"THE REGENTA" "CHAPTER TWO" "My friend Frigilis also has his faults." "Believe me, Alvaro, He thinks little of me... he feels superior." "But he does have his good points." "He's more hardworking and knows more about trees... he knows the hunting grounds better... but, shoot better than me?" "For Heaven's sake!" "He has slow fingers and a dull brain." "In one word, harsh though it may be, he's ordinary." "I don't really know him." "Being friends with you is different." "We can play chess or dominoes, or talk about the theater." "Can you believe that Frigilis doesn't like the theater?" "The actors are here!" "I must go." "Perales won't forgive me if I don't go with him." "Madam, Mr. Mesia is here..." " to see the master." " I'll see him." "Anita." " Aren't you going out?" " No." "Quintanar went to welcome the actors." "With everyone off to the cemetery I don't feel like going anywhere." "I understand." "All Soul's Day is always sad." "And even more so here, where it rains constantly." "You came just in time." "I'm suffocating in Vetusta." "Maybe the world isn't as unbearable as the poets say... but this town is the worst in the world." "Yes, don't laugh." "It's like the end of the world, not by fire or water... but by boredom and human stupidity." "I can't stand such stupid boredom by common agreement." "I didn't go to the cemetery." "I am here now, and I'm not bored." "Me neither." "I wasn't referring to us." "You know what I just thought of?" "The day we met at Vegallana's house?" " How did you guess?" " I don't know." "This morning..." "I didn't remember it was All Soul's Day." "I went for a walk because I like Autumn... and because the day felt oppressive." "I too go walking when I feel bad." "Well, maybe we will turn out to have some things in common." "I like nature, the open air... but I hate those bells that remind us of the dead." "Me too." "God damn their shouting!" "May I be struck down... if they don't get their punishment when I finish this letter!" "This is the end." "Here it is." "I was well informed." " I'm here." " Another masked man!" " Is anyone home?" " Come in." " Is this the Laurel Inn?" " The very same." " Is the innkeeper in?" " Speaking." " Are you Buttarelli?" " Yes." "Does Tenorio have a date here?" "I described how your love for her is killing you... how it pursues you and that for her... you are willing to lose both life and honor." "Finally, my sweet words penetrated her ears... and her half-sleeping memories were awakened." "And there inside her chest... they lit so strong a flame... that now she loves you and thinks only of you." "Such an exciting description... enraptures my senses, and fills my burning soul... with foolish passion." "It began as a bet... followed by a delirium engendering a desire... that burns my heart." "A convent is nothing!" "I would descend into hell... and grab her from the arms of Satan himself!" " This is divine!" " Of course, child, of course." "They are already sleeping." "Good-bye." "On other nights, I heard her words with pleasure... and the quiet pictures she paints so well... of domestic pleasures, happy simplicity and calmness... made me desire the loneliness and severity of the convent." "But today I was distracted and found her sermon... if not irritating, at least, dry." "Fantastic!" "Anita loves it." "Alvarito, you don't seem to be getting anywhere." "Here we go again." "Despite your constant pestering, she's still in the clouds." "She's in there, she's become a romantic." "But Anita's daydreaming is one thing... and you not daring to make a mistake is another." " She's still miles away." " Nonsense!" "I swear she dreams of you every night." "Of you, or of the Canon." "Who knows?" "Maybe in Don Juan's day life in Vetusta was fun... with convents full of beautiful ladies, daring lovers... and serenading troubadours." "It was so dramatic... not like it is now, so sad, dirty and ugly." "Of course, drama idealizes everything." "But, there must be some truth in it." "Of course." "In the theater, love is... like a fiery atmosphere, a mystic madness." "Escape is impossible." "It must be tasted with all its poison." "Quiet now, we've talked enough." "Let me listen." "My Goodness!" "What a night!" " Maybe I should go." " Why?" "I don't know if I'm in the way, if there'll be room..." "There'll be room, Quintanar is in your box." " Thank you." " Now, shut up." "I thought I'd fall a thousand times." "I was so dizzy and anxious!" "Well, if you stay here you'll see such things..." " at least six times a week." " Jesus!" "Is the girl still resting?" "Why should she wake up?" "You're right." "It would be better if she awoke in Don Juan's arms." "No, Don Juan..." "I no longer have the will to resist you." "I go to you, like a river to the sea." "I'm enraptured by your presence... your words make me hallucinate." "Your eyes fascinate me, and your breath poisons me." "Don Juan!" "Don Juan!" "I beg your noble compassion." "Tear out my heart... or love me, because I adore you." "My love!" "Your words change me so... that even the Garden of Eden is open to me." "Doña Ines, it is not Satan who puts this love in me." "It is God, that through you wants maybe to save me." "Alvaro!" "Alvaro!" "I've slept too long." "Why didn't you wake me?" "As you had such a bad night..." "A bad night?" "Me?" "Yes, you were screaming." "You were dreaming, shouting..." " Me?" " Yes, a nightmare." " And did you hear me?" " Yes, madam." "I hadn't gone to bed yet." "I stayed up to wait for the master." "He heard nothing." "He didn't want to wake you." "I came back to see if you were asleep..." "I thought it was a nightmare." "but I didn't dare wake you." "A nightmare!" "I don't remember suffering..." "No, it mustn't have been a bad nightmare... because you were laughing, and tossing and turning." "What was I