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"THE FIRST MAN"
A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS
BY
EUGENE O'NEILL
CHARACTERS
CURTIS JAYSON
MARTHA, his wife
JOHN JAYSON, his father, a banker
JOHN, JR., his brother
RICHARD, his brother
ESTHEE (MRS. MARK SHEFFIELD), his sister
LILY, his sister
MRS. DAVIDSON, his father's aunt
MARK SHEFFIELD, a lawyer
EMILY, JOHN JR.'S wife
RICHARD BIGELOW
A MAID
A TRAINED NURSE
TIME--The Present
SCENES
ACT I
Living-room in the house of CURTIS JAYSON, Bridgetown, Conn.--an
afternoon in early Fall.
ACT II
CURTIS' study--morning of the following day.
ACT III
The same--three o'clock in the morning of a day in early spring of the
next year.
ACT IV
Same as Act I--three days later.
ACT I
SCENE--Living-room of CURTIS JAYSON'S house in Bridgetown, Conn. A
large, comfortable room. On the left, an arm-chair, a big open
fireplace, a writing desk with chair in far left corner. On this side
there is also a door leading into CURTIS' study. In the rear, center, a
double doorway opening on the hall and the entryway. Bookcases are
built into the wall on both sides of this doorway. In the far right
corner, a grand piano. Three large windows looking out on the lawn, and
another arm-chair, front, are on this right side of the room. Opposite
the fireplace is a couch, facing front. Opposite the windows on the
right is a long table with magazines, reading lamp, etc. Four chairs
are grouped about the table. The walls and ceiling are in a French gray
color. A great rug covers most of the hardwood floor.
It is around four o'clock of a fine afternoon in early fall.
As the curtain rises, MARTHA, CURTIS and BIGELOW are discovered. MARTHA
is a healthy, fine-looking woman of thirty-eight. She does not appear
this age for her strenuous life in the open has kept her young and
fresh. She possesses the frank, clear, direct quality of outdoors,
outspoken and generous. Her wavy hair is a dark brown, her eyes
blue-gray. CURTIS JAYSON is a tall, rangy, broad-shouldered man of
thirty-seven. While spare, his figure has an appearance of rugged
health, of great nervous strength held in reserve. His square-jawed,
large-featured face retains an eager boyish enthusiasm in spite of its
prevailing expression of thoughtful, preoccupied aloofness. His crisp
dark hair is graying at the temples. EDWARD BIGELOW is a large,
handsome man of thirty-nine. His face shows culture and tolerance, a
sense of humor, a lazy unambitious contentment. CURTIS is reading an
article in some scientific periodical, seated by the table. MARTHA and
BIGELOW are sitting nearby, laughing and chatting.
BIGELOW--[Is talking with a comically worried but earnest air.] Do you
know, I'm getting so I'm actually afraid to leave them alone with that
governess. She's too romantic. I'll wager she's got a whole book full
of ghost stories, superstitions, and yellow-journal horrors up her
sleeve.
MARTHA--Oh, pooh! Don't go milling around for trouble. When I was a kid
I used to get fun out of my horrors.
BIGELOW--But I imagine you were more courageous than most of us.
MARTHA--Why?
BIGELOW--Well, Nevada--the Far West at that time--I should think a
child would have grown so accustomed to violent scenes--
MARTHA--[Smiling.] Oh, in the mining camps; but you don't suppose my
father lugged me along on his prospecting trips, do you? Why, I never
saw any rough scenes until I'd finished with school and went to live
with father in Goldfield.
BIGELOW--[Smiling.] And then you met Curt.
MARTHA--Yes--but I didn't mean he was a rough scene. He was very mild
even in those days. Do tell me what he was like at Cornell.
BIGELOW--A romanticist--and he still is!
MARTHA--[Pointing at CURTIS with gay mischief.] What! That sedate man!
Never!
CURTIS--[Looking up and smiling at them both affectionately--lazily.]
Don't mind him, Martha. He always was crazy.
BIGELOW--[To CURT--accusingly.] Why did you elect to take up mining
engineering at Cornell instead of a classical degree at the Yale of
your fathers and brothers? Because you had been reading Bret Harte in
prep. school and mistaken him for a modern realist. You devoted four
years to grooming yourself for another outcast of Poker Flat. [MARTHA
laughs.]
CURTIS--[Grinning.] It was you who were hypnotized by Harte--so much so
that his West of the past is still your blinded New England-movie idea
of the West at present. But go on. What next?
BIGELOW--Next? You get a job as engineer in that Goldfield mine--but
you are soon disillusioned by a laborious life where six-shooters are
as rare as nuggets. You try prospecting. You find nothing but different
varieties of pebbles. But it is necessary to your nature to project
romance into these stones, so you go in strong for geology. As a
geologist, you become a slave to the Romance of the Rocks. It is but a
step from that to anthropology--the last romance of all. There you find
yourself--because there is no further to go. You win fame as the most
proficient of young skull-hunters--and wander over the face of the
globe, digging up bones like an old dog.
CURTIS--[With a laugh.] The man is mad, Martha.
BIGELOW--Mad! What an accusation to come from one who is even now
considering setting forth on a five-year excavating contest in search
of the remains of our gibbering ancestor, the First Man!
