Scene 6 by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux Lyrics
6
CARISE, EGLÉ, MESROU, AZOR
AZOR: Eh! It's Carise and Mesrou, they're my friends.
EGLÉ: They just told me all about it, you were made especially for me, me especially for you, they explained it: that's why we love each other so much, I'm your Eglé, you're my Azor.
MESROU: One's the man and the other's the woman.
AZOR: My Eglé, my joy, my enjoyment, my woman.
EGLÉ: Go on, here's my hand, make up for having to hide yourself.
(To Mesrou and to Carise.) See, that's what he was doing before, see what I mean about me not needing any help?
CARISE: Children, I already told you, it's only natural you should be so taken with each other.
EGLÉ (Taking him by the hand.): It's obvious really.
CARISE: But there's a rule, one rule, if you want to stay in love.
EGLÉ: Yes, I know; you have to be together always.
CARISE: On the contrary, you must sometimes deprive yourselves of the pleasure of seeing each other.
EGLÉ (Astonished.): What?
AZOR (Astonished.): What?
CARISE: Yes, believe me, otherwise that pleasure will grow less, and you will grow indifferent.
EGLÉ (Laughing.): Indifferent, indifferent, my Azor -- ha! ha! ha! -- what a funny idea.
AZOR: What does she know?
MESROU: Don't laugh, she's giving you good advice; it's only by doing what she just told you, and separating sometimes, that we've stayed in love, Carise and me.
EGLÉ: Yes, well, I can believe that; that's probably true for you sort of people, I mean you're both really black, you must have run a mile when you first saw each other.
AZOR: The best you could ever do, was put up with each other.
EGLÉ: And you'd soon get sick of seeing each other if you had to all the time, because you're not nice to look at at all; me, I love you, for instance, but when I can't see you, I don't miss you, I don't have to see you -- why? Because you're not attractive; whereas we do attract each other, Azor and me; he's so handsome, I'm so lovely, so worth looking at, we're rapt just looking at each other.
AZOR (Taking EGLÉ's hand.): Just one of Eglé's hands, do you see, just her hand, I ache when I'm not holding it, and when I am holding it, I'll die if I don't kiss it, and then when I have kissed it, I die more.
EGLÉ: Man is right, everything he just said then to you, I feel the same; that's just where we are, and you, you talk about our pleasure, but you don't know what it's like -- we don't understand it, and we're feeling it; it goes on for ever.
MESROU: We're not suggesting you separate for more than two or three hours a day.
EGLÉ: Not for one minute.
MESROU: Too bad.
EGLÉ: You're making me cross now, Mesrou; do you think if we look at each other we'll turn ugly? We'll stop being attractive?
CARISE: No, but you'll stop feeling that you are.
EGLÉ: Eh, who's going to stop us feeling it if we are?
AZOR: Eglé will always be Eglé.
EGLÉ: Azor always Azor.
MESROU: I'm sure he will, but you never can tell. Suppose, say, that I turned as good looking as Azor, or Carise turned as beautiful as EGLÉ.
EGLÉ: What would that have do to with us?
CARISE: Maybe once you'd got sick of the sight of each other you'd be tempted to each leave the other and love us.
EGLÉ: Tempted? To leave what you love? What sense would that make? Azor and me, we love each other, that's the end of it, turn as beautiful as you like, why should we mind? That's your business; ours is all done.
AZOR: They'll never understand anything, you have to be us to know what it's like.
MESROU: Up to you.
AZOR: Who I love, it's my life.
EGLÉ: Hear what he said; his life? How could he ever leave me? He's got to live, and I have to too.
AZOR: Yes, my life; how can anyone be so beautiful, look at you so beautifully, have a mouth that beautiful, beautiful everything.
EGLÉ: I love it when he loves me.
MESROU: It's true he adores you.
AZOR: Ah! that's the right word, I adore her! Mesrou understands me, I adore you.
EGLÉ (Sighing.): Adore away, but give me a chance to breathe; ah!
CARISE: Such tenderness, even I am touched. But there is only one way to sustain it, which is to take our advice; and if you've got the sense to take it, here, Eglé, give this to Azor, it's something to help him endure your absence.
EGLÉ (Taking a picture that Carise gives her.): What's that? I recognise myself; it's me again -- and much better than in the water in the puddle, it's got all how pretty I am, it's really me; how nice to be all over the place! Look, Azor, look at my body.
AZOR: Ah! It's Eglé, it's my woman; there she is -- of course the real thing's even better.
(He kisses the portrait.)
MESROU: At least it reminds you of her.
AZOR: Yes, it makes you want her.
(He kisses it more.)
EGLÉ: There's only one thing wrong with it, I think; when he kisses it, my copy's got everything.
AZOR (Takes her hand, which he kisses.): Let's put that right then.
EGLÉ: Oh that...; I want one the same to play with.
MESROU: Choose between his picture and yours.
EGLÉ: I'll take them both.
MESROU: Oh, you have to choose, sorry; I want to keep one.
EGLÉ: Oh well, in that case, I don't need you to have Azor, because I've got his picture already, in my head, so, give me mine, and then I'll have got them both.
CARISE: Here it is in a different version. This is called a mirror; you just press it here to open it. Goodbye, we'll come back and find you later -- do, please, think about those little separations.
