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• The Sultan's Queen : ACT ONE Scene Three (from I. 241) , ACT ONE, Scene Six, I. 656-811

The Sultan's Queen, translated by Kathleen Jeffs (née Mountjoy)

ACT ONE Scene Three (from I. 241)

Sample text

CATALINA:

What is it, Rustán?

RUSTÁN:

The hour of our early death
has come already, my lady:
for my soul tells me it is so
and the proof is that I am crying;

though I may seem womanly,
but I never usually shed tears
to indicate some great good or evil
as women normally do.

My lady, Mamí has discovered,
as he is both astute and wicked,
the time which I have kept you safe,
and he has misjudged my loyalty
to be treachery and sin.

He is on his way now to our Great Lord
to tell him, out of malice, the fact
that I have acted for your protection,
his malicious heart full as always of spite and rage.

CATALINA:

What are we to do?

RUSTÁN:

Wait for death,
with all imaginable fortitude,
although I know the Sultan
will show respect to your beauty.

The Sultan will not kill you—
it is Rustán who shall die,
as the author of the events.

CATALINA:

Is the Great Lord cruel?

RUSTÁN:

His people call him a mild leader

but in truth, he is a tyrant.

CATALINA:

Despite it all, I trust in God,
for His powerful hand
can free us both from our
terrible fear, which is very real;

and if Heaven were to close its ears
to my prayers for my sins,
I will prepare my heart
for the worst.

Evil shall not triumph
over my soul—over my body, yes,
for it is weak, fragile and powerless.

RUSTÁN:

I feared this would be the result
of my Christian conduct.

But I am not repentant;
no, I am watchful and ready
with patience and endurance
for any form of torture.

CATALINA:

Then we are resolved.

I am prepared to receive as a gift
any punishment they can deal me.

RUSTÁN:

Such a noble countenance
is never condemned to death.

You will find in your beauty
not suffering, but fortune;
mine will be the opposite fate,
I fear, in a fiery grave.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation The Sultan's Queen by Kathleen Jeffs (née Mountjoy) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

ACT ONE, Scene Six, I. 656-811

Context:

Mamí has brought Catalina to the Sultan and asks, 'is she not as beautiful as I told you, my Lord?'

Sample text

MAMÍ:

Didn’t I tell you she was a rose
not yet in full bloom?
What more could the most
skilful tongue have told you of her?

Did I not paint her with my words
to be as discreet a woman as anyone has ever seen?
Could a lying poet have
described her better to you?

RUSTÁN:

I made her out to be Heaven on legs, my Lord.

SULTAN:

Making her out to be as fine as her Maker
you’re quite right.

RUSTÁN:

Not so far;
for such grand qualities
are reserved only for God.

SULTAN:

You have done your best to

describe her but have both fallen short,
for which, without another word,
I will have you impaled
before the day is over.

You would deserve an even greater punishment
you traitor, Rustán, for it is clear
that you have kept a great treasure
hidden from me these three days.

Three days you have detained
the course of my fortune!
Three days I lived, falsely assured of my happiness,

three days you have defrauded me
of the greatest good to be found
in the circumference of the earth
and all the golden sun can see.

You will die, without a doubt,
today, on this very day;
for, where my destiny begins
yours is about to end.

CATALINA:

If this prisoner finds
any favour with you,
let Rustán and Mamí live.

SULTAN:

Let Rustán die; let Mamí live.

But damn my tongue
for pronouncing such a sentence;
you have spoken!
It is not for me to deny you.
I will make up for this fault

by making you such a pronouncement,
with all that I am worth,
I will not dispute your orders
even in the tiniest detail.

Not only will Rustán live
but, if you approve,
you shall release the prisoners
who are in the dungeons

because my will is so utterly
subjected to yours,
as is darkness
subject to the light of day.

CATALINA:

I am not able
to do so much good, my Lord.

SULTAN:

Love knows how to make you
equal with majesty.

I will see all the kingdoms I possess,
which are almost limitless,
yield to your jurisdiction;

already my great dominions
— which have made me a powerful lord
by justice and by right—
they are now more yours than mine;

and do not say,
‘I am this, I was that’;
for, as you already command me,
it’s nothing for you to command the world.

Be you Turkish or Christian,
I do not care either way;
this beauty is my wife,
and from this day forward The Sultan’s Queen.

CATALINA:

I am Christian, and as such,
it is not for me to change my faith
because of excessive promises
nor under the threat of death.

And it is not wise for you
to take a course of action so extraordinary
that your people will
think you insane.

Where will it have been seen
in two who share a bed
for one to hold in his heart
Mohamed, and the other Christ?

Your great power has not
restrained your desires,
for Love does not unite two
who are divided by law.

Your Highness, keep to your
rites and your sect,
it is not right for you to interfere
with my law and my lowliness.

SULTAN:

I enter into these ‘words’
only because Love gives me licence;
I am your circumference,
and you, my lady, are my centre;

the things that belong to you
and to me must be equal,
without stopping to take account
of any point on which they may not be matched.

Majesty and love have never
gone well together, and those who
spoke most wisely about it
put them on an equal footing.

In this way all you see
will be prepared, for,
humbling myself at your feet,
I’ll raise you to the level of my crown.

We are equals now.

CATALINA:

Rise, my Lord, rise,
for so much humility is frightening.

MAMÍ:

He’s yielded to her; he’s vanquished.

CATALINA:

I beg your mercy, a favour,
which you must grant me.

SULTAN:

Whatever it may be that you desire
I will obey without a word.

Liberate, condemn, rescue,
absolve, acquit, do favours,
this and more, my Lady, you can do;
for Love expands your empire.

Ask me the impossible
and I will offer it all to you;
to show you I am yours,
I can make it all possible.

Do not content yourself
with trifles, my love;
for I will do, though I am a sinner,
miracles to please you.

CATALINA:

I only ask you for three days,
Great Lord, to think . . .

SULTAN:

Three days will kill me.

CATALINA:

. . . I don’t know, I have doubts
which have made me unsure,
and once I have purged them
come and you will see clearly
your place in my heart.

SULTAN:

I am content. Go in peace,
war of my thoughts,
bounty of my pleasures,
solace of my anxieties.

You all, aggrieved and joyful
in the same instant,
are dismissed for today with
six times your normal wages.

Go, Rustán, and give the news
to all the prisoners
of my upcoming wedding.

MAMÍ:

You bring them a gracious gift.

SULTAN:

tell them this too:
as if she were divine,
from today they serve and adore
my beautiful Catalina.

Exit the SULTAN, MAMÍ, RUSTÁN, and CATALINA remains alone onstage.

Copyright

The above sample taken from the translation The Sultan's Queen by Kathleen Jeffs (née Mountjoy) is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Entry written by Kathleen Jeffs. Last updated on 15 November 2010.

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