"Ah, je ris de me voir"
Jewel Song
So beautiful in this mirror,
Is that you, Marguerite, is that really you?
Answer me, answer me,
Answer, answer, answer quickly!
No! No! it’s not you anymore!
No, no, it’s not your face anymore.
It’s the daughter of a king –
Not you anymore –
but someone people salute as she passes by.
Ah, if he were here!
If he saw me like this!
Like a young lady
He would find me so beautiful, Ah!
Let's finish this transformation,
I still long to try on
the bracelet and the necklace!
God! it's like a hand resting on my arm!
Ah! I laugh at seeing myself as such a beauty in this mirror!
Ah! I laugh to see myself
So beautiful in this mirror.
The ageing scholar Faust believes he has wasted his life and longs to be young again. In a deal with Mephistopheles, Faust sells his soul to the devil and in return is transformed into a handsome young man. When he falls in love with the beautiful young Marguerite, he soon finds that having all that you desire comes with a price.
In this scene, Marguerite tries on the jewels delivered by Mephistopheles as a gift from Faust and is captivated by how they enhance her beauty, as she sings in the famous aria, the Jewel Song.