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It's past and gone, Sofia, hence
You shouldn't really take offence.
S o f i a
What's that ? I must admit
He's extremely sensitive and full of wit.
He can make fun like no one else,
You should have heard the jokes he tells !
L i z i e
Oh is that all ?
He wept when parting with you, I recall.
I tried to comfort him and asked him why he cried,
"There is a reason — he replied -
For no one knows what I may gain
Or lose when I am back again."
He seemed to know that in a year or two . . .
S o f i a
Stop talking liberties, will you ?
I may have acted thoughtlessly, I know,
I do regret. But who was I unfaithful to ?
Can anybody blame me for a breach of faith? Well, no !
Chatsky and I grew up together, that is true.
We were friends in childhood days,
And then he left, and ever since
He rarely visited our place,
He found our house dull, it seems,
And then again he showed affection, Pretending love, consideration.
He's witty, wise, a man of eloquence,
And he is good at winning friends,
But now he thinks he is too clever . . .
He took to travelling, which is not bad,
However, if he loved someone, he'd never
Go on a lasting trip like that.
L i z i e
What trip ? Is Chatsky travelling far ?
They say, he took a treatment at a spa,
It was a cure of idleness among the cripple.
S o f i a
That's right. He's happy among the queer people.
The one I love is of different make,
Molchalin does his best for other people's sake.
He's modest, shy, polite — beyond compare !
Oh, what a night we spent behind the doors !
Of space and time we were unaware
What were we doing there ? L i z i e
Well, God knows.
It's none of my affair.
S o f i a
He'd take my hand — his manners most refined -
And with a gentle sigh he'd press it to his side.
My hand in his, he'd feast his eyes on me,
I never knew a person as urbane as he.
You're laughing ? Why ? I see no reason
To laugh like that. Say, are you teasing ?
L i z i e
I just recall that gentleman of France
That used to live for some time at your aunt's.
He left. She tried to hide her grief but failed
For she forgot to dye her hair, and it greyed.
(continues laughing)
S o f i a (regretfully)
People will gossip, upon my word !
L i z i e
I'm sorry, and I swear to God,
I only tried to laugh away your grief,
I thought that it might bring you some relief.
Scene 6
Sofia, Lizzie, Servant, followed by Chatsky.
F o o t m a n
Alexander Andreyevich Chatsky. (goes out)
Sofia, Lizzie, Chatsky.
C h a t s k y
It's hardly morning: here I'm down on my knees.
(kisses her hand with passion)
You didn't expect me, did you ? Give me a kiss.
Are you really glad to see me ? Look into my eyes !
For you it's only a surprise.
What a reception ! God !
It seems like just the other day,
It seems like yesterday,
We passed the time till we got bored.
No sign of love ! You look so nice, you do !
You'll never know what I went through,
I can't get over it. Just think :
I covered seven hundred miles at just one bound,
Two days and nights I didn't sleep a wink,
Just snow and wind, and not a soul around,
I'd lose my way and hit the ground,
And the result is your reward.
S o f i a
No, Chatsky, it is nice to see you around.
C h a t s k y
You're glad to see me ? Very good !
Though I must say,
You do not look that way.
It seems, I should have spared the horses
For the result isn't worth the losses.
L i z i e
No, sir, you must not think so
For just a little while ago
We were talking about you.
Ma'me, do confirm, it's is true.
S o f i a
Well, honestly, I don't deserve reproach,
You can't reproach me now or ever
For when I see someone approach
The house — a friend, a stranger or whoever,
I run to ask him whether he
Has seen you, on a coach, go by.
C h a t s k y
That I will not deny.
Blessed are the credulous for they are carefree.
Good gracious ! Am I with you again ?
In Moscow ? You have changed! You're not the same.
Gone is the time ! Gone are the innocent years !
Remember ? We would run about pushing chairs,
We'd disappear then appear again,
Your father and Madame playing a table game,
Into a hideaway we would then sneak — This very corner I suppose it was -
We would be startled by every little creak . . .
S o f i a
It's childish.
C h a t s k y
Yes, of course.
And now at seventeen you're in the bloom of youth,
Inimitable charm — well, I declare!
You know that I'm telling you the truth,
That's why you're so modest— you don't care
What people think of you. Now tell me straight:
Are you in love ? Don't be embarrassed nor hesitate.
