THE TURN OF THE SCREW was first produced in New Ye Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Artistic Director) in Maren Joon was directed by Melia Bensussen; the set design was by Ch 199. Te Jones: the costume design was by Claudia Stephens; the lightnns design was by Dan Kotlowitz; the original music and sound desig’ by David Van Tieghem; and the stage manager ichen Knowlton. The cast was as follows: ee w G THE MAN ... THE WOMAN .. THE TURN OF THE SCREW received its premiere at the Portland Stage Company (Greg Leaming, Artistic Director; Tom Werder, Managing Director) in Portland, Maine, on January 11, 1996. It was directed by Greg Leaming; the set and costume design were by Judy Gailen; the lighting design was by Dan Kotlowitz; the sound design was by JR Conklin; and the stage as Terry T. Terzakis. The cast was as follows: manager Wi Joey L. Golden Susan Appel THE MAN oo THE WOMAN .. and developed at Portland pected. rkshopped 1 Little Festival of the Unex The play was originally wo! Stage Company’s 6th Annual wu vie CiCHARACTERS MAN — Thirties to early fifties. British. He wears a dark piece suit. Victorian era. Winged collar and cravat. THE WOMAN — Twenties or early thirties. British. Attractive. She wears a black Victorian dress. A governess’ appearance. THE SET Very spare. One Victorian chair placed in a void of darkness. Black and deep green. If stage space allows, a foreshortened stair- case and landing may be placed upstage. PERFORMANCE During the course of the story, the Man plays many characters — the Uncle, Mrs. Grose, Miles, others. These are indicated in the script. The Woman plays the Governess. There are no costume changes. There are no props. rou wrt CAUTHOR'S NOTES pen Greg Learning commissioned me (0 adapt 7p on Gres ; e ha ce speci ate portland Stage, we had three specific goals in y ¥ amr ind; 1) We wanted (0 create a dramatic piece that w, 88 tru of Henry James’ story and themes, 1 10 the essence 9) We wanted to preserve the ambiguity of the Story’s poing ' . bof view. 3) We wanted to provide an opportunity for two branina performances. We decided early on that the play would be performed on a bare stage without props and cast with just two actors: a woman to play the Governess, and a man to play all the other roles. This decision to avoid a naturalistic depiction of the story killed a lot of birds with, one stone. It allowed us to theatricalize the narrative and move it away from “drawing room” adaptation. It also expedited exposition — the Governess could tell her tale directly to the audience, just as her written recollection does in the novella. Most important, it could underline the notorious ambiguity of the original. It’s not giving anything away to note that for over seventy years the major question revolving around The Turn of the Screw has been: are the ghosts real, or are they the products of the Governess’ repressed imagination? And in a production, you eventually have to deal with a very basic stage question: HOW DO YOU DEPICT THE GHOSTS? tseemed to us that if' we cast flesh and blood actors to play Quint and Jessel — we were implying that the ghosts were real and not products of the Governess’ imagination. If the audience could se the ghosts, the ghosts existed, But if we chose no! to porta hosts at all, we had instead the opportunity to refocus the SY being told from the Governess’ point of view: We reactions as an account hear g “at only her recollections of her encounters, see only het 6 PSto the visitations. If the audience couldn't see the ghosts, they couldn't say if they were real or imagined. Having decided that, other elements fell into place. The woman would play the Governess, and the man would play all the other roles: Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, the Uncle, and — most impor- tant — the little boy, Miles, who is really the Governess’ active nemesis in the drama. It would be as if the Governess were relat- ing a story to us and using the other actor, this one man, to help her depict all the characters who were verifiably real. We were also free to dispense with a realistic set — just darkness, a chair, and an abstract staircase to suggest height and danger. We were free to dispense with props — this wasn’t a play about lockets and keys and tea cups. And we were able to create a play that would be a tour-de-force for two wonderfully talented actors, which we most certainly had in Susan Appel and Joey L. Golden. Our goal was to create something rich and theatrical out of some- thing spare and austere, so that by play’s end, when the Governess and her demons battle to the death, the audience could be awed not only by what we had done, but what they had imagined. Verney wieKeep In Mind There are NO props, There are no Sound effects in the tronic. The actors provide i. Nothi ven this, IPB Ofte lee ict the vari i Play — the Uncle’ ' in TiOUS locat Uncle’s house in London, the Coach, the tomes ae of Bly, the lake, the arden, the bedrooms, etc, — manner. The Stage is a dark yoid that the words, acting fill. Judy Gailen’s original set — with its stai chair and deep green gloom behind — did just that, There should be a shrewd lighting design. The Man must disap- pear into utter blackness on occasion and reappear just as sud. denly, just as he would in the Governess’ mind. There is a certain cinematic spook-house quality to this, true, but it is the only con- cession we should make to stage trickery. I am particularly fond of footlights and looming shadows. Acting Each role is a challenge. The Man must suggest a ied ocar i — with just his body and voice. ters — men, women, children wi ; Butit’s a challenge that a splendid actor and a clever director can ave a great lime wil man must navigate through narra- Woman must navigate ‘ h 2) ith. The tion, dialogue, and a state of mind that care eee and, Rally, 2 nae 5 determination to fear, panic, ina for- tion to headstrong be played in a Fe Id ferocious evangelical fervor. Both roles shou ie mal presentational style. English accents a! wu vv CiOne Last Riddle Who is the narrator of The Turn of the Screw? Most people might forget that the book has a complicated framing device. It works this way: 1) There is a nameless, omniscient narrator (presumably Henry James) who tells us about a man named “Douglas” who gave him a ghost story to read. 2) There is Douglas himself, whose story was told to him by a woman, “a charming person ... she was ten years older than I. She was my sister's governess ... I found her at home on my com- ing down the second summer.” The story, Douglas says, was told to him by the governess and then given to him in manuscript form, written in “old faded ink in the most beautiful hand.” 3) There is the unnamed governess whose narrative makes up the remaining 95% of the novella (and whose prose style — albeit fevered — is suspiciously similar to that of Henry James). The novella ends “inside” the governess’ manuscript. James never returns to the other two elements of his three-part framing device. (Keep in mind that The Turn of the Screw was a serialized novella. By the time James’ readers got to the eleventh and final climactic installment they’d most likely forgotten about Douglas and the rest of it long before) Still, I’ve always been fascinated by who this “Douglas” is. James takes pains to note that the narrative is the tale of a 20-year-old governess who takes charge of a little girl and her 10 year old brother when he is sent down from boarding school one summer. Again, look at what Douglas says: “ ... she was ten years older than I. She was my sister’s governess ... I found her at home on my coming down the second summer.” Could “Douglas” be Miles? We never learn Miles and Flora’s last name. If so, what does that say about the governess’ story? Is any of it true? What did James intend to suggest by such parallels? But if Douglas isn’t Miles, aren’t these parallels rather portentous veurnice wi Cicoincidences? On the other hand, if Miles is the uncredited : . . rator, is he narrating from the grave? Nar. You see the difficulties T haven't attempted to answer these nagging questions, the play for audiences to chew over. Don’t make any p decision that firmly sides with either one interpretati, other. Give the people something to argue about on the but it’s in TOduction ion or the way home, VueUINIcuU vil UCTHE TURN OF THE SCREW After @ moment in darkness, a light suddenly comes up on the Man sitting in a chair. He looks at the audience for a beat. MAN. (Slowly, deliberately.) “A ghost story — that tells the tale — of an apparition appearing to a child — always lends the tale a certain ‘turn of the screw.’ But if one child — lends the tale one turn — what then can be said — of two children? (Pause.) The answer is, of course — two children give two turns.” (More naturally now.) The woman was my sister’s governess. She was ten years my senior. A very agreeable woman; very worthy. (Out of the darkness we realize a Woman is standing behind the Man, facing U. She turns. Her appearance is composed but anxious.) She told me the story in the garden. “The best stories,” she said, “always begin in the garden. Aman, a woman, a forbidden fruit; the loss of innocence, the dis- covery of something altogether ... not.” The details: a letter, a locket, a riddle, a name. The words are her own — written in her diary in faded ink on the pages of seven days. This is the story she tells. It is a story of terror ... and horror ... and death. It made my very heart — stop. (The Governess faces the Audience.) GOVERNESS. “June 17, 1872.” MAN. “The first day. I meet my Destiny.” GOVERNESS. — (Very energetic.) The only daughter of a poor country parson, I have come up to London, at the age of 20, in trepidation, to answer in person an advertisement that has already placed me in brief correspondence with a prospective patron, a gentleman of great wealth and stature, a bachelor in the prime of life in his imposing house on Harley Street! (The ayx the Uncle. He stands. The Governess steps fory ward, Man fila f pildren! tic.) Trove el (Deadpan.) Lacs} (Taken aback. nise them. ) Oh! flesh of course. Love them in the flesh, GOVERN UNCLI (silkily.) Not in the f f Degpise them figuratively. 1 mean. Figure of speech. In theory. As a not my miece. Don’t despise them, ny nephew. concept, Now " , well, they're actually quite, quite real child! hen: this position should be quite . Real house. Gardens and a lake 1 or at least imaginative in the out front. There is no mime.) opts, the} I like a real UNCLE. Eveing hee) Well, ¢ cour sort of thing! Real children, vt a housekeeper: al either ance thereof. Sherry? (They look s, No, thank you. They're not cane appeat Quite. GOVERNESS. Thanks. UNCLE. Now: Business. Background. TI though no one knows why. It is in Essex, Family place, many years, never 8° down. Bi Elsinore: battlements and towers, water below and ben Rather a ship at sea, Bly. Very romantic, if that’s your bent. GOVERNESS. [am a romantic at heart. UNCLE, Twelve months ago I was left, by the deaths of my brother and his wife, guardian to my nephew and niece. They are delightful creatures. GOVERNESS. I'm sure. UNCLE. Never see them. Never go down. It's awkward. Iam 4 bachelor. I have no experience of children. GOVERNESS. I’m certain you've done every' he house is called Bly, for that’s where it is. jit like Hamlet's eath. thing within your power. UNCLE. There are no i oth GOVERN nes venation’ UNCLE. Family. Awkwar i i GOVERNES ence eae vviul CiUNCLE. And my a/fais take up all my time GOVERNESS. Lunderstand. UNCLE. You doi GOVERNESS, Not cnough fine. UNCLE. You sce the conflict. GOVERNESS, Persuasively: UNCLE. TL need a woman. I need courage and fineness and a pure heart to guide them. It is a challenge, but the woman [ choose must not shrink from that. So many young women, well, they are the very personification of aversion. You're not that, are your “Aversion”? GOVERNESS. | (Taken aback.) A — what? UNCLE. (Deadpan.) Aversion. You're not averse to a challenge, are you? GOVERNESS. — (Realizes, relieved.) Oh ... no. 1 enjoy a challenge. I's hard to know, sometimes, what’s best for a child. UNCLE. What children want is a mystery. GOVERNESS. We were all children once. What we want ... is affection. Love. Protection. There’s nothing like a child in pain. UNCLE, ing her carefully.) The girl is there now, the boy is away at school until the end of term. You will go to Bly then? Immediately? Provided of course that the salary and such are to your satisfaction? GOVERNESS. Iam more than satisfied, si UNCLE. A satisfied woman, our very goal in life. As governess at Bly you will receive all monies from my solicitors. I'll send with you certain /etters, instructions, that sort of thing. But you — you shall be in supreme authority! GOVERNESS. Delighted.) Oh-ho! UNCLE. (Change in tone.) You shall be lonely. You shall be very lonely. Do you fear loneliness? GOVERNESS. (Simply.) I do not fear what I know. UNCLE. And I should tell you: there have been ... other young women who have sat in this room — gloves on, eyes expectant — for whom the sacrifice appeared to be ... prohibitive. GOVERNESS. “Prohibitive.” It sounds like a plot of heaven. Why prohibitive? UNCLE. Because of my main condition: (He takes her hand. She reacts to this.) That you should never trouble me. (Beat.) Never. Never. Neither appeal, nor complain, not write about anything. 13 yveaurnicu wil Cect all questions and adversity yourself. F, OSI. ETO enter Bly, our communication is “hush.” SH) ™M the You must m Hhhnh, moment you Have Lsedtuced you? Sess. (Overrome.) What... are iheiinammens (Smiles.) Mies. And Flora. GOVERNESS: "smiles.) Miles and Flora. (Beat) Miles and ‘Pause.) do. Lean | ‘ill! | mean, yes, I promise! | will nd Flr e, (Paper wil be cared for, and I shall be the joy of my litel (4 he drops her hand.) UNCLE. Success. T have seduced you. GOVERNESS. A question though? The children have been in your care for one year. Am I their first governess? Oh, no. There was 4 woman. UNCLE. GOVERNESS. She moved on? (Beat.) . She went away. God be with you. (The Man moves away. The Woman turns D.) GOVERNESS. “The 18th of June, 1872.” MAN. “The second day. I am come to Bly.” GOVERNESS. By the next ‘norning, my heart is beating with } n. As I prepare for my journey, my head is full of doubts. I have never had charge of children before. I am sure I am not up to the task. I imagine the worst! It is in this state of rind I spend the long hours in the bumping swinging coach that carries me towards my fears. MAN Whip-crack. Wheel-rattle. GOVERNESS. I suppose I had expected, or had dreaded, some- thing so dreary that what actually greeted me upon turning through the gates was a tremendous surprise! First: the shade of tt broad, beech avenue which sweeps “P the great lawn past | sparkling blue lake with its own green island shimmering in the | sun; above: a looming, Gothic tower over which rooks circled and cawed in the golden sky; and then finally: the great mansion itself, the true splendor of which makes me feel in the instant that J have at last come to life! (The Man moves D. into the light as irs. Grose, a hand held at the side as if clutching @ small child.) MRS. or _ Effasve) I'm Mrs. Grose, the housekeePer c to Bly en * Terk pan Mrs. Grose, thank you so did not tell me it was so very bi eae employer so very bright and beautiful! UNC expectaio very much, in London ee ae 14MRS. GROSE. The master loves his surprises. GOVERNI It is a wonder! 1 am astonished by its loveliness, I truly am, But: (She kneels and faces the unseen child.) But not as astonished as I am by the loveliness of this small treasure. You must be Flora. Oh, Flora, Flora, you are an angel. | wonder your good uncle did not make more a point of it to me, lest of course he did not wish to further turn your pretty head! And such a pret- ty frock and such a beautiful locket round your neck! Oh, we shall be such good friends, Flora, sweet Flora, lovely, lovely Flora. MRS. GROSE. Flora doesn’t speak, miss. (The Governess looks up.) Surprise! GOVERNESS. A physiological — ? MRS. GROSE. She simply doesn’t. She's ... shy. GOVERNESS. Well. So am I. That’s why we'll be such good com- panions, Flora. When I was a young girl in my father’s parish, T spent many hours alone. If you counted up the hours I probably spent years not speaking a word. But in the end I spoke, and spoke a good deal, and speak still I do. And by heavens, yes ... I think I can see a smile, a shy, widening delightful smile behind Mrs. Grose’s petticoats. Silence is a virtue, Flora. Silence makes a stupid girl wise, and a clever girl a genius. MRS. GROSE. She’s smiling, miss. She has not smiled for such a long time. GOVERNESS. (Putting out a hand.) Will you do me the honor, Miss Flora, of showing me our fine, new home? (A moment. The Governess’ hand squeezes.) Success! 