cultural resources in henrik ibsen's early environment - Ibsen.net

The rich, powerful, highborn duke?
How can you still give a thought to
That lowly house at Guadalquivir,
Here in the midst of your royal splendor?
CLARA.
Peace rested on that lowly house!
Peace, a child's peace! So gentle, so light, so easy
Like the morning sky on the shining sea.
The happy freedom I have left yonder
On the river's fresh, blooming bank;
Like a captive bird, on the wild seacoast,
Now I only dream about that lost peace.
There is a place deep in my father's garden,
Where palm trees and acacias softly waved
And the river glistened through the net of leaves.
I hide my youthful memory
In the shade under the palm tree's broad leaves,
The wave whispers one name only.
Say it, Maja! Let me hear the sound,
So that the soul's most secret, silent thought
Can quench its thirst for an encouraging word!
MAJA.
Isn't it the arbor, surely, where your father,
Don Gusman, always sat in the cool evening,
And where you brought him his wine and fruit?
CLARA.
Ah yes, the poor old man! Perhaps he is sitting
There now and playing chess with Father Anton
And thinking often about the distant Clara?
But that is still not exactly right.
There is another place in the garden, Maja!
MAJA.
Now I have it! Of course, you mean the place
260