CURTIS--[With sudden seriousness.] I'm not considering it any longer.
I've decided to go.
MARTHA--[Starting--the hurt showing in her voice.] When did you decide?
CURTIS--I only really came to a decision this morning. [With a
seriousness that forces BIGELOW'S interested attention.] It's a case of
got to go. It's a tremendous opportunity that it would be a crime for
me to neglect.
BIGELOW--And a big honor, too, isn't it, to be picked as a member of
such a large affair?
CURTIS--[With a smile.] I guess it's just that they want all the men
with considerable practical experience they can get. There are bound to
be hardships and they know I'm hardened to them. [Turning to his wife
with an affectionate smile.] We haven't roughed it in the queer corners
for the last ten years without knowing how it's done, have we, Martha?
MARTHA--[Dully.] No, Curt.
CURTIS--[With an earnest enthusiasm.] And this expedition IS what you
call a large affair, Big. It's the largest thing of its kind ever
undertaken. The possibilities, from the standpoint of anthropology, are
limitless.
BIGELOW--[With a grin.] Aha! Now we come to the Missing Link!
CURTIS--[Frowning.] Darn your Barnum and Bailey circus lingo, Big. This
isn't a thing to mock at. I should think the origin of man would be
something that would appeal even to your hothouse imagination. Modern
science believes--knows--that Asia was the first home of the human
race. That's where we're going, to the great Central Asian plateau
north of the Himalayas.
BIGELOW--[More soberly.] And there you hope to dig up--our first
ancestor?
CURTIS--It's a chance in a million, but I believe we may, myself--at
least find authentic traces of him so that we can reconstruct his life
and habits. I was up in that country a lot while I was mining advisor
to the Chinese government--did some of my own work on the side. The
extraordinary results I obtained with the little means at my disposal
convinced me of the riches yet to be uncovered. The First Man may be
among them.
BIGELOW--[Turning to MARTHA.] And you were with him on that Asian
plateau?
MARTHA--Yes, I've always been with him.
CURTIS--You bet she has. [He goes over and puts his hand on his wife's
shoulder affectionately.] Martha's more efficient than a whole staff of
assistants and secretaries. She knows more about what I'm doing than I
do half the time. [He turns toward his study.] Well, I guess I'll go in
and work some.
MARTHA--[Quietly.] Do you need me now, Curt?
BIGELOW--[Starting up.] Yes, if you two want to work together, why just
shoo me--
CURTIS--[Puts both hands on his shoulders and forces him to his seat
again.] No. Sit down, Big. I don't need Martha now. [Coming over to
her, bends down and kisses her--rather mockingly.] I couldn't deprive
Big of an audience for his confessions of a fond parent.
BIGELOW--Aha! Now it's you who are mocking at something you know
nothing about. [An awkward silence follows this remark.]
CURTIS--[Frowning.] I guess you're forgetting, aren't you, Big? [He
turns and walks into his study, closing the door gently behind him.]
MARTHA--[After a pause--sadly.] Poor Curt.
BIGELOW--[Ashamed and confused.] I had forgotten--
MARTHA--The years have made me reconciled. They haven't Curt. [She
sighs--then turns to BIGELOW with a forced smile.] I suppose it's hard
for any of you back here to realize that Curt and I ever had any
children.
BIGELOW--[After a pause.] How old were they when--?
MARTHA--Three years and two--both girls. [She goes on sadly.] We had a
nice little house in Goldfield. [Forcing a smile.] We were very
respectable home folks then. The wandering came later, after--It was a
Sunday in winter when Curt and I had gone visiting some friends. The
nurse girl fell asleep--or something--and the children sneaked out in
their underclothes and played in the snow. Pneumonia set in--and a week
later they were both dead.
BIGELOW--[Shocked.] Good heavens!
MARTHA--We were real lunatics for a time. And then when we'd calmed
down enough to realize--how things stood with us--we swore we'd never
have children again--to steal away their memory. It wasn't what you
thought--romanticism--that set Curt wandering--and me with him. It was
a longing to lose ourselves--to forget. He flung himself with all his
power into every new study that interested him. He couldn't keep still,
mentally or bodily--and I followed. He needed me--then--so dreadfully!
BIGELOW--And is it that keeps driving him on now?
MARTHA--Oh, no. He's found himself. His work has taken the place of the
children.
BIGELOW--And with you, too?
MARTHA--[With a wan smile.] Well, I've helped--all I could. His work
has me in it, I like to think--and I have him.
BIGELOW--[Shaking his head.] I think people are foolish to stand by
such an oath as you took--forever. [With a smile.] Children are a great
comfort in one's old age, I've tritely found.
MARTHA--[Smiling.] Old age!
BIGELOW--I'm knocking at the door of fatal forty.
MARTHA--[With forced gaiety.] You're not very tactful, I must say.
Don't you know I'm thirty-eight?
BIGELOW--[Gallantly.] A woman is as old as she looks. You're not thirty
yet.
MARTHA--[Laughing.] After that nice remark I'll have to forgive you
everything, won't I? [LILY JAYSON comes in from the rear. She is a
slender, rather pretty girl of twenty-five. The stamp of college
student is still very much about her. She rather insists on a superior,
intellectual air, is full of nervous, thwarted energy. At the sight of
them sitting on the couch together, her eyebrows are raised.]