CARISE, EGLÉ, MESROU, AZOR
AZOR: Eh! It's Carise and Mesrou, they're my friends.
EGLÉ: They just told me all about it, you were made especially for me, me especially for you, they explained it: that's why we love each other so much, I'm your Eglé, you're my Azor.
MESROU: One's the man and the other's the woman.
AZOR: My Eglé, my joy, my enjoyment, my woman.
EGLÉ: Go on, here's my hand, make up for having to hide yourself.
(To Mesrou and to Carise.) See, that's what he was doing before, see what I mean about me not needing any help?
CARISE: Children, I already told you, it's only natural you should be so taken with each other.
EGLÉ (Taking him by the hand.): It's obvious really.
CARISE: But there's a rule, one rule, if you want to stay in love.
EGLÉ: Yes, I know; you have to be together always.
CARISE: On the contrary, you must sometimes deprive yourselves of the pleasure of seeing each other.
EGLÉ (Astonished.): What?
AZOR (Astonished.): What?
CARISE: Yes, believe me, otherwise that pleasure will grow less, and you will grow indifferent.
EGLÉ (Laughing.): Indifferent, indifferent, my Azor -- ha! ha! ha! -- what a funny idea.
AZOR: What does she know?
MESROU: Don't laugh, she's giving you good advice; it's only by doing what she just told you, and separating sometimes, that we've stayed in love, Carise and me.
EGLÉ: Yes, well, I can believe that; that's probably true for you sort of people, I mean you're both really black, you must have run a mile when you first saw each other.
AZOR: The best you could ever do, was put up with each other.
EGLÉ: And you'd soon get sick of seeing each other if you had to all the time, because you're not nice to look at at all; me, I love you, for instance, but when I can't see you, I don't miss you, I don't have to see you -- why? Because you're not attractive; whereas we do attract each other, Azor and me; he's so handsome, I'm so lovely, so worth looking at, we're rapt just looking at each other.
AZOR (Taking EGLÉ's hand.): Just one of Eglé's hands, do you see, just her hand, I ache when I'm not holding it, and when I am holding it, I'll die if I don't kiss it, and then when I have kissed it, I die more.
EGLÉ: Man is right, everything he just said then to you, I feel the same; that's just where we are, and you, you talk about our pleasure, but you don't know what it's like -- we don't understand it, and we're feeling it; it goes on for ever.
MESROU: We're not suggesting you separate for more than two or three hours a day.
EGLÉ: Not for one minute.
MESROU: Too bad.
EGLÉ: You're making me cross now, Mesrou; do you think if we look at each other we'll turn ugly? We'll stop being attractive?
CARISE: No, but you'll stop feeling that you are.
EGLÉ: Eh, who's going to stop us feeling it if we are?
AZOR: Eglé will always be Eglé.
EGLÉ: Azor always Azor.
MESROU: I'm sure he will, but you never can tell. Suppose, say, that I turned as good looking as Azor, or Carise turned as beautiful as EGLÉ.
EGLÉ: What would that have do to with us?
CARISE: Maybe once you'd got sick of the sight of each other you'd be tempted to each leave the other and love us.
EGLÉ: Tempted? To leave what you love? What sense would that make? Azor and me, we love each other, that's the end of it, turn as beautiful as you like, why should we mind? That's your business; ours is all done.
AZOR: They'll never understand anything, you have to be us to know what it's like.
MESROU: Up to you.
AZOR: Who I love, it's my life.
EGLÉ: Hear what he said; his life? How could he ever leave me? He's got to live, and I have to too.
AZOR: Yes, my life; how can anyone be so beautiful, look at you so beautifully, have a mouth that beautiful, beautiful everything.
EGLÉ: I love it when he loves me.
MESROU: It's true he adores you.
AZOR: Ah! that's the right word, I adore her! Mesrou understands me, I adore you.
EGLÉ (Sighing.): Adore away, but give me a chance to breathe; ah!
CARISE: Such tenderness, even I am touched. But there is only one way to sustain it, which is to take our advice; and if you've got the sense to take it, here, Eglé, give this to Azor, it's something to help him endure your absence.
EGLÉ (Taking a picture that Carise gives her.): What's that? I recognise myself; it's me again -- and much better than in the water in the puddle, it's got all how pretty I am, it's really me; how nice to be all over the place! Look, Azor, look at my body.
AZOR: Ah! It's Eglé, it's my woman; there she is -- of course the real thing's even better.
(He kisses the portrait.)
MESROU: At least it reminds you of her.
AZOR: Yes, it makes you want her.
(He kisses it more.)
EGLÉ: There's only one thing wrong with it, I think; when he kisses it, my copy's got everything.
AZOR (Takes her hand, which he kisses.): Let's put that right then.
EGLÉ: Oh that...; I want one the same to play with.
MESROU: Choose between his picture and yours.
EGLÉ: I'll take them both.
MESROU: Oh, you have to choose, sorry; I want to keep one.
EGLÉ: Oh well, in that case, I don't need you to have Azor, because I've got his picture already, in my head, so, give me mine, and then I'll have got them both.
CARISE: Here it is in a different version. This is called a mirror; you just press it here to open it. Goodbye, we'll come back and find you later -- do, please, think about those little separations.