The Case of Lisandra P. by Hélène Grémillon Read Free Book Online Page A

have to call him.
    VITTORIO
    Wait here for a moment. [
Long silence.
] Go ahead, I asked my wife to let you use the living room so you can call. [
Long silence.
] Is your son all right? Do you feel better now?
    ALICIA
    I still can’t understand how in one life he can have gone from a state of complete dependency, where as a baby he couldn’tlive one second without me, to this independence where even speaking to me on the telephone for two minutes seems to involve a major effort.
    VITTORIO
    So, Juan is fine. You see, just because you project yourself into an upsetting event doesn’t mean it necessarily happens, or that you create it. Rest assured, we all have thoughts from time to time that seem terrible. You mustn’t take them literally, you must just try and understand what they mean deep down where you yourself are concerned.
    ALICIA
    How old are you?
    VITTORIO
    Fifty-one.
    ALICIA
    And your wife? I just saw her, she’s so young—what do you know, I didn’t think you were that type.
    VITTORIO
    Alicia . . . let’s get back to our discussion, please.
    ALICIA
    Why don’t we play a guessing game? Apparently games alleviate boredom—do you still want to know why I wear these gloves?
    VITTORIO
    I’ve often wondered, but I have to admit I don’t know.
    ALICIA
    Go on, try and guess.
    VITTORIO
    Honestly, I don’t know.
    ALICIA
    Well, hey, you’re not very playful, yet when you have a wife as young as yours, you should know how to play a little. You really don’t know? Watch out, today’s the big day! Drumroll . . . Ta-da! See?
    VITTORIO
    See what?
    ALICIA
    My hands are perfectly normal, that’s what you’re thinking, right? Hands that are perfectly normal for my age, well, that’s the whole problem:
for my age.
Look at them, all those wrinkles, all those spots, I watch them accumulating in real time. Hands are the part of the body you see the most, and that’s why they’re there, those wrinkles, those liver spots, so that you’ll never forget that you’re getting old. It’s like with giraffes, the color of our spots helps guess our age.
    VITTORIO
    You’re exaggerating, you have beautiful hands.
    ALICIA
    That’s very kind of you. But they’re not as beautiful as your wife’s hands.
    VITTORIO
    Don’t be silly . . .
    ALICIA
    I’m not being silly. I may be old, but not silly, so don’t accuse me of all the evils. Do you know where the word “menopause” comes from?
    VITTORIO
    I don’t know . . . surely from Latin.
    ALICIA
    From Greek. You lose. You had a fifty-fifty chance. To be born a woman, like me, that is. “Menopause”—it sounds like the name of a muse, don’t you think? Except that this muse doesn’t inspire anyone—there’s not a single poet who will sing its praises—but then, the names of diseases have never inspired anyone.
    VITTORIO
    Come now, Alicia, it’s not a disease.
    ALICIA
    You’re right, it’s not a disease, it’s worse, it’s an incurable condition.
Meno
: month,
pause
: cessation.
The cessation of months
, that’s clear, isn’t it? But not expeditious enough. You know what I think? Women shouldn’t live past menopause.
    VITTORIO
    Aren’t you being overly dramatic?
    ALICIA
    I’m not being dramatic at all, I am coming up with theories. When you can’t make poetry, you make theories. Might as well do something; you have to talk about it, right? And it does me good to talk about it. But maybe it embarrasses you? Or disgusts you?
    VITTORIO
    Why should it disgust me? On the other hand, I have thought of something: the “Plaza de Mayo” and “menopause”—there’s an obvious link, don’t you see?
    ALICIA
    I don’t see any link whatsoever. But I’m eager to hear what you have to say.
    VITTORIO
    You just said that “menopause” meant the