by admin » Fri Aug 17, 2018 11:18 pm
ACT III
Scene 1
Chatsky, then Sofia.
Chatsky
I'll wait till she confides to me.
Whom does she care for? Molchalin! Skalozub! Who is it?
Molchalin used to be so stupid,
A miserable creature, it was plain to see.
He hasn't grown any wiser. And the other one
Is rough and hoarse, a husky man.
A constellaton of mazurkas and manouvres. Love
Is doomed to play the blind man's bluff.
And I...
(Enter Sofia)
Oh, are you here? I'm very glad.
I wished it so.
Sofia
(to herself)
It is too bad.
Chatsky
It isn't me you were looking for, is it?
Sofia
I didn't look for you.
Chatsky
Maybe, it isn't fit
That I should ask you. Tell me, be so kind,
Whom do you love?
Sofia
Good heavens! All mankind.
Chatsky
And whom do you prefer?
Sofia
Well, there are relatives...
Chatsky
You love me most of all!
Sofia
Some of them, that is.
Chatsky
What do I hope for, when all is done?
I'm prepared to kill myself while she's having fun.
Sofia
Shall I be frank with you?
It's not polite to laugh at everyone.
You always have a ready tongue
When people don't behave the way you do.
And you...
Chatsky
I'm a funny man, you mean to say?
Sofia
You're menacing. You look and talk that way.
You have a lot of other negatives like that,
Self criticism wouldn't do you bad.
Chatsky
I'm queer! All men are queer as rule.
He isn't queer who's like a fool.
Molchalin, for example...
Sofia
Well, it isn't new to me;
You make no bones about pouring out your acidity.
I hate to bother you. I'll leave.
Chatsky
(holding her back)
Don't go.
(Aside)
For once I'll make believe.
(aloud)
Let's drop it. Arguments aside!
I'm sorry for Molchalin for I wasn't right;
He may be different from what he used to be,
Such changes do occur, I will agree,
Changes in minds and morals, governments and rules,
There are important people that were known to be fools,
I'm afraid to mention them but you'll agree:
Some weren't successful in the army, some in poetry
And others -- everybody says --
Have grown much too clever in recent years.
Molchalin may be bright and bold, it's true,
But has he got emotions, passions
To think the world without you
To be just vanity and ashes?
And is he sensitive enough
To have his heart-beat speeded up by love?
So that whatever he might think and do
Would be entirely for you?
That's what I feel, but words just fail me.
I'm overwhelwed, I'm in despair,
It's such a feeling that I couldn't wish an enemy.
And he? Just hangs his head and doesn't seem to care,
He's timid. All such men are quiet,
He has a mistery of some kind.
Good knows what is it you've inspired
In him. Something he never had in mind.
Of all the merits, quite a few
He has inherited from you.
It isn't he who's sinful, it is you.
No, no, he may be wise and clever, too.
Is he a match for you? -- that is the question.
As someone you grew up together with
A friend of yours, your nearest relation,
I want you to dispell my doubts, please,
So that I take the loss with ease.
I shall take care not to lose my mind,
I'll go away to fall in reverie
And never think of love. Yet I shall find
A way to having fun and making merry.
Sofia
(to herself)
To drive him mad I really did not intend.
(aloud )
Why on earth should I pretend?
Molchalin could have lost his hand.
I helped him, you should understand,
You were there and you saw it too,
And it did not occur to you,
It was the gesture of a friend.
Though, maybe, you're right to some extent,
For him I may be biased,
Now tell me really,
Why should you talk so freely
Of your contempt for people, and never make disguise?
You don't show mercey even to the humblest one.
You're always at it. Always joking, always having fun.
No matter who is mentioned during table-talks
Down on his head you hail your biting jokes.
Chatsky
My goodness! Am I really the kind of man
Whose only ai
Meeting with funny people is adoring
Though for the most part I find them boring.
Sofia
No, it does not apply to him.
Molchalin wouldn't really seem
To you so boring, if you knew him well.
Chatsky
(with passion)
Why did you get to know him well?
Sofia
I never tried. It was the wish of God.
Just look how many friends he's got.
