第1章

类别:其他 作者:Oscar Wilde字数:17765更新时间:19/01/02 10:31:30
THEPERSONSOFTHEPLAY LordIllingworthSirJohnPontefractLordAlfredRuffordMr。Kelvil,M。P。 TheVen。ArchdeaconDaubeny,D。D。 GeraldArbuthnotFarquhar,ButlerFrancis,FootmanLadyHunstantonLadyCarolinePontefractLadyStutfieldMrs。AllonbyMissHesterWorsleyAlice,MaidMrs。ArbuthnotTHESCENESOFTHEPLAY ACTI。TheTerraceatHunstantonChase。 ACTII。TheDrawing—roomatHunstantonChase。 ACTIII。TheHallatHunstantonChase。 ACTIV。Sitting—roominMrs。Arbuthnot’sHouseatWrockley。 TIME:ThePresent。 PLACE:TheShires。 Theactionoftheplaytakesplacewithintwenty—fourhours。 LONDON:HAYMARKETTHEATRE LesseeandManager:Mr。HBeerbohmTreeApril19th,1893 LordIllingworth,Mr。TreeSirJohnPontefract,Mr。E。HolmanClarkLordAlfredRufford,Mr。ErnestLawfordMr。Kelvil,M。P。,Mr。CharlesAllan。 TheVen。ArchdeaconDaubeny,D。D。,Mr。KembleGeraldArbuthnot,Mr。TerryFarquhar,Butler,Mr。HayFrancis,Footman,Mr。MontagueLadyHunstanton,MissRoseLeclercqLadyCarolinePontefract,MissLeThiereLadyStutfield,MissBlancheHorlockMrs。Allonby,Mrs。TreeMissHesterWorsley,MissJuliaNeilsonAlice,Maid,MissKellyMrs。Arbuthnot,Mrs。Bernard—BeereFIRSTACT SCENE LawninfrontoftheterraceatHunstanton。 [SIRJOHNandLADYCAROLINEPONTEFRACT,MISSWORSLEY,onchairsunderlargeyewtree。] LADYCAROLINE。IbelievethisisthefirstEnglishcountryhouseyouhavestayedat,MissWorsley? HESTER。Yes,LadyCaroline。 LADYCAROLINE。Youhavenocountryhouses,Iamtold,inAmerica? HESTER。Wehavenotmany。 LADYCAROLINE。Haveyouanycountry?Whatweshouldcallcountry? HESTER。[Smiling。]Wehavethelargestcountryintheworld,LadyCaroline。TheyusedtotellusatschoolthatsomeofourstatesareasbigasFranceandEnglandputtogether。 LADYCAROLINE。Ah!youmustfinditverydraughty,Ishouldfancy。 [ToSIRJOHN。]John,youshouldhaveyourmuffler。Whatistheuseofmyalwaysknittingmufflersforyouifyouwon’twearthem? SIRJOHN。Iamquitewarm,Caroline,Iassureyou。 LADYCAROLINE。Ithinknot,John。Well,youcouldn’tcometoamorecharmingplacethanthis,MissWorsley,thoughthehouseisexcessivelydamp,quiteunpardonablydamp,anddearLadyHunstantonissometimesalittlelaxaboutthepeoplesheasksdownhere。[ToSIRJOHN。]Janemixestoomuch。LordIllingworth,ofcourse,isamanofhighdistinction。Itisaprivilegetomeethim。AndthatmemberofParliament,Mr。Kettle— SIRJOHN。Kelvil,mylove,Kelvil。 LADYCAROLINE。Hemustbequiterespectable。Onehasneverheardhisnamebeforeinthewholecourseofone’slife,whichspeaksvolumesforaman,nowadays。ButMrs。Allonbyishardlyaverysuitableperson。 HESTER。IdislikeMrs。Allonby。IdislikehermorethanIcansay。 LADYCAROLINE。Iamnotsure,MissWorsley,thatforeignerslikeyourselfshouldcultivatelikesordislikesaboutthepeopletheyareinvitedtomeet。Mrs。Allonbyisverywellborn。SheisanieceofLordBrancaster’s。Itissaid,ofcourse,thatsheranawaytwicebeforeshewasmarried。Butyouknowhowunfairpeopleoftenare。Imyselfdon’tbelievesheranawaymorethanonce。 HESTER。Mr。Arbuthnotisverycharming。 LADYCAROLINE。Ah,yes!theyoungmanwhohasapostinabank。 LadyHunstantonismostkindinaskinghimhere,andLordIllingworthseemstohavetakenquiteafancytohim。Iamnotsure,however,thatJaneisrightintakinghimoutofhisposition。Inmyyoungdays,MissWorsley,onenevermetanyoneinsocietywhoworkedfortheirliving。Itwasnotconsideredthething。 HESTER。InAmericathosearethepeoplewerespectmost。 LADYCAROLINE。Ihavenodoubtofit。 HESTER。Mr。Arbuthnothasabeautifulnature!Heissosimple,sosincere。HehasoneofthemostbeautifulnaturesIhaveevercomeacross。ItisaprivilegetomeetHIM。 LADYCAROLINE。ItisnotcustomaryinEngland,MissWorsley,forayoungladytospeakwithsuchenthusiasmofanypersonoftheoppositesex。Englishwomenconcealtheirfeelingstillaftertheyaremarried。Theyshowthemthen。 HESTER。Doyou,inEngland,allownofriendshiptoexistbetweenayoungmanandayounggirl? [EnterLADYHUNSTANTON,followedbyFootmanwithshawlsandacushion。] LADYCAROLINE。Wethinkitveryinadvisable。Jane,Iwasjustsayingwhatapleasantpartyyouhaveaskedustomeet。Youhaveawonderfulpowerofselection。Itisquiteagift。 LADYHUNSTANTON。DearCaroline,howkindofyou!Ithinkwealldofitinverynicelytogether。AndIhopeourcharmingAmericanvisitorwillcarrybackpleasantrecollectionsofourEnglishcountrylife。[ToFootman。]Thecushion,there,Francis。Andmyshawl。TheShetland。GettheShetland。[ExitFootmanforshawl。] [EnterGERALDARBUTHNOT。] GERALD。LadyHunstanton,Ihavesuchgoodnewstotellyou。LordIllingworthhasjustofferedtomakemehissecretary。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Hissecretary?Thatisgoodnewsindeed,Gerald。 Itmeansaverybrilliantfutureinstoreforyou。Yourdearmotherwillbedelighted。Ireallymusttryandinducehertocomeuphereto—night。Doyouthinkshewould,Gerald?Iknowhowdifficultitistogethertogoanywhere。 GERALD。Oh!Iamsureshewould,LadyHunstanton,ifsheknewLordIllingworthhadmademesuchanoffer。 [EnterFootmanwithshawl。] LADYHUNSTANTON。Iwillwriteandtellheraboutit,andaskhertocomeupandmeethim。[ToFootman。]Justwait,Francis。 [Writesletter。] LADYCAROLINE。Thatisaverywonderfulopeningforsoyoungamanasyouare,Mr。