It is so. The other was
only sickly thoughts that come with the wind like pestilence and
fever. Look at me that I may see my soul in your eyes!--But I see
her soul, too! You have two souls and you love me with one and hate
me with the other. But you must only love me! You must have only
one soul, or you will never have peace, nor I either. You must have
only one mind, which is the child of my mind and one will, which is
my will.
BERTHA. But I don't want to, I want to be myself.
CAPTAIN. You must not. You see, I am a cannibal, and I want to eat
you. Your mother wanted to eat me, but she was not allowed to. I am
Saturn who ate his children because it had been prophesied that
they would eat him. To eat or be eaten! That is the question. If I
do not eat you, you will eat me, and you have already shown your
teeth! But don't be frightened my dear child; I won't harm you.
[Goes and takes a revolver from the wall.]
BERTHA [Trying to escape]. Help, Mother, help, he wants to kill me.
NURSE [Comes in]. Mr. Adolf, what is it?
CAPTAIN [Examining revolver]. Have you taken out the cartridges?
NURSE. Yes, I put them away when I was tidying up, but sit down and
be quiet and I'll get them out again!
[She takes the Captain by the arm and gets him into a chair, into
which he sinks feebly. Then she takes out the straitjacket and goes
behind the chair. Bertha slips out left.]
NURSE. Mr. Adolf, do you remember when you were my dear little boy
and I tucked you in at night and used to repeat: "God who holds his
children dear" to you, and do you remember how I used to get up in
the night and give you a drink, how I would light the candle and
tell you stories when you had bad dreams and couldn't sleep? Do you
remember all that?
CAPTAIN.
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