saying?" "I couldn't really hear... just odd words... names." "What names?" "You were calling..." " the master." " The master?" "Yes, my lady." "You said..." "Victor!" " Victor!" " Victor?" "I never call him that." "I admit you're right." "But what can I do?" "The theater bores me, besides, I get cold." "I hate draughts." "The truth is I feel safer out in the country... where there are no doors." "If you want to be good in this life... you have to take care of yourself." " Kindness comes from health." " You're a bit of a materialist." "I'm sane." "I hate systems, I believe only in the goodness of nature." " That's why I don't like the theater." " It's your loss." "That doesn't mean I scorn your deep love of nature... on the contrary, I envy you... but I don't see why loving nature means you avoid people entirely." "I've nothing against people." "They are bad, but it's not their fault." "The vine has its pest... as do potatoes, pigs and cows." "Your friends from Vetusta have envy and ignorance... as their pests." "The best thing in Vetusta..." " are the trees." " You just do whatever you like." "As far as I can." "You make no distinction between work and play." "I forgive their evil ways... and flee infection by avoiding the theater." "As for me..." "I'll reach old age without knowing my destiny." "If I was born to be something it was an actor, or better... a fan of amateur dramatics." "Yet here you have me green with envy... watching you enjoy a bunch of seeds." "I'm sending some samples to the flower fair." "I stop bothering you and go and say goodbye to Perales." "If you'd seen him yesterday..." ""Wait, Doña Ines, wait... and if you love me true... help me tell reality from fantasy."" " Quintanar!" " Just ask Anita." "Ask her." "She even shed a tear!" "That lady, your confessional favorite... for all her devotion... was at the theater last night showing she has no scruples." "On All Soul's Day!" "I don't care if she goes to the theater!" "Well, you should care." "People are whispering." "All your enemies will laugh at you again... and will talk and talk... of the scant influence the Canon has on his penitents." "Yesterday, All Soul's Day, you were at the theater." "It was prohibited." "I didn't remember." " The truth is I didn't think." " That's normal." "Yesterday it was as innocent a show as it always is." "But pious Vetusta, which ours is after all... views not keeping certain pious habits as scandalous." "Precisely yesterday in the theater..." "I felt an almost religious enthusiasm." "The sin is not that your virtue was in danger... but my prestige as a physician... a physician of the spirit." "A patient rebels." "But that's nothing." "They say that the Canon's confessional daughters... are over-indulged, watching "Don Juan"... instead of praying for their dead." "I've made a fool of you." "That imagination, Anita, that imagination!" "When will we control it?" "Nobody makes a fool of me but those I'm responsible for." "You are innocent, you haven't thought about the gossips." "Let's see..." "I believe... that our conversations would be far more efficient... if we talked outside the confessional box... with more privacy." "In church we are more reserved." "I can't forget my role as a judge." "You don't speak as freely as you should... if I'm to fully understand." "We need the whole truth... not just the ugly truth but the beautiful truth too." "I miss such acts of confidence in a friend." "You are absolutely right." "I need a friendly word, when I get this insipid feeling... that tears out the good, leaving only despair." "That apathy can and will be cured... that's what this is about." "You understand me so well." "But I don't understand... how watching Don Juan made you think about God." "Yesterday, when I saw the poor novice fall into Don Juan's arms..." "I know it's not a very religious situation... but I felt sorry for her, innocent and in love... and I felt closer to God." "In religious terms, that is almost a sin." "If we allow such outbursts... without virtuous labors... it will be a short cut to vice, believe me." "Let me speak, and we will understand each other." "It is neither good, nor holy to see a rake in a nun's cell... or a nun in a rake's house, in his arms... and to begin thinking about God." "That is bad." "You need tasks that satisfy your universal love instincts." "My child, all this can be achieved through the apparently tedious life... of the pious, the sanctimonious, to use an ugly term." "My friend, what you need to calm that thirst for infinite love... is to be sanctimonious." "Now, understand me... don't take me literally and lose all your spirit!" "Form is substance." "It is normal... for God to say to a woman who wants to love him..." ""My child, in order to remember me... you shouldn't need the story... of the love of a nun and a rake." "Come to my church... and there you will find incentive for prayer... for meditation and for all those acts of faith, hope and charity... which are my religion"." "Good gracious!" "It must be very late." "We got carried away with our chat." "I forgot to tell you that the best place for us to meet..." " is in Doña Petronila's house." " All right." "Who the devil has been here?" "Hey, you there... what bishop has been messing with my seeds?" "I don't understand you." "Yesterday, I left these seeds wrapped up in a paper." "Now, I find them scattered everywhere and this priest's glove." "Who was here last night?" "You're dreaming." "What glove?" "This one." "You don't know a thing about fashion." " A priest's glove!" " Whose is it then?" "My lady's." "Don't you see how small it is?" "Unless there are lady priests too." " Purple gloves are the fashion?" " With certain colors." "But who scattered my seeds?" "The cat!" "The cat that brought the glove here." "What cat?" "Don't