He's been in service for three years,
When father loses temper for no reason
Molchalin never takes offence.
He's kind and trys to do thepleasing.
And incindentally,
He could make merry if he wanted to.
Alas, he only does what the old people here do,
He sits playingwith them all day long.
Chatsky
Playing all day!
He doesn't contradict when they're wrong!
(Aside)
No, she does not respect him, I should say.
Sofia
One can be prompt and smart but deathly boring,
Another's always swearing and scolding
Just to attract attention, grow the gossip seeds.
Is that the kind of wit a family needs?
Chatsky
Is moral and satire the meaning of this all?
(aside)
She doesn't care for him at all!
Sofia
With every virtue his character is graced.
He's modest and complient, though not smart.
He has no signs of worry on his face
And doesn't suffer wrong at heart.
He isn't finding fault with all and everything,
That's why I love him so.
Chatsky
(aside)
She doesn't love him. It can be seen.
(aloud)
And I can tell you more
To help you finish up Molchalin's portrait.
And Skalozub? Ah, what a treat!
He loves the army so!
His posture and his manners and the way
He looks and talks make him a hero.
Sofia
Not of my novel anyway.
Chatsky
Not of you novel? It's hard to find you out.
Scene 2
Chatsky, Sofia, Lizzie.
Lizzie
(in a whisper)
Alexander Stepanych is about
To come in. He's here to see you.
Sofia
I'm sorry, I must take to flight.
Chatsky
Where to?
Sofia
The hair dresser. While the curling irons are hot.
Chatsky
So what?
Sofia
We are expecting visitors tonight.
Chatsky
All right.
My riddle will remain
Unsolved again.
Now let me sneek into your room where...
Everything is wonderful the walls, the air,
The memories of bygone years will do me best,
They'll buck me up and give me rest.
I shan't stay long there, a minute, maybe two,
And then, just think, in the English Club
I shall spend days just listening to
The gossip about Molchalin, Skalozub...
(Sofia shrugs her shoulders, exits and locks the door. Lizzie follows her.)
Scene 3
Chatsky, Molchalin.
Chatsky
Has Sofia really chosen him? She might.
He can be quite a husband though he isn't bright
One doesn't need to be so brilliant
To have a family and children.
He is polite, obliging, has a good complexion...
(Enter Molchalin)
Now there he comes on tiptoe silently.
How did he manage to win Sofia's affectation?
(addressing to him)
Well, Alexey Stepanych, you and me
Didn't have time to have a chat.
How are you? Not too bad?
No cares? No troubles now?
Molchalin
Just like before.
Chatsky
I'm asking «how?»
Molchalin
Day in, day out -- all the same.
Chatsky
From playing cards to writing then to cards again?
Then waiting for the turns of tides?
Molchalin
I do my best, without big words,
Since I've been working in the Archives
I have received three high awards.
Chatsky
You're a man of honour and importance?
Molchalin
No, everybody has his own gift...
Chatsky
You, too?
Molchalin
Yes, I have two:
Painstakingness and confidence.
Chatsky
Two finest gifts. They equal all our gifts combined.
Molchalin
Have you not been successful? Haven't you ranks of any kind?
Chatsky
The ranks are given by human beings, --
They make mistakes. I have misgivings.
Molchalin
We were so surprised!
Chatsky
Why should you?
Molchalin
We were sorry for you.
Chatsky
You didn't need to.
Molchalin
Tatyana Yuryevna once mentioned
On her return from Petersburg
That you had some kind of relation
With ministers. It didn't work...
Chatsky
It's none of her affair.
Molchalin
Tatyana Yuryevna!
Chatsky
We're not aquainted, I don't care.
Molchalin
Tatyana Yuryevna!
Chatsky
That woman I have never seen
I hear she is silly.
Molchalin
Come on! Is that the one I mean?
Tatyana Yuryevna's well known! High rank officials, chiefs,
They are all her friends and relatives,
You'd better go and see her one fine day.
Chatsky
What do I need it for?
Molchalin
You see you may...
Get unexpected backing and protection.
Chatsky
Sometimes I visit women but not with that intention.