Arbuthnot。 GERALD。Itisindeed,LadyCaroline。ItrustIshallbeabletoshowmyselfworthyofit。 LADYCAROLINE。Itrustso。 GERALD。[ToHESTER。]YOUhavenotcongratulatedmeyet,MissWorsley。 HESTER。Areyouverypleasedaboutit? GERALD。OfcourseIam。Itmeanseverythingtome—thingsthatwereoutofthereachofhopebeforemaybewithinhope’sreachnow。 HESTER。Nothingshouldbeoutofthereachofhope。Lifeisahope。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Ifancy,Caroline,thatDiplomacyiswhatLordIllingworthisaimingat。IheardthathewasofferedVienna。Butthatmaynotbetrue。 LADYCAROLINE。Idon’tthinkthatEnglandshouldberepresentedabroadbyanunmarriedman,Jane。Itmightleadtocomplications。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Youaretoonervous,Caroline。Believeme,youaretoonervous。Besides,LordIllingworthmaymarryanyday。I wasinhopeshewouldhavemarriedladyKelso。ButIbelievehesaidherfamilywastoolarge。Orwasitherfeet?Iforgetwhich。Iregretitverymuch。Shewasmadetobeanambassador’swife。 LADYCAROLINE。Shecertainlyhasawonderfulfacultyofrememberingpeople’snames,andforgettingtheirfaces。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Well,thatisverynatural,Caroline,isitnot? [ToFootman。]TellHenrytowaitforananswer。Ihavewrittenalinetoyourdearmother,Gerald,totellheryourgoodnews,andtosayshereallymustcometodinner。 [ExitFootman。] GERALD。Thatisawfullykindofyou,LadyHunstanton。[ToHESTER。]Willyoucomeforastroll,MissWorsley? HESTER。Withpleasure[ExitwithGERALD。] LADYHUNSTANTON。IamverymuchgratifiedatGeraldArbuthnot’sgoodfortune。HeisquiteaPROTEGEofmine。AndIamparticularlypleasedthatLordIllingworthshouldhavemadetheofferofhisownaccordwithoutmysuggestinganything。Nobodylikestobeaskedfavours。IrememberpoorCharlottePagdenmakingherselfquiteunpopularoneseason,becauseshehadaFrenchgovernessshewantedtorecommendtoeveryone。 LADYCAROLINE。Isawthegoverness,Jane。LadyPagdensenthertome。ItwasbeforeEleanorcameout。Shewasfartoogood—lookingtobeinanyrespectablehousehold。Idon’twonderLadyPagdenwassoanxioustogetridofher。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Ah,thatexplainsit。 LADYCAROLINE。John,thegrassistoodampforyou。Youhadbettergoandputonyourovershoesatonce。 SIRJOHN。Iamquitecomfortable,Caroline,Iassureyou。 LADYCAROLINE。Youmustallowmetobethebestjudgeofthat,John。PraydoasItellyou。 [SIRJOHNgetsupandgoesoff。] LADYHUNSTANTON。Youspoilhim,Caroline,youdoindeed! [EnterMRS。ALLONBYandLADYSTUTFIELD。] [ToMRS。ALLONBY。]Well,dear,Ihopeyoulikethepark。Itissaidtobewelltimbered。 MRS。ALLONBY。Thetreesarewonderful,LadyHunstanton。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Quite,quitewonderful。 MRS。ALLONBY。Butsomehow,IfeelsurethatifIlivedinthecountryforsixmonths,Ishouldbecomesounsophisticatedthatnoonewouldtaketheslightestnoticeofme。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Iassureyou,dear,thatthecountryhasnotthateffectatall。Why,itwasfromMelthorpe,whichisonlytwomilesfromhere,thatLadyBeltonelopedwithLordFethersdale。I remembertheoccurrenceperfectly。PoorLordBeltondiedthreedaysafterwardsofjoy,orgout。Iforgetwhich。Wehadalargepartystayinghereatthetime,sowewereallverymuchinterestedinthewholeaffair。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ithinktoelopeiscowardly。It’srunningawayfromdanger。Anddangerhasbecomesorareinmodernlife。 LADYCAROLINE。AsfarasIcanmakeout,theyoungwomenofthepresentdayseemtomakeitthesoleobjectoftheirlivestobealwaysplayingwithfire。 MRS。ALLONBY。Theoneadvantageofplayingwithfire,LadyCaroline,isthatonenevergetsevensinged。Itisthepeoplewhodon’tknowhowtoplaywithitwhogetburnedup。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes;Iseethat。Itisvery,veryhelpful。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Idon’tknowhowtheworldwouldgetonwithsuchatheoryasthat,dearMrs。Allonby。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Ah!Theworldwasmadeformenandnotforwomen。 MRS。ALLONBY。Oh,don’tsaythat,LadyStutfield。Wehaveamuchbettertimethantheyhave。Therearefarmorethingsforbiddentousthanareforbiddentothem。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes;thatisquite,quitetrue。Ihadnotthoughtofthat。 [EnterSIRJOHNandMR。KELVIL。] LADYHUNSTANTON。Well,Mr。Kelvil,haveyougotthroughyourwork? KELVIL。Ihavefinishedmywritingfortheday,LadyHunstanton。 Ithasbeenanarduoustask。Thedemandsonthetimeofapublicmanareveryheavynowadays,veryheavyindeed。AndIdon’tthinktheymeetwithadequaterecognition。 LADYCAROLINE。John,haveyougotyourovershoeson? SIRJOHN。Yes,mylove。 LADYCAROLINE。Ithinkyouhadbettercomeoverhere,John。Itismoresheltered。 SIRJOHN。Iamquitecomfortable,Caroline。 LADYCAROLINE。Ithinknot,John。Youhadbettersitbesideme。 [SIRJOHNrisesandgoesacross。] LADYSTUTFIELD。Andwhathaveyoubeenwritingaboutthismorning,Mr。Kelvil? KELVIL。Ontheusualsubject,LadyStutfield。OnPurity。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Thatmustbesuchavery,veryinterestingthingtowriteabout。 