[At the Theatre in the evening. Newland Archer enters the box. Steps to the front,

joining the company of several men, including Larry Lefferts and Sillerton Jackson. Larry

looks at stage through pearl opera glasses. Then he swings his opera glasses away from

the stage and toward another box. He sees the figure of a woman entering a box across the

way. Although the woman, silhouetted against candles, is still indistinct and mysterious

to us, he recognizes her and reacts with controlled surprise]

LEFFERTS

Well.

JACKSON

I didn't think the Mingotts would have tried it on.

LEFFERTS

Parading her at the opera like that. Sitting her next to May Welland. It's all very

odd.

JACKSON

Well, she's had such an odd life.

LEFFERTS

Will they even bring her to the Beauforts' ball, do you suppose?

JACKSON

If they do, the talk will be little else.

[Archer looks at his companions in the box with just a suggestion of impatience. Then he

turns and leaves]

[Archer goes to the box where May Welland is]

ARCHER

May. Mrs. Welland. Good evening.

MRS. WELLAND

Newland. You know my niece Countess Olenska.

[Archer bows with the suggestion of reserve. Countess Olenska replies with a nod.

Newland sits beside May and speaks softly]

ARCHER

I hope you've told Madame Olenska.

MAY

(teasing)

What?

ARCHER

That we're engaged. I want everybody to know. Let me announce it this evening at

the ball.

MAY

If you can persuade Mamma. But why should we change what is already settled?

[Archer has no answer for this that is appropriate for this time and place. May senses

his frustration and adds, smiling...]

MAY

But you can tell my cousin yourself. She remembers you.

ELLEN (Countess Olenska)

I remember we played together. Being here again makes me remember so much.

[She gestures out across the theatre]

ELLEN

I see everybody the same way, dressed in knickerbockers and pantalettes.

[Archers sits beside her]

ELLEN

You were horrid. You kissed me once behind a door. But it was your cousin Vandy,

the one who never looked at me, I was in love with.

ARCHER

Yes, you have been away a very long time.

ELLEN

Oh, centuries and centuries. So long I'm sure I'm dead and buried, and this dear

old place is heaven.

[As they end, the voice of the narrator fades up]

[In another box, Mrs. Julius Beaufort (Regina) draws up her opera cloak about her

shoulders. As she does this and leaves the box, we hear...]

NARRATOR

It invariably happened, as everything happened in those days, in the same way. As

usual, Mrs. Julius Beaufort appeared just before the Jewel Song and, again as usual,

rose at the end of the third act and disappeared. New York then knew that, a

half-hour later, her annual opera ball would begin.

[Street outside the theatre (14th Street) at night. A line of carriages drawn up in front

of the Academy of Music. Mrs. Beaufort climbs in a carriage at the front of the line and

drives away]

NARRATOR

Carriages waited at the curb for the entire performance. It was widely known in New

York, but never acknowledged, that Americans want to get away from amusement even

more quickly than they want to get to it.

[Ballroom at the Beaufort House]

NARRATOR

The Beauforts' house was one of the few in New York that possessed a ballroom. Such

a room, shuttered in darkness three hundred and sixty-four days of the year, was

felt to compensate for whatever was regrettable in the Beaufort past. Regina

Beaufort came from an old South Carolina family, but her husband Julius, who passed

for an Englishman, was known to have dissipated habits, a bitter tongue and

mysterious antecedents. His marriage assured him a social position, but not

necessarily respect.

[Ballroom at the Beaufort House during the ball. An orchestra plays and dancers swoop by.

Archer enters and hands his cape and hat to a servant, greets another guest and accepts

several pair of dancing gloves. Archer climbs the stairs and greets Regina Beaufort]

NARRATOR

The house had been boldly planned. Instead of squeezing through a narrow passage to

get to the ballroom one marched solemnly down a vista of enfiladed drawing rooms

seeing from afar the many-candled lusters reflected in the polished parquetry and

beyond that the depths of a conservatory where camellias and tree ferns arched their

costly foliage over seats of black and gold bamboo. But only by actually passing

through the crimson drawing room could one see "Return of Spring," the

much-discussed nude by Bougeureau, which Beaufort had had the audacity to hang in

plain sight. Archer had not gone back to his club after the Opera, as young men

usually did, but had walked for some distance up Fifth Avenue before turning back in

the direction of the Beauforts'. He was definitely afraid that the family might be

going too far and would bring the Countess Olenska. He was more than ever

determined to "see the thing through," but he felt less chivalrously inclined to

defend the Countess after their brief talk at the opera.

[Archer enters the ballroom. The first man he sees is Larry Lefferts, deep in

conversation with an attractive young woman]

NARRATOR

On the whole, Lawrence Lefferts was the foremost authority on "form" in New York.

On the question of pumps versus patent-leather Oxfords, his authority had never been

disputed.

