ACT III
Don ALVARO, Don ALONSO, LEONOR and ELISA who is carried on stage in a chair by two men
ALONSO: It was really a clever move to make her think
That she is in Illescas when in fact
We are keeping her right here in her own room.
ALVARO: I met Leonor in the street then we came.690
ALONSO: Don Juan had better simply give it up.
ALVARO: He ought to if he knew what was going on.
To ELISA
ALONSO: And you had better change your ways. Persist
And I forget my duty to you and you
Will stay right here as long as I shall live695
…which should not be too long a time, I think,
When I consider what you did to me.
Everyone thinks that you have gone to Lerma.
But that is just a lie to put them off,
To keep you far from those who want to help.700
How you can still resist amazes me.
You are not pleased with Pedro or with Carlos?
I promise, Juan will never marry you.
Do not dare to speak to me of him again.
If you are still inclined to oppose my will,705
Then you deserve this punishment.
If you do not want to make it worse,
Just think it over and make your choice. Let’s go.
But lock your door because I have to leave.
ALVARO: Remember, ma’am, that I will carry out710
And execute his orders. Watch what you do.
Exeunt ALVARO and ALONSO; they lock the door as they leave
ELISA: I do not know what bothers me the most:
To have you here with me, or, left alone,
To have to think about their tyranny.
LEONOR: Well, that is the way it is for those like you715
Who always fail at everything they do.
They give offense when they most want to please.
Their courtesy produces indignation.
Doña Ana did deceive me, yes,
When she accepted Carlos’s clever plan.720
But you should thank me and forgive me, ma’am,
Because I can tell you now. Don Juan is here.
ELISA: That can not be! What are you saying now?
LEONOR: Don Juan is right here in Illescas, yes!
You are the star which guides his wanderings.725
Yes. Doña Ana hid him in her house.
But when I tried to come to let you know,
He caught me in the doorway to the street.
ELISA: Do not tell me anymore, Leonor.
LEONOR: All I ask is that you tell the truth:730
Could you see the road they carried you along?
ELISA: Why, no, how could I since my father kept
The very light of day from shining in?
Because he is was angry he forbade
The men to light the coach along its way.735
I could only sit there next to him
And ride along all night in total silence.
We passed the days at inns in secrecy.
And I was not allowed to see the guests.
When we at last had come into the town,740
He brought a chair and made me get inside.
It was so dark that I could barely see
The steps I had to climb to take my seat.
LEONOR: Your uncle brought me here so secretly
That I could not tell either where I was.745
Of course they blamed me for everything,
The Count who thinks that I somehow will gain
Defended me and said that I should try
Convincing you he lives for you alone.
Doña Ana defended me as well,750
But only to make me do whatever I could
To see that you forget Don Juan; they both
Have promised me a hope chest and a dowry,
Provided you become Don Carlos’s wife.
But you and I grew up together so755
I know you better than any one of them.
Heaven has decreed and I know, too,
That you will marry no one but the man
Who deserves your hand the most, Don Juan.
With time as my witness I swear in all good faith760
That I would even die for you. Oh my!
Is this the bed your host has made for you?
ELISA: It does not matter; I can not sleep now.
I am just too upset. You know it is true.
Anyone who sleeps a lot is not765
In love. Well, I will say my prayers a while
And then come help me get undressed, alright?
LEONOR: How can you say your prayers and be in love?
ELISA: I do not catch your meaning.
LEONOR: I will wait.
Exit ELISA
LEONOR: Coral’s tricks are really going well.770
Since he confided everything to me
I think I like him…well, perhaps a little.
She looks at a key ring with many keys
The only thing I have to do is try
To see if one of these old keys will work
And that way spoil the old man’s scheme to make775
His house into a jail. Because a key,
When the balcony does not face the street,
Means certain death: It does not matter how
Love tries to lock the world outside its door.
I think that this must be the master key.
While Elisa prays I will put it to the test.780
Now, my friendly brother balcony,
Do give some light and let it magic be.
Exit. Enter Don JUAN and CORAL
CORAL Well, now we are really sailing before the wind
Along the path of those born on their feet!
Good fortune moves you right ahead as planned!785
You know that your Elisa is at home
And living in her rooms in her own house?
In spite of all her father and his friend
Have tried to do to make her think she is not,
But rather in Illescas where they hope790
To make her marry Carlos. Just last night
I heard her father plot it out with care.
He has become an old man wracked with greed.