KELVIL。Itistheonesubjectofreallynationalimportance,nowadays,LadyStutfield。IpurposeaddressingmyconstituentsonthequestionbeforeParliamentmeets。Ifindthatthepoorerclassesofthiscountrydisplayamarkeddesireforahigherethicalstandard。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Howquite,quiteniceofthem。 LADYCAROLINE。Areyouinfavourofwomentakingpartinpolitics,Mr。Kettle? SIRJOHN。Kelvil,mylove,Kelvil。 KELVIL。Thegrowinginfluenceofwomenistheonereassuringthinginourpoliticallife,LadyCaroline。Womenarealwaysonthesideofmorality,publicandprivate。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Itissovery,verygratifyingtohearyousaythat。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Ah,yes!—themoralqualitiesinwomen—thatistheimportantthing。Iamafraid,Caroline,thatdearLordIllingworthdoesn’tvaluethemoralqualitiesinwomenasmuchasheshould。 [EnterLORDILLINGWORTH。] LADYSTUTFIELD。TheworldsaysthatLordIllingworthisvery,verywicked。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Butwhatworldsaysthat,LadyStutfield?Itmustbethenextworld。ThisworldandIareonexcellentterms。 [SitsdownbesideMRS。ALLONBY。] LADYSTUTFIELD。EveryoneIknowsaysyouarevery,verywicked。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Itisperfectlymonstrousthewaypeoplegoabout,nowadays,sayingthingsagainstonebehindone’sbackthatareabsolutelyandentirelytrue。 LADYHUNSTANTON。DearLordIllingworthisquitehopeless,LadyStutfield。Ihavegivenuptryingtoreformhim。ItwouldtakeaPublicCompanywithaBoardofDirectorsandapaidSecretarytodothat。Butyouhavethesecretaryalready,LordIllingworth,haven’tyou?GeraldArbuthnothastoldusofhisgoodfortune;itisreallymostkindofyou。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Oh,don’tsaythat,LadyHunstanton。Kindisadreadfulword。ItookagreatfancytoyoungArbuthnotthemomentImethim,andhe’llbeofconsiderableusetomeinsomethingIamfoolishenoughtothinkofdoing。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Heisanadmirableyoungman。Andhismotherisoneofmydearestfriends。HehasjustgoneforawalkwithourprettyAmerican。Sheisverypretty,isshenot? LADYCAROLINE。Fartoopretty。TheseAmericangirlscarryoffallthegoodmatches。Whycan’ttheystayintheirowncountry?TheyarealwaystellingusitistheParadiseofwomen。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Itis,LadyCaroline。Thatiswhy,likeEve,theyaresoextremelyanxioustogetoutofit。 LADYCAROLINE。WhoareMissWorsley’sparents? LORDILLINGWORTH。Americanwomenarewonderfullycleverinconcealingtheirparents。 LADYHUNSTANTON。MydearLordIllingworth,whatdoyoumean?MissWorsley,Caroline,isanorphan。Herfatherwasaverywealthymillionaireorphilanthropist,orboth,Ibelieve,whoentertainedmysonquitehospitably,whenhevisitedBoston。Idon’tknowhowhemadehismoney,originally。 KELVIL。IfancyinAmericandrygoods。 LADYHUNSTANTON。WhatareAmericandrygoods? LORDILLINGWORTH。Americannovels。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Howverysingular!……Well,fromwhateversourceherlargefortunecame,IhaveagreatesteemforMissWorsley。Shedressesexceedinglywell。AllAmericansdodresswell。TheygettheirclothesinParis。 MRS。ALLONBY。Theysay,LadyHunstanton,thatwhengoodAmericansdietheygotoParis。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Indeed?AndwhenbadAmericansdie,wheredotheygoto? LORDILLINGWORTH。Oh,theygotoAmerica。 KELVIL。Iamafraidyoudon’tappreciateAmerica,LordIllingworth。Itisaveryremarkablecountry,especiallyconsideringitsyouth。 LORDILLINGWORTH。TheyouthofAmericaistheiroldesttradition。 Ithasbeengoingonnowforthreehundredyears。Tohearthemtalkonewouldimaginetheywereintheirfirstchildhood。Asfarascivilisationgoestheyareintheirsecond。 KELVIL。ThereisundoubtedlyagreatdealofcorruptioninAmericanpolitics。Isupposeyoualludetothat? LORDILLINGWORTH。Iwonder。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Politicsareinasadwayeverywhere,Iamtold。 TheycertainlyareinEngland。DearMr。Cardewisruiningthecountry。IwonderMrs。Cardewallowshim。Iamsure,LordIllingworth,youdon’tthinkthatuneducatedpeopleshouldbeallowedtohavevotes? LORDILLINGWORTH。Ithinktheyaretheonlypeoplewhoshould。 KELVIL。Doyoutakenosidetheninmodernpolitics,LordIllingworth? LORDILLINGWORTH。Oneshouldnevertakesidesinanything,Mr。 Kelvil。Takingsidesisthebeginningofsincerity,andearnestnessfollowsshortlyafterwards,andthehumanbeingbecomesabore。However,theHouseofCommonsreallydoesverylittleharm。Youcan’tmakepeoplegoodbyActofParliament,—thatissomething。 KELVIL。YoucannotdenythattheHouseofCommonshasalwaysshowngreatsympathywiththesufferingsofthepoor。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Thatisitsspecialvice。Thatisthespecialviceoftheage。Oneshouldsympathisewiththejoy,thebeauty,thecolouroflife。Thelesssaidaboutlife’ssoresthebetter,Mr。Kelvil。 KELVIL。StillourEastEndisaveryimportantproblem。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Quiteso。Itistheproblemofslavery。Andwearetryingtosolveitbyamusingtheslaves。