Rosmersholm Part 21

Kroll. I wanted to make one more effort to stop you, and win you back.

Rosmer (pointing to the newspaper). After that?

Kroll. I did not write it.

Rosmer. Did you take any steps to prevent its appearing?

Kroll. That would have been acting unjustifiably towards the cause I serve. And, besides that, I had no power to prevent it.

Rebecca (tears the newspaper into pieces, which she crumples up and throws into the back of the stove). There! Now it is out of sight; let it be out of mind too. Because there will be no more of that sort of thing, John.

Kroll. Indeed, I wish you could ensure that.

Rebecca. Come, and let us sit down, dear--all three of us. Then I will tell you all about it.

Rosmer (sitting down involuntarily). What has come over you, Rebecca?

You are so unnaturally calm--What is it?

Rebecca. The calmness of determination. (Sits down.) Please sit down too, Mr. Kroll. (He takes a seat on the couch.)

Rosmer. Determination, you say. Determination to do what?

Rebecca. I want to give you back what you need in order to live your life. You shall have your happy innocence back, dear friend.

Rosmer. But what do you mean?

Rebecca. I will just tell you what happened. That is all that is necessary.

Rosmer. Well?

Rebecca. When I came down here from Finmark with Dr. West, it seemed to me that a new, great, wide world was opened to me. Dr. West had given me an erratic sort of education--had taught me all the odds and ends that I knew about life then. (Has an evident struggle with herself, and speaks in barely audible tones.) And then--

Kroll. And then?

Rosmer. But, Rebecca--I know all this.

Rebecca (collecting herself). Yes--that is true enough. You know it only too well.

Kroll (looking fixedly at her). Perhaps it would be better if I left you.

Rebecca. No, stay where you are, dear Mr. Kroll. (To ROSMER.) Well, this was how it was. I wanted to play my part in the new day that was dawning--to have a share in all the new ideas. Mr. Kroll told me one day that Ulrik Brendel had had a great influence over you once, when you were a boy. I thought it might be possible for me to resume that influence here.

Rosmer. Did you come here with a covert design?

Rebecca. What I wanted was that we two should go forward together on the road towards freedom--always forward, and further forward! But there was that gloomy, insurmountable barrier between you and a full, complete emanc.i.p.ation.

Rosmer. What barrier do you mean?

Rebecca. I mean, John, that you could never have attained freedom except in the full glory of the suns.h.i.+ne. And, instead of that, here you were--ailing and languis.h.i.+ng in the gloom of such a marriage as yours.

Rosmer. You have never spoken to me of my marriage in that way, before to-day.

Rebecca. No, I did not dare, for fear of frightening you.

Kroll (nodding to ROSMER). You hear that!

Rebecca (resuming). But I saw quite well where your salvation lay--your only salvation. And so I acted.

Rosmer. How do you mean--you acted?

Kroll. Do you mean that?

Rebecca. Yes, John. (Gets up.) No, do not get up. Nor you either, Mr.

Kroll. But we must let in the daylight now. It was not you, John. You are innocent. It was I that lured--that ended by luring--Beata into the tortuous path--

Rosmer (springing up). Rebecca!

Kroll (getting up). Into the tortuous path!

Rebecca. Into the path that--led to the mill-race. Now you know it, both of you.

Rosmer (as if stunned). But I do not understand--What is she standing there saying? I do not understand a word--

Kroll. Yes, yes. I begin to understand.

Rosmer. But what did you do? What did you find to tell her? Because there was nothing--absolutely nothing!

Rebecca. She got to know that you were determined to emanc.i.p.ate yourself from all your old prejudices.

Rosmer. Yes, but at that time I had come to no decision.

Rebecca. I knew that you soon would come to one.

Kroll (nodding to ROSMER). Aha!

Rosmer. Well--and what more? I want to know everything now.

Rebecca. Some time afterwards, I begged and implored her to let me leave Rosmersholm.

Rosmer. Why did you want to leave here--then?

Rebecca. I did not want to. I wanted to remain where I was. But I told her that it would be best for us all if I went away in time. I let her infer that if I remained here any longer I could not tell what-what-might happen.

Rosmer. That is what you said and did, then?

Rebecca. Yes, John.

Rosmer. That is what you referred to when you said that you "acted"?