Doña Ana is no longer there
Since that old buzzard we call death destroyed795
The health her aunt enjoyed and so our Ana
Is not expected back until the sun
Has turned her aunt’s sea-worthy coffin
To a golden cradle. In the meantime
I have stowed the bridge away, the one800
Which we will use to get across the void.
And you, if you play your cards just right this time,
No matter how her father tries again
To keep her locked away, you can slip right over.
JUAN: The walls are high. There are people in the street.805
The neighbors are nosey. Honour is at stake.
CORAL: Good Lord, man! Since when are you a coward?
The sky has donned its widow’s weeds again
And leaves no trace of blue; the world now sleeps.
The moon has fallen in the southern sea,810
And now? Your love begins to quake and tremble!
The Moors are not attacking! Come on, man!
Go and and you will see how hard I worked.
Exeunt. Enter LEONOR
LEONOR: I see this key has magic properties
No door can ever resist. It opened the door815
To the balcony at once and look, it fits
The living room which now is open, too.
Don Juan is going to owe a lot to me,
Well, to my craftiness. My skills awoke
His thirst for love, no easy task, you know.820
Enter CORAL
CORAL: Well! Now he has done it! Like old Archimedes,
If there was such a man, by three to one!
LEONOR: Oh no! Good Lord! You frightened me to death!
CORAL: They say old witches such as you suck blood,
Babies’ blood, because you are always cold.825
LEONOR: Just tell me how you got in here, alright?
CORAL: Well, you will have to ask a wooden plank!
A bridge for a balcony which stretches across,
Just like a spring-hook; first it’s long and then
It’s short. But best of all I made it so830
That it will fit right in so tight that a widow
Wearing three-inch heels could walk across…
You remember the widow I brought up here for lace?
LEONOR: Alright, Coral. But what will keep the town
From seeing people cross between the rooms?835
There is no way to stop their wagging tongues.
CORAL: Oh, come on! You are really hopeless.
I told you that no one could see it clearly
Because if either sunlight or the moon
Should shine on it, we will pull it back.840
And it becomes invisible like slats
On writing desks, hidden in compartments.
Enter ELISA
ELISA: Leonor, what is taking you so long?
Are you in here talking to the paintings?
Coral! What are you doing here?845
CORAL: Love’s refinements slip right through old locks.
Love, the unclad god, goes everywhere.
ELISA: Well, yes, but when the doors are closed and locked…
CORAL: For love, there are no locks that hold for long.
Love’s father was a blacksmith who taught him how850
To use a block and tackle if need be.
ELISA: Who told you that I was in Illescas?
CORAL: Like the owl which must avoid the sun’s bright light
My love pursued you to your rooms through the dark.
You did not know that you are in your room?855
Held captive through no fault of your own?
That you are in Illescas and Madrid?
To prove to you that what I say is true,
Open your balcony and see the way
The windows are designed, the floor plan, too.860
You are captive in your very own room.
It feels to me that we are in an oven!
Those dormers are not used much in Illescas.
These doors and walls are easy to make over.
They are disguised, like dancers wearing masks.865
I came in here across the balcony,
Across a drawbridge which you, too, can use,
A drawbridge which all travellers must cross.
Don Juan is waiting in the room next door.
And you can trust your cousin even more.870
There is nothing left to stand in your way.
Enter ALONSO and the others. ALONSO speaks from outside
ALONSO: Don Carlos, Sir! Wait for me right here.
ELISA: I think I hear my father.
CORAL: Yes. He is here.
And as for me, I think I will wait outside.
Exit
ELISA: And I am going to hide behind that door.875
LEONOR: There must be some way we can fool them all.
ALONSO: Hello in there! Open this door right now!
LEONOR: Who is it, please?
They enter
ALONSO: If I already locked
The door, why did you lock yourselves inside?
LEONOR: So no one would disturb our privacy.880
ALONSO: (I think I know a way to spoil their plan.) Aside
Go! Call Elisa now! I insist!
ELISA enters
ELISA Well, Sir! What new way have you found today
To add to my unhappiness? Have you
Forgotten anything? I have watched885
Your progress from two miles away and want
To know why you came back to torment me.
ALONSO: There is no longer time for foolishness.
The only reason I wanted you to think
That you were in Illescas was because890
I felt Don Juan was making you uneasy.
But he is not a problem for us now.
You realize that you are still in Madrid?
In your own house and in your very own room?
ELISA: What?! Where?!895
ALONSO: In your very own home.
LEONOR: My God!
This is certainly confusing to me!
ELISA: Then where did all this furniture come from?
