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Mario Frami ---Translated h Marguerita Carra ori-rlua"
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THE SUICIDE
A
One Act

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CHanacrBns

Tnr

HusseNo

Tnn Wrre Tnu Morrrnn

The present. In ltaty.

weeps_softly while

iri-i .room,-hanging from"the very dim one oyer the sink. The-wrcn, extremely"nn uour,
putting things in order. fn, ",rr"o*o-i, Italian magizine.*

in

ScnNr: A modest kitchen. Two lamps are lighted: a bright one the-.center of the ,uihrgi

seated reading an

Wrcn fAfter a morczntll Wfrat time is it? HussaNo lWithout looking at his wristwatch, which he has checked many times.]:- Iis ten past eleven.
[His wrnn turns her back to him, stiT sobbing. Noticing this and unable to read, he warks ouni to the raiio to turi ub the ttolume;.finding,that it w_a.s aII the wdy up, h"l;r;;;; n"2 rage. His wrrs looks at hhn with graiitud.e.] "#

From a small radio we hear iazz. HussaNn lTo his wtnn, who dnnoys him with her crying.l: Stoo that cryingt lIIe turns ut, the yolurte oS tne ,"aiii""'ii"i Jk __!he sgund of her crying'.1

Wmr [Tlmi!]y.l:._What time

was it the night you . . . ? flusseNo: When I threw the plate at her?-Around ten. lLong pause. Both pretend to be busy; she at the sink, he with his magazinel however they are boii extremely
upset.l Hu.sneNo fAggressively, noticing the look she has given him from tne corner her eye.l: Why look at me?

nervous and

suppose

* Such as Oggi, Epoca, Europeo.

it's my fault

.of

fGesturing.l if she's late! fpausej'Wf,y ili "t;;

Why?1

3t6
answer? Answer

Mario Fratti

mel What do you want to tell me? What are you reproaching me for? I suppose it's that business with the olive oil? Wrcn fTurns toward him angrily; stares at him. A tense pause. Slowly.l: Then you knew iitoo, yo,r-knerv that she ;;r';;;,

that .

Hu_ssnNo

lcesturing.l:,,Hurt"? ! Wrat,s she got to be hurt about? Why? For takine"ih. bottl" ,*"ilI1"'.frL U"r, and can use,a llttle. oil since # g;;;_and she is a guest, here, y"ou know-just pour it on. yfneiel, a tunsn- iri,,ry i;;i

rr.r;;il;,

wr'r:

words.l room,

she was in tears at the table. Later she cried in the other

Wrrr:To..,?Goon. HylneNn [Cautiously.]: to do something

to continue.f Wrl'n: You started to say something

HusseNn: That one? She^can cry at the drop of a hat! Remember the story of the pears? She-was pr"t*aing to cry. I watched her. She was embarra-ssed. That's *f,i,n.-rfr"ifr"rr"if up ini;";;; being put on the spot. you don't cry because the boss I rrle house_l_hands out or :::t9 the portions. Haven,t I the ,ighti I.et's not forget ir's I ylo T.rly th; to;d;,-pay the biils. lH":;;;, paces.nervously. To ltimself .l Only three pears to a kilol How would you manase? Do I find the'money iying th; g;;;;; I earn it mvself.lrith ttr.r. t;;h";;;i ",' iHe beats his cauoused hands.l . . .I divide.the food d;"lt;'.q"ally I say_and I mean four equal portions. Even *y ,# gets an equal portion, my own son, my own flesh and blooj. But ihe . fni-^[Irri"i of scorn is weakened bv the severe glance his wruu. pauset. He still walks about_ nervously, lSoking frotn at his watci. i;;;', you can :!r:uasto himself .]. at U. sure shei not about to '. . . lHe rrre stops hls wrrn tooks hint with tears in ;;

;";i

crazy. No normal ---' prson would, just because she had a bottle Jf oit t"t .n Lrlrs wrFE's gaze is so painftil that he does not huye the

"r",

",oirrogn

you were thinking . .. lPause.l HussaNo lAdmitting it.]: I.was ,,thinking,,, maybe. She could do anyth.ing. She'icraiy. At least, I thi;k she,s crazy. I know you don't think so. you're a"ughil; and you know her better-you're the one who -f.", bro"gtt?;; h"r., und.r my nose.
else.