1 have seduced her! (The Man turns away into the darkness, The Governess faces out front, “Flora’s hand” still “neld.”) Through the garden Flora leads me to the lake where we find an old rowboat banked amid the reeds, and there at the edge of our small sea we sit on the soft grey wood of our tiny ves- sel, holding hands under the shade of the great tower of Bly. (She sits on the stage.) | am in love with the child. When I was small, I knew no other children. My mother was dead. My father was harsh. Our scant vicarage home was so cramped and dark and ... worthy. I so want Flora to love me as I love her. I want — more than life itself — to hold her and protect her. (After a moment, the Governess begins to sing a lullaby. When it is over, she stands.) When the sun begins to die away, Flora takes my hand, and as she does she leans down beneath the reeds and plucks such a wildflower — not a buttercup, not a bluebell — but a nightshade. We walk 15pack to the house through the darkening gloom, and as we ‘crush of beech a kingfisher sobs — (The Man is ‘ps ard under a he: som the gloom.) ” AN, (Asad bird's swoon.) OW — Ohhh. JVERNESS. — somewhere over water — Oh — Ohhh. __ like the cry of a broken heart. That night, after irs and put Flora to bed in my room — for | Jora and I shall sleep together — Mrs. Grose ec universe. (The Man moves D. as Mrs, we have gone upstai have decreed that Fi and I go below to plan th Grose.) MRS. GROSE Indeed, miss, as you say again, a beautiful child indeed. And if you think well of the little lady, well, then, you wilt be carried away by the little gentleman. GOVERNESS. That's why T’ve come — to be carried away. I'm rather easily carried away, I fear. MRS. GROSE. Were you carried away in Harley Street? The master, You wouldn’t be the first. (The Governess smiles.) And you won't be the last. GOVERNESS. (Smile drops.) The master is a most persuasive presence. Is it true: he never comes. down? MRS. GROSE. He never came. I’m glad you’re here, miss. It’s been very lonely all this time, just me and the little baby. GOVERNESS. Well, the three of us shall make quite a happy lit tle family, I am sure. MRS. GROSE. As you say, miss — at least until the morning. GOVERNESS. The morning? MRS. GROSE. When the coach arrives. Miles. He returns from school tomorrow. GOVERNESS. But... I did not expect him till the end of term. MRS. GROSE. The master sent this letter down with you. (They do not mime the letter.) aor (Reads. "My good women: Expect my nephew by the morning coach, Enclosed please find sealed this missive ff0™ bis headmaster detailing the situation, Deal with it. But not @ school. He 1 (Pause.) Miles has been dismissed — sent down from hool. He may not return — ever. MRS. GROSE. Miss? : GOVERNESS, * : Miles’ behaviory yen {Uy Fegretfully requires I report Master ‘are of a nature injurious to the other children.} And hence he must never return to us.” (Beat.) Mrs. Grose, is Miles ... imperfect? MRS. GROSE. Oh, he's searce ten years old! One might as well believe il of the Tittle lady. GOVERNESS. — But — you've never known Miles to be to be bad, have you? MRS. GROSE. Oh. Well. Yes, indeed, miss, and thank God! A boy who is never bad is no boy for me! GOVERNESS. Oh, yes, I see your meaning! We ... we want a boy with fire! MRS. GROSE. With spirit! GOVERNESS. We want a boy with fire and spirit! (Beat.) OF course, they do use the words “corruption,” “contamination,” and “unspeakable.” MRS. GROSE. Well, there’s spirit and there’s spirit, miss. GOVERNESS. Mrs. Grose? The lady who was here before me — Did she see anything in the boy that ... wasn’t right? MRS. GROSE. She never said. GOVERNESS. Tell me about her. MRS. GROSE. She was young and pretty. Almost as young and pretty as you. GOVERNESS. He seems to like us young and pretty. MRS. GROSE. (Darkly.) Oh, he did. It was how he liked all of them. GOVERNESS. The master? MRS. GROSE. (Caught off guard.) Oh. Why ... yes ... the master. GOVERNESS. No, no, wait. You were speaking of someone else. MRS. GROSE. Oh, who else would I be speaking of, miss? There is no other. (The Governess opens her mouth to speak.) You were asking about your predecessor, miss. The answer is simple: she wasn't careful. GOVERNESS. Did ... she stay here long? MRS. GROSE. Long enough. She went away. GOVERNESS. “Went away?” MRS. GROSE. (After a beat.) She died. (Pause.) GOVERNESS. She was taken ill. MRS. GROSE. She went off one night. And then she was dead. Didn’t the master tell you this? GOVERNESS. (After a beat.) Of course he did. What ... was the lady’s name? 17 vealMRS. GROSE. Jessel. (She turns.) It has been a long time since T've said her name jate. Welcome to Bly, miss. Lock your door, The house drafts are powerful in the night. (Mrs. Grose moves U, again. The Governess goes up the staircase, speaking: ) GOVERNESS. When I return to my room I find upon my pillow a gift. It isa locket. Flora must have risen in the night and placed this on my bed. Inside the small cameo are two portraits, painted miniatures. In the dim and by my candlelight I can just make out the faces: the red locks of the female, the deeper crimson of the male. Miles and Flora? By an unknown hand. I kiss their pictures, put the chain around my neck, and turn — (Gasps.) What I see before me is a figure of a woman all in black, alone in an island of darkness. We stare at each other ... until I realize it is me. In the corner of the room there is a full-length mirror. I have turned to look at my own body in the glass. My father’s house had no mir- rors. (She turns, looking at herself in the “mirror.”) I have never seen the whole of me before. MAN. Oh-obh. Oh-ohh. GOVERNESS. (Lights change. She looks out front.) “June 19, 1872.” MAN. (As Narrator.) “The third day. The Gentleman returns to Bly. GOVERNESS. (Turning to him.) Itis a great pleasure to meet you, Miles. (The Man becomes Miles.) MILES. Thank you, miss. It’s very nice to meet you too. Where's Flora? GOVERNESS. I left her with the housekeeper helping to make Icoming pudding. May I go to her, miss? Yes, you may. I shouldn't wish to keep two such loving siblings apart. MILES. Thank you. GOVERNESS. But I do hope that we shall pass many happy hours, Miles. Regardless of what may have transpired at your school, I want to be your friend. You understand, Miles? MILES. Yes, miss. May I go to Flora now, miss? GOVERN: Yes, Miles, you may. MILES. Thank you, miss. GOVERNESS. Miles? your v Would you like to kiss me? (Beat.)MILES. Where, miss? (The Governess moves to him and hisses his head.) GOVERNE Go on. Your things will be taken to the master’s room. You're old enough now, (The Man moves upstage.) He is perfect. /shall carry him away. Before dinner I take a stroll in the garden of my “Hamlet's Elsinore"— the rooks in the sky, the beeches whispering in the last breeze. I believe Lam up to the challenge! I dare say I fancy myself a remarkable young woman! ‘And someday this remarkability will be more publicly remarked upon. Someday, sometime soon, he will appear and approve — with his light, in his handsome face. I am here to protect and defend his little creatures — his children now. I have heard stories of masters and governesses before — it is not unknown — and there is Jane Eyre’s success to comfort my improbabilities. This is my magnificent chance! But still I ask myself: What would bring the master here? I am deep within the garden when it comes into view. All the sounds stop. What arrests me on the spot is the sense that my imagination has, in a flash, turned real: he does stand there! High up, in the clear twilight, at the very top of the tower a figure stands upon the battlement. But it is not the person Thad imagined. I have not seen this face before. We look deep at each other — as if in a mutual challenge. Then he slowly changes his place — passing to the opposite corner of the tower. And he is gone. (Suddenly the Man appears out of the darkness.) MAN. Miss! (The Governess starts.) GOVERNESS. (Gasps.) Oh! (We realize the Man has become Mrs. Grose. The Governess catches her breath.) Mrs. Grose...! MRS. GROSE. Dinner is served, miss. Is something the matter, miss? (Pause, as the Governess considers whether to tell Mrs. Grose what has happened. Finally:) GOVERNESS. It’s nothing, Mrs. Grose. Let’s go to the children. MRS. GROSE. Yes, miss. (Mrs. Grose turns away. The Governess pauses a beat then follows.) GOVERNESS. That night at dinner, I dine at the head of the table, where the mistress sits, Miles and Flora at my side. It is too early to go to bed. Miles? What shall we do? Games? Charades? Do you play any instruments? (The Man becomes Miles.) MILES. The piano, miss. GOVERNESS. They taught you that at school, did they? MILES. No. GOVERNESS. Then where did you learn to play? 9 19 j wu vie Cimt it here, miss. (Realizing) Ah. MILES. Would you like me to play, miss? GOVER! S. IT would indeed! How about you, Flo — MILES. (/nlerrupting.) Flora’s fond of music, miss, I know what she likes. GOVERNESS. Well, then! To the nursery we go! (They move.) We have not spoken of “the other lady's” departure from their lives, but surely there are feelings there, and I do not believe it right to keep such feelings locked and shuttered. If Miss Jessel had brought music to their lives, well, why lock Miss Jessel away just because she is dead? MIL I warn you, miss: I do not play well. GOVERNESS. Then / promise to listen very badly. Ah-hah-ha-ha- ha-ha! MILES. (Deadpan.) You're funny, miss. (Miles sits in the chair and puts his hands on his lap. He does not mime playing the piano, but rather ‘makes the notes of the piano with his voice. It sounds like a talented young person struggling at a piano. The music is Saint-Saens’ “Introduction Et Marche Royale Du Lion.”* The music” is heard under the dialogue.) GOVERNESS. (Out front.) His playing is so charming, childlike in its naiveté, adult in its intensity. I understand what happened to Miles at that school. He was simply too fine and fair for that vindictive, horrid, unclean school-world! My eyes stray above Miles’ small frame to the nursery window. Rain streaks the panes, caught in the candlelight, like red rivulets, blackness framing the night beyond. And I see him. (Music changes to Saint-Saens’ Danse ‘Macabre.”