THE RESPECTFUL PROSTITUTE - JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

	THE RESPECTFUL PROSTITUTE - Play
	(La Putain respectueuse)
	JEAN-PAUL SARTRE
	TO MICHEL AND ZETTE LEIRIS
	A PLAY IN ONE ACT AND TWO SCENES
	CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
	LIZZIE
	THE NEGRO
	FRED
	JOHN
	JAMES THE SENATOR
	SEVERAL MEN
	La Putain respectueuse (The Respectful Prostitute) was presented for the first time at the Theatre Antoine, Paris, on November 8, 1946.
	SCENE ONE
	A room in a Southern town of the United States.
	White walls.
	A couch.
	To the right, a window; to the left, a bathroom door.
	In the background, a small antechamber leading to the street.
	Before the curtain rises, a roaring noise from the stage.
	LIZZIE is alone, half dressed, running the vacuum cleaner.
	The bell rings.
	She hesitates, looks toward the door leading to the bathroom.
	The bell rings again.
	She turns off the vacuum cleaner, goes to the bathroom door, and half opens it.
LIZZIE	[in a low voice] Someone is ringing, don't come out.
	[She goes to open the door leading to the street].
	THE NEGRO appears in the doorway.
	He is a tall, strapping Negro with white hair.
	He stands stiffly.]
LIZZIE	What is it? You must have the wrong address.
LIZZIE	[A pause.] What do you want? Speak up.
THE NEGRO	[pleading]: Please ma'am, please.
LIZZIE	Please what? [She looks him over.] Wait a minute. That was you on the train, wasn't it? So you got away from them, eh? How did you find my place?
THE NEGRO	Please.
LIZZIE	Please what? Do you want money?
THE NEGRO	No, ma'am. [A pause.] Please tell them that I didn't do anything.
LIZZIE	Tell who?
THE NEGRO	The judge. Tell him, ma'am, please tell him.
LIZZIE	I'll tell him nothing.
THE NEGRO	Please.
LIZZIE	Nothing doing. I'm not buying anybody else's troubles, I got enough of my own. Beat it.
THE NEGRO	You know I didn't do anything. Did I do something?
LIZZIE	Nothing. But I'm not going to the judge. Judges and cops make me sick.
THE NEGRO	I left my wife and children. I've been running and dodging all night. I'm dead beat.  LizzlE, Get out of town.
LIZZIE	Who's watching?
THE NEGRO	The white folks.
LIZZIE	Which white folks?
THE NEGRO	All of them. Were you out this morning?
LIZZIE	No.
THE NEGRO	The streets are full of all kinds of white folks. Old ones, young ones; they talk without even knowing each other.
LIZZIE	What does that mean?
THE NEGRO	It means all I can do is run around until they get me. When white folk who have never met before, start to talk to each other, friendly like, it means some nigger's goin' to die. [A pause.] Say I haven't done anything, ma'am. Tell the judge; tell the newspaper people. Maybethey'll print it. Tell them, ma'am, tell them, tell them!
LIZZIE	Don't shout. I got somebody here. [A pause.] Newspa-pers are out of the question. Ican't afford to call attention to myself right now. [A pause.] If they force me to testify, I promiseto tell the truth.
THE NEGRO	Are you gonna tell them I haven't done anything?
LIZZIE	I'll tell them.
THE NEGRO	You swear, ma'am?
LIZZIE	Yes, yes.
THE NEGRO	By our Lord, who sees US all?
LIZZIE	Oh, get the hell out of here. I promise, that ought to be enough. [A pause.] But get going. Get out!
THE NEGRO	[suddenly]: Please, won't you hide me?
LIZZIE	Hide you?
THE NEGRO	Won't you, ma'am? Won't you?
LIZZIE	Hide you! Me? I'll show you! [She slams the door in his face.] And that's that!
LIZZIE	[She turns toward the bathroom.] You can come out.
	[FRED emerges in shirt sleeves, without collaror tie.]
FRED	Who was that?
LIZZIE	Nobody.
FRED	I thought it was the police.
LIZZIE	The police? Are you mixed up with the police?
FRED	No. I thought they came for you.
LIZZIE	[offended]: You got a nerve! I never took a cent off any-one!
FRED	Weren't you ever in trouble with the police?
LIZZIE	Not for stealing, anyway. [She busies herself with the vac-uum cleaner.]
FRED	[irritated by the noise]: Hey!
LIZZIE	[shouting to make herself heard]: What's the matter, honey?
FRED	[shouting]: You're busting my eardrums.
LIZZIE	[shouting]: I'll soon be finished. [A pause.] That's the way I am.
FRED	[shouting]: What?
LIZZIE	[shouting]: I tell you I'm like that.
FRED	[shouting]: Like what?
LIZZIE	[shouting]: Like that. I can't help it, the next morning I have to take a bath and run the vacuum cleaner. [She leaves the vacuum cleaner.]
FRED	[pointing toward the bed]: Cover that, while you're at it.
LIZZIE	What?
FRED	The bed. I said you should cover the bed. It smells of sin.
LIZZIE	Sin? How come you talk like that? Are you a preacher?
FRED	No. Why?
LIZZIE	You sound like the Bible. [She looks at him.] No, you're not a preacher: you're too well dressed. Let's see your rings. [Admiringly] Say—look at that! Are you rich?
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	Very rich?
FRED	Yes, very.
LIZZIE	So much the better. [She puts her arms around his neck and holds up her lips to be kissed.] It's better when a man is rich; you feel more secure that way. [He is about to embrace her, then turns away.]
FRED	Cover the bed.
LIZZIE	All right, all right. I'll cover it. [She covers the bed and laughs to herself.] "It smells of sin!" What do you know about that? You know, it's your sin, honey. [FRED shakes his head.]Yes, of course, it's mine too. But then, I've got so many on my conscience—
	[She sits down on the bed and forces FRED to sit beside her.]
LIZZIE	Come on. Sit on our sin. A pretty nice sin, wasn't it? [She laughs.] But don't lower your eyes like that. Do I frighten you?
	[FRED crushes her against him brutally.]
LIZZIE	You're hurting me! You're hurting me! [He releases her.]
LIZZIE	You're a funny guy. You seem to be in a bad mood.
LIZZIE	[After a while] Tell me your first name. You don't want to? That bothers me, not to know your first name. Really, it would be the first time. They don't usually tell me their last names, and I can understand that. But the first name! How do you expect me to know one of you from another if I don't know your first names? Tell me, honey, go on.
FRED	No.
LIZZIE	Well, then, you can be the nameless gentleman.
