Mourning Becomes Electra Page #5

You've been driving yourself too hard

for a man of your age.

Better let me give you a check-up

in a few days

as soon as you get rested.

I'm perfectly fit.

Yes, we know.

Well, I won't keep you now.

Good night, sir.

Good night, Mrs Mannon, Miss Vinnie.

Good night, Blake.

Father.

Oh, Vinnie,

I'm looking for your mother.

I am out here, Ezra.

How is the trouble with your heart,

Father?

Nothing to worry about.

I want to know the truth.

If it had been serious I would

have told you.

If you had seen as much of death as I have

in the past four years

you wouldn't be afraid of it.

I've had my fill of death.

What I want now is to forget it.

All I know is the pain's like a knife.

Puts me out of commission while it lasts.

The doctor gave me orders to avoid

worry and excitement.

You don't look well, Ezra.

You must go to bed soon.

Yes, I want to.

Not yet. Oh, please, Father.

We've hardly talked at all.

How can you tell him he looks tired.

He looks perfectly well.

We've so much to tell you.

All about Captain Brant.

Oh, yes. Vinnie wrote me you'd

had company.

What business had he here?

You'd better ask Vinnie.

He's her latest beau.

She even went walking

in the moonlight with him.

You didn't mention that in your letter,

young lady.

I only went walking with him once.

And that was before I...

Before what?

Before I found out he's the kind who

chases after every woman he sees.

A fine guest to recieve in my absence.

I believe he thought even Mother

was flirting with him.

That's why I thought

it was my duty to write you.

I thought you should warn Mother

how foolish it was

to allow him to come here.

Foolish? It was downright...

I prefer not to discuss this ridiculous nonsense

until we are alone, Ezra,

if you don't mind.

Vinnie, will you kindly leave us.

No, I will not.

It's Father's first night...

Stop this squabbling, both of you.

I won't have it in my house.

Vinnie, it must be your bedtime.

Yes, Father.

Oh, I'm so glad you're home.

You're the only man I'll ever love.

I'm going to stay with you always.

I hope so.

I want you to remain my little girl.

For a while longer, at least.

March now. To bed.

Yes, Father.

Don't let anything worry you.

I'm going to look after you always,

Father.

Sit down, Ezra.

Now, please tell me...

just what is it you suspect me of?

Oh, yes.

Your eyes have been probing me.

And all on account of a stupid letter

Vinnie had no business to write.

There's no question of suspecting you.

I only thought it was foolish to give

people in town a chance to gossip.

We'll say no more about it.

But I'd like you to explain

how this Brant happened to be here.

I'm only too glad to.

I met him at Father's.

So when he called here

I couldn't be rude, could I?

And as for gossip the only talk

has been he came here to court Vinnie.

Ask anyone in town.

Blast this impudence.

Perhaps I should have watched

Vinnie more closely

but Father's been sick and...

you don't know what a strain

I've been under worrying about Orin.

And you, Ezra.

Christine...

I deeply regret having been unjust.

Afraid Old Johnny Red

would pick me out, were you?

Of course.

I dreamed of coming home to you,

Christine.

You look more beautiful than ever.

And strange to me.

You're younger.

I feel like an old man beside you.

I'm sorry, Ezra.

I'm nervous tonight.

I'm tired.

I shouldn't have bothered you

with this foolishness about Brant tonight.

I can't get used to home yet.

It's so lonely.

I'm used to the feel of camps with

thousands of men around me at night.

The sense of protection maybe.

Don't be so still.

I want to talk to you, Christine.

I've got to explain some things

inside me to my wife.

Shut your eyes again.

I can talk better.

Don't talk, Ezra.

It was seeing death all the time

in this war.

Death was so common it didn't mean

anything.

That freed me to think of life.

Queer, isn't it?

Death made me think of life.

Before that life had only made me think

of death.

Why are you talking of death?

That's always been the Mannons'

way of thinking.

They went to the White Meeting House

on Sabbath and meditated on death.

Life was a dying,

being born was starting to die.

Death was being born.

How did people ever get such notions?

What has this talk of death

to do with me?

Shut your eyes again.

I thought about my life

lying awake nights.

And about your life.

As a soldier the thought

of my being killed didn't seem to matter.

But me as your husband being killed

that seemed queer and wrong.

Like someone dying that

had never lived.

And all the years we've been

man and wife would rise up in my mind.

And I could only find some barrier

between us.

A wall hiding us from each other.

But what that wall was,

I could never discover.

I called to mind the Mexican War.

I could see you wanted me to go.

I was hoping I might get killed.

Maybe you were hoping that, too.

Were you?

No, no, I...

What makes you say such things?

And when I came home

you were turned to your new baby, Orin.

I was hardly alive for you anymore.

I tried not to hate Orin and

I turned to Vinnie.

But a daughter's not a wife.

Then I made up my mind

to do my work in the world

and leave you alone and not care.

That's why the shipping wasn't enough,

why I became a judge

and Mayor and such vain truck.

Why folks in town say I'm so able.

Able for what?

Not for what I wanted most in life.

Not for your love.

No, able only to keep my mind

from thinking of what I'd lost.

You did love me before we were married,

didn't you, Christine?

You won't deny that, will you?

I don't deny anything.

All right then. I came home

to surrender to you what's inside me.

I love you. I loved you then and all the years in between.

And I love you now.

Ezra, please.

Help me to smash down that wall,

Christine.

We've twenty good years still before us.

Help us to get back to each other.

If we could leave the children

and go on a voyage

to get to the other side of the world

and find some island

where we could be alone for a while.

You'll find I've changed, Christine.

I'm sick of death. I want life.

Stop talking, Ezra!

I don't know what you're saying.

What must be must be.

You make me weak.

It's getting late.

Yes.

Time to turn in.

You tell me to stop talking.

By heaven, that's funny.

I only meant

what's the good of words.

There is no wall between us.

I love you.

I'd give my soul to believe that, Christine.

But I'm afraid.

I thought you'd gone to bed,

young lady.

I couldn't sleep.

I thought I'd walk a little.

No time for a walk, if you ask me.

We were just going to bed.

Your father is tired.

See you turn in soon.

Yes, Father.

Good night, Vinnie.

Good night.

Father, how can you love

that shameless woman?

I can't bear it.

I won't.

It's my duty to tell him.

I will!

Father! Father!

Don't shout like that.

What is it?

I forgot to say good night.

Good heavens. What do you...

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