*) At the window. In the night. It is the same face. He stares deep and hard at me. We recognize each other. But he has not come for me. He is staring at the fingers on the keys. He has come for someone else. Miles! (The Man as Miles stops “playing.”) MILES. Something wrong, miss? (The Man as Flora claps three times.) GOVERNESS. (Sharp.) Stop it, Flora! (The Man stops.) Mrs. Grose! (The Man stands becoming Mrs. Grose.) MRS. GROSE. Yes, miss? GOVERNESS. Put the children to bed! MRS. GROSE. Perplexed.) Yes, miss. (The Man moves U., as the Governess paces.) GOVERNESS. (To audience.) When the children are safe and * See Special Note on Songs and Recordings on copyright page.wan, Ltell Mis. Grose my information, (Zo Mrs. Grose.) Mrs Grose. we are not alone at Bly. MRS. GROSE. Not alone? GOVERNESS. Did you sec his face to0? Looking in through that window? Such an extraordinary looking man! MRS. GROSE, Where did he go? GOVERN I don’t know! The moment I stood he was gone! MRS. GROSE. Have you seen him before? Yes. On the tower. This afternoon. You saw a stranger this afternoon? You didn’t tell He was on the tower this afternoon, staring down his way in, defied me on the spot, and then stole away as he had come. He’s a horror! A “horror.” (Defensive.) 1 saw him. MRS. GROSE. Yes, miss. GOVERNESS. As I see you. MRS. GROSE. Of course, miss. GOVERN How did he get in, Mrs. Grose? MRS. GROSE. (Deadpan.) have had no opportunity to quiz him, miss. Does he only peep? GOVERNESS. You think I'm making up stories? MRS. GROSE. Well, you've had a long day — GOVERNESS. Never mind. Go to bed, Mrs. Grose, if you don’t believe me. MRS. GROSE. Miss — GOVERNESS. | will stay up and watch the children. Goodnight, Mrs. Grose, I’ll let you know the next time I see a man who shouldn’t be at Bly! (Governess turns. Mrs, Grose stops her.) MRS. GROSE. Miss — Wait. As, as you were the one who saw this man — well, describe what he’s like? (Pause.) GOVERNESS. He's like nobody. He has red hair, and a pale face, long, good features, rather queer whiskers, red, as red as his hair. His mouth is wide and his lips are thin. And his eyes ... his eyes are sharp, strange, fixed. MRS. GROSE. (Hushed.) Would you call him a gentleman? GOVERNESS. (Beal.) No. No. He’s not a gentleman. MRS. GRC Would you call him handsome? GOVERNESS, (Beat, Yes, 21yar, And his dress? Would you call his clothes yung» 0 a5, GRC MRS. GR iswpicions,) Eight, But = GOVERNESS: ie as GROSE, Got wR x But they're not his own. AIRS. GROSE GOVERNESS AIRS. GROST GOVERNESS. You know him / MRS. GRO! (In anguish.) I've been dying to tell you, miss! GOVERNESS. Well, don't die before you tell me. (Beat.) MRS. GROSE. Quint. Peter Quint. I vowed I'd never say his ae gain, He was the master’s valet, When the master was here When the master let , Quint remained. a MRS. GROSE. He was “in charge.” Oh, he was very clever, miss, 5. No one could go against Quint. The power he had over that boy. The things that man could do — GOVERN And yet he was in charge of the children? MRS. GROSE. The master said as much. It was Quint’s own fancy. To play with them, to spoil them. Quint was much too free. He'd put on the Master's finery, and lead Miles off into the gar- den. “My boy's getting on,” he'd laugh, “He’s getting on!” He called himself the boy's “tutor.” He to Master Miles, as Miss Jessel No, they're not. (Beat.) What are you trying to say? They're the master’s clothes. very deep was to Flora Why didn’t Miss Jessel separate this creature from MRS. GROSE. Miss Jessel didn’t care. Why in heaven not? MRS. GROSE. She and Quint, they did things. GOVERNESS. What “things”? MRS. GROSE. Nothing nice. (Pause.) GOVERN (Lightly.) Tell me. MRS. GROSE. Miss, there are directions in which for the pres- ent I mustn't let myself go. GOVERNESS. When a woman says she is hesitant to go further, the full distance I fear is her only destination. As for Mr. Quint and his return here, we'll scour the grounds first thing. We'll find this trespasser, and send him packing — MRS. GROSE. “Trespasser”? GOVERNESS. — We'll call for the constable on th have him in irons. e morrow and 22er You don't understand, miss, MS oS Lunderstand he's a servant who's come back to— ee GROSE, Havent avy. (Silene) GOVERNESS. He's dead. ae igs. GROSE . Mr. Quint is dead, GOVERNESS. — Mrs. Grose: I appreciate the great decency of your not having hitherto spoken, but the time has certainly come ‘a abandon reticence. Tell me the story. How did Quint and Jessel die: What was there between them? \IRS. GROSE. Everything. She started a lady, miss. Like you. And he so below. She resisted at first, her Bible like a shield against her breast. But soon ... he did as he wished with her. It was what she desired. A lady, done to by the likes of him — wherever he liked, however he liked. They were infamous. Her always calling: “Peter Quint! Peter Quint, you devil!” In the garden. In the nurs- cry. In your room. And the children watching — watching the vile things they did, and saying such horrors, all of them whispering such vile, horrible words into each other’s ears. The house hissed like snakes. And then it stopped ... and the house was filled with Jessel’s weeping. She drowned herself. In the lake. They found her Bible floating in the reeds. She was better off that way, instead of seeing it through. A woman alone, in her “condition”? You know what they say, miss: The madhouses is full of governesses. GOVERNESS. And Quint? MRS. GROSE. It was unnatural. After all her weeping and him paying no mind ... still: when she drowned ... something hap- pened to Quint. He abandoned Miles and Flora, he gave them up. He got drunk every night, in the garden, in the nursery. GOVERNESS. In my room. MRS. GROSE. — and then one night — in winter — he dressed. in the Master’s silks, went off from the house, and never came back. When he was found, he was at the bottom of the tower, not 4 stone’s throw from the lake. The ice was thick on his brow, and those small, fixed eyes were cracked wide open, and his head was split in two from the fall. GOVERNESS. (Awed,) He loved her, Did they who found him call ian accident? MRS, € Jound hy The 5ROSE, The magistrate called it an accident. They who im were Miles and Flora, No one but me knows that, miss. magistrate thought J found Quint, not the little ones. I lied 23 we wil Ci veuunder oath. Oh, miss, you can’t have seen Quint! GOVE How could I know him then? How could | describe him? Show me a picture! Find one! MRS. GRC There aren't any. They burned them. GOVERNES Who? MRS. GROSE, The children. After Quint and Jessel died, Miles made Flora take everything and throw them into a fire. That was the last they ever said his name. That was the last Flora ever spoke at all, GOVERN And that’s the story? MRS. GROSE. You've come at the end of the story. GOVERNESS. I don't think so. (Musing. Peter Quint. Peter Quint. MRS. GROSE. What are you going to do? GOVERNESS. (Looks at her.) 1? MRS. GROSE. You are in authority. GOVERNESS. (Dawning.) Yes. The master has given me that. First, the children must not know. We must keep this visitation private. Never a hint. Never. Never. Promise, my dear. MRS. GROSE. 1 am sworn. And the master. Will you write the master about Quint? GOVERNESS. (After a beat.) No. MRS. GROSE. Nothing? GOVERNESS. Nota word. The master is not to be troubled, and we shall not break our vows. MRS. GROSE. Then I shall stand by you, miss. GOVERNESS. We shall stand together. Hold me, Mrs. Grose, | hold me! God is with us! We must love the children! (The Man turns away U. and into darkness. The Governess turns to face the audi- | ence.) In bed, I write. Iam alone, at the helm of a ship called Bly, moving through the sea at night. If only they knew how afraid Iam of water. I am alone, the heroine of their story, and I must see the | children safe. I must succeed where other young women — “gloves on, eyes expectant” — would so assuredly fail. The master: | though separated, we are really ‘ogether, he and I. We are united in the care of our children. They have nothing but me, and 1 ... I have them. Peter Quint. Peter Quint. Why are you here, you devil? MAN. Shhhh.... GOVERNESS. (Light change. She speaks out front.) “June 20, 1872.” MAN. (As Narrator.) “The fourth day. The Governess at the Lake.” GOVERNESS. At a picnic by the pond this afternoon I plan to question Miles about things past and present. Flora runs off after a 24 ISU vviul UCack and red butterfly that hovers over the old rowboat ingored at the ed and turn to see Miles standing over me. (The Man stands aurr her) MILES. Do you think me bad? GOVERNESS. Bad? MILES. You seemed upset, Last night. Did you think my playing ge of our small sea. Linhale deeply, to gather my courage — ba GOVERNESS. Oh. No, I adored your playing, Miles. | had a headache is all. From the strain of reading, In fact: Lam today still having trouble with my eyes. Would you care to read tome? I'd like to hear your voice wrapped around my book. What do you say? MILES. I don’t like to say, miss. GOVERNESS. Are you troubled, Miles? MILES. Not really. GOVERNESS. Would you like to play? MILES. I'm too old to play. GOVERNESS. Ohhh. MILES. I like a real thing. GOVERNESS. So do I. MILES. I like to spin. GOVERNESS. That's not playing? MILES. I spin for real. Would you like to see? GOVERNESS. I would! (Beat.) MILES. Iam not in the spinning