00 :S3 CJ3 -a: Q 30 6^ ^o^nvrm^ %n-!nvi-icv^ ^Of-CALIfO% ^^;Of-CALiFO% >► 2: v< ^(?Aav«8n-# ^• cc: <: £9 i flJIo I so ^ ^ < 5,V\E-UNiVi;K5y/) < i'-Ti 0^ 6 C3 1^1 I o -S^l-IIBRAR^ ^«yojnv3.jo^ ^^AHv«an AMM'(JIVERS/a ';^ vj:lOSANCElfj> o ,V IIU: .iDKV-SOl^^"* %a3AiNni\\v -y^' '<^/ -vlOSANCnff. ^ 00 30 •^HIAINfl c CJ C3 SUIBRARYQr^ ^tllBR/ ^AOJilVJ-;!^ ^McOF-CAUFO/Pv ^OfCAllFOff^ >'/?Aava3n-# ^/?AHvaaiH^ ^V\tllNIVbKi/A tallV3-iO>' - "ISANCafj^ ^OF'CAIIFO% Co C3 DO ■ P3 m so en 9 iCiCL •'jQi;uwijr-' 50 -< bo t" CAIIFOR)^ 13 ^1 I ?3 C ^ ■^/^a3AlNn-3WV^ .^^: ^t-llBRARY/?/^ %JI1V3J0'«^ ^.OFCAIIFO% ^VUBKAKYQ- <: / O ti. 1^1 I ^^lU^ANtitUJ'^ •J u^Of-CAllFO/?^. m^OFCA1IF0% ^r^l3DNVS01^ mm^ < n-l \rtt INIVtK.V' .^>.lUbANlitlfj> A^lLlBKAKYQr ^t'llBKAKTC/ ^^mmy\^P ^'^m\Wi-i^ C3 t>o ■yNlViR. oc Jf LALir' ^OfCAilt-O/i'/it^. Copyright, 1909 By Brown Brothers GEORGE S. FERGUSON CO. PRINTERS AND ELECTROT YP E R 3 PHILADELPHIA, PA. SWANWHITE A FAIRY DRAMA BY AUGUST STRINDBERG TRANSLATED BY FRANCIS J. ZIEGLER PHILADELPHIA BROWN BROTHERS 1909 FOREWORD ^ LOVE idyl in the form of a drama ; a fairy drama at that, with characters and incidents reminiscent of Grimm's Maerchen ; is hardly what one would expect from the pen of an avowed misogynist, a pla^-wright whose usual work out-Ibsens Ibsen in realism, and who has an almost diabolical genius for dissecting a woman's soul and laying bare its faults and weaknesses. Such an idyl, however, August Strindberg has given us in " Swanwhite," a play more suggestive of Maeter- linck than of any other modern writer, save possibly Gerhart Hauptmann. " Swanwhite " is the direct out- come of a love affair of its author, (which suggests that Strindberg's misogyny may be due more to an extreme idealization of woman than to an inborn dislike of the fair sex), as it was written partly just before, and partly just after his piarriage to Harriet Bosse, the Swedish actress, in the spring of 1901. Maeterlinck's person- ality, too, may have had something to do with its form, ill GERMAN iv FOREWORD as Strindberg met the Belgian poet about the same time he was writing this little drama. " Swanwhite " is remarkable also as being one of the very few plays Strindberg has written with a literary flavor, his, ordinary custom being to make his dialogue as real- istic as possible, quite regardless of rhetorical flourishes. If passages in the following translation appear stilted to the reader, he is asked to remember that Strindberg has invested his original with verbal forms never used in ordinary conversation, the evident intent being to produce an atmosphere of artificiality. I have thought it necessary to retain the second personal pronoun as a familiar form of address, as so much stress is laid upon its employment by Swanwhite in her initial scene with the Prince ; she addressing him affectionately, while he strives to maintain dignity by the use of the more formal pronoun " you." Of the translation as a whole it may be said that, although the attempt has been made to follow the original as closely as possible, literal rendering has been sacrificed whenever it seemed more advisable to give the spirit rather than the letter of the play. F. J. Z. PERSONAGES The Duke Swanwliite's Mother The Stepmother The Prince's Mother Swanwhite The Jailer The Prince The Steward' Signe ^ The Bailiff Elsa V Maidens The Head Gardener Tofva j First Knight The Gardener Second Knight The Fisherman SCENERY FOR THE WHOLE PLAY ^1 LARGE apartment in a mediaeval stone castle. Walls and ceiling are pure white, and the ceiling is arched in the shape of a cross. In the middle distance three arched doorways lead to a stone veranda, and these archways can be closed with brocade hangings. Below the veranda one can see the tops of a grove of high rose trees bearing bright red and white roses. Be- vond the rose garden is a stretch of white sand and blue ocean. To the right of the arched doorway is a small portal through which, when open, may be seen the perspective of three rooms, one behind the other. In the first, the tin room, one sees tin utensils on racks ; in the second, the clothes room, one sees fine clothing; and in the third, the fruitery, one sees apples, pears, pumpkins and melons. The floors of all three rooms are tesselated in black and red. In the middle of the main apartment is a golden dining table with a cloth, two gilded tabourets, a clock and a vase of roses. Over the table hangs a bunch of • • Vll viii SCENERY mistletoe. A lion skin is on the floor in the foreground. Over the doorways and inside the chamber are two nests of swallows. To the left, to the front of the stage, is a white bed with a rose-colored canopy and two posts at the head (there are no posts at the foot). The bed- clothes are white, save for the coverlet, which is of the lightest of blue silk ; upon it lies a white nightgown of the finest batiste and lace. Behind the bed is a closet for bath, etc. Near the bed is a little gilded Roman table, (round and with a single pillar), near a lampa- darium and a golden Roman lamp. To the right is a beautiful carved chimneypiece, with a white lily in a vase on the mantle. In the left arch of the doorway, with his back to the spectators, is a peacock asleep on a perch. In the right archway is a large golden cage in which two white doves are resting peacefully. SWANWHITE {At the raising of the curtain the three maidens are seen one at each door of the three rooms, but each half Jiidden by the doorposts. The malicious maiden Signe is in the tin room, Elsa is in the clothes room, and Tofva in the fruitery. The Duke enters from the back, followed by the Stepmother with a steel scourge in her hand. The stage is dark as they enter.) The Stepmothee. {Looks about her.) Swanwliite is not here ? The Duke. One can see that. The Stepmothee. One can see that, but one can't see her. (Swings the scourge.) Maidens! Signe! Signe! Elsa! Tofva! \The maidens come forward in single file and stand before the Stepmother.) The Stepmothee. Where is Lady Swanwhite ? 9 10 SWANWHITE (Signe crosses her arms over her hreast and is silent.) The Stepmother. Thou knowest not? (Swings the scourge.) What seest thou in my hand ? Answer quickly ! (Signe is silent.) The Stepmother. Quick! (Swings the scourge until it whistles.) Hearest thou the falcon whistle ? Claws has he and a beak of steel ! What is this ? Signe. The scourge! The Stepmother. Yes, this is the scourge ! Now where is Lady Swan- white? Signe. I cannot say what I do not know! The Stepmother. Ignorance is a failing, but carelessness is a fault. Wert thou not set to keep watch over thy young Lady ? Take off that kerchief. . . . (Signe despairingly loosens the her chief.) The Stepmother. Down on thy knees ! (The DuJce turns his hacTc in horror.) SWANWHITE 11 The Stepmothee. Approach thy neck! I will put a neckcloth about it, so that no youth shall kiss it more! Approach thy neck ! ^Nearer ! SiGNE. Mercy, for Jesus' sake! The Stepmothee. It is mercy enough that thou mayest retain thy life. The Duke. (Draws his sword and tests its sharpness on his nail, then on his long heard. Amhiguously.) Her head must fall, must be put in a sack and hung upon a tree. The Stepmothee. Yes, that it must ! The Duke. We are in accord! Only think! The Stepmothee. That we were not yesterday ! The Duke. Perhaps we shall not be so to-morrow ! 12 SWANWHITE The SxErMOTHEK. (To Signe, who rises from her knees.) Halt! Whither goest thou? (Raises the scourge and strikes.) (Signe rushes out so that the scourge falls only on the air.) SwANWniTE. (Appears behind the bed on her knees.) Stepmother ! Here am I, the guilty one ! Signe is blameless ! The Stepmother. Say '-' mother !" First say " mother !" Swanwhite. I cannot. Who is born of human kind has but one mother ! The Stepmothee. Thy father's wife is thy mother. Swanwhite. My father's second wife is my stepmother. SWANWHITE 13 The Stepmotiiek. A stiff-necked daughter art thou, but this weapon is pliant — makes pliant. (Lifts the scourge against SwaniuJiite.) The Duke. (Raises his sword.) Guard the head ! The Stepmothee. Whose head? The Duke. Thine ! (The Stepmother hlanches, grows angry, then quiet and silent.) (Long pause.) The Stepmotheb. (Crushed, with change of manner.) Then the Duke will tell his daughter what is now before her. The Duke. (Puts up his sword.) My dearest child, rise and quiet yourself in mine arms ! 14 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. (Runs into the Duke's arms.) Father! What a kingly oak art thou! Embrace thee I cannot, but I can hide myself under thy foliage from the rough showers. (She hides her head beneath the hero's heard, which reaches to his middle.) And on thy limbs will I swing like a bird ! Lift me up, then I can climb to the top. (The Duke stretches out his arms like the branches of a tree.) SwANWHITE. (Climbs up and sits on his shoulder.) "Now, I have the earth under me, and the air over me; now I see out over the rose garden, the white sand dunes, the blue sea and over seven kingdoms. The Duke. Then seest thou also the young King, thy betrothed ? Swanwiiite. "No, and I have never seen him. Is he beautiful ? The Duke. Dear Heart — it depends upon thine eyes how thou seest him ! SWANWHITE 15 SWANWHITE. (Buhs her eyes.) Upon my eyes ? They see only beautiful things ! {The Duke hisses her foot.) SwANWHITE. My little foot, it is so black. The little Moor's foot ! (The Stepmother has motioned the maidens to resume their places at the doors. She herself slinks like a panther through the arch at the back.) SwANWHITE. (Springs down. The Duke sets her on the table arid .seats himself on a nearby chair. Swanwhite looks ex- pressively after the Stepmother.) Has the sun risen? Has the wind changed to the south ? Is spring coming ? The Dijkh. (Lays his hand on her mouth.) Little chatterbox ! • Joy of my age, my evening star ! 