LIZZIE	[She gets up.] Wait. I'm going to finish straightening things up.
LIZZIE	[She puts a few things in order.] There we are. Everything's in place. The chairs around the table: that's more refined. Do you know anyone who sells prints? I'd like some pictures on the wall. I have a lovely one in my trunk. The Broken Pitcher, it's called. It shows a young girl; she's broken her pitcher, poor thing. It's French.
FRED	What pitcher?
LIZZIE	How should I know? Her pitcher. She must have had a pitcher. I'd like to have an old grandmother to match. She could be knitting, or telling her grandchildren a story. I think I'll pul up the shades and open the window. [She does.] How nice it is outside! It's going to be a fine day. [She stretches.] Oh, I feel good; it's a beautiful day, I've taken a bath, I've had a good loving; gee, I feel swell! How good I do feel! Come look at the view I have. Look! I have a lovely view. Nothing but trees, it makes you feel rich. I certainly had luck: right off I found a roonn in a nice place. Aren't you coming? Don't you like your own town?
FRED	I like it from my own window.
LIZZIE	[suddenly]: It doesn't bring bad luck, to see a nigger just after waking up, does it?
FRED	Why?
LIZZIE	I—there's one going past down there, on the other side of the street.
FRED	It's always bad luck when you. see a nigger. Niggers are the Devil. [A pause.] Close the window.
LIZZIE	Don't you wiint me to air the place?
FRED	I told you to close the window. O.K. And pull down the shade. Put the lights on again.
LIZZIE	Why? Because of the niggers?
FRED	Don't be stupid!
LIZZIE	It's so nice and sunny.
FRED	I don't want Any sunshine in lbere. I want it to be like it was last night. Close the windovv, I said. I'll find the sun-shine again when I go out.
	[He gets up, goes toward her, and looks at her.]
LIZZIE	[vaguely uneasy]: What's the rriatter?
FRED	Nothing. Give me my tie.
LIZZIE	It's in the bathroom.
	[She goes out.
	FRED hastily opens the drawers of the table and rummages through them.
	LIZZIE comes back with his tie.]
LIZZIE	Here you are! Wait. [She ties it for him.]
LIZZIE	You know, I don't usually take one-night stands because then I have to see too many new faces. What I'd like would be to have three or four older men, one for Tuesday, one for Thursday, one for the weeitend. I'm telling you this: you're rather young, but you are a serious fellow, and should you ever feel the urge— Well, well, I won't insist. Think it over. My, my! You're as pretty as a picture. Kiss me, good-looking; kiss me just for the hell of it. What's the matter? Don't you want to kiss me?
	[He kisses her suddenly and brutally, then pushes her away.]
LIZZIE	Oof!
LIZZIE	What?
FRED	You're the Devil.
LIZZIE	The Bible again! What's the matter with you?
FRED	Nothing. I was just kidding.
LIZZIE	Funny way to kid. [A pause.] Did you like it?
FRED	Like what?
LIZZIE	[she mimics him, smiling]: Like what? My, but you're stupid, my little lady.
FRED	Oh! Oh that? Yes, I liked it. I liked it fine. How much do you want?
LIZZIE	Who said anything about that? I asked you if you liked it. You might have answered me nicely. What's the matter? You didn't really like it? Oh, that would surprise me, you know, that would surprise me very much.
FRED	Shut up.
LIZZIE	You held me tight, so tight. And then you whispered that you loved me.
FRED	You were drunk.
LIZZIE	No, I was not drunk.
FRED	Yes, you were drunk.
LIZZIE	I tell you I wasn't.
FRED	In any case, I was. I don't remember anything.
LIZZIE	That's a pity. I got undressed in the bathroom, and when I came back to you, you got all red and flustered, don't you remember? I even said to you: "There's my little lobster." Don't you remember how you wanted to put out the light and how you loved me in the dark? I thought that was nice and respectful. Don't you remember?
FRED	No.
LIZZIE	And when we pretended we were two babies in the same crib? Don't you remember that?
FRED	I tell you to shut up. What's done at night belongs to the night. In the daytime you don't talk about thet.
LIZZIE	And if it gives me a kick to talk about it? I had a good time, you know.
FRED	Sure, you had a good time! [He approaches her, gently kisses her shoulders, then takes her by the throat.] You always enjoy yourself when you've got a man wrapped up.
FRED	[A pause.] I've forgotten all about it, your wonderful night. Completely forgotten it. I remember the dance hall, that's all. If there was anything else, you're the only one who remembers it.
	[He presses his hands to her throat.]
LIZZIE	What are you doing?
FRED	Just holding your throat in my hands.
LIZZIE	You're hurting me.
FRED	You are the only one who remembers. If I were to squeeze a tiny bit harder, there would be no one in the world to remember last night. [He releases her.] How much do you want?
LIZZIE	If you don't remember, it must be because I didn't do my work well. I wouldn't charge for a bad job.
FRED	Cut the comedy. How much?
LIZZIE	Look here; I've been in this place since the day before yesterday. You were the first one to visit me. The first cus-tomer gets me free; it brings luck.
FRED	I don't need your presents. [He puts a ten-dollar bill on the table.]
LIZZIE	I don't want your dough, but I'd like to know how much you think I'm worth. Wait, let me guess!
	[She picks up the bill with her eyes closed.]
LIZZIE	Forty dollars? No, that's too much, and anyway there would be two bills. Twenty dollars? No? Then this must be more than forty dollars. Fifty. A hundred?
	[All the while, FRED watches her, laughing silently.]
LIZZIE	I hate to do this, but I'm going to look. [She looks at the bill.] Haven't you made a mistake?
FRED	I don't think So.
LIZZIE	You know what you gave me?
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	Take it back. Take it right back. [He makes a gesture of refusal.] Ten dollars! Ten dollars! That's what I call a good lay—a young girl like me for ten dollars? Did you see my legs?
	[She shows him her legs.]
LIZZIE	And my breasts? Did you see them? Are these ten-dollar breasts? Take your ten bucks and scram, before I get sore. Ten bucks. My lord kisses me all over, my lord keeps wanting to start all over again, my lord asks me to tell him about my childhood, and this morning my lord thinks he can crab, and complain, as if he paid me by the month; and all for how much? Not for forty, not for thirty, not for twenty: for ten dollars!
FRED	For pigging around, that's a lot.
LIZZIE	Pig yourself. Where do you come from, you hayseed? Your mother must have been a   fine slut if she didn't teach you to respect women.
FRED	Will you shut up?
LIZZIE	A fine bitch! A fine bitch!
FRED	[with cold rage]: My advice to you, young woman, is don't talk to the fellows around here about their mothers, if you don't want to get your neck twisted.