Molchalin
She's so well-mannered, pretty, unpretentious,
She gives most splendid balls on all occasions,
From Christmas to the Easter holidays, and then
She has festivities in her country-house again.
Why shouln't you stay in Moscow, really?
You'd get awards and live quite merrily.
Chatsky
When I'm busy I mean business as a rule,
And when it's time to play I play the fool,
And I do not belong to those
Who're capable of doing both.
Molchalin
It's not a crime, as far as I can see,
There's Foma Fomich. You know the man?
Chatsky
So what?
Molchalin
Under three ministers he was the head of a board,
He's been transferred down here...
Chatsky
Oh dear!
A stupid man. One of the stilliest men I know.
Molchalin
You don't say so!
He's the model of eloquence!
Have you read his books?
Chatsky
I don't read nonsense.
And model nonsense all the more so.
Molchalin
No, really. I've read his books and I enjoyed them, too.
I'm no writer...
Chatsky
No, it's plain to see.
Molchalin
I'm not brave enough to form my own point of view.
Chatsky
Why are you holding back, tell me.
Molchalin
I am just a young man and...
I mustn't have my own judgement.
Chatsky
We are no children. Why, should we...
Respect other men's views only.
Molchalin
We must depend on others, you and I.
Chatsky
Why should we?
Molchalin
We are low rank people, that is why.
Chatsky
(almost aloud)
She loves a man with such a heart!
The lier! How could she mock at me like that?
Scene 4
Evening. All doors are wide open except the door leading to Sofia's room. In the background some doors are being opened. The footmen are bustling about. One of them, the head footman, says:
Hey, Filka, Fomka, hurry up, you folk!
Bring tables, brushes, candles, chalk!
(Knocks at Sofia's door)
Elisabeth, please tell the mistress:
Natalia Dmitrevna, her husband, is at the porch.
Now there is another coach.
(All break up. Chatsky is left alone...)
Scene 5
Chatsky, Natalia Dmitriyevna, a young lady
Natalia Dmitriyevna
If I'm not mistaken, this is...
Alexandr Andreyich, is it really you? Oh yes!
Chatsky
You're staring at me in such a way.
Can I have changed so much in these three years?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
I thought you were far away.
When did you come?
Chatsky
Today.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
For long?
Chatsky
I don't know, I shall see.
I say, you have changed surprisingly.
You've put on weight. You're such a lovely creature!
You look so fresh and young to-day!
There's a fire, colour, joy in every feature.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
I'm married.
Chatsky
You should have said it right away.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
My husband is a gorgeous man. He's coming in.
I'll introduce him to you, if you want.
Chatsky
I do.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
There's something you will like about him,
Just look and judge, I don't know what.
Chatsky
I do believe you. He's your husband, you are tied.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
No, he's a good man in his own right.
Platon Mikhaylich is so precious! He's my only one.
He is retired. He used to be a military man.
And everybody says, all those who knew him then,
He's one of the most courageous, gifted men,
And had he not resigned
He would become the Moscow commandant.
Scene 6
Chatsky, Natalia Dmitiyevna, Platon Mikhailovich
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Meet Platon Mikhailovich.
Chatsky
My stars!
A good old friend of mine! Oh what a chance!
Platon Mihkaylovich
Hello, my brother Chatsky!
Chatsky
Platon, my dear,
Congratulations on your good behaviour.
Platon Mihkaylovich
Now, as you see, my friend,
I've ended up in Moscow in the end.
Chatsky
Have you forgotten brothers, friends, the camping ballihoo?
Platon Mihkaylovich
Not really, I have some things to do,
I play a duet on my flute, I love it so.
It's in «la» flat.
Chatsky
The same old tune you played five years ago?
You don't change tastes. It is a good merit.
Platon Mihkaylovich
You will remember me when you get married,
Out of idleness you'll play the same old melody.
Chatsky
Do you give way to idleness, my dear?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
My husband does a lot
Of what they don't do nowadays:
Horse-riding, training... sometimes he's bored.
Chatsky
Who told you, dear fellow, you should you laze?
Go join a regiment. You'll get a squadron, sir.
Are you a junior or a field officer?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Well, you see, Platon Mikhailovich is not healthy.