16 SWANWHITE Open thy rosy ears and close thy crimson snail of a mouth. Listen to me. Obey me and it will go well with thee ! SwANWHITE. (S tides her fingers in her ears.) I hear with my eyes, I see with my ears — now I see nothing, only hear! The Duke. Child ! (Pause.) In the cradle thou wert betrothed to the young King of Rigalid. Thou hast never seen him, as that is not the custom of courts. Xow ap- proaches the day when the holy band shall be tied. And in order to teach thee courtly manners and the obliga- tions of a queen, the King has sent a youthful prince with whom thou wilt read books, play chess, tread the dance and learn to play the harp. SwANWHITE. What is the prince's name ? The Duke. My child, that thou darest not ask, neither of him nor of anybody else; for it is prophesied that who can call him by his name must love him. SwANWHITE. Is he handsome? The Duke. Yes, as your eyes will see the beautiful. SWANWHITE 17 SWANWHITE. But is the prince beautiful ? The Dukb. Yes, that he is. Take care of thj heart, which be- longs to the King, and forget not that thou hast belonged to the King from thy cradle. And now, my beloved child, I will leave thee, as I have a warlike journey to make. Be humble and obedient to thy stepmother; she is a hard woman, but thy father has loved her, and mildness will break a heart of stone. If, contrary to her promise and her vow, her evil na- ture should exceed the bounds of the allowable, blow this horn, {he takes a carved ivory horn from beneath his mantle), and you will find help. But blow it not sooner than need requires — the greatest need! Hast thou understood? SwANWHITE. • When and how. The Duke. ISTow, then, the Prince is here already, below in the woman's chamber ; wilt thou see the Prince now ? Swanwhite. If I will! The Duke. Shall I not take my leave first ? SwAJfWHITE. Is the Prince already here ? 2 18 SWANWHITE The Duke. {Becomes gloomy.^ He is already here. I am already — there where the heron of forgetfulness puts his head under his wing. SwANWHITE. {Throws herself on her knees before the Duke and hides her head under his heard.) Speak not so! Speak not so! The little one is ashamed of herself! The Duke. The little one shall be whipped because she forgets her old father so soon for a young princei. Pf ui ! (Acts as if he would strike her.) {A horn sounds in the distance.) The Duke. (Rises hastily, takes Sivanwhite in his arms, throws her into the air and catches her again.) Fly, little bird; hold thyself high over the dust and always have air under thy wings! So, on the gi'ound again ! Honor and combat call me. Love and youth, thee. {Girds himself with his sword.) And hide the wonder horn that bad eyes may not see it ! SwANWHITE. Where shall I hide it? Where? (Looks about her.) SWANWHITE 19 The Duke. In the bed. SwANWHITE. (Hides the horn under the hed covers.) So. Sleep well, little tooter. When it is time I shall awaken thee. Do not forget to say thy evening prayers. The Duke. Child, forget not my last words — be obedient to thy stepmother ! SwANWIIITE. In everything ? The Duke. In everything ! SwANWHITE. Not in what is impure ! My mother gave me two shifts every eighth day, this woman gives me only one ! Mother gave me water and soap, Stepmother forbids me both. Look at my poor little feet! The Duke. My daughter, keep thyself clean within, and the out- side will be clean. Holy men, who through penance forego the use of cleansing water, become white as swans, while the unholy grow black as ravens. SwANWHITE. Then shall I become white ! 20 SWANWHITE The Duke. To my arms ! And then farewell ! SWANWHITE. (Runs into his arms.) Farewell, then, great war hero, noble father! Good fortune accompany thee, thou blessed victor of the years, of peace and war. The Duke. Be it so, and may thy pious prayers protect me. (Closes the visor of the golden helmet.) Swanwhite. (Jumps up and Jcisses the visor.) The golden portal is closed, but I see thy friendly protecting eyes through the bars. (She knocks on the . visor.) Open, open for a little Red Ridinghood. ISTo- body at home. " Willey-wau !" said the wolf lying in bed. The Duke. Beloved flower, grow and spread perfume. If I re- turn, well and good, I return. If not, my eyes shall watch over thee from the starry canopy, and then will I always be able to see thee, as there above one becomes all-seeing as God the Creator. (Goes determinedly ivith a farewell gesture.) (Swanwhite falls on her knees and prays for the Duke.) SWANWHITE 21 (Pause.) (All the rose trees sway in the breeze that murmurs without. The peacock shakes his wings and tail.) SwANWHITE. (Rises, goes to the peacock and strokes his back and tail.) Little peacock, dear peacock! What seest thou, what hearest thou ? Comes who ? Who comes ? Is it a little Prince ? Is he handsome and neat ? Canst thou see that with thy many blue eyes ? (She lifts one of his feathers and looks earnestly into its eyes.) Shalt thou have thy eyes on us, thou nasty Argus ? Shalt thou see into the hearts of two young people so that they do not beat too loudly — thou foolish jack! See, I pull the curtain. (She pulls a curtain, which hides the peacock but not the landscape outside. Then she goes to the doves.) My white doves, white, white, white, white, thou shalt see the whitest of all. Silence wind, silence roses, silence doves, my Prince comes! (She looks without, then goes behind the door of the tin room, which she leaves ajar in order to watch the Prince through the crack. She stands there in view of the spectators, but unseen by the Prince.) The Prince. (Enters through the archway at the back. He is dressed in black and steel armor. After he has ob- served everything in the room, he seats himself at the 22 SWANWHITE table, takes off his helmet and looks about him. He turns his hack to the door behind which Swanwhite is hidden.) Is anyone here? If so, let him answer! (Silence.) There is someone here, for I feel the warmth of a young body enveloping me like a southwind; I hear breathing that has an odor of roses, and, weak as it is, it sways the feather of my helmet. (He puts his hel- met to his ear.) My helmet murmurs like a great shell ; those are the thoughts from my head which have col- lected there like a swarm of bees in a hollow tree. " Sum ! Sum !" say tlie thoughts — just as the bees do, and they buzz for the Queen — the little Queen of my thoughts, of my dreams ! (He places the helmet before him on the table and contemplates it.) Dark and vaulted like the heavens at night, but starless, as the black feather darkens all since my mother died. (He turns the helmet and looks into it.) But there in the darkness, deep in on the other side, I see a rift of light — Has heaven opened ? — And in the rift I see — not a star^ as that is like a diamond ; but a blue sap- phire, the queen of precious stones, the blue of the sum- mer sky, in a milkwhite cloud, vaulted like a dovecote. What is that ? Is that my ring ? And a velvet-black feather cloud passes over it, and the sapphire laughs: but a sapphire cannot laugh. ]^ow it lightnings, only blue ! Lightning, flash without noise. Where art thou ? (He looks at the hack of the helmet.) liJ'ot there, not here, nowhere! (He nears his face to the helmet.) I approach and thou withdrawest! (Swanwhite tiptoes forward.) SWANWHITE 23 The Prince. Xow there are two — two eyes — little human eyes. I kiss you. {He kisses the helmet.) (Swamvhite comes around the table and sits down slowly near the Prince. The Prince rises, lays his hand on his heart and bows; contemplates Swanwhite.) SwANWHITB. Art thou the little Prince ? The Prince. The young King's faithful servant and yours. Swanwhite. What says the young King to his bride ? The Prince. He conveys a thousand loving greetings to Lady Swanwhite, and says the anticipation of the loving for- tune which awaits him will shorten his torment of longing. Swanwhite. (^Yho has observed the Prince with constant gaze.) "Why do you not seat yourself, my Prince? The Prince. If I seated myself while you were seated I should have to rest on my knees when you stood ! 24 SWANWHITE SWANWHITH. Speak of the King ! What is his appearance ? The Prince. His appearance. (Holds his hand before his eyes.) How wonderful. I can see him no longer ! SWANWHITB. What does that mean ? The Prince. He is gone ; he is invisible. SwANWHITE. Has he grown tall ? The Prince. (Gazing at Swanivhite.) Wait ! iNow I see him ! Taller than you ! SwANWHITE. Handsome ? The Prince. He cannot be compared with you. SwANWHITE. Speak of the King, not of me! SWANWHITE 25 The Prince. I speak of the King ! SwANWHITE. Is he light or dark ? The Peince. Were he dark and saw you, he would become light at once. SwANWHITE. That is pretty, but not sensible ! Has he blue eyes ? The Prince. {Looks into his helmet.^ I must look and see ! SwANWHITE. (Holds her hands over it.) Thou ! thou ! The Prince. The young King is a tall blonde man with blue eyes, broad shoulders, hair like young woodland SwANWHITE. "Why doest thou wear a black feather ? 