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Certainly,agreatdealmaybedonebymeansofcheapentertainments,asyousay,LordIllingworth。DearDr。 Daubeny,ourrectorhere,provides,withtheassistanceofhiscurates,reallyadmirablerecreationsforthepoorduringthewinter。Andmuchgoodmaybedonebymeansofamagiclantern,oramissionary,orsomepopularamusementofthatkind。 LADYCAROLINE。Iamnotatallinfavourofamusementsforthepoor,Jane。Blanketsandcoalsaresufficient。Thereistoomuchloveofpleasureamongsttheupperclassesasitis。Healthiswhatwewantinmodernlife。Thetoneisnothealthy,nothealthyatall。 KELVIL。Youarequiteright,LadyCaroline。 LADYCAROLINE。IbelieveIamusuallyright。 MRS。ALLONBY。Horridword’health。’ LORDILLINGWORTH。Silliestwordinourlanguage,andoneknowssowellthepopularideaofhealth。TheEnglishcountrygentlemangallopingafterafox—theunspeakableinfullpursuitoftheuneatable。 KELVIL。MayIask,LordIllingworth,ifyouregardtheHouseofLordsasabetterinstitutionthantheHouseofCommons? LORDILLINGWORTH。Amuchbetterinstitution,ofcourse。WeintheHouseofLordsareneverintouchwithpublicopinion。Thatmakesusacivilisedbody。 KELVIL。Areyouseriousinputtingforwardsuchaview? LORDILLINGWORTH。Quiteserious,Mr。Kelvil。[ToMRS。ALLONBY。] Vulgarhabitthatispeoplehavenowadaysofaskingone,afteronehasgiventhemanidea,whetheroneisseriousornot。Nothingisseriousexceptpassion。Theintellectisnotaseriousthing,andneverhasbeen。Itisaninstrumentonwhichoneplays,thatisall。TheonlyseriousformofintellectIknowistheBritishintellect。AndontheBritishintellecttheilliteratesplaythedrum。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Whatareyousaying,LordIllingworth,aboutthedrum? LORDILLINGWORTH。IwasmerelytalkingtoMrs。AllonbyabouttheleadingarticlesintheLondonnewspapers。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Butdoyoubelieveallthatiswritteninthenewspapers? LORDILLINGWORTH。Ido。Nowadaysitisonlytheunreadablethatoccurs。[RiseswithMRS。ALLONBY。] LADYHUNSTANTON。Areyougoing,Mrs。Allonby? MRS。ALLONBY。Justasfarastheconservatory。LordIllingworthtoldmethismorningthattherewasanorchidtherembeautifulasthesevendeadlysins。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydear,Ihopethereisnothingofthekind。I willcertainlyspeaktothegardener。 [ExitMRS。ALLONBYandLORDILLINGWORTH。] LADYCAROLINE。Remarkabletype,Mrs。Allonby。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Sheletsherclevertonguerunawaywithhersometimes。 LADYCAROLINE。Isthattheonlything,Jane,Mrs。Allonbyallowstorunawaywithher? LADYHUNSTANTON。Ihopeso,Caroline,Iamsure。 [EnterLORDALFRED。] DearLordAlfred,dojoinus。[LORDALFREDsitsdownbesideLADY STUTFIELD。] LADYCAROLINE。Youbelievegoodofeveryone,Jane。Itisagreatfault。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Doyoureally,reallythink,LadyCaroline,thatoneshouldbelieveevilofeveryone? LADYCAROLINE。Ithinkitismuchsafertodoso,LadyStutfield。 Until,ofcourse,peoplearefoundouttobegood。Butthatrequiresagreatdealofinvestigationnowadays。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Butthereissomuchunkindscandalinmodernlife。 LADYCAROLINE。LordIllingworthremarkedtomelastnightatdinnerthatthebasisofeveryscandalisanabsolutelyimmoralcertainty。 KELVIL。LordIllingworthis,ofcourse,averybrilliantman,butheseemstometobelackinginthatfinefaithinthenobilityandpurityoflifewhichissoimportantinthiscentury。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes,quite,quiteimportant,isitnot? KELVIL。HegivesmetheimpressionofamanwhodoesnotappreciatethebeautyofourEnglishhome—life。Iwouldsaythathewastaintedwithforeignideasonthesubject。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Thereisnothing,nothinglikethebeautyofhome— life,isthere? KELVIL。ItisthemainstayofourmoralsysteminEngland,LadyStutfield。Withoutitwewouldbecomelikeourneighbours。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Thatwouldbeso,sosad,woulditnot? KELVIL。Iamafraid,too,thatLordIllingworthregardswomansimplyasatoy。Now,Ihaveneverregardedwomanasatoy。Womanistheintellectualhelpmeetofmaninpublicasinprivatelife。 Withoutherweshouldforgetthetrueideals。[SitsdownbesideLADYSTUTFIELD。] LADYSTUTFIELD。Iamsovery,verygladtohearyousaythat。 LADYCAROLINE。Youamarriedman,Mr。Kettle? SIRJOHN。Kelvil,dear,Kelvil。 KELVIL。Iammarried,LadyCaroline。 LADYCAROLINE。Family? KELVIL。Yes。 LADYCAROLINE。Howmany? KELVIL。Eight。 [LADYSTUTFIELDturnsherattentiontoLORDALFRED。] LADYCAROLINE。Mrs。Kettleandthechildrenare,Isuppose,attheseaside?[SIRJOHNshrugshisshoulders。] KELVIL。Mywifeisattheseasidewiththechildren,LadyCaroline。 LADYCAROLINE。Youwilljointhemlateron,nodoubt? KELVIL。Ifmypublicengagementspermitme。 LADYCAROLINE。YourpubliclifemustbeagreatsourceofgratificationtoMrs。Kettle。 SIRJOHN。Kelvil,mylove,Kelvil。 LADYSTUTFIELD。[ToLORDALFRED。]Howvery,verycharmingthosegold—tippedcigarettesofyoursare,LordAlfred。 LORDALFRED。Theyareawfullyexpensive。