LILY--[Coming into the room--breezily.] Hello, Martha. Hello, Big.
[They both get up with answering "Hellos."] I walked right in
regardless. Hope I'm not interrupting.
MARTHA--Not at all.
LILY--[Sitting down by the table as MARTHA and BIGELOW resume their
seats on the lounge.] I must say it sounded serious. I heard you tell
Big you'd forgive him everything, Martha. [Dryly--with a mocking glance
at BIGELOW.] You're letting yourself in for a large proposition.
BIGELOW--[Displeased but trying to smile it off.] The past is never
past for a dog with a bad name, eh, Lily? [LILY laughs. BIGELOW gets
up.] If you want to reward me for my truthfulness, Mrs. Jayson, help me
take the kids for an airing in the car. I know it's an imposition but
they've grown to expect you. [Glancing at his watch.] By Jove, I'll
have to run along. I'll get them and then pick you up here. Is that all
right?
MARTHA--Fine.
BIGELOW--I'll run, then. Good-by, Lily. [She nods. BIGELOW goes out
rear.]
MARTHA--[Cordially.] Come on over here, Lily.
LILY--[Sits on couch with MARTHA--after a pause--with a smile.] You
were forgetting, weren't you?
MARTHA--What?
LILY--That you'd invited all the family over here to tea this
afternoon. I'm the advance guard.
MARTHA--[Embarrassed.] So I was! How stupid!
LILY--[With an inquisitive glance at MARTHA'S face but with studied
carelessness.] Do you like Bigelow?
MARTHA--Yes, very much. And Curt thinks the world of him.
LILY--Oh, Curt is the last one to be bothered by anyone's morals. Curt
and I are the unconventional ones of the family. The trouble with
Bigelow, Martha, is that he was too careless to conceal his sins--and
that won't go down in this Philistine small town. You have to hide and
be a fellow hypocrite or they revenge themselves on you. Bigelow
didn't. He flaunted his love-affairs in everyone's face. I used to
admire him for it. No one exactly blamed him, in their secret hearts.
His wife was a terrible, straitlaced creature. No man could have
endured her. [Disgustedly.] After her death he suddenly acquired a bad
conscience. He'd never noticed the children before. I'll bet he didn't
even know their names. And then, presto, he's about in our midst giving
an imitation of a wet hen with a brood of ducks. It's a bore, if you
ask me.
MARTHA--[Flushing.] I think it's very fine of him.
LILY--[Shaking her head.] His reform is too sudden. He's joined the
hypocrites, I think.
MARTHA--I'm sure he's no hypocrite. When you see him with the children--
LILY--Oh, I know he's a good actor. Lots of women have been in love
with him. [Then suddenly.] You won't be furious if I'm very, very
frank, will you, Martha?
MARTHA--[Surprised.] No, of course not, Lily.
LILY--Well, I'm the bearer of a message from the Jayson family.
MARTHA--[Astonished.] A message? For me?
LILY--Don't think that I have anything to do with it. I'm only a Victor
record of their misgivings. Shall I switch it going? Well, then, father
thinks, brother John and wife, sister Esther and husband all think that
you are unwisely intimate with this same Bigelow.
MARTHA--[Stunned.] I? Unwisely intimate--? [Suddenly laughing with
amusement.] Well, you sure are funny people!
LILY--No, we're not funny. We'd be all right if we were. On the
contrary, we're very dull and deadly. Bigelow really has a villainous
rep. for philandering. But, of course, you didn't know that.
MARTHA--[Beginning to feel resentful--coldly.] No, I didn't--and I
don't care to know it now.
LILY--[Calmly.] I told them you wouldn't relish their silly advice. [In
a very confidential, friendly tone.] Oh, I hate their narrow small-town
ethics as much as you do, Martha. I sympathize with you, indeed I do.
But I have to live with them and so, for comfort's sake, I've had to
make compromises. And you're going to live in our midst from now on,
aren't you? Well then, you'll have to make compromises, too--if you
want any peace.
MARTHA--But-compromises about what? [Forcing a laugh.] I refuse to take
it seriously. How anyone could think--it's too absurd.
LILY--What set them going was Big's being around such an awful lot the
weeks Curt was in New York, just after you'd settled down here. You
must acknowledge he was-very much present then, Martha.
MARTHA--But it was on account of his children. They were always with
him.
LILY--The town doesn't trust this sudden fond parenthood, Martha. We've
known him too long, you see.
MARTHA--But he's Curt's oldest and best friend.
LILY--We've found they always are.
MARTHA--[Springing to her feet--indignantly.] It's a case of evil
minds, it seems to me--and it would be extremely insulting if I didn't
have a sense of humor. [Resentfully.] You can tell your family, that as
far as I'm concerned, the town may--
LILY--Go to the devil. I knew you'd say that. Well, fight the good
fight. You have all my best wishes. [With a sigh.] I wish I had
something worth fighting for. Now that I'm through with college, my
occupation's gone. All I do is read book after book. The only live
people are the ones in books, I find, and the only live life.
MARTHA--[Immediately sympathetic.] You're lonely, that's what, Lily.