26 SWANWHITE The Pkince. His lips are red as holly berries, his cheeks white, and his teeth would not shame a young lion ! SwANWHITE. Why is thy hair damp ? The Pkince. His mind knows not fear and his heart need never shrivel in repentance of an evil action! SwANWHITE. Why does thy hand tremble? The Prince. We should speak of the young King and not of me! SwANWHITE. Thou, thou, wilst thou teach me? The Prince. That is my mission, lady, to teach you to love the young King whose throne you are to share ! SwANWHITE. How camest thou here from over the sea ? The Prince. With sails and a cockle. SWANWHITE 27 SWANWHITE. In the wind? The Prince. Without wind one does not saiL SwANWHITE. How wise art thou, youth! Wilst thou play with me? The Peince. What I may, I will ! Swanwhite. !N^ow shalt thou see what I have in my coffer. (She goes to the coffer, and, l-neeling, takes a doll, a rattle and a hohhy horse out of it.) Here is the doll — that is my child, my careless child, who can never keep her face clean. I have carried her in my arms to the wash room and scoured her with white sand; but she only became dirtier. I have whipped her, but that does no good. Now I have thought up the worst punishment ! The Prince. What is that, then? Swanwhite. (Looks about her.) She shall have a stepmother! 28 SWANWHITE The Peince. But how can that be done? First she must have a mother ! SWANWHITE. Yes, I am that, and if I marry again I shall become a stepmother. The Peii^ce. No! What sayest thou? That is not the way it's done! SwANWHITE. And thou shalt become a stepfather ! The Peince. Oh, no ! SwANWHITE. But thou must be kind to her, even if she can't wash her face. Take her, that I may see if thou canst hold a baby ! {The Prince reluctantly takes the doll.) SwANWHITE. Thou doest not know how yet, but thou wilt learn. Now take the rattle and rattle it for her! (The Prince takes the rattle.) SwANWHITE. Thou doest not understand that, I see well. (Takes the doll and the rattle and throws thenv hack into the SWANWHITE 29 coffer. Then takes up the hohby horse.) Here is my courser — be has a silver saddle and golden shoes — he makes seven miles an hour, and I have ridden him through the smoke wood, over the great heath, on the King's bridge, through the highway and the Way of Anguish, until I came to the Sea of Tears ! And there he lost a golden shoe, which fell into the sea, then came a fish, and then came a fisherman, and so I got my golden horseshoe again. Now you know that! {Throws the hohby horse into the coffer. Takes out a chess hoard with red and white squares and men of gold and silver.) If thou wilt play with me, sit down there on the lion's skin. (She sits on the lion's shin and sets up the chess men.) Sit down here, the maidens can't see us here. (The Prince sits down despondently on the lions skin.) SwANWHITE. (Passes her hand through the hair and mane of the hide.) This is as if we were sitting on the grass, not on the green grass of the meadows, but in the wastes burned by the sun. Now thou must say something about me! Doest thou love me a little ? The Prince. (Embarrassed.) Shall we not play? 30 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. Play? What do I care about that? (Sighs.) 01 Thou wishest to teach me something ! The Prince. "What do I know, save how to bear arms and saddle a horse ? That can be of little service to you. SWANWIIITE. Thou art sad? The Prince. My mother is dead. SwANWHITE. Poor Prince ! My mother, too, is with God in Heaven and has become an angel. Sometimes I see her at night ; doest thou see thy mother so ? The Prince. No-o-o! SwANWHITE. Hast thou a stepmother ? The Prince. !N'ot yet. Only lately was my mother laid on the bier. SwANWHITE. Thou must not be sad. Everything passes. Now thou shalt have a flag from me to make thee glad again ; SWANWHITE 31 but, truly, I embroidered this for the young King ; now I shall embroider one for thee. On the King's are seven glowing flames. Now thou shalt have one with seven red roses — but thou must hold the wool for me. {She takes a rosy hank of wool out of the coffer and hands it to the Prince). One, two, three ! Now I begin, but thy hand must not shaken Perhaps thou wouldst like to have one of my hairs mingled with the wool ? Pull one out! The Prince. No, no; I can't do that SwANWHITE. Then I'll do it. (She pulls out a hair and works it into the wool.) What is thy name ? The Prince. That thou must not ask ! SwANWHITE. "Why not ? The Prince. Did not the Duke say ? SwANWHITE. (Roguishly.) No ! What would be the result if one said his name ? Could anything dangerous happen? 32 SWANWHITE The Prince. (Blitshing.) Didn't the Duke say ? SWANWHITE. ^N'ever have I heard that nobody might call him by name. {The curtains which conceal the peacock move, and one hears an undefined sound like that of castanets.) The Prince. (Listening.) What is that? SwANWHITE. (Uneasily.) That is the peacock. Doest thou think he under- stands what we are saying? The Prince. Who can know ? (The peacock claps his hill again.) The Prince. I am growing afraid. Thou must not ask me any- thing more ! SWANWIIITE. He claps with his bill. Hold thy hands still. Hast SWANWHITE 33 thou heard the fairy tale of the little princess, who could not call the prince by his name, or something •would happen? Doest thou know what? {Tlie curtain hiding the peacock is drawn to one side, showing the bird. The peacock has spread his tail so that all its eyes seem to he spying on Swanwhite and the Prince.) The Prince. Who has pulled the curtains? Who bade the bird spy on us with his hundred eyes ? Thou darest not ask any more! Swanwhite. Possibly it is so ! Lie down, peacock, now ! {The curtain is drawn together again.) The Prince. Is this place haunted ? Swanwhite. Thou meanest that such things happen. Yes, so much happens here; but I am so used to it! And be- side (in an undertone) it is said that my stepmother is a witch ! Xow I have stuck my finger ! The Prince. With what hast thou stuck thyself ? Swanwhite. There was a splinter in the wool ! The sheep have 3 34 SWANWHITE been standing in their stalls all winter — and so it hap- pened. Canst thou pull out the splinter? The Peince. Yes, but we must sit down by the table so that I can see. {They rise and sit again near the tahle.) SwANWHITE. (Reaches her little finger toward him.) Seest thou anything? The Pkince. (More boldly than before.) Do I see anything? Through the rosiness of thy hand I see life and the world in rose color. SwANWHITE. Pull out the splinter ! It hurts me ! The Prince. But I shall have to hurt thee. Forgive me in ad- vance. SWANWHITE 35 SWANWHITE. So, then, but belp me ! The Pkince. (Holds her little finger and pulls the splinter out with his nails.) There it is, the evil thing which dared to hurt thee ! (Throws the splinter on the ground and stamps on it.) SwANWHITE. Now thou must suck the blood, or it will make a sore. The Pkince. (Sucks her finger.) !N"ow that I have drunk thy blood we are foster brethren. Swanwhite. "Brethren," yes, but we were that already, other- wise why did I say " thou ?" The Pkince. Hast thou said " thou ?" What did I say to thee ? Swanwhite. See, he didn't notice it. ITow I have a little brother, and thou art he ! Little brother, take my hand ! 36 SWANWHITE The Pkince. {Takes her hand.) Little sister! (Notices her pulse.) What have you here that ticks — one, two, three? {Counts the numbers softly after looking at the clock.) SwANWHITE. What does tick there ? Evenly, evenly ! The heart is not in one's hand, but lies under one's breast. Feel ; there wilt thou feel it! {The doves move and coo.) SwANWHITE. What is it, my little white ones ? The Pkince. Sixty ! 'Now I know what ticks. It is time ! Thy little finger is the second-hand, that has ticked off sixty seconds as a minute has passed. Eelievest thou there is a heart in the clock? SwANWHITE. {Turns the clock's hands with her finger.) We cannot get inside the clock! Just as little can we into the heart. Feel my heart! SiGNE. . {Comes from the tin room with a steel scourge, which she lays on the table.) The Duchess orders the children to sit on different sides of the table. SAVANWHITE 37 (The Prince and Swanivhite seat themselves opposite each other.) (They remain silent for a while.) SWANWHITE. We are far away from each other, but therefore nearer. The Prince. One is never so near to another as when forced to be separated. SwANWHITE. And thou knowest that? The Peince. I discover it now. Swanwhite. Now thou beginnest to teach me ! The Prince. Thou me ! SwANWHITE. (Points to the fruitery.) Wilst thou eat some fruit ? The Prince. No, eating is so ugly ! 38 SWANWHITE SwANWHITE. Yes, that it is ! (Silence.) The Pkince. There stand three maidens there, one in the tin room, one in the clothes room, one in the fruiterj. Why do thej stand there ? SwANWIIITE. In order to watch lis, that we don't do anything for- bidden ! The Pkince. Dare we not go into the rose garden? SwANWHITE. I can only go in the rose garden in the morning, as Stepmother's bloodhounds are loose there now. On the strand dare I never go, and therefore I can never bathe. The Pkince. If thou hast never been on the strand, hast thou never heard how the sea washes the sands ? Swanwiiite. Never! Here I can only hear the tossing of the waves when a storm comes. The Prince. Hast thou never heard the sough of the wind when it blows over the water ? SWANWHITE 39 SwANWHITE. That cannot be heard from here. The Prince. (Passes his helmet to Sivanwhite.) Listen in that and thou wilt hear it ! SwANWHITE. (Holds the helmet to her ear.) What is that I hear ? The Prince. The song of the sea, the whisper of the winds. SwANWHITE. No, I hear human voices — hush! Stepmother is speaking — she speaks to the gardener. She utters my name, and then that of the young King! She speaks evil words — she swears I shall not be a queen — and she swears — that — thou — shalt have her daughter — the ugly Lena. The Prince. Truly ! Canst thou hear that in the helmet ? SwANWHITE. Yes! The Prince. I knew nothing of that. But I received the helmet as a christening present from my godfather ! 