| Excerpt from Whatever Happened to Alice James? |
ALICE: Milk?
JANE: No.
ALICE: Sugar?
JANE: No. Thank you.
ALICE: You drink your tea like an American.
JANE: You were an American, once.
ALICE: I think of myself as not having had a country. Father traipsed us all over
Europe when we were children. He wanted to broaden us. We became like great
shallow plateaus, spread far and wide, but no roots. Especially Henry and I, but
then, neither of us married.
JANE: Distance has its compensations. Henry wrote his best novels as an
expatriate.
ALICE: He also wrote a terrible play when he lived in London. Do they remember
that, or only his successes?
JANE: I’m married.
ALICE: (looking at her) Of course you are.
JANE: I have three children. I love them. I love my husband. They anchor me.
They tie me to the ground. Sometimes, I feel strangled. I see myself with straws
sticking out of my neck, and people are siphoning off my blood. I’m a
photographer—was. I’m rooted so deeply I can’t budge, and yet I love the roots.
(sighs) It’s difficult to plan a day.
ALICE: (stares at her for a moment) Sit down. We are having tea.
JANE: No.
ALICE: Sugar?
JANE: No. Thank you.
ALICE: You drink your tea like an American.
JANE: You were an American, once.
ALICE: I think of myself as not having had a country. Father traipsed us all over
Europe when we were children. He wanted to broaden us. We became like great
shallow plateaus, spread far and wide, but no roots. Especially Henry and I, but
then, neither of us married.
JANE: Distance has its compensations. Henry wrote his best novels as an
expatriate.
ALICE: He also wrote a terrible play when he lived in London. Do they remember
that, or only his successes?
JANE: I’m married.
ALICE: (looking at her) Of course you are.
JANE: I have three children. I love them. I love my husband. They anchor me.
They tie me to the ground. Sometimes, I feel strangled. I see myself with straws
sticking out of my neck, and people are siphoning off my blood. I’m a
photographer—was. I’m rooted so deeply I can’t budge, and yet I love the roots.
(sighs) It’s difficult to plan a day.
ALICE: (stares at her for a moment) Sit down. We are having tea.
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| Excerpt from Whatever Happened to Alice James? |
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