[Archer continues through the party. Holding court and amusing a group of older women is

Sillerton Jackson]

NARRATOR

Old Mr. Sillerton Jackson was as great an authority on "family" as Lawrence Lefferts

was on "form." In addition to a forest of family trees, he carried a register of

the scandals and mysteries that had smouldered under the unruffled surface of

society for the past fifty years.

[Archer continues moving throught he party. Julius Beaufort crosses in front him,

conversing with a guest]

GUEST

(in mid-discussion)

But I didn't see you there this evening. Madame Nilsson was in such splendid voice.

BEAUFORT

(snide)

The usual splendor, I'm sure.

NARRATOR

Julius Beaufort had speedily made a name for himself in the world of affairs. His

secret, all were agreed, was the way he carried things off. His social obligations

and the rumors that perpetually swirled around him, all were borne easily before

him.

[May Welland is surrounded by gleeful friends who are obviously reacting to her engagement

announcement. Archer and May are in another room behind a tall screen of ferns and

camellias. Archer kisses May's hand]

MAY

You see, I told all my friends. Just as you asked.

ARCHER

Yes, I couldn't wait. Only wish it hadn't had to be at a ball.

MAY

Yes, I know. But after all, even here we're alone together aren't we?

ARCHER

Always. The worst of it is...

[He takes a quick look around the room: no one's nearby]

ARCHER

...that I want to kiss you and I can't.

[He does it anyways which pleasure and surprises May. They walk to a sofa, which affords

a bit of privacy, and sit]

MAY

Did you tell Ellen, as I asked you?

ARCHER

No. I didn't have the chance after all.

MAY

She's my cousin, if others know before she does...It's just that she's been away for

so long that she's rather sensitive.

ARCHER

Of course I'll tell her, dearest. But I haven't seen her yet.

MAY

She decided not to come at the last minute.

ARCHER

At the last minute?

MAY

She was afraid her dress wasn't smart enough. We all thought it was so lovely, but

she asked my aunt to take her home.

ARCHER

Oh well.

[Archer smiles, May smiles back. They get up and go back to the ballroom to dance]

[In a sitting room the next day. Mrs. Manson Mingott is admiring a large thick sapphire

set in invisible claws]

MRS. MINGOTT

Very handsome. Very liberal. In my time a cameo set in pearls was thought to be

sufficient.

MRS. WELLAND

It's the new setting. Of course it shows the stone beautifully, but it looks bare

old-fashioned eyes.

MRS. MINGOTT

I hope you don't mean mine, my dear. I like all the novelties. But it's the hand

that sets off the ring, isn't it, my dear Mr. Archer? My hands were modeled in

Paris by the great Rochee. He should do May's.

[She reaches out for May's hand]

MRS. MINGOTT

Her hand is tempered. It's these modern sports that spread the joints. But the

skin is white.

(staring straight at Archer)

And when's the wedding to be?

MRS. WELLAND

(a little flustered)

Oh...

ARCHER

(jumping in)

As soon as ever it can. If only you'll back me up, Mrs. Mingott.

MRS. WELLAND

(recovering)

We must give them time to know each other a little better, mamma.

MRS. MINGOTT

Know each other? Everybody in New York has always known everybody. Don't wait till

the bubble's off the wine. Marry them before Lent. I may catch pneumonia any

winter now, and I want to give the wedding breakfast.

NARRATOR

Mrs. Manson Mingott was, of course, the first to receive the required betrothal

visit. Much of New York was already related to her, and she knew the remainder by

marriage or by reputation. Though brownstone was the norm, she lived magisterially

within a large house of controversial pale cream-colored stone, in an inaccessible

wilderness near the Central Park.

NARRATOR

The burden of her flesh had long since made it impossible for her to go up and down

stairs. So with characteristic independence she had established herself on the

ground floor of her house. From her sitting room, there was an unexpected vista of

her bedroom.

NARRATOR

Her visitors were startled and fascinated by the foreignness of this arrangement,

which recalled scenes in French fiction. This was how women with lovers lived in

the wicked old societies. But if Mrs. Mingott had wanted a lover, the intrepid

woman would have had him too.

NARRATOR

But she was content, at this moment in her life, simply to sit in a window of her

sitting room, waiting calmly for life and fashion to flow northward to her solitary

doors, for her patience was equalled by her confidence.

[Archer, May and Mrs. Welland are saying their goodbyes as they get ready to leave. Ellen

Olenska and Julius Beaufort enter as they leave]

MRS. MINGOTT

Beaufort! This is a rare favor.

BEAUFORT

Unnecessarily rare, I'd say. But I met Countess Ellen in Madison Square, and she

was good enough to let me walk home with her.

MRS. MINGOTT

This house will be merrier now that she's here. Push up that tuffet. I want a good

gossip.

[Ellen looks at Archer with a questioning smile]

ARCHER

(laughing shyly)

Of course you already know. About May and me. She scolded me for not telling you

at the opera.

