-L.M. Montgomery
(Anne of Green Gables)
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." -L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables) I'm heading off to a conference in New Brunswick this afternoon. I'm so glad that it's at this time of year- the drive from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick is a riot of fall colours. It's going to be a beautiful trip.
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Act III changes locations, occurring in Lord Goring's residence. It is now evening and Arthur is preparing for a night on the town, having his long-suffering servant Phipps bring him different flowers for his lapel, trying to find the perfect one. He also regales the impassive Phipps with an amusing series of opinions on everything from fashion to romance. At this point, a note arrives for him from Lady Chiltern who, following her confrontation with her husband, remembered that Goring told her that she should come to him for help if she needed it. Consequently, her note reads: "I want you. I trust you. I'm coming to you.- Gertrude" Arthur delays going out in order to wait for Gertrude's arrival. To his dismay, the first person to arrive is his father, Lord Caversham. He, too, had been at the Chiltern's dinner party the previous evening where he harangued his son on his two favourite topics: Arthur's lack of a serious career, and also his lack of a wife. He has arrived at his son's house to continue this discussion of Goring's shortcomings. This is awkward, because it's socially inappropriate for a married woman to visit a bachelor at his residence- especially at night- and Arthur certainly doesn't want Gertrude running into his dad. He hustles his father into the smoking room, hurriedly and surreptitiously telling Phipps that he's expecting a female visitor and to show her into the drawing room when she arrives. The door bell rings, and Goring intends to answer it himself, but his father intercepts him and drags him into the smoking room for a lecture. Phipps opens the door, and Mrs. Cheveley enters. Phipps assumes that she is the female to whom Arthur had been referring and says that Lord Goring has been expecting her. Mrs. Cheveley realizes that Phipps has made a mistake and wonders what woman Arthur is actually expecting. Left on her own in the room, she rifles through his papers and finds his letter from Gertrude. She intends to steal it, but Phipps reenters and shows her into the drawing room. She attempts to sneak back out to steal the note, but hears Goring and his dad coming and retreats back to the drawing room. Having managed to get his father out of the house, Arthur is dismayed by the arrival of a distraught Sir Robert. As awkward as it would be for Gertrude to run into Lord Caversham at his house, it will be a hundred times worse for her to come face to face with her husband there. Robert tells Arthur that Gertrude knows everything, and pretty much hates him. More bad news: he's heard back from Vienna and nothing scandalous was discovered about Mrs. Cheveley's past that he can use against her. Arthur makes an excuse to speak privately to Phipps, who quietly informs him that the lady is waiting for him in the drawing room. Trying to help both of his friends, Arthur tells Robert that he should convince Gertrude of his love, suggesting that he'll find that his wife will be willing to forgive him. Sir Robert speaks of the infamous canal scheme, and is about to tell Arthur what he intends to say about it in the House when he hears a noise in the drawing room. Trying to avert disaster, Arthur denies that there is anyone in the room, but Robert yanks the door open and finds Mrs. Cheveley. He is outraged, accusing Arthur of betrayal. Arthur, who can't see into the room and is under the impression that the lady in question is Gertrude, defends her honour and says that she has done nothing wrong. Robert takes this as evidence that Arthur is in cahoots with Mrs. Cheveley and storms out. An amused Mrs. Cheveley then emerges from the drawing room, and Lord Goring realizes what has happened. As the two confront each other, it comes out that, when he was much younger Mrs. Cheveley had used her wiles to get Lord Goring to propose to her in order to bilk money out of him. He broke it off when he found her with another man. Mrs. Cheveley says now, however, that Arthur is the only man she really cared for and offers to give him the Sir Robert's incriminating letter to the Baron if he will agree to renew their engagement. She says that she'll give him the letter on their wedding day. Not willing to sacrifice himself, Arthur categorically refuses. Mrs. Cheveley says fine: she's going to ruin Sir Robert. Lord Goring tells her that doing this will destroy the sacred love between Robert and Gertrude. He implies that this will be worse than all the other dishonest things she has done in her life. Mrs. Cheveley pretends that she didn't mean to expose Sir Robert to his wife... it just slipped out while she was sparring with Gertrude when she went to the Chiltern's to try to find her lost brooch. At the mention of the brooch, Lord Goring takes it out of a drawer in his writing table and as She identifies it, tells Mrs. Cheveley that the brooch can also be worn as a bracelet and clasps it onto her wrist. He reveals that he knows this because he gave the item of jewelry to his cousin Mary as a wedding gift, and