IcanonlyaffordthemwhenI’mindebt。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Itmustbeterribly,terriblydistressingtobeindebt。 LORDALFRED。Onemusthavesomeoccupationnowadays。IfIhadn’tmydebtsIshouldn’thaveanythingtothinkabout。AllthechapsI knowareindebt。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Butdon’tthepeopletowhomyouowethemoneygiveyouagreat,greatdealofannoyance? [EnterFootman。] LORDALFRED。Oh,no,theywrite;Idon’t。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Howvery,verystrange。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Ah,hereisaletter,Caroline,fromdearMrs。 Arbuthnot。Shewon’tdine。Iamsosorry。Butshewillcomeintheevening。Iamverypleasedindeed。Sheisoneofthesweetestofwomen。Writesabeautifulhand,too,solarge,sofirm。[HandslettertoLADYCAROLINE。] LADYCAROLINE。[Lookingatit。]Alittlelackinginfemininity,Jane。FemininityisthequalityIadmiremostinwomen。 LADYHUNSTANTON。[Takingbackletterandleavingitontable。] Oh!sheisveryfeminine,Caroline,andsogoodtoo。YoushouldhearwhattheArchdeaconsaysofher。Heregardsherashisrighthandintheparish。[Footmanspeakstoher。]IntheYellowDrawing—room。Shallweallgoin?LadyStutfield,shallwegointotea? LADYSTUTFIELD。Withpleasure,LadyHunstanton。[Theyriseandproceedtogooff。SIRJOHNofferstocarryLADYSTUTFIELD’S cloak。] LADYCAROLINE。John!IfyouwouldallowyournephewtolookafterLadyStutfield’scloak,youmighthelpmewithmyworkbasket。 [EnterLORDILLINGWORTHandMRS。ALLONBY。] SIRJOHN。Certainly,mylove。[Exeunt。] MRS。ALLONBY。Curiousthing,plainwomenarealwaysjealousoftheirhusbands,beautifulwomenneverare! LORDILLINGWORTH。Beautifulwomenneverhavetime。Theyarealwayssooccupiedinbeingjealousofotherpeople’shusbands。 MRS。ALLONBY。IshouldhavethoughtLadyCarolinewouldhavegrowntiredofconjugalanxietybythistime!SirJohnisherfourth! LORDILLINGWORTH。Somuchmarriageiscertainlynotbecoming。 Twentyyearsofromancemakeawomanlooklikearuin;buttwentyyearsofmarriagemakehersomethinglikeapublicbuilding。 MRS。ALLONBY。Twentyyearsofromance!Istheresuchathing? LORDILLINGWORTH。Notinourday。Womenhavebecometoobrilliant。Nothingspoilsaromancesomuchasasenseofhumourinthewoman。 MRS。ALLONBY。Orthewantofitintheman。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Youarequiteright。InaTempleeveryoneshouldbeserious,exceptthethingthatisworshipped。 MRS。ALLONBY。Andthatshouldbeman? LORDILLINGWORTH。Womenkneelsogracefully;mendon’t。 MRS。ALLONBY。YouarethinkingofLadyStutfield! LORDILLINGWORTH。IassureyouIhavenotthoughtofLadyStutfieldforthelastquarterofanhour。 MRS。ALLONBY。Isshesuchamystery? LORDILLINGWORTH。Sheismorethanamystery—sheisamood。 MRS。ALLONBY。Moodsdon’tlast。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Itistheirchiefcharm。 [EnterHESTERandGERALD。] GERALD。LordIllingworth,everyonehasbeencongratulatingme,LadyHunstantonandLadyCaroline,and……everyone。IhopeI shallmakeagoodsecretary。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Youwillbethepatternsecretary,Gerald。 [Talkstohim。] MRS。ALLONBY。Youenjoycountrylife,MissWorsley? HESTER。Verymuchindeed。 MRS。ALLONBY。Don’tfindyourselflongingforaLondondinner— party? HESTER。IdislikeLondondinner—parties。 MRS。ALLONBY。Iadorethem。Thecleverpeopleneverlisten,andthestupidpeoplenevertalk。 HESTER。Ithinkthestupidpeopletalkagreatdeal。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ah,Ineverlisten! LORDILLINGWORTH。Mydearboy,ifIdidn’tlikeyouIwouldn’thavemadeyoutheoffer。ItisbecauseIlikeyousomuchthatI wanttohaveyouwithme。 [ExitHESTERwithGERALD。] Charmingfellow,GeraldArbuthnot! MRS。ALLONBY。Heisverynice;veryniceindeed。ButIcan’tstandtheAmericanyounglady。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Why? MRS。ALLONBY。Shetoldmeyesterday,andinquitealoudvoicetoo,thatshewasonlyeighteen。Itwasmostannoying。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Oneshouldnevertrustawomanwhotellsoneherrealage。Awomanwhowouldtellonethat,wouldtelloneanything。 MRS。ALLONBY。SheisaPuritanbesides— LORDILLINGWORTH。Ah,thatisinexcusable。Idon’tmindplainwomenbeingPuritans。Itistheonlyexcusetheyhaveforbeingplain。Butsheisdecidedlypretty。Iadmireherimmensely。 [LookssteadfastlyatMRS。ALLONBY。] MRS。ALLONBY。Whatathoroughlybadmanyoumustbe! LORDILLINGWORTH。Whatdoyoucallabadman? MRS。ALLONBY。Thesortofmanwhoadmiresinnocence。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Andabadwoman? MRS。ALLONBY。Oh!thesortofwomanamannevergetstiredof。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Youaresevere—onyourself。 MRS。ALLONBY。Defineusasasex。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Sphinxeswithoutsecrets。 MRS。ALLONBY。DoesthatincludethePuritanwomen? LORDILLINGWORTH。Doyouknow,Idon’tbelieveintheexistenceofPuritanwomen?Idon’tthinkthereisawomanintheworldwhowouldnotbealittleflatteredifonemadelovetoher。Itisthatwhichmakeswomensoirresistiblyadorable。 MRS。ALLONBY。Youthinkthereisnowomanintheworldwhowouldobjecttobeingkissed? LORDILLINGWORTH。