ELLEN

Of course I know. And I'm so glad. One doesn't tell such news first in a crowd.

[Ellen hols her hand out to Archer]

ELLEN

Good-bye. Come and see me some day.

[Outside the Mingott House. Archer follows May and her mother into their waiting

carriage]

MRS. WELLAND

It's a mistake for Ellen to be seen parading up Fifth Avenue with Julius Beaufort at

the crowded hour. The very day after her arrival.

[The carriage pulls away from the curb]

[Dining Room at the Archer House in the evening. Archer is having dinner with his mother

Adeline, sister Janey and Sillerton Jackson]

NARRATOR

Mrs. Archer and her daughter Janey were both shy women and shrank from society. But

they liked to be well informed of its doings.

JACKSON

(in the midst of holding forth)

Certain nuances escape Beaufort.

MRS. ARCHER

Oh, necessarily. Beaufort is a vulgar man.

ARCHER

Nevertheless, no business nuances escape him. Most of New York trusts him with its

affairs.

MRS. ARCHER

My grandfather Newland always used to say to mother, "Don't let that fellow Beaufort

be introduced to girls." But at least he's had the advantage of associating with

gentlemen. Even in England, they say. It's all very mysterious.

NARRATOR

As far back as anyone could remember, New York had been divided into two great

clans. Among the Mingotts you could dine on canvasback duck, terrapin and vintage wines.

At the Archers, you could talk about Alpine scenery and "The Marble Faun" but receive

tepid Veuve Cliquot without a year and warmed-up croquettes from Philadelphia.

JANEY

And the Countess Olenska...was she at the ball too?

MRS. ARCHER

I appreciate the Mingotts wanting to support her, and have her at the opera. I

admire their esprit de corps. But why my son's engagement should be mixed up with

that woman's comings and goings I don't see.

JACKSON

Well, in any case, she was not at the ball.

MRS. ARCHER

At least she had that decency.

[Jackson glances at the portraits of the Archer family antecedents on the wall, and fixes

on one of a well-fed, slightly flush older man. He looks over at Archer, who is watching

him with bemused understanding]

JACKSON

(can't resist)

Ah, how your grandfather appreciated a good meal, Newland.

JANEY

I wonder if she wears a round hat or a bonnet in the afternoon. The dress she wore

to the opera was so plain and flat...

MRS. ARCHER

Yes, I'm sure it was in better taste not to go to the ball.

ARCHER

I don't think it was a question of taste, mother. May said the countess decided her

dress wasn't smart enough.

MRS. ARCHER

Poor Ellen. We must always remember what an eccentric bringing-up Medora Manson

gave her. What can you expect of a girl who was allowed to wear black satin at her

coming-out ball?

JANEY

It's odd she should have kept such an ugly name as Ellen when she married the Count.

I should have changed it to Elaine.

ARCHER

Why?

JANEY

I don't know. It sounds more...Polish.

MRS. ARCHER

It certainly sounds more conspicuous. And that can hardly be what she wishes.

ARCHER

(argumentative)

Why not? Why shouldn't she be conspicuous if she chooses? She made an awful

marriage, but should she hide her head as if it were her fault? Should she go

slinking around as if she'd disgraced herself? She's had an unhappy life, but that

doesn't make her an outcast.

JACKSON

I'm sure that's the line the Mingotts mean to take.

ARCHER

I don't have to wait for their cue, if that's what you mean, sir.

MRS. ARCHER

(trying to cool things out)

I'm told she's looking for a house. She means to live here.

JANEY

I hear she means to get a divorce.

ARCHER

I hope she will.

[In the study at the Archer House. Jackson and Archer light up cigars]

JACKSON

There are the rumors, too.

ARCHER

I've heard them. About the secretary?

JACKSON

He helped her get away from the husband. They say the Count kept her practically a

prisoner.

(shrugs)

Certainly, the Count had his own way of life.

ARCHER

You knew him?

JACKSON

I heard of him at Nice. Handsome, they say, but eyes with a lot of lashes. When he

wasn't with women he was collecting china. Paying any price for both, I understand.

ARCHER

Then where's the blame? Any one of us, under the same circumstances, would have

helped the Countess, just as the secretary did.

JACKSON

He was still helping her a year later, then, because somebody met them living

together at Lausanne.

ARCHER

(reddening slightly)

Living together? Well why not? Who has the right to make her life over if she

hasn't? Why should we bury a woman alive if her husband prefers to live with

whores?

JACKSON

Oh, it's hardly a question of entombment. The Countess is here, after all. Or do

you believe that women should share the same freedoms as men?

ARCHER

(with some force)

I suppose I do. Yes, I do.

JACKSON

Well, apparently Count Olenski also takes a similarly modern view. I've never heard

of him lifting a finger to get his wife back.

