 The weird circle. In this cave, by the restless sea, we are met to call from out the past stories, strange, and weird. Bellkeeper, hold the bell, so all may know we are gathered again in the weird circle. Phantoms of a world gone by speak again the immortal tale Rappaccini's daughter. Good evening, senior. I have come from the southern part of Italy to study at the University of Padua. I was passing your house and thought you might have a room to let. No, no, I'm sorry. My rooms are all rented. What shall I do? I was sure you would help me. When I first saw the crest, they're above the door. The crest? Why do you know it? It's the armorial bearing of my family, and this was my great-grandfather's house, senior. I've often heard my grandmother speak of it. Then your name must be Guasconti. Giovanni Guasconti, senior. I'd be grateful for your help. Well, I really do not have a room to rent, senior. There are so many students in Padua, but... Yes? I was just thinking of the room on the east side of the house. Long ago I closed it up, but perhaps for one night... Oh, it's very kind of you. Come along, I'll show it to you. Follow me up the stairs. Are you not rented, senior, because it is so small, perhaps? Oh, no, no. The room is quite large. But it's the only one in the house that has an eastern exposure. But who could object to the morning sun? Oh, it isn't the sun, senior. Then what? You will see for yourself in a moment. There. Well, it's a beautiful room, senior, and how sweet the air is. You keep flowers here. There's a garden outside, below the window. Here, I'll show you. Oh. Peep-Fuga Shepherds. The moon's quite bright tonight. Oh, that's a beautiful place. Thousands of flowers. And the wall around it is high. This is a strange thing, senior. That does indeed it is. No, no, not the garden. You know how sometimes you experience something that seems to have happened before? Little things you do assume. I have stood here before and looked out at such a garden. But before, a beautiful girl was on that path tending the flower. Look, there she is. Senior, come away. It is she, the doctor's daughter. Ah, how beautiful she is. Just as I remembered. It is not good to look upon her. Look, she's seen us. And there's a man, a tall, gaunt-looking man standing in the shadows. It's he, the doctor. I'm afraid. There's something about both Dr. Rappaccini and his daughter. I don't understand. Something evil. Oh, but, Senora... The way he looked at you. I could not let you stay here. Of course you will. There's nothing to fear. Oh, but the sweet smell of the flowers is so strong. It makes one grow faint. Who is he, this Dr. Rappaccini? No one in Padua knows anything about him, except that he lives alone with his daughter who tends the garden for him. It is said that he distills the plants into medicines, potent as a charm. Now, come. You will let me stay, Senora, if only for the night. Say you will. But, Senora... Would you send me away when I have no place to go? I should never have suggested this room. I promise you, no harm will come of it. There, now, let me see you smile again, and say I may stay the night. But tomorrow you must find another place. Promise me that, too. I promise. Then I'll fetch your sheets. I'll be back in a moment. Who is it that calls? Up here in the window. What is it, Senora? Your flowers sparkle like gems in the moonlight. It is the most beautiful garden I've ever seen. Thank you, Senora. Perhaps someday you'll honour me with a gift of one of the blossoms. My father prizes them highly. But perhaps you would consent to the gift of one someday. Good night to you, Senora. Good night, beautiful lady. So, my young pupil has become acquainted with the daughter of Rappaccini. This is startling news. But, Senor Balionni, why do you frown so? You were as bad as damely as a bet to my land, lady. I've lived in our house for a week now, and every day she threatens to send me away. This garden, Giovanni, what is it like? Ah, almost as beautiful as Beatrizia herself, professor. The plants are lush, and the blossoms very, very large. Some of them have all the colours of the rainbow. But there is one, the most beautiful of all, that grows in a huge urn in the centre of an ancient fountain. Its leaves are bright green and very large, and its flowers purple and red. In the sunlight they sparkle, and at night time they catch the rays of the moon and glimmer like diamonds covered with dew. Giovanni, you are the son of my old friend, and I must tell you this. Move away from the garden