LIZZIE	[approaching him]: Go on, strangle me! Strangle me! Let's see you do it!
FRED	[retreating]: Don't get excited.
	[LIZZIE takes a vase from the table, with the evident intention of throwing it at him.]
FRED	Here's ten dollars more, just don't get excited. Don't get excited or I'll have you run in.
LIZZIE	You, you're going to have me run in?
FRED	Yes. Me.
LIZZIE	You?
FRED	Me.
LIZZIE	That I'd like to see!
FRED	I'm Clarke's son.
LIZZIE	Which Clarke?
FRED	Senator Clarke.
LIZZIE	Yeah? And I'm Roosevelt's daughter.
FRED	Have you ever seen a picture of Senator Clarke in the papers?
LIZZIE	Yeah. So what?
FRED	Here it is. [He shows her a photograph.] I'm there next to him. He's got his arm around my shoulder.
LIZZIE	[suddenly calm]: Look at that! Gosh, he's a good-looking man, your father. Let me see.
	[FRED snatches the photograph out of her hands.]
FRED	That's enough.
LIZZIE	He looks so nice—sorta kind and yet firm! Is it true that he's got a silver tongue? [He doesn't answer.] Is this your garden?
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	He looks so tall. And those little girls on the chairs—are they your sisters? [He doesn't reply.] Is your house on the hill?
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	Then, when you get your breakfast in the morning, you can see the whole town from your window.
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	Do they ring a bell at mealtime to call you? You might answer me.
FRED	We have a gong for that.
LIZZIE	[in ecstasy]: A gong! I don't understand you. With such a family and such a house, you'd have to pay me to sleep out. [A pause.] I'm sorry I said that about your mother; I was mad. Is she in the picture too?
FRED	I've forbidden you to talk about her.
LIZZIE	All right, all right. [A pause.] Can I ask you a question? [He doesn't answer.] If it disgusts you to make love, why did you come here to me? [He doesn't answer. She sighs.] Well, as long as I'm here, I guess I'll have to get used to your ways.
	[A pause. FRED combs his hair in front of the mirror.]
FRED	You're from up North?
LIZZIE	Yes.
FRED	From New York?
LIZZIE	What's it to you?
FRED	You spoke of New York, just before.
LIZZIE	Anyone can talk about New York. That doesn't prove a thing.
FRED	Why didn't you stay up there?
LIZZIE	I was fed up.
FRED	Trouble?
LIZZIE	Yes, sure. I attract trouble; some people are like that. You see this snake?  [She shows him her bracelet.] It brings bad luck.
FRED	Why do you wear it?
LIZZIE	As long as I have it, I have to keep it. It's supposed to be pretty awful—a snake's revenge.
FRED	You were the one the nigger tried to rape?
LIZZIE	What's that?
FRED	You arrived the day before yesterday, on the six-o'clock express?
LIZZIE	Yes.
FRED	Then you must be the one.
LIZZIE	No one tried to rape me. [She laughs, not without a trace of bitterness.] Rape me! That's agood one.
FRED	It's you; Webster told me yesterday, on the dance floor.
LIZZIE	Webster? [A pause.] So that's it!
FRED	That's what?
LIZZIE	SO that's what made your eyes shine. It excited you, huh? You bastard! With such a goog father.
FRED	You little fool! [A pause.] If I thought you had slept with a nigger—
LIZZIE	Go on.
FRED	I have five colored servants. When they call me to the phone, they wipe it off before they hand it to me.
LIZZIE	[whistles admiringly]: I see.
FRED	[calmly]: We don't like niggers too much here, and we don't like white folk who play sround with them.
LIZZIE	That'll do. I have nothing against them, but I don't like them to touch me.
FRED	How could anyone be sure? You are the Devil. The nigger is the Devil too. [Abruptly] So he tried to rape you?
LIZZIE	What's it to you?
FRED	The two of them came over to your seat. Then after a while they jumped on you. You called for help and some white people came. One of the niggers flashed his razor, and a white man shot him. The other nigger got away.
LIZZIE	Is that what Webster told you?
FRED	Yes.
LIZZIE	Where did he get that story?
FRED	It's all over town.
LIZZIE	All over town? That's just my luck. Haven't you got anything else to talk about?
FRED	Did it happen the way I said?
LIZZIE	Not at all. The two niggers kept to themselves and didn't even look at me. Then four white men got on the train, and two of them made passes at me. They had just won a foot-ball game, and they were drunk. They said that they could smell nigger and wanted to throw them out of the window. The blacks fought back as well as they could, and one of the white men got punched in the eye. And that was when he pulled out a gun and fired. That was all. The other nigger jumped off the train as we were coming into the station.
FRED	We know who it is. He'll gain nothing by waiting. [A pause.] When you come up before the judge, are you going to tell him the story you just told me?
LIZZIE	What's it to you?
FRED	Answer me.
LIZZIE	I am not coming up before any judge. I told you I hate any trouble.
FRED	You'll have to appear in court.
LIZZIE	I won't go. I don't want anything more to do with the cops.
FRED	They'll come and get you.
LIZZIE	Then I'll tell them what I saw. [A pause.]
FRED	Do you realize what that means?
LIZZIE	What does that mean?
FRED	It means testifying against a white man in behalf of a nigger.
LIZZIE	But suppose the white man is guilty.
FRED	He isn't guilty.
LIZZIE	Since he killed, he's guilty.
FRED	Guilty of what?
LIZZIE	Of killing!
FRED	But it was a nigger he killed.
LIZZIE	So what?
FRED	If you were guilty every time you killed a nigger—
LIZZIE	He had no right.
FRED	What right?
LIZZIE	He had no right.
FRED	That right comes from up North. [A pause.] Guilty or not, you can't punish a fellow of your own race.
LIZZIE	I don't want to have anyone punished. They'll just ask me what I saw, and I'll tell them.
	[A pause. FRED comes up to her.]
FRED	What is there between you and this nigger? Why are you protecting him?
LIZZIE	I don't even know him.
FRED	Then what's the trouble?
LIZZIE	I just want to tell the truth.
FRED	The truth! A ten-dollar whore who wants to tell the truth! There is no truth; there's only whites and blacks, that's all. Seventeen thousand white men, twenty thousand niggers. This isn't New York; we can't fool around down here. [A pause.] Thomas is my cousin.
LIZZIE	What?
FRED	Thomas, the one who killed the nigger; he's my cousin.
LIZZIE	[surprised]: Oh!
FRED	He comes from a good family. That might not mean much to you, but he's from a good family all the same.
