Savva and the Life of Man: Two plays by Leonid AndreyevAndreyev, Leonid
General
Savva and the Life of Man: Two plays by Leonid Andreyev
Andreyev, Leonid
Russian drama -- Translations into English
_[They go out one after the other, repeating the last phrases. One
couple after the other stop dancing and follow the Guests in silence.
For some time a single couple remain circling on the floor, but they
too join the others at last. The musicians, however, continue to play,
making the same desperate effort. The lackey turns out the electric
lights, leaving only one light in the farthest chandelier. The figures
of the musicians are vaguely seen in the dim light, swaying to and
fro with their instruments. The outline of Someone in Gray is sharply
visible. The flame of the candle flickers, illuminating His stony face
and chin with a garish, yellow light. He turns around without raising
his head, walks slowly and calmly through the whole length of the
room, and disappears through the door through which Man passed out._
CURTAIN
THE FOURTH SCENE
MAN'S MISFORTUNE
_A large, gloomy, quadrangular room, with dark watts, dark floor, and
dark ceiling. There are two high, curtainless windows with eight panes
in the rear watt, and between them a small, low door. Two similar
windows appear in the right wall. Night glooms through the windows,
and when the door opens, the same deep blackness of night stares into
the room. In general, however bright Man's rooms may be, the vast
darkness of the windows engulfs the light.
On the left wall there is nothing but a small, low door leading to
the rest of the house. At the window on the right stands a broad sofa
covered with dark oilcloth. Man's desk is very simple and poor. On it
are seen a dimly burning, shaded lamp, a sheet of yellow paper with
a sketch drawn on it, and a lot of toys--little peaked cap, a wooden
horse without a tail, and a red, long-nosed clown with bells. Between
the windows there is an old dilapidated bookcase entirely empty. The
visible lines of dust left by the books show that they must have been
removed recently. The room has only one chair.
In the darkest corner stands Someone in Gray called He. The candle in
his hand is now no longer than it is thick. The wax is running over a
little. The stump burns with a reddish, flickering light, and casts a
red sheen on His stony face and chin.
The only remaining servant of Man, an Old Woman, is sitting on
the chair. She speaks in an even voice, addressing an imaginary
companion._
OLD WOMAN
There! Man has slipped back into poverty. He had a lot of valuable
things, horses and carriages, and even an automobile. Now he has
nothing. Of all his servants I am the only one left. There are still
some good things in here and in two other rooms. There's the sofa and
the bookcase. But in the other twelve rooms there's not a thing. They
are dark and empty. Rats run around in them day and night and fight
and squeak. People are afraid, but I'm not. It's all the same to me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account