this very night. But why? Why is everybody so frightened of Dr. Rappaccini? In part of what Giovanni, there are certain grave objections to his professional character. What are they? He said that he cares infinitely more for science than for mankind. That his patients are only subjects for new experiments. He would sacrifice human life for even a mustard seed of knowledge. There aren't many men capable of so spiritual a love of science. Even for billed. And they also say that he has instructed his daughter deeply in his science. So you see, she is as dangerous as he is. Ah, it is only malicious gossip, believe me, senor. Almost every night I have spoken that they are treachery from my window. And she's as charmingly feminine as she is beautiful. Ah, youth is as heedless as the arrow of love itself. Giovanni, you are not leaving. I must, Professor Belloni. Thank you for the dinner and the wine. But the evening's just begun. You see, every night she comes to the garden now. And I wouldn't miss seeing her, Professor. Not for all the flowers and the whole wide world. Goodbye. Thanks again. But I have not told you what... Students, they will never listen. And he jeopardizes his very life. Glad you've come at last. Oh, Elisabetta, what's the matter? What's happened? He came here, here to this house. Oh, I tell you, I've been fair shaking with fright, thinking of it. But who? The knocker sounded, late this afternoon it was. And I went to the door, not even faintly suspecting and the saints preserved a senior there he stood. Elisabetta, calm yourself. Now, what is this? He came here to ask for you, Dr. Rapaccini himself. Oh, now, Elisabetta, don't tell me you let the old doctor frighten you. Tell me what he said. 15 years I've lived in this house, all of 15, and I never noticed it was there. Never even suspected it was there. Senior, I must have my room. You cannot stay here another minute. I will not allow it. All right, Elisabetta, but what is it you never suspected? The door, Senior. The secret door to the garden. Where? At the back of the large closet under the stairs. But what did the doctor say, Elisabetta? He said, oh, but, Senior, you won't do it. Promise you won't do it. The whole thing frightened me out to death. What did he say? He asked me to give you his invitation to visit the garden tonight. Tonight? Ah, it's what I've been waiting for, Elisabetta. Come, come, show me the door. No, no, no, come back, Senior, you must not go there. Is this the closet? Yes, Senior, but... Now, where is the secret door, Elisabetta? Oh, I shall never forgive myself for this. There, in the far wall. Don't you see? Oh, yes, of course. Thanks, Elisabetta. The saints preserve you from harm. Good evening, Senior. You did come. My father said you would. I've been wanting to since that first night, when I spoke to you from the window there. Please then, sit here on the marble bench. Indeed, your garden is magical in the light of the moon. How brightly the flowers shine. Do you turn them all? All that you see, except the most wonderful one of all. It grows yonder in the center of the fountain. I have admired it greatly. Is that one, then, your father's special prize? It is the most magical of all, Senior, and he watches over it himself. How sweet the air is. I can smell the fragrance of your flowers, you know, in my room. Can you? They are such wonderful flowers, Senior. Their fragrance is intoxicating as wine. I have breathed deeply of this wine, Seniorina Beatrici, because it is yours. Knowing you were here has made me a happy man. And I have felt it too. As if from that first night you spoke, I knew you from somewhere long ago. It was in a dream once. Did you know it would become real someday? No, I could not hope for it. I too once saw you high in the window there, looking down and saying what you said to me. Later in a vision in my mind, you came to the garden, even this tonight. Beatrici, you must know, I love you with all my heart. And I, since first we met in the stillness of my dreams. Giovanni here, a flower from my garden. A token of my love. Beatrici! I am here, Father. Let me ask you a hand, Beatrici, tonight. Let us be married soon. If you wish, Giovanni. Look, here he comes. Good evening, Senior. Good evening, sir. We have never met, but I believe we are acquainted. Often I have seen you here in the garden. Thank you for inviting me this evening. My daughter expressed an special wish to see you. And I was not adverse to it. Then, Dr. Roppuccini, perhaps it's best now to say that I am in