fool me!" "A goldfinch!" "Don Fermin..." " Anita hasn't come." " She must be ill." "Since you told me she wanted to help with my pious work..." "I've expected her every day." "Let's see if your good influence can encourage her." " Would you like some chocolate?" " I would... but I'm expected at the palace." "You do play hard to get!" "But I won't insist." "What do you want?" "Don Alvaro Mesia is downstairs asking to see you, madam." "Didn't you tell him my husband is out?" "He asked for you." "Tell him I'm out." "My lady is not well." " She asks to be excused." " Is she ill?" "No, it's just the usual." "Nothing to worry about." "Thanks, Petra." "Anita, you're getting lost!" "All the things you are telling me..." "I have heard you say a thousand times." "We're going round in circles and it's time to put a stop to it." "Think it over, Anita..." "I am no indulgent priest... or spiritual lackey for the rich." "I am your soul father." "You decide, follow me or leave me." "Don't say that, Don Fermin." "You are breaking my soul." "It is true, it is true..." "I feel a slight aversion towards going to Doña Petronila's house." "I've been ungrateful, not only to God but to you, his apostle." "Yes, you have, Anita." "I am not some sort of wall hanging." "Piety is not a game, Anita." "Yes, I thought I had found a spiritual partner... a younger brother of a different sex." "I dreamt Vetusta was no longer a cold jail... but the home of a noble spirit, pure, and delicate... who, by choosing salvation through me... without knowing, also guided me along that road." "But no, no." " You mistrust me." " No." "Yes." "To satisfy your need for an ideal love... maybe you are looking for it in someone else... someone to confide in." "Silence!" "That's the cause of those dreams you don't even dare remember." "I promise I'll start a new life..." "I'll follow you anywhere." "Do you want me to go with you to Doña Petronila's house?" "Yes." "That would be best." "Won't you give me your absolution?" "Come in, child, come into the pink room." "You can't imagine how I appreciate this decision." " You should've told me." " I've said enough, and you know it." "Never like today." "You never said my refusal to come was a snub to you..." "It was raining so hard!" "You know the wet streets horrify me." "I feel ill." "Despite the good color of my skin, I'm ill." "But I'd have come even if I had to swim." "I may be many things, but I'm not ungrateful." "I know what I owe you." "I'll never be able to repay you." "You came into my life just in time." "I'll come to this house." "I'll do whatever you tell me to." " It's not a question of that, Anita." " Yes." "I want to be a child again... start my education, to be given direction... and not wander aimlessly as I have until now." "Sometimes I'm afraid I'll go mad." "I ask myself if it could be God that weighs so painfully on my mind... when I try to convince myself of his presence." "Anita, calm down, you're getting excited!" "Yes, there is danger, great danger... but we'll save ourselves, I am sure." "Anita, you are a good person..." "I'd give my life to save you from these apprehensions." "This is serious, and needs strong measures." "Yes, Don Fermin, you are right." "All right, good." "Now, talking a little of me... if you could see inside my soul, Anita..." "I can never repay you your beautiful decision today." "But, this is a new life, isn't it?" "Yes, my father, a new life." "My lady, you arrive just in time." "You will bear witness as the sheep promises the shepherd... never to leave the fold she has chosen." "It's spring fever." "There's no need to worry." "It's a clear case of spring fever." "For now, she must rest and bring her some soup." "I'll be back tomorrow." "And no racket." "Everyone in their place." "For nervous attacks, science prescribes rest and peace." "Petra, you may go now." "I'll take care of her." "But she needs me." "Excuse me, Don Robustiano." "If there's any news call me." "Don't cover her with too many blankets... or let Visitacion visit, she dazes her." "Your dear Quintanar is quite a gem!" "Going hunting and leaving you!" "He didn't know." "He went before I woke up, as he always does." "But that means nothing." "He is so good." "He's a true friend." "A father and a mother to me." "All right, don't get excited." "Weren't you ill last night?" "No." "It's all that Frigilis' fault." "He who spends time with Frigilis ends up as crazy as he is." "Isn't it Frigilis who says our grandparents were monkeys?" "Yes, that's him." "He's an uncivilized monkey himself... he doesn't even dress decently." "It's only for a few days." "Forget your whims and take care of Anita." "There'll be time for everything else." "The idea of staying in for so long terrifies me." "It's goodbye theater for a while." "At least the light opera will be here soon... but it's a hybrid genre..." "You must think of your wife." "You'll think me selfish." "Poor little thing!" "Servants never make the best soup." " I can't swallow it." " My dear, you have to eat." "You heard Somoza..." "If you don't eat, you won't get better." "Have your bowels moved today?" "Of course, if you don't eat anything!" "Somoza must know all these details." "The iodine, sir." "I brought you these pious books." "I am very grateful Don Fermin." "I don't know what I would've done without books." "The doctor said I shouldn't read, but I broke his rules... to read about St. Teresa." "You should obey the doctor." "At first, the letters jumped, and changed color." "My head began to ache so badly... it seemed full of grasshoppers." "Then I'd leave the book on the table and wait." "Then I'd try again, until I no longer felt dizzy." "Take care, relapses are always dangerous." "I am better." "I even get up for a while every evening." "I think only of being good and