LIZZIE	Good! A guy who kept rubbing up against me and tried to put his hand under my skirt. I can do without such gen-tlemen. I'm not surprised that you both come from the same family.
FRED	[raising his hand]: You dirty bitch! [He controls himself.] You are the Devil, and with the Devil you can't win. He put his hand under your skirt, he shot down a dirty nigger; so what? You do things like that without thinking; they don't count. Thomas is a leading citizen, that's what counts.
LIZZIE	Maybe so. But the nigger didn't do anything.
FRED	A nigger has always done something.
LIZZIE	I'd never rat on anyone.
FRED	If it's not on him, it'll be on Thomas. You'll have to give away one of them, whatever you do. You'll just have to choose.
LIZZIE	So there we are! Here's me in it up to my neck—just for a change. [To her bracelet] God damn you, can't you pick on anyone else?
	[She throws the bracelet on the floor.]
FRED	How much do you want?
LIZZIE	I don't want a cent.
FRED	Five hundred dollars.
LIZZIE	Not a cent.
FRED	It would take you much more than one night to earn five hundred dollars.
LIZZIE	Especially if all I get is tightwads like you. [A pause.] So that's why you picked me up  last night.
FRED	Oh, hell.
LIZZIE	So that was why. You said to yourself: "There's the babe. I'll go home with her and arrange the whole thing." So that's what you wanted! You tickled my hand, but you were as cold as ice. You were thinking: "How'll I get her to do it?" [A pause.] But tell me this! Tell me this, my boy. If you came up here with me to talk business, did you have to sleep with me? Huh? Why did you sleep with me, you bastard? Why did you sleep with me?
FRED	Damned if I know.
LIZZIE	[sinks into a chair, weeping]: Oh, you dirty, filthy bastard!
FRED	Five hundred dollars. Don't cry, for Christ's sake! Five hundred dollars! Stop bawling! Stop bawling! Look, Lizzie! Lizzie! Be reasonable! Five hundred dollars!
LIZZIE	[sobbing]: I'm not reasonable, and I don't want your five hundred dollars. I just don't want to bear false witness. I want to go back to New York, I want to get out of here! I want to get out of here! [The bell rings. Startled, she stops crying. The bell rings again. Whispering] Who is it? Be quiet. [A long ring.] I won't open. Be still. [Knocking on the door.]
JOHN	(A VOICE) Open up. Police.
LIZZIE	[in a low voice]: The cops. I knew it had to happen. [She exhibits the bracelet.] It's this thing's fault. [She kisses it and puts it back on her arm.] I guess I'd better keep it on me. Hide.
	[Knocking on the door.]
JOHN	THE VOICE: Police!
LIZZIE	But why don't you go hide? Go in the toilet. [He doesn't budge. She pushes him with all her strength.] Well, go on! Get out!
JOHN	THE VOICE: Are you there, Fred? Fred? Are you there?
FRED	Yes, I'm here. [He brushes her aside. She looks at him with amazement.]
LIZZIE	So that's what you were after!
	[FRED opens the door and admits JOHN and JAMES
	[The door to the street remains open.]
JOHN	Police. Are you Lizzie MacKay?
LIZZIE	[without hearing him, continues to look at FRED]: So that's why!
JOHN	[shaking her by the shoulder]: Answer when you are spo-ken to.
LIZZIE	What? Yes, that's me.
JOHN	Your papers.
LIZZIE	[makes an effort to control herself]: What right have you got to question me? What are you doing in my place?
	[JOHN shows his badge.]
LIZZIE	Anyone can wear a star. You're buddies of my fine gentleman here and you're ganging up on me to make me talk.
JOHN	[showing his police card]: You know what that is?
LIZZIE	[indicating JAMES]: How about him?
JOHN	[to JAMES]: Show her your card.
	[JAMES shows it to her. LIZZIE looks at it, goes to the table, with-out saying anything, pulls out some papers, and gives them to the men.]
JOHN	JOHN [pointing to FRED]: You brought hm here last night, right? You know that prostitution is against the law?
LIZZIE	Are you sure you can come in here without a warrant? Aren't you afraid I'll make trouble for you.
JOHN	Don't you worry about us. [A pause.] I asked if you brought him up here to your place?
LIZZIE	[since the police entered she has changed; she has become more hard and vulgar]: Don't crack your skull. sure, I brought him up to my place. I let him have it for f'tee. That burns you up, doesn't it?
FRED	You will find two ten-dollar bills on the 'table. They are mine.
LIZZIE	Prove it!
FRED	[to the two others, without looking at her]: I picked them up at the bank yesterday morning with twenty'-eight others of the same series. You've only got to check 1:up on the serial numbers.
LIZZIE	[violently]: I wouldn't take them. I refused his filthy money. I threw it in his face.
JOHN	If you refused, why is it lying on the table?
LIZZIE	[after a pause]: That does it. [She looks at FRED in a kind of stupor and says, almost tenderly] So that's whtat you were up to? [To the others] Well, what do you want?
JOHN	Sit down. [To FRED] You told her what's what? [FRED nods.] I told you to sit down. [He pushes her into a chair.] The judge agrees to let Thomas go if he has a signed statement from you. The statement has already been writken for you; all you have to do is sign it. Tomorrow there'll be a formal hearing. Can you read? [LIZZIE shrugs her shoulders, and he hands her a paper.] Read it and sign.
LIZZIE	Lies from beginning to end.
JOHN	Maybe so. So what?
LIZZIE	I won't sign.
FRED	Take her along. [To LIZZIE] It's eighteen months, you know.
LIZZIE	Eighteen months, yes. But when I get out, I'll fry your hide.
FRED	Not if I can help it. [They look at each other.] You might telegraph New York; I think she's wanted up there for something.
LIZZIE	[admiringly]: You're as bitchy as a woman. I never thought I'd meet a guy who could be such a bastard.
JOHN	Make up your mind. Either you sign or it's the cooler.
LIZZIE	I prefer the cooler. I don't want to lie.
FRED	Not lie, you slut! And what did you do all night? When you called me "honey baby," "lover man," I suppose you weren't lying. When you sighed to make me think I was giving you a thrill, weren't you lying?
LIZZIE	[defiantly]: You'd like to think so, wouldn't you? No, I wasn't lying.
	[They stare at each other]
	FRED looks away.]
FRED	FRED: Let's get this over with. Here's my fountain pen. Sign.
LIZZIE	You can put it away. [A pause]
	[The three men seem embarrassed.]