[Montage. Of heavy vellum envelopes, written in beautiful calligraphy, being passed from

hand to hand and delivered on silver plates; of invitations being drawn from the

envelopes]

NARRATOR

Three days later, the unthinkable happened. Mrs. Manson Mingott sent out

invitations summoning everyone to a "formal dinner." Such an occasion demanded the

most careful consideration. It required the appropriate plate. It also called for

three extra footmen, two dishes for each course and a Roman punch in the middle.

The dinner, New York read on the invitation, was "to meet the Countess Olenska."

And New York declined.

[Drawing room at the Archer house during the day]

MRS. ARCHER

"Regret." "Unable to accept." Without a single explanation or excuse. Even some

of our own. No one even cares enough to conceal their feeling about the Countess.

This is a disgrace. For our whole family. And an awful blow to Catherine Mingott.

NARRATOR

They all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world. The real thing was never said or

done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs. These signs

were not always subtle, and all the more significant for that. The refusals were

more than a simple snubbing. They were an eradication.

MRS. ARCHER

Don't tell me all this modern newspaper rubbish about a New York aristocracy. This

city has always been a commercial community, and there are not more than three

families in it who can claim an aristocratic origin in the real sense of the word.

Even dear Mr. Welland made his money in enterprise. So.

(looking at them with resolution)

We will take up this matter with the van der Luydens.

[She starts for the door]

MRS. ARCHER

You should come with me, Newland. Louisa van der Luyden is fond of you, and of

course it's on account of May we're doing this.

ARCHER

Of course.

MRS. ARCHER

If we don't all stand together, there'll be no such thing as society left.

[in the Drawing room at the van der Luyden House. Henry and Louisa van der Luyden are

sitting with Newland and his mother]

HENRY

And all this, you think, was due to some intentional interference by...

ARCHER

...Larry Lefferts, yes sir. I'm certain of it.

LOUISA

But why?

ARCHER

Well. Excuse me but...

LOUISA

Please, go on.

ARCHER

Larry's been going it harder than usual lately. Some service person in their

village or someone, and it's getting noticed. Whenever poor Gertrude Lefferts

begins to suspect something about her husband, Larry starts making some great

diversionary fuss to show how moral he is. He's simply using Countess Olenska as a

lightning rod.

LOUISA

Extraordinary.

HENRY

Not at all, my dear, I'm afraid.

MRS. ARCHER

We all felt this slight on the Countess should not pass without consulting you.

HENRY

Well, it's the principle that I dislike. I mean to say, as long as a member of a

well-known family is backed by that family, it should be considered final.

LOUISA

It seems so to me.

HENRY

So with Louisa's permission...and with Catherine Mingott's, of course...we are

giving a little dinner for our cousin the Duke of St. Austrey, who arrives next week

on the Russia. I;m sure Louisa will be glad as I am if Countess Olenska will

let us include her among our guests.

[In the hallway and drawing room at the van der Luyden House]

NARRATOR

The occasion was a solemn one and the Countess Olenska arrived rather late. Yet she

entered without any appearance of haste or embarrassment the drawing room in which

New York's most chosen company was somewhat awfully assembled.

[Servants open the drawing room doors for Ellen. Henry and Louisa van der Luyden bring

Ellen around the room making introductions.]

[In the dining room at the van der Luyden House]

NARRATOR

The van der Luydens stood above all the city's families. They dwelled in a kind of

super-terrestrial twilight, and dining with them was at best no light matter.

Dining there with a Duke who was their cousin was almost a religious solemnity. The

Trevenna George II plate was out. So was the van der Luyden Lowestoft, from the

East India Company, and the Dagonet Crown Derby. When the van der Luydens chose,

they knew how to give a lesson.

[In the drawing room at the van der Luyden House. Ellen Olenska is having a conversation

with the Duke as Archer watches. Ellen then gets up and approaches Archer]

NARRATOR

It was not the custom in New York drawing rooms for a lady to get up and walk away

from one gentleman in order to seek the company of another. But the Countess did

not observe this rule.

ELLEN

I want you to talk to me about May.

ARCHER

You knew the Duke before?

ELLEN

From Nice. We used to see him every winter. He's very fond of gambling and used to

come to our house a great deal. I think he's the dullest man I ever met. But he's

admired here. I suppose he must seem the very image of traditional Europe. Can I

tell you, though...

(mock conspiratorial)

...what most interests me about New York? It's that nothing has to be traditional

here. All this blind obeying of tradition...somebody else's tradition...is

thoroughly needless. It seems stupid to have discovered America only to make it a

copy of another country. Do you suppose Christopher Columbus would have taken all

that trouble just to go to the opera with Larry Lefferts?

ARCHER

(laughs)

I think if he knew Lefferts was here the Santa Maria would never have left

port.

ELLEN

And May. Does she share these views?

ARCHER

If she does, she'd never say so.

ELLEN

Are you very much in love with her?

ARCHER

As much as a man can be.

ELLEN

Do you think there's a limit?

ARCHER

If there is, I haven't found it.

