Salome

Salome Summary | Detailed Summary

The scene of Salome is set in the Palace of Herod. There are a few soldiers on a balcony overlooking an old well and a wall of green bronze. It is nighttime, yet the moon is unusually bright.

The young Syrian exclaims that he thinks the Princess Salome looks beautiful. His companion, the page of Herodias, tries to shift the young man's attention away from the Princess and towards the moon. The page announces the moon looks strange tonight, as it is so bright. He likens it to a dead woman because it is moving so slowly up towards the sky. The young Syrian however, likens the moon to a princess with feet of white doves. The page of Herodias disagrees arguing that the moon is not like a princess; rather it is like a dead woman.

Meanwhile, two soldiers are talking about the Jews below. They do not believe in the Jews' religion and their belief in a god they cannot see. The soldiers think that arguments the Jews engage in over points of religion and philosophy are foolish and unimportant.

The voice of Jokanann is heard. He is prophesying the arrival of a mighty person who will make the deaf hear, the blind see, and everyone will be happy. One of the soldiers explains that the voice belongs to Jokanann, a holy man who is imprisoned in the old well. The Tetrarch, the King, who has imprisoned him, will not allow him to be seen. One of the soldiers says that surely he will die down in the well, but the other soldier explains that the Queen's first husband spent twelve years in the well and then when he did not die, he was strangled.

Meanwhile, the young Syrian continues to watch the Princess, frequently remarking on her beauty. The Princess leaves the party and comes outside near the well. She complains out loud, to no one in particular, that the Tetrarch, her mother's husband, is looking at her in a way that a stepfather should not. The young Syrian, who has been watching the Princess all evening quickly greets her and offers her a seat. The Princess ignores him and instead remarks on the unusual looking moon.

The voice of Jokanann is heard again. The Princess wants to know whom the voice belongs to. She is told that it is Jokanann, a prophet that has been imprisoned in the well by the King. The Princess's interest is piqued; she has heard that this Jokanann has said bad things about her mother.

A slave enters to tell the Princess the Tetrarch wants her to return. The Princess ignores the slave's question and begins to ask questions about Jokanann. She asks if he is old, but is told he is young. Just then, the voice of Jokanann is heard again, which causes Salome to demand to see him. The soldiers respond to her request by telling the Princess the Tetrarch has forbidden them to let anyone meet Jokanann and thus they cannot let her see the prophet. Salome does not take the soldiers answer as the final word; she has a plan. The Princess turns to the young Syrian and begins to flirt with him. She asks him sweetly if he would do her the favor of letting her meet Jokanann. The young Syrian refuses, but Salome persists and then he finally relents. The young Syrian orders the soldiers to remove the cover over the well.

Jokanann rises from the well and immediately says unkind things about the Queen, Salome's mother. Salome tells Jokanann that she thinks he is a horrible person and is not attractive. She explains each aspect of Jokanann that does not appeal to her. The young Syrian tries to convince Salome to go back to the feast, she should not even be meeting with Jokanann but Salome ignores him. Jokanann expresses his disinterest in speaking with the young woman before him, yet he does not know her identity.

Salome introduces herself to Jokanann. Once he realizes she is the daughter of the Queen, he tries to order her away. The young Syrian pleads for the Princess to leave but Salome again ignores him, instead she exclaims how lovely Jokanann's voice is, asking the prophet to continue to speak. Jokanann announces that he hears the wings of the angel of death but his prediction is ignored.

Salome tells Jokanann that she is in love with his body. She explains the qualities of his body that she likes and then asks to touch his body. When Jokanann refuses this request Salome reverses her opinion and tells him that she thinks his body is repulsive. Salome tells Jokanann that she is in love with his hair and explains the qualities of his hair that she likes and then asks to touch his hair. When Jokanann refuses the request Salome reverses her opinion and tells him she thinks his hair is repulsive.

Salome tells Jokanann that she is in love with his mouth and explains the qualities of his mouth that she likes and then asks to kiss his mouth; however, when Jokanann refuses the request, Salome does not reverse her opinion. Instead she promises him that she will kiss his mouth. The young Syrian tells the Princess that he cannot bear her asking such a request from Jokanann. The young Syrian kills himself. Salome ignores the young Syrian's death as she ignored him in life. She continues to ask Jokanann for a kiss. When he refuses, she again promises that she will kiss his mouth.