LILY--[Drily.] Don't pity me, Martha--or I'll join the enemy.
MARTHA--I'm not. But I'd like to help you if I could. [After a pause.]
Have you ever thought of marrying?
LILY--[With a laugh.] Martha! How banal! The men I see are enough to
banish that thought if I ever had it.
MARTHA--Marriage isn't only the man. It's children. Wouldn't you like
to have children?
LILY--[Turning to her bluntly.] Wouldn't you?
MARTHA--[ Confused. ] But--Lily--
LILY--Oh, I know it wasn't practicable as long as you elected to wander
with Curt--but why not now when you've definitely settled down here? I
think that would solve things all round. If you could present Father
with a grandson, I'm sure he'd fall on your neck. He feels piqued at
the John and Esther families because they've had a run of girls. A male
Jayson! Aunt Davidson would weep with joy. [Suddenly.] You're
thirty-eight, aren't you, Martha?
MARTHA--Yes. LILY--Then why don't you--before it's too late? [MARTHA,
struggling with herself, does not answer. LILY goes on slowly.] You
won't want to tag along with Curt to the ends of the earth forever,
will you? [Curiously.] Wasn't that queer life like any other? I mean,
didn't it get to pall on you?
MARTHA--[As if confessing it reluctantly.] Yes--perhaps--in the last
two years.
LILY--[Decisively.] It's time for both of you to rest on your laurels.
Why can't Curt keep on with what he's doing now--stay home and write
his books?
MARTHA--Curt isn't that kind. The actual work--the romance of
it--that's his life.
LILY--But if he goes and you have to stay, you'll be lonesome--
[meaningly] alone.
MARTHA--Horribly. I don't know what I'll do.
LILY--Then why--why? Think, Martha. If Curt knew--that was to
happen--he'd want to stay here with you. I'm sure he would.
MARTHA--[Shaking her head sadly.] No. Curt has grown to dislike
children. They remind him of--ours that were taken. He adored them
so--he's never become reconciled.
LILY--If you confronted Curt with the actual fact, he'd be reconciled
soon enough, and happy in the bargain.
MARTHA--[Eagerly.] Do you really think so?
LILY--And you, Martha--I can tell from the way you've talked that you'd
like to.
MARTHA--[Excitedly.] Yes, I--I never thought I'd ever want to again.
For many years after they died I never once dreamed of it-- But
lately--the last years--I've felt--and when we came to live here--and I
saw all around me--homes--and children, I--[She hesitates as if ashamed
at having confessed so much.]
LILY--[Putting an arm around her--affectionately.] I know.
[Vigorously.] You must, that's all there is to it! If you want my
advice, you go right ahead and don't tell Curt until it's a fact he'll
have to learn to like, willy-nilly. You'll find, in his inmost heart,
he'll be tickled to death.
MARTHA--[Forcing a smile.] Yes, I--I'll confess I thought of that. In
spite of my fear, I--I've--I mean--I--[She flushes in a shamed
confusion.]
LILY--[Looking at her searchingly.] Why, Martha, what--[Then suddenly
understanding--with excited pleasure.] Martha! I know! It is so, isn't
it? It is!
MARTHA--[In a whisper.] Yes.
LILY--[Kissing her affectionately.] You dear, you! [Then after a
pause.] How long have you known?
MARTHA--For over two months. [There is a ring from the front door bell
in the hall.]
LILY--[Jumping up.] I'll bet that's we Jaysons now. [She runs to the
door in the rear and looks down the hall to the right.] Yes, it's
Esther and husband and Aunt Davidson. [She comes back to MARTHA
laughing excitedly. The MAID is seen going to the door.] The first wave
of attack, Martha! Be brave! The Young Guard dies but never surrenders!
MARTHA--[Displeased but forcing a smile.] You make me feel terribly ill
at ease when you put it that way, Lily. [She rises now and goes to
greet the visitors, who enter. MRS. DAVIDSON is seventy-five years
old--a thin, sinewy old lady, old-fashioned, unbending and rigorous in
manner. She is dressed aggressively in the fashion of a bygone age.
ESTHER is a stout, middle-aged woman with the round, unmarked,
sentimentally--contented face of one who lives unthinkingly from day to
day, sheltered in an assured position in her little world. MARK, her
husband, is a lean, tall, stooping man of about forty-five. His long
face is alert, shrewd, cautious, full of the superficial craftiness of
the lawyer mind. MARTHA kisses the two women, shakes hands with MARK,
uttering the usual meaningless greetings in a forced tone. They reply
in much the same spirit. There is the buzz of this empty chatter while
MARTHA gets them seated. LILY stands looking on with a cynical smile of
amusement. MRS. DAVIDSON is in the chair at the end of table, left,
ESTHER sits by MARTHA on couch, MARK in chair at front of table.] Will
you have tea now or shall we wait for the others?
ESTHER--Let's wait. They ought to be here any moment.
LILY--[Maliciously.] Just think, Martha had forgotten you were coming.
She was going motoring with Bigelow. [There is a dead silence at
this--broken diplomatically by SHEFFIELD.]
SHEFFIELD--Where is Curt, Martha?
MARTHA--Hard at work in his study. I'm afraid he's there for the day.