mood. GOVERNESS. You're a tease, Miles. MILES. I have been told that. GOVERNESS. Where? At school? (Beat.) You know, girls aren't sent off to school. My father taught me at home. He only let me read the Bible. But I’d sneak in other books — poems — romances. | had to read fast though, because if he found out I was deceiving him, he’d take the books before I could finish. Sometimes I'd have to read the last page first just to know how the story ended, in case my book was ... torn to bits or burnt. Mine was not a happy education. Were you very happy at your school, Miles? MILES. I'm happy enough anywhere. GOVERNESS, You know, [can teach you quite a lot, Miles. I can teach you the stars and planets, the seven seas and the five senses — MILES. /already know the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch! I also know the seven seas, the eight planets, the geogra- 25 vil Cei... | phy of Eden and where little babies come from. Wh teach me? (Beat) eS GOVERNESS. Well, 'm sure ['1l think of something, NILES. Irdoesn’t matter. You're Mora’s tutor, not mine, GOVERNESS. (Covering,) Well. Mora is far better behaved th, su, Hora would read to me if Tasked. ran MILES. If she could speak. GOVERNESS. Miles. MILES. And I would speak if I could read. (Looks away.) It’s a dis. © My eyes don’t see the words in the right order. They go all at can yo around GOVERN: But ... if you can’t read, then how did you learn to play the piano so beautifully? MILES. Different. One can learn by listening, And by touching, GOVERNESS. Well, then. If you can’t read to me, [shall tell you stories. But you'll have to trust the teller. MILES. I trust you. GOVERNESS. Do you? MILI My uncle does, so we all must. (Beat.) Would you like to see my uncle come down, miss? GOVERNESS. Why, I want whatever your uncle wishes. MILES. If you wanted him to come, he would. You could write him. GOVERNESS. I don’t think I shall, Miles. MILES. Well, then — what would make him come down? We should think about that, (Beat.) Do you like riddles? GOVERNESS. Why, yes, I do. MILES. We like riddles too. Would you like to play a game of rid- dles? GOVERNESS. Well, I’m not very clever. MILI That's all right. You start. You're the governess. GOVERNESS. Well, then: here’s one: What most resembles half a red apple? MILES. (Jmmediately.) The other half. ee (Delighted.) Quite right! How very smart of you, Miles! MILES. Thank you, miss. Do another. GOVERNESS, Very well. Why does the ocean get so angry? MILES. (Quickly.) Because it’s so often crossed. GOVERNESS. (Taken aback.) Quite right. 26MILES. Thank you, miss. Do another GOVERNESS. (Wary.) Well ... MILES. No, this is fun. GOVERNESS. Sighs.) Ahh... what was the longest day of Adam's life? MILES. (Quickly.) The one on which there was no Eve. GOVERNESS. When is a woman duplicated? MILES. (Quickly.) When she’s beside he rself, GOVERNESS. What's the best way to keep someone's love? MILES. Don't return it. (Beat.) GOVERNESS. (Perturbed.) Do you know any riddles, Miles? MILES. (Smiles.) “32 dancers on a red hill now they dance now they prance now they stand still.” What am I? GOVERNESS. (Pause, thinks.) Teeth. MILES. Quite right. GOVERNESS. (Smiles.) Do another. MILES. When is it a good thing to lose your temper? GOVERNESS. (Fast.) When you have a bad one. Another. MILES. “One can possess me without seeing me. One can carry me without feeling me. One can give me without having me.” Give up? A cuckold’s horns. GOVERNESS. (Beat — shocked.) Miles. Who taught you a riddle like th —? MILES. “I am unusual. I have no soul and no body. One cannot see me, but one can hear me. Only a living being can give me life. I die at the moment I am born.” What am I? (Pause.) GOVERNESS. (Eyes wide.) A ghost. MILES. A ghost? No, silly. Music. GOVERNESS. (After a beat, laughs nervously.) Oh! Of course! MILES. One last one: What's twice as frightening as a ghost? Give up? Two ghosts. (The Man looks out. So does the Governess.) GOVERNESS. (To audience.) It is then I see her. We had been speaking long enough not to notice what little Flora was doing. Flora, my diminutive Ophelia, starting to move into the water through the reeds. On the tiny island in the middle of our sea we 27" had an interested spectator in black and red beckoning tg MIL Floral What did Flora sec? MILES. GOVER) Could it be a woman in black, hair of red, pate ag h? Does she wear a locket? : LES. Flora! Could Flora see it? Would she cry out? GOVERNESS and MILES. FLORA! GOVERN Flora turns from the direction of the apparition, her wet petticoats in a white cloud swirl behind her: She stares at me, as if trying to decide which way to go. And then Miles raises his hand — (Miles raises his hand.) — and Flora comes back towards us through the reeds. When I have them both hurrying back towards the house, I tun around. Miss Jessel ... was still there. The children safe in bed, I tell Mrs. Grose. MRS. GRC (Incredulous.) Miss Jessel? GOVERNESS. (Out front.) Mrs. Grose does not believe me. I | describe Miss Jessel. MRS. GROSE. (Crosses herself.) JESSEL. GOVERNESS. Mrs. Grose believes me. MRS. GROSE. And the children? (Pause.) GOVERNESS. Well, they didn't say a word, of course, but... MRS. GROSE. You think they saw her. GOVERNESS. (Beat.) | cannot say. MRS. GROSE. Is there any evidence they glimpsed her form? GOVERNESS. (Thinking hard.) Well ... I'm sure I’m mistaken, but: While Flora moved off into the water ... I could swear Miles tried to distract me. MRS. GROSE. Why would he want to do that? GOVERNESS. (Remembering. ) “What children want is a mystery.” (A beat.) We must learn what these horrors are after. I think I'll stay up a bit longer this evening. MRS. GROSE. Stay up alone? , GOVERNESS. I'd have difficulty sleeping anyway. I'll be fine. I'll have my candle, a cup of tea and the Good Book to keep me safe. MRS. GROSE. Yes, miss. As you wish, miss. (Mrs. Grose goes up the 28steps and disappears into the darkness. The Governess is alone.) GOVERNESS. “Midnight. June 21, 1872.” MAN. (From above.) “The fifth day. The Lullaby and The Riddle.” (The Governess sits and acts as if she is reading.) GOVERNESS. (Reads.) “Now the serpent was more subtle than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the Woman: Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of the tree in the garden? And the Woman spoke: God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die —” MAN. (From the darkness.) Creak. Footfall. (Pause. Governess rises. She goes to the bottom of the steps. She stops. She listens. Finally she goes back to the chair and “reads” again.) GOVERNESS. “And the serpent replied: In the day ye eat there- of the fruit, then your eyes shall be opened, and Ye shall be as Gods, and ye shall know all good and —” MAN. Footfall. (Pause. The man begins to hum. It is the lullaby the Governess hummed to Flora. The Governess looks up. Beat. Governess rises. She goes slowly up the steps, looking above her all the while. At the top, she stops. She listens to the melody.) GOVERNESS. It isa lullaby. A children’s melody in a high, sweet voice behind the nursery door. I reach for my key. (The Man’s humming stops.) MAN. Jangle. Dead-bolt. Click. (Governess takes one step foreword.) GOVERNESS. Flora! Flora ... what are you doing in the nursery this time of night? Was that you humming? (The Governess shakes her head as if mirroring Flora’s shaking head.) You shake your head? No? Then who was it? Come away from the window, Flora. Go back to our room. (Governess watches the unseen Flora go out. Governess looks out front.) 1 look out the window. There — below — in the garden, in the moonlight, deep within the nightshade — is Miles. (Miles appears D. staring up and out front. He begins to spin in place.) In his white nightclothes. Staring up at the house. Staring up above me. Staring up at the tower where I saw Quint! (Gasps. Miles stops spinning. He dashes off into darkness. The governess rushes down the top flight of steps.) By the time I reach his room, Miles is under the sheets — (Miles appears in another pool of light, this time on the landing. His posture is stiff, his eyes are closed.) — his eyes closed, breathing heavily, his face flushed and glistening. (The Governess reaches out to touch him, but hesitates. She pulls away.) Ido not pretend to wake his pretended sleep. (The pool of light goes 29sonerness bg to descend the lose fight of eway to descend the stairs below — 2 “PS Lg from darkness.) SS8s9sssssssssss, off Miles. The ( into the passay MAN. (Lisses COVERNESS. (Slops.)