following St. Teresa... who is here, beside me." "When I think about her..." "I feel an irresistible urge to have lived in her time." "I would have followed her to the end of the world." "You must convert such religious outbursts into prayer." "Don't tell me off." "What would I have done without you?" "I had better luck than St. Teresa." "It took her twenty years to find the right confessor." "I have you." "I owe you everything." "Good evening, Don Fermin." "Good evening to you, Mr. Mesia." "Excuse me, I'll get your hat." "My lady says she's too tired to receive you." "Tell her I'll return tomorrow." " Are you happy here?" " Yes, sir." " Doña Ana is an angel." " I should think so." "Goodbye, my child." "No, go up... it's draughty here, we don't want you getting ill." ""The lady has fever, the lady won't receive anyone"..." "It's been the same story for the last fortnight." "They won't let me see her." "But the Canon can see her whenever he wants." "And it's not a rumor." "I saw him myself." "Of course, he is her confessor!" "Confessor, my eye!" "He's the first man, and what's more, in a skirt... who ever tried to take my prey." "He might even take her." " Maybe he already has." " Don't talk nonsense." "You know well nobody can beat you in that fight." "I have told you many times." "Anita is in love with you." "Maybe that corrosive confessional box... is more powerful than my prudence." "My siege has lasted months... without a single wrong word." "I laid the siege, but who knows if he got in by the back door." "Alvaro, now you're really out of your mind." "I'm not out of my mind." "It just irritates me to think how I've suffered... while Quintanar ranted on about the theater:" "Calderon..." "Lope, Tirso, Rojas, Moreto and Alarcon." "And for what?" "She takes to her bed... fearful of death, and becomes unsociable and mystical." "Who put her in this situation?" "The Canon, of course!" "Thieves!" "You won't finish me off!" "What a burden Don Santos has to bear!" "A Christian all my life." "I'm sorry!" "I was not referring to you." "The thieves are the Canon and his mother." "It is their fault I have fallen into apostasy." "Don Santos, it is no time for such things." "Time for what?" "The truth has no watch." "Neither do I." "They didn't even leave me a watch." "What are you reading?" " "Lost in a mirror"." " Again?" " Have you read about the saints?" " Yes, child." "And eucharistic plays too." "But, the books you read are unreal, lies..." "You know..." "I prefer books of meditations." "Then take the Kempis." ""The imitation of Christ"." "Read and meditate." " Will you read it?" " Yes." " Do you promise, Quintanar?" " Don't worry, dear." ""My dear older brother..." "I have already the gift of tears..." "I cry for love, my dear friend." "I saw hell in my feverish nightmares." "Be sure that it is my desire not to be ungrateful... that has given me the will to be good." "I received God's protection... through he I would call father... but who prefers I call him brother." "Yes, my dear brother... it pleases me to call you this." "I am happy... because when I decided to be good..." "I found someone to help me." "It took me a long time to understand him." "You must say which way we shall go." "I will follow blindly." "The loving trust you spoke of..." "I love also." "I am a sinner... although no man harmed me... like the bewitched priest's wife St. Teresa speaks of." "I only loved my husband... and you know how I am in love with him." "In this I have improved a lot..." "I am trying hard to care for my Quintanar... and to love him as you know I am able to." "And, by the way... my aim is to change him little by little... and to make him read holy books, instead of plays." "I'll have some success... for he is docile and you will help me." "Did you see how satisfied the Canon is?" "He has no shame anymore." "He's taken up the challenge." "He wants to seduce the Regenta." " It must be serious." " What crime are you referring to?" "Adultery." "I don't think so, not yet." "But he'll do his best." "To be sincere, I have a hunch I will be saved." "But the holy writers make it look so difficult... that I wonder if I've been good enough." "There's no need to be too scrupulous." "But being saved, or not, is a very serious matter." "The most serious, don't doubt it." "I know we have to think about it but..." "I don't know how to deal with such puzzles." "It took me long enough to sort out my retirement... and retirement is quite a temporary matter." "If you consider the salvation of the soul... it is eternal retirement." "My best recommendation for salvation is prayer." "Anita tells me that too... and to meditate about the torment of hell... but I don't know." "What do you want me to say?" "Each time I start thinking about the fires... the fires can't be real, can they?" "They're symbolic." "Listen... is it a mortal sin to doubt the Pope's infallibility?" "Another brandy." "Don't drink any more, you know what happens." "Another brandy, I said!" "It's up to you." "Later, you'll kick and scream outside "The Gold Guardian"... the neighbors will complain and one day you'll be prosecuted." "How could the authorities take a repressive measure against me... when they ruined me!" "Remember what they say about playing with fire." "As I was telling you, I read in a very reliable book... that Jesus Christ... was just a constellation." "Yes, a constellation." "I'm not suspicious, I've always been a good catholic... but since that monopoly disguised as competition ruined me..." "I'm questioning everything." "I didn't invent the thing about the constellation, I read it." "Anyway, if I am wrong and this is blasphemy... it's the fault of that rogue, that bloody priest... that damned Don Fermin." "God bless you." "We, the desperate children of Eve, look to you!" "We sigh for