Second Meetings
I read the play A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde for the second time since high school this summer and it haunted me. It reads like a sequel to a Jane Austen novel. I sometimes even have a hard time believing that a man wrote it, the message of the play is so feminist and moving to me. I decided to re-write it as a Jane Austen sequel/variation. It is set twenty years later for each character.
Mrs. and Mr. Bingley are hosting several guests at their country estate in Norfolk. There are characters from Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Sense & Sensibility, and Pride & Prejudice. Some of their stories happened in the same way that you remember, but some have turned out very differently…
Act I
[lawn in front of the terrace at an estate in Norfolk]
Mrs. Musgrove – How are you enjoying your stay in Norfolk, Miss Fitzwilliam?
Anne – It is a picturesque country.
Mrs. Musgrove – Is it very different in Derbyshire? I have never been that far north myself. I did ask my husband to take me to the Lake District many times, but if there is nothing to shoot, he will not stir.
Anne – I am very sorry for your sake; my guardians took me nearly every summer.
Mrs. Musgrove – You are very fortunate, there is no one who cares so much about my desires. [To her husband, plaintively] Charles, I am feeling cold. Will you not fetch my shawl?
Mr. Musgrove – [dismissively] Send one of the servants to fetch it, Mary.
Mrs. Musgrove – Charles, it is a real Indian shawl and the servants might ruin it. Can you please fetch it, my love?
[Mr. Musgrove sighs and exits]
Mrs. Musgrove – Well this is a very charming place, Miss Fitzwilliam, and you will meet some charming people. But I will warn you, Mrs. Bingley mixes a bit too much. I mean that she is somewhat lax in the sort of people she invites down here. But Sir John is a man of distinction; it is a privilege to meet him. And that member of parliament, Mr. Crow-
[Mr. Musgrove, re-entering with shawl]
Mr. Musgrove – Mr. Crawford, Mary, Crawford.
Mrs. Musgrove – He seems quite respectable. I remember I used to hear about him all the time in his youth, but not since he married and joined parliament. Which is just the way that things ought to be. Marriage settles a man you know. But as for the rest, Mrs. Bertram in particular is hardly a very suitable person.
Anne – I dislike Mrs. Bertram more than I can say.
Mrs. Musgrove – Miss Fitzwilliam! You are far too young to have such settled opinions. Mrs. Bertram is well-born and fashionable and I like to hear her talk, but I do not think it is very right for her to be here without her husband. She is far too often seen in society without him. You know what people will say.
Anne – Of those I have met so far, Mr. Middleton is very charming.
Mrs. Musgrove – Yes, the young attorney. Mrs. Bingley was very kind to ask him here, and Sir John seems to have taken quite a fancy to him. I am not sure, however, that Jane was right in inviting him here in the first place. In my day, we did not associate with those who worked for a living. It was not considered the thing. I doubt it is now. I am so glad my brother-in-law, Mr. Hayter, does not work anymore. It was quite embarrassing for many years. I almost pretended I did not know Henrietta!
Anne – [firmly] I respect a man’s character, regardless of his indolence or lack thereof. Mr. Middleton has a beautiful nature; he is plain-spoken and sincere. It has been a privilege to meet him.
Mrs. Musgrove – [surprised] Who brought you up? It is not customary for a young woman to speak with such enthusiasm about a member of the opposite sex, not until he has proposed at least. My own daughter would never speak that way. We had the very best governess for her, or at least I was told she was the best. She had excellent references.
[Anne blushes and is silent. Mrs Bingley enters]
Mrs. Musgrove – Ah, Jane, I was just saying what a pleasant party you have asked us to. You have wonderful power of selection. It is quite a gift, one that we share, I think.
Mrs. Bingley – Thank you Mary, how kind of you. I hope you are enjoying it, dear Anne?
Anne – Yes, I am.
[enter Henry Middleton]
Henry – [In great excitement] Mrs. Bingley, I have such good news to tell you! Sir John has just offered to make me his private secretary.
Mrs. Bingley – His secretary? That is very good news indeed, Henry. What a future may be in store for you! They say he will be prime minister someday. Oh! Your dear mother will be delighted. I must invite her here tonight to meet him. Do you think she would come, Henry?
Henry – I think she would, Mrs. Bingley, if she knew I had such an offer.
Mrs. Musgrove – That is a wonderful opportunity for a man such as you are, Mr. Middleton.
Henry – It is indeed, Mrs. Musgrove. I hope that I will show myself worthy of it.
Mrs. Musgrove – [dismissively] Certainly you must try your best. [nudges her husband, who has not been listening]
Mr. Musgrove – [languidly] Excellent news indeed. My congratulations.
Anne – Are you very pleased about it?
Henry – Yes, of course I am. It means everything to me. Things that would have been entirely out of my reach, maybe in a few years will be within my grasp. Things that I dared not hope for.
Anne – [earnestly] Nothing should be out of the reach of hope. Life is hope.
Henry – [looks at her for a moment in confusion] I- Will you accompany me for a walk, Miss Fitzwilliam?
Anne – With pleasure.
[exit together]
Mrs. Bingley – I am quite delighted by Henry’s good fortune. He is a good, clever young man and I like him very well. I invited him here on purpose to meet Sir John, he told me he was looking for someone honest and knew not how to meet anyone of that description. And I did not even need to point Henry out, his integrity is plain to everyone he meets.
Mrs. Musgrove – How long is Miss Fitzwilliam staying with you? I know I met her once before, but I have quite forgotten. Who are her parents?
Mrs. Bingley – She is staying for a few months; my sister, who is her guardian, is unwell and wanted Anne to have more opportunities to mix in society. They have always kept her from London though; it is a dreadful place for a wealthy heiress.
Mrs. Musgrove – Is she very wealthy? I was wondering at her taste in gentlemen, if I may even call him so.
Mrs. Bingley – Extremely. Anne is the only daughter of my sister’s cousin, Anne de Bourgh that was, rest her soul. She married her cousin, Fitzwilliam but then she died bringing her daughter into the world and her husband did not live many years after. When her grandmother died, my brother-in-law was named as her guardian. Have you met Mr. Darcy? I know you met my sister last year.
Mrs. Musgrove – No, I do not think I have. I did meet Lady Catherine, her grandmother as you say, once in Bath. [shudders]
Mrs. Bingley – Lady Catherine was not a person easily forgotten.
Mrs. Musgrove – No! I felt that by the time she was done with me, I had not a secret left in the world. I was entirely exposed. It was very uncomfortable.
Mrs. Bingley – God rest her. But Mr. Darcy, he is the picture of a gentleman and the best of brothers and fathers. As I was saying, Anne is the heir to the Rosings estate in Kent, along with extensive property and fortune. She has just come into her inheritance, but they have not often taken her out of Derbyshire. Not as of yet. One must be very particular with a young woman of her rank.
Mrs. Musgrove – Ah, now I remember it. It was in the papers, I think, when the formidable lady died. Charles [to her husband] I would like a glass of wine.
Mr. Musgrove – I want to sit down, Mary.
Mrs. Musgrove – I am parched, and I only trust you to mix it for me. Please, Charles?
Mr. Musgrove – [exasperated] Very well, Mary. [exits]
[Enter Mrs. Bertram and Miss Bingley]
Mrs. Bingley – I hope you liked the park, Mrs. Bertram?
Mrs. Bertram – The trees are wonderful; your daughter has been so kind to be my guide. But somehow, I feel sure that if I lived in the country all year, I should become so unsophisticated that no one would take the slightest notice of me. Has Sir John returned yet?
Mrs. Bingley – No, although I am sure he will be here soon. But I cannot think the country does anything of the sort. While my dear husband has always been fond of town, we are both just as happy and intelligent in the country as anywhere else.
