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Authors: Mario Vargas Llosa
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KATHIE: (
Pouting
) But I’m not the only one who unleashes such storms, Victor. Do you think I don’t know what you get up to with Juliette Drouet? And all those other ephemeral little flies that swarm around you? Do you think I don’t know how many of them you’ve made love to?
Pouting
) But I’m not the only one who unleashes such storms, Victor. Do you think I don’t know what you get up to with Juliette Drouet? And all those other ephemeral little flies that swarm around you? Do you think I don’t know how many of them you’ve made love to?
SANTIAGO: (
Proud, seductive
) But these are minor escapades, Adèle. They don’t impinge on either my feelings or my poetry. They’re quite unimportant. No, the only use these little creatures have is to prove to me how incomparable you are, my Adèle
chérie.
Proud, seductive
) But these are minor escapades, Adèle. They don’t impinge on either my feelings or my poetry. They’re quite unimportant. No, the only use these little creatures have is to prove to me how incomparable you are, my Adèle
chérie.
KATHIE: (
Sobbing
) When I think about you making love to them, I get so jealous. You’ve no idea how much I suffer.
Sobbing
) When I think about you making love to them, I get so jealous. You’ve no idea how much I suffer.
SANTIAGO: Jealousy adds a certain piquancy to love. It makes it more exciting, it colours it, it gives it flavour.
KATHIE: But you go after anything in a skirt! Look at my nails. They used to be long and beautiful and now, just look at them! It’s all your fault, it’s all because of your treachery. Every time you go out, I get quite sick with anguish: which of those little insects will he be with this time? What’ll he be saying to them? What’ll he be doing to them? Where? And how many times? Nine?
SANTIAGO: Whether it’s God, Mother Nature or the Devil, I
don’t know. But talents have been bestowed upon me, which set me apart from ordinary men. The gift of poetry which in my case comes inextricably linked with an infinite propensity for passionate love.
don’t know. But talents have been bestowed upon me, which set me apart from ordinary men. The gift of poetry which in my case comes inextricably linked with an infinite propensity for passionate love.
KATHIE: But don’t we make love every day, Victor?
SANTIAGO: It’s not enough, Adèle. I must satisfy these longings, quench these flames.
KATHIE: You’re one of nature’s marvels!
SANTIAGO: I am.
KATHIE: You’re insatiable, indefatigable, a colossus amongst men.
SANTIAGO: I am.
KATHIE: You’re Victor Hugo, Mark Griffin.
SANTIAGO: Just as other men need air, so I need women. I need a constant supply or else I suffocate … Like the drinker of absinthe, like the opium eater, I’m quite addicted to them.
KATHIE: Your knowledge exceeds that of the
Kama Sutra,
the
Ananga Ranga,
Giacomo Casanova, and the Marquis de Sade.
Kama Sutra,
the
Ananga Ranga,
Giacomo Casanova, and the Marquis de Sade.
SANTIAGO: It does. What do women feel when they make love with me, Adèle
chérie?
chérie?
KATHIE: Like tropical butterflies pierced by a pin, like flies struggling in a glutinous web, like chickens on a spit. (ANA
who has been watching them sardonically, bursts out laughing and breaks the spell. Attention is focused on
KATHIE
and
JUAN.)
who has been watching them sardonically, bursts out laughing and breaks the spell. Attention is focused on
KATHIE
and
JUAN.)
JUAN: (
Transformed back into Johnny darling
) And what about our son?
Transformed back into Johnny darling
) And what about our son?
KATHIE: (
Herself again
) My son! Poor boy! He didn’t turn out to be at all like his father. (
To
JUAN) You were just an amusing rogue, a lovable playboy, Johnny darling. Your only interest in money is spending it. Little Johnny, on the other hand, is the most hard-working man in the world, the most dependable, the most boring and the most disagreeable. His only interest in money is making more of it.
Herself again
) My son! Poor boy! He didn’t turn out to be at all like his father. (
To
JUAN) You were just an amusing rogue, a lovable playboy, Johnny darling. Your only interest in money is spending it. Little Johnny, on the other hand, is the most hard-working man in the world, the most dependable, the most boring and the most disagreeable. His only interest in money is making more of it.