FRED	So that's the way it is! The finest fellow in town, and his life depends on the whim of a floozy like this! [He walks up and down, then comes abruptly up to LIZZIE] Look at him. [He shows her a photograph.] You've seen a man or two, in your filthy trade. Have you ever seen a face like that? Look at that forehead, look at that chin, look at the medals on his uniform. No, no, don't look away. There is no getting out of it: here's your victim, you have got to face him. See how young he is, how straight he stands. Isn't he handsome? But don't you worry, when he leaves prison, ten years from now, he will be bent like an old man, bald and toothless. But you'll be proud of your good work. You were just a little chiseler until now; but this time, you're dealing with a real man, and you want to take his life. What do you say to that? Are you rotten to the core? [He forces her to her knees.] On your knees, whore. On your knees before the picture of the man you want to dishonor!
	[CLARKE enters through the door they have left open.]
THE SENATOR	Let her go. [To LIZZIE]: Get up.
FRED	Hello!
JOHN	Hello!
THE SENATOR	Hello! Hello!
JOHN	[to LIZZIE]: Meet Senator Clarke.
THE SENATOR	[to LIZZIE]: Hello!
LIZZIE	Hello!
THE SENATOR	Fine! Now we've all been introduced. [He looks at Lizzta] So this is the young lady. She impresses me as a mighty nice girl.
FRED	She doesn't want to sign.
THE SENATOR	She is perfectly right. You break in on her without having the right to do so.
	[Then, more forcefully, to forestall JOHN]
THE SENATOR	Without having the slightest right to do so. You are brutal to her, and you try to make her go against her own conscience. This is not the American way. Did the Negro rape you, my child?
LIZZIE	No.
THE SENATOR	Excellent. So that is clear. Look me in the eyes. [He looks at her fixedly.] I am sure she is telling the truth. [A pause.] Poor Mary! [To the others] Well, boys, let's go. There is nothing more to be done here. Let's make our apologies to the young lady and go.
LIZZIE	Who's Mary?
THE SENATOR	Mary? She is my sister, the mother of this unfor-tunate Thomas. A poor, dear old lady, who is going to be killed by all this. Good-by, my child.
LIZZIE	[in a choking voice]: Senator!
THE SENATOR	My child?
LIZZIE	I'm sorry.
THE SENATOR	Why should you be sorry, when you have told the truth?
LIZZIE	I am sorry that—that that's the truth.
THE SENATOR	There is nothing either of us can do about that. And no one has the right to ask you to bear false witness. [A pause.] No. Don't think of her any more.
LIZZIE	Who?
THE SENATOR	Of my sister. Weren't you thinking about my sister?
LIZZIE	Yes.
THE SENATOR	I can read your mind, my child. Do you want me to tell you what's going on in your head? [Imitating LIZZIE]"lf I signed, the Senator would go to her and say: 'Lizzie MacKay is a good girl, and she's the one who's giving your son back to you.' And she would smile through her tears. She would say: 'Lizzie MacKay? I shall not forget that name.' And I who have no family, relegated by cruel fate to social banishment, I would know that a dear little old ladywas thinking of me in her great house; that an American mother had taken me to her heart." Poor Lizzie, think no more about it.
LIZZIE	Has she white hair?
THE SENATOR	Completely white. But her face has stayed young. And if you could see hersmile— She'll never smile again. Good-by. Tomorrow you shall tell the judge the truth.
LIZZIE	Are you going?
THE SENATOR	Why, yes; I am going to her house. I shall have to tell her about our conversation.
LIZZIE	She knows you are here?
THE SENATOR	She begged me to come to you.
LIZZIE	My God! And she's waiting? And you're going to tell her that I refused to sign. How she will hate me.
THE SENATOR	[putting his hands on her shoulders]: My poor child, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.
LIZZIE	What a mess! [Addressing her bracelet] It's all your fault, you filthy thing.
THE SENATOR	What?
LIZZIE	Nothing. [A pause.] As things stand, it's too bad the nig-ger didn't really rape me.
THE SENATOR	[touched]: My child.
LIZZIE	[sadly]: It would have meant so much to you, and it would have been so little trouble for me.
THE SENATOR	Thank you. [A pause.] I should so like to help you. [A pause.] Alas, the truth is the truth.
LIZZIE	[sadly]: Yeah, sure.
THE SENATOR	And the truth is that the Negro didn't rape you.
LIZZIE	[sadly still]: Yeah, sure.
THE SENATOR	Yes. [A pause.] Of course, here we have a truth of the first degree.
LIZZIE	[not understanding]: Of the first degree.
THE SENATOR	Yes. I mean—a common truth.
LIZZIE	Common? Isn't that the truth?
THE SENATOR	Yes, yes, it is the truth. It's just that—there are various kinds of truths.
LIZZIE	You think the nigger raped me?
THE SENATOR	No. No, he didn't rape you. From a certain point of view, he didn't rape you at all. But, you see, I am an old man, who has lived a long time, who has made many mis-takes, but for some time now I have been a little less often mistaken. And my opinion about this is utterly different from yours.
LIZZIE	What opinion?
THE SENATOR	How can I explain it to you? Look: suppose Uncle Sam suddenly stood before you. What would he say?
LIZZIE	[frightened]: I don't suppose he would have much of any-thing to say to me.
THE SENATOR	Are you a Communist?
LIZZIE	Good Lord, no!
THE SENATOR	Then Uncle Sam would have many things to tell you. He would say: "Lizzie, you have reached a point where you must choose between two of my boys. One of them must go. What can you do in a case like this? Well, you keep the better man. Well, then, let us try to see which is the better one. Will you?"
LIZZIE	[carried away]: Yes, I want to. Oh, I am sorry, I thought it was you saying all that.
THE SENATOR	I was speaking in his name. [He goes on, as before.] "Lizzie, this Negro whom you are protecting, what good is he? Somehow or other he was born, God knows where. I nourished and raised him, and how does he pay me back? What does he do for me? Nothing at all; he dawdles, he chisels, he sings, he buys pink and green suits. He is my son, and I love him as much as I do my other boys. But I ask you: does he live like a man? I would not even notice if he died."
LIZZIE	My, how fine you talk.
THE SENATOR	[in the same vein]: "The other one, this Thomas, has killed a Negro, and that's very bad. But I need him. He is a hundred-per-cent American, comes from one of our old-est families, has studied at Harvard, is an officer—I need officers—he employs two thousand workers in his factory—two thousand unemployed if he happened to die. He's a leader, a firmbulwark against the Communists, labor unions, and the Jews. His duty is to live, and yours is topreserve his life. That's all. Now, choose."
LIZZIE	My, how well you talk!
