Ghosts - Henrik Ibsen (e reader books txt) š
- Author: Henrik Ibsen
Book online Ā«Ghosts - Henrik Ibsen (e reader books txt) šĀ». Author Henrik Ibsen
in other ways?
Mrs. Alving
Can it be only a superstitionā ā?
Oswald
Yes; surely you can see that, Mother. Itās one of those notions that are current in the world, and soā ā
Mrs. Alving
Deeply moved. Ghosts!
Oswald
Crossing the room. Yes; you may call them ghosts.
Mrs. Alving
Wildly. Oswaldā āthen you donāt love me, either!
Oswald
You I know, at any rateā ā
Mrs. Alving
Yes, you know me; but is that all!
Oswald
And, of course, I know how fond you are of me, and I canāt but be grateful to you. And then you can be so useful to me, now that I am ill.
Mrs. Alving
Yes, cannot I, Oswald? Oh, I could almost bless the illness that has driven you home to me. For I see very plainly that you are not mine: I have to win you.
Oswald
Impatiently. Yes yes yes; all these are just so many phrases. You must remember that I am a sick man, Mother. I canāt be much taken up with other people; I have enough to do thinking about myself.
Mrs. Alving
In a low voice. I shall be patient and easily satisfied.
Oswald
And cheerful too, Mother!
Mrs. Alving
Yes, my dear boy, you are quite right. Goes towards him. Have I relieved you of all remorse and self-reproach now?
Oswald
Yes, you have. But now who will relieve me of the dread?
Mrs. Alving
The dread?
Oswald
Walks across the room. Regina could have been got to do it.
Mrs. Alving
I donāt understand you. What is this about dreadā āand Regina?
Oswald
Is it very late, Mother?
Mrs. Alving
It is early morning. She looks out through the conservatory. The day is dawning over the mountains. And the weather is clearing, Oswald. In a little while you shall see the sun.
Oswald
Iām glad of that. Oh, I may still have much to rejoice in and live forā ā
Mrs. Alving
I should think so, indeed!
Oswald
Even if I canāt workā ā
Mrs. Alving
Oh, youāll soon be able to work again, my dear boyā ānow that you havenāt got all those gnawing and depressing thoughts to brood over any longer.
Oswald
Yes, Iām glad you were able to rid me of all those fancies. And when Iāve got over this one thing moreā āSits on the sofa. Now we will have a little talk, Motherā ā
Mrs. Alving
Yes, let us. She pushes an armchair towards the sofa, and sits down close to him.
Oswald
And meantime the sun will be rising. And then you will know all. And then I shall not feel this dread any longer.
Mrs. Alving
What is it that I am to know?
Oswald
Not listening to her. Mother, did you not say a little while ago, that there was nothing in the world you would not do for me, if I asked you?
Mrs. Alving
Yes, indeed I said so!
Oswald
And youāll stick to it, Mother?
Mrs. Alving
You may rely on that, my dear and only boy! I have nothing in the world to live for but you alone.
Oswald
Very well, then; now you shall hearā āMother, you have a strong, steadfast mind, I know. Now youāre to sit quite still when you hear it.
Mrs. Alving
What dreadful thing can it beā ā?
Oswald
Youāre not to scream out. Do you hear? Do you promise me that? We will sit and talk about it quietly. Do you promise me, Mother?
Mrs. Alving
Yes, yes; I promise. Only speak!
Oswald
Well, you must know that all this fatigueā āand my inability to think of workā āall that is not the illness itselfā ā
Mrs. Alving
Then what is the illness itself?
Oswald
The disease I have as my birthrightā āHe points to his forehead and adds very softlyā āis seated here.
Mrs. Alving
Almost voiceless. Oswald! Noā āno!
Oswald
Donāt scream. I canāt bear it. Yes, Mother, it is seated here waiting. And it may break out any dayā āat any moment.
Mrs. Alving
Oh, what horrorā ā!
Oswald
Now, quiet, quiet. That is how it stands with meā ā
Mrs. Alving
Springs up. Itās not true, Oswald! Itās impossible! It cannot be so!
Oswald
I have had one attack down there already. It was soon over. But when I came to know the state I had been in, then the dread descended upon me, raging and ravening; and so I set off home to you as fast as I could.
Mrs. Alving
Then this is the dreadā ā!
Oswald
Yesā āitās so indescribably loathsome, you know. Oh, if it had only been an ordinary mortal diseaseā ā! For Iām not so afraid of deathā āthough I should like to live as long as I can.
Mrs. Alving
Yes, yes, Oswald, you must!
Oswald
But this is so unutterably loathsome. To become a little baby again! To have to be fed! To have toā āOh, itās not to be spoken of!
Mrs. Alving
The child has his mother to nurse him.
Oswald
Springs up. No, never that! That is just what I will not have. I canāt endure to think that perhaps I should lie in that state for many yearsā āand get old and grey. And in the meantime you might die and leave me. Sits in Mrs. Alvingās chair. For the doctor said it wouldnāt necessarily prove fatal at once. He called it a sort of softening of the brainā āor something like that. Smiles sadly. I think that expression sounds so nice. It always sets me thinking of cherry-coloured velvetā āsomething soft and delicate to stroke.
Mrs. Alving
Shrieks. Oswald!
Oswald
Springs up and paces the room. And now you have taken Regina from me. If I could only have had her! She would have come to the rescue, I know.
Mrs. Alving
Goes to him. What do you mean by that, my darling boy? Is there any help in the world that I would not give you?
Oswald
When I got over my attack in Paris, the doctor told me that when it comes againā āand it will comeā āthere will be no more hope.
Mrs. Alving
He was heartless enough toā ā
Oswald
I demanded it of him. I told him I had preparations to makeā āHe smiles cunningly. And so I had. He takes a little box from his inner breast pocket and opens it. Mother, do you see this?
Mrs. Alving
What is it?
Oswald
Morphia.
Mrs. Alving
Looks at him horror-struck. Oswaldā āmy
Free e-book Ā«Ghosts - Henrik Ibsen (e reader books txt) šĀ» - read online now
Similar e-books:
Comments (0)