The Betrothal E-Book

Maurice Maeterlinck

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

In Maurice Maeterlinck's 'The Betrothal,' readers are invited into a world where the psychological and the metaphysical intertwine, exploring the complexities of human relationships and the concept of commitment. Written in Maeterlinck'Äôs signature symbolist style, this work employs rich imagery, existential questions, and introspective dialogue that beckons readers to ponder the deeper meanings behind love and intimacy. The play is set within a dreamlike landscape, merging traditional themes of betrothal with innovative narrative techniques that challenge conventional expectations of romantic engagements, reflecting the intricacies of desire and the ephemeral nature of promises. Maurice Maeterlinck, a Belgian playwright and poet, was deeply influenced by the Symbolist movement and the philosophical inquiries of his era. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911, his works often delve into themes of fate, spirituality, and the subconscious. 'The Betrothal' stands as a testament to his mastery of evoking profound emotions through minimalistic yet thought-provoking dialogue, reflective of his own experiences and contemplations on human connection. For those interested in philosophical literature that probes the depths of human emotion, 'The Betrothal' is an essential read. Maeterlinck'Äôs exploration of the essence of commitment promises to resonate with anyone seeking to understand the nuances of love and the silent contracts that bind us.

Leseprobe

Maurice Maeterlinck

The Betrothal

A Sequel to the Blue Bird; A Fairy Play in Five Acts and Eleven Scenes

Published by Good Press, 2019

[email protected]

EAN 4064066189679

Table of Contents

THE BETROTHAL; OR THE BLUE BIRD CHOOSES

ACT I

SCENE I

ACT II

SCENE II

SCENE III

SCENE IV

SCENE V

ACT III

SCENE VI

SCENE VII

ACT IV

SCENE VIII

SCENE IX

ACT V

SCENE X

SCENE XI

CHARACTERS(arranged in the order of their entrance on the stage)TYLTYLTHE FAIRY BÉRYLUNEMILETTE (the Wood-cutter's Daughter)BELLINE (the Butcher's Daughter)ROSELLE (the Inn-keeper's Daughter)AIMETTE (the Miller's Daughter)JALLINE (the Beggar's Daughter)ROSARELLE (the Mayor's Daughter)JOY (the Veiled Girl, or the White Phantom)DESTINYTHE MISERLIGHTSOME USUAL THOUGHTSGRANNY TYLGAFFER TYLTHE GREAT MENDICANTTHE GREAT PEASANTTHE RICH ANCESTORTHE SICK ANCESTORTHE DRUNKEN ANCESTORTHE MURDERER ANCESTORTHE GREAT ANCESTOROTHER ANCESTORSSOME OF TYLTYL'S "ME'S"VARIOUS CHILDREN IN THE ABODE OF THE CHILDRENTHE FIVE LITTLE ONESTHE SMALLEST OF THEM ALLMUMMY TYLMYTYLDADDY TYLTHE NEIGHBOUR

ACT IScene1The Wood-cutter's Cottage.ACT II2Outside the Door.3The Miser's Cave.4A Closet in the Fairy's Palace.5A Ballroom in the Fairy's Palace.ACT III6Before the Curtain representing Rocks.7The Abode of the Ancestors.ACT IV8Before the Curtain representing the Milky Way.9The Abode of the Children.ACT V10Before the Curtain representing the Edge of a Forest.11The Awakening.

THE BETROTHAL; OR THE BLUE BIRD CHOOSES

Table of Contents

ACT I

Table of Contents

SCENE I

Table of Contents

The Wood-cutter's Cottage

The cottage-scene in The Blue Bird: the interior of a wood-cutter's cabin, simple and rustic in appearance, but in no way poverty-stricken. A recessed fireplace containing the dying embers of a wood-fire. Kitchen-utensils, a cupboard, a bread-pan, a grandfather's clock, a spinning-wheel, a water-tap, etc. A dog and a cat asleep. A large blue-and-white sugar-loaf. On the wall hangs a round cage containing a blue bird. At the back, two windows with closed shutters. On the left is the front-door, with a big latch to it. A ladder leads up to a loft. But there is only one bed, TYLTYL'S; he is now sixteen years of age. It is dark; the scene is lit only by a few moonbeams which filter through the shutters. TYLTYL is sound asleep.

(A knock at the door.)

TYLTYL

(Waking with a start.) Who's there? (Another knock.) Wait till I put on my breeches. The door's bolted. I'll come and open it.

THE FAIRY

(Behind the door.) Don't trouble, don't trouble! … It's only me! … How do you do? (The door has opened of its own accord and THE FAIRY BÉRYLUNE enters under the guise of an old woman, as in the first scene of the Blue Bird. At the same time the room is filled with a strange brightness, which remains after the door is closed again.)

TYLTYL

(In surprise.) Who are you?

THE FAIRY

Don't you know me? Why, Tyltyl, it's hardly seven years since we said good-bye to each other!

TYLTYL

(Bewildered and vainly searching his memory.) Yes, yes, I remember … and I know what you mean. …

THE FAIRY

Yes, but you don't quite grasp who I am and you don't remember anything at all. You haven't changed, I see: just the same careless, ungrateful, wool-gathering little fellow that you always were! … But you have grown taller and stronger, my lad, and quite handsome! If I were not a fairy, I should never have known you! Yes, really quite handsome! … But are you aware of it? It doesn't seem to have occurred to you!