S o f i a
Your curious look, your questions would embarrass anyone.
C h a t s k y
For heaven's sake ! You're the only one
That can amaze me. Here in Moscow there is nothing new.
There was a party yesterday, tomorrow there'll be two.
Someone has managed to get married
Another hasn't and is worried.
Nothing has changed. Good gracious !
The same old poems, the same old conversations.
S o f i a
Now that you have seen the world
It's Moscow you're up to scold.
Well, where is a better place ?
C h a t s k y
A place where we don't find ourselves.
Well, how's your father ? Is the old chap
Still loyal, heart and soul, to the English Club ?
How's your uncle ? Is his number up ?
This man . . . a Turk. a Greek . . .or something of the kind
The thin-legged one. His name has slipped my mind.
You'd see him anywhere at all -
The sitting-room, the kitchen and the hall.
How are those three idle gentlemen ?
Are they in search of marriage bonds again ?
With heaps of relatives, some day, they hope
They'll be related with the whole of Europe.
And how's our dearest one ? Do you recall his forehead ?
With "Stage and Masquerade" inscribed on it ?
He has his house painted green.
He's fat while all his actresses are thin.
Once during a ball — remember ? — we discovered
A man that, hidden from the crowd,
Was making sounds of a nightingale -
A summer bird in winter did so well !
There's a relative of yours, a sickly man,
In the science board he got an occupation,
An enemy of books, he now demands a ban
On literacy and education.
And all these people I'm fated now to see,
I'll soon be sick and tired of living here.
Though after travelling East and West
We're find the smoke of Homeland best.
S o f i a
I'd bring my aunt and you together, so
That you might count everyone you know.
C h a t s k y
Your auntie, is she still a virgin ? Goddess Athene ?
And still the fraulein of czarina Catherine ?
She had her house full of dogs and girls to breed.
Talking of breeding, why should people need
To hire crowds of tutors? And one tries
To have them at the lowest price !
I mean, with science all is fine,
But here in Russia, under the threat of a fine
We must acknowledge any creature
To be a History or a Science teacher.
Do you remember our own mentor ?
The cap, the gown that he wore ?
He needed some sign of tuition,
He filled our humble minds with awe,
And we were open to conviction,
From early years we would believe:
Without the Germans we couldn't live.
And Guilloment, the French, the giddy man,
Has he got married ?
S o f i a
He hasn't anyone.
C h a t s k y
Well, he could marry some nice duchess.
Pulkheria Andreyevna he matches.
S o f i a
A ballet dancer ? No.
C h a t s k y
Yes, he's grand.
One has to have a rank and own some land,
Though Guiloment — oh, by the way,
Is there still a tendency to day
At meetings, public gathering, on stage
To mix the Nizhny Novgorod dialect with French ?
S o f i a
A language mixture ?
C h a t s k y
Yes, at least of two.
S o f i a
To mix them into one the way you do ?
C h a t s k y
It sounds natural at least.
My word ! I'm extraordinarily pleased
To see you. Thus
I'm talkative. Taking my chance.
For this Molchalin you have time !
Where is he ? I suppose that I'm
No sillier than he. He still keeps
A seal of silence on his lips.
Or doesn't he ? He used to have a book
Where he would write
All latest songs that caught his sight.
He will get on in life anyway
For silent men are highly praised today.
S o f i a (to her side)
You viper !
(aloud and with ease)
May I ask ?
Have you by any chance, in sorrow or in joy,
Talked favourably of any one of us ?
Not now. Perhaps, when you were a boy ?
C h a t s k y
When all is fragile ? Soft and immature ?
Why go that far ? Here is a good deed for you:
The jingling of the bell still in my mind,
I crossed the snowy desert through the day and night.
I hurried here at a neck break pace
To find you wearing an austere face.
Your coolness, your restraint are tearing me apart,
The way you look:
The face of a holy praying girl . . .
And yet I love you with all my heart.
(a minute of silence)
Now listen, don't I treat you well ?
I never mind a queer man's trick,
I have a laugh and then forget it quick.
And if it were your desire
That I should go into the fire,
I'd do it without thinking twice.
S o f i a
It will be nice
If you get burnt,
And if you don't ?
Scene 8
Sofia, Lizzie, Chatsky, Famusov.
F a m u s o v
There's another one !
