- Frost: I had a dream this afternoon while I slept off the booze. I dreamt that Alma came to me and said, "Poor Frost, you look tired and sad. Wouldn't you like to rest a while?" "Yes," I said. "I'll make you small as a little unborn child," she said. "You can climb into my womb and sleep in peace." So I did as she said and crept inside her womb and I slept there so soundly and peacefully, rocked to sleep as if in a cradle. Then I got smaller and smaller, until at last I was just a tiny seed, and then I was gone.
- Albert Johansson: Why do you insult me?
- Mr. Sjuberg: Why? Because we belong to the same riffraff, the same wretched pack, and because you put up with my insults. No, don't hit me. You live in caravans. We stay in filthy hotels. We make art. You make artifice. The lowest of us would spit on the best of you. Why? You only risk your lives. We risk our pride. I think you look ridiculous and overdressed, and your little lady would look better without her finery. If you dared, you'd think us even sillier, with our shabby elegance, our painted faces, our pretentious speech. So why shouldn't I insult you?
- Albert Johansson: Want to know what I think? I think you went to see him because you're as sick of the circus and me as I am of the circus and you.
- [laughs]
- Anne: Stop laughing like that!
- Albert Johansson: We're all stuck, Anne. Stuck like hell.
- Albert Johansson: It's so quiet here. It's always the same, summer and winter.
- Agda: Yes, it's a quiet street.
- Albert Johansson: Year in and year out - everything stands still.
- Agda: For me it's maturity.
- Albert Johansson: For me it's emptiness.
- Agda: Don't you realize how grateful I am?
- Albert Johansson: What?
- Agda: That's right - grateful. When you left me, I finally found peace. My life was my own again. No more of that dreadful circus that I always loathed and feared. All those people shouting and swearing, always begin on the road, that world of misery, lice, disease. No, my dear, I'm happy now. And grateful.
- Agda: You talk so much
- Albert Johansson: And you say nothing.
- Agda: What do you want me to say?
- Albert Johansson: That I can stay.
- Agda: No, you can't stay.
- Albert Johansson: Is there someone else?
- Agda: What would that matter? I'm not the type to spend my life alone, but no one's going to take away my freedom or peace of mind. You hear? No one.
- Albert Johansson: In America, circus folk ride through town, while bands play and the elephants trumpet. Everyone puts on their biggest smile and people line the streets and cheer. A booming voice announces the show for that evening.
- Albert Johansson: Anyway, our luck has to change.
- Anne: You think so?
- Albert Johansson: Of course. Some circus owners are colossally rich, with houses, diamonds, and automobiles, or whatever they're called. Of course, that's in America.
- Agda: First it was infatuation. Then it was love. But when you left me, all that died practically overnight. It was very strange.
- Albert Johansson: It's a pity people must live on this earth. It's a pity! They're all so frightened. So frightened.
- Anne: What's wrong?
- Albert Johansson: Wrong? Nothing.
- Anne: You seem nervous.
- Albert Johansson: Me? Not at all. Remember: I'll do the talking. You sit there quietly with your most charming smile. Sjuberg's very fond of pretty girls. Breathe deeply to show off your bosom and show him your legs if he asks. Don't worry - I'll be there. If he gets fresh, I'll slug him.
- Blom: A lady and gentleman to see you, sir. I told them...
- Mr. Sjuberg: Tell them to go to hell! No, wait. Bring them here.
- Frans: You've driven me half mad, out of my senses. Will you marry me? You can't go off with that old ass! Do you share his bed? Do you whisper sweet nothings in his ear? Come with me. You must. Torture me no more. I love you. I want you now. Come, before I take you by force right in front of your ridiculous circus director!
- Anne: What play is that from? Don't be ridiculous, snorting like a bull! I'm not your cow! Save it for your pale, flat-chested actresses who swoon if you look in their direction!
- Lill-Albert - Albert and Agda's Youngest Son: Mother, there's an old man with a barrel organ and a monkey that does tricks for a nickel.
- Agda: That's too much. A nickel is a lot of money.
- Albert Johansson: Little Anne. Simple little Anne. My little sweetheart, my little girl. Why shoud that blasted hussy leave me?
- Anne: I'll be gone when he gets back. No more Spanish senorita to ride his bony nag, no more damsel in tights for the drunk conjurer to saw in two. I won't be there.
- Policeman: Silence! Silence! You hear me? What are these shenanigans? Don't you know this is illegal?
- Albert Johansson: We're just promoting our...
- Policeman: Did you obtain a permit, sir?
- Albert Johansson: A permit? We thought...
- Policeman: You thought! Climb down from there and get to the fairground. You can practice your damned 'art' there.
- Albert Johansson: When I think about it, there isn't a single person I hate. Not even the policeman in the square today. I can't even hate Anne, even though she's been unfaithful. But I know you despise me. You despise everybody, yourself most of all! But I love people! I wish I could caress them tenderly. I'm not afraid of them. I don't want to travel the countryside like an idiot with this lousy circus. I want out of the circus! I want to be an honest citizen with money in the bank and a respectable wife. Anne, you'll never be a respectable wife. I can tell you that much. And I'll never marry you because you were unfaithful! Poor little thing!
- Anne: I won't be here when you get back. You hear me?
- Albert Johansson: Where will you go?
- Anne: I just won't be here.
- Mr. Sjuberg: How much can you pay?
- Albert Johansson: Well, that is, I thought... We were counting on... How much do you want?
- Mr. Sjuberg: More than you can pay.
- Anne: I can ride great geldings bareback at a full gallop, holding on with just my thighs. Could you do that?
- Frost: You ought to shoot the bear. It's in a bad way.
- Albert Johansson: Yes, I ought to shoot the bear.
- Frost: And don't forget to shoot my wife too. It would be an act of kindness.
- Frost: [promoting a circus] Beauty and thrills, to say nothing of laughter! The greatest laughs of your life! Magnificent costumes and sets, and artists who've gained renown in the major capitals of the world!
- Frost: The performance tonight will be sensational! No doubt about that. Not a doubt in the world. With horn music for horned cattle, and tooting brass for the farting herd!
- Policeman: Shut up, you impudent circus ape! Must I pound His Majesty's laws into that thick skull of yours? Now get down and clear out.
- Albert Johansson: Yes, it's a shame to be Albert! It's a shame to be Albert! A shame! But now I'm going to rise up and do something worthy of a human being.
- Mr. Sjuberg: [when a circus owner asks to borrow some theatrical costumes] What if our costumes get infested? Scabies, lice, strange diseases. I've never dealt with a circus before. Dreadful things could happen.
- Frans: See this amulet? It's very valuable. A gift from a grateful lady. If you're a good girl, it shall be yours. You can buy pretty dresses, live on it for a whole year. You can leave the circus. It will bring you good luck. You can sell it to the goldsmith around the corner this afternoon.
- Anne: I can live on it?
- Frans: For at least a year, Anne. Real pearls. See for yourself.
- Albert Johansson: I love you.
- Anne: You don't love me. Or you wouldn't go see your wife.
- Albert Johansson: I really do love you.
- Anne: No, you don't.
- Albert Johansson: All right, damn it, I don't!
- Albert Johansson: We should shoot everyone we feel sorry for. Just five or six people. I should shoot you too, my dear Frost!