BY TORSTEN SCHWANKE
A play in one act
Characters:
Torsten, a businessman
Janna, his niece
Christopherus
Postman
TORSTEN
(at a desk with business books and papers)
Two new customers again this week!
If you make a move,
You always get something;
Even if it's only a little,
It all adds up in the end,
And whoever plays small games
Always has fun,
Even with a small win,
And the small loss is bearable.
What's up?
(Postman comes.)
POSTMAN.
A weighted letter, ten marks.
TORSTEN.
Good! Very good!
Make a note of it for me with the rest.
(Postman leaves.)
TORSTEN
(looking at the letter)
I didn't want to tell myself all day today
That I was expecting you.
Now I can pay Christopherus straight
And not abuse his kindness any further.
Yesterday he said to me,
Tomorrow I'll come to you!
I didn't like it.
I knew he wouldn't remind me,
And so his presence reminds me twice as much.
(As he opens the purse and counts).
In the past, when I was
A little more active in my finances,
I could stand silent creditors the least.
If someone deserts me and besieges me,
He is treated with impudence
And everything that goes with it;
The other, who is silent,
Goes straight to the heart
And makes the most urgent demands,
Because he leaves his request to me.
(He puts some money on the table.)
Dear God, how I thank you
That I am out of the economy
And safe again!
(He picks up a book.)
Your blessing in small things!
To me, who squandered your gifts in large things.
And so – Can I express it?
But you do nothing for me,
Just as I do nothing for myself.
If it weren't for the lovely, dear creature,
Would I be sitting here comparing numbers?
Oh Janna!
If you only knew that the man
You think is your uncle
Is working for you
With a completely different heart
And completely different hopes!
Perhaps! ah! it's bitter after all -
She loves me - yes, as an uncle -
No, ugh! That's unbelief again,
And it has never done anything good.
Janna! I will be happy,
You will be, Janna!
(Janna comes.)
JANNA.
What do you want, uncle?
You called me.
TORSTEN.
Not me, Janna.
JANNA.
Are you under a spell
That you're making me come in
From the kitchen?
TORSTEN.
You see ghosts.
JANNA.
Otherwise, yes. I just know
Your voice too well, Torsten!
TORSTEN.
Well, what are you doing outside?
JANNA.
I've only plucked a few pigeons
Because Christopherus will
Be eating with us tonight.
TORSTEN.
Maybe.
JANNA.
They'll be ready soon,
You can just tell me later.
He has to teach me his new song too.
TORSTEN.
You like learning something
From him, I suppose?
JANNA.
He can sing really nice songs.
And when you're sitting
At the table afterwards
And hanging your head,
I'll start right away.
Because I know that you laugh
When I start singing
A song that you like.
TORSTEN.
Did you notice me?
JANNA.
Yes, whoever didn't notice you men!
If you don't have anything else,
I'm going back;
Because I still have a lot to do.
Goodbye. – Now give me another kiss.
TORSTEN.
When the pigeons are well roasted,
You shall have one for dessert.
JANNA.
It's damned how rude the uncles are!
If Christopher or any other good boy
Could take a kiss,
They would jump up the walls,
And the gentleman there
Would spurn the one I want to give.
Now I'm burning the pigeons.
(Exit.)
TORSTEN.
Angel! dear angel!
I hold myself, I don't throw myself
On her neck and reveal everything to her!
Are you looking down on us,
Our Lady,
Who gave me this treasure to keep?
Yes, they know about us in heaven!
They know about us! –
Karina, you could not have rewarded
My love for you more magnificently,
More holy than by entrusting
Your daughter to me when you left!
You gave me everything I needed,
You bound me to life!
I loved her as your child – and now! –
I am still deluded.
I believe I will see you again,
Believe that fate has given you
Back to me rejuvenated,
That I can now remain
And live with you,
As I could not in that first dream of life!
I should not! – Happy! Happy!
All your blessings, God in heaven!
(Christopherus comes.)
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Good evening.
TORSTEN.
Dear Christopherus, I am very happy;
All good things have happened to me
This evening. Well, nothing about business!