love with Beatrici. With her consent and yours, we will be married. Married? What does my daughter say? I will gladly consent. Oh, but both of you, so young, and your acquaintanceship is brief. Senior, that flower, you hold it in your hand. I gave the blossom to him, Father. Does it fragrance not stun you, Senior? And the feel of it burn your fingers? No, but why do you ask? Only because it is one of my most potent blossoms. I see you are more ready for the betrothal than I thought. You have my consent. Later I'll talk further to you both. Now, good night. But, Senior, I must make one request of... I am too happy to refuse you anything. You would think it's strange, perhaps. When you leave the garden, return the flower to my daughter. It is too precious a blossom to part with. Good night again. Professor Balione, what a surprise finding you here in my room. I came directly. You left me at the restaurant Giovanni. Dame Elizabeth told me you were in the garden. And Professor, the most wonderful thing is... Giovanni, wait. I know what it is. But it cannot be, I tell you. Listen, let me tell you a story. Hundreds of years ago, Alexander the Great fell in love with a beautiful Indian girl. She was as lovely as the dawn and her breath was richer than a garden of Persian roses. Before they were married, a sage physician luckily discovered a terrible secret in regard to her. And what was that? This lovely woman had been nourished with poisons from her birth. Until her whole nature was so imbued with them she herself had become the deadliest poison in existence. Poison was her element of life. With the rich perfume of her breath, she blasted the very air. Her love would have been poisoned or embraced death. But why do you tell this to me now? It is my way of saying that this day at Ritci Ratbaccini endangers your life. Professor, you can't believe it. I do believe it. I know. Even now your room is filled with a strong poisonous perfume. But that is the garden I noticed it to it first, but one grows accustomed to it. Poor boy, don't you see? Dr. Ratbaccini has selected you as the material for some new experiment just as he has used his daughter. Even now your very breath is heavy with the fragrance of that terrible blade. No, you're wrong. Look, I have brought with me a bouquet of yellow rose buds. They are there on the table. Giovanni, pick them up. No, no, I won't touch them. Giovanni, do as I say, pick them in your hand. But all this is mad. What would a few rose buds... Look at them. Your very touch widders the leaves and turns the yellow petals brown. Giovanni, you are imbued with the poison of the garden even as she. I beg of you, leave here this very night now. Go before it is too late. No, no, I can't, I can't. Oh, Professor, help me, I beg you. No, no, go back. Do not come near me. Stay back. Your very touch is poison. You must go away from all this quickly, quickly, Giovanni. I can't, I can't. I love her too much. I could not live without her. I could not live without her. Then... then you shall surely die. Already the fumes of the flowers have been blown away. I beg of you, leave here this very night. Now, go, go before it is too late. No, no, I can't, I can't. Oh, Professor, help me, I beg you. No, no, no, go back. Do not come near me. Stay back. Your very touch is poison. You must go away from all this quickly, quickly, Giovanni. I can't, I can't. I love her too much. I could not live without her. I could not live without her. Then... then you shall surely die. The fumes of the flowers have impregnated you with that poison. And that devil Rappuccini is making ready even now to use you to carry on his atrocious experiment. You're lying, I don't believe you. Oh, my poor boy, what reason would I have for lying? I am trying to help you. She doesn't know, I'm sure of it. She doesn't know what? About the poison that she's permeated with it. Of course she knows. Isn't Beatrice Rappuccini almost as renowned a scientist as her father? I tell you, Giovanni, you must not see her again, ever. You must leave this place. My carriage is outside. We can drive to my villa by midnight. Come, come now before it is too late. How could there treat you? You've done this to me. Professor Belloni, I couldn't go without knowing. Without some word from her. You would see her again. Oh, my boy, no, no, no. Well, I must, don't you see? I've got to know. Listen, help me, professor. There's a moth on the window curtain. Capture it in this glass tumbler and cover it with a napkin. But why? What can a moth... I