Mrs. Bertram – Well, with a husband such as yours, it is no wonder you can be content and sophisticated wherever you go. I have not been so fortunate.
[Mr. Crawford enters, sees Mrs. Bertram and starts. Shakes hands with Mrs. Bingley]
Mrs. Bingley – Ah, here is our member of parliament, where is your dear wife? I am always so pleased to see her when I can. Mrs. Crawford is one of the loveliest women I know.
Mr. Crawford – She is home with the children, Mrs. Bingley. Little Catherine is not quite well. However, I cannot neglect my duties towards my constituents.
Mrs. Bingley – You must tell us all about your latest campaign, Mr. Crawford. I always try to be on the side of the poor and down-trodden, I hope that I succeed. I know you are a most devoted disciple of improvements to society.
Mr. Crawford – [passionately] It is the only thing to be done, Mrs. Bingley. We must reform and improve the parliamentary system; the nation’s very survival depends upon it. Can we wonder that the lower classes have rioted? They do not make enough to buy their daily bread. I know that you must feel for them, a woman so good as yourself.
Mrs. Bingley – Oh yes, I feel it very strongly indeed. We have raised all the wages of our workers, and our servants besides. But we are so very fortunate, Mr. Crawford. Everyone cannot be so generous as we have been. Or so I am told.
Mr. Crawford – They must be generous, as you call it, if they wish to have anything to eat at all. The farm workers are the basis of a functioning society. If we do not support those who make our dinners possible, we will be biting the hands that feed us.
[Mr. Musgrove enters with wine, sits beside his wife]
Mrs. Musgrove – I am sure this is all very important, but I have a great desire to walk in the garden. Will you come with me, Charles?
Mr. Musgrove – No Mary, I would rather stay here and rest.
Mrs. Musgrove – I would much rather walk in the garden than hear politics from Mr. Crow-
Mr. Musgrove – Crawford, Mary, Crawford. And I am quite content here.
[Mrs. Musgrove pouts. Mr. Crawford walks over to Mrs. Bertram]
Mr. Crawford – [in an under-voice] Mary, I had no idea you were in Norfolk.
Mrs. Bertram – Here I am. Where is dear Fanny?
Mr. Crawford – You know she doesn’t like these kinds of parties, she’s home with the children. Where are Edmund and your children?
Mrs. Bertram – [lightly] At home, you have no cause to worry. You know I can’t stay always at the Parsonage. I was not born to be a sparrow, hidden away in the country. It would be a tragedy to waste my beautiful plumage by quitting society completely. This is barely society at all, there are a few people- but I have no interest in having this argument again.
Mr. Crawford – No, I suppose you do not. But you cannot think that he will never see the truth Mary. He will not love you forever; especially if you remain so determined to destroy his love for you.
Mrs. Bertram – Edmund has never really seen me, Henry, just the perfect picture of a woman that he is convinced I am. If twenty years of marriage has not shown him the truth yet, nothing will.
Mr. Crawford – Will you come to visit?
Mrs. Bertram – Not alone: what would your wife say? You know what she thinks of me. No, come to Mansfield with the family sometime soon, with the children, and we can all play happy family together.
Mr. Crawford – Some of us do not pretend, Mary.
Mrs. Bertram – All of us are actors, Henry. You have been playing a devoted husband for a good eighteen years. Have you not yet tired of the role?
Mr. Crawford – It is the only part worth playing, Mary.
Mrs. Bertram – [laughing] My own brother advocating reform; I never thought I would see the day.
[Sir John enters. Mrs. Bertram smiles and walks towards him]
Mrs. Bingley – Ah, there you are, Sir John. I am so happy to hear about young Henry; he is quite a favourite of mine. I knew that you would be taken with him from the first. It is very kind of you.
Sir John – Kind? Oh, don’t say that. Mrs. Bingley, I would hate to be accused of being kind. I only want the best for myself, and I am absolutely convinced that young Middleton is the best man for the post. He is not connected to the Barton Middletons, is he?
Mrs. Bingley – Oh, I don’t know. He and his mother moved here about five years ago, so he could take up an apprenticeship at the attorney’s office. But Mrs. Middleton does not talk very much about her family. I have invited her tonight; you will have to ask her yourself. Are you acquainted with other Middletons then?
Sir John – I was, long ago. But it was a connection of no particular importance.
Mr. Crawford – [coldly] Good evening, Sir John.
Sir John – [with affected excitement] Mr. Crawford! I will shake your hand as long as you will not preach improvements to me tonight. You know I am entirely opposed to it all.
Mr. Crawford – I would not waste my breath, Sir John. [they shake hands] I can only hope you do not turn the borough against me.
Sir John – I am only here for a fortnight. If a fortnight can ruin your position, you must have one that nothing can save.
Mrs. Bingley – Never fear, Mr. Crawford, I am entirely devoted to your opinion. We must do all we can for the poor. I had quite forgotten that you and Sir John were on different sides of things. I am on the side of charity.
Sir John – [seriously] Then you have done a great deal of damage, Mrs. Bingley, if you support public charities. You can do nothing worse these days.
Mrs. Musgrove – You are quite right, Sir John. The amount Charles must pay into the parish funds is impoverishing us already and it does nothing but encourage indolence in the poor. If we pay them more, they will only work half as much. Coal and clothing are all very well and good for the poor, they get quite enough.
Sir John – I agree with you entirely, Mrs. Musgrove. [to Mrs. Bingley] Have no fear of an argument, they are vulgar things. That is why I shall save all of my opinions for the House: it has not a shadow of respectability left.
[Mr. Bingley enters]
Mr. Musgrove – [jumping up] Bingley! You said you would show me that capital stream on your land, I could not find it myself.
Mr Bingley – Of course, it is not too far off. [looks at his wife, who nods].
Mrs. Musgrove – Charles! Really, I asked you to walk only a few minutes ago. Whenever there is pleasure to be had, it never includes me.
[Mr. Musgrove does not reply, exits with Mr. Bingley]
Mrs. Musgrove – [to Mrs. Bertram, plaintively] Charles is always forgetting me.
Mrs. Bertram – [to Sir John] Plain women are always jealous of their husbands; beautiful women never are.
Sir John – Beautiful women never have the time; they are always occupied with other women’s husbands.
Mrs. Bertram – And yet I am occupied by you, and you have no wife, plain or pretty. How curious.
Sir John – Occupied with me? I thought you were here to flirt with Mr. Crawford.
Mrs. Bertram – [scoffs] Don’t be silly, even if he was not my own brother, I have no stomach for all this talk of reformation.
Sir John – I would be devasted if I ever heard you had reformed. But I would also certainly want to learn the method that had finally tamed you.
Mrs. Bertram – No English method can; maybe I should travel abroad?
Sir John – It would be too great a loss to English society, dare not to think of it.
Mrs. Bertram – Oh, do not flatter me, Sir John, I have too high an opinion of myself already. Talk to me about something else; have you met Miss Fitzwilliam?
Sir John – I saw her out on the lawn with Mr. Middleton. She is staying here?
Mrs. Bertram – Yes, I hope you do not like her too much. I cannot stand her. Yesterday she told me quite loudly that she is only one-and-twenty! A young woman should never brag about her age; it is unbecoming. Especially to her [pause] superiors.
Sir John – She is decidedly pretty. I admire her immensely.
Mrs. Bertram – You are a very bad man, to admire innocence at your age.
Sir John – What else is there to admire? Innocence is the rarest of qualities; merely touching it kills it forever. A woman can not have a more attractive trait. That which is ephemeral cannot help but please.
Mrs. Bertram – Miss Fitzwilliam will have nothing to do with you, innocent as she may be. She has very particular taste.
Sir John – Have you not heard? I am to everyone’s taste.
