The Marquise of O— (Pushkin Collection) by Heinrich von Kleist

Author:Heinrich von Kleist [Kleist, Heinrich von]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782275305
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Published: 2019-08-28T22:00:00+00:00

Before she could read even halfway through this unprecedented piece the Colonel’s wife was speechless. She glanced fleetingly at the end and gave the sheet back to the Commandant. He read it three times, as if not trusting his own eyes. “Now,” cried his wife, “for heaven’s sake, Lorenzo, tell me what you think?” “Shameless girl!” said he, standing up. “Oh, the cunning hypocrite! Ten times the shamelessness of a bitch combined with the slyness of a fox to the tenth degree wouldn’t take her measure. Such a face! Two such eyes! Those of a cherub are not more faithful!”—and he moaned on, unable to stop. “But what in all the world,” asked his wife, “if it’s cunning, can she be aiming at?” “What she’s aiming at? Her disgraceful trickery,” responded the Commandant: “she wants to get away with it by force. She and he have learnt it all by heart—the story she wants to pass off on us both on the 3rd at 11 o’clock in the morning. My dear little daughter, am I supposed to say, I didn’t know that, who could have thought it, forgive me, take my blessing and let’s forgive each other. But let a bullet take the man who crosses my threshold on the 3rd! It would surely be better for me to get him out of the house using the servants.” After reading the news-sheet again, his wife said that if she had to believe one of two incomprehensible things, she would choose an unprecedented turn of fate over such despicable behaviour of her otherwise so excellent daughter. But even before she had finished, the Commandant cried out: “Be so kind as to be quiet!” and left the room. “I hate even hearing about it.”

A few days later the Commandant received a letter from the Marquise about this newspaper item in which she begged him, with the deepest respect and affection, because she had lost the grace and favour of being allowed in his house, kindly to send the person, who—on the 3rd in the morning—would reveal himself to him, out to her in V—. His wife had just got up when the Commandant received this letter and noticed clearly from his face that he was in a state of total confusion, for if he was being deceived, what motive could he attribute to their daughter, as she seemed to make no request for forgiveness? Emboldened by this, she revealed a plan she had long carried in her breast, beset with such doubt as it was. While the Commandant still sat staring at the sheet with a blank look on his face, she said that she had an idea. Would he allow her to go out to V— for one or two days? In which case she would, if the Marquise already knew the unknown man who answered her through the paper, know how to put her in a situation in which she would be bound to betray herself, even if she were the most cunning deceiver.

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