40 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. Wilst thou give me a feather ? The Peince. With all my heart. SwANWHITE. But thou must cut it so that I can write with it. The Prince. Thou canst do that ? SwANWHITE. Father taught me. (The Prince pulls a hlacJc feather from his helmet, takes a silver-mounted knife from his girdle, and makes the pen.) (Swanwhite takes ink and parchment out of the table drawer.) The Peince. Who is the Lady Lena ? SWANWIIITE. (Writing.) What is she? Wilst thou have her? The Peince. Evil deeds are brewing in this house! SWANWHITE 41 SWANWHITE. Fear not! Father has given me a gift which will bring aid in the hour of need. The Pkixce. What callest thou it ? SwANWHITIi. It is the horn Standby. The Pkince. Where is it hidden? SwANWHITE. Eead in my eyes. I dare not say where before the maidens. The Pkince. {Looks into her eyes.) I see it! SwANWHITE. (Piishes inh, pen and parchment across the table to him.) Write ! (The Prince writes.) SWANWHITU. Yes, that is right ! (Resumes writing.) 42 SWANWHITE The Pkince. What writest thou ? SWANWIIITE. Names. All the beautiful names of princes. The Pkince. Mine as well ? SWANWIIITE. Thine also. The Pkince. Touch not on that. SwANWHITE. Now have 1 written twenty names, all that I knew^ and thy name stands among them. (Passes the parch- ment across the table.) Read! (The Prince reads.) SwANWHITE. (Claps her hands.) Oh, I read it in thy eyes ! The Pkince. Say it not! In the name of the Merciful God say it not ! SwANWHITE. I read it in thy eyes! SWANWHITE 43 The Pkixce. But say it not, say it not ! SWANWHITE. Why not ? What would happen then ? Shall Lena say it — thy bride, thy loved one? The Peince. Oh, be silent, silent ! SwANWHITE. {Has risen and dances about the room.) I know his name, the most beautiful name in the world ! {The Prince catches her and holds his hand over her mouth.) SwANWHITE. !ITow I bite thy hand, now I suck thy blood, now we are doubly kin. Dost thou know what that means? The Prince. That we are two of a kin. Swanwhite. {Throws bach her head.)' 0-ho-ho-ho! Seest thou, there is a hole in the roof and I see the sky, a little bit of sky, a pane, and back 44 SWANWHITE of the pane a face. Is it that of an angel ? ^o, see, see — it is thy face! The Peince. The angels are little girls and not little boys ! SwANWHITE. But thou art there. The Prince. {Looks at the roof.) It is a mirror. SwANWHITE. Woe to us! It is Stepmother's magic mirror. She has seen everything ! ♦ The Prince. And in the mirror I see a chimney-piece, and in the chimney-piece hangs a pumpkin. Swanwhite. (Takes a bright-colored but peculiarly formed pumpkin from the chimney-piece.) What is this ? It is shaped like an ear ! The witch has heard us also ! Woe upon us ! {Throws the pump- kin back into the fireplace. Runs toward the bed, but stops suddenly with one foot in the air.) Oh! she has strewn needles on the floor {sits down and rubs her foot). {The Prince falls on his knees by Swanwhite to aid her.) SWANWHITE 45 SWANWHITE. "No, thou darest not touch my foot ! Thou darest not ! The Pkince. Dear heart, you must take off your stocking so I can help you! SwANWHITE. (Sobs.) Thou darest not, thou darest not see my foot ! The Peince. But why not ? SwANWHITE. (Pulls her foot under her.) I can't tell, I cannot. Go, go away ! To-morrow I will tell why. To-day I cannot ! The Prince. Eut the little foot is hurt ; I must get out the needle ! SwANWHITE. (Weeps.) Go,rgo, go! Oh, no, thou darest not! If mother had lived this would never have happened! Mother! Mother ! Mother ! The Prince. I don't comprehend. Art thou afraid of me? 46 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. Thou must not ask. Go at once. Oli! The Peince. (Sadly rising.) "What have I done? Swanwhite. Don't go 'way; I didn't want to grieve thee; but I cannot say. If I could reach the shore in the white sand The Pkince. What then ? Swanwhite. I can't say it ! I cannot ! (Hides her face in her hands.) (The peacock claps his heaJc, the doves grow restless. The three maidens appear in a row ; the wind sighs, and the trees sway in the rose garden. The golden clouds above the sea disappear, the blue sea itself darkens.) Swanwhite. (Who lias noticed these portents.) Is heaven holding judgment over us ? Is misfortune in the house ? Oh, that I could mourn Mother out of the black earth! SWANWHITE 47 The Peince. (Lays his hand on his sword.) For thee, my life ! SwASrWHITE. !N'ot so, she blunts swords also! Oh, that I could mourn Mother out of the black earth ! (The swallows twitter in their nest.) SWANWHITE. What was that ? The Pkince. (Notices the swallows' nest.) A swallows' nest. I didn't see it till now ! Swanwhite. ISTor I ! How did it come here ? Likely it portends good. But I sweat with terror, and the air is op- pressive. See, even the rose there begins to wither as the evil woman nears, for it is she who comes. (The rose on the table has begun to close its petals and to hang its leaves.) The Prince. But the swallows, whence came they here ? 48 SWANWHITE SwAIsWHITE. Certainly not from the evil woman, for the swallows are good birds. Now she is here! The Stepmothek. (Enters from the hack with a step like a panther. The rose withers on the table.) Signe, take the horn from the bed ! (Signe takes the horn from the bed.) The Stepmothek. Prince, whither do you wish to go? The Prince. Duchess, it is late in the evening, the sun seeks the valley, and my cockle wishes to sail homeward. The Stepmothee. It is all too late in the day ; the doors are shut and the dogs let loose. Do you know my dogs ? The Prince. Yes, but do you know my sword ? SWANWHITE 49 The Stepmotiiek. Is anything on the sword ? The Pkince. Blood, at times ! The Stepmother. 0-ho ! But not the Mood of women ? Listen ! Will you sleep in the blue room ? The Prince. Ko, by God, I will sleep at home in my bed ! The Stepmother. WiU that be often ? The Prince. Many times. The Stepmother. How many times ? So many times ? One, two ! (As the Duchess begins to count her henchmen defile outside on the veranda, all stern, several of them armed, hut none looks into the chamber; the steward, the jailer, the hailiff, the head cook, the jailer's assistant, the head gardener, and the rest of them.) The Prince. I will sleep in the blue room ! 4 50 SWANWHITE The Stepmother. I thought as much! Then I wish his highness a thousand times good-night. Swanwhite does that also I {A swan flies over the rose garden. A poppy falls from the roof on the Stepmother, and she and the maidens fall asleep.) Swanwhite. {Approaching the Prince.) Good-night, Prince. The Peince. {Seizes her hand and says under his breath.) Good-night, Oh, I dare sleep under the same roof as my princess, my dreams will embrace thy dreams, and to-morrow we will rise to new games, new Swanwhite. {Under her breath.) l^ow, thou art my first and my everything on earth, thou art my father — since she has robbed me of his mighty protection. See, she sleeps! The Prince. Sawest thou the swan? Swanwhite. No, but I heard it. It was my mother ! SWANWHITE 51 The Pkixce. Fly with me ! SwANWHITE. 1^0, we dare not do that ! Patience ! We shall meet in our dreams, shall we not ? But for that to come to pass, thou must love me more than anything on earth! Love me, thou, thou, thou ! The Prince. My King and ray troth! Swanwhite. Thy Queen and thy heart — that am I ! The Pki:s'ce. I am a knight. SwANWHITE. That I am not! And therefore I take thee, Prince — ! {She holds her hand to her mouth and whispers his name.) The Peixce. Woe, what doest thou ? SwANWHITE. Thou obtainst me with thy name, regain thyself witli me on thy pinions. Thou — {Whispers his name again.) 52 SWANWHITE The Prince. (As if he caught the name in the air with his hands.) Doest thou throw a rose ? {He throws her a kiss), Swanwhite ! SWANWHITE. Thou gavest me a violet ! That is thy soul ! Now I drink thee; now I have thee in my bosom, in my heart; now art thou mine! The Prince. And thou mine ! Who is the owner ? Swanwhite. We! The Prince. We, thou and I! Swanwhite. Viola! The Prince. Kosa! Swanwhite. Viola! The Prince. I love thee! Swanwhite. Thou lovest me? The Prince. Thou lovest me ? SWANWHITE 53 SWANWHITE. I love thee ! {The scene lightens. The rose on the table revives and opens. The faces of the Stepmother and the maidens are illuminated and assume an appearance of beauty, goodness and happiness. The Stepmother, drunh ivitli sleep, raises her head, and with closed eyes seems to contetnplate the happiness of the children with a sunny smile.) SwANWHITE. See, see, the cruel one smiles as if in recollection of her youthful days ; see, the malicious Signe is all truth and faith, ugly Tofva is beautiful, and little Elsa is full- sized ! The Pkince. That is our love ! SwANWHITE. That is love. May God bless it, Almighty God the Creator. {She falls on her Tcnees and weeps.) The Prince. Thou weepest? SwANWHITE. Yes, because I am happy ! The Pkince. Come to my arms and thou wilt smile! 