Chatsky
Do you mean he's fallen ill? May I know when?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
He has a headache and a backache now and then.
Chatsky
Go to the country. Do more exercise,
In summer the country-side is a paradise.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Platon Mikhailovich prefers
The city to a god forsaken place.
Chatsky
The city. Moscow... You're strange.
Do you recall the past?
Platon Mihkaylovich
Yes, but things have changed.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
My dear,
It's cool in here,
You had best
Button your clothes, your suit, your vest.
Platon Mihkaylovich
I'm not the man I used to be...
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Look here,
Darling, you must get buttoned anyway.
Platon Mihkaylovich
(speaking calmly)
Yes.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Get out of the doorway,
There's a draught there coming from behind.
Platon Mihkaylovich
I'm not the man I used to be...
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Darling, be so kind,
Get out of the doorway. Don't stand near.
Platon Mihkaylovich
(rolling up his eyes)
Oh, woman!
Chatsky
Well, may God judge you, dear.
You're right, you're different from what you were.
It wasn't long ago. Wasn't it last year?
We were in the regiment. Just at the break of day
You would get on the horse to ride away,
You'd ride around exposed to the autum wind...
Platon Mihkaylovich
Yes, brother. Those were the days, indeed!
Scene 7
The same people, Count Tugouhovsky and the countess with their six daughters.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
(in a high voice)
Count Pyotr Ilyich! Countess! Good heavens!
Countess Zizzie, Mimmie!
(Loud kissing.Then everybody sits down taking an all round view of one another)
1st countess
Oh, what a vogue!
2nd countess
The folds, the pleats!
1st countess
The fringes! Everything matches!
Natalia Dmitriyevna
No, have a look at my charming satin cloak!
3rd countess
Look at my scarf, my brother cousin's present!
4th countess
Oh yes!
5th countess
It's lovely, isn't it?
6th countess
It's a woolen one.
Countess
Hush.
Who's that gentleman? He's so pleasant...
Natalia Dmitriyevna
A stranger. Chatsky.
Countess
A r-retired man?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Yes, he's been travelling. He's just back home, you see...
Countess
And he is not mar-r-ried yet, is he?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
He isn't.
Countess
Count, come here, be quick!
Count
(turns his ear-trumpet to her and groans)
Ohkm!
Countess
I ask you to invite
Natalia Dmitriyevna's aquaintance to our party,
Tuesday night.
Count
Ahkm!
(goes up to Chatsky, hangs around him and caughs from time to time)
Countess
With children that's the way it is:
They want a ball while father looks for ways
Of finding dancers. They are rare nowadays.
Has he a noble r-rank?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Well, no.
Countess
Is he well off?
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Well, no.
Countess
(in a loud voice)
Eh, count, come back! I call it off!
Scene 8
The same people and countess Khrumins, the grannie and her granddaughter.
Countess, the Granddaughter
Oh grandmaman! We've come too early, I think.
We are the first to come.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
She's abusing us!
She' the first to come! She thinks that we are nothing!
She's angry. Not yet married. May God forgive the lass.
Countess, the Granddaughter
(on returning she turns her lorgnette to Chatsky)
So you're back, Messeur Chatsky! How are you?
As you were?
Chatsky
Why should I change?
Countess, the Granddaughter
Did you get married there?
Chatsky
Whom should I marry?
Countess, the Granddaughter
If you have hopes...
Our people marry there with no procrastination,
They let us enter family relations
With needle-women from nice fashions shops.
Chatsky
Poor creatures! Do they have to bear
Reproaches from the girls that immitate modistes
Because they dare to prefer
To see them live than just their lists?
Scene 9
The same people and many other guests. Among them Zagoretsky. Men come in, take a bow and walk aside, they walk about the rooms. Sofia comes out of her room. Everybody goes up to meet her.
Countess, the Granddaughter
Eh! bon soir! vous voila! Jamais trop diligente,
Vous nous donner toujours le plaisir de l'attente.
Zagoretsky
(to Sofia)
Have you a ticket for tomorrow's show?
Sofia
No.
Zagoretsky
Then let me give you this.
