Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1963, Side 97

know thyself
79
sacrifice. I begrudge you any plea-
sure with Firefly.
The Voice: After a long, arduous
struggie Firefly and I are together
at last. We love each other with all
°ur hearts. Don’t separate us; do
your share to enable us to live
happily together for a long, long
time. You don’t have to lay down
your life for us; all you have to do is
t° go on living.
K^orm: I can’t live on to accommo-
date you and Firefly. I can’t relin-
quish my death for you.
The Voice: If you rid me of my life;
you die my death, you deprive
Firefly of the happiness which she
Fas spent her life pursuing.
tVorm: I begrudge her any hap-
Pmess with you.
The Voice: As long as I live, Firefly
lives.Whether she will live after my
^eath, I don’t know. Maybe I am the
^iek on which her light burns. If
y°u turn down the wick, she may
die.
^orm (after some reflection): Al-
tjough she has barred me from
aradise, I don’t want to cause the
eath of her soul. Therefore I
'•'•’ouldn’t commit suicide even if I
ad a weapon handy.
The Voice (now identical with
'y°rm’s own voice): You would
realize the truth if you knew
^ue. If you saw me> y0U might re-
Cognize me and find happiness at
last.
^orm (hoarse): Don’t let me see
you- I don’t want to know you. If I
saw y0U; j should kill you! You have
lured Firefly away from me. You
have taken the orchard away from
me. You have robbed me of all that
is good and dearly beloved. And
now, when life is unbearable and
when nothing but everlasting rest
could bring relief, you prevent me
from dying. Whether visible or in-
visible, you are the symbol of my
unhappiness.
The Voice: You shall see me.
Worm (menaoingly): Be careful!
(Begins to look in the bed for some-
thing that isn’t there.)
Firefly’s light illumines the scene as
in Act II; the vegetable garden is
seen through the window and the
door. The light disappears suddenly.
Again the scene is lit; the orchard
is visible through the window and
the door. Then it turns dark once
more. The light goes on for the third
time, shining more brightly than be-
fore; again the orchard is seen
through the window and the door,
and Worm, as he looked in Act II, is
seen standing in the doorway.
Worm (the patient in bed, seeing
himself): I know you! (Sinks back
dead.)
Firefly is seen outside the window,
holding up the hem of her mantle to
both sides; her dress is aglow. Worm
leaves the doorway; is seen at Fire-
fly’s side. They look through the
window at Worm’s body in the bed;
hem of her mantle drop. Total dark-
ness. Silence.
CURTAIN