64 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. In thy arms I should like to die ! The Pkince. Laugh and die! SwANWHITE. (Rising.) Would I might die! (The Prince takes her in his arms.) The Stepmother. (Walces and strikes the table with the scourge when she sees the children.) I believe I have slumbered I 0-ho ! Are we there ? Said I the blue chamber! I meant in the blue tower! The Prince shall sleep with the iron maiden. Maidens ! (The maidens awaken.) The Stepmothee. Show the Prince the nearest way to the blue tower. And if you cannot do it call the bailiff, the steward, the jailer and the turnkey! The Pkince.' It is not necessary. I will go tlirough fire and in SWANWHITE 55 water, beneath the earth, above the clouds, and with me I shall take Swanwhite; as she is everywhere where I am ! Xow I shall go in order to take her — to the blue tower. Canst thou bewitch ? Then bewitch — it is dif- ficult, because thou hast not love ! (Goes, accompanied hy the maidens.) The Stepmothee. {To Swanwhite.) Thou needest few words. Therefore express thyself briefiv ! Swanwhite. My first and highest wish is pure water, in order that I can bathe my feet ! The Stepmother. Cold or warm ? Swanwhite. If I may choose, warm. The Stepmother. Furthermore ? Swanwhite. A comb to put my hair in order. 56 SWANWHITE The Stepmotheb. Gold or silver ? SwANWHITE. Art thou, art thou good ? The Stepmother. Gold or silver ? Swanwhite. Wood or horn is good enough for me. The Stepmother. rurthermore ? Swanwhite. A clean shift! The Stepmother. Silk or linen? Swanwhite. Linen ! The Stepmother. Good ! I have heard thy wishes. Listen now to mine ! I wish that thou shalt have no water, neither cold nor warm. I wish that thou shalt have no comb, neither of wood nor of horn, much less of gold or of silver. That is how good I am. I wish that thou shalt wear no linen, but that thou goest at once to the clothes room and cloth thy body in a black woolen shift ! Let this be thy answer! And if thou shouldst escape from this chamber, which thou canst not do, for I have sur- rounded it with snares, thou shalt be given to death, or I shall score that little mouth of thine with the SWANWHITE 57 scourge, so that neither Prince nor King shall look at thee! Now go and lie down! (Lashes the table with the scourge, then closes the triple archway in the hach with golden trellised gates, which creah and screech.) CUETAIN. ACT II {The same scene as before; hut the golden portals are closed. The peacoch and the doves slumber. The dis- tant landscape, the sea and the golden clouds are darJc. Bwanwhite, clad in the black woolen robe, lies on the bed. The doors of the tin room, the clothes room and the fruitery are open, and ivithin these rooms stand the three maidens with their eyes closed and little Roman lamps burning in their hands. A swan flies over the rose garden outside, and one hears a chord of trumpet tones as of swans meeting. Swanwhite's mother appears at the portal. She is dressed in white, carries a little golden harp and has a swan's shin thrown over one arm. She hangs the skin on the portal, which opens and closes of its own accord. The mother enters, lays the harp on the table, then * looks about her and notices Swanwhite. The harp be- gins to play; the maidens lamps are extinguished one after another, the one farthest away first; the doors of the rooms then shut themselves one after the other, be- ginning with the Tnost distant. The golden clouds resume their former brilliancy. The mother places a lamp on the lampadarium, then goes to the bed and falls beside it on her knees.) (The harp plays during the following scene.) (The mother rises, takes Swanwhite from the bed and places her in the big armchair, but without awakening SWANWHITE 59 Swanwhite. Falling on her Icnees, the mother pulls off her daughter's stockings and lays them under the hed. Then, bending over Swanwhite's little feet, she appears to wash them with her tears. Afterward, first drying them with a white linen napkin and kissing them, she fastens sandals on Swanwhite's feet, which now appear snowy white. Rising again, the mother takes a golden comb and puts Swanwhite's hair in order. Then she carries her to bed again, and taking a ivhite shift from her pocket lays it beside Swanwhite on the coverlid. Kissing her daughter on the brow, she then prepares to leave. Another swan flies by outside, and again one hears the same swan strain as before. Im- mediately afterward the Prince's mother, clad in white, comes through the portal, upon which she hangs her swans skin.) Swanwhite's Mothek. "Well met, sister ! Is it long till cock crow ? The Pkince's Mothek. Xot too long ! Already the dew is leaving the roses, the land rail trumpets in the hay, and the sunrise peeps over the sea^ Swanwhite's Mother. Let us hasten to our purpose, sister ! The Prince's Mother. Thou hast called me in order that we might speak of our children ! 60 SWANWHITE Swanwhite's Mother. I wandered in a green meadow in the land where there is no sorrow, and there I found thee, whom I did not know then, but whom I had known always. Thou sorrowed to me over thy poor boy left to wander alone in the vale of sorrow, thou opened thy heart to me and my own thoughts, loath to lift themselves from here, sought my poor forsaken child — betrothed to the young King, that cruel and evil man. The Prince's Mother. Then I spoke, and you listened ! Might not the worthy mate with the worthy; might not Love, the powerful, rule; and might not we unite the orphaned hearts so that they should console each other ? Swanwhite's Mother. And their hearts have exchanged kisses ; their souls have embraced each other. Oh, may sorrow change to joy, and the earth rejoice over their youthful happiness ! The Prince's Mother. May the Higher Power permit it ! Swanwhite's Mother. That shall be tested in the fire of suffering. The Prince's Mother. (Takes up the helmet left behind hy the Prince.) May sorrow change to joy — to-morrow morning, the anniversary of his sorrow for his mother! SWANWHITE 61 (She removes the hlach feathers which surround the white and red ones.) Swanwhite's Mother. Give me thy hand, sister. Xow may the temptation make a beginning. The Prince's Mother. Here is my hand, the hand which has enclosed that of my son. Now we have betrothed them. Swanwhite's Mother. In all honor and propriety. The Prince's Mother. Now I go to open the blue tower. Then may the children take each other in their arms. Swanwhite's Mother. In all honor and propriety. The Prince's Mother. And we shall meet again in the green meadows where there is no sorrow. Swanwhite's Mother. (Motioning toward Swanwhite.) Listen! She dreams of him. That foolish, fond woman believed it was possible to separate two lovers ! 62 SWANWHITE IN'ow they are wandering hand and hand through the land of dreams under the whispering fir trees, beneath the sporting lindens, and they themselves sport and laugh. The Pkince's Mothee. Still! The morning dawns. I hear the twitter of the robin and see the stars vanishing from the firma- ment. Farewell, sister! (Goes, taking her swanskin with her.) Swanwhite's Mother. Farewell ! (She passes her hand over Swanwhite g^ if in 'blessing, then goes, taking her swanskin and leav- ing the door shut behind her.) (The clock on the table strikes thrice. The harp on the table is silent for a few moments, and then begins a beautiful new melody; Swanwhite awakes, looks about her, listens to the harp, runs her hands through her hair, contemplates with joy her little white feet, notices the white shift on the bed. Then she seats herself at her former place at the table and acts as she did when the Prince sat near her. She looks in his eyes, laughs a laugh of recognition and reaches him her hand. Her lips move as if she tvere speaking; and she seems to listen to answers. She notes expressively the red and white feathers on the helmet, bends forward as if she whispered, throws hack her head and inhales as if she smelted a sweet odor; catches at the air and then kisses her fingers SWANWHITE G3 as if catching and returning a Jcissj caresses the pen as if she were a hird preening its feathers, then writes with it and passes the parchment across the table; seems to follow " his " pen with her eyes as it writes the an- swer; takes hack the parchment and puts it in her bosom. She strokes her black garment, calling attention by signs to the mournful change it makes in her outward appearance, then smiles at the silent answer and breaks into a rippling laugh. She shows in pantomime that her hair is combed, then retires into the dressing room, from which she coyly protrudes her bare foot. Stand- ing in that position, she awaits an answer, which em- barrasses her, and she quickly hides her foot. Then she goes to the coffer, takes out the chess board and men, lays them on the lion's skin, makes a gesture of invitation, arranges the pieces, then begins the game as if playing with one unseen by the spectators. The harp is silent for a moment, then begins a new melody. The game of chess is discontinued, and Swanwhite is seen talking to her invisible companion. Presently she draws back as if he came too near, makes a guard- ing gesture, then springs up like a feather. She con- templates the invisible one long and reproachfully, then takes the shift from the counterpane and hides herself behind the bed.) 64 SWANWHITE {The Prince appears outside the latticed portals. He attempts to open them in vain, then gives o'er and casts a glance of sorrow and despair at the heavens.) SwANWHITE. {Approaching him.) Who Cometh with the rising of the sun? The Prince. Thy heart's beloved, thy Prince, thy all ! SwANWHITE. Whence cometh my beloved ? The Prince. Prom the Land of Dreams, from the morning red that lies behind the rosy mountains, from the whispering fir trees, from the sporting lindens. SwANWHITE. What did my love in the Land of Dreams ? The Prince. He sported and laughed, he wrote her name, he played chess on the lion's skin. SwANWHITE. With whom played he, with whom played he ? SWANWHITE 66 The Pkince. "With Swanwhite. SwANWHITE. That is he. Welcome unto my castle, to my table, to my arms ! The Pkince. Who opens the golden portal ? SwANWHITE. Eeach me thy hand! It is cold because thy heart is warm ! The Pkince. My body has slept in the blue tower, while my soul wandered in the Land of Dreams. There it was cold, and tJiere it was dark. SwANWHITE. In my bosom will I warm thy hand, in my glances will I warm thy hand, with my kiss will I warm thy hand! The Pkince. Illuminate my darkness with the light of thine eyes ! SwANWHITE. Was it dark ? The Prince. In the blue tower shines neither sun nor moon ! 