it was subsequently stolen from her. Arthur tells Cheveley that unless she gives him Robert's letter, he will turn her in to the police. She panics and tries to remove the bracelet, but can't get it off; Goring says that it has a secret clasp that, having stolen it, she doesn't know about. Surrendering to the threat of incarceration, Mrs. Cheveley gives Arthur the letter, which he immediately burns. Always scheming, while Arthur is distracted Mrs. Cheveley manages to get hold of Gertrude's note from where she left it earlier. She triumphantly tells Goring that she has the letter from his paramour, Gertrude and is going to send it to Sir Robert. Knowing that the letter's wording could be misconstrued as a love note, Arthur intends to wrest it away from Mrs. Cheveley, but she quickly rings for Phipps and leaves before he can do so. The scene ends with Lord Goring alone, smoking and contemplating the impending disaster. Related Posts: Act II also opens at the Chiltern's home; it is the morning after the party, and Sir Robert is confessing all to his best friend Lord Goring. Goring tells Sir Robert that he should have told his wife the truth, but Robert says that he couldn't, because she would have left him. Arthur can't believe that Gertrude is so perfect herself that she can't accept any imperfection in others, but Sir Robert assures him that she is indeed without flaw- and without mercy for others' faults. Lord Goring offers to talk to her and Robert agrees, but doesn't think it will make any difference. Lord Goring points out that, if what Robert did becomes public knowledge, condemnation and ruin will result. Sir Robert bitterly remarks that many have done worse to gain their own fortunes, yet would destroy him. When he sold the secret, he was young and inexperienced; should one mistake many years before destroy his career- which has since been spotless- now? Arthur asks how it happened and Sir Robert explains that Baron Arnheim acted like a kind of mentor to him, telling him that the way to gain power and influence was through wealth. He invited Robert to his home, dazzling the poor but ambitious young secretary with his riches. He then offered Robert a way to make his fortune and thereby fund his political career. After Robert received payment from the Baron, he invested the money and became extremely wealthy, and entered the House of Commons. Lord Goring asks Sir Robert if he regrets what he did, and Robert at first says no, because their society demands that people be wealthy to have influence, and he merely fought with the weapons of the age. However, he then confesses that over the years since then, he has given twice the amount of the original bribe to charity to assuage his guilt. Lord Goring promises to do what he can to help his friend, and tells Robert the first thing to do is tell Gertrude. Robert can't face the thought of doing that, and asks Arthur if he can't find something to hold over Mrs. Cheveley's head instead; he knows that Goring was previously acquainted with her. Arthur admits that they were once engaged- for three days- and asks if Robert tried buying her off: she's always loved money. Robert tells him that he offered her whatever amount she wanted, and she refused. Sir Robert decides to write to Vienna where she had been living to try to dig up some dirt on Mrs. Cheveley, but Arthur doesn't think this will work... she's pretty good at brazening out any scandals. Gertrude comes in, returning from a meeting of the Women's Liberal Association. Sir Robert tells her that he has some work to do and goes to his study. Gertrude stays to chat with Lord Goring. She brings up the conflict she had with Sir Robert over the canal scheme and asks him to reaffirm her belief in her husband's honesty and honour. Without mentioning Sir Robert directly, Arthur cautions Gertrude that every man involved in politics at some point compromises himself, and tells her that real life relationships require mercy and understanding. Then, surprising Gertrude with his sudden seriousness, Goring tells her to come to him if she finds herself in need of help. At this point, Mabel Chiltern enters the room and she and Arthur resume their lighthearted flirtation from the night before. The two make an appointment to go riding together the following day, then Goring leaves. Mabel entertains Gertrude with an account of Sir Robert's hapless secretary Tommy Trafford's latest attempt to propose to her. They are interrupted by the arrival of Lady Markby and Mrs. Cheveley. Mabel excuses herself and the two unexpected visitors explain why they're there: Mrs. Cheveley lost a diamond brooch at the dinner the previous night and wants to know if it's been found. It hasn't (as far as Gertrude knows). After some social chitchat, Lady Marksby leaves to visit a friend but Gertrude asks Mrs. Cheveley to stay for a few minutes. Once alone, they drop the socially polite masks. Gertrude has disliked and distrusted Mrs. Cheveley since their school days; Cheveley started her scheming ways early in life, and was eventually kicked out of school for stealing. Mrs. Cheveley despises Lady Chiltern for her moral superiority, and this grows to actual hatred when Gertrude reveals that it was due to her influence that Sir Robert turned down the canal swindle. Mrs. Cheveley demands that she get Sir Robert to change his mind, insinuating that there is something shady in his