There are your three hundred marks!
Fresh in your pocket!
Give me my note back sometime.
And let's chat a bit!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
If you need them again...
TORSTEN.
If I need them again, fine!
I am always grateful to you,
Just take them with you now.
Listen, Karina's memory
Has become infinitely new and alive
Before me again this evening.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
That happens often...
TORSTEN.
You should have known her!
I tell you, she was one
Of the most wonderful creatures!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
She was a widow
When you met her?
TORSTEN.
So pure and great!
I read one of her letters yesterday.
You are the only person
Who has ever seen anything of it.
(He goes to the cupboard.)
CHRISTOPHERUS
(to himself)
If only he would spare me now!
I've heard the story so many times!
I usually like listening to him too,
Because he always speaks from the heart;
Only today I have completely
Different things on my mind,
And I just want to keep him
In a good mood.
TORSTEN.
It was in the first days of our acquaintance.
„The world is becoming dear to me again,“
She writes, „I had become so free of it,
Dear again because of you.
My heart reproaches me;
I feel that I am causing you
And myself torment.
Half a year ago I was so ready to die,
And I'm no longer.“
CHRISTOPHERUS.
A beautiful soul!
TORSTEN.
The earth was not worthy of her.
Christopher, I have often told you
How she made me
A completely different person.
I cannot describe the pain
When I then returned
And saw my father's fortune wasted on me!
I could not offer her my hand,
Could not make her situation more bearable.
For the first time I felt the urge
To earn a necessary, decent living,
To tear myself out of the misery
In which I had lived miserably
From day to day. I worked -
But what was that? -
I persevered, got through a laborious year;
Finally a glimmer of hope came to me;
What little I had increased noticeably -
And she died - I could not stay.
You have no idea what I suffered!
I could no longer see the area
Where I had lived with her,
And could not leave the ground
Where she rested.
She wrote to me shortly before her death -
(He takes a letter from the cupboard.)
CHRISTOPHERUS.
It is a wonderful letter,
You read it to me the other day.
Listen, Torsten...
TORSTEN.
I know it by heart and always read it.
When I see her writing,
The page where her hand rested,
I think she is still there –
She is still there too! –
(A child is heard crying.)
Janna can't rest!
She has our neighbor's boy again;
She hangs out with him every day
And disturbs me at the wrong time.
(At the door)
Janna, be quiet with the boy,
Or send him away if he is naughty.
We need to talk.
(He stands withdrawn.)
CHRISTOPHERUS.
You shouldn't stir up these memories so often.
TORSTEN.
These lines are it! These last ones!
The parting breath of the departing angel.
(He folds the letter up again.)
You are right, it is sinful.
How rarely are we worthy
Of feeling the past blissful-miserable moments
Of our lives again!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Your fate always touches my heart.
She left behind a daughter,
You told me, who unfortunately soon
Followed her mother.
If only she had lived,
You would have at least had something
Of her left, something to which
Your worries and pain
Could have clung.
TORSTEN
(turning to him animatedly)
Her daughter?
She was a lovely flower.
She gave her to me –
Fate has done too much for me! –
Christopherus, if only
I could tell you everything –
CHRISTOPHERUS.
If it is on your mind.
TORSTEN.
Why shouldn't I –
(Janna with a boy.)
JANNA.
He wants to say goodnight, uncle.
You don't have to make a gloomy face at him,
Or at me either.
You always say you want to get married
And would like to have lots of children.
You don't always have them
So well-ordered that they only cry
When it doesn't bother you.
TORSTEN.
If they're my children.
JANNA.
That may well make a difference.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Do you think so, Janna?
JANNA.
That must be so happy!
(She crouches down next to the boy and kisses him.)
I love Lasse so much!
If only he were mine! -
He can already spell;
He's learning from me.
TORSTEN.
And you think yours can already read?
JANNA.
Yes! Because then I would spend
The whole day doing nothing
But dressing and undressing him,
And teaching him,
And giving him food,
And cleaning him,
And all sorts of other things.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
And the husband?
JANNA.