5 66 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. Rise, sun, blow warm wind, toss sea! Thou golden door, doest thou believe that thou canst part two hearts, two hands, two lips? jSTothing can part them! The Pkince. !Isrothing ! (Tivo doors are shut across the portal from each side, so that Swanwhite and the Prince can see each other no longer.) Swanwhite. Alas, what word has fallen; who has heard it; who punishes us? The Peince. I am not separated from thee, love of my heart; for the sound of my voice reaches thee, it pierces through copper, steel and stone and warmly caresses thy little ear; in thought I embrace thee, in dreams I kiss thee, nothing more can part us on earth. ISTothing! Swanwhite. ISTothing ! The Prince. I see thee even when my eyes do not behold thee ; I taste thee, for thou throwest roses in my mouth. Swanwhite. But I would have thee in mine arms ! SWANWHITE 67 The Peince. Thou bast me! SwANWHITE. No, I would feel thy heart against mine. I would sleep on thy arm. Ye heavenly power permit us to ob- tain each other ! {The swallows twitter, and a little white feather falls to the ground. Swanwhite picks it up and discovers that it is a hey. Then she opens both doors and portals. ) (The Prince enters.) (Swanwhite rushes into his arms.) (The Prince kisses her mouth.) Swanwhite. Thou kissest me not! The Pkince. I have! Swanwhite. I feel not thy kisses The Prince. Then thou doest not love me ! Swanwhite. Embrace me! 68 SWANWHITE The Prince, I will smother thee! SWANWIIITE. ]so, I breathe ! The Prince. Give me thy soul ! SWANWHITE. Here ! Give me thine ! The Prince. Here ! 'Now I have thine, and thou hast mine ! SwANWHITE. I would have mine back again! The Prince. And I mine! SwANWHITE. Seek! The Prince. Alas, we have exchanged personalities. Thou art I, and I am thou ! SWANWIIITE. We are one ! The Prince. The Good God heard thy prayer; we have obtained each other ! SWANWHITE 69 SWANWHITE. We have obtained each other, but I have thee no longer, I feel not the pressure of thy hand, nor the caresses of thy lips; I see not thy eyes, hear not thy voice; thou hast departed. The Prince. I am here ! SwANWHITE. Here below, but I would meet thee there above in the Land of Dreams. The Pkince. Let us fly thither on the wings of sleep. SwANWHITE. On thy arm ! The Peince. In my arms! Swanwhite. In thy arms ! The Pkince. This is bliss! Swanwhite. Eternal, without end, without change! The Peixce. Can any part us ? Swanwhite. None! TO SWANWHITE The Peince. Art thou my bride? SwANWHITE. Art thou my bridegroom ? The Pkince. In the Land of Dreams. Xot here! SwANWHITE. Where are we ? The Peince. Here below ! SwANWHITE. Where the clouds overshadow us, where the sea rages, where each night, before the sun rises, the earth weeps on the grass. Where the hawk tears the dove; where the swallow kills the fly ; where the hair whitens, the cheeks fall in, the eyes grow dull, and the hands withered. Here below ! Let us flee ! Let us flee ! The Peince. SwANWHITE. (The gardener appears suddenly from behind the table. He is dressed in green, with cap, apron and SWANWHITE 71 Tcnee breeches, shears and a Jcnife in his belt, and he carries a little nvinnow in his hand. He goes about sowing seed.) The Pkince. Who art thou ? The Gardenee. I sow! I sow! The Pkince. What sowest thou? The Gardenee. Seed, seed, seed ! The Prince. What kind of seed? The Gardener. Once heaten and twice beaten. One pulls thither and two pull yon. When bride's gear is on, harmony is past. In discord will I sow and in harmony shalt thou reap. One and one make one, but one and one also make three ; one and one make two, but two makes three! Understandest thou that? The Prince. Earthworm, dust-grubber, thou turnest thy face to the ground and thy back toward heaven. What wouldst thou teach me ? The Gardener. That thou art an earthworm and a dust grubber. T2 SWANWHITE Because thou turnest thy back to the earth, the earth shall turu its back to thee! Farewell! (SinJcs out of sight behind the table.) SWANWKITE. What was that? Who was that? The Pkince. That was the green gardener. SwANWHITE. Green? He was blue! The Prince. He was green, dear one ! Swanwhite. How canst thou say that which is not so ? The Peince. Beloved of my heart, I said only what was so ! Swanwhite. Alas, he speaketh not the truth ! The Pkince. Whose voice hear I ? 'Not that of my Swanwhite ! SWANWHITE 73 SWANWIIITE. "Whom do I behold? Xot my Prince, whose very name once could draw me like the magic music of the Nix ; like the song of the mermaids in the green waves. "Who art thou? Thou stranger with the evil eyes and the grev hair ! The Prince. Seest thou now first that during that half night in the tower my hair turned grey from grief at the absence of Swanwhite, who is here no longer. Swan WHITE. But Swanwhite is here! The Peince. No, here stands a black maiden, whose face is black. Swanwhite. Sawest thou not before that I was clad in black? Then thou lovest me not ! The Prince. Love her who stands here quarrelsome and evil ! No ! Swanwhite. Then wert thou false ! 74 SWANWHITE The Peince. 'Ro, because there stands another here! !N^ow, now, thou throwest nettles in my mouth! SwANWHITE. !N'ow thy Tiolets smell of lovage ! Puh ! The Pkince. This is punishment for disloyalty to my young King. SwANWHITE. Would that I had waited thy young King! The Prince. Wait ! He is coming thither ! SwANWHITE. I shall not wait. I go to him! The Prince. Then I remain ! SwANWHITE. (Goes to bach of stage.) The Prince. (Beside himself.) Where is Swanwhite? Where, where, where? The most beautiful, the best, the most loving! SWANAVHITE 76 Seek her ! 'Not here below! Elsewhere ! swanwhite. The Pkince. SwANWHITE. (Goes.) (The Prince alone; seats himself at the table, covers his face with his hands and weeps. A gust of wind hlows through the chaniber, so that the curtains and draperies flutter and the strings of the harp vibrate. The Prince rises, goes to the bed and remains sunk in contemplation as he views the pillow ivhich has pre- served the imprint of Swanwhite's profile. He takes the pillow and kisses it. Noise without. He seats himself at the table. The door of the room is burst open. The maidens, now with dark faces, appear. The Stepmother, also with a dark face, enters from the rear.) The Stepmothek. (Softly.) A good-morrow, my good Prince. How has he slept ? The Peince. "Where is Swanwhite? 76 SWANWHITE The Stepmothek. She journeys to her wedding with the young King. Did my Prince not think of that before ? The PpaNCE. But a single thought can I control The Stepmothee. Of young Swanwhite ? The Peince. Is she too young for me ? The Stepmothee. Grey hairs should take care to be accompanied by good understanding. — I have an understanding maiden — The Peince. My gi*ey hairs? The Stepmothee. He knows it not, he believes it not, maidens ! Signe, Elsa, Tofva ! Laugh at the young suitor with his grey hairs ! (The maidens Ireak into laughter j the Stepmother chimes in.) The Peince. Where is Swanwhite? SWANWHITE 77 The Stepmother. Follow her tracks ! Here is one. {Hands him a written jyarchment.) The Peince. She has written that? The Stepmothee. Thou knowest her hand! What has her hand written ? The Peince. That she hates me and loves another — that she has played with my feelings, that she spits out my kisses and throws my heart into the pigstye. Xow will I die ! !N^ow am I dead ! The Stepmothee. A knight dies not through the sport of a maiden! He shows that he is a man and picks out another ! The Peince. Another? If there only were another. The Stepmothee. At least two! And my Magdalena possesses seven tons of gold ! The Peince. Seven ? 