SHEFFIELD--[Condescendingly.] Still plugging away at his book, I
suppose. Well, I hope it will be a big success.
LILY--[Irritated by his smugness.] As big a success as the brief you're
writing to restrain the citizens from preventing the Traction Company
robbing them, eh Mark? [Before anyone can reply, she turns suddenly on
her aunt who is sitting rigidly on her chair, staring before her
stonily like some old lady in a daguerreotype--in a loud challenging
tone.] You don't mind if I smoke, Aunt? [She takes a cigarette out of
case and lights it.]
ESTHER--[Smiling.] Lily!
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Fixes LILY with her stare--in a tone of irrevocable
decision.] We'll get you married, young lady, and that very soon. What
you need to bring you down to earth is a husband and the responsibility
of children. [Turning her glance to MARTHA, a challenge in her
question.] Every woman who is able should have children. Don't you
believe that, Martha Jayson? [She accentuates the full name.]
MARTHA--[Taken aback for a moment but restraining her
resentment--gently.] Yes, I do, Mrs. Davidson.
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Seemingly placated by this reply--in a milder tone.]
You must call me aunt, my dear. [Meaningly.] All the Jaysons do.
MARTHA--[Simply.] Thank you, aunt.
LILY--[As if all of this aroused her irritation--in a nervous fuming.]
Why don't the others come, darn 'em? I'm dying for my tea. [The door
from the study is opened and CURT appears. They all greet him.]
CURTIS--[Absent-mindedly.] Hello, everybody. [Then with a preoccupied
air to MARTHA.] Martha, I don't want to interrupt you--but--
MARTHA--[Getting up briskly.] You want my help?
CURTIS--[With the same absent-minded air.] Yes--not for long--just a
few notes before I forget them. [He goes back into the study.]
MARTHA--[Seemingly relieved by this interruption and glad of the chance
it gives to show them her importance to CURT.] You'll excuse me for a
few moments, all of you, won't you? [They all nod.]
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Rather harshly.] Why doesn't Curt hire a secretary?
That is no work for his wife.
MARTHA--[Quietly.] A paid secretary could hardly give the sympathy and
understanding Curt needs, Mrs. Davidson. [Proudly.] And she would have
to study for years, as I have done, in order to take my place. [To
LILY.] If I am not here by the time the others arrive, will you see
about the tea, Lily--?
LILY--[Eagerly.] Sure. I love to serve drinks. If I were a man, I'd be
a bartender--in Mexico or Canada.
MARTHA--[Going toward the study.] I'll be with you again in a minute, I
hope. [She goes in and shuts the door behind her.]
ESTHER--[Pettishly.] Even people touched by a smattering of science
seem to get rude, don't they?
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Harshly.] I have heard much silly talk of this being an
age of free women, and I have always said it was tommyrot. [Pointing to
the study.] She is an example. She is more of a slave to Curt's hobbies
than any of my generation were to anything but their children. [Still
more harshly.] Where are her children?
LILY--They died, Aunt, as children have a bad habit of doing. [Then
meaningly.] However, I wouldn't despair if I were you. [MRS. DAVIDSON
stares at her fixedly.]
ESTHER--[Betraying a sudden frightened jealousy.] What do you mean,
Lily? What are you so mysterious about? What did she say? What--?
LILY--[Mockingly.] Mark, your frau seems to have me on the stand. Can I
refuse to answer? [There is a ring at the bell. LILY jumps to her feet
excitedly.] Here comes the rest of our Grand Fleet. Now I'll have my
tea. [She darts out to the hallway.]
ESTHER--[Shaking her head.] Goodness, Lily is trying on the nerves.
[JAYSON, his two sons, JOHN and DICK, and JOHN's wife, EMILY, enter
from hallway in rear. JAYSON, the father, is a short, stout,
bald-headed man of sixty. A typical, small-town, New England
best-family banker, reserved in pose, unobtrusively important--a placid
exterior hiding querulousness and a fussy temper. JOHN JUNIOR is his
father over again in appearance, but pompous, obtrusive,
purse-and-family-proud, extremely irritating in his self-complacent air
of authority, emptily assertive and loud. He is about forty. RICHARD,
the other brother, is a typical young Casino and country club member,
college-bred, good looking, not unlikable. He has been an officer in
the war and has not forgotten it. EMILY, JOHN JR.'s wife, is one of
those small, mouse-like women who conceal beneath an outward aspect of
gentle, unprotected innocence a very active envy, a silly pride, and a
mean malice. The people in the room with the exception of MRS. DAVIDSON
rise to greet them. All exchange familiar, perfunctory greetings.
SHEFFIELD relinquishes his seat in front of the table to JAYSON, going
to the chair, right front, himself. JOHN and DICK take the two chairs
to the rear of table. EMILY joins ESTHER on the couch and they whisper
together excitedly, ESTHER doing most of the talking. The men remain in
uncomfortable silence for a moment.]
DICK--[With gay mockery.] Well, the gang's all here. Looks like the
League of Nations. [Then with impatience.] Let's get down to cases,
folks. I want to know why I've been summoned here. I'm due for
tournament mixed-doubles at the Casino at five. Where's the tea--and
has Curt a stick in the cellar to put in it?
