FICTION
Witold Gombrowicz
THE BANQUET
A meeting of the Council . . . a secret meeting of the
Council. .. was taking place in the dark and historic portrait hall,
which , with its primeval might and vastness, exceeded and even
overwhelmed the might of the Council. From the ancient walls the
remote portraits gazed deafly and dumbly at the sacerdotal faces of
the dignitaries, who, in turn, were gazing at the dry ancient figure of
the great Chancellor and Minister of State . Delivering his speech
dryly as he was wont to do, the dry and mighty old man did not con–
ceal his deep joy, and he called upon the attendant ministers and un–
dersecretaries of state to commemorate this historic moment by ris–
ing . For, as a result of many years' effort, the union of the King with
the Archduchess Renata Adelaida Christina was coming to pass;
for , Renata Adelaida had arrived at the royal court; for, on the very
next day at the court banquet the betrothed (who had heretofore
known each other only from their portraits) would be presented to
each other-and this union of all measures excellent would enhance
and infinitely increase the authority as well as the power of the
Crown. The Crown! The Crown! The Crown! Still, an intense
uneasiness, a keen worry, even anxiety, furrowed the worldly-wise,
experienced faces of the ministers and undersecretaries of state, and
something unspoken, something dramatic lurked behind their
withe red and venerable lips.
At the unanimous proposal of the Council, the Chancellor
opened the floor for discussion ... yet silence, deaf and dumb
silence, seemed to be the primary feature of the discussion that en–
sued . The Minister of Internal Affairs first asked for the floor, but
when he was given it, he fell silent and was silent for the whole time
of his speech-after which he sat down. Then the Minister of the
Court took the floor, but once he had risen he also was silent about
all that he had to say, after which he sat down . In the further succes–
sion of speeches, whichever minister took the floor stood up and was
silent, after which he sat down, and the silence, the obstinate silence
of the Council, multiplied by the silence of the portraits as well as the
Editor's Note : Copyright
<0
Rita Gombrowicz. Translation copyright co Beth Holm–
gren.
