The Song of Bernadette Page #4

offered by a diagnosis of insanity.

Yes.

- Ask the doctor to come in.

- Yes, sir.

- Will you please come in, doctor?

DOZOUS:
Thank you.

LACADE:

Doctor.

DOZOUS:

Bonjour, Messieurs, bonjour.

Hello, doctor.

I'm sorry to interrupt, gentlemen...

...but I've made several visits

to Massabielle...

...for the purpose of observation.

Today I examined the girl.

You might be interested in my report.

Yes, of course.

Won't you sit down?

Splendid. What did you find?

Well, I arrived at the grotto

simultaneously with the crowd.

Immediately, the Soubirous girl

knelt before a niche in the cliff...

...and made a series of courteous,

graceful, reverential gestures.

Did you see anything in this niche?

- No.

- Did anybody else?

No.

Well, then, didn't the crowd

laugh at her?

No.

There was something about her

that precluded laughter.

Her exaltation was so genuine...

...that the observer

almost had the impression...

...that he saw what the child saw.

Then, as we continued to gaze at her,

her face turned as pale as marble...

...and her skin grew so taut...

...that the structure of the skull

appeared clearly marked at the temples.

Considering the possibility

that this was due to cerebral anemia...

...I took her pulse.

It was practically average.

Also, there was no affection

of the nervous system, as in catalepsy...

...or hysteria.

Even her eye reflexes were normal.

Did she speak to this thing in the niche?

Standing close beside her...

...I heard twice in succession...

...a long, drawn-out:

"Yes".

"Yes"...

Wrung from her very depths.

Evidently, she'd been asked

to convey a message...

...because shortly after,

she turned to the crowd and said:

"Pray for all sinners".

Anyone who talks to something

that isn't there is feeble-minded.

Another medical possibility

which I took into consideration.

Wanting to test her mental abilities,

I put this question to her:

"Do you know what a sinner is?"

Without hesitation,

she answered, " Certainly, monsieur.

A sinner is one who loves evil".

That's quite a good answer.

What pleased me was that

she said "loves" and not "does".

Well, after this...

...any diagnosis of feeble-mindedness

was out of the question.

Then she's a swindler.

There's no justification

for such an assumption.

I must presume that you have joined

the ranks of the believers in this vision.

I am a doctor.

I contribute to the Medical Courier.

I'm a member of several

scientific societies.

I trust that is answer enough.

If I have correctly understood

your report, doctor, it is this:

Science excludes fraud.

It excludes mental disease

and a miraculous occurrence.

I venture, then,

to ask science, what is left?

Yes, what is left?

[KNOCKING]

If the Church stops it,

the people cannot blame us.

Precisely. We can sit back

and sympathize with both sides.

A very wise attitude for any government.

LACADE:

Is the dean at home?

HOUSEKEEPER:
Yes. Come in.

- Good morning, gentlemen.

DUTOUR:
Good morning, Father.

- Come in.

Take off your coats.

I presume the Soubirous girl

is what brings you here.

Yes.

The Church attributes

no religious significance whatsoever...

...to the so-called visions

of Massabielle.

- Sit down.

- I'm very glad to hear that, Father.

- Then you will talk with this girl and...

- No, it does not concern me.

That is a matter for you city officials.

We had hoped

you would cooperate with us.

That I am doing. Sit down.

I have instructed the cantonal clergy

not to set foot in the grotto...

...and to ignore the whole matter.

But Your Reverence has enormous power

over the people here.

It would be appropriate

to raise your voice.

I have no intention of adding further

importance to this turmoil.

Then you force the state

to invoke the law...

...which prohibits the Church from

opening any new place of worship...

...without the consent

of the minister of worship.

The Church has not opened

any new place of worship.

The Church neither sponsors

nor recognizes...

...these heathen gymnastics

taking place at Massabielle.

Then how can you stand by...

...and see your parishioners

carry on these pagan ceremonies?

I understand that they use

a kitchen table as an altar...

...and there they pray.

Yes, on a spot littered with filth,

they pray to God.

Prayer, gentlemen,

is good no matter where it is offered.

Yes, yes.

Well, shall we be going?

Thank you, Father.

- I wish you a pleasant good morning.

LACADE:
Good morning, Father.

Good morning, Father.

That sly old fox.

By agreeing with us,

he's dumped the problem...

...right back in our laps.

Unfortunately, the followers of the girl

are citizens of this community...

...and the thought of offending them

is not pleasant...

...with the election coming.

Then why offend them?

Why not refer the matter

to higher authorities?

A very good suggestion, monsieur.

I'll write to the prefect immediately.

"I consider it purely a local problem,

to be solved by local authorities...

...and I do not wish to be involved

in any way whatsoever.

Settle it without delay.

The method I leave entirely

in the capable hands...

...of you and your associates.

Signed, Baron Massey, prefect".

There he sits, like a general,

safely out of the range of fire...

...and orders a handful of men,

without any weapons...

...to wipe out an impregnable fortress.

Our "capable hands".

They're only capable

when there's a ticklish job to be done.

To think that one stupid girl

could cause all this trouble.

Only because there are millions of others

just as stupid as she is.

What can you expect from a peasantry

fed on religious dogmas...

...and nurtured

on superstitious nonsense?

I firmly believe that this girl

and what she stands for...

...is a menace to civilization.

She is dangerous, I admit, but...

DUTOUR:

She's a religious fanatic...

...and every time religious fanaticism

steps forward, man moves backward...

...and that is why

I will fight this vigorously...

...and I'll resort to any measures

to defeat it.

I don't know much

about higher politics...

...but I do know a lot

about burglars and thieves...

...and scamps of all kinds.

I know how to scare them

and apply pressure.

I promise you that if you give me

five minutes with this girl...

...she'll never go near the grotto again.

Try it, by all means. Try anything.

I was thinking of somewhat

the same procedure...

...however, not quite so crude.

There's something about the title

"imperial prosecutor"...

...that makes people quake.

Without raising my voice,

I'm confident...

You can't handle people like this

with silk gloves and fancy words.

We shall see.

Send for two of your policemen.

Just the one.

MARIE:
Bernadette!

- You stay here and wait for Maman.

Don't worry her. Tell her I've gone

to the city hall with these gentlemen.

WOMAN:
What are you arresting her for?

- Don't interfere with the law.

- The law! Death for the law!

- Death for you too!

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