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Scene
In 1880, at a railway station, a man in his late thirties is sitting on the
bench. A woman in her early twenties approaches and sits next
to him. She picks up a book from her purse. It is the first
edition of "Washington Square" by Henry James.
The man starts looking at her. A
moment later, she realizes that and gets a little disturbed, but
she keeps her focus on the book. However, the man continues to
stare at her. Then, she puts down the book and faces the man.
WOMAN
What's your problem?
MAN
What?
WOMAN
Why are you looking at me?
MAN
Sorry! I-I- I just was looking at your book.
WOMAN
Henry James?
MAN
Yeah. Washington Square. I love this book.
WOMAN
(Calming down.)
I'm loving it, too.
MAN
It's a beautiful novella.
WOMAN
It is really beautiful, although very sad.
MAN
Uh-huh.
WOMAN
Poor Catherine! She had no choice.
I think if she could choose another father, she would.
MAN
What's wrong with Dr. Sloper?
WOMAN
Everything. He's an arrogant man, and he blocked her happiness.
MAN
Maybe.
WOMAN
Maybe? This man has no feelings.
He has been projecting one Catherine through another since he lost
the first.
MAN
I don't think so. Dr. Sloper is an
intelligent man, you know, all reasonable men know how to handle
their emotions.
WOMAN
No way. When the subject is love, reason disappears.
MAN
That's your point. I respect it.
WOMAN
Are you defending that man?
MAN
Me? Of course not. I just like to understand the character's motivation.
WOMAN
Dr. Sloper tied his daughter into
a filthy web, where she had no choice. It's a shame. A horrible
plot weaved by a heartless man.
MAN
I understand you, but…
WOMAN
What?
(Pause.)
MAN
I don't know what to say. Maybe you're right.
WOMAN
Catherine will never hear Mr. Morris breathing out of her ears.
MAN
Well, well, but she could do that after her father died.
WOMAN
I don't know. I think if it had
happened, we wouldn't have had the perfect climax.
MAN
Maybe.
(Silence.)
WOMAN
The train is too late.
MAN
What if the train doesn't come?
WOMAN
It always comes.
MAN
I don't know. There's a first time.
WOMAN
Yeah, like the meeting between
Catherine and Morris at Marian's engagement party.
MAN
Exactly. It was full of idealization.
WOMAN
You're right. They were both looking at something similar to each other.
MAN
Yeah. Everyone idealizes everyone.
WOMAN
I don't know. I know I don't idealize anybody.
MAN
Sure?
WOMAN
Idealization can be emotional or
rational. It's like getting research for everything.
MAN
I research everything.
WOMAN
Really?
MAN
I research and plan.
WOMAN
It's always sounded useless to me... I think that our life…
MAN
Plans are necessary in life!
WOMAN
I don't see it that way. Life is
as improbable as the wind in the forest. We never know how many
leaves will fall during the tempest.
MAN
There's an old saying that goes,
"Life without a plan is like a ship on the high seas without a
rudder." It was cheap but interesting.
(Silence.)
WOMAN
Catherine never had a plan.
MAN
Yeah, Catherine has fallen into the abyss due to the lack of a single plan.
WOMAN
Looking at it that way, I
presume that only Dr. Sloper had a plan. No other
character had one, including Mrs. Penniman. You know, she gets
into the story to take care of Catherine. That's her function. She
had no plan or motive.
MAN
Dr. Austin Sloper and Morris Townsend had a plan.
WOMAN
All poor men always have a plan.
MAN
Is it bad?
WOMAN
I don't know. My judgement isn't moral or ethical.
MAN
There's a diference?
WOMAN
Between moral and ethical?
MAN
What do you think?
WOMAN
I think my train is late as never before. Where is the train?
MAN
Railroading.
WOMAN
(Chuckles.)
You have a good sense of humor.
MAN
I try, but my sense of humor isn't as strong as my anguish.
(Suddenly, we hear the sound of a train coming.)
MAN
Look! Your train is coming.
WOMAN
Oh, finally.
(She gets up and puts the book in her purse.)
MAN
(Getting up.)
I wish you the best of luck on your journey.
WOMAN
Thank you.
(She reaches out a hand to him.)
WOMAN
Isabel Archer. Nice to meet you.
(They shake hands.)
MAN
Nice to meet you too.
WOMAN (ISABEL ARCHER)
What's your name?
(The man says his name, but the
train's noise takes over the place, and we hear nothing.)
(Fade out.)
(The sound of the train going away.)
(Lights up in the same place. The
man is alone. A station agent approaches him.)
STATION AGENT
Why did you do that?
MAN
I'm just finishing my masterclass.
STATION AGENT
I get it. Well, it's lunchtime, Mr. James.
MAN (HENRY JAMES)
Thank you, Johnson. But please call me Henry.
STATION AGENT
Right.
(The two are leaving the stage.)
STATION AGENT
Will you be able to write a portrait of her?
HENRY JAMES
I'll try to do my best to get
that. Anyway, Isabel Archer deserves a great journey after
all.
STATION AGENT
It will be a great novel about a lady, Henry.
HENRY JAMES
I hope so.
(As we hear Claude Debussy's
"Two Arabesques," the lights start to fade, until
blacking out the entire theater.)
End
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