JUAN: That’s not true, Kathie. You’re maligning little Johnny.
KATHIE: I’m not maligning him. He’s only interested in banking, boards of directors, rates of exchange, the price of shares and the property market. His sole concern in life is whether or not we’ll ever have agrarian reform in this country.
SANTIAGO: (
Thinking aloud
) And do you know, Kathie, what agrarian reform would mean?
Thinking aloud
) And do you know, Kathie, what agrarian reform would mean?
KATHIE: Taking away decent, respectable people’s land and giving to the Indians. Sometimes I wish we would have agrarian reform if only to see the look on little Johnny’s face.
JUAN: Have you got such a low opinion of your daughter too?
KATHIE: She’s superficial and brainless. She takes after you there, Johnny darling. The new improved version. She doesn’t think about anything except beaches, parties, clothes and men. In that order.
JUAN: I think you detest your children almost as much as you used to detest me, Kathie Kennety.
KATHIE: No. Not quite that much. Besides, they’re the ones that hate me. Because I won’t let them do what they want with my property.
JUAN: You’d like to believe that, wouldn’t you, Kathie? But you know very well it’s not true.
KATHIE: Yes, I know it isn’t. They really detest me because of you.
JUAN: Because they think you’re responsible for their father’s death. Which is fair enough.
KATHIE: It’s not fair enough. They never knew what happened, and they never will know either.
JUAN: They may not know the details. But they certainly smell a rat somewhere. They suspect something, they guess, they sense something. That’s why they hate you and that’s why you hate them.
SANTIAGO: (
Very timidly
) Did you and your husband ever separate, Kathie?
Very timidly
) Did you and your husband ever separate, Kathie?
KATHIE: Johnny and I never separated … I … I was widowed.
SANTIAGO: Ah, I’d understood that … But what about that
gentleman I pass in the doorway of the street, or on the stairs, the one who we see in the newspapers, isn’t he your husband? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.
gentleman I pass in the doorway of the street, or on the stairs, the one who we see in the newspapers, isn’t he your husband? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.
KATHIE: There’s no reason why you should. Or for you to be sorry either. Aren’t there thousands, millions of women in the world who have been widowed? There’s nothing unusual about that.
SANTIAGO: Of course there isn’t. It’s as commonplace and natural as it is for a marriage to break up. (
Looks at
ANA.) Aren’t there thousands, millions of women in the world who are separated from their husbands? They don’t all make a Greek tragedy out of it though.
Looks at
ANA.) Aren’t there thousands, millions of women in the world who are separated from their husbands? They don’t all make a Greek tragedy out of it though.
KATHIE: I’m not keen on Greek tragedy. But it turned into one in this case because Johnny darling didn’t die of natural causes. Actually … he killed himself.
(SANTIAGO
appears not to hear her, concentrating as he is on
ANA
who has burst out laughing again.
)
appears not to hear her, concentrating as he is on
ANA
who has burst out laughing again.
)
SANTIAGO: Why are you laughing? Out of spite? Jealousy, is it? Envy? Or just plain stupidity?
ANA: Curiosity, professor.
SANTIAGO: Oh, go and do the cooking, clean the house, look after your daughters, do those things a woman’s supposed to do in life for a change.
ANA: First, just clear up one little point for me. I’m dying to know why that pupil of yours, Adèle, left you. Ha ha ha …
(
African tom-tom music bursts out suddenly, as if willed by
SANTIAGO
to escape a painful memory. He quickly takes hold of the tape-recorder; he is quite stunned.
)
African tom-tom music bursts out suddenly, as if willed by
SANTIAGO
to escape a painful memory. He quickly takes hold of the tape-recorder; he is quite stunned.
)
SANTIAGO: I’ve no time now, I’m very busy, the two hours are nearly up. Go away. (
Dictating
) And finally, after travelling for countless hours in the stifling heat and sweat through lush vegetation burgeoning with bamboo, ebony and breadfruit, the rickety old bus jolts to a halt in a small village between Moshe and Mombasa.
Dictating
) And finally, after travelling for countless hours in the stifling heat and sweat through lush vegetation burgeoning with bamboo, ebony and breadfruit, the rickety old bus jolts to a halt in a small village between Moshe and Mombasa.