Mrs. Bertram – In politics, maybe. But Miss Fitzwilliam will not like you, I guarantee it.
Sir John – Is that a challenge?
Mrs. Bertram – It is merely a truth. That girl has made her views very well known, she positively reeks of goodness and purity.
Sir John – Knowing her guardians, that is unsurprising. I wonder what they would say, if they knew I admired her.
Mrs. Bertram – They would forbid you to ever see her again.
Sir John – That would be most unfortunate. If they did, I would be obliged to fall in love with her.
Mrs. Bertram – Oh don’t be trite, Sir John, I was just starting to admire you myself. It is utterly predictable for a man to fall in love with something he cannot have.
Sir John – I cannot bear to lose your approval, Mrs. Bertram.
Mrs. Bertram – Why are you building unnecessary walls between us, Sir John? Will you not call me Mary?
Sir John – Will you accompany me to the conservatory, Mary? No one else is properly admiring the flowers. I hear there is one so beautiful it is positively sinful.
Mrs. Bertram – How dreadful! Allow me to help you rectify this great injustice.
[Sir John offers her his arm and they exit together. Mr. Crawford watches them go]
Mrs. Bingley – I apologize Mr. Crawford, I had quite forgotten that he was a member of the other party.
Mr. Crawford – It is nothing, Mrs. Bingley, do not be alarmed. It is not Sir John’s political opinions that I object to. He is a very brilliant man, but he seems to me to have a thorough disdain for domestic life.
Mrs. Musgrove – If you had known his late wife, you would not be surprised by his opinions. I never did, but I hear she was a complete shrew, and not even very pretty.
Mr. Crawford – If your information was supplied by Sir John, I would doubt its veracity. I think a man such as Sir John’ regards women simply as toys. A man should regard his wife as an intellectual help-meet in both public and private life. He should not deride her concerns as below his notice, but endeavour to understand them, and take them up as his own. There are things that touch the heart of a woman that a man might not have considered.
Mrs. Bingley – I like to hear you say so.
Mr. Crawford – I do not just say it, I know it to be true.
[Enter servant, speaks quietly to Mrs. Bingley]
Mrs. Bingley – Dinner is ready; can you send for Mr. Bingley, please? [exit servant]
Mrs. Musgrove – Where is Charles? I will not go in without him. It would be mortifying!
[Mr. Bingley and Mr. Musgrove return, and they all walk inside together]
Act II
[The ladies are assembled in the drawing room. Miss Fitzwilliam appears to be reading a book, away from the other ladies]
Mrs. Bertram – [languidly] How long the men have left us, I am dreadfully bored without them.
Miss Bingley – It has been longer than usual, I think.
Mrs. Bertram – Is it not unforgivable that they can be perfectly happy without us?
Miss Bingley – Are you not here, and happy, without your husband, Mrs. Bertram?
Mrs. Bertram – [laughs] Yes, but my husband has done something truly unpardonable, and I will never have done scolding him. And besides, I am not deprived of men in general.
Mrs. Musgrove – With your views on life, I’m surprised you married at all.
Mrs. Bertram – I assure you; I was horribly taken in with Edmund.
Mrs. Musgrove – That is very unpleasant. But I have heard nothing but praise of Mr. Bertram. He is a clergyman, is he not?
Mrs. Bertram – Yes, he is. Bu if you have heard no harm then I must tell you all, Mrs. Musgrove. First you must know that Edmund does not flatter me and he has no conversation.
Miss Bingley – I like a silent man.
Mrs. Bertram – Oh, do not mistake me, he isn’t silent, he talks the whole time. But he has no conversation. He talks about morality and business, or at least I think he does. I haven’t listened to him for years.
Miss Bingley – But what has he done that you could not pardon? Talking is no great sin, even if he does not speak the way you like. Did he get very angry with you?
Mrs. Bertram – Oh no, he is the most calm and good-tempered man I have ever met with.
Miss Bingley – Then what can he possibly have done?
Mrs. Bertram – When Edmund proposed to me, he swore that I was the only woman that he ever loved and that he could ever think of as a wife. He promised to love me forever. I didn’t believe him then, but it turns out to be perfectly true. There is nothing that makes a man more uninteresting than eternal and unconditional devotion.
Mrs. Bingley – [calmly] Dear Mrs. Bertram, I do not think you quite mean what you say. I think you are very happy in your marriage but affect not to be. [to her daughter] There is nothing more beautiful in the world than a marriage of true affection.
Mrs. Musgrove – I see nothing to disgust in eternal devotion. Charles is always abandoning me; I think I could be dying and he would not care a bit. And you know I always get the worst sore throats, but he still does whatever he pleases.
Mrs. Bertram – Your husband is hardly the ideal either. I believe there are very few happy marriages these days. There is always some fault, on one side or the other.
Miss Bingley – What would an ideal husband be like, Mrs. Bertram?
Mrs. Bertram – Oh, I suppose, something like my brother. But there is really no such thing as an Ideal Husband, Henry is only so good because he has got an Ideal Wife, and she is the most rare creature that has ever lived.
Mrs. Bingley – Mrs. Crawford is a very good woman; we are always visiting her. I only wish she would come to us more often. She is one of the kindest, most gentle people I have met with.
Miss Bingley – Do you think that is the only way a husband might be ideal?
Mrs. Bertram – [smiling] Oh no! There is one other method. If a man is good and moral in himself, and he has an older brother, who is to inherit everything, but has a trifling and frivolous character. The Ideal Husband would be made by marrying the younger brother and having the elder die. But unfortunately, it never quite works out. The good, it seems, never manage to inherit.
Mrs. Bingley – I do not think that is very proper.
Mrs. Bertram – [ignoring her] I can, however, tell you about an Ideal Man.
Mrs. Musgrove – And what would he be like?
Mrs. Bertram – The Ideal Man should constantly be making love to you, especially in public. He should indulge you in every whim, and never think of the expense. He should wear you like a magnificent flower and ardently desire that every other man envies his taste and luck in securing you. He should always be trying to get you away for himself, but you mustn’t let him, because nothing is so delightful as very public devotion. He should love society almost as much as yourself and be the chief talker at every dinner party. And when you tire of him, you may easily trade him in for the next one. That is the greatest advantage that Men have over Husbands.
Mrs. Bingley – [gravely] You are very clever, Mrs. Bertram, and you speak very prettily, but I do not think you mean a single word you say.
Mrs. Musgrove – How quiet you are, Miss Fitzwilliam. Is your book very engrossing?
Miss Fitzwilliam – I have not been reading, I have been listening to the conversation.
Mrs. Bingley – You mustn’t believe it. Mrs. Bertram is very amusing, but she does not speak the truth.
Miss Fitzwilliam – I think she does believe it, Mrs Bingley. I once doubted that women could have such views of life, but I cannot any longer. [awkward pause] If this is society, I can see why my guardians have been so anxious to keep me out of it. Where are the ideals we are supposed to be reaching for: love and purity and charity and goodness? It seems like the most sought-after company is men and women who will say and do anything, without any reference to morality or propriety. English society to me seems shallow, selfish, and foolish. It is like a rat smeared with gold. Like a devil dressed as an angel.
Miss Bingley – [nervously] I don’t think that sounds very nice.
[Mrs. Middleton enters in back, unnoticed]
Miss Fitzwilliam – [rising from her seat, speaking passionately] I am sorry, Mrs. Bingley, I spoke too harshly. These are your friends. But I am shocked by the sort of people who are allowed to move in society. Did Sir John not ruin a girl of sixteen before he married? And yet he is invited everywhere: no dinner party is complete without him it seems. The girl he ruined is an outcast, nameless, cut off. I don’t complain of her punishment: all women who have sinned should be punished, but don’t let them be the only ones who suffer. The punishment of public disgrace should in just measure attend man’s side of the offence. But we know this is not one of the barriers which society gives to virtue. In this world, at least, the penalty is less equal then could be wished. There ought not to be one law for men and one for women.