LILY--[Appearing in the doorway.] Here's tea--but no stick for you,
sot. [The MAID brings in tray with tea things.]
JOHN--[Heavily.] It seems it would be more to the point to inquire
where our hostess--
JAYSON--[Rousing himself again.] Yes. And where is Curt?
LILY--Working at his book. He called Martha to take notes on something.
ESTHER--[With a trace of resentment.] She left us as if she were glad
of the excuse.
LILY--Stuff, Esther! She knows how much Curt depends on her--and we
don't.
EMILY--[In her quiet, lisping voice--with the most innocent air.]
Martha seems to be a model wife. [But there is some quality to the way
she says it that makes them all stare at her uneasily.]
LILY--[Insultingly.] How well you say what you don't mean, Emily!
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! But I'm forgetting to do the honors. Tea,
everybody? [Without waiting for any answer.] Tea, everybody! [The tea
is served.]
JAYSON--[Impatiently.] Stop fooling, Lily. Let's get to our muttons.
Did you talk with Martha?
LILY--[Briskly.] I did, sir.
JAYSON--[In a lowered voice.] What did she say?
LILY--She said you could all go to the devil! [They all look shocked
and insulted. LILY enjoys this, then adds quietly.] Oh, not in those
words. Martha is a perfect lady. But she made it plain she will thank
you to mind your own business.
ESTHER--[Volubly.] And just imagine, she'd even forgotten she'd asked
us here this afternoon and was going motoring with Bigelow.
LILY--With his three children, too, don't forget.
EMILY--[Softly.] They have become such well-behaved and intelligent
children, they say. [Again all the others hesitate, staring at her
suspiciously.]
LILY--[Sharply.] You'd better let Martha train yours for a while,
Emily. I'm sure she'd improve their manners--though, of course, she
couldn't give them any intelligence.
EMILY--[With the pathos of outraged innocence.] Oh!
DICK--[Interrupting.] So it's Bigelow you're up in the air about? [He
gives a low whistle--then frowns angrily.] The deuce you say!
LILY--[Mockingly.] Look at our soldier boy home from the wars getting
serious about the family honor! It's too bad this is a rough, untutored
country where they don't permit dueling, isn't it, Dick?
DICK--[His pose crumbling--angrily.] Go to the devil!
SHEFFIELD--[With a calm, judicious air.] This wrangling is getting us
nowhere. You say she was resentful about our well-meant word to the
wise? JAYSON--[Testily.] Surely she must realize that some
consideration is due the position she occupies in Bridgetown as Curt's
wife.
LILY--Martha is properly unimpressed by big frogs in tiny puddles. And
there you are.
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Outraged.] The idea! She takes a lot upon herself--the
daughter of a Wild Western coal-miner.
LILY--[Mockingly.] Gold miner, Aunt.
MRS. DAVIDSON--It makes no difference--a common miner! SHEFFIELD--
[Keenly inquisitive.] Just before the others came, Lily, you gave out
some hints--very definite hints, I should say--
ESTHER--[Excitedly.] Yes, you did, Lily. What did you mean?
LILY--[Uncertainly.] Perhaps I shouldn't have. It's not my secret.
[Enjoying herself immensely now that she holds the spotlight--after a
pause, in a stage whisper.] Shall I tell you? Yes, I can't help
telling. Well, Martha is going to have a son. [They are all stunned and
flabbergasted and stare at her speechlessly.]
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Her face lighting up--joyously.] A son! Curt's son!
JAYSON--[Pleased by the idea but bewildered.] A son?
DICK--[Smartly.] Lily's kidding you. How can she know it's a
son--unless she's a clairvoyant.
ESTHER--[With glad relief.] Yes, how stupid!
LILY--I am clairvoyant in this case. Allah is great and it will be a
son--if only to make you and Emily burst with envy among your daughters.
ESTHER--Lily!
EMILY--Oh!
JAYSON--[Testily.] Keep still for a moment, Lily, for God's sake. This
is no subject to joke about, remember.
LILY--Martha told me. I know that.
JAYSON--And does Curt know this?
LILY--No, not yet. Martha has been afraid to tell him.
JAYSON--Ah, that explains matters. You know I asked Curt some time
ago--and he said it was impossible.
EMILY--[With a lift of her eyebrows.] Impossible? Why, what a funny
thing to say.
SHEFFIELD--[Keenly lawyer-like.] And why is Martha afraid to tell him,
Lily?
LILY--It's all very simple. When the two died years ago, they said they
would never have one again. Martha thinks Curt is still haunted by
their memory and is afraid he will resent another as an intruder. I
told her that was all foolishness--that a child was the one thing to
make Curt settle down for good at home here and write his books.
JAYSON--[Eagerly.] Yes, I believe that myself. [Pleased.] Well, this is
fine news.
EMILY--Still it was her duty to tell Curt, don't you think? I don't see
how she could be afraid of Curt--for those reasons. [They all stare at
her.]
ESTHER--[Resentfully.] I don't, either. Why, Curt's the biggest-hearted
and kindest--
EMILY--I wonder how long she's known--this?
LILY--[Sharply.] Two months, she said.
EMILY--Two months? [She lets this sink in.]