ALONSO: A little effort, and money, of course, can find
All this, and more, at court. Let’s continue.
Let’s not waste time on pettiness.900
Don Juan, consumed by jealousy, wounded
Don Carlos late last night and thinking him dead
Got Doña Clara to hide him in her house.
Because she is the heir to Doña Ana,
Who is her aunt. The two of them agreed905
That Don Juan would have to leave Madrid at once…
Or as soon as they were married. The Count found out
How much Don Juan now owes to Doña Ana.
When Don Pedro learned about this whole affair
He became quite envious…because he saw910
How you did not accept his offers of love.
But he managed to forget the past and turn
His heart around and place his hopes in your cousin.
Don Carlos, then, who loves you very much,
Both generously and wisely thought that once915
Don Juan and Doña Ana were married, then,
He could find the means to win your love.
And placing his desire above all vengeance,
He went tonight to see Don Juan who fast
Became his friend. It is true!! It was not hard920
For him to persuade Don Juan and Doña Ana
To marry happily, and right then and there!
They called me to be their witness and to help
Write out their terms. I went to Doña Clara’s
After I saw their declaration of love.925
What courtesy! Tomorrow, I assume,
They are getting married. For you alone
The Count has risked his life. He is here.
We are in his debt. Show gratitude.
LEONOR: (Good Lord! How quickly he can make up lies! Aside930
I hope this trick will work for you, old man.)
ELISA: The things you tell me would resemble dreams
Were it not true that you have merit my trust.
How could so much occur in just one day?
How could Don Juan have changed so much, so fast?935
How could his love have been so small, so weak?
But stop. My love will not let me despair.
My love can keep pace with the times and build
With exemplary acts what men’s deceit destroys:
I accept the offer Don Carlos makes.940
ALONSO: How like the ivy green which climbs the oak
My heavy years embrace your lovely neck.
I think I feel my youth return. He is here!
He is here and I am going to call him now!
What wonderful news I bring to him this time!945
ELISA: It is much too late! Tomorrow is time enough
For him to come. Then calmly, predisposed
In heart and mind he will agree with you.
ALONSO: Well, that is fine. I do not want to rush you.
Be sure you do not make a liar of me!!950
He leaves and locks her in
LEONOR: What have you done?
ELISA: Leonor, I do not know.
Just what can you expect someone to do
After overhearing a doubtful truth
Among so many lies? Don Juan loved Ana!
He believed Don Carlos destroyed our love955
While hidden in my house, then wounded him
And ran away, then hid in Clara’s house?
If he entered as her guest then he will leave
As the master. Unlock the door. Give me my coat.
LEONOR: First explain what you are going to do.960
ELISA: The two of us…or I will go alone
Which might be best, while you remain right here.
If I should find Don Juan is at my cousin’s,
I will know that fear has blinded me.
But if he is not there, then what I feared965
Is true.
LEONOR: And has it not occurred to you
Her servants know you now?
ELISA: They are asleep.
And there are many families in that building.
The main door to the street will still be open.
Don Juan is living like a prisoner upstairs.970
If I pretend that I am Doña Ana,
He will let me in and we shall see
How we can put my fears to rest.
LEONOR: You are mad!
ELISA: I am beside myself, to coin a phrase.
LEONOR: But first we have to find a cape for you.975
You did not bring one with you in the chair?
ELISA: There are capes in the chest in my room.
LEONOR: You know, there is no cure for jealousy.
You might as well ask blood from a turnip.
ELISA: Tell me at once if you should hear my father.980
LEONOR: Me? And where am I supposed to hide?
ELISA: Coral will put the board between the windows
And you can call me from the balcony.
LEONOR: I see you think his foolish trick will work.
ELISA: Do I have a choice? I must believe it or else.985
Exeunt. Enter Don ALONSO, Don PEDRO, and Don CARLOS with his arm in a sling
CARLOS: While hidden there and listening carefully
I heard her lovely thoughts: that she discreetly
Offered to be mine if only Ana
Accepted Pedro and forgot Don Juan.
Since we now know Don Juan has left Madrid
To travel to Valencia, it looks990
As if there is nothing left to stop us now.
ALONSO: Don Pedro’s choice of Ana obliges us
To see if we can help him in some way.
PEDRO: I am most pleased with such pure loveliness;
Ever since I stayed there as her guest,995
I am happy to adore and worship her.
ALONSO: My niece will follow my advice because
She sees me as her father and besides,
Not only should I tell her everything,
My purpose is to have her tell her cousin1000
That she should start to plan her wedding day,
Her marriage to Don Juan. If she does that,
She will be happy marrying Don Carlos.