you, we mourn in this valley of tears!" "I'm afraid of two things:" "magnetism and ecstasy." "Just between us, Tomas, I believe... if God doesn't do something Anita will become a saint." "If she becomes a saint, it will be an honor for the family." "But this also brings problems." "Above all, I fear the supernatural, like magnetism... and I do believe in magnetism." "Although as a science it's still in its infancy." "I don't need these things to believe in Providence." "A clap of thunder is enough for me to believe there's a Supreme Judge." "And as I always say... if lightning doesn't convince you, nothing will." "You're right about that, but I wouldn't be worried." "Do you think Anita will see apparitions?" "Ana is still ill... but if you want to know the truth... it's an illness I can't classify." "It's like a tree that blossoms and carries on blossoming... consuming all its sap in flowers." "It will grow thin, with more and more blossom." "Afterwards, the roots, trunk, and branches will dry out... and the blossoms will fall to the ground and wither." "My goodness!" "You're not much help." "That's what Anita's illness is like." "As for the cause of infection, with all due respect..." " I blame the Canon." " I was afraid of that." "The clergy is tyrannical." "I suspected that their influence in the home was not of benefit." "Especially, that Don Fermin who was a Jesuit." "He's still a bit of a Jesuit." "By the way, do you know if ladies wear purple silk gloves?" "Now that you ask, I don't know." "Why?" "Just curious." "Skill in love almost always involves trickery." "He who thinks otherwise is a dreamer." "If women were not sometimes so lascivious... victories would be scarce." "Few give themselves for pure love." "Opportunity is more important than charm." "It's good to talk a while of such frivolous matters... but gentlemen... we are here to celebrate the birth of a society... that intends to pursue the self-righteous... and to remove from Vetustan society... all those mystic, blood-sucking leeches." "Gentlemen, war on the usurper clergy!" "War on a clergy that trades in holy things!" "Down with the high clergy!" "And above all..." " down with the Canon!" " Down with him!" "Teresina, tomorrow I'm going rent-collecting." "So you're in charge." "Take good care of the master." "Make sure he has clean clothes every day... and that his meals are on time." "You know what he likes." "Don't worry." "He'll be short of nothing." "Sir, Alvaro Mesia is here." "Let him in immediately." "It's been so long since you came to visit!" "Call my wife." "You'll want to see her?" "If she's busy, don't bother her." "She's always busy and not so busy." "It's what she's like." "Call her." " Sit down." " Thank you." "I am taking a trip around the province..." "I'll be back in mid-August." "We won't meet again until the end of September." "You seem sad." "Have you been ill?" "No?" "Why?" "Do I look ill?" "Be frank." "Nothing like that." "I just thought you seemed less happy... or worried, I don't know." "Have you read this?" "What is it?" "Kempis, "The imitation of Christ"." "You?" "You too?" "That book takes away your humour." "It makes you think about things... you never thought of before." "Life, is really very sad." "Everything is transitory." "You're leaving." "The marquises are leaving too." "Ripamilan has gone already... in less than a fortnight Vetusta will be empty." "The only ones left are the poor, the workers, and us." "Cheer up, the sun will come out from time to time." "I prefer Winter with its bad weather and constant rain..." "I don't know." "Where's that girl got to?" "I'm not surprised." " Good evening, Alvaro." " Good evening." "I'm leaving tomorrow and I came to say goodbye." "We're staying in Vetusta." "The doctor said the sea air... would do me more harm than good." "Vetusta is very sad in the Summer." "I hope you have fun, Alvaro." "You can have no rival!" "Owner of my life, life of my love... open the wound of your heart to me." "Divine heart, sweet as honey... you are the path... of the true soul..." "The chocolate!" " Good morning, Teresina." " Good morning, master." "Owner of my heart, life of my love..." "You never tell me about yourself." "What for?" "Half my life is devoted to slander, hatred... and envy, which devour it at will." "It cannot be." "Yes, Ana." "They pursue me, they prepare traps." "They've even founded a society to... overthrow me from what they call power." "What would I do without you?" "I assure you, I think only of my other half." "The half I bring here." "The half who lives in peace and faith, surrounded by noble souls... like that of a lady you know well... but do not fully appreciate." "So, you're being slandered... and you didn't tell me?" "Why am I here?" "Can't I comfort you too?" "You are my older brother, who guides me along Heaven's path." "I owe you something." "Let's sit down." "Sit down there." "I also want to confess something to you." "Do you think I am perfect?" " Yes." " No, my child, I am not." "Do you think no passion lurks beneath this cassock?" "Unfortunately, it does." "But it disappears before a purer ambition... that of saving good souls, like yours for example." "You have to look after yourself." " I'd be lost if you died." " No, my child..." "I won't die because I have to save you..." " and you are going to save me." " I am so happy!" "I owe so much of my happiness to you!" "I reprehend myself, for when my thoughts should be of God... they are often for the man he chose to save me." "Without a friend like you, the world was a wilderness... like a small, overheated room." "But today we opened a window facing heaven." "There's nothing to fear." "Good morning, gentlemen." "You seem very happy today." "On the contrary, Archpriest." "Poor Don Santos will die for sure." "Goodness me." "Why