Kovács Ferenc: Olvasópróba előtt (Skenotheke 1. Budapest, 1996)

Felhasznált irodalom

11-1-5 The audience hears-Borkman's (symbolic) inner monologue about the treasures buried in the mountains. (Here I propose to omit several of Mrs Borkman's replies in order to emphasize Borkman's ridiculous inner thoughts, his self-centeredness.) II-1-6 Mrs Borkman wants to know why Borkman never approached her with his problems. 11-1-7 Erhart finally arrives. We are approaching the dramatic climax. The family is together, everyone lays a claim to the young man, who, in tum, rejects them one by one: first Ella - his foster mother - then his mother, and eventually his father. He wants to be free to live his own life, the life of a young man. He summons Fanny, who is waiting in the hallway. 11-1-8 Fanny enters and stands by the door. From this moment there is no doubt about the fate of either the old people or Erhart. There is a heated exchange of words between the old and the young, which the latter win. Clearly, their journey had been planned and prearranged, much like the old people had planned their future without seeking consent. 11-1-9 Fanny Frida and Erhart depart in a sleigh. Hearing the jingling bells fade into the distance, Mrs Borkman utters a feeble sigh: "Erhart." II1 -1

0 Borkman, too, thirsts for a new life, for the fresh air outside. Ella follows him in a motherly fashion. 11-1-11 Mrs Borkman is left alone. She paces compulsively just as Borkman used to do. She looks at photographs of her son in an album, then removes them and puts them on display in her living room. 11-1-12 While Mrs Borkman is fiddling with the photographs, her inner monologue reveals an intense yearning forher son and her wish to call him back. 11-3-1 In front of the house, standing in the cold wind, Ella and Borkman argue about whether or not they should go back to the house. Borkman: no, not there, never. Meanwhile, the air literally freezes around them as the audience sees a white shroud fall from the theatre attic to cover the entire second floor as well as the railings of the staircase. However, the living room on the first floor, where Mrs Borkman continues to finger her son's photographs, is left uncovered. Borkman and Ella are climbing up the white-shrouded staircase: up to the mountain and to the 58