He would play along:
He would love him as much as I do.
Lasse must go home and say goodbye.
(She leads him to Torsten.)
Here, give me a nice hand,
A real little nice hand!
CHRISTOPHERUS
(to himself)
She is so sweet;
I must explain myself.
JANNA
(leading the child to Christopherus)
Here to the gentleman too.
TORSTEN
(to himself)
She will be yours! You will –
It is too much, I don’t deserve it. –
(Loudly)
Janna, take the child away;
Entertain Christopherus until dinner;
I just want to walk up and down a few streets;
I have been sitting all day.
(Janna leaves.)
Just one free breath under the starry sky!
My heart is so full. –
I’ll be right back!
(Leaves.)
CHRISTOPHERUS
(alone)
Put an end to it, Christopher.
If you keep putting it off,
It won't get any riper.
You've decided. It's good, it's excellent!
You're helping her uncle, and she -
She doesn't love me as I love her.
But she can't love passionately,
She shouldn't love passionately! -
Dear girl! -
She probably suspects nothing
But friendly feelings in me! -
We'll be fine, Janna! -
The opportunity is very welcome
And just what I wanted!
I must reveal myself to her -
And if her heart doesn't spurn me,
I'm sure of her uncle's heart.
(Janna comes.)
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Have you taken the little one away?
JANNA.
I would have liked to keep him here;
I just know that my uncle doesn't like it,
So I'll leave it.
Sometimes the little thief
Even begs his permission
To be my bedmate.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Isn't he bothering you?
JANNA.
Oh, not at all.
He is so wild all day long,
And when I come to bed with him,
He is as good as a lamb!
A flattering kitten!
And cuddles me as much as he can;
Sometimes I can't get him to sleep at all.
CHRISTOPHERUS
(half to himself)
Dear nature...
JANNA.
He also likes me more than his mother.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
You are his mother too.
(Janna is lost in thought, Christopherus looks at her for a while.)
Does the name mother make you sad?
JANNA.
Not sad, I'm just thinking.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
What, sweet Janna?
JANNA.
I think - I don't think anything either.
It's just so wonderful to me sometimes.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Should you never have wished...?
JANNA.
What kind of questions are you asking?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Christopherus is allowed to?
JANNA.
Never wished, Christopherus.
And even if such a thought crossed my mind,
It was gone again immediately.
Leaving my uncle
Would be unbearable for me -
Impossible - no matter
How attractive the other prospects might be.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
That's wonderful!
If you lived together in a town,
Would that mean leaving him?
JANNA.
Oh, never!
Who would run his household?
Who would look after him? –
With a maid? – Or even marry him? –
No, that won't work!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Couldn't he move with you?
Couldn't your husband be his friend?
Couldn't the three of you run a happy,
Happier household as well?
Couldn't your uncle's difficult business
Be made easier by that? –
What a life that would be!
JANNA.
You should think about it.
When I think about it, it's probably true.
And then I feel as if it wasn't possible.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I don't understand you.
JANNA.
It's like this now. – When I wake up,
I listen to see if my uncle is up yet;
Nothing moves, hey,
I'm out of bed in the kitchen,
Turning on the stove
So that the water is boiling over and over
Until the handmaid gets up
And he has his coffee,
As soon as he opens his eyes.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Housewife...
JANNA.
And then I sit down
And knit socks for my uncle
And have a household,
And measure them for him ten times
To see if they are long enough,
If the calf fits properly,
If the foot is not too short,
So that he sometimes gets impatient.
It's not about measuring,
It's just that I have something to do for him,
That he has to look at me once
After he's been writing for a few hours,
So that he doesn't become melancholic.
Because it does him good
When he looks at me;
I can see it in his eyes,
Even if he doesn't want to let me know otherwise.
Sometimes I secretly laugh at him
For acting as if he were serious or angry.
He does well; otherwise
I would torment him all day.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
He is happy.
JANNA.
No, I am. If I didn't have him,
I wouldn't know what I would do in the world.
I do everything for myself,
And I feel as if I were doing everything
For him, because even when I do things
For myself, I always think of him.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
And if you did all that for a husband,
How happy he would be!