ELLEN

Ah, it's really and truly a romance, then. Not in the least arranged.

ARCHER

Have you forgotten? In our country we don't allow marriages to be arranged.

ELLEN

Yes, I forgot, I'm sorry, I sometimes make these mistakes. I don't always remember

that everything here is good that was...that was bad where I came from.

ARCHER

I'm so sorry. But you are among friends here, you know.

ELLEN

Yes, I know. That's why I came home.

[May and her mother enter the room]

ELLEN

You'll want to be with May.

ARCHER

(looking at the men around May)

She's already surrounded. I have so many rivals.

ELLEN

Then stay with me a little longer.

ARCHER

Yes.

[They are interrupted by Henry van der Luyden and a guest]

HENRY

Countess, if I may. Mr. Urban Dagonet.

[Archer gets up to leave and Ellen holds her hand out to him]

ELLEN

Tomorrow then. After five. I'll expect you.

ARCHER

Tomorrow.

[Louisa joins Archer]

LOUISA

It was good of you to devote yourself to Madame Olenska so unselfishly, dear

Newland. I told Henry he really must rescue you. I think I've never seen May

looking lovelier. The Duke thinks her the handsomest woman in the room.

[In the drawing room at Ellen's house the next day. Archer is waiting for Ellen to

return]

MAID

Verra, verra.

[A carriage with Julius Beaufort and the Countess arrives and the Countess gets out and

enters the house]

ELLEN

Do you like this odd little housoe? To me it's like heaven.

ARCHER

(reaching for the right compliment)

You've arranged it delightfully.

ELLEN

Yes. Some of the things I managed to bring with me. Little pieces of wreckage. At

least it's less gloomy than the van der Luydens', and not so difficult to be alone.

ARCHER

(smiles)

I'm sure it's often thought the van der Luydens' is gloomy, though I've never heard

it said before. But do you really like to be alone?

ELLEN

As long as my friends keep me from being lonely.

[She sits near the fire and motions him to sit in an armchair near where he's standing]

ELLEN

I see you've already chosen your corner. This is the hour I like best, don't you?

ARCHER

I was afraid you'd forgotten the hour. I'm sure Beaufort can be very intriguing.

ELLEN

He took me to see some houses. I'm told I must move, even though this street seems

perfectly respectable.

ARCHER

Yes, but it's not fashionable.

ELLEN

Is fashion such a serious consideration?

ARCHER

Among people who have nothing more serious to consider.

ELLEN

And how would these people consider my street?

ARCHER

(lightly, disparagingly)

Oh, well, fleetingly, I'm afraid. Look at your neighbors. Dressmakers. Bird

stuffers. Cafe owners.

ELLEN

(smiling)

I'll count on you to always let me know about such important things.

ARCHER

The van der Luydens do nothing by halves. All New York laid itself out for you last

night.

ELLEN

It was so kind. Such a nice party.

[Archer wants to impress on her the importance of the van der Luydens' gesture]

ARCHER

The van der Luydens are the most powerful influence in New York society. And they

receive very seldom, because of cousin Louisa's health.

ELLEN

Perhaps that's the reason then.

ARCHER

The reason?

ELLEN

For their influence. They make themselves so rare.

[Her observation intrigues him.

ELLEN

But of course you must tell me.

ARCHER

No, it's you telling me.

ELLEN

Then we can both help each other. Just tell me what to do.

ARCHER

There are so many people already to tell you what to do.

ELLEN

They're all a little angry with me, I think. For setting up for myself.

ARCHER

Still, your family can advise you...show you the way.

ELLEN

Is New York such a labyrinth? I thought it was so straight up and down, like Fifth

Avenue, with all the cross-streets numbered and big honest labels on everything.

ARCHER

Everything is labeled. But everybody is not.

ELLEN

There are only two people here who make me think they can help and understand. You

and Mr. Beaufort.

ARCHER

(reacts to mention of Beaufort)

I understand. Just don't let go of your old friends' hands so quickly.

ELLEN

Then I must count on you for warnings, too.

ARCHER

All the older women like and admire you. They want to help.

ELLEN

Oh, I know, I know. But only if they don't hear anything unpleasant. Does no one

here want to know the truth, Mr. Archer? The real loneliness is living among all

these kind people who only ask you to pretend.

[She puts her hands to her face and sobs. Archer goes to her quickly, bending over her]

ARCHER

No, no, you musn't. Madame Olenska. Ellen.

ELLEN

No one cries here, either? I suppose there's no need to.

[On the street near a florist shop. Archer is walking home from Ellen's and enters the

flower shop]

FLORIST

Oh, Mr. Archer, good evening. We didn't see you this morning, and weren't sure

whether to send Miss Welland the usual...

ARCHER

The lilies-of-the-valley, yes. We'd better make it a standing order.

[He notices a cluster of yellow roses]

ARCHER

And those roses. I'll give you another address.