past that she can hold over him. Losing her temper, Gertrude orders Cheveley from the house, just as Sir Robert walks into the room. Mrs. Cheveley gleefully takes the opportunity to tell Gertrude his shameful secret before being shown from the house. Gertrude takes this news rather badly, accusing Sir Robert of betraying her trust and love, saying she had idolized him as the ideal man and husband and that belief has now been shattered. In turn, the devastated Robert bitterly says that she had turned him into a false idol, and that her judgmental, inflexible nature made it impossible to confess his failings to her. He says that love should include the capacity to forgive, but with her insistence on perfection, Gertrude has ruined his life. He slams out of the room and Lady Chiltern collapses into a sobbing heap. Related Posts: An Ideal Husband is Oscar Wilde's 1895 play about corruption, blackmail, truth and consequences. The first scene opens at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern, an up-and-coming British member of parliament, and his wife Gertrude. They are hosting a dinner party for various friends and social acquaintances which include Mabel Chiltern (Sir Robert's younger sister) and Lord Arthur Goring, son of the Earl of Caversham who is also in attendance. Everything is going swimmingly until an unexpected- and uninvited- guest shows up. It is Mrs. Cheveley, a somewhat notorious widow recently returned from continental Europe. As it turns out, both Gertrude and Lord Goring were at different times acquainted with Mrs. Cheveley: Gertrude because she attended school with her, and Lord Goring because he was at one time engaged to her. Neither are particularly happy to see her again. Mrs. Cheveley, on the other hand, is delighted to be there, because she is for some reason extremely eager to be introduced to Sir Robert. The reason becomes clear when she tries to talk Sir Robert into supporting a fraudulent canal scheme in Argentina in which she has invested, in the House of Commons. Of course Sir Robert refuses and Mrs. Cheveley says that there was a time when he wasn't quite so honorable. Years earlier, when Sir Robert was a poor secretary working for a member of the Cabinet, Baron Arnheim- Mrs. C's former (now dead) lover- convinced Robert to sell privileged information about the Suez Canal project to him. The Baron invested in the canal and made a fortune, and the money Sir Robert received allowed him to embark on his stellar political career. Mrs. Cheveley tells Robert that she has the letter in which he gave Arnheim the info and, if he doesn't speak favourably about her scheme in the House, she will release it to the press, destroying his good name and career. Faced with losing everything he cares about, Sir Robert agrees to give support for the project in the House of Commons. Having returned to the rest of the party, Mrs. Cheveley can't help gloating to Gertrude, whom she despises, that Sir Robert is going to support the Argentine Canal. Gertrude is shocked, because Robert had previously spoken to her of the proposed canal and condemned it as a criminal fraud. With the party still going on though, she can't question her husband about it. Meanwhile, Lord Goring and Mabel enter the room which Sir Robert and Mrs. Cheveley have just vacated and engage in a teasing, slightly flirtatious conversation. Mabel finds a jeweled brooch on the sofa and, after examining it, Lord Goring says that it's actually a bracelet. He puts it in his pocket and asks Mabel not to mention it to anyone, but to inform him if anyone asks about it. After the dinner party breaks up, Gertrude confronts Sir Robert about the canal scheme. She doesn't know anything about his past indiscretion and can't understand his about-face on the topic. He lamely tries to tell her that he has received new information that may exonerate the plan, and when she doesn't buy that, says that it's a case of compromise which is sometimes necessary in politics. Gertrude doesn't believe in compromise with regard to moral matters and has always believed that Sir Robert shared her disdain for it. She can only suppose that Mrs. Cheveley has some hold over him, and asks if there's anything in his past that she doesn't know about. She has always considered him to be an ideal man, and can't accept that he might be morally flawed. She says that if he is guilty of wrongdoing, it would be best for them to live separately. Terrified of losing her love, Robert denies any wrongdoing and relieved, Gertrude insists that he write to Mrs. Cheveley and revoke his support. He obediently does so, then after Gertrude has gone to bed, Sir Robert sits alone with his face buried in his hands, knowing that he has just sent a letter which will end his career- and quite probably his marriage. (To Be Continued... )Apple picking with the nephews and nieces: Dinner of course, and a very important part of Thanksgiving- sharing our blessings. The kids filled twelve boxes of gifts for Operation Christmas Child. Related Posts:It's Thanksgiving weekend and I'm headed out to spend it with family in the Annapolis Valley where, since it's a major farming area, I'll see a lot of crops ready for the harvest: "All-cheering Plenty, with her flowing horn, Led yellow Autumn, wreath'd with nodding corn." - Robert Burns (Brigs of Ayr) Happy Thanksgiving! |
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