KATHIE: Then, there in a little hut we saw something quite, quite unbelievable.
SANTIAGO: (
Dictating
) Then we witness a spectacle so unimaginable that it makes our blood run cold.
Dictating
) Then we witness a spectacle so unimaginable that it makes our blood run cold.
KATHIE: Some little boys, completely bare, their bellies bulging out in front of them, were eating pieces of earth, as if they were sweets.
SANTIAGO: Some naked children, their stomachs swollen by parasites, were satiating their hunger with some pieces of suspiciously white-looking meat. What am I seeing? Can I believe my eyes? Petrified, I realize what these ravenous little creatures are devouring: one of them is eating a little hand, another a foot, that one over there, a shoulder, which they’ve torn from the carcass of another child.
KATHIE: (
Disconcerted
) Do you mean they were cannibals? (SANTIAGO
stops dictating, discouraged by
ANA
’s sardonic look.
)
Disconcerted
) Do you mean they were cannibals? (SANTIAGO
stops dictating, discouraged by
ANA
’s sardonic look.
)
SANTIAGO: It gives it more of a sense of drama. It’s more original, more shocking. A few children eating earth isn’t going to surprise anyone, Kathie. It’s something that happens here in Peru as well.
KATHIE: (
Astonished
) Here in Peru? Are you sure?
Astonished
) Here in Peru? Are you sure?
SANTIAGO: Peru isn’t Lima, Kathie. And Lima isn’t San Isidro. Here in this district you won’t see it, but in certain less well-off areas and in a lot of places up in the mountains, what you saw in that African village is really quite common. You’ve been round the world twice, or three times, is it? Yet you give me the impression that you don’t really know your own country properly.
KATHIE: I went to Cuzco once, with Johnny. The altitude made me feel awful. You’re right, you know. Here in Peru we know more about what goes on abroad than we do about our own country. We’re really such snobs!
ANA: (
Killing herself with laughter
) Yes, we are, aren’t we … ? Particularly if we happen to be multi-millionaires.
Killing herself with laughter
) Yes, we are, aren’t we … ? Particularly if we happen to be multi-millionaires.
(SANTIAGO
resigned, abandons the tape-recorder and looks at
ANA.)
resigned, abandons the tape-recorder and looks at
ANA.)
SANTIAGO: All right have it your own way, you spoilsport!
ANA: How ridiculous you are, Mark Griffin! You leave your wife, and your daughters, you run off with some stupid
little Lolita of a girl, you make yourself the laughing stock of the entire university. And all for what? The vamp abandons you after a few weeks and you come limping home to say you’re sorry with your tail between your legs. (
Very sarcastically
) Might one be allowed to know why Adèle left you, Victor Hugo?
little Lolita of a girl, you make yourself the laughing stock of the entire university. And all for what? The vamp abandons you after a few weeks and you come limping home to say you’re sorry with your tail between your legs. (
Very sarcastically
) Might one be allowed to know why Adèle left you, Victor Hugo?
KATHIE: (
Changed into an irate Adèle, to
SANTIAGO) Because I’m young, my life’s just beginning, I want to enjoy myself. Why should I live like a nun? If I had the vocation, I’d have gone into a convent. Do you understand?
Changed into an irate Adèle, to
SANTIAGO) Because I’m young, my life’s just beginning, I want to enjoy myself. Why should I live like a nun? If I had the vocation, I’d have gone into a convent. Do you understand?
SANTIAGO: (
Contrite, intimidated
) Of course I do, my little Persian kitten. But don’t exaggerate, it’s not that important.
Contrite, intimidated
) Of course I do, my little Persian kitten. But don’t exaggerate, it’s not that important.
KATHIE: You know very well I’m not exaggerating. You spend the whole day telling me how desperately in love with me you are, but when it comes to the point, when it come to the actual love-making, pssst … you’re just like a pricked balloon.
SANTIAGO: (
Trying to make her speak more quietly, to calm her, so that no one hears
) You really must try to be a little more understanding, my little Persian kitten.
Trying to make her speak more quietly, to calm her, so that no one hears
) You really must try to be a little more understanding, my little Persian kitten.