THE

SUICIDE

317

[Without conviction.] She's stubborn, that one. She does all right for herself in this world. lAware of his wrFE's suftering, he controls himself . Pause.) Is it my fault? Is it my fault? Tell me . . . I do my best. I try to be kind. What can I do with the Iittle I earn? The fruit, for example. Is it my fault if there isn't any? She wouldn't touch it, she refused. She was being stubborn not to eat any. We've saved by not buying it, by getting along without it. A saving . . . a saving that lets all of us-and that means her, too-a saving that lets all of us have more meat and some vegetables. And always equal portions. You dish them out Actually, you favor your mother-sornetimes And I keep quiet. She uses my shoe polish for her shoes . . And I keep quiet; my toothpaste . . . and I keep quiet. What more do you want? What do you expect? lPlaintitely.l And the little gift for her birthday, and the new shawl, and the little bit of cream in her coffee-she's the only one who takes it . . . lFlinghq his arms.) More than thatl . . . lTrying to iustify himse_lf ; f earin g the w or st, he often glances at his w atch hnpatiently.l ; Have I ever laid a hand on her? . . . After all, I've a right too, you know! I'm th,^ boss here! . . . llronically.l "The boss." I can't even walk around in my shorts if I want to. Only two rooms and she's always underfoot. I don't know how she manages to be everywhere. Even "there," always when I have to . . . lAlarmed by his wrrs's sobs.] Months ago, when I threw the plate . . . do you remember? It was during the time when the-y were threatening to lay us off. I was furious-the boy was in bed, sick, we needed her to go to the drugstore, and where was she? . . . She was out-who knows wherel-I could have killed her! On top of everything, I should have to worry about her too? ! If she breaks her leg, or ends up in jail . . . or in helll I've my son to think about; I have my wifel lLIe is worried; goes toward his wrrB who ayoids him.l Even our life has changed, thanks to her . . . We've no privacy. We're like strangers, -you and L If we quarrel, it's because of her. Because I've counted the rolls, measured the wine, given her share to the boy.lshouting.'l P^o1't I have the right to? Do I have the righi, y.s o, ""oi fCalming himself; lrc w4nts a word from his wtrn, who ayoids him; she fears, as he does, perhaps more than he, the irreparable; long tense pause.) She's probably with one of her friends . . . gossiping about us even about you .. . because she,s

Mario Fratti
318

not iealous fwrrr looks at him with surprise; she does you '""i*iro"A, ie explains.l. . ' that I give you money' that how she U"V iftfrrgs, m"ke you, o*" decisions' I've seen """ ;;i"h;; yoo ii ih" "u"ni,,g when you're working on-your bud.sgt' him And it wouldn't surprise me if ' ' ' lThe wrcn looks at of theft iiii ru,prool. He chinges his mind and the accusation But.if anoihed. Pause.) It'i no use' Let's forget it' lPouse')
iLs'

looks at him vou think she appieciates your care ' ' ' lHis wrnn im-nint frIted'with teari; he drops the argument' Try.ing n$ .to of "washlng iustify himsetf.f In any case ' -' ' lGesture for giving her- a 'honir."1l deierve, if nothing els9,-!he credit and I roof and for feeding her. lFiimlyl No, it's not my fault pduse' No reply from il6"-;"; ;gree wiih -" ott thii' flong by iil "L*pt"iely deiected w,"e, who is upsetmust admit that .*o,'dt.*1t" You confirm her own fears'lYou must.speak' blame I've always tried io do *y best' I'm not to blame' No

Wrrn flooking at him sadlY): If ' she HussaNn lAftZr a pause]: .

$azy

if...

',' ' really thinking! You know that Wrtt,' That's not what you't" f.rom a:y:ne' she's never complained. She wouldnlt ask sympathl Why should she? What have I done HusseNn: Sympailty, why?
..-.peakty.l If
she goes complat:i"g lo-someone

' ?. decides

to do something

Wmn [Insistent, severe.l: That's not wh-at-you're thinking', don't HusseNo lAfter a pause; with false irony in his voice'l: You ,,iuicide"! ? Not that one! while the wrsn stares lPause mean oiil"*1All right she's . . - lGesture indicating insanity')You know her better than I. You know that Wt"t tBtpl oding.): We've tortured her ' ' ' You and I' You-I' all over petty' even the little one, copying us of ui . miserabletrifles... Hussexp: Tortured her? We? Who's taken the bread out of his mouth for her? Who? Your sister? Did your sister want her? Oh no. She's clever lSeized by a sudden thought'l And now ' ' ' She'll have the nerve, yes, she'll have the nerve to accuse us ' ' ' wrra fSadlT , at this final'confirntation.]: You're even thinking that! . . . ttti"i.lng that . . . Oh, it's my fau1t, all my faultl I'm, her daughterl-i!-It was my duty io take care of her, to help

to her?

her...