—and my candle goes out, (hy Gn is frozen on the steps ) Above me the windows, like cathedral mess ave a carve of moonlight in the dark. (The Man awh dow note. A long pause. The Governess looks up the steps.) Pe Peter Quint? Is that you, Peter Quint? T can see you, 1 here in the darkness, for hours. The clock strikes one, MAN. One GOVERNE: Two. MAD One, two. GOVERNESS. Three. MAN. One, two, three. GOVERNESS. The darkness is my friend, Peter Quint. I can see your face in the shadows. It changes shape and expression Sometimes smiling with your fine, white teeth, other times con torted in a fiendish gash. Can you see the whole of me— in gown upon the stair? My courage knows no bounds, Why is th no one at Bly to witness my boldness? The clock strikes — MAN. One, two, three, four: GOVERNESS. Peter Quint! Peter Quint! What do you want here? (But there is no there. Another sound comes from the darkness.) MAN. (From darkness.) SHhhhhhhhhhhbhhhhhhhh! Flip. Flip, Flip. Flip. Flip. (Governess turns and looks down at her chair. A single light illuminates the Governess. She moves to the chair.) GOVERNESS. The curious fingers of an unsuspected draft have turned the pages of the Bible and there — written in the margin of Genesis, in the shaken scrawl of a female hand — is a riddle: “What comes between a man and a woman but allows everything?” “What comes between a man and a woman ... but allows everything?” (From the darkness, we hear the Man.) MAN. Oh — Ohhh. Oh — Ohhh. Oh — Ohhh. (Pause, as the Governess slowly sinks into the chair, The Man suddenly appears behind her out of the darkness.) Miss? GOVERNESS. (Shoots up.) AHHHH! (The Governess gasps. Ste squints as if shielding her eyes from light. We realize the Man is Mrs. at MRS. GROSE. Miss, it’s past dawn, have you been down here al night? (The Governess stares at Mrs. Grose.) You look a fright, mS, PS ng Mer Quings CAN Stang ny ere 30hare the matter? (Pause) BAP RNESS. We had visitors hast night... and we all got up te oN jean, Mis Grose, whose Bible is this F have been readinge AiRS GROSE, (Cinssing herself.) God Bless Us GOVERNESS: And do you recognize the writing? Aes GROSE. Gly if reading slowly.) Ws Jessel’ hand GOVERNESS. (Terns from her.) They were here. Last night, in the vasers. in the garden, Quint and Jessel. And the children knew, MRS. GROSE. Oh, lord, miss, then we must inform the master! GOVERNESS. What, write to him that his house is haunted and his nephew and niece the prey of devils? MRS. GROSE. Miss, he ought to be here — he ought to help. GOVERNESS. These spirits have a hold over the children more powerful than they had in life. They beckon to them, and the children come, and then they lie about it. Their uncle will never believe us. MRS. GROSE. But what do the specters want? GOVERNESS. If we can answer this riddle — then we'll know what the ghosts desire. I promised to fight for his children alone. The children are in my charge. We shall not write. MRS. GROSE. Tight.) Yes, miss. We shall not write. (Mrs. Grose moves away.) GOVERN! (To audience.) But that morning — as if the chil- dren had read my mind — Miles begins a chant designed to prick my confidence: (The Man becomes Miles.) MILES. When will uncle come? GOVERNESS. Miles asks. MILES. Flora misses him. GOVERNESS. Flora nods too. MILES. Write uncle, miss, please, you know how we want him. GOVERN. And later: MILES. Have you written uncle yet? GOVERNESS, Asks Miles. MILES. Flora pines for him. GOVERNESS. Flora pines too. MILES, Write uncle, please, miss, it is not too late. GOVERNESS, And by dark. MIL Uncle. Write him. Now. (Miles sits and “plays” “Danse Macabre, ”*) * See Special Note on Songs and Recordings on copyright page. 31 Su will Ci veu— GOVERNESS. They Joo somehow that Fam under the Master orders not to write, But F will not Fose patience nor teinpes) don't hate them, F love my innocent babies! Twant to prone them, to keep them innocent litle children forever! But they being fempled through the garden, and T must bring them back! They play: They smile, They laugh — such childike laughtey: Mivthful litle Miles, and Flora, the Silent Chuckler! Did ie teneh you how to laugh? What did he teach you, Miles? What do the spirits want? What happened at that school? “What comes betiveen a man and woman but allows...?” My head is pounding, and I crave release! And release comes ... and it comes in a rush! (Miles fin ishes on a strong note. The Governess turns out front.) “June 22, 1879." MAN. “The sixth day. The Tempest.” GOVERNESS. We walk through the graveyard to the chapel Saturday morning to lay flowers for the altar when the young gen- deman poses me a question I am unprepared for: MILES. When, please, miss, am I going back to school? (Beat.) GOVERNESS. You want to go back to school? You're barely here a week, Miles, you haven't even gone to the stable to visit your pony. MILES. I’m too old for ponies. GOVERNESS. Really? Don’t you like being back home? Home with your dear, own sister? MILES. Oh, yes, I like Flora well enough ... and ... and there's you of course, but ... but, well ... I'm “getting on” you see. GOVERNESS. “Getting on.” MILES. And a boy who’s getting on shouldn’t be so much in the company of ladies. A boy who’s getting on wants his own sort. GOVERNESS. There aren't many your sort, Miles. Unless of course dear Flora. You and Flora share so much, so many things I can’t even begin to imagine: mysteries, and secrets, and games — MILES. I'm too old for games, GOVERN. Isee. Too old for some things, just old enough for others? Like ... like going into the garden the other night? MILES. (A beat, turns from her, then casually.) So you did see me? GOVERNESS. Yes, I most certainly did. Why were you out there, Miles? MILES. (Fixes her with a stare.) If I tell you ... will you understand? GOVERNESS. I shall try. (Pause. Miles smiles sweetly.) MILES. I did it so you would think me bad. 32By going outside after midnight? MILES, When I'm bad ... Tam bad. GOVERNESS. Charming. But how could you be so sure I'd see you? MILES. L arranged it with Flora. She was to get up and look out the nursery window at me. Flora does anything I tell her. So, you see, it was all in good fun. GOVERNESS. Yes, I thought it was fun, too. You weren't out there to meet someone, were you? MILES. (Blinks.) Who would that be, miss? (They look deeply at each other. Finally, the Governess turns from him.) GOVERNESS. Well, you certainly won't do it again. MILES. No, not that again. GOVERNESS. Good. MILES. That was nothing. GOVERNESS. (Looks at Miles, then starts to move away.) We must not fall behind Flora and Mrs. Grose — MILES. (Asserting himself.) 1 do believe I asked you a question, miss: “When am I going back to school?” GOVERNESS. So much anxiousness in such a little boy. MILES. A boy has his desires, miss. GOVERNESS. At the ripe, old age of ten? MILES. “I am wise in my generation.” GOVERNESS. A quote from scripture, I am impressed! Did someone read that to you from her Bible? MILES. (A fixed stare.) School, miss: When am I going back? GOVERNESS. (After a beat.) Miles: Don’t you know why you’ve come home from school early? MILES. (Looks off.) I know my uncle sent a letter down with you. GOVERNESS. He did. MILES, What was in that letter, miss? (Governess moves to change her vantage point.) GOVERNESS. Don’t you know? (Pause.) Why would you want to go back to school now? Why would you want to leave your lovely home and your own dear sister so very soon? Unless — unless you were afraid of something here? Miles, is there something ... or someone ... at Bly you fear? Is that the real reason you want to go back? (Pause. ) MILES. You'd like my uncle to come down here, wouldn’t you? GOVERNESS, (Taken aback.) What I desire has nothing to do 33a But you're not allowed to trouble him beer wha e v1 . you? w, ; ieatve could geFanele t© come down. without your jal wha a Heats lve could do that... then would you help mews wdo eave Bho (Long pause) GOVERNESS. (Tying fo cover her interest.) How... would a ; do af FS. Something could happen. (Pause.) Where's Flora? GOVERNESS. | (Wary.) Miles — MILES. Have you seen little Flora? GOVERD She's up ahead with Mrs. Grose. Miles, you mean “something could happen”? MILES. (A finger to his lips.) Shhh. T'll — take care ~ of ey, thing. (Miles starts off.) GOVERN Miles! (Miles turns to her.) MILES. Miss? GOVERNESS. Miles, I — I've been wrestling with a question, Miles, one that’s been vexing me of late, and you're so... clever, Miles. I's a riddle. “What comes between a man and a woman, but allows everything?” MILES. (A slightly surprised look.) Why, miss, that's easy. A touch. (Miles kisses the Governess on the lips. Their kiss holds for a long moment The Governess” hands rise, tense, then flare out. Miles pulls away, smiles, and goes off into the darkness. Silence. The Governess’ hand flies to her lips. She speaks out front.) GOVERNESS. (In a rush.) Run .., run... run away! From the church to the park to the garden to the lake to the house to the steps to my room up above! Leave Bly! Immediately! Pack what I need and send for the rest! Leave a note and be done! (The Governess rushes to the top of the steps.) 