PEDRO: Exaggerate a lot, since you must say,
How much I plan to do to make her happy.1005
ALONSO: I am pleased to make her come to accept
Her unexpected fortune which awaits.
I would do so anyway, for myself.
Your involvement really does not matter.
Even though she still must be asleep,1010
She will thank me if I wake her when she hears.
Exeunt. A living room in Doña Ana’s house. ELISA, completely covered by her cape. Enter Don JUAN and CORAL
ELISA: This only proves how far someone will go
When plagued by doubts. But having found you here
Has freed my mind of all uncertainty.
JUAN: Although you may not be uncertain while1015
Good fortune tries to scatter these savage squalls
Across the sea we know as love, remember:
Storms grow fierce as they decrease in size
And hide all hope behind their lowering clouds.
But they will never run my dreams aground,1020
Because your beauty like St. Elmo’s fire
Brings hope. Sit down so we can chart our course
Over treacherous seas. In spite of wind and lightning,
In spite of terror, we can vanquish fear.
ELISA: Guard yourself against my father’s wrath.1025
It knows no bounds; arm yourself with patience,
Because I have to leave you here alone.
JUAN: I am filled with joy because you came.
Since it is late, why are you afraid?
ELISA: I think my father like Argos never sleeps.1030
He watches me. He sees my every move.
JUAN: You could escape across the balconies.
CORAL: And I will make it safe for you while dawn
Begins to plate the sapphire sky in silver.
Exit CORAL
JUAN: Let me have this time with you alone1035
If only for a minute.
ELISA: Why has fate
Declared this war against my peace of mind?
ELISA and Don JUAN sit down with their backs to the door through which Don ALONSO enters. Don JUAN stands up while ELISA remains seated, her face covered by her cape
ALONSO: Heavens! What is this? I heard Elisa.
The lights are on and the door is opened wide!
My niece has risen earlier today!1040
ELISA: (My father! Aside
How did he know that I had left the house?)
To Don JUAN
Now what?
JUAN: Keep covered. Do not show your fear.
ALONSO: Don Juan!
JUAN: Did you need me to help you, Sir?
ALONSO: Tell me what has brought you to this house.
JUAN: The knowledge that its owner is a man1045
Who merits all men’s honest praise; and more,
The kindness he showed me has brought me here.
ALONSO: But I had heard that you were in Valencia.
JUAN: A little wound is not sufficient cause
For me to be away for very long,1050
Especially when I was the one insulted.
ALONSO: Then where is Doña Ana?
JUAN: Her aunt fell ill
And she just had to go to read the will
Since she is one of the heirs.
ALONSO: Who is that?
JUAN: You tell me. What is wrong?1055
ALONSO: Elisa?!
Tell me why you are here so late. Right now!
Is this the way to treat our family’s name?
Is this the way you spoil your reputation?
Is this the way you ruin our family line?
JUAN: Just what are you implying? Are you mad?1060
ALONSO: How dare you speak that way to me, Don Juan.
If I have not completely lost my mind
I should avenge my honor, here and now,
By killing you. And no one would assume
That I had acted wrongly or in haste.1065
I think you used some magic kind of key
Evilly designed to open the door
Which guards our peace of mind and find a way
To ply your evil schemes.
JUAN: Don Alonso! Sir!
Try to keep those wild thoughts in control.1070
Why, it is always such a shame to see
A man whose years earn him good men’s respect
Act imprudently. Two nights ago
You took your daughter from Madrid.
It seems our love offends you very much.1075
If she is still in Lerma, why are you mad?
You imagine everyone disgraces you.
Who has made you see those visions of disgrace?
Now, look. This lady found me here in jail.
Doña Ana went to see her aunt…1080
She is gravely ill, you know. This lady here
Knows how much I do respect her love for me.
I keep good faith with her most generous love,
And she has found the cure for my distress:
Her presence here. And she would like to stay.1085
She trusts her honour to my courtesy
And that is when you entered. Overlook
Appearances. You need the right perspective.
The worries that are plaguing you convince
You every girl you see is your Elisa.1090
Don Carlos blessed Ana’s love for Pedro.
They plan to marry, hoping you consent.
Your ingrate daughter is not in Madrid.
Then why do you forbid what you desire?
ALONSO: Go ahead and try to make me think1095
That I am mad so you can carry off
Your trick more easily. I may be old…
But you should know that my blood is not cold.
JUAN: Calm down.