S o f i a
A dream of prophecy.
(goes out)
F a m u s o v
(in a low voice, following her with his eyes)
Now, damn the dream !
Scene 9
Famusov, Chatsky (looks at the door through which Sofia left)
F a m u s o v Oh what a trick you've played ! You see,
For three long years we haven't heard from you,
And now you're here, out of the blue.
(they embrace)
Hallo, my friend, come, take your seat,
Let's have a chat a little bit.
You must have got a lot to say,
Tell us your stories without delay.
(both sit down)
C h a t s k y (absent-mindedly)
Well, Sofia Pavlovna has grown so pretty.
F a m u s o v
It is a pity
That all you see is a pretty face.
She must have dropped a casual phrase
Inspiring you with hopes, enchanting you . . .
C h a t s k y
I rarely nourish hopes. I hardly ever do.
F a m u s o v
"A dream of prophecy" the words fell on my ear.
You're thinking of . . .
C h a t s k y
Me ? I have no idea.
F a m u s o v
What did she dream of ? What is it ?
C h a t s k y
I don't interpret dreams.
F a m u s o v
No ! Don't believe her ! Not a bit !
C h a t s k y
I do believe my eyes. Upon my word !
She is like no one in the world,
A beauty from a fairy tale !
F a m u s o v
Stop harping on it ! Tell us in detail,
Where have you been ? You travelled many years.
Where are you from ?
C h a t s k y
No time for that.
I travelled less
Than I had planned.
(raises quickly)
Excuse me, but I hurried here to see you,
I haven't been at home, so I must say good-bye.
I'll come again in an hour's time, I'm sorry,
Though you will be the first to hear my story. (in the doorway) She's charming ! (goes out)
Scene 10
Famusov (alone)
Which of the two it is, I wonder ?
"A dream of prophecy" — she said.
She said it openly, I don't know what she meant.
It's all my fault. Oh what a blunder !
Molchalin made me doubt then. And now I
Have fallen out of the pan into the fire.
One is a pauper, a dandy is the other;
Known as a wasteful man, mischievous and haughty.
Oh, what a lot to be the father
Of a grown-up daughter !
(goes out)
End of Act I
A C T II
Scene 1
Famusov, Footman.
F a m u s o v
Petrushka, you have always new clothes on.
Look at yourself! Your sleeve is torn.
Now, take the calendar and try to make it best.
Read it expressively, don't mumble like obsessed !
No, wait, just take the pad and write: The next week column. Tuesday night -
A trout party. What a temptation ! -
It's Praskovya Fyodorovna's invitation.
Why is the world so strange ? — I ask myself the question.
And when I do, it makes my mind just reel:
A fast is followed by a hearty meal,
And then three days of indigestion.
Write, on that same day , no, Thursday morning
There is a burial ceremony.
The human race, they all forget
That some day all of them shall get
Into the box, so small and tight !
The one who'll leave blessed memory behind,
A noble chamberlain the late man was,
He had the key and let his son have one.
He took a wealthy woman, being a wealthy man
And married off his children, I suppose,
People are mourning now that he has passed away
Kuzma Petrovich! May he rest with peace!
There are bigwigs in Moscow, I should say!
Write down: Thursday, on top of this,
Or perhaps on Friday, or on Saturday,
I must attend a christening day.
The widow hasn't given birth as yet
Though she may, any day, as I expect.
Scene 2
Famusov, Footman, Chatsky.
F a m u s o v
Oh, Alexander Andreyevitch! , come, sit down !
C h a t s k y
I see you are engaged.
F a m u s o v
(to the footman)
You go.
(The footman goes out)
It's next week's plan that we're putting down,
Something may slip my mind, you know.
C h a t s k y
I see, you do not look quite happy,
Is it inopportunely that I arrived ?
Or maybe something wrong has happened
To Sofia Pavlovna? Is she all right ?
F a m u s o v
Oh, what a thing to puzzle brains about !
I'm sad ! Well, do you expect an aged man like me
To cry for joy and dance around ?
C h a t s k y
Nobody wants you to, you see,
I just inquired of you
If Sofia Pavlovna was feeling well.
F a m u s o v
Pah ! Got forgive me ! Hell !
A thousand times you told me that !
Now Sofia Pavlovna is feeling bad,
Now she's the prettiest one on earth.
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