1 open my bedroom door! (The Coverness looks out front, freezes in her tracks.) In the fading light I see her. Jessel, my weeping predecessor, standing before me in the gloom. Dishonored and tragic, her haggard beauty and her wnt terable woe. Why do you weep, you terrible, miserable woman? You have defeated me! Iam no heroine! I am alone and unable and untouched! I cannot save the children, they belong to you and thal devil, Peter Quint, Peter Quint! (The Governess shuts her eyes. Then she thers them. An idea has dawned. She looks to the side.) Petet re ad Quint... Peter Qu... His Name. Say His are Jos wouerness looks back out front looking for Miss, Jessel.) Jessel! What do ery. 34 veu Su(Beat. She moves away and down a few steps.) Tmust not flee. My gov- emess has given me the clue. I know now how to save the children. (The Governess goes down the steps. The Man appears and rushes to her.) MRS. GROSE. Miss, we was all worried! What happened to you at the church? GOVERNESS. (Full of power.) My dear, I've had my fill of churches. I came back to see a friend. I came back to have a meeting with Miss Jessel. MRS. GROSE. You spoke to her? GOVERNESS. She has shown me the way. I know why the specters have come to Bly, and I know why the children have been trying to bring them back! MRS. GROSE. “Bring them back"? But the lovely babies have been so good! GOVERNESS. The lovely babies haven't been good, they've just been clever. They've tried to scare me, they've tried to drive me away, they're not mine, they're not ours, they're Quint’s and that woman's, and they want to get hold of them. MRS. GROSE. But for what? GOVERNESS. Miles answered the riddle for me in the grave- yard: What comes between a man and a woman ... but allows every- thing? A touch. The ghosts want the children, so they can once again touch each other, enter each other, possess each other. But they can only possess each other by entering the children and possessing them. The children will lose their souls and become instruments of their vile physic! Miles and Flora can perform their foul deeds for them. In the nursery, in the garden, in — MRS. GROSE. But what can stop them? GOVERNESS. I can. I know how to stop the villains for good and all. MRS. GROSE. How? GOVERNESS. Hush, Mrs. Grose. SHHHH! I must start from the outer edges of the conspiracy. MRS. GROSE. Where do you begin? GOVERNESS. With Miles’ school, with the crimes his headmas- ter dared not speak. Why was Miles expelled? Is he stupid? Is he untidy? Is he illnatured? No. Miles is exquisite— so the reason can be only evil. And whatever evil he did there, someone taught it him. When I have discovered what crimes Miles committed at that school, I'll have Quint within my grasp. Mrs. Grose, you said the 35children haven't spoken his name since the day he died, Corrects MRS. GROSE. That's right, miss ( R (Smiles.) Where are the children now? MRS. GROSE, They're taking their naps — GOVERNESS. Good, | need paper and pen. T st art by writing their uncle. MRS. GROSE, Oh, thank God! GOVERNESS. I should have abandoned my restraint long age, The master must see, The master must witness what Lam to do, (She “holds” the locket for Mrs. Grose to see.) This is what we are fighting for Mis, Grose. Innocence. Beautiful, untouched innocence, ype Grose looks oddly at the Governess. The locket is “shut.”) Give me light for the master’s study, My father always said a burning candle was the symbol of flesh and mortality. Let us not burn at both ends, (Mrs. Grose moves away. The Governess sits to write. As if writing. ) “My dear, Please — forgive — inexperience — foolishness — a parsons gil — condition — your challenge — my adversaries — the children — lovely, lovely — demons — unspeakable — the man! — the woman! — my virtue — your touch — your touch — Help us! — Please — the children — save them — the children — save them — our children — come!” (The Man appears as Miles behind her.) MILES. Your candle’s out. GOVERNESS. | (Starts.) Miles! How did you know I was in here? MILES. I heard you. You're like a troop of cavalry. GOVERNESS. What is it you want, Miles, I have duties to per- form. MILES. Why did you run away in the churchyard? GOVERNESS. I didn’t run away. J stayed. Here is where the real challenge is. MILES. Is that a letter you’re writing? GOVERNESS. Yes. It is. MILES. Is it to my uncle? (Pause.) GOVERNESS. (Moving to leave.) Excuse me, Miles, I'm going upstairs to Flora now. MILES. You won't find Flora in her room. GOVERNESS. (Stops, turns.) Where is she, then? MILES. I told you: “I'd take care of everything.” (Miles smiles and exits into darkness.) GOVERNESS. (Turns, panicked.) Miles? Miles? Mrs. Grose! Mrs. Grose, is Flora with you? (Mrs. Grose “enters.”) 36MRS. GROSE, I thought you were looking in on her GOVERNESS. He tricked me! She'll be at the lake! Gome. (Out front.) A storm had come up, the clouds were purple smoke low above the wate MRS. GR« There she is! GOVERNESS. Flora, a short way off, stands before us in the old rowboat, As we arrive, she stoops straight down in her small ves sel and — as if she has been waiting for our appearance — plucks the mooring rope with one touch, and we watch as the knot unfurls and the coil snakes around her feet and the boat slides off across the dark waters. The devils know Iam afraid of water! MRS. GROSE. Flora! GOVERNESS. It begins to rain, and Mrs. Grose pitches into the waves, tearing against the reeds, her great petticoats, under which Flora had hid so charmingly just days before, billowing and thrashing, pulling her down beneath the white caps that now rise from the depths, the lightning cracking and splintering above the poor old woman’s head! MRS. GROSE, FLORA! (Lights off Mrs. Grose.) GOVERNESS. I look across the banks where Jessel stands on her small island, a white harbor in flashing light, the black ocean swirling a maelstrom round her. She isn’t staring at Flora in her vessel or Mrs. Grose whose calls are now choked by the sea that disappears her head from view. Jessel is staring up at the house where I know from the tower Quint will be conducting. I look to the lake again, my eyes whipped by the sleet and hail. Mrs. Grose is gone. And Flora’s ship is almost to the shore of Jessel’s island. (The Governess closes her eyes.) Wake up! Wake up! In a moment, I will be out of this nightmare, and I will find I am in my bed, in my father’s house, long before Bly, long before my trip to London! No Quint! No Jessel! No Flora or Miles or their uncle! Wake up! WAKE UP DAMN YOU! WAKE UP! (Lights on Mrs. Grose.) MRS. GROSE. (As if emerging from under water.) MISS! GOVERNESS. (Eyes pop open.) AHH! MRS. GROSE. (Rushing back to Governess, holding “Flora.”)I've got her miss. Help me! Come on, miss, give me your hand! Can’t you see the child is weeping? (Pause.) GOVERNESS. | (Fierce.) She isn’t weeping! She's laughing at me, she’s smiling! She’d almost made it, why not smile? Her smile, her smile, like a flash, like the glitter of a drawn blade! 37Cover your ears, Floral (Raging. You saw her, didn't you, py ee her still « You're hurting her, miss, you're 4 Mttiny the MRS: GROSE GOVERNESS her (hen and you 8 MRS. GROSE child! ; - GOVERNESS. Look, Floray she's still there! Telli ji OU see hy er! 1 sce Miss Jessel! 1 You Tell us vou MRS. GROSE: Miss! GOVERNESS. Iv’s proof! She is there, I am justified: there. Lam neither cruel nor mad! She's there, you litle Se ‘ Uunhap. hing! You see! pvt See what? MRS. GRO} GOVERNESS. She's big as a blazing fire! Look — 1 MRS. GRO: She isn’t there. Nobody's there. Miss Jesse dead, The poor girl's dead and buried. Weknow, don't we, Fon Come along, my sweet, I won’t let the Governess harm you oa more. (Mrs. Grose goes off into the darkness.) : y GOVERNESS. (Distraught.) Flora? You leave me, Flora? Here on the shore of our small sea? (The Governess stares out front, red-eed,) MAN. (From darkness.) Drip. Drip — Oh — Ohhbhh. (Pause Finally the Governess rises.) GOVERNESS. (Steeling herself.) Inside the house. Upstairs I can hear Flora’s mocking sobs. (The Man appears.) MRS. GROSE. You can’t go in the nursery, miss. GOVERNESS. She won't see me? MRS. GROSE. She's afraid of you, miss. GOVERNESS. She told you this? MRS. GROSE. You and me both know Flora hasn’t spoken since the morning she found Quint in the snow. GOVERNESS. Ah, yes, your great secret. Naughty Mrs. Grose not to tell. MRS. GROSE. Miss. You frightened her. She was playing in the boat, and the rope let go. Someone should've been watching her is all. GOVERNESS. She saw the ghosts. MRS. GROSE. didn’t see them, miss. GOVERNESS. / did. I saw Quint, and I saw Miss ae them. How could I know what Quint and ? There are no pictures, the children burned could I know? Jessel! Ive “Jessel look them. How 38MRS. GROSE. Look in your locket. GO NESS. Those are pot its of Flora and Miles — MRS. GROSE. Those are portraits of Quint and Jessel. (Beal.) Flora must have kept the locket from Miles. Look at them. You've seen them before. His eyes. Her red hair. It's Quint and Jessel. And as for your “clues” and “riddles” ... Jessel could have written in that Bible long ago. It's just the sort of thing she would have written — as her mind went. (Beat.) GOVERNESS. What a clever bunch. You all want to get rid of me. That what you've got in mind for me now? Speed me on my way? NO. It’s you who must go. MRS. GROSE. You're right, miss. GOVERNESS. And you must take Flora. MRS. GROSE. I agree, miss. GOVERNESS. Straight to her uncle. Leave me with Miles. I shall tear out a confession of his schoolyard crimes, then exorcise the devil's name. MRS. GROSE. I’m taking Miles with me too. GOVERNESS. Iam in charge of the children. Read the master’s instructions, of