything in it?

(
Pause
.)

PORTEN

(
As though she had answered immediately
) I'm just looking. (
Pause. She puts the paper away.
)

GEORGE

Give me the paper.
(
Pause. Then she gives him the paper, but does so as if she had given it to him at once. GEORGE opens it, looks at it only after an interval. Pause. Then he exclaims as if he had seen the picture on first glance.
)
Ice floes!

(
Pause
.)

PORTEN

(
Lively
) Really? (
Pause.
) How much do you weigh?

(
Pause.
)

GEORGE

Two hundred eighteen pounds.

(
Pause.
)

PORTEN

O God!

(
Pause.
)

JANNINGS

(
Shakes his head. He hesitates and looks at
GEORGE.) Why are you shaking your head? Do you want to contradict me?

GEORGE

I am neither shaking my head nor would I, even if I shook my head, thereby want to contradict you.

PORTEN

(To JANNINGS ) You were shaking your head yourself.

JANNINGS

That was me?

VON STROHEIM

That was you.

JANNINGS

(
Looks to
GEORGE. ) Who is speaking?

VON STROHEIM

I am.

JANNINGS

(
To
VON STROHEIM) That was you?

GEORGE

Yes.

JANNINGS

(
To
GEORGE) You're
talking?

GEORGE

Are you dreaming?

JANNINGS

Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised:
Am I transformed, master, am not I?

(
Pause
.
To
GEORGE) Do you have a match?

GEORGE

Yes.

(
Pause.
JANNINGS
points with his finger on the table, but the others look at his finger. At last he looks at his finger too and lets his hand drop. Pause.
VON STROHEIM
wants to pull out the red cloth
.)

JANNINGS

(
Sees it and screams
) No! (VON STROHEIM
puts it away again instantly. Pause.
PORTEN
begins to laugh, becomes quiet immediately
. GEORGE
looks at her questioningly, she only shakes her head. Pause
.) Let us pray to God.

PORTEN

(
Instantly
) My candy.

BERGNER

(
In her sleep
) There's a rat in the kitchen.

(
Pause
.)

VON STROHEIM

(
Reaches into the cigar box. He asks) May I take one?
(
They look at him, he pulls back his hand. He asks once more
) May I take a cigar? (
And already extends his hand. They look at him and he pulls back his hand. With arms pressed to his sides, he asks once more
) May I take one?
(
No one looks at him and he takes a cigar. PORTEN gives him the ashtray.)

GEORGE

(To PORTEN) Thank you.

PORTEN

Why are you thanking me?

GEORGE

Because that would have been my job.

(
Long pause.
GEORGE
lifts up the teapot and puts it down again.
)

JANNINGS

(
Upbraids him
.) What do you mean by that?

GEORGE

(
Pulls in his head. Pause. He takes out a piece of chocolate candy, removes the silver foil, and eats the candy
.
After he has
consumed it, he asks PORTEN) Or did you want a piece of it? (
She doesn't replay. He stares into the paper
.) Just now I read the word
snowstorm
, and now I can't find it any more!

(
All stare into the paper. Pause.
)

VON STROHEIM

(
To
PORTEN) Do you have the number 23-32-322?

PORTEN

No, I have the number 233-23-22.
(Brief pause.)
In my neighborhood there is a shopping center with stores, restaurants, and â¦

VON STROHEIM

A movie house?

PORTEN

Why? (
Pause.
) I once attended a going-out-of-business sale â¦

GEORGE

And everyone screamed, ran around, and turned over the furniture?

PORTEN

No. TheyâYes! They turned over the furniture, screamed, and ran around! (
She looks at him happily, becomes serious again instantly. Suddenly delighted, to
VON STROHEIM) 23-32-322? Yes, that is my number. (
Pause. She looks at GEORGE for a long time
.)

GEORGE

Why do you look at me like that?

PORTEN

I'm afraid I might not be able to recognize you again.
(
She was serious when she began her reply but ended it as a joke. She cuddles her head against her shoulder. Pause. GEORGE lowers his head.
) Hey!

GEORGE

(
Shouts at her
.) What kind of a feeling do you have? (
He comes to his senses and asks her again kindly
) I wanted to ask you: what kind of feelings do you have?

PORTEN

Too many of them.

JANNINGS

In those days the grass smelled of dog piss before the thunderstorm.

PORTEN

Who's saying that?

JANNINGS

PORTEN

I see. (
She continues at once
.) As a child, if I wanted to have something, I always had to say first what it was called.

GEORGE

(Wants to say something.)
And I â¦

VON STROHEIM

(
Irritated
) Yes, people showed me something and then walked away with itâ(
Contemplatively
) And I had to follow and get it for myself.

GEORGE

(
Wants to say something
.) And I â¦

VON STROHEIM

Or people simply opened the drawer in which the thing was and went away.

GEORGE

(To VON STROHEIM) And so that I could learn to get my Wayâ(VON STROHEIM
looks
away
. GEORGE
turns to
JANNINGS.) I was shoved toward the objects that someone had taken from me. (JANNINGS
looks away and
GEORGE
turns to
PORTEN.) I was supposed to get them back myself.

PORTEN

(
Remembering
) Yes! How I fidgeted then!

VON STROHEIM

(
While looking away, speaks to
JANNINGS,
who is clearing his throat.
) You were about to say something?

JANNINGS

No.

(
Pause.
)

GEORGE

How strange! (
With this exclamation he wants to call attention to himself, but no one turns to him. Instead, PORTEN winks at JANNINGS, who thereupon puts a finger to his lips and shakes his head.
VON STROHEIM
then bends forward and elongates an eye with one finger. This time attention is paid to the sign: as a reply
JANNINGS
pulls his mouth apart with two fingers; thereupon
VON STROHEIM
turns up the lapel of his jacket by grasping it conspicuously with thumb and little finger, and
JANNINGS
nods twice
. PORTEN, VON STROHEIM,
and JANNINGS laugh
.) Strange!

PORTEN

(
Asks him almost reluctantly
) What's strange?

GEORGE

(
Relieved
) Suddenly I remembered a hill I had climbed with someone and the cloud shadows that appeared and vanished.

PORTEN

And what's strange about that?

GEORGE

That I should remember it so spontaneously.

PORTEN

(
Cleans her eye as if he had spit at her during his discourse. Very hostile
) Put your paper there away.