KATHIE: (
Getting more and more annoyed
) You’re nothing but a fake, Mark. You’re all façade, a hippopotamus who looks quite terrifying but who only eats little birds.
Getting more and more annoyed
) You’re nothing but a fake, Mark. You’re all façade, a hippopotamus who looks quite terrifying but who only eats little birds.
SANTIAGO: (
Terribly uncomfortable
) I have a lot of worries, my little Persian kitten, that wretched Ana – she’s constantly scheming behind my back, it nearly drives me up the wall. And then there’s those lectures I’m giving at the moment on the Spanish mystics, their theories and sermons on asceticism, they really have quite a special effect on the psyche, you know, they anaesthetize the libido. Shall I explain to you what the libido is? It’s very interesting, as you’ll see. A gentleman called Freud …
Terribly uncomfortable
) I have a lot of worries, my little Persian kitten, that wretched Ana – she’s constantly scheming behind my back, it nearly drives me up the wall. And then there’s those lectures I’m giving at the moment on the Spanish mystics, their theories and sermons on asceticism, they really have quite a special effect on the psyche, you know, they anaesthetize the libido. Shall I explain to you what the libido is? It’s very interesting, as you’ll see. A gentleman called Freud …
KATHIE: I don’t give a damn about the psyche or the libido. It’s all a lot of excuses, a pack of lies, a load of rubbish. The truth is you’re weak, spineless, cowardly and, and …
ANA: Impotent, is that the word?
KATHIE: That’s it, that’s it, impotent. That’s exactly what you are, Mark Griffin: you’re impotent!
SANTIAGO: (
Who doesn’t know which way to turn
) Don’t say that word, Adèle. And don’t talk so loud, the neighbours will hear us, how embarrassing. During the holidays, when the pressure is off, you’ll see how …
Who doesn’t know which way to turn
) Don’t say that word, Adèle. And don’t talk so loud, the neighbours will hear us, how embarrassing. During the holidays, when the pressure is off, you’ll see how …
(ANA
listens to them; she’s killing herself with laughter
.)
listens to them; she’s killing herself with laughter
.)
KATHIE: Do you think I’m going to wait till the summer before we next make love?
SANTIAGO: But we made love only the other night, after that film, my angel.
KATHIE: That was three weeks ago! No! A month! Do you think I’m going to saddle myself with some feeble old fuddy-duddy, who can only manage it once a month after seeing a pornographic film? Do you really think so?
SANTIAGO: (
Wanting to disappear from sight
) Passionate love, based on animal copulation, isn’t everything life has to offer, my little Persian kitten. Nor is it even advisable. On the contrary, it’s ephemeral, a castle made of sand which falls down at the first gust of wind. A loving relationship, on the other hand, based on mutual understanding, on a striving for common goals, ideals …
Wanting to disappear from sight
) Passionate love, based on animal copulation, isn’t everything life has to offer, my little Persian kitten. Nor is it even advisable. On the contrary, it’s ephemeral, a castle made of sand which falls down at the first gust of wind. A loving relationship, on the other hand, based on mutual understanding, on a striving for common goals, ideals …
KATHIE: All right then, go and look for some other idiot who you can share your loving relationship with. What appeals to me is the other sort. What’s it called again? Passionate love? The dirty sort, the animal sort, that’s the one that interests me.
Ciao,
professor. I don’t want to see you again, ever.
Ciao,
Victor Hugo!
Ciao,
professor. I don’t want to see you again, ever.
Ciao,
Victor Hugo!
(
She goes to applaud
JUAN
, who is showing off his prowess on the surfboard in rough waters
.)
She goes to applaud
JUAN
, who is showing off his prowess on the surfboard in rough waters
.)
SANTIAGO: (
Dejected, crushed, to
ANA,
who looks at him sympathetically
) You made a mountain out of a mole hill. You never had a sense of proportion, or balance between cause and effect. You can’t kick someone when he’s down.
Dejected, crushed, to
ANA,
who looks at him sympathetically
) You made a mountain out of a mole hill. You never had a sense of proportion, or balance between cause and effect. You can’t kick someone when he’s down.
BOOK: Three Plays: The Young Lady from Tacna, Kathie and the Hippopotamus, La Chunga
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