want to prove what you've told me. I could never be content without knowing the truth. Here, take the tumbler. Don't let the moth escape. Well, I do not understand. Giovanni, this is mad. There. There it is. Cover the glass with a napkin. All right. There. It is done. Now, where is your carriage? It is just outside on the street. Will you wait there for me? Yes, if you wish. But I still don't understand. And wake Dame Lissabetta. Ask her to wait in the carriage with you. What are you planning to do? To find out the truth. Giovanni, you are going to the garden? Yes, professor. I'm going to the garden. Giovanni, it's you. Hey, my darling. Come out in the light of the moon. There's something I must tell you. I was frightened for a moment seeing your dark shadow against my window. If something happened, Giovanni... Come out in the garden with me, and I'll tell you. Is your father awake? I don't know. I don't think he is. Stand with me here, where the moonlight's brightest. Beatricci, I want you to know that I love you more than my life. I want you to believe me. I do, Giovanni. But what is that you carry in your hand? Only a tumbler. Inside is a moth. See how he flutters his wings inside the glass. Beatricci, hold out your hand. Why, Giovanni? I want you to take the moth in your fingers and watch it closely. Here, don't let it fly away. No, I shan't. Oh, how he struggles. Is he a very special moth of some rare species? Giovanni, look. What's the matter with him? I... I believe he's dead. Yes, he is dead. What a shame. He was a prisoner too long. No, that isn't the reason, Beatricci. Oh, my darling, you've been ignorant of the poison. I knew you were. Poison, what do you mean? Do you love me enough, Beatricci, to trust me completely? Do you? Say you do. I do, Giovanni, of course. Then there's no time to lose. I want you to go away with me now, tonight. Go away? Why? Because this garden is a tomb filled with the perfume of death. Beatricci, these flowers are deadly. They're filled with the most potent poison in the world. Even now, your veins run with noxious blood. Nobody touches death to any living thing. Giovanni, what are you saying? I speak the truth, Beatricci. And heaven help us both. For now, my body too has gained your power. And I am nourished by the poison of your garden. You mean... Oh. It is my father's fatal signs. He has united us in this fearful sympathy. Beatricci! Giovanni, he's seen us here. Don't be afraid, my darling. The hour grows close to midnight, and tomorrow there is much to do. Oh, you are not alone, I see. Father, there's something you must know. Giovanni has come to take me away. What? Well, you are jesting. We will talk tomorrow of your marriage. Beatricci will not be here tomorrow, Dr. Rapuccini. What is this? Some madness of the moonlight? Giovanni has told me of the garden. And it's poisoned. And he has also poisoned your mind against me. No, no, it is not. Then what is there to fear? The flowers will not harm either of you now. My science makes you both stand apart from common men. But why? Why did you inflict this thing upon your child? Inflict? Can you use such a word when you can quail the mightiest enemy with a breath? A power as terrible as you are beautifully... Beatricci, come quickly now. No, you cannot take her away. Beatricci, come back. Giovanni, where are we going? The carriage is waiting on the street outside. Young food, you don't know what you are doing. Come back! Come back! Here is the stairway to the secret door. We won't be sorry, Giovanni, will we? Tell me we won't be sorry. Of course we won't, my darling. Come, they're waiting for us. What madness to bring that girl with you like this. I would never have come without a professor. Dame Lissabetta, let me have your shawl for Beatricci. The air is cold. You're a poor child, but you must have suffered. Here it is. Don't touch her, Lissabetta. No good will come of this. I know it. Here they are, Trichy. Around your shoulders. Where are we going? To my villa, just outside Padua. You understand my childhood. It is not that I mean to be unkind, but this thing is beyond our understanding. You need not be a senior. We will not come near you. How beautiful she is and can think her own father. It will be different now, we can see. Before many days have passed, the poison will ever weigh. And we'll be like anybody else. Free from that terrible place. The air is so different here. So stale. It's God's own air, Beatricci. It's our life. Breathe it deeply. Giovanni, I'm afraid. Oh my darling, these are our friends. But the air, it's so hard to breathe the air. Giovanni, hold me. Hold me close. