Three Major Plays (13 page)

COMMANDER. You are
An idiot, magistrate.

ESTEBAN. I appeal
To your virtuous nature,
^*
sir.

COMMANDER. I did

610

Not try to take his wife. She wasn't his wife.

ESTEBAN. Of course you did! There's nothing more
To say. There are new rulers in
Castile who'll introduce such laws

And orders as will put an end

615

To all disorder.
^*
When they have ceased
To be engaged in war, they would
Do well to rid their villages
And towns of men whose power comes

From wearing crosses. * The King alone

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Should be allowed to wear the cross.

COMMANDER. Seize his rod of office!

ESTEBAN. My lord,
You are most welcome.

COMMANDER. Just the thing
To beat him with, as if he were
Some over-frisky horse!

ESTEBAN. Then beat me!

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I bow to you as overlord.
^*

PASCUALA. You'd make an old man suffer?

LAURENCIA. You do
This now because he is my father.
What wrong have I done you that you
Must punish him?

COMMANDER. Take her away!

630

And let ten soldiers guard her!

[
He and his men exit

ESTEBAN. Let Heaven administer its justice!

-51-

[
He exits

PASCUALA. The wedding's become a wake.

BARRILDO. Will no
One here speak out?

MENGO. Exactly what

I did. I've got the marks to prove it. 635

Someone else can test his anger.

JUAN ROJO. We need
To talk, all of us.

MENGO. Much better bite
Your tongue. My kettle-drums
^*
ache,
And both as red as salmon steaks.

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Enter
ESTEBAN,
^*
ALONSO,
and
BARRILDO.

ESTEBAN. Haven't they come yet?

BARRILDO. No, not yet.

ESTEBAN. Everything goes from bad to worse.

BARRILDO. Most of them know about the meeting.

ESTEBAN. Frondoso locked up in the tower,

Laurencia in such terrible danger . . .

5

We need God's help in this!

Enter
JUAN ROJO
and the
ALDERMAN.
^*

JUAN ROJO. Esteban, keep
Your voice down! This meeting must be secret,
For all our sakes!

ESTEBAN. The wonder is
I do not shout much louder.

Enter
MENGO.

MENGO. Alright,

I'm here. Let the meeting begin.

10

ESTEBAN. Honourable friends, I speak to you
As someone whose grey beard is bathed
In tears, and ask what final rites
We can perform in honour of

This town, so damaged and destroyed.

15

What honourable rites indeed,
If there is not a single one
Of us whose life that criminal
Has not dishonoured? Tell me now if there

Is someone here whose honour is

20

Unscathed. You are as one, I think,

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In your complaints. And so I say
To you: if you have common cause,
What are you waiting for? Is not

What has befallen us the greatest of

25

Misfortunes?

JUAN ROJO. The greatest the world
Has ever seen. But now, we have
Been told, the King and Queen bring peace
To all Castile. Soon they will be

In Córdoba, * so why not send

30

Two aldermen to state our case
And beg them to put right these wrongs?

BARRILDO. But Fernando is still at war
With many enemies. He won't

Have time for our complaints. It's best

35

We think of something else.

ALDERMAN. If you
Ask me, I think we should evacuate
The town.

JUAN ROJO. There isn't time.

MENGO. And once
He gets to know our plans, it's going
To cost a good few lives.

ALDERMAN. The mast

40

Of our ship is broken, all
Of us are overcome by panic.
They violently seize the daughter of
An honourable man, the man

Who justly rules this town of ours, and on

45

His head unjustly break the very rod
Of justice. When was any slave
So vilely treated?

JUAN ROJO. So what do you think
The town should do?

ALDERMAN. The town should die,

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Or kill these tyrants. We are many, they

50

Are few.

BARRILDO. Take arms against our overlord?
^*

ESTEBAN. In the eyes of God the King alone
Is our lord, not men like these,
No better than wild animals.

If God is on our side, why should we be

55

Afraid?

MENGO. Listen to me, my friends.
I beg of you, take care. I speak
For all the common peasants. They
Are the ones who suffer most, and so,

Although I know how fearful

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They are, I also know that they
Are sensible.

JUAN ROJO. If all of us
Are made to suffer equally,
What are we waiting for? They burn

Our houses and our vineyards. I say

65

We take revenge!

Enter
LAURENCIA,
dishevelled.

LAURENCIA. Let me in! This meeting is for men,
I know, but if a woman has no vote,
She has a voice! Don't you know me?

ESTEBAN. Are you my daughter?

JUAN ROJO. Who else is it
But your Laurencia?

LAURENCIA. You see? I am

70

So changed, you even wonder who I am.

ESTEBAN. My dear daughter!

LAURENCIA. No, not your daughter!

ESTEBAN. Why not, why not, Laurencia?

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LAURENCIA. For many reasons.
The first is that you let them take

Me off and did not seek revenge

75

For it, did not attempt to make
Those traitors pay. I'm not Frondoso's wife
As yet, which means I have no husband to
Avenge my name. You are responsible
^*

For that. Until the marriage-night,

80

That obligation is a father's, not
A husband's; it's like a precious stone:
^*
I'm not responsible for seeing that
It's safe from thieves until it's in

My hands. When Fernán Gómez took

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Me off, you let him do it, just
As shepherds stand and watch the wolf
Which steals their sheep! They threatened me
With knives, abused me with their words,

Did everything they could to force

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My chastity to their foul desires!
You see my hair? You see these marks,
These cuts and bruises? These stains of blood?
Do you believe that you are men

Of honour? Do you believe you are

95

True fathers? How can you see me here
And not feel all the pain I feel pierce
Your very souls? You are like sheep,
The name of our town
^*
well chosen.