[dead silence]
Mrs. Musgrove – Where is Charles? He has quite forgotten me.
Mrs. Bingley – [looking around] Oh, Mrs. Middleton, I did not hear you come in.
Mrs. Middleton – I came across the lawn, you did not tell me it was a large party.
Mrs. Bingley – You know what Mr. Bingley is like, we cannot have a small party. He is always inviting everyone. But let me introduce you- you have not yet met Mrs. Bertram, and Miss Fitzwilliam, my sister’s ward. She has been telling us all about society.
Miss Fitzwilliam – [embarrassed] I am afraid I spoke too strongly. But I-
Mrs. Bingley – No, a good deal of what you said is true dear. It is just not something we often say out loud. And I do think there are circumstances, particular ones, where even if a young girl appears at fault-Well. A man should still be a gentleman. [blushes, turns to her daughter] Will you play for us when the men come in? [Miss Bingley nods]
Mrs. Middleton – My son has told me about you, Miss Fitzwilliam. I am very pleased to meet you.
Miss Fitzwilliam – [ashamed] I am sorry that you heard me, Mrs. Middleton. I think sometimes I say things at the wrong time, and to the wrong people.
Mrs. Middleton – Do not be alarmed, I agree with you. It is right to say that both men and women should be punished equally if they sin together. But what of the children, if there are children?
Miss Fitzwilliam – They must be nameless. The sins of the parents are visited upon the children. That is God’s law.
Mrs. Middleton – [gravely] It is one of God’s terrible laws.
Mrs. Bingley – [to Mrs. Middleton] We are all so very happy for your Henry. We will miss his society here. Have you met Sir John?
Mrs. Middleton – I do not know him; I have been in society so little. What is his family name?
Mrs. Bingley –Willoughby, of Allenham I believe. He was knighted, oh, perhaps three years ago? But you would need to ask Mr. Bingley about politics, I never remember. I do remember his wife; she was a very sensible woman. But she died, rather tragically.
Mrs. Middleton – [blanches] Willoughby?
Mrs. Bingley – Yes, do you know him then? He has another estate, Combe Magna? But I forget the county.
Mrs. Middleton – [urgently] I must speak to my son at once. Will you be so good as to send for him?
Mrs. Bingley – Of course dear. I don’t know why the gentlemen are taking so long. When Sir John is here, they always stay longer: he is always very interesting to listen to. Oh, they are coming in now.
[enter men, Sir John goes over to Mrs. Bertram. He does not see Mrs. Middleton, Henry has not yet entered]
Sir John – How is the most charming woman in the world?
Mrs. Bertram – [smiling] I am quite well. But what a short time you men have been in the dining room! It seems we only just left.
Sir John – I was bored to death. Absolutely longing to come in to you the whole time.
Mrs. Bertram – You should have. Your charming innocent was giving us a lecture.
Sir John – The best thing about innocents is how much they think they know of the world. What did she lecture you about?
Mrs. Bertram – Oh, about society. Dreadful stuff. She already dislikes you; did you know that? She knows your past and she despises you for it.
Sir John – That is no matter, it is far more intriguing to overcome a settled dislike. It will not take me more than a quarter of an hour to convince her to forget everything. That is the beauty of having a past, it gives you a promising future. Women love a man they can reform. It is their tragedy that most men never change.
Mrs. Bertram – I like irrational confidence in a man. It becomes him like a well-made hat.
[Henry enters]
Henry – Mother, you must meet Sir John.
Mrs. Middleton – [distressed] No, not tonight, Henry. I should not have come; I feel ill. Will you bring me home?
Henry – I am very sorry mother; I will certainly bring you home. But it will only take a moment. [turning] Sir John, you must know my mother.
[Sir John turns around and raises his hand simultaneously. He stops, stares in wonder, and slowly turns his eyes to look at Henry. His hand drops by inches back to his side.]
Henry – This is my mother, Mrs. Middleton. I know she will want to thank you, Sir John.
Mrs. Middleton – [softly] It is very kind of you Sir John, to be interested in Henry for the moment.
Sir John – I am extremely interested in your son, Mrs. Middleton.
Mrs. Middleton – Henry, I think that Sir John may change his mind, he may not want you as his secretary.
Henry – Mother, what can you mean?
Mrs. Bingley – If everyone would like to come to the music room, my daughter is going to play. Perhaps we can convince the lovely Mrs. Bertram to grace us with a performance on the harp.
[The guests begin to move, Henry, Mrs. Middleton, and Sir John stand still. Mrs. Bertram approaches him]
Mrs. Bertram – Will you come, Sir John? I have often been told I play as beautifully as a siren.
Sir John – Nothing could keep me away. [Mrs. Bertram exits, with a wink]
Henry – Mother?
Sir John – Go on Henry, let me speak to your mother for a moment. Everything will be settled soon.
Henry – I do hope so. Are you well, mother?
Mrs. Middleton – [with forced calmness] Yes, Henry, I will join you soon. [Henry exits]
Sir John – So this is our son, Marianne. I am delighted with him; how have you hidden him for so long? He looks exactly like me. Why the name Middleton?
Mrs. Middleton – One name is as good as another, when a man will not give you his own. It was my mother’s maiden name and the name of an honourable Sir John. I thought it suited me.
Sir John – Why Henry?
Mrs. Middleton – [passionately] After my father. I wonder if he had still been alive, if any of this would have happened.
Sir John – Marianne, there is no need for hysterics, what is over is over. You know how it was, I could never have married you, not with what little you had then. But I am so pleased with our boy. I will not make it known to the world who he really is, but I want to have him with me. My life seemed complete, perfect, before this day. But it was not, I needed a son. I have finally found my son.
Mrs. Middleton – [with fervour] He is not your son! He is mine and mine alone! You gave up any claim to him when you refused to give him a name and marry me. You left me, you left me to die of sorrow and you never looked back.
Sir John – [calmly] I did leave you, but I offered you restitution after I married. You would not have it.
Mrs. Middleton – Did you truly expect me to take what you gained by marrying that poor woman? Did Miss Grey ever know how little you cared for her?
Sir John – [coldly] My late wife deserves none of your pity. She was a cold, hard-hearted woman, and there was scarcely a happy day in our five-year marriage.
Mrs. Middleton – And even then, when you were at liberty, when you were rich and widowed, and had come into Allenham, you still did not look for me or your son. Did you forget me so easily?
Sir John – [with feeling] How could I forget you? You were the only woman I ever loved, the only one I may have been happy with. You knew I had no choice, but said you would never forgive me.
Mrs. Middleton – I would not. I will not. You had a choice; you could have chosen to honour your promises to me.
Sir John – I was not so old then; I was only twenty-five.
Mrs. Middleton – When a man is old enough to do wrong, he is old enough to do right as well.
Sir John – You did not allow me to do right by your child.
Mrs. Middleton – No, when you finally wrote back to me, I did not take your pittance per year and a house in town and submit to be your mistress. Nor did I crawl back to you, when my child was five years old and had never known a father, and your wife died trying to bring your true heir into the world. You gave up your right to be Henry’s father when you left me, knowing what that I might already carry your child; when you left me alone and disgraced in Devonshire.
Sir John – To say that I left you alone is silly and untrue; you were with your mother. The Middletons took care of your family for years. And as for your disgrace, it never reached London. Your sisters both married without trouble.