TYLTYL

We only had one tiny looking-glass in the house, about as big as your hand. Mytyl took it and keeps it in her room.

THE FAIRY

So Mytyl has a room of her own now?

TYLTYL

Yes, she sleeps next door, under the stairs, and I here, in the kitchen. Shall I wake her?

THE FAIRY

(Growing suddenly and unreasonably angry, as on her former visit.) There's no need to do anything of the sort! … I have nothing to do with her; her hour has not struck; and, when it does I shall be quite capable of finding her, without being shown the way as though I were blind! … In the meantime, I want nobody's advice. …

TYLTYL

(In dismay.) But ma'am, I didn't know. …

THE FAIRY

That will do. … (Recovering her temper as suddenly as she lost it.) By the way, how old are you?

TYLTYL

I shall be sixteen a fortnight after Epiphany.

THE FAIRY

(Growing angry again.) A fortnight after Epiphany! … What a way of reckoning! … And here am I without my almanack, having left it with Destiny last time I called on him, fifty years ago! … I don't know where I stand. … However, never mind: I'll make the calculation when we see him, for we shall have to get it exactly right. … And what have you been doing these seven years since we met?

TYLTYL

I have been working in the forest with daddy.

THE FAIRY

That means you've been helping him cut down trees. I don't like that very much. You call that working, do you? Ah, well, men evidently can't live without destroying the last things of beauty that remain on the earth! … So let's talk of something else. … (Mysteriously.) Can any one hear us?

TYLTYL

I don't think so.

THE FAIRY

(Growing angry once more.) It doesn't matter what you think, but whether you're sure. What I have to say is tremendously important … and strictly private. Come here, quite close, so that I can whisper it. … Whom are you in love with?

TYLTYL

(In amazement.) Whom am I in love with?

THE FAIRY

(Still cross and quite forgetting the importance of speaking in a low voice.) Yes, yes! I'm not talking Greek, am I? I want to know if you're in love with any one.

TYLTYL

Yes, certainly; I love everybody: my parents, my friends, my sister, my neighbours, all the people I know.

THE FAIRY

Now oblige me and don't play the fool. … You know perfectly well what I mean. … I'm asking whether there's any one girl among those you meet whom you love more than the rest.

TYLTYL

(Blushing and considering.) I don't know. …

THE FAIRY

(Angrier than ever.) What do you mean; you don't know? Who does know, if you don't? At your age a boy ought to think of nothing else: if he doesn't, he's a booby, a nincompoop and not worth bothering about! … There's nothing to blush at: it's when one's not in love that one should feel ashamed. … You and I are miles away just now from the falsehood of words: we are with the truth of our thoughts, which is a very different thing. … Come, among all the girls you've met. …

TYLTYL

(Timidly.) I don't meet very many. …

THE FAIRY

That's no reason; it's not necessary to meet them by the dozen. Very often it's enough if you come across just one: when you've nobody else, you love that one and are not to be pitied. … But come, among those close by. …

TYLTYL

There aren't any close by. …

THE FAIRY

There are at the neighbours'.

TYLTYL

There are hardly any neighbours. …

THE FAIRY

There are girls in the village, in the town, way back in the forest and in every house. You find them everywhere when your heart's awake. … Which is the prettiest?

TYLTYL

Well, they're all very pretty.

THE FAIRY

How many do you know?

TYLTYL

Four in the village, one in the forest and one by the bridge.

THE FAIRY

Oho! That's not bad, for a beginning!

TYLTYL

We don't see many people here, you know.

THE FAIRY

You're not the baby one would think. … But tell me, between ourselves, do they love you too?

TYLTYL

They haven't told me so; they don't know that I love them.

THE FAIRY

But these are things which it isn't necessary to know or to tell! … You see that at once when you're living in the truth. A look is enough; there's no mistaking it; and the words which people say merely hide the real ones which the heart has spoken. … But I'm in a hurry: would you like me to make them come here?

TYLTYL

(Terrified.) Make them come here? They wouldn't want to! They hardly know me. They know I'm poor. They don't know where I live, especially those in the village: they never come this way. … It's an hour's walk from the church to the house; the roads are bad; it's dark. …

THE FAIRY

Dear, dear, anything more? Don't let us talk about that. Remember, we've done with untruths. I've only to lift my finger and they'll come. …

TYLTYL

But I'm not even sure that they've noticed me at all.

THE FAIRY

Have you looked at them?

TYLTYL

Yes, sometimes. …

THE FAIRY

And have they looked back at you?

TYLTYL

Yes, sometimes. …

THE FAIRY

Well, that's enough; that's the truth; and one doesn't need anything more. You'll find that's the way people tell each other in the world where I'm going to take you, the world of real things. The rest doesn't matter. … They make no mistake. You'll see, once we are there, how well they know all that has to be known; for what we see is nothing: it is what we do not see that makes the world go round. … And now, watch me! … I'm taking the little green hat out of my bag again! … Do you remember it?

TYLTYL

Yes, but it's bigger. …

THE FAIRY

(Angrily.) Of course it's bigger! So's your head: they grew up together. … Always making those unnecessary remarks! …

TYLTYL

And the diamond has changed colour. I should call it blue. …