Complete Poems and Plays (57 page)

Who never talks, who cannot argue;

And who in some men may be the
guardian
—

But in men like me, the dull, the implacable,

The indomitable spirit of mediocrity.

The willing self can contrive the disaster

Of this unwilling partnership — but can only flourish

In submission to the rule of the stronger partner.

C
ELIA
.
I am not sure, Edward, that I understand you;

And yet I understand as I never did before.

I think — I believe — you are being yourself

As you never were before, with me.

Twice you have changed since I have been looking at you.

I looked at your face: and I thought that I knew

And loved every contour; and as I looked

It withered, as if I had unwrapped a mummy.

I listened to your voice, that had always thrilled me,

And it became another voice — no, not a voice:

What I heard was only the noise of an insect,

Dry, endless, meaningless, inhuman —

You might have made it by scraping your legs together —

Or however grasshoppers do it. I looked,

And listened for your heart, your blood;

And saw only a beetle the size of a man

With nothing more inside it than what comes out

When you tread on a beetle.

E
DWARD
.
                                    Perhaps that is what I am.

Tread on me, if you like.

C
ELIA
.
                                  No, I won’t tread on you.

That is not what you are. It is only what was left

Of what I had thought you were. I see another person,

I see you as a person whom I never saw before.

The man I saw before, he was only a projection —

I see that now — of something that I wanted —

No, not
wanted
— something I aspired to —

Something that I desperately wanted to exist.

It must happen somewhere — but what, and where is it?

Edward, I see that I was simply making use of you.

And I ask you to forgive me.

E
DWARD
.
                                    You … ask me to forgive
you
!

C
ELIA
.
Yes, for two things. First …

[
The
telephone
rings
]

E
DWARD
.
                                         Damn the telephone.

I suppose I had better answer it.

C
ELIA
.
                                                Yes, better answer it.

E
DWARD.
Hello! … Oh, Julia: what is it now?

Your spectacles again … where did you leave them?

Or have we … have I got to hunt all over?

Have you looked in your bag? … Well, don’t snap my head off …

You’re sure, in the kitchen? Beside the champagne bottle?

You’re quite sure? … Very well, hold on if you like;

We … I’ll look for them.

C
ELIA
.
                                  Yes, you look for them.

I shall never go into your kitchen again.

[
Exit
E
DWARD
.
He
returns
with
the
spectacles
and
a
bottle
]

E
DWARD
.
She was right for once.

C
ELIA
.
                                            She is always right.

But why bring an empty champagne bottle?

E
DWARD
.
It isn’t empty. It may be a little flat —

But why did she say that it was a half-bottle?

It’s one of my best: and I have no half-bottles.

Well, I hoped that you would drink a final glass with me.

C
ELIA
.
What should we drink to?

E
DWARD
.
                                       Whom shall we drink to?

C
ELIA
.
To the Guardians.

E
DWARD
.
                           To the Guardians?

C
ELIA
.
To the Guardians. It was you who spoke of guardians.

[
They
drink
]

It may be that even Julia is a guardian.

Perhaps she is
my
guardian. Give me the spectacles.

Good night, Edward.

E
DWARD
.
                       Good night … Celia.

[
Exit
C
ELIA
]

Oh!

[
He
snatches
up
the
receiver
]

Hello, Julia! are you there? …

Well, I’m awfully sorry to have kept you waiting;

But we … I had to hunt for them … No, I found them.

… Yes, she’s bringing them now … Good night.

CURTAIN

The same room: late
afternoon
of
the
next
day.
E
DWARD
alone.
He
goes
to
answer
the
doorbell.

E
DWARD
.
Oh … good evening.

[
Enter
the
U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
]

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
Good evening, Mr. Chamberlayne.

E
DWARD
.
Well. May I offer you some gin and water?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
No, thank you. This is a different occasion.

E
DWARD
.
I take it that as you have come alone

You have been unsuccessful.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
                Not at all.

I have come to remind you — you have made a decision.

E
DWARD
.
Are you thinking that I may have changed my mind?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
No. You will not be ready to change your mind

Until you recover from having made a decision.

No. I have come to tell you that you will change your mind,

But that it will not matter. It will be too late.

E
DWARD
.
I have half a mind to change my mind now

To show you that I am free to change it.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
You will change your mind, but you are not free.

Your moment of freedom was yesterday.

You made a decision. You set in motion

Forces in your life and in the lives of others

Which cannot be reversed. That is one consideration.

And another is this: it is a serious matter

To bring someone back from the dead.

E
DWARD
.
                                                     From the dead?

That figure of speech is somewhat … dramatic,

As it was only yesterday that my wife left me.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
Ah, but we die to each other daily.

What we know of other people

Is only our memory of the moments

During which we knew them. And they have changed since then.