Mrs. Middleton – Do you truly think that because I did not plummet to the bottom of the pit, I must not have been broken by my fall? If you could have seen me, if you had been there when I nearly died, and Elinor was begging for me not to leave her. I could hear my brother sobbing through the door when his wife went out to him, hardly hoping that I would survive the night. But I did, and they took me into their home where no one would know my past. I lived with them as a poor widow. If anyone is Henry’s father, it is Edward Ferrars. You have no claim on my son! You did not even arrange for his care. It was Mrs. Jennings, without any relation to us, who left him the legacy that paid for his education. Not his father.
Sir John – [scoffs] Elinor cry? She has no more emotion than a stone.
Mrs. Middleton – You dare not speak her name! She loved me more than you ever did. She loved my son when you would not, when you did not care to remember him. She loves me, and him, in spite of everything.
Sir John – [sternly] None of this matters, Marianne. Our son’s future is more important than your past. You cannot forget a few difficult months twenty years ago; I can. I will take him. He will be my son in everything but name.
Mrs. Middleton – I will not let him go.
Sir John – He wants to come with me, he jumped at the offer. You were happy for him until you knew who I was, and now that we know he is my own son you will not let him go? How will you prevent it? He does not know the truth, or else he is a better actor then I thought.
Mrs. Middleton – He believes that his father was honourable and that he is dead. I do not know which is the greater lie.
Sir John – Marianne, don’t be dramatic. You are far too old for it.
Mrs. Middleton – I will be what I choose, without any reference to the man who destroyed my innocence. I will tell Henry that he cannot go; he will stay with me. I have raised him to be a good, upright man. He has a profession here; he is happy here, with me.
Sir John – If I tell him the truth, he would never forgive you. Not if you have raised him as a moral man. You have raised your own judge and executioner.
Mrs. Middleton – Why should I not tell him? If I did, he would never go away with you. He would know exactly what you were.
Sir John – You would not dare.
Mrs. Middleton – You do not know what I have already endured to keep my son safe, to keep him from ever becoming like his father. I have loved him as I never loved any other, with my whole heart and soul. I have protected him from a world that would call him disgraced and unnamed. It is you who should fear the truth.
Sir John – Be reasonable, Marianne.
Mrs. Middleton – There was a time you loved my passion, Willoughby.
[Henry enters]
Henry – Dear mother, have you settled everything with Sir John?
Mrs. Middleton – I have not.
Henry – Why, mother?
Mrs. Middleton – I thought you were happy here Henry, with me. I did not think you would leave me.
Henry – No man stays with his mother forever. Of course, I have been happy with you, but I want to make something of myself. I thought you would be happy for me.
Mrs. Middleton – I do not think you are suitable to be a secretary. You have no experience.
Sir John – I must be the best judge of that, Mrs. Middleton, and I say that Henry has all the experience I could have wished for. He is far more suited to the position than I could have imagined. Is there any other reason for him to not accept this post?
Mrs. Middleton – [after a pause] No, there is no other reason.
Sir John – Excellent, then everything is settled. Come, let us go out on the terrace together. Mrs. Middleton, let me tell you, I think you have acted very wisely.
[Exit with Henry. Mrs. Middleton is left alone. She stands immobile with a look of unutterable sorrow on her face.]
Act III
[The picture gallery, Sir John and Henry are sitting together]
Sir John – I knew your mother would come around in the end.
Henry – My mother feels things very deeply. I ought to have known that while she would be happy, she would be distraught at the prospect of my leaving home. I am all she has.
Sir John – Women can be so sentimental! She cannot give you a future here, it is best that you go with me and enter society. A man with intelligence, looks, and youth can go very far in London.
Henry – [nervously] I have never been very much in society. I do not know how it will receive someone such as myself.
Sir John – There is nothing more charming than youth; everyone will love you. But you must get some better clothes. Yours, I suppose, have been good enough for Norfolk.
Henry – My mother has always been very careful with our money, very economical. I think she must have married below her, because my father left us nothing. Without the legacy from Mrs. Jennings we would not have enough to live in modest comfort.
Sir John – [winces] There is no reason for a young man such as yourself to worry about money. Youth is the time to be fashionable and expensive. I never cared about debt in my youth: I don’t think any man should. When one has a future before them, one needs to spend one’s way into it. What I would give to be young and frivolous again.
Henry – But you don’t think of yourself as old?
Sir John – I am old enough to be your father.
Henry – I do not remember my father.
Sir John – You have missed having a father, I suppose?
Henry – Oh no, my mother has been so good to me. No one ever had such a mother as I have had. She has done everything for me.
Sir John – I say you do not know what you have missed. A mother is practical and timid, she does not understand a man’s ambition. A mother’s love can be very touching, but it is also curiously selfish. I mean, there is a good deal of selfishness in it.
Henry – I suppose that- that may be true. Is it really selfish to hold on to those you love?
Sir John – I call it selfishness, when by holding on you may ruin a man’s one chance at life. I suppose your mother is very religious?
Henry – Yes, she goes to church and is devoted to the poor.
Sir John – That is all well and good for a woman, but men have more important duties. She does not understand us and our ambitions. If you had a father, he would never have objected to such an opportunity.
Henry – No, I suppose he would not.
Sir John – Women are merely anchors, dragging men away from their dreams. They fool us into thinking that they will help us achieve, but they pull us down.
Henry – Is not history full of men whose achievements were inspired, aided, and encouraged the women they love?
Sir John – I would say they achieved it in spite of them. Marriage is a tyranny. Nothing has destroyed so many ambitious men as loving a woman has.
Henry – Is it not wonderful to be in love?
Sir John – Oh yes, love is wonderful, but the problem is that too many men act upon it in an unreasonable way. One should always be in love and never marry. Marriage is a prison.
Henry – But you have been married, many years ago.
Sir John – Yes, and I have been cured forever from the inclination. It was very instructive for me. I suggest that you learn from my experience.
Henry – Do you not think anyone married can be happy?
Sir John – Oh certainly, the weak and idle may be happy- those who sacrifice their ambition on the altar of womanly caprice- but not one such as myself. Not one such as you, I think.
[Enter Mrs. Bingley and Mr. Crawford]
Mrs. Bingley – Ah, there you are Sir John. I suppose you have been instructing our young friend as to his duties and giving him a great deal of good advice?
Sir John – I only give the best of advice.
Mrs. Bingley – I wish I had heard it, but then, I have been talking to Mr. Crawford about the reforms to parliament and it is all very important and complex.
Sir John – Foolish ideas usually are.
Mr. Crawford – [calmly] Prudent plans are never as simple as charming promises. Words are nothing but air.
Mrs. Bingley – Mrs. Middleton! [she enters] How is your music? I love to hear your new compositions.
Mrs. Middleton – I am always at work. It is a constant source of pleasure.
Mrs. Bingley – Your wife is very much the same, is she not Mr. Crawford?
Mr. Crawford – Yes, Mrs. Crawford is always at work, to the great benefit of the residents of the village.
Mrs. Bingley – I must visit her soon. But what were you talking about Sir John? Do tell us.
Sir John – I was just on the point of telling Henry that the greatest romance a person can achieve is with themselves. There is no one else so worthy of devotion.
Mr. Crawford – I hope he has been wise enough not to believe a word you have said.
Mrs. Bingley – [pensively] I do feel sometimes that Sir John speaks very badly, but I never understand much of what he says. I have a dim idea that he is on the side of the sinners, and I do try to be on the side of the saints.
Mrs. Middleton – [earnestly] I should be sorry to hear anyone follow Sir John’s opinions.
Mrs. Bingley – I am sure you are right, my dear.
[Henry looks at his mother irritably and exits. Enter Mrs. Musgrove]
Mrs. Musgrove – Have you seen Charles anywhere?
Mrs. Bingley – I think he is somewhere with Mr. Bingley. Perhaps in the billiards room? Come sit down with us, I am sure he is very happy as he is.
Mrs. Musgrove – No, I had better look for him. I will not let him neglect me again.
