PANTALONA exits.
CLARICE: Ah, Signora Beatrice, I’m out of the frying pan and into the fire.
BEATRICE: Be patient, anything can happen, except a marriage between us …
A ZANNI enters and sweeps them off the stage to signify the end of the Act.
A musical interlude or dance.
END OF ACT ONE
| 1 | In Goldoni’s commedia, Il Dottore spoke Latin, the language of an educated and learned scholar. So a Latin gibberish or grommelot may have been used to embellish this character’s speech. However, a contemporary audience may not easily identify with Latin and therefore an Italian-sounding grommelot may be more appropriate. |
ACT TWO
SCENE ONE
Pantalona’s courtyard.
PANTALONA enters.
SILVIO and IL DOTTORE enter.
SILVIO: [to DOTTORE] I beg of you, leave me be.
DOTTORE: Stop. Speak to me.
SILVIO: I am furious. I am beside myself. Pantalona must honour our contract or else …
DOTTORE: Calm down. It is madness to allow your anger to drive your actions.
SILVIO: Whoever treats us Lombardis like this doesn’t deserve our respect.
DOTTORE: Silvio, let me speak to her. I may be able to make her see reason and understand her obligation. Silvio, look at Papà. Stand over there and wait and I’ll sort this out.
SILVIO: Fine.
SILVIO moves away and waits.
DOTTORE: Ah, Signora Pantalona, la riverisco [I revere thee].
PANTALONA: Your servant.
PANTALONA bows.
DOTTORE: Pantalona, you will assure us that Signora Clarice will be Silvio’s wife. Sì?
PANTALONA: I—
DOTTORE: Stop, please there is no need for explanation or apologies. I understand the predicament you found yourself in. All is forgotten and forgiven.
PANTALONA: Yes, but I made a promise to Signor Federigo—
DOTTORE: I understand. He took you unexpectedly, you had no time to reflect and you didn’t realise the grave insult that you made towards our house.
PANTALONA: Insult?
DOTTORE: I know what you mean to say, it seemed that the promise with the fellow from Turin was indissoluble because it was done as a contract. But that was a contract between you and him, and our contract has been confirmed by you, me, my son and the young lady as well.
PANTALONA: True but—
DOTTORE: You know very well that in matters of matrimony [grommelot].
PANTALONA: Non capisco. [I don’t understand.]
DOTTORE: Young ladies are not to be sacrificed. For me, I have said all there is to say.
PANTALONA: Have you finished?
DOTTORE: I have finished.
PANTALONA: Can I speak?
DOTTORE: Speak!
PANTALONA: I—
DOTTORE: If it’s a matter of money, this can be fixed easily.
PANTALONA: Can I speak?
DOTTORE: Speak.
PANTALONA: Your argument is good, Dottore, but in this case, no. She marries Rasponi and that is final.
DOTTORE: Inconceivable! And you would support such a marriage!?
PANTALONA: Yes. My daughter is happy.
DOTTORE: Come ti permette! [How dare you!] How dare you treat us like this! If you weren’t sure of Signor Federigo’s Rasponi’s death, you shouldn’t have made a promise to my son. And if with him you made a promise, you must with him keep that promise, above all else, and unpromise the promise you made to Rasponi. The news of his death and resurrection should have been enough justification to break the contract, even for him. Your obligation was to tell him that he has no right to Clarice. And the contract we made this morning with Clarice and my son, coram testibus [before witnesses (in Latin)], could not have been dissolved by your words or anyone else’s. I would give my left knee for this new contract to be annulled and oblige your daughter to take him as her husband. But I would be ashamed to have in my house a daughter-in-law of such ill repute! Because she is the daughter of a woman, a woman with no honour, no morals and no dental hygiene—that’s you! Signora Pantalona, remember you did this to me, and to the house of Lombardi. The time will come when you will get your just desserts. Yes, the time will come, omnia tempus habent [all things have their season (in Latin)].