JOHN--[Quickly scenting something--eagerly.] What do you mean, Emily?
[Then as if he read her mind.] Two months? But before that--Curt was
away in New York almost a month!
LILY--[Turning on EMILY fiercely.] So! You got someone to say it for
you as you always do, Poison Mind! Oh, I wish the ducking stool had
never been abolished!
EMILY--[Growing crimson--falteringly.] I--I didn't mean--
JOHN--[Furiously.] Where the honor of the family is at stake--
LILY--[Fiercely.] Ssshh, you empty barrel! I think I hear-- [The door
from the study is opened and MARTHA comes in in the midst of a heavy
silence. All the gentlemen rise stiffly. MARTHA is made immediately
self-conscious and resentful by the feeling that they have been
discussing her unfavorably.]
MARTHA--[Coming forward--with a forced cordiality.] How do you do,
everybody? So sorry I wasn't here when you came. I hope Lily made
proper excuses for me. [She goes from one to the other of the four
latest comers with "So glad you came," etc. They reply formally and
perfunctorily. MARTHA finally finds a seat on the couch between EMILY
and ESTHER.] I hope Lily--but I see you've all had tea.
LILY--[Trying to save the situation--gayly.] Yes. You can trust me as
understudy for the part of hostess any time.
MARTHA--[Forcing a smile.] Well, I'm glad to know I wasn't missed.
EMILY--[Sweetly.] We were talking about you--at least, we were
listening to Lily talk about you.
MARTHA--[Stiffening defensively.] About me?
EMILY--Yes--about how devoted you were to Curt's work. [LILY gives her
a venomous glance of scorn.]
MARTHA--[Pleased but inwardly uneasy.] Oh, but you see I consider it my
work, too, I've helped him with it so long now.
JAYSON--[In a forced tone.] And how is Curt's book coming, Martha?
MARTHA--[More and more stung by their strained attitudes and
inquisitive glances. Coldly and cuttingly.] Finely, thank you. The book
will cause quite a stir, I believe. It will make the name of Jayson
famous in the big world outside of Bridgetown.
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Indignantly.] The name of Jayson has been--
JAYSON--[Pleadingly.] Aunt Elizabeth!
LILY--Aunt means it's world famous already, Martha. [Pointing to the
sullen JOHN.] John was once a substitute on the Yale Freshman soccer
team, you know. If it wasn't for his weak shins he would have made the
team, fancy!
DICK--[This tickles his sense of humor and he bursts into laughter.]
Lily wins! [As his brother glares at him--looking at his watch.]
Heavens, I'll have to hustle! [Gets to his feet.] I'm due at the
Casino. [Comes and shakes MARTHA's hand formally.] I'm sorry I can't
stay.
MARTHA--So glad you came. Do come in again any time. We keep open
house, you know--Western fashion. [She accentuates this.]
DICK--[Hurriedly.] Delighted to. [He starts for the door in rear.]
LILY--[As if suddenly making up her mind.] Wait a second! I'm coming
with you--
DICK--Sure thing--only hurry, darn you! [He goes out.]
LILY--[Stops at the door in rear and catching MARTHA's eye, looks
meaningly at the others.] Phew! I need fresh air! [She makes an
encouraging motion as if pummeling someone to MARTHA, indicating her
assembled family as the victim--then goes out laughing. A motor is
heard starting--running off.]
ESTHER--[With a huge sigh of relief.] Thank goodness, she's gone. What
a vixen! What would you do if you had a sister like that, Martha?
MARTHA--I'd love her--and try to understand her.
SHEFFIELD--[Meaningly.] She's a bad ally to rely on--this side of the
fence one day, and that the next.
MARTHA--Is that why you advised her to become a lawyer, Mr. Sheffield?
SHEFFIELD--[Stung, but maintaining an unruffled front.] Now, now, that
remark must be catalogued as catty.
MARTHA--[Defiantly.] It seems to be in the Bridgetown atmosphere. I
never was--not the least bit--in the open air.
JAYSON--[Conciliatingly.] Oh, Bridgetown isn't so bad, Martha, once you
get used to us.
JOHN--It's one of the most prosperous and wealthy towns in the
U.S.--and that means in the world, nowadays.
EMILY--[With her sugary smile.] That isn't what Martha means, you
silly. I know what she's thinking about us, and I'm not sure that I
don't agree with her--partly. She feels that we're so awfully
strict--about certain things. It must be so different in the Far
West--I suppose--so much freer.
MARTHA--[Acidly.] Then you believe broad-mindedness and clean thinking
are a question of locality? I can't agree with you. I know nothing of
the present Far West, not having lived there for ten years, but Curt
and I have lived in the Far East and I'm sure he'd agree with me in
saying that Chinese ancestor worship is far more dignified than ours.
After all, you know, theirs is religion, not snobbery. [There is a loud
honking of an auto horn before the house. MARTHA starts, seems to come
to a quick decision, and announces with studied carelessness.] That
must be Mr. Bigelow. I suppose Lily told you I had an engagement to go
motoring with him. So sorry I must leave. But I'm like Lily. I need
fresh air. [She walks to the study door as she is talking.] I'll call
Curt. [She raps loudly on the door and calls.] Curt! Come out! It's
important. [She turns and goes to the door, smiling fixedly.] He'll be
out when he's through swearing. [She goes out, rear.]