ALONSO: Malicious tricks do not deserve
A calm reply until that very moment1100
They come face to face with punishment.
How dare you hide this evidence from me!
When I came up, I heard that voice and saw
That cape, that hair, that lovely figure there.
Her hair, her voice, her shape, I know them well.1105
JUAN: Are there not in Madrid a thousand girls
Who wear the same attire?
ALONSO: I can prove
How you have tried to trick me. Let me have
Her cape. I will not wait any more.
He tries to uncover her face but Don JUAN stops him
JUAN: A man should never try to prove his doubts1110
Are true, ignoring common decency,
Especially when he might offend a woman.
So be a gentleman. Remove your hand.
Or else my hand will have no other choice
But to disregard the respect I owe your age,1115
That veneration your silver brows deserve.
ALONSO: So you will not let me see her face?
He lifts the tapestries and strikes the walls
Had I that blade of steel the years retired!
How dare you forge the keys which vice invents!
But let my years examine and confirm1120
That everything I thought was true is so.
Just stay here as you were while I return
To my own house. And if Elisa has gone,
Although it means I risk her reputation,
I have no choice. I have to trust the courts1125
To do what I cannot do for myself.
The courts defend what rights the old retain.
But you forgot this key! You won’t escape!
He removes the key, leaves, and locks them both in. CORAL enters
ELISA: Hurry, Coral! It is dangerous to delay!
CORAL: Our drawbridge is quite safe. Go on across!1130
JUAN: Good-bye, my love, my all. I will not sleep.
My soul will watch like Argos through my eyes
Eluding that disdain which threatens love.
Exeunt. Enter LEONOR and then ELISA
LEONOR: This game has made me mad! Unlike me,
She felt no fear at all.1135
ELISA enters hurriedly, removing her cape
ELISA: Help, Leonor!
Help me remove this cape and hide it! Now!
LEONOR: Your father…. Is he here?
ELISA: What to do?!
Folding the cape
LEONOR: And do you think he saw you with Don Juan?
ELISA: He did. And I will tell you things which are
Too terrible to think about…but later.1140
He caught us both together unaware.
LEONOR: Good God! And did he recognize you then?
ELISA: Well, yes and no. But that is all for now.
So hurry. Hide the cape. Get rid of it.
If he should see it, I am lost for sure!1145
LEONOR: But where in blazes am I going to hide it?
ELISA: In the bed between the mattresses.
But no! He is sure to look there first.
Throw it out the window into the street.
But he will see it then for sure because1150
He is about to come across the street.
LEONOR: Decide at once! What are we going to do?
ELISA: Now wait. Let’s take it down to our own room.
LEONOR: That is even worse because I hear
Your father coming up the stairs right now!1155
ELISA: Then hide it in the sleeves of your dress!
LEONOR: That is the worst idea you had today!
I saw some play where they did that. My father
Sees them all.
ELISA: Then what are we to do?
He’s here!1160
LEONOR: I have a trick I know will work!
Let’s hide it in my hair!
The cape should be of some fine white material. LEONOR takes down her hair and opens the cage which holds it in place and puts the cape inside. ELISA then helps her put her hair back up
ELISA: Now that is clever.
LEONOR: The very best! Now help me fix the part.
ELISA: Those who cry will never learn to laugh.
LEONOR: I’ll be bound if he can find it now.
Now stop! No need to try to make it perfect.1165
From within
ALONSO: Leonor, unlock this door right now, I said!
Enter Don ALONSO and the others
ELISA: Why, Sir! Have you come back again? What’s wrong?
ALONSO: Oh, my God! I must be getting senile.
He looks around the room and touches all the walls and looks into the bedroom
Now how could you have found your way back here?
ELISA: I do not understand what you are saying.1170
Did you expect to find something in here
Behind the drapes? Or hidden under the bed?
ALONSO: Did you really think you would suceed?
Where did you put the cape you wore today?
ELISA: What cape? And when? You are imagining things.1175
ALONSO: When you were with Don Juan.
LEONOR: What do you mean?
Oh, Sir. Have you completely lost your mind?
ELISA: And why would I be caught with him?
ALONSO: Foolish,
Silly girl. I know how far you would go;
Turn out your sleeves, the two of you. That’s right.1180
He inspects the contents of their sleeves
Now let me see what you have in your pockets.
LEONOR: Either you have lost your mind for sure
Or you just want to see what you can get.
ELISA: Oh, father, you are the man I most respect,
What has come over you? Oh Lord! What is wrong?1185
I think something has killed him!
LEONOR: That cannot be.