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. Giovanni, how is she? I don't know. Lissabetta is at her bedside. This frightens me, Giovanni. But it's been five hours since we arrived. I can't bear for her to suffer. Giovanni, look at me. How pale you are, how quick your breath is. I'm all right. You're not all right. Come, my friend, rest a little. No, no, no. I've got something to do for her. It's the air, the unpoisoned air. It suffocates her. There's nothing we can do. Nothing. There must be something. I'm going into her. Dame Lissabetta, how is she? Oh, senior, she is not well. If I could only comfort her a little. Beatricci, forgive me for taking you away. I wanted to come, Giovanni. I want to be with you. Oh, my darling, if I had known. You too can feel it. I see the terror in your eyes. It's the garden, Giovanni. We miss the garden. I know we do. But I never want to go back, never again. I'd rather die than go back to the garden. Senior, do you think? Oh, that's it, that's it. What's Lissabetta? The garden. It's her very life. There she can live. No, no, I won't go back. Don't you see? There in the garden is a drugged air that keeps her alive. I know it is. I know. I can feel the need of it too. My lungs burn with the need of it. Then go back. Go back before it's too late. You will die here. Don't you see? Both of you. Lissabetta's right, Beatricci. And there's something else. Why did I never think of it before? Come. I'll take you in my arms to the carriage. There's no help for us. We must go back to the garden. Dr. Rappaccini. Dr. Rappaccini. We've come back. Beatricci. Senior, you have killed her. No. Oh, she is not dead. Lay her here beside the fountain. Oh, my child. What has he done to you? We are both addicted to your poison, doctor. We cannot live without it. Quick. Break off a flower. Drop some of the dew upon her lips. Beatricci, my darling. Taste of the flower's dew. Here. Drink some of it yourself, senior. It is magic. It will give you strength. Giovanni. You have brought me back again. I could not see you die, my Beatricci. Here, taste of the dew again. Oh, look. She breathes easily. The color returns to her cheeks. The air is sweet in my lungs. Giovanni, forgive me for loving you. Now we must both stay here in the garden forever. Lie still, my darling. Now you know the power of my science. You see how foolish it is to cross me. I am not convinced, Dr. Rappaccini. You are a devil. And I mean to find out the secret of your immunity. What are you saying? I know now why it is you never touch these plants. You do have a secret of immunity from the vile curse which the perfume of this garden inflicts upon those who breathe it too long. Can we not listen to this? You would sacrifice your daughter to tend these poisonous things because if you were to remain here too long, you would become infected too, just as we have. Senior, you will leave this garden. I will not leave before I know. And you will tell me, Dr. Rappaccini, what your secret is. I will know the secret. I will know the antidote. Get away from me. Your breath is sudden death. Yes, it is. And so is my touch. While you are still uncontaminated by the perfume, your life is at the mercy of those whom it is infected. Is it not? Your temporary immunity has become your curse. Is it not, Dr. Rappaccini? Let go. Let go. Mother and doctor in the poison of your own contrite. Let me go. Let me go. Father. Your body, you're killing it. Father. Father. I too have touched it. Father. Stand back there, Trichy. Look, he's dying. What have we done? What have we done? My children, forgive me. I am an old man. And my science to me was more precious than the miracle of life. I sought for the most powerful of drugs. And only now I have found it. What is stronger than the love in a man's heart? My father, what can we do? You can live your lives, my child, and walk as free as others do. But how? You are right, Giovanni. There is an antidote. Blot one of its blossoms and drink of the liquid from its petals, even as I have drunk of it every day. Then you can leave the garden free. Which plant, doctor? Which is the antidote? The purple blossoms. The center of the fountain. They are my antidote. Father. Dear Trichy. Come, my darling. Leave him in his wonderful garden that he loved. He has given us our lives again. From the time one pages of the past, we have brought you the story Rappaccini's daughter. Bellkeeper. Toll the bells.