To pretend that they and we are the same

Is a useful and convenient social convention

Which must sometimes be broken. We must also remember

That at every meeting we are meeting a stranger.

E
DWARD
.
So you want me to greet my wife as a stranger?

That will not be easy.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
It is very difficult.

But it is perhaps still more difficult

To keep up the pretence that you are not strangers.

The affectionate ghosts: the grandmother,

The lively bachelor uncle at the Christmas party,

The beloved nursemaid — those who enfolded

Your childhood years in comfort, mirth, security —

If they returned, would it not be embarrassing?

What would you say to them, or they to you

After the first ten minutes? You would find it difficult

To treat them as strangers, but still more difficult

To pretend that you were not strange to each other.

E
DWARD
.
You can hardly expect me to obliterate

The last five years.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
I ask you to forget nothing.

To try to forget is to try to conceal.

E
DWARD
.
There are certainly things I should like to forget.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
And persons also. But you must not forget them.

You must face them all, but meet them as strangers.

E
DWARD
.
Then I myself must also be a stranger.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
And to yourself as well. But remember,

When you see your wife, you must ask no questions

And give no explanations. I have said the same to her.

Don’t strangle each other with knotted memories.

Now I shall go.

E
DWARD
.
        Stop! Will you come back with her?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
No, I shall not come with her.

E
DWARD
.
                                                                     I don’t know why,

But I think I should like you to bring her yourself.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
Yes, I know you would. And for definite reasons

Which I am not prepared to explain to you

I must ask you not to speak of me to her;

And she will not mention me to you.

E
DWARD
.
I promise.

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
And now you must await your visitors.

E
DWARD
.
Visitors? What visitors?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
                     Whoever comes. The strangers.

As for myself, I shall take the precaution

Of leaving by the service staircase.

E
DWARD
.
May I ask one question?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
                     You may ask it.

E
DWARD
.
Who are you?

U
NIDENTIFIED
G
UEST
.
I also am a stranger.

[
Exit.
A
pause.
E
DWARD
moves
about
restlessly.
The
bell
rings,
and
he
goes
to
the
front
door.
]

E
DWARD
.
Celia!

C
ELIA
.
                Has Lavinia arrived?

E
DWARD
.
                                             Celia! Why have you come?

I expect Lavinia at any moment.

You must not be here. Why have you come here?

C
ELIA
.
Because Lavinia asked me.

E
DWARD
.
                                         Because Lavinia asked you!

C
ELIA
.
Well, not directly. Julia had a telegram

Asking her to come, and to bring me with her.

Julia was delayed, and sent me on ahead.

E
DWARD
.
It seems very odd. And not like Lavinia.

I suppose there is nothing to do but wait.

Won’t you sit down?

C
ELIA
.
                            Thank you.

[
Pause
]

E
DWARD
.
Oh, my God, what shall we talk about?

We can’t sit here in silence.

C
ELIA
.
                                       Oh, I could.

Just looking at you. Edward, forgive my laughing.

You look like a little boy who’s been sent for

To the headmaster’s study; and is not quite sure

What he’s been found out in. I never saw you so before.

This is really a ludicrous situation.

E
DWARD
.
I’m afraid I can’t see the humorous side of it.

C
ELIA
.
I’m not really laughing at
you,
Edward.

I couldn’t have laughed at anything, yesterday;

But I’ve learnt a lot in twenty-four hours.

It wasn’t a very pleasant experience.

Oh, I’m glad I came!

I can see you at last as a human being.

Can’t you see me that way too, and laugh about it?

E
DWARD
.
I wish I could. I wish I understood anything.

I’m completely in the dark.

C
ELIA
.
                                      But it’s all so simple.

Can’t you see that …

[
The
doorbell
rings
]

E
DWARD
.
                  There’s Lavinia.

[
Goes
to
front
door
]

Peter!

[
Enter
P
ETER
]

P
ETER
.
Where’s Lavinia?

E
DWARD
.
                          Don’t tell me that Lavinia

Sent you a telegram …

P
ETER
.
                              No, not to me,

But to Alex. She told him to come here

And to bring me with him. He’ll be here in a minute.

Celia! Have you heard from Lavinia too?

Or am I interrupting?

C
ELIA
.
                            I’ve just explained to Edward —

I only got here this moment myself —

That she telegraphed to Julia to come and bring me with her.

E
DWARD
.
I wonder whom else Lavinia has invited.

P
ETER
.
Why, I got the impression that Lavinia intended

To have yesterday’s cocktail party to-day.

So I don’t suppose her aunt can have died.

E
DWARD
.
What aunt?

P
ETER
.
                        The aunt you told us about.

But Edward — you remember our conversation yesterday?

E
DWARD
.
Of course.

P
ETER
.
                      I hope you’ve done nothing about it.

E
DWARD
.
No, I’ve done nothing.

P
ETER
.
                                           I’m so glad.