He is either suffering from some malady
Brought on by all those years or Carlos has had
A witch cast a spell on him.
ELISA: Dear Father!
Please tell me what is wrong!1190
ALONSO: Go ahead
And cry. Try to fool me with your lies.
Could you have put it in the bed?
He goes into the bedroom
ELISA: Why do you
Insist so, Father? I would never do
Any thing to anger you. You are frightening me.
I know I will pay for whatever you imagine1195
To be wrong.
LEONOR: (Why is love always cruel?) Aside
ALONSO: Elisa, try not to be so upset.
I went inside to find your cousin. There
I found Don Juan and seated next to him
A lady who, although she wore a veil,1200
I know was worthy of respect; her dress
Her bearing, her way of moving deceived me so
That trusting in my first impression I
Am sure that I offended them. I locked
Them both inside the room and now I must1205
Go back to let them out and try to ask
Their pardon. What can one expect? I am old!
And where there are gray heads, we alway find
Suspicion, envy, every evil thought.
ELISA: I am not sure I understand your meaning.1210
LEONOR: (Well, that is certainly a clever trick!) Aside
ALONSO: Should I succeed in marrying you to the count,
I will allow you both, as the prize for all
The joy you will have given me, the right
To make a fool of me, if you so choose.1215
It is only fair that you should right the wrong
My relentlessness has caused you both. Now rest.
You should not be up so late. It is almost dawn.
When you are married, these sorrows will be your joy.
Do you love the count a lot?1220
ELISA: Well,…not a lot,
But I will learn to love him …gradually.
LEONOR: That is how it usually is. It does
Not often take us by surprise.
ALONSO: I hear
You say things to him tenderly. Remember:
He is to come with me tonight at ten.1225
I must release Don Juan! And you must find
A way to pardon an old man’s foolishness.
And then you both must go to bed. Right now!
He exits, closing the door
ELISA: Leonor, give me the cape and tell Coral
To put the bridge between the balconies.1230
LEONOR: But why?
ELISA: Don’t you know? Why have I
Gone through this? To be with my Don Juan.
LEONOR: But I think it would be so much the better
For me to go instead and not be seen
By anyone, don’t you? And if I wear1235
The cape, he will be totally confused.
ELISA: And what if he should recognize you? Well?
This cape was the cause of all our trouble.
LEONOR: Enough! Just help me with your dress and cape.
Removing them
ELISA: Alright.1240
Putting on ELISA’s dress
LEONOR: This game is getting complicated.
ELISA: Now the cape.
She puts it on
LEONOR: I am going to call the boatswain.
Ahoy mate! Send the launch ashore for us!
I think I saw the first light of the dawn.
ELISA: There never has been love without intrigue.1245
LEONOR: With enough finesse, I know I will succeed,
And Madrid will long remember all our tricks:
The cape, your hair and these two balconies.
Exeunt. A room in Doña Ana’s house. Don JUAN is alone
JUAN: Oh, child-like deity, do you not know
Your very honor is at stake if you1250
Can not escape the laberynth where you lost
Your way so blindly? Calmly, bring your fires
To light our way through tempests of confusion
And bring us safely home through these wild seas.
Enter LEONOR with a cape covering her face
CORAL: Now go on in and I will raise the bridge.1255
You will be like Leander, not at sea,
But through the air, swimming on the wind.
Exit
JUAN: Tell me, my love, everything that happened.
LEONOR: These tricks and these deceptions cannot help
Our cause any longer since the count1260
Convinced and won my father to his cause.
Those two have overtaken me and I…
…it seems so after all…am to marry!
JUAN: But that just cannot be!
LEONOR: Oh, dear, oh, dear!
Did you not say you wanted Anaxerete?1265
Calm down. Do you not recognize me now?
She reveals her face
JUAN: You have again given me my life.
Explain what this is all about.
LEONOR: No time
To explain events of these last few days.
Sit down just as you were before we were1270
Surprised by Don Alonso and see a miracle.
Don ALONSO and Don ALVARO come to a side door; LEONOR, her face covered again with the cape sits next to Don JUAN. CORAL enters at the end of the scene
ALONSO: This way I will find out the truth, my friend.
Go now and see if Elisa is in her room.
Just take this key and go in quietly.
If I find the lady with the cape is here1275
And if you see my daughter there, I will know
How truly mistaken I was after all.
JUAN: I am certain you will come back pleased.
ALONSO: No. I’ll be ashamed. Forgive me, ma’am,
If I allowed myself to think the worst1280
Because of what you wore…. (Good Lord, the hair Aside
The figure, everything! She is Elisa!)