78 SWANWHITB The Stepmothek. Yet more ! (PaiLse.) The Prince. ."Where is Swanwhite ? The Stepmother. And Magdalena is versed in many arta. The Prince. Can she bewitch ? The Stepmother. She could soon bewitch a little prince. The Prince. (Contemplating the parchment,) Has Swanwhite written this ? The Stepmother. Magdalena would never do so ! The Prince. Is Magdalena good ? The Stepmother. Goodness itself! She trifles not with holy feelings, she does not revenge a little unfairness, she is true to them whom she holds dear. SWANWHITE 79 The Prince. Then she is beautiful! The Stepmother. Kot beautiful ! The Peince. » Then she is not good. Sj^eak more of her ! The Stepmother. See her ! The Prince. Where ? The Stepmother. Here! The Prince. Swanwhite has written this? The Stepmother. Magdalena would have written affectionately. The Prince. What would she have written? The Stepmother. Of — (falters). The Prince. Say the word ! Say " love " if thou canst I 80 SWANWHITE The Stepmother. Shove ! The Peince. Thou canst not pronounce that word ! The Stepmother. Dove! The Prince. No! The Stepmother. Magdalena can say it ! May she come ? The Prince. She may come! The Stepmother. {Rises and addresses the maidens.) Bind the Prince's eyes, then can he take a princess in his arms the like of whom there is not in seven kingdoms ! (Signe comes forward and hlindfolds the Prince.) The Stepmother. (Claps her hands.) Now ? Comes she not ? (The peacock claps his hill, the doves coo.) SWANWHITE 81 The Stepmother. Has my art forsaken me? What means that? iWtere is the bride ? {Four maidens carrying red and wldte roses enter from the hack. Music is heard from above. The maidens pass about the bed and strew it with roses. Then enter two hnights with closed visors. They take the Prince by the hand and conduct him to the rear, where they join the false Magdalena, who is escorted by two women. The bride is thickly veiled. The Step- mother motions all to leave the bridal pair. She then departs, after pulling the curtains and closing the portals.) The Prince. Is my bride here ? The False Magdalena. Who is thy bride ? The Prince. I do not remember her name! Who is thy bride- groom ? The False Magdalena. He whose name dare not be mentioned ! The Prince. Say it if thou canst ! 6 82 SWANWHITE The False Magdalena. I can, but I will not ! The Peince. Say it if thou canst ! The False Magdalena. First say mine ! The Peince. Seven tons of gold, crook back, malice, bairlip! What am I called ? Say it if thou canst ! The False Magdalena. Prince Grey Hair ! The Peince. That is right ! {The false Magdalena throws off her veil.) Swanwhite. (Stands there in her white robe, a crown of roses in her hair.) Who am I now ? The Peince. Thou art a rose ! Swanwhite. Thou art a violet! SWANWHITE 83 The Pkince. {Takes the handage from his eyes.) Thou art Swanwhite! SwANWHITE. And thou — art The Prince. Hush ! Swanwhite. Thou art mine ! The Prince. And thou hast gone forth — forth from my kisses. Swanwhite. And came again ! Because I love thee ! The Prince. And thou wrotest ugly words Swanwhite. "Which I erased because I love thee ! The Prince. And thou saidst that I was false ! Swanwhite. What matters that when thou art true and I love thee? The Prince. And thou wouldst have gone to the young King ? 84: SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. But I came to thee because thou ait my love! The Pkixce. !N^ow thou shouldst turn my reproaches on ma Swanwiiite. "No, as I have forgotten them because thou art my love. The Prince. If I am thy love, then thou art my bride ! SwANWHITE. I am. The Pkince. Then may Heaven bless our union ! Swanwhite. In the Land of Dreams ! The Pkince. Upon my arm ! (The Prince conducts Sivanwhite to the hed; lays his sivord in the middle between Swanwhite and himself. The golden clouds become rosy red, the rose trees rustle; the harp intones a lovely melody.) SWANWHITE 85 The Prince. Good-night, my Queen! SwANWniTE. Good-morning, love of my soul ! I hear thy heart beat, I hear thy heart sigh like the waves of the sea, like the trot of a racer, like the wings of an eagle. Take me by the hand! The Prince. Here! Xow we lift our wings! The Stepmother. {Enters with the maidens carry'mg torches. All four are grey-headed.) I must see that my work is ended before the Duke comes — Magdalena espoused to the Prince, while Swan- white sits in the tower. (Approaching the heel.) They sleep in each other's arma Maidens, be my witnesses ! {The maidens near the lied.) The Stepmother. What do I see ? You all have grey hair ! SiGNE. And your Grace has also! The Stepmothee. Let me see ! {Elsa holds her a mirror.) 86 SWANWHITE The Stepmother. The sport of evil power ! Mayhap the Prince has his dark locks again ? Light here ! (The maidens illuminate the sleepers.) The Stepmother. By heaven it is the truth ! Then all goes well. But the sword ! Who has placed the sword there where it makes the espousal invalid ? {She seeks to remove the sword, hut the Prince holds it fast in his sleep.) SiGNE. Duchess, it is unsafe here ! The Stepmother. Why so ? SiGNE. That is not Lady Magdalena Tjie Stepmother. Who is it ? Help mine eyes ! SiGNE. It is the Lady Swanwhite ! SWANWHITE 87 The Stepmother. Swanwliite ? Is this a delusion of the devil, or have I done what I would not! (The Prince moves and approaches his lips toward those of Swanwhite.) The Stepmother. (Struck hy the beautiful sight.) Never saw I anything more beautiful ! Two roses which meet each other in the wind ; two stars which fall from the firmament, and in falling come together; no, it is all too beautiful ! Youth, Beauty, Innocence, Love ! Remembrances, fond remembrances of when I lived in my father's court, where he loved me, the youth whom I never wedded. What did I say he had for me ? SiGNE. The Duchess said that he loved. The Stepmother. Then spoke I that mighty word correctly ! Beloved ! So he named me, " Beloved," before he went forth to the war. (SinJcs into thought.) He returned never! And so I was forced to take the other whom I cannot endure! Now my course of life is run; and I must rejoice over the happiness I never won! I will re- joice — over others' happiness — yet a happiness; over other love — yet a love ! But my Magdalena ? Will 88 SWANWHITE she rejoice? Almighty Love, eternal, creative god; how vs^eak hast thou made mj lion's heart! Where is mj power ? Where is my hate ? Where is my revenge ? {She seats herself and regards the sleepers.) I recall a song, a love song which he sang in my youth, the last evening. (Rises, wakes as out of a dream and falls into a rage. Shrieks.) Attendants, thither! Thither, bail- iff, castellan, jailer, all ! (She pulls the sword from the bed and throws it into the hacJcground.) Attend- ants, thither ! (Noise: the attendants enter as before.) The Stepmother. Behold! The Prince, the young King's vassal, has dishonored the bride of his lord. Bear witness to the shameful deed! The King's deceiver shall be sent in bonds and chains to his lord, and the wanton sh^ll be put in the spiked barrel. (The Prince and Swanwhite awaken.) The Stepmother. Jailer and bailiff, seize the Prince! (The jailer and bailiff seize the Prince.) SWANWHITE 89 The Pkince. Where is my sword ? ^ot to use against this violence, but to prove innocence ! The Stepmotiiee. The innocence of whom ? The Prince. The innocence of my bride ! The Stepmother. The innocence of the harlot! Prove it! Swanwhite. O, Mother, Mother! (The white swan 'flies hy outside.^ The Stepmother. Give me the shears, girl! I will clip the harlot's locks, {Signe reaches her a pair of shears.) The Stepmother. (Takes Swanwhite by the hair and attempts to cut it, hut the shears stick and will not come together.) Now I will cut away thy beauty and thy love ! (She is overcome with panic, which seizes the maidens also.) 90 SWANWHITE The Stepmothek. Is the fiend upon us? What makes you tremble? SiGNE. Duchess, the dogs bay, the horses whinny j that be- tokens visitors ! The Stepmother. Quick, all to the drawbridge. To the walls ! Fire I iWater ! Swords ! Axes ! {The Prince and Swanwhite are left alone.) The Gardener. (Appears from hehind the table with a cord in one hand and the Duke's horn in the other.) Pardon to him that hath erred ! Comfort for the sor- rowful, help for the needy ! Swanwhite. My father's horn ! Help is nigh ! But the Prince ? The Gardener. Prince, follow me ! Here is an underground passage which leads to the strand, there lies the cockle ; the wind is good ! Come ! SWANWHITE 91 {Swariwhite alo7ie. She sounds the horn, and another answers in the distance.) (The jailer enters ivith a spiked barrel.) (Swanivhite blows again. The answer is nearer.) {The Duhe enters.) (The Duhe and Sivanivhite alone.) The Duke. Dearest hearty whom does this concern? SwANWHITE. Father, it concerns thy child. See the spiked barrel there ! The Duke. In what has my child erred ? Swanwhite. I found the Prince's name by a means that only love could teach; I named him, and then I loved him. The Duke. That should not cost thy life ! What further ? 92 SWANWHITE SWANWHITE. I slept by his side with the sword. The Duke. That should not cost thy life, though it was hardly well considered ! What further ? SwANWHITE. Nothing further ! The Duke. {To the jailer.) Roll out the spiked barrel! Now, my child, where is the Prince ? SwANWHITE. He is sailing his cockle homeward ! The Duke. Now, in this storm wind ? Alone ? SwANWHITE. Alone ! What will happen to him ? The Duke. That lies in God's hands ! SwANWHITE. Is danger nigh him ? SWANWHITE 93 The Duke. The brave have oft good fortune. SWANWIIITE. He merits it! The Duke. If he be free from guilt he will have it ! SwANWHITE. He is! More so than I! {The Stepmother enters.) The Stepmother. How earnest thou hither? The Duke. By the nearest way. Would that I had come sooner. The Stepmother. Hadst thou come sooner, thy child might not have fallen upon misfortune. The Duke. "What misfortune ? 