[He draws out a card and places it inside the envelope, on which he starts to write

Ellen's name and address. He stops and removes his card and hands the clerk an empty

envelope]

ARCHER

They'll go at once?

[At the aviary the next day]

MAY

It's wonderful to wake every morning with lilies-of-the-valley in my room. It's

like being with you.

ARCHER

They came late yesterday, I know. Somehow the time got away from me.

MAY

Still, you always remember.

ARCHER

I sent some roses to your cousin Ellen, too. Was that right?

MAY

Very right. She didn't mention it at lunch today, though. She said she'd gotten

wonderful orchids from Mr. Beaufort and a whole hamper of carnations from Cousin

Henry van der Luyden. She was so very delighted. Don't people send flowers in

Europe?

[Later in the aviary]

MAY

Well, I know you do consider it a long time.

ARCHER

Very long.

MAY

But the Chivers were engaged for a year and a half. Larry Lefferts and Gertrude

were engaged for two. I'm sure Mama expects something customary.

ARCHER

Ever since you were little your parents let you have your way. You're almost

twenty-two. Just tell your mother what you want.

MAY

But that's why it would be so difficult. I couldn't refuse her the very last thing

she'd ever ask of me as a little girl.

ARCHER

Can't you and I just strike out for ourselves, May?

MAY

(laughing lightly)

Shall we elope?

ARCHER

If you would.

MAY

You do love me, Newland. I'm so happy.

ARCHER

Why not be happier?

MAY

I couldn't be happier, dearest. Did I tell you I showed Ellen the ring you chose?

She thinks it's the most beautiful setting she ever saw. She said there was nothing

like it in the rue de la Paix. I do love you, Newland. Everything you do is so

special.

[Inside the dining room at the Letterblair House that night]

LETTERBLAIR

Countess Olenska wants to sue her husband for divorce. It's been suggested that she

means to marry again, although she denies it.

ARCHER

I beg your pardon, sir. But because of my engagement, perhaps one of the other

members of our firm could consider the matter.

LETTERBLAIR

But precisely because of your prospective alliance...and considering that several

members of the family have already asked for you...I'd like you to consider the

case.

ARCHER

It's a family matter. Perhaps, it's best settled by the family.

LETTERBLAIR

Oh their position is clear. They are entirely, and rightly, against a divorce. But

Countess Olenska still insists on a legal opinion. But really, what's the use of a

divorce? She's here, he's there and the whole Atlantic's between them. As things

go, Olenski's acted generously. He's already returned some of her money without

being asked. She'll never get a dollar more than that. Although I understand she

attaches no importance to the money, other than the support it provides for Medora

Manson. Considering all that, the wisest thing really is to do as the family says.

Just let well enough alone.

ARCHER

I think that's for her to decide.

[In the library at the Letterblair House]

LETTERBLAIR

Have you considered the consequences if the Countess decides for divorce?

ARCHER

Consequences for the Countess?

LETTERBLAIR

For everyone.

ARCHER

I don't think the Count's accusations amount to anything more than vague charges.

LETTERBLAIR

It will make for some talk.

ARCHER

Well I have heard talk about the Countess and her secretary. I heard it even before

I read the legal papers.

LETTERBLAIR

It's certain to be unpleasant.

ARCHER

Unpleasant!

LETTERBLAIR

Divorce is always unpleasant. Don't you agree?

ARCHER

Naturally.

LETTERBLAIR

Then I can count on you. The family can count on you. You'll use you influence

against the divorce?

ARCHER

I can't promise that. Not until I see the Countess.

LETTERBLAIR

I don't understand you, Mr. Archer.

[Archer pulls out one of his cards and starts to write a message on the back]

LETTERBLAIR

Do you want to marry into a family with a scandalous divorce suit hanging over it?

ARCHER

I don't think that has anything to do with the case.

[Archer finishes the note]

ARCHER

Can someone take this for me, please. To the Countess.

[In the foyer at Ellen's house. Ellen and Julius Beaufort enter from the drawing room]

BEAUFORT

Three days at Skuytercliff with the van der Luydens? You'd better take your fur and

a hot water bottle.

ELLEN

Is the house that cold?

BEAUFORT

No, but Louisa is. Join me at Delmonicos Sunday instead. I'm having a nice oyster

supper, in your honor. Private room, congenial company. Artists and so on.

ELLEN

That's very tempting. I haven't met a single artist since I've been here.

ARCHER

I know one or two painters I could bring to see you, if you'd allow me.

BEAUFORT

Painters? Are there any painters in New York?

ELLEN

(smiling)

Thank you. But I was really thinking of singers, actors, musicians. Dramatic

artists. There were always so many in my husband's house.

(to Beaufort)

Can I write tomorrow and let you know? It's too late to decide this evening.

BEAUFORT

Is this late?

ELLEN

Yes, because I still have to talk business with Mr. Archer.