do you think he's dying?" " From drinking too much." " No!" "He's starving to death!" "The commercial rival of "The Gold Guardian"... the victim of the illegal monopoly... run by Doña Paula and her son is starving to death." " I won't allow..." " Science isn't accusing anyone... it has another mission." "I don't deny that chronic alcoholism... has some part in Barrinaga's illness... but there's no doubt that a good diet could have reduced its effects." "Besides, today poor Don Santos... doesn't even have the money to get drunk." "And even if you don't understand... science states... that depriving this man of alcohol will precipitate his death... precisely because his illness is due to alcohol abuse." " How is this possible?" " Explain yourself." "Although it may surprise you, Don Santos... needs more alcohol to last a few months longer." "But, how can that be?" "Let's see, Mr. Forja... do you know what the hypothermic power of alcohol is?" "Be quiet then." "Do you know how the diaphoretic power of alcohol is counteracted?" "You don't know either." "You don't know anything." " Hello, son." " Hello, mother." "Teresina, see to the luggage." "What a trip!" "I had to ride with him!" ""Don Alvaro Mesia's many friends say... that our distinguished faith brother... is willing to start a sensibly liberal propaganda campaign... in the realms of politics, morality and religion."" ""You can count on our support to overcome... the obstacles to true progress... the theocratic despotism that Vetusta is sick of... as is commonly said."" "Have you heard?" "Take this libel out of my sight." "Idiots!" "Take it away!" "Mother..." "What are you doing there?" "Our power is tottering." "What do you mean?" "Those bastards are laying a minefield." " Because of the Regenta?" " Don't start about that again." "Since Don Santos got ill, I have noticed.... a certain reserve in many houses." "Some of the wives of Liberals have stopped confessing to me." "The "Alerta" was full of traps today." "You should listen to your mother." "You don't need to tell me Don Alvaro is involved." "That's not the worst thing." "The Bishop looks at me coldly, as if he want to ask me something." "People are whispering in the park." "That's enough moaning, Fermo." "It's time for action." "First, I'll get rid of the stock from "The Gold Guardian"... so they don't blame us for Barinaga's illness." "They won't catch me unprepared." "You won't like it, but I tell you this:" "You say the Regenta isn't involved?" "We'll just have to see." "You're mad about her, blind." " But mother..." " No." "Don't interrupt me." "I'm already informed of this Summer's events." "If you don't do as I say, you are lost." "Who knows if we'll have to leave Vetusta when we least expect it." "But if I have to leave, heads are going to roll." "Now, go to bed." "Your mother will take care of what you are not able to." "God knows what happened during my absence... in the House of Ozores." "I'll think about it tomorrow." "Father, Don Custodio and Doña Petronila are here... they've come to see how you are." "Get out of my house!" "Get out of my house!" "Bring me a broom and I'll kick them out myself." "And that priest, that Canon, that damned priest... the one who ruined me... has come to make fun of me." "Calm down." "Can't you see it's not the Canon?" "It is, it is." "Come in, come in, damn you!" "For God's sake, father, you are delirious!" "You hypocrite!" "Evil bitch!" " Don Santos, please calm down." " He's gone mad." "And Don Custodio is here too... the one who stole you from me... the handsome one of the bunch." "And his mistress!" "If I catch you both!" "Jesus, let's get out of here!" "Yes, get out, you Church Procuress... the Church which ruined me." "I, Santos Marinaga... am dying because I lack... sufficient alcohol." "The Bishop should know this." "Don Santos is refusing the Lord, refusing to confess." "My God, Fermo, I beg you to let me go." " What?" " I want to see him, he'll obey me." "I must persuade him." "I'll go by coach so I won't be seen." "It's madness, sir." "But Fermo, a soul will be lost." "We must not go out." "The Bishop visiting a stubborn heretic!" "Exactly, Fermo." "He's a rude drunk, and he'll spit in your face." "Don't even think about it." "It would be ridiculous!" "Ladies and gentlemen... with firm convictions..." "Santos Marinaga has just passed away." " Shall we pray?" " I know it's a contradiction... but Vetusta isn't ready for a civil funeral." "Poor Don Santos died like a dog, and it's the Canon's fault." "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name." "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..." ""I am the Almighty God of Earth and Air... of the wide open seas, and of the abyss... of its terrible hell." "I have never known fear." "All I want, I shall have... even if I want the impossible." "And in all that is possible..." "I command, place, replace and forbid."" "Who is there?" "Petra." "Is that you?" "If now, by miracle..." "Alvaro came here, and embraced me..." "I would pass out in his arms..." " Teresina." " Master?" "You are so thin!" " I am so alone!" " Alone?" "I don't understand." "My mother loves me, I know." "But she is not like me." "She procures my well-being in a way that..." "I don't want to follow anymore." "You know all this, Ana." "But why are you alone?" "What about the others?" "The others, are not my mother." "They are nothing to me." "What's wrong, Ana?" "Are you ill?" " I'll call..." " No, it was just a shiver." "You might have a fit." "It's just the cold... the damp." "Leave me alone, leave me." "What is the matter?" "I need to know it all." "I have the right!" "I'll tell you everything tomorrow at church." "No, this evening." "But, what is the matter?" "What is this Ana?" "For God's sake, Ana." "Can't you see how I tremble?" "I'm