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Oskar Panizza, The Council of Love (1895)

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Third Angel: bursting forth: He crushed me and poisoned me, and spit on me with his hot breath, and wanted to press himself into my body . . .

First and Second Angels: clapping their hands together with concealed astonishment: What? – And your mother didn’t come in to save you?

Third Angel: She just stood at the partially open door and kept saying: “Just be a good girl, Lilli, just be a good girl!”

Second Angel: Well, and then what?

Third Angel: Then I lay there sobbing on the bed.

First Angel: And then?

Third Angel: collecting her thoughts: . . . then I heard my mother talking with the man . . .

Second Angel: What did they say?

Third Angel: collecting her thoughts for a long time: . . . I can’t remember anymore; . . . they were already in the next room . . . I heard the number five hundred . . .

First Angel: And then?

Third Angel: collecting her thoughts for an even longer time: . . . my mother came in . . . she said now they had lots of money and could live happily and gay forever . . . she runs out of thoughts.

First Angel: pressing her: And then? –

Second Angel: also pressing her: And then? And then?

Third Angel: almost transfigured: And then – I died.

First and Second Angels: moving away from each other, clapping their hands over their heads, making a drawn-out, girlish shriek, as if to release some inner excitement, they moved around, whistling like two spinning tops, making the widest possible circles in the hall; the third one still remained in a rigid, transfigured posture.

First Angel: after whirling around for quite some time, out of breath: And so now your mother spends lots of money to have masses read for your soul?!

Third Angel: tearfully anxious: But then I died in sin!

Second Angel: more insistently: For these 500 marks, or dollars, or francs your mother now has masses read for your soul?!

Third Angel: not understanding, innocently: . . . for a portion of the money.

Two Older Angels: come rushing in suddenly and shout: HE is coming! – HE is coming! – Is everything ready? – The three younger ones separate and take up their tasks.

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