Just look at these flowers open in my honor! Claire, am I not a lovelier Virgin?
You speak of widowhood and deny me the white gown–the mourning of queens. You're unaware of that, Claire–
By the devil! He's carrying me away in his fragrant arms. He's lifting me up, I leave the ground, I'm off...
You see straight through me. You divine my thoughts.
You think you can deprive me forever of the beauty of the sky, that you can choose your perfumes and powders, your nail-polish and silk and velvet and lace, and deprive me of them?
Madame thought she was protected by her barricade of flowers, saved by some special destiny,
Now, here are the two maids, the faithful servants! They're standing in front of you. Despise them. Look more beautiful.–We no longer fear you. We're merged, enveloped in our fumes, in our revels, in our hatred of you. The mold is setting. We're taking shape, Madame.
Her kindness, is it? It's easy to be kind, and smiling, and sweet–ah! that sweetness of hers!–when you're beautiful and rich. But what if you're only a maid? The best you can do is to give yourself airs while you're doing the cleaning or washing up. You twirl a feather duster like a fan. You make fancy gestures with the dishcloth.
Nothing comes after. I'm sick and tired of kneeling in pews. In church I'd have had the red velvet of abbesses or the stone of the penitents, but my bearing at least would have been noble. Look, just look at how she suffers. How she suffers in beauty. Grief transfigures her doesn't it? Beautifies her? When she learned that her lover was a thief, she stood up to the police. She exulted. Now she is forlorn and splendid, supported under each arm by two devoted servants whose hearts bleed to see her grief. Did you see it? Her grief sparkling with the glint of her jewels, with the stain of her gowns, in the glow of the chandelier! Claire, I wanted to make up for the poverty of my grief by the splendor of my crime. Afterward, I'd have set fire to the lot.
She'll corrupt us with her sweetness.
I lost my strength. In order to get at her throat, I'd have had to lift the sheet from her heaving bosom.
[Suddenly calm] I'm capable of anything, you know.
I want to help you. I want to comfort you, but I know I disgust you. I'm repulsive to you. And I know it because you disgust me. When slaves love one another, it's not love.
And all that remains of them to float about Madame's airy corpse is the delicate perfume of the holy maidens which they were in secret. We are beautiful, joyous, drunk, and free!