BEAUFORT

Oh. Of course, Newland, if you can persuade the Countess to change her mind about

Sunday, you can join us too.

[In the drawing room at Ellen's house]

ELLEN

You know painters, then? You live in their milieu?

ARCHER

Oh, not exactly.

ELLEN

But you care for such things?

ARCHER

Immensely. When I'm in Paris or London I never miss an exhibition. I try to keep

up.

ELLEN

I used to care immensely too. My life was full of such things. But now I want to

cast off all my old life...to become a complete American and try to be like

everybody else.

ARCHER

You'll never be like everybody else.

ELLEN

Don't say that to me, please. I just want to put all the old things behind me.

ARCHER

I know. Mr. Letterblair told me.

ELLEN

Mr. Letterblair?

ARCHER

Yes, I've come because he asked me to. I'm in the firm.

ELLEN

You mean it's you who'll manage everything for me? I can talk to you? That's so

much easier.

ARCHER

Yes...I'm here to talk about it. I've read all the legal papers, and the letter

from the Count.

ELLEN

It was vile.

ARCHER

But if he chooses to fight the case, he can say things that might be unpleas...might

be disagreeable to you. Say them publicly, so that they could be damaging even

if...

ELLEN

If?

ARCHER

Even if they were unfounded.

ELLEN

What harm could accusations like that do me here?

ARCHER

Perhaps more harm than anywhere else. Our legislation favors divorce. But our

social customs don't.

ELLEN

Yes. So my family tells me. Our family. You'll be my cousin soon. And you agree

with them?

ARCHER

If what your husband hints is true, or you have no way of disproving it...yes. What

could you possibly gain that would make up for the scandal.

ELLEN

My freedom. Is that nothing?

ARCHER

But aren't you free already? It's my business to help you see things just the way

the people who are fondest of you see them, all your friends and relations. If I

didn't show you honestly how they judge such questions, it wouldn't be fair of me,

would it?

ELLEN

No. It wouldn't be fair. Very well. I'll do as you wish.

ARCHER

I do...I do want to help you.

ELLEN

You do help me.

[Archer stands up]

ELLEN

Good night, cousin.

[Theatre night in the Beaufort box. Everyone is chatting as Archer enters the room]

LEFFERTS

It's fascinating. Every season the same play, the same scene, the same effect on

the audience.

[Archer is making his greetings and Lefferts turns to him]

LEFFERTS

Remarkable isn't it, Newland?

ARCHER

These actors certainly are. They're even better than the case in London.

BEAUFORT

You see this play even when you travel? I'd travel to get away from it.

[Archer sits behind Ellen while Sillerton Jackson continues to regale Regina Beaufort with

details of the latest social news]

JACKSON

It was a reception at Mrs. Struthers'. Held on the Lord's day, but with champagne

and singing from the tabletops. People say there was dancing.

REGINA

(a bit intrigued)

A real French Sunday, then.

[Ellen turns to Archer]

ELLEN

Do you think her lover will send her a box of yellow roses tomorrow morning?

ARCHER

(surprised)

I was...I was thinking about that, too. The farewell scene...

ELLEN

Yes, I know. It touches me as well.

ARCHER

Usually, I leave after that scene. To take the picture away with me.

ELLEN

I had a letter from May. From St. Augustine.

ARCHER

They always winter there. Her mother's bronchitis.

ELLEN

And what do you do while May is away?

ARCHER

(a little defensive)

I do my work.

ELLEN

I do want you to know. What you advised me was right. Things can be so difficult

sometimes...And I'm so grateful.

[Montage]

NARRATOR

The next day, Newland Archer searched the city in vain for yellow roses. From his

office he sent a note to Madame Olenska asking to call that afternoon and requesting

a reply by messenger. There was no reply that day. Or the next. And when yellow

roses were again available, Archer passes them by. It was only on the third day

that he heard from her, by post, from the van der Luydens' country home.

[On a country road during the day]

ELLEN

"I ran away the day after I saw you at the play, and these kind friends have taken

me in. I wanted to be quiet and think things over. I feel so safe here. I

wish...that you were with us.

Yours sincerely..."

[At the law office during the day]

NARRATOR

He had a still outstanding invitation from the Lefferts' for a weekend on the Hudson

and he hoped it was not too late to reply. Their house was not far from the van der

Luydens.

[On a country road during the day. Archer is sees Ellen and catches up to her]

ARCHER

I came to see what you were running away from.

ELLEN

I knew you'd come

ARCHER

That shows you wanted me to.

ELLEN

Cousin May wrote she asked you to take care of me.

ARCHER

I didn't need to be asked.

ELLEN

Why? Does that mean I'm so helpless and defenseless? Or that women here are so

blessed they never feel need?

ARCHER

What sort of need?

ELLEN

Please don't ask me. I don't speak your language.

[They walk past an old house with squat walls and small square windows]

ELLEN

Henry left the old Patroon house open for me. I wanted to see it.