94 SWANWHITE The Stepmothee. That which can never be made good again ! The Duke. Hast thou grounds for that ? The Stepmother. Lawful witnesses ! The Duke. Call the steward! The Stepmothee. He knows nothing! The Duke. (Shaking his sword.) Call the steward ! (The Stepmother tremhles, claps her hands four times.) (The steward enters.) The Duke. Thou must prepare at once a pasty of venison, well seasoned with onions, parsley, fennel and cabbage! (The steward looks towards the Stepmother.) SWANWHITE 05 The Duke. "Whither lookest thou ? At once ! {The steward goes.) The Duke. Call the head gardener ! The Stepmother. He knows nothing ! The Duke. And shall know nothing. But come he must ! Call him! (The Stepmother claps her hands six times.) (The head gardener enters.) The Duke, Fetch three lilies — a white, a red, and a blue. (The head gardener glances at the Stepmother.) The Dukk Take care of thy head ! (The head gardener goes.) 96 SWANWHITE The Duke. Call the witnesses ! (The Stepmother claps her hands once.) (Signe enters.) Testify! But in seemly words! What hast thou seen? SiGNE. I have seen the Lady Swanwhite and the Prince in ted together! The Duke. With a sword? SiGNE. Without ! The Duke. I believe it not! More witnesses! (The two Jcnights enter.) The Duke. Are these the bride's knights? Bear witness! The First Knight. I conducted the Lady Magdalena to bed ! SWANWHITE or The Second Knight. I conducted Lady Magdalena to bed! The Duke. What is this? A fraud which has recoiled! More witnesses ! (Elsa enters.) The Duke. Bear witness ! Elsa. By God the Righteous, I have seen the culprit, Lady Swanwhite, and the Prince, fully clothed and with a sword between them. The Duke. One for and one against, two outside of the question. I leave it to the judgment of God ! The flower ordeal ! TOFVA. (As she enters.) !Noble lord, strong knight! 98 SWANWHITE The Dukb. What knowest thou ? TOFVA. That my noble lady is guiltless! The Duke. Oh, child, thou knowest it. Let us know it! ToFVA. But I say what is true! The Dukb. Therefore nobody believes it; but when Signe says what is false, one must believe that ! What says Swan- white herself? Does not her pure brow, her clear glance, her innocent mouth, say that someone has slandered her ? Do not my father-eyes tell me it is so ? Good God the Highest shall speak in judgment, that men may believe it ! {The head gardener enters with lilies in vases.) {The Duke sets the flowers in a semi-circle on the table.) (The steward enters carrylmj a smohing pasty on a platter.) '{The Duke places the pasty so that the flowers sur- round it.) SWANWHITE 99 The Duke. Who is the white lily ? All, Save Swanwiiite and the Stepmothee. Swanwhite ! The Dukiv Who is the red lily ? All, Save Swanwhite and the Stepmothee. The Prince! The Duke. Who is the blue? All, Save Swanwhite and the Stepmothee. The young King! The Duke. Good ! Tofva, my child, thou believest in innocence because thou art innocent thyself! Interpret now for us the judgment of God, and tell us the pretty secret of the flowers. What seest thou? Tofva. I cannot say the evil word! The Duke. I will, then canst thou say the good ! By the reek of the blood of the lustful deer, by the reek of the herbs of passion, what came to pass ? 100 SWANWHITE TOFVA. (Contemplates the three lilies, which act as her words indicate.) The white lily closes to protect itself from the im- pure insinuation. That is Swanwhite. Ali,. Swanwhite is innocent ! ToFVA. And the red, that is the Prince, closes also; but the blue opens its cup to inhale the passion! The Duke. "Well interpreted! What seest thou further? Tofva. I see how the red lily bows in honorable love to the white lily; but the blue writhes in envy and jealousy ! The Duke. Well interpreted! Who shall have Swanwhite? Tofva. The Prince; because his longing is the purer, and therefore the stronger. SWANWHITE 101 All, Save Swanwhite and the Stepmothek. The Prince shall have Swanwhite! Swanwhite. (Rushes into her father's arms.) Oh, Father! The Duke. Call back the Prince! Blow horns and trumpets! All vessels to sea ! But first, who shall sit in the spiked barrel ? (All are silent.) The Duke. Then I will say it! The Duchess! The liar, the sorceress! See, evil woman, thy art rules everything save love! Go and go quickly! {The Stepmother maJces a gesture with her hand, which seems to benumb the Duke.) The Duke. (Draws his sword and directs the point against the Stepmother, while he shelters Swanwhite by his left shoulder.) Ah, thou evil one! My steel shall spoil thy magic arts! (The Stepmother retires backward with slinking steps like a panther.) 102 SWANWHITE The Duke. Now to the Prince! {The Stepmother stands as if turned to stone in the entrance, opens her mouth as if venting her spleen. The peacoch and the doves fall down dead. Then the Step- mother begins to swell; her clothes expand like an in- fla-ted Walloon, and soon hide her head and the upper part of her body. Her garments appear to flame with a pattern of serpents and twigs. The sun begins to set. Then the roof settles slowly upon the chamber; smoke and fire invade the apartment.) The Duke. (Stretches the cross on his sword toward the Step- mother.) Call upon the name of Jesus the Kedeemer ! All. Christ have mercy! (The roof lifts itself, the smoke and fire disappear.) (Noise without. The murmur of voices.) The Duke. .What new has happened ? SWANWHITE 103 SwANWHITE. I know it! I see it! I hear bow the water drips from his hair; I hear that his heart is stilled; I hear that he can breathe no longer ! I see that he is dead ! The Duke. Where seest thou anything? Whom? SwANWIIITE. Where? I see it! The Duke. I see nothing! SwANWHITE. » If they would come quickly; they must come! {Four little girls enter carrying hasJcets of white lilies and sprigs of yew, with which they strew the floor; after them come four little hoys ringing silver hells tuned to different notes; then the Dean with the cruci- fix; then a golden hier upon which lies the Prince, he- neath a white shroud streivn with red and white roses. His hair is darJc once more and his face young, rosy and radiantly heautiful, with a smile on the lips. The harp plays; the sun rises. The witch hundle hursts and the Stepmother reappears in her usual form. The hier is set down in the rays of the rising sun. 104 SWANWHITE Swanwliite throws lierself on her knees by the hier, and kisses the Prince's face. All hide their faces and weep.) The Duke. Tell us, fisherman, the short story. The Fisherman. Mighty lord, it lies before thy eyes. The youthful Prince, well over yonder sound, seized with love's mad longing to return, essayed to swim the flood, spite spring- tide, wind and waves, 'gainst which his cockle boat could make no headway. I saw his young head top the waves, I heard him call her name and then — how lightly lay his corpse on yonder sand ! Grey was his hair from the night in the blue tower ; withered his cheeks from sorrow and from grief, and nothing brought a smile to his dry lips. ]S[ow, in death his body seemed both young and fair ; his chestnut locks were crown to rosy cheeks, and the corpse smiled — behold, it smiles yet ! The people gath- ered on the sand below, wondered to view the charming sight and whispered : That is love ! SwANWHITE. (Lays herself down near the corpse of the Prince.) He is dead, his heart sings no longer, his eyes light SWANWHITE 105 not my life, he breathes his dew no longer upon me. He smiles, but he smiles not on me, but upon Heaven. I will accompany him upon his way ! The Duke. Kiss not the lips of a dead man. 'Tis poison ! SwANWniTE. A loving poison when it gave me death, the death which is to me life ! The Duke. It is said, my child, the dead do not meet according to their own desires, and that the one loved here seems of little worth there, Swanwkite. And love — shall it not conquer there over death? The Duke. The wise have disputed it. Swanwhite. Then must he return thither. Merciful God, send him back from thy heaven! The Duke. A foolish prayer ! SwANWHITE. Alas, I cannot pray, the evil eye still ruleth over us ! 106 SWANWHITE The Duke. Thou meanest the troll that flew to pieces in the sun. She shall be burnt alive at once upon the scaffold ! SwANWHITE. Burned, and living ? 'No, not so, let her depart upon her way. The Duke. Living, she shall be burned. People, erect a scaffold on the strand in order that her ashes may be strewn by all the winds. Swanwhite. (On her knees to the Duke.) O, no, I pray for her, my executioner. Have mercy ! The Stepmothee. (Enters changed in looks, released from her enchant- ment.') Mercy ! Who offers that heartfelt prayer for me ? Swanwhite. 'Twas I — thy daughter, Mother! SWANWHITE lOT The Stepmotiiee. Oh, Heavenly Power, she calls me Mother! Who taught thee that? SwANWHITE. Love taught me that. The Stepmother. Blessed be love that can such wonders work! 'Tis ■well, my child, then canst thou call the dead back from the realm of Death. That can I not, as love was me forbidden! But thou! But thou! SwANWHITE. What can poor I do ? The Stepmother. Thou canst love; thou canst forgive. Truly, thou canst do all, thou all-powerful little one! Take the lore from me that cannot use it. Go call the name of thy beloved one and lay thy hand upon his heart ! And with the help of the Most High — but only with His — will thy beloved hear thee, if thou canst have faith. SwANWHITE. I believe! — I will! — I pray! (Goes to the Prince's tier, lays one hand upon his heart and raises the other on high. Then she tends and whispers three separate times. At the third the Prince awahes, and Swanwhite throws herself upon his breast. All sinh upon their knees as if in thanks and praise. Mu^ic.) (Curtain.) -^1 %\si^ J-5 ^TV)il =3 1^ J < ce. ^WtUNIVERS//; o ^^^iiwso)^ "^/iiiaAiNa'jy^^ >v^lilBRARY^> f>^-f %]■ .-^ ^ > 5 iNTF!'- UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 708 658 o aMIBRARY*?.- ^^UIBRARY•t %\^: ^ so -< ^.OF-CA]lfO/?4^ % 1^1 I s 13' r-< y Q -i:; 'ii