Veryfew。 MRS。ALLONBY。MissWorsleywouldnotletyoukissher。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Areyousure? MRS。ALLONBY。Quite。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Whatdoyouthinkshe’ddoifIkissedher? MRS。ALLONBY。Eithermarryyou,orstrikeyouacrossthefacewithherglove。Whatwouldyoudoifshestruckyouacrossthefacewithherglove? LORDILLINGWORTH。Fallinlovewithher,probably。 MRS。ALLONBY。Thenitisluckyyouarenotgoingtokissher! LORDILLINGWORTH。Isthatachallenge? MRS。ALLONBY。Itisanarrowshotintotheair。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Don’tyouknowthatIalwayssucceedinwhateverItry? MRS。ALLONBY。Iamsorrytohearit。Wewomenadorefailures。 Theyleanonus。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Youworshipsuccesses。Youclingtothem。 MRS。ALLONBY。Wearethelaurelstohidetheirbaldness。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Andtheyneedyoualways,exceptatthemomentoftriumph。 MRS。ALLONBY。Theyareuninterestingthen。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Howtantalisingyouare![Apause。] MRS。ALLONBY。LordIllingworth,thereisonethingIshallalwayslikeyoufor。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Onlyonething?AndIhavesomanybadqualities。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ah,don’tbetooconceitedaboutthem。Youmaylosethemasyougrowold。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Ineverintendtogrowold。Thesoulisbornoldbutgrowsyoung。Thatisthecomedyoflife。 MRS。ALLONBY。Andthebodyisbornyoungandgrowsold。Thatislife’stragedy。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Itscomedyalso,sometimes。Butwhatisthemysteriousreasonwhyyouwillalwayslikeme? MRS。ALLONBY。Itisthatyouhavenevermadelovetome。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Ihaveneverdoneanythingelse。 MRS。ALLONBY。Really?Ihavenotnoticedit。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Howfortunate!Itmighthavebeenatragedyforbothofus。 MRS。ALLONBY。Weshouldeachhavesurvived。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Onecansurviveeverythingnowadays,exceptdeath,andlivedownanythingexceptagoodreputation。 MRS。ALLONBY。Haveyoutriedagoodreputation? LORDILLINGWORTH。ItisoneofthemanyannoyancestowhichIhaveneverbeensubjected。 MRS。ALLONBY。Itmaycome。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Whydoyouthreatenme? MRS。ALLONBY。IwilltellyouwhenyouhavekissedthePuritan。 [EnterFootman。] FRANCIS。TeaisservedintheYellowDrawing—room,mylord。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Tellherladyshipwearecomingin。 FRANCIS。Yes,mylord。 [Exit。] LORDILLINGWORTH。Shallwegointotea? MRS。ALLONBY。Doyoulikesuchsimplepleasures? LORDILLINGWORTH。Iadoresimplepleasures。Theyarethelastrefugeofthecomplex。But,ifyouwish,letusstayhere。Yes,letusstayhere。TheBookofLifebeginswithamanandawomaninagarden。 MRS。ALLONBY。ItendswithRevelations。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Youfencedivinely。Butthebuttonhascomeofyourfoil。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ihavestillthemask。 LORDILLINGWORTH。Itmakesyoureyeslovelier。 MRS。ALLONBY。Thankyou。Come。 LORDILLINGWORTH。[SeesMRS。ARBUTHNOT’Sletterontable,andtakesitupandlooksatenvelope。]Whatacurioushandwriting! ItremindsmeofthehandwritingofawomanIusedtoknowyearsago。 MRS。ALLONBY。Who? LORDILLINGWORTH。Oh!noone。Nooneinparticular。Awomanofnoimportance。[Throwsletterdown,andpassesupthestepsoftheterracewithMRS。ALLONBY。Theysmileateachother。] ACTDROP。 SECONDACT SCENE Drawing—roomatHunstanton,afterdinner,lampslit。DoorL。C。 DoorR。C。 [Ladiesseatedonsofas。] MRS。ALLONBY。Whatacomfortitistohavegotridofthemenforalittle! LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes;menpersecuteusdreadfully,don’tthey? MRS。ALLONBY。Persecuteus?Iwishtheydid。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydear! MRS。ALLONBY。Theannoyingthingisthatthewretchescanbeperfectlyhappywithoutus。ThatiswhyIthinkitiseverywoman’sdutynevertoleavethemaloneforasinglemoment,exceptduringthisshortbreathingspaceafterdinner;withoutwhichI believewepoorwomenwouldbeabsolutelyworntoshadows。 [EnterServantswithcoffee。] LADYHUNSTANTON。Worntoshadows,dear? MRS。ALLONBY。Yes,LadyHunstanton。Itissuchastrainkeepingmenuptothemark。Theyarealwaystryingtoescapefromus。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Itseemstomethatitiswewhoarealwaystryingtoescapefromthem。Menaresovery,veryheartless。Theyknowtheirpoweranduseit。 LADYCAROLINE。[TakescoffeefromServant。]Whatstuffandnonsenseallthisaboutmenis!Thethingtodoistokeepmenintheirproperplace。 MRS。ALLONBY。Butwhatistheirproperplace,LadyCaroline? LADYCAROLINE。Lookingaftertheirwives,Mrs。Allonby。 MRS。ALLONBY。[TakescoffeefromServant。]Really?Andifthey’renotmarried? LADYCAROLINE。Iftheyarenotmarried,theyshouldbelookingafterawife。It’sperfectlyscandaloustheamountofbachelorswhoaregoingaboutsociety。