[exit Mrs. Musgrove]
Mrs. Bingley – I never understand why Mary is always searching for her husband like that. She has nothing to fear. Her husband is a very good sort of man, from what I have seen of him.
[enter Mr. Musgrove and Mr. Bingley]
Mrs. Bingley – Ah, there you both are. Mary has been looking everywhere for you, Mr. Musgrove.
Mr. Musgrove – Were has she gone?
Mrs. Bingley – I think to the billiards room.
[Exits in the opposite direction to Mrs. Musgrove. Mr. Bingley sits next to his wife. Mrs. Bertram enters with Miss Bingley]
Mrs. Bingley – [to Miss Bingley] What have you been talking about my dear? Something improving, I hope?
Miss Bingley – I hardly know. Mrs. Bertram was telling me about human nature.
Sir John – Human nature? And what did you tell her about that?
Mrs. Bertram – That the good are never interesting and the bad are always fascinating. That is why the bad are always forgiven.
Sir John – Perfectly true. If this mania for reforming ever truly effected change, we would all die of boredom. Sinners must go on as they are, it is the lot of the good to forgive them.
Mrs. Bingley – Yes, it is good to be forgiving, is it not?
Mrs. Middleton – [seriously] There are some things that should never be forgiven, Mrs. Bingley.
Mrs. Bingley – What sort of things?
Mrs. Middleton – The ruin of a woman’s life.
Mrs. Bingley – That is very sad, no doubt. But I always hope that the people in those situations will reform. I think the secret of life is to believe the best of everybody.
Mrs. Bertram – The secret of life is to never settle for anything less than you deserve.
Mr. Crawford – The secret of life is to resist temptation.
Mrs. Bertram – [to Sir John, in under-voice] I never resist temptation.
Mr. Bingley – The secret of life is to marry a good woman.
Sir John – There is no secret of life. The best thing to do is take as much from life as you can, and never pay anything back.
Mrs. Bingley – I don’t know how it is, Sir John, but everything you have said today seems to me excessively immoral. But, however, it is interesting to listen to you.
Mr. Crawford – [dryly] It would be better, perhaps, if you did not listen to him at all. However, I must be going home, Mrs. Bingley.
Mrs. Bingley – Yes, I will see you to your carriage. I have some draughts to send with you for your poor little girl. Mrs. Crawford will be able to visit soon, I hope?
Mr. Crawford – Not for a few days, I should think.
[exit together. Mr. Bingley and Miss Bingley exit likewise. Sir John and Mrs. Bertram stand together, Mrs. Middleton watching from the back of the room]
Mrs. Bertram – It is a beautiful night.
Sir John – Then let us go and look at it, I love to look at beautiful things.
Mrs. Bertram – How do you ever leave your mirror in the morning?
Sir John – Without any difficulty, it is unkind. It merely shows me my wrinkles.
Mrs. Bertram – Mine is better behaved; it never tells me the truth.
Sir John – Then it is in love with you.
[exit together, Henry enters]
Mrs. Middleton – Come Henry, let us go home.
Henry – Dear mother, do let us stay a little longer. Sir John is so delightful.
Mrs. Middleton – [passionately] Please Henry, do not go away with him. I implore you; I beg you!
Henry – [in confusion] Mother, how changeable you are, you said you had no objection. This is a chance I may never have again. And it is not just ambition mother, I am in love with Miss Fitzwilliam. I doubt she would ever accept me, but with my small fortune and my profession- I could never even ask her. It would be an impertinence.
Mrs. Middleton – I fear she will not have you; I know her views on life.
Henry – Then I may at least live to find some other girl I might love, and in enough wealth to secure her. Sir John is intelligent and charming. In some ways, I want to be more like him.
Mrs. Middleton – I would sooner see you dead.
Henry – Mother! Tell me now, why do you object to Sir John.
Mrs. Middleton – He is a bad man.
Henry – How do you know? You said you have never met him.
Mrs. Middleton – I know for certain; I know what happened twenty years ago.
Henry – Why should something that happened before I was born have any effect on my life now?
Mrs. Middleton – Because that is still who he is, Henry. He has not changed. I have been watching him tonight.
Henry – Then tell me at once, what was it that he did?
Mrs. Middleton – [after a deep breath] Henry, there was once a girl. She was very young, just seventeen. And she was passionate and naive, and had no one to protect her. And Sir John made this girl love him, and he made her believe that he was going to marry her. She knew nothing about life, but he had done this all before. He spoke to her with a silver tongue and made her believe that he loved her. And for weeks he appeared to everyone to be intending to make good on his word. One day, he found her walking alone and she gave herself up to him, believing with her whole heart that he would do the right thing by her. She loved him so much, she thought that he was an honourable man. But then he left her, suddenly, and the next she heard, he had married another. She wrote to him. She told him of- [hesitates]- her child. He did not answer. She was broken with grief and her innocence was destroyed. Her soul was stained. There was no peace, no atonement. She will never recover. She goes about unknown to the world, wearing a mask she can never drop. And she was not even the first girl he had ruined in the same way and he has not repented. That is why I call Sir John a bad man. That is why I do not want you to go with him.
Henry – My dear mother, this all sounds very tragic of course, but I must say, the girl was as much to blame as Sir John was. Would a nice girl, a properly raised girl, really do all of this? Would she give herself to someone outside of marriage? No nice girl would. No daughter of yours.
[A pause]
Mrs. Middleton – I withdraw all my objections. You may go away with him as you chose.
Henry – You are the best mother who ever lived! As for Sir John, I cannot believe that he is capable of anything so infamous or base. I can’t believe it of him, I cannot.
Anne [outside] – Let me go! Let me go! [Anne enters in terror, her sleeve torn, she rushes over to Henry and flings herself into his arms] Save me- save me from him!
Henry – From whom?
Anne – He has insulted me! Save me!
Henry – [angrily] Who has dared!
[Sir John enters and stops, Anne points at him, her finger shaking in fear]
Henry – [in rage] Sir John, you have insulted- I will not allow this to stand! I will kill you!
Mrs. Middleton – [rushing and catching hold of him] No! No!
Henry – [pushing her away] Don’t hold me mother, I will kill him!
Mrs. Middleton – Henry, stop! He is your own father!
[Henry clutches his mother’s hands and looks into her face. She sinks slowly on the ground in shame. Anne steals towards the door. Sir John frowns and exits how he came. After a time, Henry raises his mother up, puts his arm round her, and leads her from the room.]
Act VI
[Sitting room in Mrs. Middleton’s house. Henry writing at a table. French doors lead out to a garden in the centre of the room, there are entrances on both sides, the stairs on the right, the door on the left.]
[Enter Mrs. Bingley and Mrs. Bertram from left]
Mrs. Bingley – Good morning Henry. We came to inquire after your mother. I hope she is better?
Henry – Good morning. My mother has not come down yet.
Mrs. Bingley – Miss Fitzwilliam said you were walking together and fell in the garden? Her pretty muslin gown ripped.
Henry – Yes, that is right.
Mrs. Bertram – Ah, I thought it was something more exciting than that, but these things are never more than they seem. More’s the pity.
Mrs. Bingley – I don’t know what you mean, but I sometimes think you say things that are very wrong. Ah, I see you are examining Mrs. Middleton’s pretty room. Isn’t it lovely?
Henry – The paintings are all done by my Aunt Ferrars.
Mrs. Bertram – They are charming. And what a handsome pianoforte, though it must be nearly as old as you, Mr. Middleton.
Henry – It was purchased by my grandfather: he died before I was born.
Mrs. Bertram – It has been well-loved; your mother has taken excellent care of it.
Henry – My mother has always taken good care of everything in her life, there is no woman more loving than her, save perhaps, for one.