I'll take up arms, pursue my cause

100

Myself. You are like stones, unfeeling bronze
Or jasper . . . tigresses . . . But no,
Not tigresses!
^*
For when the hunters steal
Their cubs, they chase and kill them in

Their rage, then plunge into the sea

105

Until they drown. But you are more
Like timid hares. True Spaniards, no!
Barbarians, yes! Or clucking hens!
You allow others to carry off
Your wives! You should bear distaffs!
^*
110
Your swords are ornaments that serve

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No purpose! I swear to God above
That women alone shall be responsible
For their honour, for their blood,

And make these traitors, these tyrants pay. 115

As for yourselves, you should be stoned
For what you are: housewives, men who are
Not men, effeminate cowards who would
Look better dressed in our skirts

And bonnets, rouge upon your cheeks

120

And lipstick on your lips! No doubt
You know our great Commander plans
To have Frondoso hanged upon
The battlements, without a charge

Or trial. He'll do the same to all

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Of you. And I'll rejoice in that,
You men who are not men, for then
This town will have more dignity,
And once again we'll see that age

Return when there were women who

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Were strong, true Amazons,
^*
whose deeds
Amazed the world.

ESTEBAN. Listen, daughter. I will
Not take these insults lying down!
I'll go alone, no matter who
The enemy.

JUAN ROJO. Me too, no matter what

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His strength and number.

ALDERMAN. All of us
Shall die together.

BARRILDO. A pole shall bear
Our banner on the wind. We'll put
An end to all these monsters!

JUAN ROJO. What order shall
We march in?

MENGO. We'll keep no order. We are

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As one, a single voice. We're all

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Agreed. The tyrants have to die!

ESTEBAN. Take bows, lances, staves, sticks!

MENGO. Long live
The King and Queen!

ALL. Long may they live!

MENGO. And all the traitors die!

Exit the men

LAURENCIA. Go now,

145

And may God guide you! Women of
This town, come quickly! Restore your honour!

Enter
PASCUALA, JACINTA,
and others.

PASCUALA. What is it? Why this shouting?

LAURENCIA. See there!

LAURENCIA. They go to kill FernÁn GÓmez,

Our men, both young and old, as well 150

As boys, all joined in common cause. But do you think that they alone
Deserve the praise for this, that they
Have suffered more than us?

JACINTA. So what do you have
In mind?

LAURENCIA. We should arrange ourselves

155

In ordered ranks to undertake
A task which will amaze the world.
Jacinta, the wrong you suffered means
That you should be the corporal in
Our women's regiment.

JACINTA. But yours 160

Was just as great.

LAURENCIA. Pascuala, our ensign.

PASCUALA. I'll find a flagpole for our flag.

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I'll show you I deserve to be
Our standard-bearer.

LAURENCIA. No time for that.

Since fortune favours us, our shawls

165

Shall be our flags.

PASCUALA. Let's choose a captain.

LAURENCIA. No.

PASCUALA. Why not?

LAURENCIA. Because no hero from the past,
No Cid or Rodamonte
^*
is
My match in bravery!

Exit the women. Enter
FRONDOSO
^*
with his hands tied;
FLORES, ORTUÑ, CIMBRANOS,
and the
COMMANDER.

COMMANDER. The rope you've used to tie his hands . . .

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There's some left over. Use it to string
Him up. Make him suffer even more.
FRONDOSO. You do your name much good by this,
My lord!

COMMANDER. Hang him from the battlements.

FRONDOSO. But I'd no intention of killing you.

175

[
Noise off

FLORES. Listen! That noise!

COMMANDER. What is it?

FLORES. They want
To stop the judgement, sir.

[
Noise

ORTUÑO. They try
To break the doors down!

COMMANDER. The doors of this house,
The residence
^*
of our sacred Order?

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FLORES. The entire town is there!

JUAN ROJO [ off ]. Come! Break

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It down, smash everything! We'll burn
It to the ground!

ORTUÑO. The people rise against us.
We'll never stop them.

COMMANDER. Against me?

ORTUÑO. Such is the fury of the crowd,
They've smashed the doors down.

COMMANDER. Untie him! 185
Frondoso, calm the magistrate.

FRONDOSO. I'll try, my lord. Their love for me
Inspires them.

[
Exits

MENGO [
off
]. Long live the King
And Queen! The traitors have to die!

FLORES. My lord, they must not find you here.

190

COMMANDER. What they will find is that this room
Is strong and well protected. They'll soon
Turn back.

FLORES. When people rise against
The wrongs that have been done to them,

They never stop until they've tasted blood

195

Or been avenged.

COMMANDER. This door will serve
As our portcullis, these swords as our
Defence.

FRONDOSO [
off
]. Long live Fuente Ovejuna!

COMMANDER. Oh, what a leader! Let's meet them face

To face, show them how rash they are!

200

FLORES. My lord, it's you who might be rash.

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