THE SENATOR	Choose! LizziE [startled]: How's that? Oh yes. [A pause.] You mixed me up, I do not know where I am.
THE SENATOR	Look at me, Lizzie. Do you have confidence in me?
LIZZIE	Yes, Senator.
THE SENATOR	Do you believe that I would urge you to do any-thing wrong?
LIZZIE	No, Senator.
THE SENATOR	Then I urge you to sign. Here is my pen.
LIZZIE	You think she'll be pleased with me?
THE SENATOR	Who?
LIZZIE	Your sister.
THE SENATOR	She will love you, from a distance, as her very own child.
LIZZIE	Perhaps she'll send me some flowers?
THE SENATOR	Very likely.
LIZZIE	Or her picture with an inscription.
THE SENATOR	It's quite possible.
LIZZIE	I'd hang it on the wall. [A pause. She walks up and down, much agitated.] What a mess! [Coming up to THE SENATOR again] What will you do to the nigger if I sign?
LIZZIE	[Coming up to THE SENATOR again] What will you do to the nigger if I sign?
THE SENATOR	To the nigger? Pooh! [He takes her by the shoul-ders.] If you sign, the whole town will adopt you. The whole town. All the mothers in it.
LIZZIE	But —
THE SENATOR	Do you suppose that a whole town could be mis-taken? A whole town, with its ministers and its priests, its doctors, its lawyers, its artists, its mayor and his aides, with all its charities? Do you think that could happen?
LIZZIE	No, no, no.
THE SENATOR	Give me your hand. [He forces her to sign.] So now it's done. I thank you in the name of my sister and my nephew, in the name of the seventeen thousand white in-habitants of our town, in the name of the American people, whom I represent in these parts. Give me your forehead, my child. [He kisses her on the forehead.] Come along, boys. [To uzziE] I shall see you later in the evening; we still have something to talk about. [He goes out.]
FRED	[leaving]: Good-by, Lizzie.
LIZZIE	Good-by. [They all go out. She stands there overwhelmed, then rushes to the door.]
LIZZIE	Senator! Senator! I don't want to sign! Tear up the paper! Senator! [She comes back to the front of the stage and mechanically takes hold of the vacuum cleaner.] Uncle Sam! [She turns on the sweeper.] Something tells me I've been had—but good! [She pushes the vacuum cleaner furiously.]
	CURTAIN
	SCENE TWO
	Same setting, twelve hours later.
	The lamps are lit, the windows are open.
	In the night, a growing clamor outside.
	THE NEGRO appears at the window, straddles the window-sill, and jumps into the empty room.
	He crosses to the middle of the stage. T
	he bell rings.
	He hides behind a curtain.
	LIZZIE emerges from the bathroom, crosses to the street door, and opens it.
LIZZIE	Come in! [THE SENATOR enters.] Well?
THE SENATOR	Thomas is in the arms of his mother. I have come to bring you their thanks.
LIZZIE	Is she happy?
THE SENATOR	Supremely happy.
LIZZIE	Did she cry?
THE SENATOR	Cry? Why should she cry? She is a woman of character.
LIZZIE	But you said she would cry.
THE SENATOR	That was just a manner of speaking.
LIZZIE	She didn't expect this, did she? She thought I was a bad woman and that I would testify for the nigger .
THE SENATOR	She put her trust in God.
LIZZIE	What does she think of me?
THE SENATOR	She thanks you.
LIZZIE	Didn't she ask what I looked like?
THE SENATOR	No.
LIZZIE	She thinks I'm a good girl?
THE SENATOR	She thinks you did your duty.
LIZZIE	She does?
THE SENATOR	She hopes that you will continue to do it.
LIZZIE	Oh yes, yes.
THE SENATOR	Lizzie, look me in the eyes. [He takes her by the shoulders.] You will continue to do your duty? You aren't going to disappoint her?
LIZZIE	Don't you worry. I can't go back on what I said; they'd throw me in the clink. [A pause.] What's all that shouting about?
THE SENATOR	Pay no attention.
LIZZIE	I can't stand it any more. [She closes the window.] Senator?
THE SENATOR	My child?
LIZZIE	You are sure that we haven't made a mistake, that I really did what I should?
THE SENATOR	Absolutely sure.
LIZZIE	I don't know where I am any more; you've mixed me up; you're too quick for me. What time is it?
THE SENATOR	Eleven o'clock.
LIZZIE	Eight hours left until daylight. I know I won't be able to sleep a wink. [A pause.] It's just as hot at night here as when the sun is up. [A pause.] What about the nigger?
THE SENATOR	What Negro? Oh, yes, of course, they are looking for him.
LIZZIE	What will they do to him?
	[THE SENATOR shrugs his shoulders.
	The shouting outside increases.
	LIZZIE goes to the window.]
LIZZIE	What is all this shouting for? Men are running about with flashlights and dogs. Are they celebrating something? Or—Tell me what's up, Senator! Tell me what's going on!
THE SENATOR	[taking a letter out of his pocket]: My sister asked me to give you this.
LIZZIE	[with interest]: She's written me?
	[She tears open the en-velope, and takes from it a hundred-dollar bill,
	rummages in it to find a letter, finds none,
	crushes the envelope, and throws it on the floor.
	She takes a different tone now.]
LIZZIE	A hundred dollars. You've done very well; your son promised me five hundred. You got a bargain.
THE SENATOR	My child.
LIZZIE	You can thank the lady. You can tell her that I'd rather've had a porcelain vase or some nylons, something she took the trouble to pick out for me herself. But it's the in-tention that counts, isn't it? [A pause.] You've had me good.
	[They face each other. THE SENATOR moves closer to her.]
THE SENATOR	I thank you, my child; we'll have a little talk—just the two of us. You're facing a moral crisis and need my help.
LIZZIE	What I particularly need is some dough, but I think we can make a deal, you and me. [A pause.] Until now I liked old men best, because they looked so respectable, but I'm beginning to wonder if they're not more crooked than the others.
THE SENATOR	[gaily]: Crooked! I wish my colleagues could hear you. What wonderful frankness! There is something in you that your deplorable circumstances have not spoiled! [He pats her.] Yes indeed. Something. [She submits to him, passive but scornful.] I'll be back, don't bother to see me out.
	[He goes out. LIZZIE is immobile, as if paralyzed.
	She picks up the bill, crumples it, throws it on the floor, falls into a chair, and bursts into sobs.
	Outside, the yelling is closer and more intense.
	Pistol-shots in the distance.
	THE NEGRO emerges from his hidingplace.
	He plants himself in front of her.
	She raises her head and gives a startled cry.]