ALVARO: I simply must know just what is going on.
ALONSO: But do so that no one will notice you.
Exit Don ALVARO
(May Heaven free me from these awful doubts; Aside1285
The cape, the dress…convince me I am right.
But I just left her locked inside her room!
JUAN: Keep your doubts from getting the upper hand.
And let your fears lead to friendship, Sir.
Allow what you yourself have seen to make1290
A place for good will in your heart; and I,
I will think of you and me as friends.
ALONSO: To prove
We are at peace at last, let these two arms
Offer my congratulations! You shall wed
The lady sitting next to you and make1295
Elisa even more content to be
The bride of Count Don Carlos. Doña Ana,
In whose house you are, will marry Pedro.
JUAN: The god of Love shows the power of his realm
By making the impossible come true.1300
I wish all four four centuries of joy.
ALONSO: May Heaven grant you, Juan, a thousand years
To live your life beside such loveliness.
Good-bye. Now take your key. It belongs to you.
Exit
LEONOR: Let’s leave the cape right here because should he1305
Decide to search me there again, there is
No place to hide it.
CORAL: Now come on. Let’s go.
LEONOR: Let’s go, Coral.
CORAL: Have a pleasant trip!
CORAL and LEONOR exeunt
JUAN: The dawn has spilled its seed pearls over the scarlet
Eastern sky. If only it would bless1310
My hope with joy before the swallows sing.
I hear them talking on their balconies.
Elisa’s father had best not harm her or
I will defend her, though it mean my death.
Exit. Enter Don ALONSO and the Count
ALONSO: How good it is to see you up so early.1315
I visited my niece today and know
I will have her and Don Pedro married at once.
CARLOS: Since jealousy so seldom sleeps, its pain
Woke me in fear before the dawn lest I
Should lose my happiness because I slept.1320
ALONSO: Your sensibilities give you away.
Elisa’s love is now completely yours.
ELISA and LEONOR are behind a curtain watching; Don ALVARO, Don CARLOS and Don JUAN, and the others are all now there
LEONOR: “Well, now you are going to get it,” said Agrajes.
ALONSO: Alvaro, you were here all along?
ALVARO: Yes, I was here, displeased and angry, too,1325
Because you did not trust her. So it seemed.
ALONSO: Now that is quite enough. I was mistaken.
JUAN: Don Alonso, you must grant me this:
That it is only right to assure oneself
And overcome all difficulties while1330
I make our wedding plans. Since I found you
Here with the count, without the need to search,
I want to clear all obstacles away.
Just because I praised Elisa’s beauty…
…obviously an error which I never1335
Should have made…this man now steals her love,
Forgetting friendship’s customs and its laws.
There is now every reason to suspect
That once he learns to whom I give my love
That he will change again and leave Elisa.1340
And try to win away the love I won!
I stand before you both to hear you swear
That this will not occur.
ALONSO: You need not fear.
JUAN: Both of you must hear me speak my mind.
If the jewel whom I adore considered you1345
Her father and wished to marry me, would you
Agree?
ALONSO: You say she thinks of me as her father?
JUAN: She swears that it is so.
ALONSO: Who is she, then?
JUAN: The girl you found with me a while ago,
The girl who would not let you see her face.1350
ALONSO: Well, have you ever heard of such a thing?
She claims to be a relative of mine?
JUAN: Because of you she says her blood is royal.
ALONSO: It must be Doña Ana; I am sure of that.
JUAN: That does not matter: Ana, or someone else,1355
What is your reply?
ALONSO: If she had hurt you so
And now that pain has turned back into joy
May Heaven grant you both a hundred years
Of happiness together, and children, too,
To keep your love for life alive.1360
JUAN: Accept
My heartfelt thanks. And you, Don Carlos, agree
To all you have heard said here.
CARLOS: Providing we
Can put an end to any bitterness
Which might remain between us, I agree.
JUAN: Then swear to it.1365
CARLOS: My word is all you need.
JUAN: Then nothing can be done but say good-bye.
ALONSO: But, first, do tell us who your lady is!
JUAN: Trust me for now you must not know her name.
And gentlemen, do not forget your oath.
LEONOR: (Oh, now I understand what he has done!) Aside1370
ELISA and LEONOR withdraw
JUAN: Soon you will see me with the one I love.
Exit
PEDRO: The subtlety of his ingenuity
Has reached the limit of the possible.
ALONSO: I am not sure that I quite understand.