It would have been quite useless
If someone else had tried
To please you, for I searched and I inquired
About it everywhere. I should say
There wasn't any to be had since yesterday.
Nobody had one at the office. I asked
The manager, afriend of mine, -- alas!
This morning I was quite a bother
I turned to one, then to another,
Then, finally, I got this one, of course.
I took it from an old sick man by force,
He's a friend of mine, on plays he isn't keen,
So let him sit at home for once.
Sofia
I'm greatful to you. And my special thanks
For all the trouble you have taken.
(More people come. Meanwhile Zagoretsky goes up to the men).
Zagoretsky
Platon Mihkaylich...
Platon Mihkaylovich
Get out of here!
Go to the women. Tell them lies and sneer,
I'll tell the truth about you, if you please.
It's worse than lies.
(to Chatsky)
Well, here he is!
What do they call such people, may I ask you?
What is the milder word? He's a man of fame,
An outrageous swindler and a rascal,
Anton Antonych Zagoretsky is his name.
Beware of him, he's indescreet,
And don't play cards with him -- he'll cheat.
Zagoretsky
He never bears malice though he's pert.
Chatsky
It would be funny, if you felt hurt.
Apart from honesty there are so many consolations:
They scold you here, and there you get congratulations.
Platon Mihkaylovich
No, brother, they will scold you here and there,
And they will welcome you just everywhere.
(Zagoretsky disappears in the croud.)
Scene 10
The same people and Khlyostova.
Khlyostova
It's not a joke for me at sixty five, my dear,
To get to you, it's such long and tiresome way!
I drove an hour from Pokrovka over here,
I'm exhausted, and the night is just a doomsday.
I took this blackamoor girl with me
And the little dog -- to keep me company.
Let someone feed them alms from the supper tray.
Good evening, countess.
(sits down)
Well, Sofia, my love,
You want to see the kind of blackamoor I have?
The kind of creatures God creates!
The curly hair. The hunch of shoulder blades.
She's angry, has the habits of a cat.
She's as black as pitch. She looks so bad!
I'll send for her, if you allow,
She's there in the girl's room.
Sofia
No, not now.
Khlyostova
Imagine, they're exposed like animals for show...
I hear... there's a city somewhere in Turkey...
Who got the girl for me? Do you want to know?
Anton Antonich Zagoretsky.
(Zagoretsky steps forward)
He's a lier, gambler, thief, a man of no esteem!
(Zagoretsky disappears)
I keep my doors locked up for him.
He's good at doing a service: sister Praskovya and I,
Two blackamoor children we have each received.
He says he bought them at the market. It's a lie.
God bless him anyway! I've got a gift.
Chatsky
(to Platon Mihkailovich, roaring with laughter)
One has to pay for such a praise,
And Zagoretsky's run away, to save his face.
Khlyostova
Who's the cheerful man? Is he respectable enough?
Sofia
This here one? It's Chatsky.
Khlyostova
Well, what makes him laugh?
What is he glad about? What does he mean?
Laughing at aged people is a sin.
You used to dance with him when you were small,
I'd pull his ears but it didn't help at all.
Scene 11
The same people and Famusov.
Famusov
(in a loud voice)
We're waiting now for count Pyotr Ilyich.
Oh here he is! I was there in the rear,
Where is Skalozub Sergey Sergeyevich?
He's a conspicuons man. No, he is not here.
Sergey Sergeyich Skalozub!
Khlyostova
Good heavens! You're rumbling louder than a tube.
Scene 12
The same people and Skalozub, then Molchalin enters.
Famusov
Sergey Sergeyich, you're late,
You made us wait and wait and wait.
(leads him to Khlyostova)
This is my sweetheart, do you know?
I told her about you long ago.
Khlyostova
You were here... in the regyment of... grenadiers?
Skalozub
(in a loud voice)
You mean Novozemlyansk, the regiment of musketeers?
It was her majesty's subunit -- quite another story.
Khlyostova
I don't distingish regiments, I'm sorry.
Skalozub
There is a difference in full-dress coats,
The shoulder loops, the tabs and shirts.
Famusov
Now come along, count , I shall make you laugh:
We're playing whist. It's curious enough.