not a toy." "What's wrong?" "What should I fear?" "I know that people whisper about us." "Of your reputation." "Of Don Alvaro and you, of my rival!" "Yes, the slander has gone that far." "Yes, madam." "They are hurt by our friendship and want to separate us." "They sling mud at us." "It's over!" "You have not understood me..." "I am the one who is alone, you are the ungrateful." "Your mother may love you more, but I owe you more." "I have promised God I'll die for you if I have to." "Everyone pursues you, I hate them all." "And I throw myself at your feet to confess my deepest secrets." "I didn't suspect my reputation was being discussed." "But well, let them talk." "I know my place." "It is here... at the feet of the martyr they kill by slander." "Quiet, Anita!" "The lady is coming." "Be at the cathedral this evening." "Yes, this evening." "Don't worry." "I have said almost all I had to." " But what about that man?" " As for him, nothing." "You look so beautiful today, like a rose!" "I don't understand why we're arguing." "It is a long-standing tradition... to hold the Carnival Ball on Monday." "Why should this year be different?" "This year the Carnival is lifeless because of the Missionaries." "I had a tailcoat specially made!" "The Missionaries can say what they like." "You know I believe... in everything the Church preaches." "But, really... all that about the constant contemplation of divinity... is really tedious." "The Jesuits say the same thing." "At least it's not tiring." "I'll be happy just to idle away my eternity." "I've worked enough in this world!" "We run the risk of being snubbed." "Most of the upstanding ladies are devoted to the Jesuits." "I think many of them wear hair shirts under their blouses." "The Canon is not as powerful as the Missionaries." "He hasn't managed to get his penitents... to wear those diabolical inventions." "Because he hasn't tried." "As the President said, we run the risk of being snubbed." "The cream of conservatism... who always liven things up, won't come..." "I know them well." "Now, they're having fun playing at saints." "Now, they're mystics." "What they need is a good lashing!" "I've got an idea." "Let's do some research." "Those members linked to respectable families... should find out if the ladies are coming." "If they're coming, the others will definitely come... despite all the Jesuits in the world." "I am afraid that if the Canon doesn't approve... many of them will stay at home." "Gentlemen, I promise I'll bring my wife." " She won't dance, but it's a start." " What an acquisition!" "If word gets out the Regenta is coming, they'll all be here." "It will set a good example." "Ana has been out of circulation so long." "Quintanar, if you get her to come, we'll put you in charge of the casino." "Mr. Foja, in my house... a slight insinuation from me is an order." "What if he insists I go?" "He's weak." "If we insist he will give up." " What if he's stubborn?" " But, why?" "He is like that." "I don't know who put the idea in his head... he says if I don't go, I'll make a fool of him." "And he mentions us." "He talks about who is to blame." "He says he's not master in his own house... that it's being ruled from outside... and he doesn't want his house to be the new Paraguay." "All right." "If he insists, we'll have to go to the ball." "We mustn't make him angry." "After all, he is who he is." "Is he still friends with Alvaro?" "He doesn't bring him home." " Is it a dress ball?" " I believe so." "Are low-cut dresses obligatory?" "No, only the men must wear formal dress." "The ladies can choose." "Some will wear high necklines." "We'll wear high necklines." "Yes." "If you like, you can see it now." "How?" "Because." "Women's matters, Mr. Inquisitive." "Body and guilt are separate things." "I shall wear dark colors." "I bring my body to confess." "And when the shawl is removed... everyone will be satisfied." "The Regenta." "Poor Canon!" " She's so beautiful!" " But so simply dressed." " Good evening, Anita." " Good evening." "You rascal!" "You kept quiet about being the Regenta's partner tonight." "Venus of Nilo, as Trabuco would say..." ""The Seated Virgin."" "When Alvaro sees her, he'll be struck dumb!" "At last you honor us with your presence... prodigal daughter of our society." "My dear, thank God!" "I thought it was snub number 101." "Don't say that." "You always torment me." " Thank you, Ana." " My pleasure." "At my age one can't get up to such devilry." "Don't be modest, everyone knows you are..." " the best dancer in Vetusta." " Time for dinner." "Trabuco has reserved the reading room." ""What crime did I commit for you to hate me, ungrateful beast?" "God knows, but doesn't want me to love you more than me"." "Heavens above!" "Be quiet, Quintanar." ""So, madam, I see myself without self, God or you... without God because I desire you... without self because I am without you... and without you because I don't have you..."" "Scandalous!" "When Victor is among friends... and has one drink too many, he is frankly annoying." "For God's sake, you'll make me blush." "My son takes after his father... who was always a womanizer." "I always say that in a good meal, first you get salt and pepper... and later, fantasy and alcohol." "I hear you spent a few days in Palomares." "Did you have fun?" "You never come to visit me anymore." "You know what trips to Palomares are like." " I heard some things..." " Gossip." "I was not in the mood for adventures." "That's not what they say." "Something happened, I won't hide it from you." "I met a woman, yes." "One of those women desired by many... but I didn't want her." "I didn't want her, because love affairs are just pastimes." "Since love condemned my soul." "Love is something else." "And well you know it." "Do you remember that excursion