Meanwhile, the page of Herodias cries for the lost of his best friend, the young Syrian. One of the soldiers wants to hide his body so the Tetrarch does not see him, but another soldier tells him the King will not see the body because he is afraid of Jokanann and will not go near the well.

The King is looking for Salome, as he wants her to rejoin the party. As the King and Queen enter the scene the Queen is chastising her husband for looking at Salome as he does. The King ignores his wife and, as he continues his search for the Princess, he slips in the blood of the young Syrian. The King wants to know why the young man is dead because he did not give orders to have him killed; in fact he had just made him captain. He is told that the young Syrian had killed himself. The King voices his regret that anyone should kill himself and promptly orders the body to be removed from his sight.

The King finally notices Salome and remarks that she looks pale. He is very attentive to her and has wine brought, with the wish that she drink so that he may finish the glass. The Princess refuses the wine and the Queen protests over the amount and type of interest her husband is showing her daughter. The King ignores his wife and calls for fruit to be brought for the Princess, as he believes she may be ill. He wishes that she would take a bite so he may finish the fruit. The Princess refuses, and again the Queen states her resentment. The King tells his wife that her daughter is disrespectful and will not do as he wishes. He asks Salome to sit with him and she refuses.

Meanwhile the Jews and Nazarenes are talking about Jokanann. One of the Nazarene's tells the group that Jokanann is rumored to have seen the Messiah; however, the Jews do not believe the Messiah has come. The Nazarene disagrees and tells everyone that the Messiah has been seen curing the blind and lepers, changing water into wine, and raising people from the dead. The King hears the conversation between the Jews and Nazarenes and becomes disturbed by the idea of someone raising the dead. He orders that someone find this Messiah and tell him that he will not stand for him to raise the dead; however, he does not have a problem with the man changing water into wine or curing the blind and lepers. The voice of Jokanann is heard. He is speaking of a wanton woman. The Queen knows that he is speaking of her and tells the King to punish him; however, the King tells her that Jokanann did not use the Queens name so he will not punish the prophet.

The King turns his attention again toward Salome and asks her to dance for him. Salome refuses his request and her mother protests the request. She does not think that her daughter should dance for her husband. The King ignores his wife and continues to ask Salome to dance for him, even going so far as to order her to perform a dance. Salome refuses all of his requests, causing the King to complain to his wife that her daughter is disrespectful. The King tries another tactic and offers Salome anything she wants, that is his to give, if she will only dance for him. Salome considers his offer and finally accepts. Her mother pleads with her not to dance for her husband but Salome has made her decision.

Suddenly, the King announces it is cold outside and that he hears the beating of a winged bird. He figures the cold air is coming from the beating of the wings. Just as suddenly, the King announces he is choking and orders his mantel to be loosened, and then decides it is the garland of roses he is wearing, which is the cause of his discomfort. As the garland of roses is being removed the King likens the flowers in the garland, to fire and then, to blood. The King is rid of his distress and again turns his attention to Salome.

The Princess orders that her veils and perfumes be brought to her and she dances the dance of the seven veils. At the conclusion of the dance the King asks her what she will claim as her prize. Salome does not hesitate and asks that the head of Jokanann be brought to her on a silver charger. The King is shocked by her request, however her mother is quite proud of her daughter because Jokanann has said unkind things about her.

The King pleads with Salome to choose another reward for her dance. He wishes that she picks anything else other than the head of Jokanann and explains some of the other assets that he has that Salome could choose in order to entice her from forcing Jokanann's death. Salome refuses to change her mind and demands the head of Jokanann, as the King has given his word that he will fulfill any request she had.

The King finally orders the executioner to the well to execute Jokanann and have his head brought to Salome on a silver charger. Salome holds the charger and speaks to Jokanann's head. She tells his head that she will now have her kiss from his mouth as she had said she would. She explains that he was mean to her and said wicked things about her and her mother, but now she has had her revenge; he is now dead while she is alive.

Salome then reverses her position by telling Jokanann's head that she had loved him more than anyone else. While other men were mean, he was beautiful, and she again sings his praises regarding his body, hair, and voice. She wonders why he would not look at her.

The King watches her and tells his wife that her daughter is a monster; however the Queen is happy with her daughter's actions. As the couple leaves, when the Kings hears Salome announcing she has kissed Jokanann's lips and thinks she has tasted the bitter flavor of love, he is afraid some evil thing will happen. The King turns around and orders Salome's death, so the soldiers kill her.