(leads Skalozub and the count away with him)
Khlyostova
(to Sofia)
It's like a noose off neck indeed.
Your father is so silly. What does he need
This burly fellow for? He didn't even ask
To introduce this man to us.
Molchalin
(giving her a card)
Your party will be monsieur Kock,
Foma Fomich and I.
Khlyostova
Thank you, old bloke.
(raises)
Molchalin
Your spits is lovely. Small and sleek.
I patted him. He is as smooth as silk.
Khlyostova
Thank you, my dear.
(goes out followed by Molchalin and many others)
Scene 13
Chatsky, Sofia and some strangers, who gradually disperse.
Chatsky
Well, he has cleared the atmosphere...
Sofia
Please don't go on.
Chatsky
What makes you fear?
I meant to praise him for he had commended
The angry guest.
Sofia
With bitter words you would have ended.
Chatsky
I'll tell you what I thought about:
These aged women tend to get quite hot,
They always need someone around
To serve them as a lightening-rod.
Molchalin, he's the kind of man
That can appease disputes like no one can!
He'll pat a dog, he'll show his greatest skill
In playing cards! He's another Zagoretsky!
You told me all his merits then,
You must have failed to mention some of them.
(Exits)
Scene 14
Sofia, then Mr. N.
Sofia
(to herself)
This man, he always puts me out,
He's angry, envious and proud,
He is the humiliating kind!
Mr. N.
(coming up to her)
I see, you are lost in thought.
Sofia
It's Chatsky.
Mr. N.
Has he changed? Or what?
Sofia
He is insane.
Mr. N.
Oh! Has he lost his mind?
Sofia
Not quite...
Mr. N.
But are there any indications?
Sofia
(stares at him)
I think so.
Mr. N.
Oh at his age? How come? Good gracious!
Sofia
Well, nothing can be done.
(Aside)
He does belive it !
Ah, Chatsky! You are fond of making fun,
There's a cap and bells for you, young man!
Take it or leave it.
(Exits)
Scene 15
Mr N then Mr D
Mr N.
He's mad!... That's what she thinks!... My eys!
There must be reasons... It can't be otherwise.
You heard the news?
Mr D.
What news?
Mr N.
About Chatsky.
Mr D.
No.
Mr N.
He's off his head!
Mr D.
I don't think so.
Mr N.
I'm telling you what others say.
Mr D.
And now you are getting out of your way
To spread the news, my dear.
Mr N.
I'll go and ask if someone knows it here.
(Exits)
Scene 16
Mr D. then Zagoretsky.
Mr D.
Belive the tattler! He'll repeat
Just any nonsens coming to his ear.
You know about Chatsky?
Zagoretsky
What is it?
Mr D.
He's mad!
Zagoretsky
Oh yes, I know, I heard.
I do recall how it occured.
His roguish uncle said he was insane;
He got him caught and send him to a mental home in chain.
Mr D.
Why, he was here just now, here in this room.
Zagoretsky
They have unchained him, I presume.
Mr D.
We don't need newspapers with you around.
I'll go and see what people talk about.
I shall ask everyone. But it's a secret. See?
Scene 17
Zagoretsky, then countess, the granddaughter.
Zagoretsky
Who's Chatsky here? The name's familiar to me.
I used to know a Chatsky once.
Have you ever heard of him by any chance?
Countess, the Granddaughter
Of whom?
Zagoretsky
Of Chatsky, he was here in the room.
Countess, the granddaughter
I know, we had a chat.
Zagoretsky
Congratulation!
He is mad.
Countess, the granddaughter
What?
Zagoretsky
Yes, he's mad.
Countess, the granddaughter
Imagine, I myself have noticed that;
I bet we said it with one voice.
Scene 18
The same people and countess, the grandmother.
Countess, the granddaughter
Oh grand'maman, it's great! I just rejoice!
You heard about the trouble, didn't you?
I say! Isn't it lovely! It's really something new!
Countess, the grandmother
(Speaking with a strong French accent)
Will you speak louder, my friend, I cannot hear?
I have my ears stuffed...
Countess, the granddaughter
No time, my dear!
