The Just by Albert Camus

Author:Albert Camus [Camus, Albert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Military / War
Publisher: http://c3jemx2ube5v5zpg.onion
Published: 1949-09-14T17:00:00+00:00

Act Four

A cell in Pougatchev section of Boutirki Prison. Morning. When the curtain rises,

Kaliayev is in his cell and is looking at the door. A guard and a prisoner carrying a

bucket enter.

Guard: Clean it. And fast. (He stands by the window. Foka starts cleaning without

looking at Kaliayev. Silence.)

Kaliayev: What's your name, brother?

Foka: Foka.

Kaliayev: You're a prisoner?

Foka: Sure seems like it.

Kaliayev: What did you do?

Foka: Murder.

Kaliayev: Were you hungry?

Guard: Not so loud.

Kaliayev: What?

Guard: Not so loud. I'm letting you talk even though there's a rule against it. So don't talk

so loud. Like the old guy.

Kaliayev: Were you hungry?

Foka: No, I was thirsty.

Kaliayev: And then?

Foka: There was an ax. I smashed everything. Apparently I killed three people. (Kaliayev

looks at him.) Oh, so now I'm not your brother anymore, nobleman? You give me the

cold shoulder?

Kaliayev: No. I killed someone too.

Foka: How many?

Kaliayev: I'll tell you if you want, brother. But answer me this, you regret what happened,

don't you?Foka: Of course. Twenty years, that's a lot. It gives you regrets.

Kaliayev: Twenty years. I'd come in 23 years old, and I'd leave with gray hair.

Foka: Oh, it might be better for you. Judges have their ups and downs. It depends on if

they're married and to who. And you, you're a noble. You won't get the same penalty as

for us poor guys. You can relax.

Kaliayev: I don't believe it. And I don't want it that way. I couldn't keep up this shame for

twenty years.

Foka: Shame? What shame? That's a nobleman's fancy thinking. How many did you kill?

Kaliayev: Just one.

Foka: What do you mean? That's nothing.

Kaliayev: I killed the Grand Duke Serge.

Foka: The Grand Duke? Huh! The way you guys go at it. Look at these nobles! Was it

serious, tell me?

Kaliayev: It was serious. But it was necessary.

Foka: Why? You lived at court. It was over a woman, right? Handsome as you are...

Kaliayev: I am a socialist.

Guard: Not so loud.

Kaliayev, louder: I am a revolutionary socialist.

Foka: There's a story there. Why do you need to be like that? You only have to stay

where you were and everything would go great. The world is made for you nobles.

Kaliayev: No, it is made for you. There's too much misery and too many crimes. When

there is less misery, there will be fewer crimes. If the world were free, you wouldn't be in

here.

Foka: Yes and no. In the end, whether you're free or not, it's never good to drink too

much.

Kaliayev: No, it's never good. But people only drink because they're humiliated. A time

will come when it will no longer be necessary to drink, when no one will be ashamed,

neither noble nor poor guy. We'll all be brothers, and justice will make our hearts crystal

clear. Do you know what I mean?Foka: Yes, that's the Kingdom of Heaven.

Guard: Not so loud.

Kaliayev: You don't need to say that, brother. God can't do anything. Justice is our

business! (Silence.) Don't you understand? Do you know the legend of Saint Dmitri?

Foka: No.

Kaliayev: He had a meeting on the steppe with God Himself, and he was hurrying to get

there when he met a peasant whose wagon was stuck in the mud.

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