TIIE

SUICIDE

319

fault' It's the Hussexp lTrying to convince her'l : It's--not your'oli people ' to live badly ' ' ' The time comes ' sad fate'of in their lives whin ihey realize they're a burden and ' ' ' thinkWtt-iOrtl.sivety.l: I'm goingl I'm-goingto see ' ' ' You're it' too' ing tire ,"*", [hL same thing ' ' '-Too believe It's .useless Whatever has H;;;;"" lHoidlng her baci]: --;;;;"""h It's better to wait here' At to hei . . . It'' "seless'this, that it's not our fault' i"iri, t"f, convince ourselves of It's better to PrePare . . . Wmn [Alarmad]: What? PrePare what? to others''' HusuaNot . . . wiratto say''' to yoot sister''' time is it? Wrnr [Conwlsively.): What this late' H.rr"oio lDetayingder.]' It's la-te' She's never stayed out trying to get some :y.TPathy i; ' Mavbe ih.', .o.iplrining and I\o' or ioaybe she's begging to be-put up for the ntght by now ' ' ' And you know ii', iniporriute. w??a i.ett totd good woman ly *ftJ*z She herself ' ' ' out of guilt ' " She's aat times brusque with her .'. I realize that I've bden th-"..*"tk, the worries; even the air lWith regr-':, sincerely.) ltt One needs here costs money. Uultyttti"g falls on,my shoulders' one needs to have money not to f""." of mind io be kind; sections of an orange' I've always iount the drops of oil or the lt.r, poo, thlng ' ' ' Do you realize that even my mother tlt "d tftis wayz She;s being fed crumbs enduring every ii".s I've always humiliation It's not riy fault, I swear it respect ior the old' I remember ' ' ' many had veneration and when I *", .hild, an old woman asked me to help y."r, "go, some steps. I even gave her two pennies-it was all her down I had. She didn't want it. she ivas rich . . . I didn't understand, then, the difference between a rich person and a Poor one' To me old age went hand in hand with misery ' ' ' I thought

itwasarule"oflife.Andthatevenmymothermust'someday' stretch out her hand ' . 'lHu is greatly moved and tender')
'St

this moment fhe wrnn's onbrtrsn dppears j: t!" doorway'.. u ;, very humble. The nusBlNo iumps to his feet in great does not surprise, transformed- The daughter is surprised but hu' ttus"'e*o, who is tense' ready dare to show her relief fearing

lAt

toattack.Theoldwomdntimidlymo|estowardthetablebut
does not have

the courdge to sit down')

32o

Mario Fratti

Husselro firritated; sarcastic; making a deep bow]: Won't you sit down, duchess? lHe gets the plate with the old woman's supper and almost throws it on the table.) Buon appetitol ffery sarcastic.f Or would you like me to warm it up for you? [It is eyident that he has no intentiott of doing sol rather, he would like to strike her. The old womdn does not dare to eat.] HusseNo lWith anger, yery aggressive.): Where have you been, old woman? Where? Where? Where? You're driving us crazy,

you... Wmr fW'ith

some gentleness.fz He's right, Mamma Mornsn lLooking only at her daughter; with humility.l: I fell asleep . . . at the cemetery . . . Hussexp: At the cemetery? With his hands to his face.l Oh, my

God, what next?

Mornm-[Timidly.]: It's a year today . . . since your little daughter ...I bought a few flowers and.. .lLorgpause.Thetwo had
forgotten the date.f HusseNp fEmbarrassed.] Flowers . . . Flowers lSuddenty, to his wrru.] Where did she get the mouey? Did you give it to her?

lA reprottinglook from the wrcn makes him regret this. He goes out slamming the door, turns back and turns ofi the centrat light; leattes, rrut:ttering to himself . OnIy the dim light tamp at right remnins. The daughter is moved, but does not haye the courage to show her any affection. She puts things in order for a bit, then follows har H\JSBAND out. The old ntornnn, dlone, bent by the weight of living, nibbles the food without desire.f Curtain