(points to Zagoretsky)
Il vous dira toute l'histoire...
I'll ask...
(exits)
Scene 19
Zagoretsky, Countess, the grandmother.
Countess, the grandmother
What's that? Is there a fire?
Zagoretsky
For all this turmoil Chatsky is the reason.
Countess, the grandmother
Did you say Chatsky? Who has put the man to prison?
Zagoretsky
He had his forehead wounded, and he lost his head.
Countess, the grandmother
He's a freemason, unfaithful, is that what you said?
Zagoretsky
No use to talk to her.
(Exits)
Countess, the grandmother
Anton Antonych, dear!
Now there he comes. He's hurrying. He's in fear.
Scene 20
Countess, the grandmother and Count Tugoukhovsky.
Countess, the grandmother
Count, count! This count attends
All balls, though he can hardly breethe.
You, count, did you hear me?
Count
Ah-hm?
Countess, the grandmother
He's hard to talk with,
At least you saw the policeman nearby?
Count
Eh-hm?
Countess, the grandmother
Who was this Chatsky imprisoned by?
Count
Weh-hm?
Countess, the grandmother
Give him a hoversack! Let him go soldiering!
He breaks the law! Isn't he daring?
Count
Uh-hm?
Countess, the grandmother
Yes! He is an outrageous alien!
That's was he is! A downright Voltarian!
What? What? He's deaf. Take out the hearing trumpet,
Poor hearing is bad. Talking is hampered.
Scene 21
The same people and Khlyostova, Sofia, Molchalin, Platon Mikhailovitch, Natalia Dmitriyevna, countess, the granddaughter, Zagoretsky, Skalozub, then Famusov and many others.
Khlyostova
He's off his head! I beg to state it.
It is so sudden! So unexpected!
Did you hear it, Sofia?
Platon Mikhailovitch
Who made it known? You?
Natalya Dmitriyevna
Oh, dear, everybody.
Platon Mikhailovitch
Then you don't doubt. As for me, I do.
Famusov
(coming in)
Whom are you talking about?
Chatsky? Why doubt? It's true!
I was the first to have discovered it,
I wonder why he isn't bound to bed.
He has the nerve to abuse the goverment.
If you should bow bending your body
To our sovereign or anybody,
You will be called a rascal and a toady.
Khlyostova
He is always making fun of us.
He burst out laughing when I mentioned gifts.
Molchalin
He talked me out of working in the Archives.
Countess, the granddaughter
And as for me I was compared with modistes.
Natalya Dmitriyevna
He told my husband he should settle in the country-house.
Zagoretsky
All things considered he is mad.
Countess, the granddaughter
I judge it from his eyes.
Famusov
He takes after his mother. No surprise!
She's known to have lost mind a half a dozen times.
Khlyostova
Strange things can happen in this world,
A man his age should turn insane!
He must have drunk from young.
Countess
It's true!..
Countess, the granddaughter
No doubt. Upon my word!
Khlyostova
He would drink glasses of champaigne!
Natalya Dmitriyevna
He drank it by the bottle!
Zagoretsky
(with passion)
No!
It's by the barrel for all I know.
Famusov
Well, drinking isn't bad as such,
A man may drink atd
It's education that's to blaim
That many people go insane.
There are so many mental cases, views, ideas, really!
Khlyostova
These boarding schools, lyceums and all that,
As well this Lancaster teaching theory,
They all can easily drive you mad.
Countess
There is an Institute in Petersburg, I have been told,
The Institute of Pe-da-go-gics, I think it's called.
What the professors do there they propagate
Dissent and unebelief. A relative of mine,
He studied there. He's a graduate,
And any time can be employed
In a farmacy or somewhere in the line.
A chemist, botanist, he's trying to avoid
The fair sex. He doesn't care
Much for promotion or career,
He's my nephew, my dear and near.
Skalozub
I have good news: there is an education plan, I hear,
For boarding schools, lyceums and gymnasiums,
They'll teach there simply, like they do it here.
They will use books on some occasions.
Famusov
Sergey Sergeyich! No! To nip it in the bud
I'd take all books and burn them up like that!