Thereshouldbealawpassedtocompelthemalltomarrywithintwelvemonths。 LADYSTUTFIELD。[Refusescoffee。]Butifthey’reinlovewithsomeonewho,perhaps,istiedtoanother? LADYCAROLINE。Inthatcase,LadyStutfield,theyshouldbemarriedoffinaweektosomeplainrespectablegirl,inordertoteachthemnottomeddlewithotherpeople’sproperty。 MRS。ALLONBY。Idon’tthinkthatweshouldeverbespokenofasotherpeople’sproperty。Allmenaremarriedwomen’sproperty。 Thatistheonlytruedefinitionofwhatmarriedwomen’spropertyreallyis。Butwedon’tbelongtoanyone。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Oh,Iamsovery,verygladtohearyousayso。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Butdoyoureallythink,dearCaroline,thatlegislationwouldimprovemattersinanyway?Iamtoldthat,nowadays,allthemarriedmenlivelikebachelors,andallthebachelorslikemarriedmen。 MRS。ALLONBY。Icertainlyneverknowonefromtheother。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Oh,Ithinkonecanalwaysknowatoncewhetheramanhashomeclaimsuponhislifeornot。Ihavenoticedavery,verysadexpressionintheeyesofsomanymarriedmen。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ah,allthatIhavenoticedisthattheyarehorriblytediouswhentheyaregoodhusbands,andabominablyconceitedwhentheyarenot。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Well,Isupposethetypeofhusbandhascompletelychangedsincemyyoungdays,butI’mboundtostatethatpoordearHunstantonwasthemostdelightfulofcreatures,andasgoodasgold。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ah,myhusbandisasortofpromissorynote;I’mtiredofmeetinghim。 LADYCAROLINE。Butyourenewhimfromtimetotime,don’tyou? MRS。ALLONBY。Ohno,LadyCaroline。Ihaveonlyhadonehusbandasyet。Isupposeyoulookuponmeasquiteanamateur。 LADYCAROLINE。WithyourviewsonlifeIwonderyoumarriedatall。 MRS。ALLONBY。SodoI。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydearchild,Ibelieveyouarereallyveryhappyinyourmarriedlife,butthatyouliketohideyourhappinessfromothers。 MRS。ALLONBY。IassureyouIwashorriblydeceivedinErnest。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Oh,Ihopenot,dear。Iknewhismotherquitewell。ShewasaStratton,Caroline,oneofLordCrowland’sdaughtersLADYCAROLINE。VictoriaStratton?Irememberherperfectly。A sillyfair—hairedwomanwithnochin。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ah,Ernesthasachin。Hehasaverystrongchin,asquarechin。Ernest’schinisfartoosquare。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Butdoyoureallythinkaman’schincanbetoosquare?Ithinkamanshouldlookvery,verystrong,andthathischinshouldbequite,quitesquare。 MRS。ALLONBY。ThenyoushouldcertainlyknowErnest,LadyStutfield。Itisonlyfairtotellyoubeforehandhehasgotnoconversationatall。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Iadoresilentmen。 MRS。ALLONBY。Oh,Ernestisn’tsilent。Hetalksthewholetime。 Buthehasgotnoconversation。WhathetalksaboutIdon’tknow。 Ihaven’tlistenedtohimforyears。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Haveyouneverforgivenhimthen?Howsadthatseems!Butalllifeisvery,verysad,isitnot? MRS。ALLONBY。Life,LadyStutfield,issimplyaMAUVAISQUART D’HEUREmadeupofexquisitemoments。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes,therearemoments,certainly。Butwasitsomethingvery,verywrongthatMr。Allonbydid?Didhebecomeangrywithyou,andsayanythingthatwasunkindortrue? MRS。ALLONBY。Ohdear,no。Ernestisinvariablycalm。Thatisoneofthereasonshealwaysgetsonmynerves。Nothingissoaggravatingascalmness。Thereissomethingpositivelybrutalaboutthegoodtemperofmostmodernmen。Iwonderwewomenstanditaswellaswedo。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes;men’sgoodtempershowstheyarenotsosensitiveasweare,notsofinelystrung。Itmakesagreatbarrieroftenbetweenhusbandandwife,doesitnot?ButIwouldsomuchliketoknowwhatwasthewrongthingMr。Allonbydid。 MRS。ALLONBY。Well,Iwilltellyou,ifyousolemnlypromisetotelleverybodyelse。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Thankyou,thankyou。Iwillmakeapointofrepeatingit。 MRS。ALLONBY。WhenErnestandIwereengaged,hesworetomepositivelyonhiskneesthathehadneverlovedanyonebeforeinthewholecourseofhislife。Iwasveryyoungatthetime,soI didn’tbelievehim,Ineedn’ttellyou。Unfortunately,however,I madenoenquiriesofanykindtillafterIhadbeenactuallymarriedfourorfivemonths。Ifoundoutthenthatwhathehadtoldmewasperfectlytrue。Andthatsortofthingmakesamansoabsolutelyuninteresting。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydear! MRS。ALLONBY。Menalwayswanttobeawoman’sfirstlove。Thatistheirclumsyvanity。Wewomenhaveamoresubtleinstinctaboutthings。Whatwelikeistobeaman’slastromance。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Iseewhatyoumean。It’svery,verybeautiful。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydearchild,youdon’tmeantotellmethatyouwon’tforgiveyourhusbandbecauseheneverlovedanyoneelse? Didyoueverhearsuchathing,Caroline?Iamquitesurprised。 LADYCAROLINE。