LIZZIE	Ah! [A pause. She rises.] I knew you'd show up. I just knew it. How did you get in?
THE NEGRO	Through the window.
LIZZIE	What do you want?
THE NEGRO	Hide me.
LIZZIE	I told you, no.
THE NEGRO	You hear them out there, ma'am?
LIZZIE	Yes.
THE NEGRO	That's the beginning of the hunt.
LIZZIE	What hunt?
THE NEGRO	The nigger hunt.
LIZZIE	Oh! [A long pause.] Are you sure no one saw you come in?
THE NEGRO	Yes, I'm sure.
LIZZIE	What will they do to you if they get you?
THE NEGRO	Gasoline.
LIZZIE	What?
THE NEGRO	Gasoline. [He makes an expressive gesture.] They'll set me on fire.
LIZZIE	I see. [She goes to the window and draws the curtain.] Sit down. [THE NEGRO falls into a chair.] You just had to come here! Won't I ever get out of this? [She approaches him almost threateningly.] I hate trouble, don't you understand! [Tapping her foot.] I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!
THE NEGRO	They think I harmed you, ma'am.
LIZZIE	So what?
THE NEGRO	So they won't look for me here.
LIZZIE	Do you know why they are after you?
THE NEGRO	Because they suppose I wronged you, ma'am.
LIZZIE	Do you know who told them that?
THE NEGRO	No.
LIZZIE	I did. [A long silence. THE NEGRO looks at her.] What do you think of that?
THE NEGRO	Why did you do that, ma'am? Oh, why did you do that?
LIZZIE	That's what I keep asking myself.
THE NEGRO	They won't have any pity; they'll whip me across the eyes, they'll pour their cans of gas over me. Oh, why did you do it? I didn't harm you.
LIZZIE	Oh yes, you did too. You can't imagine how much you've harmed me. [A pause.] Don't you want to choke me?
THE NEGRO	Lots of times they force people to say things they don't mean.
LIZZIE	Yes, lots of times. And when they can't force them, they mix them up with their sweet talk. [A pause.] Well? No? You're not going to choke me? You're a good guy. [A pause.] I'll hide you until tomorrow night. [He makes a move.] Don't touch me; I don't like niggers.
	[Shouts and pistol-shots out-side.]
LIZZIE	They're getting closer.
	[She goes to the window, draws the curtains, and looks out into the street.]
LIZZIE	We're cooked.
THE NEGRO	What are they doing?
LIZZIE	They've put guards at both ends of the block, and they are searching all the houses. You just had to come here. Someone must have seen you come down the street. [She looks out again.] This is it. It's our turn. They are coming up here.
THE NEGRO	How many?
LIZZIE	Five or six. The others are waiting outside. [She turns toward him again.] Don't shake so. Good God, don't shake so! [A pause. To her bracelet] It's all your fault! You pig of a snake! [She tears it from her arm, throws it on the floor, and tramples on it.] Trash! [To THE NEGRO] You just had to come here. [THE NEGRO rises, as if about to leave.] Stay put. If you go out you're done for.
THE NEGRO	What about the roof?
LIZZIE	With this moon? You can go on up if you feel like being a target. [A pause.] Wait a second. They have two floors to search before ours. I told you not to shake so.
	[A long silence.She walks up and down.
	THE NEGRO, completely overcome, stays in the chair.]
LIZZIE	Do you have a gun?
THE NEGRO	Oh, no!
LIZZIE	All right. [She rummages in a drawer and brings out a revolver.]
THE NEGRO	What's that for, ma'am?
LIZZIE	I am going to open the door and ask them to come in. For twenty-five years I have had to take their crap about old mothers with white hair, about war heroes, about Uncle Sam. But now I've caught on. They won't get away with it altogether. I'll open the door and say to them: "He's inside. He's here, but he's done nothing: I was forced to sign a false statement. I swear by Christ that he did nothing."
THE NEGRO	They won't believe you.
LIZZIE	Maybe not. Maybe they won't believe me; but then you'll cover them with the gun, and if they still come after you, you can shoot.
THE NEGRO	Others will come.
LIZZIE	Shoot them too! And if you see the Senator's son, try not to miss him; he's the one who cooked this whole thing up. We're cornered, aren't we? Anyhow, this is our last chance 'cause if they find you here with me I won't be worth a plugged nickel. So we might as well kick off in company. [She offers him the revolver.] Take it! I tell you to take it!
THE NEGRO	I can't, ma'am.
LIZZIE	Why not?
THE NEGRO	I can't shoot white folks.
LIZZIE	Really! That would bother them, wouldn't it?
THE NEGRO	They're white folks, ma'am.
LIZZIE	So what? Maybe they got a right to bleed you like a pig just because they're white?
THE NEGRO	But they're white folks.
LIZZIE	What a laugh! You know, you're like me; you're just as big a sucker as I am. Still, when they all get together -
THE NEGRO	Why don't you shoot, ma'am?
LIZZIE	I told you that I'm a sucker. [There are steps on the stair-way.] Here they come. [A sharp laugh.] We're sure sitting pretty. [A pause.] Get in the toilet and don't budge. Hold your breath.
	THE NEGRO obeys. LIZZIE waits.
	The bell rings. She crosses herself picks up the bracelet, and goes to open the door.
	There are men with guns.]
FIRST MAN	We're looking for the nigger.
LIZZIE	What nigger?
FIRST MAN	The one that raped the woman in the train and cut the Senator's nephew with a razor.
LIZZIE	Well, by God, you won't find him here! [A pause.] Don't you recognize me?
SECOND MAN	Yes, yes. I saw you get off the train the day before yesterday.
LIZZIE	That's right. Because I'm the one who was raped, you understand?
	[Exclamations. They look at her with fascination, desire, and a kind of horror. They draw back a little.]
LIZZIE	If he messes around here, he'll get a little of this.
	[She flourishes the revolver. They laugh.]
FIRST MAN	Don't you want to see him lynched?
LIZZIE	Come for me when you get him.
FIRST MAN	That won't be long, sugar; we know he's hiding in this block.
LIZZIE	Good luck.
	[They go out. She shuts the door and puts the revolver on the table.]
LIZZIE	You can come out.
	[THE NEGRO emerges, kneels, and kisses the hem of her skirt.]
LIZZIE	I told you not to touch me. [She looks him over.] Just the same, you must be a queer character, to have a whole town after you.
THE NEGRO	THE NEGRO: I didn't do anything, ma'am, you know I didn't do anything.
LIZZIE	They say a nigger's always done something.
THE NEGRO	Never did anything. Never, never.