JOHN--[Exploding.] Well, of all the damned cheek!
ESTHER--She shows her breeding, I must say.
EMILY--[With horror.] Oh, how rude--and insulting.
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Rising rigidly to her feet.] I will never set foot in
this house again! JAYSON--[Jumping up to restrain her--worriedly.] Now,
Aunt Elizabeth, do keep your head! We must have no scandal of any sort.
Remember there are servants about. Do sit down. [The old lady refuses
in stubborn silence.]
SHEFFIELD--[Judiciously.] One must make allowances for one in her
condition, Aunt.
JAYSON--[Snatching at this.] Exactly. Remember her condition. Aunt
[testily] and do sit down. [The old lady plumps herself down again
angrily.]
EMILY--[In her lisp of hidden meanings.] Yes, the family mustn't
forget--her condition. [The door from the study is opened and CURT
appears. His face shows his annoyance at being interrupted, his eyes
are preoccupied. They all turn and greet him embarrassedly. He nods
silently and comes slowly down front.]
CURTIS--[Looking around.] Where's Martha? What's the important thing
she called me out for?
ESTHER--[Forcing gaiety.] To play host, you big bear, you! Don't you
think we came to see you, too? Sit down here and be good. [He sits on
sofa.]
EMILY--[Softly.] Martha had to leave us to go motoring with Mr. Bigelow.
ESTHER--[Hastily.] And the three children.
CURTIS--[Frowning grumpily.] Hm! Big and his eternal kids. [He sighs.
They exchange meaning glances. CURT seems to feel ashamed of his
grumpiness and tries to fling it off--with a cheerful smile.] But what
the deuce! I must be getting selfish to grudge Martha her bit of fresh
air. You don't know what it means to outdoor animals like us to be pent
up. [He springs to his feet and paces back and forth nervously.] We're
used to living with the sky for a roof--[Then interestedly.] Did Martha
tell you I'd definitely decided to go on the five year Asian expedition?
ESTHER--Curt! You're not!
EMILY--And leave Martha here--all alone--for five years?
JAYSON--Yes, you can't take Martha with you this time, you know.
CURTIS--[With a laugh.] No? What makes you so sure of that? [As they
look mystified, he continues confidentially.] I'll let you in on the
secret--only you must all promise not to breathe a word to
Martha--until to-morrow. To-morrow is her birthday, you know, and this
is a surprise I've saved for her. [They all nod.] I've been intriguing
my damnedest for the past month to get permission for Martha to go with
me. It was difficult because women are supposed to be barred.
[Happily.] But I've succeeded. The letter came this morning. How
tickled to death she'll be when she hears! I know she's given up hope.
[Thoughtfully.] I suppose it's that has been making her act so
out-of-sorts lately.
JAYSON--[Worriedly.] Hmm! But would you persist in going--alone--if you
knew it was impossible for her--?
CURTIS--[Frowning.] I can't imagine it without her. You people can't
have any idea what a help--a chum--she's been. You can't believe that a
woman could be--so much that--in a life of that kind--how I've grown to
depend on her. The thousand details--she attends to them all. She
remembers everything. Why, I'd be lost. I wouldn't know how to start.
[With a laugh.] I know this sounds like a confession of weakness but
it's true just the same. [Frowning again.] However, naturally my work
must always be the first consideration. Yes, absolutely! [Then with
glad relief.] But what's the use of rambling on this way? We can both
go, thank heaven!
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Sternly.] No. SHE cannot go. And it is YOUR duty--
CURTIS--[Interrupting her with a trace of impatience.] Oh, come! That's
all nonsense, Aunt. You don't understand the kind of woman Martha is.
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Harshly.] The women I understand prefer rearing their
children to selfish gallivanting over the world.
CURTIS--[Impatiently.] But we have no children now, Aunt.
MRS. DAVIDSON--I know that, more's the pity. But later--
CURTIS--[Emphatically.] No, I tell you! It's impossible!
MRS. DAVIDSON--[Grimly.] I have said my last word. Go your own road and
work your own ruin.
CURTIS--[Brusquely.] I think I'll change my togs and go for a walk.
Excuse me for a second. I'll be right down again. [He goes out, rear.]
EMILY--[With her false air of innocence.] Curt acts so funny, doesn't
he? Did you notice how emphatic he was about its being impossible? And
he said Martha seemed to him to be acting queer lately--with him, I
suppose he meant.
ESTHER--He certainly appeared put out when he heard she'd gone motoring
with Big.
JAYSON--[Moodily.] This dislike of the very mention of children. It
isn't like Curt, not a bit.
JOHN--There's something rotten in Denmark somewhere. This family will
yet live to regret having accepted a stranger--
SHEFFIELD--[Mollifyingly--with a judicial air.] Come now! This is all
only suspicion. There is no evidence; you have no case; and the
defendant is innocent until you have proved her guilty, remember.
[Getting to his feet.] Well, let's break up. Esther, you and I ought to
be getting home. [They all rise.]
JAYSON--[Testily.] Well, if I were sure it would all blow over without
any open scandal, I'd offer up a prayer of thanks. [The Curtain Falls]