Oh,womenhavebecomesohighlyeducated,Jane,thatnothingshouldsurpriseusnowadays,excepthappymarriages。 Theyapparentlyaregettingremarkablyrare。 MRS。ALLONBY。Oh,they’requiteoutofdate。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Exceptamongstthemiddleclasses,Ihavebeentold。 MRS。ALLONBY。Howlikethemiddleclasses! LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes—isitnot?—very,verylikethem。 LADYCAROLINE。Ifwhatyoutellusaboutthemiddleclassesistrue,LadyStutfield,itredoundsgreatlytotheircredit。Itismuchtoberegrettedthatinourrankoflifethewifeshouldbesopersistentlyfrivolous,undertheimpressionapparentlythatitistheproperthingtobe。ItistothatIattributetheunhappinessofsomanymarriagesweallknowofinsociety。 MRS。ALLONBY。Doyouknow,LadyCaroline,Idon’tthinkthefrivolityofthewifehaseveranythingtodowithit。Moremarriagesareruinednowadaysbythecommonsenseofthehusbandthanbyanythingelse。Howcanawomanbeexpectedtobehappywithamanwhoinsistsontreatingherasifshewereaperfectlyrationalbeing? LADYHUNSTANTON。Mydear! MRS。ALLONBY。Man,poor,awkward,reliable,necessarymanbelongstoasexthathasbeenrationalformillionsandmillionsofyears。 Hecan’thelphimself。Itisinhisrace。TheHistoryofWomanisverydifferent。Wehavealwaysbeenpicturesqueprotestsagainstthemereexistenceofcommonsense。Wesawitsdangersfromthefirst。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes,thecommonsenseofhusbandsiscertainlymost,mosttrying。DotellmeyourconceptionoftheIdealHusband。Ithinkitwouldbesovery,veryhelpful。 MRS。ALLONBY。TheIdealHusband?Therecouldn’tbesuchathing。 Theinstitutioniswrong。 LADYSTUTFIELD。TheIdealMan,then,inhisrelationstoUS。 LADYCAROLINE。Hewouldprobablybeextremelyrealistic。 MRS。CAROLINE。TheIdealMan!Oh,theIdealManshouldtalktousasifweweregoddesses,andtreatusasifwewerechildren。Heshouldrefuseallourseriousrequests,andgratifyeveryoneofourwhims。Heshouldencourageustohavecaprices,andforbidustohavemissions。Heshouldalwayssaymuchmorethanhemeans,andalwaysmeanmuchmorethanhesays。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Buthowcouldhedoboth,dear? MRS。ALLONBY。Heshouldneverrundownotherprettywomen。Thatwouldshowhehadnotaste,ormakeonesuspectthathehadtoomuch。No;heshouldbeniceaboutthemall,butsaythatsomehowtheydon’tattracthim。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Yes,thatisalwaysvery,verypleasanttohearaboutotherwomen。 MRS。ALLONBY。Ifweaskhimaquestionaboutanything,heshouldgiveusananswerallaboutourselves。Heshouldinvariablypraiseusforwhateverqualitiesheknowswehaven’tgot。Butheshouldbepitiless,quitepitiless,inreproachingusforthevirtuesthatwehaveneverdreamedofpossessing。Heshouldneverbelievethatweknowtheuseofusefulthings。Thatwouldbeunforgiveable。 Butheshouldshoweronuseverythingwedon’twant。 LADYCAROLINE。AsfarasIcansee,heistodonothingbutpaybillsandcompliments。 MRS。ALLONBY。Heshouldpersistentlycompromiseusinpublic,andtreatuswithabsoluterespectwhenwearealone。Andyetheshouldbealwaysreadytohaveaperfectlyterriblescene,wheneverwewantone,andtobecomemiserable,absolutelymiserable,atamoment’snotice,andtooverwhelmuswithjustreproachesinlessthantwentyminutes,andtobepositivelyviolentattheendofhalfanhour,andtoleaveusforeverataquartertoeight,whenwehavetogoanddressfordinner。Andwhen,afterthat,onehasseenhimforreallythelasttime,andhehasrefusedtotakebackthelittlethingshehasgivenone,andpromisednevertocommunicatewithoneagain,ortowriteoneanyfoolishletters,heshouldbeperfectlybroken—hearted,andtelegraphtoonealldaylong,andsendonelittlenoteseveryhalf—hourbyaprivatehansom,anddinequitealoneattheclub,sothateveryoneshouldknowhowunhappyhewas。Andafterawholedreadfulweek,duringwhichonehasgoneabouteverywherewithone’shusband,justtoshowhowabsolutelylonelyonewas,hemaybegivenathirdlastparting,intheevening,andthen,ifhisconducthasbeenquiteirreproachable,andonehasbehavedreallybadlytohim,heshouldbeallowedtoadmitthathehasbeenentirelyinthewrong,andwhenhehasadmittedthat,itbecomesawoman’sdutytoforgive,andonecandoitalloveragainfromthebeginning,withvariations。 LADYHUNSTANTON。Howcleveryouare,mydear!Younevermeanasinglewordyousay。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Thankyou,thankyou。Ithasbeenquite,quiteentrancing。Imusttryandrememberitall。Therearesuchanumberofdetailsthataresovery,veryimportant。 LADYCAROLINE。ButyouhavenottoldusyetwhattherewardoftheIdealManistobe。 MRS。ALLONBY。Hisreward?Oh,infiniteexpectation。Thatisquiteenoughforhim。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Butmenaresoterribly,terriblyexacting,aretheynot? MRS。ALLONBY。Thatmakesnomatter。Oneshouldneversurrender。 LADYSTUTFIELD。NoteventotheIdealMan? MRS。ALLONBY。Certainlynottohim。Unless,ofcourse,onewantstogrowtiredofhim。 LADYSTUTFIELD。Oh!……yes。Iseethat。Itisvery,veryhelpful。Doyouthink,Mrs。Allonby,IshallevermeettheIdealMan?Oraretheremorethanone? MRS。ALLONBY。TherearejustfourinLondon,LadyStutfield。