The Doll - Bolesaw Prus [193]
Suddenly (goodness knows why) I began suspecting that Staś’s unexpected departure was connected with politics. I therefore decided to cross-examine Szuman and, wishing to catch him out, said: ‘It looks to me as if Wokulski is … in love, as it were.’
The doctor stopped dead on the pavement and, leaning on his stick, began laughing in a way that attracted the attention of the (fortunately) few passers-by: ‘Ha ha! Have you only just made that monumental discovery? Ha ha! This old fellow pleases me …’
It was a ridiculous joke. However, I bit my lip and retorted. ‘It was easy to make that discovery, even for someone … less skilled than I am (I think I caught him there!). But I prefer being cautious even in supposing things, Mr Szuman … In any case, I never dreamed that such an ordinary thing as love could bring about such havoc in a man.’
‘You are mistaken, old man,’ the doctor replied with a gesture. ‘Love is an ordinary thing in nature and even to God, if you like. But your stupid civilisation, based on Roman views long since dead and buried, on the interests of the papacy, troubadours, asceticism, the caste system and such-like rubbish has turned a natural feeling into — guess what? — a disease of the nervous system! Your supposedly chivalrous and romantic love is nothing more than a hideous commerce based on dishonesty, which is very properly punished by the lifelong imprisonment known as marriage … Woe to those who bring their hearts to such a market-place! How much talent, even life it devours … I know this very well,’ he went on, breathless with rage, ‘for although I’m a Jew and will remain one till the day I die, I was nevertheless brought up among your people and was even engaged to marry a Christian girl … Well, and they forced us to make so many compromises in our plans, they watched over us so tenderly in the name of religion, morality, tradition and goodness knows what else — that she died and I tried to poison myself … A man as clever as I am, and as bald.’
He stopped again on the sidewalk. ‘Believe me, Ignacy,’ he concluded in a hoarse voice, ‘you will not find anything as vile as human beings, not even among the animals. In Nature, the male belongs to the female who pleases him and whom he pleases. So there are no idiots among the animals. But among us! I am a Jew, so am not allowed to love a Christian woman … He is in trade, so he has no right to a well-born lady … And you, who have no money, have no right at all to any woman whatsoever. Your civilisation is rotten! I’d gladly perish, provided its ruins came down on top of me …’
We walked on to the corner. A damp wind had been blowing up for some minutes, and was driving straight at us: the stars began to disappear in the west, veiled in clouds. There were fewer street-lamps. From time to time a carriage drove along the Boulevard, bespattering us with invisible dust: late passers-by were hurrying home.
‘It’s going to rain … Staś will be nearly at Grodzisk by now,’ I thought. The doctor had pulled his hat down over his eyes and was walking along, brooding crossly. I felt more and more wretched, perhaps on account of the growing darkness. I’d never tell anyone this, but sometimes it seemed to me that Staś … no longer cared about politics, because he was quite at the beck and call of that young lady. I once mentioned something of this to him and his reply by no means decreased my suspicions.
‘Is it possible,’ I exclaimed, ‘that Wokulski should have forgotten general matters, politics, Europe?’
‘Not to mention Portugal,’ the doctor interposed.
This cynicism outraged me: ‘You mock,’ I said, ‘but you cannot deny that Staś could be something better than an unhappy admirer of Miss Łęcka. He might be a social agitator, not some wretched sighing lover …’
‘You are right,’ the doctor agreed,