Mrs. Bertram – If only Sir John had such a woman to love him. I would like to see him settled in a nice country home like this. All that a man really needs in this life is a good woman to be the making of him.
Henry – I don’t think that is true, Mrs. Bertram, if I may say so.
Mrs. Bertram – Perhaps not. After all, he says that all influence is bad, but a good influence is the worst in the world.
Henry – Sir John could benefit from some good influence.
Mrs. Bertram – Well then you must reform him, as his secretary.
Henry – I have given up the post.
Mrs. Bingley – [surprised] Surely not! It would be most unwise of you. What reason can you have?
Henry – I do not think I am suitable.
Mrs. Bertram – I wish Sir John would ask me to be his secretary, but he says I am not serious enough.
Mrs. Bingley – Don’t talk like that in this house. Mrs. Middleton is a very good woman, she brings an air of respectability. I was honoured to have her at my party.
Mrs. Bertram – It helps that she is still very pretty, even at her age. It is every woman’s duty to be ornamental, if they can.
Mrs. Bingley – What does that matter? But Henry, will you really decline?
Henry – Yes, I cannot work with a man like Sir John. His views of life are too different from my own.
Mrs. Bingley – Are you quite sure? I do not believe Sir John thinks evil, but he speaks it. But it is only in playfulness, surely – he says what he does not mean.
Henry – [seriously] I think he does mean it, and it grieves me to my soul.
Mrs. Bingley – Well if you have quite made up your mind, I will not advise you against your conscience.
Mrs. Bertram – I hope you will not live to regret it. There is nothing so wonderful as society, Mr. Middleton. I hope you will not stay in the country forever. You are wasted in the country. We all are.
[maid enters from right]
Maid – I am sorry, Mrs. Middleton has a bad headache and cannot see anyone this morning.
Mrs. Bingley – A bad headache! I am very sorry to hear it. Perhaps you will bring her over this afternoon if she is better?
Henry – Not today, maybe another time.
Mrs. Bingley – Goodbye then, Henry. If you do reconsider, Sir John will be with us until next week.
Mrs. Bertram – Goodbye, Mr. Middleton.
[Exit. Henry sits back down and reads his letter]
Henry – What name can I sign? I, who have no right to any name. [Signs name, puts letter into envelope, addresses it, and is about to seal it, when the door opens and Mrs. Middleton enters on the right. Henry lays down the sealing-wax. Mother and son look at each other.] Mother, I have just written to him.
Mrs. Middleton – To whom?
Henry – To my father. I have written him to tell him to come here.
Mrs. Middleton – He will not come here. I will not suffer that man to cross the threshold of my house!
Henry – He must come.
Mrs. Middleton – If you are going away with him, go at once and leave me; go before it kills me. But do not ask me to meet him again.
Henry – [passionately] I would never go with him mother, not for a kingdom. I will not leave you. No, I have written him to say that he must marry you.
Mrs. Middleton – [starts] Marry me?
Henry – I will force him to marry you. He must atone for what he has done. The past must be set right.
Mrs. Middleton – [sternly] I will not marry him.
Henry – Why not? You must. It is the only thing to be done.
Mrs. Middleton – I will not. You talk of atonement for wrong. What atonement can be made to me? There is no atonement possible. I am disgraced: he is not. That is all. It is the common history of a man and a woman as it usually happens, as it always happens. And the ending is the ordinary ending. The woman suffers. The man goes free.
Henry – I don’t know if that is the ordinary ending, mother: I hope it is not. But your life, at any rate, shall not end like that. The man shall make whatever reparation is possible. It is not enough. It does not blot out the past, I know that. But at least it makes the future better, better for you, mother.
Mrs. Middleton – I refuse to marry him.
Henry – [in confusion] Mother, you make it terribly difficult for me by talking like that. It is to take away the bitterness out of your life, to take away the shadow that lies on your name, that this marriage must take place. There is no alternative: and after the marriage you and I can go away together. But the marriage must take place first. It is a duty that you owe, not merely to yourself, but to all other women—yes: to all the other women in the world, lest he betray more.
Mrs. Middleton – I owe nothing to other women, beyond those who have loved you and sheltered me. There is not any other woman in the world to whom I could go for pity, if I would take it, or for sympathy, if I could win it. Women are harder on each other than you know. That girl, last night, good though she is, fled from the room when she learned what I was. And she is right, I am a tainted thing. But my wrongs are my own, and I will bear them alone. I must bear them alone. What have women who have not sinned to do with me, or I with them? We do not understand each other.
[Enter Anne, unseen, she lingers at the French doors]
Henry – Does your religion not tell you that I am right? The religion you have taught me since I was a boy.
Mrs. Middleton – Henry, I cannot stand before God, in God’s house, and say the words the church bids us to say. How can I swear to love a man I loathe; to honour him who made your dishonour; to obey him who made me sin? Marriage is for those in love. I have lied to the world for twenty years, to protect you from their mockery. I will not lie to God; I dare not. Marriage is not for those such as me. But there is more than that, nothing can ever change what I am, Henry.
Henry – What do you mean?
Mrs. Middleton – I love you too much, and because of that, I can never repent. I did wrong twenty years ago, wrong in the eyes of the world and the church, but you were the result. I love you with my whole heart, with everything I have that does not hate your father, and I will never scorn that love. You are more to me than innocence or purity. I would rather be your mother than lose my disgrace. That is the price that I paid for you, and I have never regretted it. Even marrying your father cannot cover my disgrace. Don’t ask me to do this horrible thing.
Anne [running forward and embracing Mrs. Middleton] – No! You shall not. That would be real dishonour, the first you have ever known. That would be real disgrace, the first to touch you. No, there is another way. Let us leave here together and forget him.
Mrs. Middleton – There is nowhere in England that will admit one such as me.
Anne – You are wrong. If I say that you are my mother, no one will dare to scorn you. Will you come with me? [to Henry] You cannot love me at all, unless you honour her also.
Henry – I am sorry mother; I should not have asked you to do such a thing.
Mrs. Middleton – [to Anne] We are very poor.
Anne – I hate my riches; they are a burden. Let him share the weight with me.
Mrs. Middleton – But we are disgraced, Henry is nameless. The sins of the parents should be visited on the children. It is God’s law.
Anne – I will give Henry my name, he will be nameless no longer. I was wrong, I was wrong before. How foolish I was! God’s law is only love. I will not submit to your disgrace when that man walks free. I have been unmerciful, brutal, to other women when I should have been kind.
Mrs. Middleton – But what of your guardians?
Anne – I am of age; I alone can make the choice. But it was they who raised me to love goodness and hate evil. I know they will approve my choice. It was they who protected me from this world and they were right to do so. I hate society. Come and live with me and we shall make our own paradise.
Mrs. Middleton – Henry, I cannot give you a father, but I have brought you a wife.
Henry – I am not worthy of her.
Mrs. Middleton – No one is worthy of the person they love, but devotion makes us so.
Anne – Come, let us all go into the garden.
Mrs. Middleton – You go, I will come later on.
[Henry and Anne leave together through the French doors. Maid enters from left]
Maid – There is a gentleman to see you ma’am.
Mrs. Middleton – I am not home.
[Sir John enters left. Maid exits]
Mrs. Middleton – [coldly] I have nothing to say to you Willoughby. You must leave this house.
Sir John – Now that Henry knows the truth, we must come to some kind of arrangement.
Mrs. Middleton – My son may come any moment and I may not be able to save you again. He is my child; he has my passion.
Sir John – Last night was unfortunate. That silly girl making a scene merely because I wanted to kiss her. What harm is there in a kiss?
Mrs. Middleton – A kiss can ruin a life. You should know that as well as me.