[Inside the Patroon House]

ARCHER

When you wrote me, you were unhappy.

ELLEN

Yes. But I can't feel unhappy when you're here.

ARCHER

I can't be here long.

ELLEN

I know. But I'm a little impulsive. I live in the moment when I'm happy.

ARCHER

Ellen. If you really wanted me to come...if I'm really to help you...you must tell

me what you're running from.

[She doesn't answer. He keeps looking out the window. Then he feels her, coming up

behind him. Her arms are around his neck, hugging him. He turns...and sees her as she

really is, still in the chair. He looks back out the window and sees Julius Beaufort

coming up the path to the house]

ARCHER

Ah!

[He laughs and Ellen quickly moves to his side. She looks out the window and sees

Beaufort. She steps back startled]

ARCHER

Is he what you were running from? Or what you expected?

ELLEN

I didn't know he was here.

[Archer walks to the front door and throws it open]

ARCHER

Hello, Beaufort! This way! Madame Olenska was expecting you.

[Beaufort enters with assurance, addressing his remarks to Ellen]

BEAUFORT

Well, you certainly led me a bit of a chase, making me come all this was just to

tell you I'd found the perfect little house. It's not on the market yet, so you

must take it at once.

[There is uncomfortable silence. Beaufort finally takes notice of Archer]

BEAUFORT

Well, Archer. Rusticating?

[In the study at the Archer House at night. Archer is unpacking books from a carton]

NARRATOR

That night he did not take the customary comfort in his monthly shipment of books

from London. The taste of the usual was like cinders in his mouth, and there were

moments when he felt as if he were being buried alive under his future.

[In the bedroom at Ellen's house. Ellen is writing a note to Archer]

ELLEN

"Newland. Come late tomorrow. I must explain to you."

[In the study at the Archer House. Archer reads the note]

[In the garden at St. Augustine. Archer sees May sitting and approaches]

MAY

Newland! Has anything happened?

ARCHER

Yes. I found I had to see you.

[Archer sits down and starts kissing her. His gentleness turns more insistent. She

responds at first, but then draws back, a little startled]

ARCHER

What is it?

MAY

Nothing.

ARCHER

Tell me what you do all day.

MAY

(brightening)

Well, there are a few pleasant people from Philadelphia and Baltimore who were

picnicking at the inn. The Merry's are planning to lay out a lawn tennis court...

ARCHER

But I thought...I came here because I thought I could persuade you to break away

from all that. To advance our engagement.

[He reached for her hand]

ARCHER

Don't you understand how much I want to marry you? Why should we dream away another

year?

MAY

I'm not sure I do understand. Is it because you're not certain of still feeling the

same way about me?

ARCHER

God, I...maybe...I don't know.

MAY

Is there someone else?

ARCHER

Someone else? Between you and me?

MAY

Let's talk frankly, Newland. Sometimes I've felt a difference in you, especially

since our engagement.

[He starts to protest. She hurries on]

MAY

If it's untrue then it won't hurt to talk about it. And if it's true...why

shouldn't we talk about it now? You might have made a mistake.

ARCHER

If I'd made some sort of mistake, would I be down here asking you to hurry our

marriage?

MAY

I don't know. You might. It would be one way to settle the question. At Newport,

two years ago, before we were...promised...everyone said there was...someone else

for you. I even saw you sitting together with her once, I think. On a verandah,

at a dance. When she came back into the house, her face was sad, and I felt sorry

for her. Even after, when we were engaged, I could see how she looked.

ARCHER

Is that what you've been concerned about? That's long past.

MAY

Then is there something else?

ARCHER

Of course not.

MAY

(rushing on)

Whatever it may have been, Newland, I couldn't have my happiness made out of a wrong

to somebody else. We couldn't build a life on a foundation like that. If promises

were made...or pledges...if you said something to the...the person we've spoken

of...if you feel in some way pledged to her...and there's any way you can fulfill

your pledge...even by her getting a divorce...Newland, don't give her up because of

me!

ARCHER

There are no pledges. There are no promises that matter.

[May looks as if a great weight had been taken from her]

ARCHER

That is all I've been trying to say. There is no one between us, May. There is

nothing between us. That is precisely my argument for marrying quickly.

NARRATOR

He could feel her dropping back to inexpressive girlishness. Her conscience had

been eased of its burden. It was wonderful, he thought, how such depths of feeling

could co-exist with such an absense of imagination.

[In the drawing room at Mrs. Mingott's House. Mrs. Mingott and Archer are having tea and

talking]

MRS. MINGOTT

And did you succeed?

ARCHER

No. But I'd still like to be married in April. With your help.

MRS. MINGOTT

Well, you're seeing the Mingott way. When I built this house the family reacted as

if I was moving to California. Now you're challenging everyone.

ARCHER

Is this really so difficult?

MRS. MINGOTT

The entire family is difficult. Not one of them wants to be different. And when

they are