Zagoretsky
(speaking humbly)
No, there are books and books. You know,
If I were engaged in censorship,
I'd deal with fables: Oh! I Love them so!
The mockery of lions, eagles, sheep,
No matter what one thinks,
They're animals, and yet their kings.
Khlyostova
It doesn't matter if it's books or drinking
That caused his lunacy. And I'm thinking
With sympathy of Chatsky, I should say,
He really deserves it, in a Christian way.
He had three hundred souls, and he was bright.
Famusov
Four hundred.
Khlyostova
Three, sir.
Famusov
Four.
Khlyostova
No! Three.
Famusov
My calendar...
Khlyostova
The calendars are never right.
Famusov
Four hudred men! Stop arguing with me!
Khlyostova
No, three! I know other people property!
Famusov
Four hundred, do you understand me?
Khlyostova
No, three hundred! Three, three, three.
Scene 22
The same people and Chatsky.
Natalia Dmitriyevna
Now there he is!
Countess, the granddaughter
Hush!
Everybody
Hush!
(Stepping back from him.)
Khlyostova
He'll make a fuss!
He'll want to have it out with us
Famusov
Good Lord! Forgive our trespass!
(With caution.)
You're not yourself, my dear. Let me feel your pulse,
You need a sleep after the journey; you're ill.
Chatsky
That's right. I cannot bear the pains I feel.
I'm suffering a millon torments
From friendly squeezes, shuffles, exclamations, comments,
(comes up to Sofia)
My heart is overwhelmed with grief,
I feel out of place,I'm lonely here.
No, Moscow doesn't give relief.
Khlyostova
He's blaiming Moscow, do you hear?
Famusov
We'd better keep away from him.
(makes signs to Sofia)
Hm, Sofia has shut her ears.
Sofia
(to Chatsky)
What makes you angry, tell us, please?
Chatsky
There in that room they have an incidental meeting:
The little Frenchan from Bordeau, puffed up with pride
Was telling them: he had a fright
To go to the Barbarian Russia. So he came and found
There was caressing all around.
With not a single Russian face,
The language spoken was Francaise.
It looked as though he were in France
Among his friends, in his province,
And if you saw him, he would appear
To you as if he were a petty monarch here,
With clinging ladies, always looking smart,
He's happy here, while we arn't.
There came a storm of exaltation
With screames and moans and violent elation.
«Oh France! The land beyond compare!» --
Two sister countess came out to declare --
The lesson they had learnt in their green years.
There is no arguing with countess.
I said I wanted everyone to hear it,
I wished that God could crush the evil spirit
Of meaningless blind slavish immitation
And fill someone with inspiration,
The one that would be able to
Deter us with a solid hand
From miserable longing for a foreign land.
I may be called
An old-believer, yet I think
Our North is worse a hundrefold
Since I adopted the new mode,
Having abandoned everything:
Our customs and our conditions,
The language, moral values and traditions,
And, in exchange of the grand gown,
Regadless of all trends
And common sense,
We put on this apparel of a clown:
A tail, a funny cut -- oh, what a scene!
It's tight and doesn't match the face;
This funny, gray-hairedshaven chin!
«Which covers thee discovers thee!» -- there's a phrase.
If we adopt traditions from abroad with ease
We'd better learn a little from Chinese,
Their ignorance of foreign lands.
Shall we awaken from the power of ailien fashions
So that our wise and cheerful Russians
Might never think us to be Germans?
«Can European culture be compared
With our culture?» -- I once heard.
«How can the words such as "madamme", "mademoiselle"
Be turned to Russian? Is it "girl"?»
No sooner than I said it, fancy,
They burst out laughing. They laughed at me.
«Ha! Girl! Ha-ha, isn't it wonderful!
Ha -- Girl! Ha-ha, isn't it aweful!»
I got so angry and I cursed,
I was about to retort,
But they broke up, dispersed.
I'll tell you what:
Both here in Moscow and in Petersburg, you know,
A man that hates pretence and all that's done for show
And is unfortunate to have in mind
A few ideas of some kind
And wants to openly speak out!
Look out..
(Looks around, everybody is dancing a waltz. The older people make their ways to card tables)
The End of ACT III