How grateful he would be,
And what a homely life it would be!
JANNA.
Sometimes I imagine it too
And can tell myself a long story
When I'm sitting there knitting or sewing,
How everything could and would work out.
But when I come back to the truth afterwards,
It never works out.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Why?
JANNA.
Where would I find a husband
Who would be satisfied if I said,
„I want to love you,“
And had to add at the same time,
„I can't love you more than my uncle,
I have to be able to do everything for him,
As I have done up to now.“
Oh, you see that that won't work!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
You would do something for the man afterwards,
You would transfer your love to him.
JANNA.
That's where the knot lies!
Yes, if love could be paid back and forth
Like money, or changed the master
Every quarter like a bad handmaid.
With a man, everything that is here
Already would have to come into being,
Which can never come into being again.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
A lot will come into being.
JANNA.
I don't know.
When he sits at the table like that,
Resting his head on his hand,
Looking down and quietly worried -
I can sit and look at him for half an hour.
He is not handsome,
I sometimes say to myself,
And I feel so good when I look at him. –
Of course I feel now that he cares for me;
Of course the first glance tells me
That when he looks up again,
And that is a great thing.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Everything, Janna.
And a husband who cared for you!
JANNA.
There is one more thing;
There are your moods.
Torsten has his moods too;
They don't bother me from him,
But from anyone else
They would be unbearable.
He has slight moods,
But I feel them sometimes.
When he pushes away a good,
Sympathetic feeling in bad moments –
It affects me!
Only for a moment, of course;
And even if I grumble about him,
It is more that he does not recognize my love
Than that I love him less.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
But what if someone were to be found
Who, despite all that,
Dared to offer you his hand?
JANNA.
He won't be to find!
And then the question would be
Whether I could risk it with him.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Why not?
JANNA.
He won't be to find!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Janna, you have him!
JANNA.
O Christopherus!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
You see him before you.
Should I make a long speech?
Should I pour out to you
What my heart has kept for so long?
I love you, you have known that for a long time;
I offer you my hand,
You would never have suspected it.
I have never seen a girl
Who thought so little
That it must arouse feelings in those
Who see her, as you. – Janna,
It is not a fiery, thoughtless lover
Who is speaking to you;
I know you, I have chosen you,
My house is furnished; will you be mine?
I have had many fates in love,
And have more than once decided to end my life
As a virgin. You have me now –
Do not resist! – You know me;
I am one with your uncle;
You cannot imagine a purer bond.
Open your heart! –
One word, Janna!
JANNA.
Dear Christopher, give me time,
I am good to you.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Say that you love me!
I will give your uncle his place;
I want to be your uncle's brother,
We want to look after him together.
My fortune, added to his,
Will free him from many a sad hour,
He will gain courage, he will -
Janna, I would not like to persuade you.
(He takes her hand.)
JANNA.
Christopherus, it never occurred to me -
What an embarrassment you are putting me in!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Just one word!
May I hope?
JANNA.
Talk to my uncle!
CHRISTOPHERUS
(kneels)
Angel! My dearest one!
JANNA
(quiet for a moment)
God! What did I say!
(Exits.)
CHRISTOPHERUS
(alone)
She is mine!
I can allow the dear little fool
To flirt with her uncle;
That will gradually pass over
As we get to know each other better,
And he will not lose anything by it.
It does me so much good
To love like that again
And to be loved like that again
From time to time!
It is something that you never lose your taste for.
We want to live together.
Without that, I would have liked
To extend the good man's conscientious domesticity
A little for a long time;
As a brother-in-law,
It will be fine.
Otherwise he will become quite a melancholic
With his eternal memories, concerns,
Food worries and secrets.
Everything will be fine!
He will breathe freer air;
The girl will have a husband -
Which is no small thing;
And you will get a wife with honor -
Which is a lot!
(Torsten comes.)
Is your walk over?
TORSTEN.
I went to the market
And up the street of the church
And back along the stock exchange.
It is a strange feeling for me
To walk through the city at night.
