#playwright: hellman

MRS. TILFORD. You came here demanding explanations. It was I who asked them from you. You attack me, you attack Mary. I’ve told you I didn’t mean you any harm. I still don’t. You claim that it isn’t true; it may be natural that you should say that, but I know that it is true. No matter what you say, you know very well that I wouldn’t have acted until I was sure. All I wanted was to get those children away. That has been done. There will be nothing else. And there won’t be any talk about it or about you--I’ll see to that. You have been in my house long enough. Get out.

MARY. You can’t call me a liar, Rosalie Wells. That’s a kind of dare and I won’t take a dare. (She starts for arch. Rosalie blocks her way.) I guess I’ll go tell Grandma, anyway. Then she can call the police and they’ll come for you and, you’ll get tried in court. (She slowly backs Rosalie to behind R. end of L. love seat. While she speaks, she pulls Rosalie’s glasses down on her nose and pulls her hair.) And you’ll go to one of those prisons, and you’ll get older and older, and when you’re good and old they’ll let you out, but you won’t have any place to go and you’ll beg on the streets---

MRS. MORTAR. (Reminiscently.) It was I who saved Delia Lampert's life the time she had that heart attack in Buffalo, right on stage without losing a line. Poor Delia!  She married Robert Laffonne in London after he found there was no soap with me.  Not nine months later he left her and ran away with Eve Cloun,  who had made a great hit playing the Infant Phenomenon when she was forty-seven, the British don't care about age.  Delia's heart attack came afterwards--

MARTHA. How about asking Joe to say something to her? She’d listen to him. We don’t get anywhere with Mary and we’d might as well admit it. She’s had more attention than any three kids put together. I am so bored with hearing myself say, “Mary, can I help you?” “Mary, are you worried about something?” Something goes on in that kid, and we didn’t know anymore about it then we knew the first day she came. She causes trouble here. She’s bad for the other girls. I don’t know how or why, but it’s wrong, and we must do something about it.

KAREN: (Softly) Ah, what happens between people, happens, and after a while it doesn’t matter how it started. But there it is. (Turns U.S.) I’m here, You’re there. We’re in a room we’ve been in so many times before. Nothing seems changed. My hands looks just the same, my face is just the same, even my dress is old. I’m nothing too much: I’m like everybody else, the way I always was. I can have the things that other people have. I can have you, and children, and I can take care of them, and I can go to market, and read a book, and people will talk to me--Only I can’t. I can’t. And I don’t even know why. (Turns L.) Go home, darling.