LIZZIE	[wiping her brow with her hand]: I don't know what's right any more. [A pause.] Just the same, a whole city can't be completely wrong. [A pause.] Oh, shit! I don't understand anything any more.
THE NEGRO	That's how it goes, ma'am. That's how it always goes with white folks.
LIZZIE	You too? You feel guilty?
THE NEGRO	Yes, ma'am.
LIZZIE	But you didn't do anything?
THE NEGRO	No, ma'am.
LIZZIE	What have they got anyhow, that everybody's on their side all the time?
THE NEGRO	They're white folks.
LIZZIE	I'm white too.
	[A pause. Sound of steps outside.]
LIZZIE	They're coming down again.
	[Instinctively she steps closer to him.
	He trembles, but puts his arms around her shoulders.
	The sound of steps is fainter. Silence. She suddenly frees herself from his em-brace.]
LIZZIE	Well, look at us, now! Aren't we alone in the world? Like two orphans.
	[The bell rings. They make no answer. The bell rings again.]
LIZZIE	Get in the toilet.
	[There is a rapping on the front door.
	THE NEGRO hides.
	LIZZIE goes to open the door.
	Enter FRED.]
LIZZIE	Are you crazy? Why come to my door? No, you can't come in, you've given me enough trouble. Get out, get out, you bastard, get out! Get the hell out of here!
	[He pushes her aside, closes the door, and takes her by the shoulder. A long pause.]
	Well?
FRED	You are the Devil!
LIZZIE	And so you try to break down my door just to tell me that? What a mess! Where have you been? [A pause.] Answer me.
FRED	They caught a nigger. It wasn't the right one. But they lynched him just the same.
LIZZIE	So?
FRED	I was with them.
LIZZIE	[whistles]: I see. [A pause.] It begins to look as if seeing a nigger lynched does something to you.
FRED	I want you.
LIZZIE	What?
FRED	You are the Devil. You've bewitched me. I was with them, I had my revolver in my hand, and the nigger was swinging from a branch. I looked at him, and I thought: "I want her." It's not natural.
LIZZIE	Let go of me! I tell you let go of me.
FRED	What have you done to me, what have you got, you witch? I looked at the nigger and I saw you. I saw you swaying above the flames. I fired.
LIZZIE	You filthy bastard! Let me go, let me go. You're a murderer!
FRED	What have you done to me? You stick to me like the teeth in my gums. I see your belly, your dirty whorish belly, I feel your heat in my hands, your smell in my nostrils. I came running here, and I didn't even know whether I wanted to kill you or rape you. Now I know. [He releases her abruptly.] I am not going to damn my soul to hell for a whore. [He comes up to her again.] Was it true what you told me this morning?
LIZZIE	What?
FRED	That I gave you a thrill?
LIZZIE	Let me alone.
FRED	Swear that it's true. Swear it!
	[He twists her wrist.
	There is a noise of someone moving in the bathroom.]
FRED	What's that? [He listens.] Someone's in there.
LIZZIE	You're out of your mind. There's nobody.
FRED	FRED: Yes, in the toilet. [He goes toward the bathroom]
LIZZIE	You can't go in.
FRED	You see, there is someone.
LIZZIE	It's today's customer. A guy who pays. There. Are you satisfied?
FRED	A customer? No more customers for you. Never any more. You belong to me. [A pause.] I must see what he looks like. [He shouts.] Come out of there!
LIZZIE	[shouting]: Don't come out. It's a trap.
FRED	You filthy little whore!
	[He shoves her out of the way, goes toward the door, and opens it.
	THE NEGRO comes out.]
FRED	So that's your customer?
LIZZIE	I hid him because they wanted to hurt him. Don't shoot; you know very well that he's innocent.
	[FRED draws his re-volver.
	THE NEGRO gets set, pushes FRED Out of the way, and dashes out.
	FRED runs after him.
	LIZZIE runs to the door, through which the two men have disappeared, and begins to shout.]
LIZZIE	He's innocent! He's innocent!
	[Two pistol-shots. She comes back into the room, her face hard.
	She goes to the table and takes the gun.
	FRED comes back.
	She turns toward him, her back to the audience, holding her gun behind her back.
	FRED puts his gun on the table.]
LIZZIE	So you got him?
	[FRED doesn't answer.]
LIZZIE	Well, now it's your turn. [She covers him with the revolver.]
FRED	Lizzie! I have a mother!
LIZZIE	Shut your face! They pulled that on me before.
FRED	[approaching her slowly]: The first Clarke cleared a whole forest, just by himself; he killed seventeen Indians with his bare hands before dying in an ambush; his son practically built this town; he was friends with George Washington, and died at Yorktown, for American independence; my great-grandfather was chief of the Vigilantes in San Fran-cisco, he saved the lives of twenty-two persons in the great fire; my grandfather came back to settle down here, he dug the Mississippi Canal, and was elected Governor. My father is a Senator. I shall be senator after him. I am the last one to carry the family name. We have made this country, and its history is ours. There have been Clarkes in Alaska, in the Philippines, in New Mexico. Can you dare to shoot all of America?
LIZZIE	You come closer, and I'll let you have it.
FRED	Go ahead! Shoot! You see, you can't. A girl like you can't shoot a man like me. Who are you? What do you do in this world? Do you even know who your grandfather was? I have a right to live; there are things to be done, and I am expected to do them. Give me the revolver. [She gives him the revolver, he puts it in his pocket.] About the nigger, he was running too fast. I missed him [A pause. He puts his arm around her.] I'll put you in a beautiful house, with a garden, on the hill across the river. You'll walk in the gar-den, but I forbid you to go out; I am very jealous. I'll come to see you after dark, three times a week—on Tuesday, Thursday, and for the weekend. You'll have nigger servants, and more money than you ever dreamed of; but you will have to put up with all my whims, and I'll have plenty! [She yields a bit to his embrace.] Is it true that I gave you a thrill? Answer me. Is it true?
LIZZIE	[wearily]: Yes, it's true.
FRED	[patting her on the cheek]: Then everything is back to normal again. [A pause.] My name is Fred.
	CURTAIN
	ABOUT THE AUTHOR
	JEAN-PAUL SARTRE was born in Paris in 1905. After being graduated from the Ecole Normale Superieure in 1929 with a doctorate in philosophy, he taught for a while at Le Havre, Lyon, and Paris. Taken prisoner in 1940, he was released after nine months, and returned to Paris and teaching. His first play, The Flies, was produced in Paris during the German Occupa-tion. His second play, No Exit, was the first to be performed in Paris after the liberation. In addition to plays, his works include important philosophical works and novels. In 1964 Sartre declined the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1980.