How everything is partly at rest
After the day's work,
Partly rushing to it,
And all you see is the industriousness
Of small businesses in motion!
I was delighted by an old cheese seller who,
With her glasses on her nose,
Put one piece after another on the scales
By candlelight and cut and cut it
Until the buyer had his weight.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Everyone notices in his own way.
I think many people have walked down the street
Who have not looked at the cheese sellers
And their glasses.
TORSTEN.
You grow fond of what you do,
And small-scale earning is venerable to me
Since I know how hard a mark becomes
When you have to earn it by the penny.
(Stands withdrawn for a few moments.)
I felt quite wonderful on the way.
So many things have occurred to me at once
And in a jumbled way -
And what is occupying me
In the depths of my soul -
(He becomes thoughtful).
CHRISTOPHERUS
(to himself)
It's going crazy; as soon as he's here,
I don't really dare to admit that I love Janna. -
I have to tell him what happened.
(Aloud.)
Torsten! Tell me!
You want to move out of here?
You have little space
And living here is expensive.
Do you know of any other accommodation?
TORSTEN
(absent-mindedly)
No.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I thought we could both relieve ourselves.
I have my father's house here
And only live on the top floor,
And you could take the bottom floor;
You're not getting married anytime soon.
You have the farm and a small office
For your shipping company
And you give me a reasonable rent,
That will help us both.
TORSTEN.
You're very good.
It has really occurred to me sometimes
When I came to you and saw so much empty space,
And I have to make do with such anxiety.
Then there are other things again –
You just have to let it go,
It won't work.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Why not?
TORSTEN.
If I get married now?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
That could be helped.
If you were single, you would have room
With your niece, and with a woman
It would be just as good.
TORSTEN
(smiling)
And my niece?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I would take her with me if I had one.
(Torsten is quiet.)
And even without that.
Let's have a clever talk. - I love Janna;
Give me her as my wife!
TORSTEN.
What?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Why not? Give me your word!
Hear me, brother!
I love Janna!
I've thought about it for a long time:
She alone, you alone, you can make me
As happy as I can be in the world.
Give me her! Give me her!
TORSTEN
(confused)
You don't know what you want.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Oh, how do I know!
Should I tell you everything I'm missing
And what I'll have when she becomes my wife
And you my brother-in-law?
TORSTEN
(startling out of thoughts, hastily)
Never! never!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
What's wrong with you? - It hurts me! -
The disgust! - If you're going to have
A brother-in-law, as you'll sooner or later,
Why not me? whom you know so well,
Whom you love! At least I thought so –
TORSTEN.
Leave me alone! – I'm losing my mind.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I must tell you everything.
My fate depends on you alone.
Her heart is inclined towards me,
You must have noticed that.
She loves you more than she loves me;
I am happy. She will love her husband more
Than her uncle; I will step into your right hand,
You into mine, and we will all be happy.
I have never seen a knot tied so beautifully
In a human way.
(Torsten silent.)
And what makes everything firm – my dear,
Hust give your word, your consent!
Tell her that it pleases you,
That it makes you happy! –
I have her word.
TORSTEN.
Her word?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
She cast it away,
Like a parting look
That said more than all staying would have said.
Her embarrassment and her love,
Her wanting and trembling,
It was so beautiful!
TORSTEN.
No! No!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I don't understand you.
I feel that you have no animosity towards me,
And are you so opposed to me?
Don't be! Don't hinder her happiness,
Don't hinder my happiness!
And I always think that you should be happy with us!
Don't deny my wishes your word!
Your kind word!
(Torsten silent in conflicting torments.)
I don't understand you -
TORSTEN.
She? - you want her?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
What is that?
TORSTEN.
And she wants you?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
She answered as befits a girl.
TORSTEN.
Go! go! - O Janna! -
I suspected it! I felt it!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Just tell me -
TORSTEN.
What to say! -
That was what was weighing on my mind
This evening, like a storm cloud.
It twitches, it beats! -
Take her! Take her!
My only one - my everything!
(Christopherus looks at him in silence.)