last Spring?" " It is very hot in here!" " Anita's face is rosy!" "Of course, she's got Alvaro on one side... and Quintanar's nonsense on the other." "He gives me a headache!" "Stop the gossip." "Everybody to dance!" ""So, madam, I see myself without self, God or you..." "Without you because I don't have you..."" "Ana, go and dance." "Alvaro, invite her to dance." "Anita has fainted!" "Anita, what's wrong?" " Doctor, what's wrong?" " Hurry, bring a carriage!" "Come on, Ana, please." "Clear the way, clear the way!" "It is true, she fainted." " Just like that, suddenly?" " The Regenta?" "Yes." "Doña Ana Ozores... the Regenta herself... fainted in the arms of Don Alvaro Mesia." "What a scandal!" "It was to be expected." "Mother..." "Mother..." " What's this?" " I wanted... to see you straight away." "I am crazy." "Tonight I thought I was going to die." "Yesterday..." "I am crazy." "I know everything." " Everything?" " Yesterday, the ball, the dinner." "What ball?" "What dinner?" "It's not that." "They got me drunk, I don't know..." "It is that I'm afraid, here, Fermin, here in my head." "Someone take pity on me." "I'm alone." "Let's see, let's see..." "What happened?" "I was told..." "What happened?" "Last night I saw a thousand images... mixed with memories of the ball." "The idea of what I did horrified me." "This morning, I awoke and felt the weakness..." "I've told you about so often..." "I saw my own misery like a blinding light." "I thought I was going crazy and tremendous doubts invaded me." "God was only I fixed idea, a whim." "I want to be saved!" "I want to talk of God again... of Heaven, of a soul in love with heavenly ideas." "Yes." "I want my brother to save me..." "St. Teresa to illuminate me, God to caress my soul." "I want to confess, here, it doesn't matter where." "That's what I want, to know everything!" "I also suffer..." "I thought I'd die waiting... sitting there for over an hour, there... where so often we have spoken of Heaven and of us." "I am human too!" "I also need a brotherly soul, but it must be true!" " True, not treacherous." " My treachery would kill you?" "Yes!" "You must tell me everything." "It wasn't me." "They made me go." "I don't know why I went." "Don't accuse the others." "I want the facts." "That man, Mesia..." "What happened with him?" " I don't love him." " What happened last night?" "I danced with him." "Quintanar made me!" "No excuses." "That is not confession." "I danced because my husband wanted me to." "They made me drink, I felt ill, and I fainted." " In the arms of that man?" " In his arms!" "Good... that's what I heard." " You were dancing with him." " I don't remember." "Swine." "Silence!" "There's no need to exaggerate." "I'm no ogre." "Why are you afraid?" "I scare you, don't I?" "Why?" "Who am I?" "Where do I rule?" "My power is spiritual." "You didn't believe in God." " My God!" " Yes, you said it." "Without God I'm nobody, but you may go anywhere." "It's over." "I look a fool!" "Everyone is laughing at me!" "Mesia will spit on me when he sees me." "A spiritual father... this spiritual father is a poor devil." " What are you waiting for?" " There is no hurry." "I don't want to thwart an attack." "I prefer to wait until Lent is over." "Anita is a pious woman." "She will surely fast." "It's bad business." "At Easter." "After the Resurrection of our Lord, the world... seems happier and pleasure seems more permissible." "I see you're very religious today." " You must be getting old." " I don't deny it." "My latest adventures have exhausted me." "You know the extremes a conquered woman will reach... are directly proportional to the distance traveled." "Explain yourself." "The further away a woman is from vice... the more extreme her fall into it." "Well, you better get ready... because if the Regenta falls... it will be very extreme!" "There's a letter for you, sir." "Petra brought it." " Who was at the door?" " A beggar, no one." "You're getting up, with a temperature?" "Yes, mother." "I have to go out." "Fermin, I need to see you, I want to apologise." "To New Square, Rinconada." "Quick." "God has illuminated me again." "I would go to your house, but I fear it would be indiscreet." "Where can I talk to you?" "I'm sure that out of charity, you will answer my letter." "If you don't, I'll go to your house." "Your best friend, your slave... as I swore, I will keep my word." "Ana." "How could I have doubted my older brother?" "Fermin, I have sinned... but I am willing to repent." "Never again, never again!" "Anita, for Heaven's sake, stand up." "I will be yours again..." "I will be your slave for life." "Now is a good chance for you to do so." "Holy Week is near, it is time for penitence." "Shall I be in the Good Friday procession!" "As a Nazarene!" "I'll let all Vetusta see I am my confessor's servant." "If I had a bomb, I'd throw it straight at the Canon... as he walks triumphantly past." "Calm down." "This is the beginning of the end." "I'm sure Ana is dying of shame right now." "They have made a fanatic of her, what can we do?" "She'll come round." "She's coming!" " She looks so beautiful." " But one has to be brave!" "She looks like a saint!" "I think she's dead." "She looks like she's made of plaster." "She's dying of shame." "Going barefoot is terrible." "She'll be bedridden for a week with her feet in tatters." "Such extremes are not proper for decent people." "This is undignified." "It only serves to encourage the Canon." "A married woman should be at home." "Without taking into account that this will lead to abuse." "Next year we'll see Obdulia Fandiño barefoot... bare-legged, and on a penitent's arm." "I swear, I'd rather see her in the arms of a lover!" "A thousand times!" "Find her a lover, seduce her!" "Anything, rather than see her a fanatic!" "Never again." "Never again."