Sir John – I have no interest in the past, it is behind us Marianne. I only want my son. I am very fond of him; I admire his conduct last night. He is just what I would have wanted my son to be, all zeal and spirit. Now I propose this-
Mrs. Middleton – You can offer us nothing that we would want.
Sir John – I will make him my legal heir, I will even give him my name, if he wants it. None of my property is entailed, he will have all of it and the house in town. What more could any gentleman require?
Mrs. Middleton – He has no need of your fortune, property, or name.
Sir John – What can you mean? Do you still intend for him to be a country attorney for the rest of his life? He will hate you for it someday. I will talk to him; I will make him understand. And no one will know about your past, no one does except that silly girl. And she cannot tell without explaining that she objected to being kissed. All the women will think her a fool and the men a prude. And you need not fear any other heir, I have no intention of marrying.
Mrs. Middleton – I said, he does not need you. Miss Fitzwilliam loves him, they love each other. We are leaving and we will never see you again. If you try to meet us, we will not know you. I will not look on you or answer you.
Sir John – You have grown hard, Marianne.
Mrs. Middleton – I was too weak once; it is well for me that I have changed.
Sir John – I want my son. Even if my money is no use to him now, I may be of no use to him, but I want my son. Bring us together, Marianne. You can if you choose.
Mrs. Middleton – He does not want you.
Sir John – Then why does he write to me? [picks up letter from the table]
Mrs. Middleton – That is nothing, give it to me!
Sir John – It is addressed to me. [opens letter and reads it slowly] You have read this I suppose.
Mrs. Middleton – I know what it says.
Sir John – I do not admit for a moment that the boy is right in what he says. I don’t admit that it is any duty of mine to marry you. But Marianne, [in a softened tone] you are the only woman I have ever loved; how could I have not? You have always been my ideal, my picture of the perfect woman and I have regretted not marrying you every day since I left you. I mourned your loss even as I married Sophia. I have admired you, and wanted you- no one but you- since almost the day I met you. The happiest hours of my life where spent with you, when we were able to love each other freely. Did you not tell me that you believed in everlasting love? In the romance of first attachments? Before-
Mrs. Middleton – Before I learned what you really were?
Sir John – Before I was forced to marry another.
Mrs. Middleton – [with great emotion] You were not forced, Willoughby. Even if you were, you did not even explain, you left me wondering for weeks and weeks. If you had really loved me, you would not have taken so much from me. You would have honoured your love of me despite Mrs. Smith’s anger. But you are lying even now, you were not poor, you were profligate. You did not need Allenham, you wanted it. You coveted riches more than love, and now that you have your ill-gotten gold, you finally have realized it will not make you happy. There is nothing in your love that is not selfish.
Sir John – Marry me. I will love and respect you as my wife. I give you my word of honour.
Mrs. Middleton – You never said it in so many words before, but I decline to marry you.
Sir John – Are you serious?
Mrs. Middleton – I have never been more serious.
Sir John – Why will you not?
Mrs. Middleton – Because I hate you.
Sir John – For hatred, you will decline love?
Mrs. Middleton – There is nothing that would tempt me to accept your love. My feelings for you are singular, there is no shadow of affection that remains.
Sir john – Does my son hate me?
Mrs. Middleton – No, he merely despises you.
Sir John – What a pity, for him I mean. Then there is nothing to do I suppose.
Mrs. Middleton – Nothing.
Sir John – This is goodbye then.
Mrs. Middleton – I hope forever.
Sir John – How curious! Upon my word, Marianne, no woman ever loved me as you did. You gave yourself to me like a flower, to do anything I liked with. You were the most fascinating of playthings, the most ardent of romances. It has been so strange an experience, to have met amongst people of one’s own rank, and treated quite seriously too, one’s mistress and one’s b-
[Mrs. Middleton snatches up glove and strikes Sir John across the face with it. He starts, he is dazed by the insult. He then controls himself, goes to the French doors, looks at his son, and leaves the room]
Mrs. Middleton – [sits on the sofa] He would have said it.
[Henry and Anne enter through French doors]
Henry – You did not come out, Mother, we have come to fetch you.
Mrs. Middleton – My son! [rises and embraces him]
Anne – But you have two children now. You will let me be my daughter?
Mrs. Middleton – You would choose me for a mother?
Anne – You of all the women I have ever known. [they embrace]
Henry – [picking up glove] Whose glove is this? Have you had a visitor?
Mrs. Middleton – Oh! No one. No one in particular. A man of no importance. [hand in hand, they walk out into the garden]
——————————————————-
Further explanation:
Modified Cast list:
Lord Illingworth – Sir John Willoughby
Rachel – Marianne Dashwood (now Middleton)
Sir John Pontefract – Charles Musgrove
Lady Caroline Pontefract – Mrs. Mary Musgrove
Mr. Kelvil/The Archdeacon – Henry Crawford
Mrs. Allonby – Mrs. Mary Bertram
Gerald – Henry Middleton
Lady Hunstanton – Mrs. Jane Bingley
Lady Stutfield – Miss Bingley
Miss Hester Worsley – Miss Anne Fitzwilliam/de Bourgh
Charles and Mary Musgrove are the same as ever, though they have now inherited Uppercross and are therefore very wealthy. They also have a daughter in addition to their two sons.
Marianne and Willoughby had a brief affair before Mrs. Smith found out about Eliza and he left Devonshire to marry Miss Grey. Elinor still married Edward and he took the living at Delaford. After spending some time with her mother, Marianne moved in with them. When Mrs. Jennings died, she left Marianne three thousand pounds to help with her son’s education, which with her own thousand, was enough to support them living independently (Mrs. Dashwood is still alive). Sir John Middleton helped Henry find an attorney apprenticeship in Norfolk.
Henry Crawford resisted his temptation (flirting with Maria again) and about two years after Edmund and Mary married, he married Fanny Price. Henry redirected his energy to politics, especially causes that his wife supported such as improving the lives of the poor. As Fanny prefers to stay home, he often goes to large parties without her, but remains faithful to her. His reformation has made him less successful in his political life than the unscrupulous Willoughby.
Unfortunately, Mary Crawford grew tired with life in the country soon after her marriage and, worse in her mind, Tom lived to become the heir of Mansfield Park. Unable to tempt Edmund into going to London, she frequently leaves home to have flirtations and affairs, as Henry helplessly watches. Their roles have basically been reversed, as Mary used to be incapable of stopping Henry’s flirtations and he is now powerless to influence her. Edmund, always blind to Mary’s faults, believes his wife is faithful and currently thinks she is visiting her brother.
After Elizabeth and Darcy married, Lady Catherine allowed Colonel Fitzwilliam to marry her daughter. Anne died giving birth to their daughter, also Anne. Colonel Fitzwilliam died a few years later and named his trusted cousin, Darcy, as Anne’s sole guardian. Lady Catherine was extremely angry but also powerless to change the guardianship. Anne Fitzwilliam grew up at Pemberley, where the Darcys were very careful to protect her from the wider world and taught her about fortune hunters and the dangers of charming men.
Jane and Charles bought an estate in Norfolk instead of closer to Derbyshire because I needed Henry to be able to go home in the evening. Otherwise, they are happy and healthy together. Mr. Bingley didn’t feature much because in the original play, the host’s husband is deceased, but I couldn’t do that to dear Bingles! Besides, I can see Charles Musgrove and Charles Bingley being good friends, so just assume they are off somewhere talking about hunting. Jane has invited so many immoral people to her home because Charles is too friendly and they both still tend to think too well of people.
As for Elizabeth Darcy not doing well, she’s fine, she has a passing illness. After meeting Henry, both of the Darcys support Anne’s choice in marriage. Henry takes Anne’s last name and Marianne lives happily with them until her death.
For more short stories, go here
For my crossover romance, check out Prideful & Persuaded
For my Mansfield Park variation, here Unfairly Caught