Take her! – And so that you know
What you are taking from me –
(Pause.)
I told you about Karina,
The angel who escaped from my hands
And left me her image, a daughter –
And this daughter – I lied to you –
She is not dead; this daughter is Janna! –
Janna is not my niece!
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I was not prepared for that.
TORSTEN.
And I should have feared that from you!
Why did I not follow my heart
And close my house to you
Like I did to everyone else
In the first few days when I came here?
I granted you alone access to this sanctuary,
And you knew how to lull me to sleep
With kindness, friendship, support,
And apparent coldness towards women.
As I was apparently her uncle,
I thought your feeling for her
Was the true brotherly one,
And even if I sometimes felt a suspicion,
I cast it aside as ignoble,
And put her kindness to you down
To the angel's heart,
Which looks at the whole world
With a loving gaze. - And you! - And her! -
CHRISTOPHERUS.
I don't want to hear anything else,
And I have nothing to say either.
So goodbye!
(Exit.)
TORSTEN.
Just go! – You are taking away with you
All my happiness.
So cut away, broken away, all prospects –
The nearest ones – all at once –
At the abyss!
And the golden magic bridge
That was supposed to lead me across
To the bliss of heaven
Has collapsed – Away!
And through him, the traitor,
Who so abused openness, trust!
Oh Torsten! Torsten!
You have come to the point
Where you must be unfair to the good man?
What has he done wrong?
You lie heavily over me and are just,
Oh fate! – Why are you standing there?
And you? Just at this moment!
Forgive me! Did I not suffer for it?
Forgive me! It is a long time! –
I have suffered infinitely.
I seemed to love you,
I thought I loved you;
With careless favors I unlocked your heart
And made you miserable!
Forgive me and leave me –
Should I be punished like this?
Should I lose Janna,
The last of my hopes,
The epitome of my worries?
It can’t! It can’t!
(He remains silent. Janna comes.)
JANNA
(approaches embarrassed)
Uncle!
TORSTEN.
Ah!
JANNA.
Dear uncle, you must forgive me,
I beg you for everything.
You are angry, I thought so.
I have done something foolish –
It is quite strange to me.
TORSTEN
What is the matter, girl?
JANNA.
I wish I could tell you.
My head is so confused.
Christopherus wants me to be his wife, and I –
TORSTEN
(half bitter)
Say it out loud, will you agree?
JANNA.
No, not for my life!
I will never marry him!
I cannot marry him.
TORSTEN.
How different that sounds!
JANNA.
Strange enough.
You are very wicked, uncle;
I would gladly go
And wait a good hour
If it didn't come from my heart.
Once and for all,
I cannot marry Christopherus.
TORSTEN
(stands up and takes her by the hand.)
What, Janna?
JANNA.
He was there and talked so much
And presented so many things to me
That I imagined it was possible.
He was so insistent,
And in my rashness
I said he should talk to you. -
He took that as a yes,
And in an instant I felt
That it couldn't happen.
TORSTEN.
He spoke to me.
JANNA.
I beg you, whatever I can and want,
With all the love I have for you,
With all the love you love me with,
Make it up to him, talk to him.
TORSTEN
(to himself)
Eternal God!
JANNA.
Don't be angry!
He shouldn't be angry either.
We want to live like before
And always like that.
Because I can only live with you,
I only want to live with you.
It has always been in my soul
And it has come out, violently -
I only love you!
TORSTEN.
O Janna!
JANNA.
Dearest uncle! For this quarter of an hour -
I can't tell you what has been running
Up and down in my heart. -
I feel like the other day
When there was a fire in the market
And smoke and steam rose over everything,
Until suddenly the fire lifted the roof
And the whole house was in flames. -
Don't leave me!
Don't push me away, uncle!
TORSTEN.
It can't stay like this forever.
JANNA.
That's what scares me so much! -
I'll gladly promise you
That I won't get married,
I'll always look after you, always, always.
There are a couple of old brothers and sisters
Living together over there;
I sometimes think for fun:
When you're so old and shriveled,
If only we were together!