PEDRO: I mean how love, together with men’s wit,1375
Can make events transpire in such a way
That they appear absurd, ridiculous,
But to our dismay they are so sadly true.
ALONSO: And what do you mean now by saying that?
PEDRO: Well, balconies are now a bridge to cross1380
Which people feared because they saw the void.
Come see what ingenuity can do!
CARLOS: Would you explain yourself to me for once?
PEDRO: To understand you really must come see
How men can sail through inlets of the wind.1385
ALONSO: The night has worked her arts again, I say,
Confusing the best minds we have today.
Exeunt. A street outside Doña ANA’s and Don ALONSO’s houses. The two balconies are joined by a wide board scaffold. Don JUAN, CORAL, ELISA and LEONOR are on Doña ANA’s balcony
JUAN: More often, all decisions made with love
Are for the best. You need not fear, Elisa.
ELISA: Too late for fear or even thinking twice.1390
ELISA and Don JUAN walk out onto the scaffold
CORAL: Ladies and gentlemen: Do not quake or tremble.
For none of us would like to fall and crack
Like soft-boiled eggs.
LEONOR: Coral. Do not let go!
LEONOR walks carefully across. CORAL ventures across the scaffold
CORAL: Oh Saint Harlequin protect me now!
I think I heard the old man blow his nose!1395
Don ALONSO looks out from his balcony together with Don CARLOS and Don PEDRO. Don ALONSO and Don CARLOS are on their balcony; ELISA, Don JUAN, CORAL, and LEONOR on the scaffold
ELISA: My father and the count are on the balcony!
We have to turn around and go back in!
ALONSO: What I see cannot be happening!
JUAN: There is no choice: your freedom or I die.
As Don JUAN and ELISA try to return to Doña ANA’s balcony, Doña ANA appears there with Don PEDRO
ANA: A woman! Hidden in my house!!! Don Pedro,1400
The sorrows I have suffered now demand
You make amends somehow for such an outrage!
PEDRO: If you have known great sorrow, just recall
How I have experienced sorrow, but in love.
ANA: Is this the way you pay your debts, Don Juan?1405
Remember how I put myself in danger?
PEDRO: Traitor! Prepare to die by your own design;
The only way you will ever escape is this!
He draws his sword
CARLOS: And this sword, too, will clear the way for rage.
The sword is the only exit for rebellious souls.1410
CARLOS and ALONSO draw their swords
CORAL: This is not a bridge! It’s a trap!
Men will call this the bridge of Mantible,
A bridge where we found giants standing guard.
JUAN: This lady is the one you saw with me,
Her face was hidden by her cape; remember?1415
You swore she would become my wife because
She called you father. Carlos, you swore, too,
And noblemen must keep their word or die.
ELISA: You cannot force another person’s will.
Good Count, like every nobleman you must1420
First triumph o’er yourself; courtesy, then,
Be as great in generosity as in love.
CARLOS: Her reasons and her eloquence deserve
Our respect. From this day on I will protect
Your love and call Don Juan my friend as well.1425
And if your father will have me as well,
I do believe that such a son-in-law
Would bring him happiness also, don’t you?
Although I have not kept myself in check,
I swear that I will be the enemy1430
Of anyone who fails to respect Don Juan.
ALONSO: I have never seen such foolishness!
ELISA: But, father!
LEONOR: My dear, dear man!
ALONSO: Since all of you
Insist, and God has let it be, let Love
Make up the plot, since one old man cannot1435
Withstand so many joined as one together.
JUAN: Your generosity humbles me. (He kneels.)
CARLOS: Then let us reunite our wills again
Although we were disturbed by rivalries,
And forge an ever-lasting peace, a bond1440
Which first appears as Doña Ana gives
Her hand to our Don Pedro.
ANA: And I respect
This pact much more because it comes from you.
To CARLOS
CORAL: Well, since your pure and virgin title still
Remains beyond the bonds of marriage, we have1445
No other choice, both you and I, but to take
Most holy vows and find our monastery.
Which one is most suitable to you?
LEONOR: Oh, no you don’t! For you are mine alone!
CARLOS: Well, then, you mean that there is no escape?1450
Then with this night have ended all our sorrows.
Confusion often ends at break of dawn.
The sun has risen once again and brings
Us peace and joy.
JUAN: So this is how Love has
His way with us and works his miracles!1455
LEONOR: So this is how I ply my trade, my friends!
Remember: in love, never trust a woman.
CORAL: “The Balconies of Madrid” has come to an end.
The poet asks me not to give his name.