that I’m sure. MRS. GROSE. I’m taking them both, miss. You can’t stop me. GOVERNESS. _ I can, actually. A housekeeper who lied to the magistrate in a court case? That wouldn’t go down well for you, would it? MRS. GROSE. I told you that in confidence, miss. GOVERNESS. Yes. “Surprise.” (Pause. ) MRS. GROSE. (Defeated. ) Miles will stay. I'll take Flora to London. GOVERNESS. Take the little horror. Get her away. Far from this. Far from them. One thing more: My letter must reach the master with you. It’s in the study. MRS. GROSE. There’s no letter in the study. GOVERNESS. | left it there when Miles came in to — (Stops, smiles.) Yes, of course. It doesn’t matter. The master will know, despite it all. Miles will confess. If he confesses he’s saved. And if he’s saved — MRS. GROSE. Then you are? GOVERNE! We all are. MRS. GROSE. God be with you. (Mrs. Grose moves off into the dark- ness.) GOVERNESS. Within the hour it was midnight, and the carriage 39containing Flora and Mrs, Grose rolled out of the gates, 1g the master’s bedroom ... to wait. (The Man appears) "0 MAN. (As Nanvator) “The Last Day. The Lovers Reunited * Man turns and becomes Miles. The Governess looks at him) GOVERNESS. (Finailly.) Well. Alone at last. (Meek,) Is ... is she really awfully ill? GOVERNESS. Little Flora? Who else could be awfully ill? GOVERNESS. Flora will be better. The spirits here do not (The agree MILES. I see. Well. I'm certainly glad things here agree with mp GOVERNESS. I'm so pleased. MILES. Oh, yes. I've never felt so free. Don’t you like it? GOVERNESS. My dear: how could I help it? Aside from anything else: there’s your company. I have you all to myself now. MILES. You've stayed on just for that? GOVERNESS. I stay on as your friend. MILES. Even though you're afraid of me? GOVERNESS. I care for you, Miles. There’s nothing I wouldn't do for you. MILES. Then help me to leave Bly. GOVERNESS. Not until we've finished our lessons, Miles. Not until we've told each other both what we need to know. A beat.) Then perhaps I'll stay. You're quite a riddle, Miles. You say you want to go, you say you want to stay: which is it? Who's speaking for you? I think: Miles, like any little boy, wants to go back to his school mates. But: someone else wants Miles to stay. Am I right, Miles? S. What do you want? RNESS. I want you to tell me what you did at your school? the two of us. What are you looking out into the garden for, Miles? What can you see in the dark? Do you want to go into the garden again? MILES. Miss, I'll tell you everything, I'll tell you anything you like, I will tell you, I will, but not now. GOVERNESS. | (Smirking.) Why not now, “crocodile tears?” MILES. I just want... GOVERNESS. What. (Pause.) 40 — - veamica wiul CiDo you? MILES. Yes. GOVERNESS. Why? MILES. To see my pony. GOVERNESS. Liar. (Pause.) MILES. (Shocked, haughty.) Miss? GOVERNESS. I've sent for your uncle. I sent him a letter. MILES. What did you tell him? GOVERNESS. The truth. MILES. You know the truth? GOVERNESS. I know as much as I've seen and heard. MILES. And you told my uncle? GOVERNESS. Everything. About Flora. About you. About ... what a good boy you've been — MILES. Liar. (Pause.) GOVERNESS. You took my letter. You know what's in my letter. But you can’t read, who read you my letter? MILES. Tense.) I can make out certain words — like “inexperi- ence,” and “children,” and “touch.” GOVERNESS. It was you who told Flora to go to the lake. You've been conspiring to deliver Flora into the hands of those creatures, haven't you? MILES. (Shakes head.) I told Flora to play at the lake just to scare you, so my uncle would come down and take me away from Bly! GOVERNESS. Liar, liar, little Miles. Come here, my dear, I want to tell you a riddle. MILES. I don’t want to hear it. GOVERNESS. But you must, Miles, you're so good at riddles. “What hangs on a man all his life, from the day he’s born ’til the day he dies, but never touches him?” MILES. I don’t know. GOVERNESS. Yes, you do. It’s easy. “What hangs on a man all his life, but never touches him?” Say it, Miles! Say it. (Beat.) MILES, (Low.) His ... name. GOVERNESS. Smiles.) Quite right. His name. Say his name. Come to me, Miles, I must fight for your soul. MILES. You're scaring me. 41GOVERNESS. Let me touch your face! You're swear, the perfect dew on yout lovely childish forehead! 1K: Mite, MILES. Tim seared, miss! GOVERNESS. You want to go to the garden, don't mp Monies always begin in the garden, ch, Miles? A ina 1 best ‘ 1, a wo, vepent? Hedin the garden, isn’t hel oman, No —! Who —! MILES. GOVERNESS. Touch me, Miles! MILES. Let me go! (Miles runs from her.) GOVERNESS. — (Following.) He wants you, Miles, but T want yp too! mu MILES. ESS. (Grabs him..) Why did you take the letter, Miles ‘ying to pull away.) 1 don’t know! " Who (old you to steal the letter? No one! Lies again! (Miles breaks free. The Governess catches him D.C.) What did you do with my letter? Did you burn it? Is that what you did at school, burn things? Did you take things? Steal things? Is that why you can’t go back? MILES. I didn’t steal. GOVERNESS. Then what did you do? MILES. I— Come on, Miles. GOVERNE MILES. Pleas’ GOVERNESS. Tell me, Miles! MILES. I — said things. GOVERNESS. Said things. Said them, not did them? And they expelled you for saying things? GOVERNESS. Who did you say them to? MILES. J don’t know! GOVERNESS, Everyone? MILES. No, GOVERNESS, Then who? 42MILES. I don't remember their names GOVERNESS. Were there so many? MILES. No. GOVERNESS. Really? MILES. Just a few. GOVERNESS. Go on, Miles. MILES. The ones I liked. GOVERNESS. And they repeated what you said? MILES. They must have. GOVERNESS. To whom? MILES. The ones they liked. GOVERNESS. Treachery! And they told the masters? MILES. They said the words were bad. GOVERNESS. The words? MILES. The words were very bad. GOVERNESS. But you never did anything? MILES. “Words are worse,” he said. GOVERNESS. Who said! MILES. “Once they're told —” GOVERNESS. Who told? MILES. “Can't take words back,” he said. GOVERNESS. Who taught you that? MILES. “You can’t unlearn, boy.” GOVERNESS. Say the words, Miles. What were those words? MILES. They're unspeakable! Don’t you see? I’m different. (Beat.) I was different from the other boys at school. I frightened them too. I knew things they didn’t. I’ve seen things, I've heard things. I'm more grown up. GOVERNESS. Where are you looking, Miles? Is it him you see? Outside? In the garden? Hold me, Miles, hold me tight! MILES. You want me to touch you! GOVERNESS. Come into the garden! Tell me! Is he here? MILES. No! GOVERNESS. He isn’t? MILES. NO! GOVERNESS. Then who is? MILES. There’s no one! GOVERNESS. Liars die, Miles! (The Governess spins Miles to face out front. )You see him don't you, Miles, your villainous tutor? Straight before us, see! 43 ik —MILES. (A shriek.) HELP! GOVERNESS. (Overlapping, a chant.) I name the demon, his in the darkness, red in the night, white damnation! 1 name a. defiler and his power's gone! I hold you! I hold you! Hold von like my own, my child, so tight, so close! No one can hurt my doe. ling! Not a living soul! No one! God is with me! God is with ey God is with ME! : MILES. (Overlapping, ) Help me! Please! Oh, miss, help me, hetp e, oh, I can’t, I can’t, help, oh, there, oh, help me, me, plea please, ple: please, please, PLE: front, in the clear.) GOVERNE (Shouting out front.) You won't take my child, do you hear? You won't take my child! You coward horror! MILES. (Eyes darting.) Where? Is it? Who? GOVERN! You know who it is! MILES. it him? GOVERNESS. YES! SAY IT! SAY HIS NAME! SAY HIS NAME AND SET YOU FREE! (Pause.) MILES. (Whisper. Peter Quint. GOVERNESS. (Exullant.) SAY HIS NAME! MILES. (Low.) PETER QUINT. GOVERNESS. SAY HIS NA) MILES. (Shouts.) PETER QUINT! GOVERNESS. | (Exultant.) YES! YES! YESSSSSSS! MIL (Vacant.) You Devil. (Miles collapses to the floor. The Governess holds him, rocking. She begins to hum the lullaby. He is limp and quiet. After the lullaby is finished:) GOVERNI Hush ... Hush ... Hush ... SHHbhhhbhbhhhhh. When it is over, I hold my child in my arms — there in the garden — Atlast we are alone, and his little heart ... dispossessed ... stops. (She kisses his lips. Finally the Governess rises. The lights go out on Miles. Slowly the Governess turns U. Lights rise on the Man now seated in the chair, as at the start of the play. He looks out front.) MAN. Of the last events, these things are known: Mrs. Grose died within the year. And little Flora was sent to live in a mad- house, where, as Mrs. Grose said, the corridors are full of gow ernesses. And the lady? After that night, she would only work for families with two children. It was her condition. And when her charges grow too old ... she moves on, like a Flying Dutchman, e, please, my, my, oh, someone, someone, someone SE, PLEASE, PLEASE! (The Governess calls out 44 “we Meyan ancient mariner upon the sea. She tells her story: GOVERNESS. (Turns D.) We were all children once. What we want is affection. Love. Protection. There's nothing like a child in pain. MAN. Has she seduced you? Well. God be with you. (Lights dump out.) THE END 45 wu vv Ci