TORSTEN
(holding his heart, half to himself)
If you can endure that,
You'll never be too narrow again, my heart.
JANNA.
It's not like that for you now;
You take a woman in time,
And I would always be sorry
If I wanted to love her so much -
No one loves you as much as I do;
No one can love you as much.
(Torsten tries to speak.)
You're always so reserved,
And I'm always on the verge
Of telling you exactly how I feel,
But I don't dare.
Thank God that chance loosens my tongue.
TORSTEN.
Nothing more. Janna!
JANNA.
You must not stop me,
Let me tell you everything!
Then I will go into the kitchen
And sit at my work for days,
Only looking at you now and then,
As if to say, you know! –
(Torsten is silent, overwhelmed by his joy.)
You could have known for a long time,
You know too, since my mother's death,
Your sister‘s death,
When I came out of childhood
And was always with you. –
See, I feel more pleasure in being with you
Than gratitude for your more than fatherly care.
And little by little you took up my whole heart,
My whole head,
So that now anything else has trouble
Finding a place in it.
I still remember that you sometimes laughed
When I read novels;
It happened once with Julie,
And I asked if Wilhelm,
Or whatever his name was,
Didn't look like you? – You laughed –
I didn't like that.
Then I kept quiet another time.
But I was quite serious;
For the dearest, the best people to me
All looked like you.
I saw you walking in the great gardens,
And riding, and travelling, and dueling – –
(She laughs to herself.)
TORSTEN.
How are you?
JANNA.
I confess it too:
When a lady was really pretty
And really good and really loved –
And really in love – that was always me. –
Only in the end, when things got going
And they got married after all the obstacles –
I am a very trusting, good, talkative thing!
TORSTEN.
Go on!
(Turns away.)
I must drink the cup of joy.
Keep me in my mind, God in Heaven!
JANNA.
Of all things, I could least stand it
When a couple of people love each other
And then it turns out
That they are related or siblings –
I could have burned Fanny!
I cried so much!
It is such a miserable fate!
(She turns and cries bitterly.)
TORSTEN
(starting up and grabbing her neck)
Janna! my Janna!
JANNA.
Torsten! no! no!
I won't leave you forever! You are mine! -
I hold you! I can't leave you!
(Christopherus enters.)
Ha, Christopherus, you've come at the right time!
My heart is open and strong, I can say it.
I have promised you nothing,
Be our friend!
I will never marry you.
CHRISTOPHERUS
(cold and bitter)
I thought so, Torsten,
If you put all your weight on the scale,
I would be found too easy.
I'm coming back to get off my chest
What needs to be off my chest.
I give up all claims and see
That things have already happened;
I'm at least glad
That I gave innocent opportunity for it.
TORSTEN.
Don't let it go at this moment
And don't rob yourself of a feeling
For which you're wandering out
Into the wide world in vain!
Look at the creature here -
She is completely mine -
And she doesn't know -
CHRISTOPHERUS
(half mocking)
She doesn't know?
JANNA.
What don't I know?
TORSTEN.
Lying here, Christopherus?
CHRISTOPHERUS.
She doesn't know?
TORSTEN.
I'll tell you.
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Keep each other,
You are worth each other!
JANNA.
What is that?
TORSTEN
(throwing his arms around her)
You are mine, Janna!
JANNA.
O God! what is that? –
May I return that kiss to you?
What a kiss was that, uncle?
TORSTEN.
Not the kiss of the reserved,
Seemingly cold uncle,
The kiss of an eternally happy lover. –
(At her feet.)
Janna, you are not my niece!
Karina was your mother, not my sister.
JANNA.
You! you!
TORSTEN.
Your lover! – your husband
From that moment on,
If you do not spurn him.
JANNA.
Tell me, how was it possible? –
CHRISTOPHERUS.
Enjoy what God himself
Can only give you once!
Accept it, Janna, and do not ask.
You will find enough time
To explain yourselves.
JANNA
(looking at him)
No, it is not possible!
TORSTEN.
My beloved! my wife!
JANNA
(on his neck)
Torsten, it's not possible!