
The Age of Innocence[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. Larrylooks at stage through pearl opera glasses. Then he swings his opera glasses away fromthe stage and t
[She seems surprised]
ARCHER
You didn't know?
ELLEN
No. But he told me he had met you. In Paris, I think.
ARCHER
Ellen...I have to ask you. Just one thing.
ELLEN
Yes?
ARCHER
Was it Riviere who helped you get away after you left your husband?
ELLEN
Yes. I owe him a great debt.
ARCHER
(quietly)
I think you're the most honest woman I ever met.
ELLEN
(slight smile)
No. But probably one of the least fussy.
ARCHER
Ellen, We can't stay like this. It can't last.
ELLEN
What?
ARCHER
Our being together and not being together. It's impossible.
ELLEN
You shouldn't have come today.
[Suddenly, she turns and flings her arms around him, pressing him close, kissing him
passionately. He returns all her feeling. She suddenly draws away, silent and motionless
to the corner of the carriage]
ARCHER
Don't be afraid. Look, I'm not even trying to touch your sleeve. Being like this
isn't what I want. I need you with me. I can even just sit still, like this, and
look at you.
ELLEN
I think we should look at reality, not dreams.
ARCHER
(desperate)
I just want us to be together.
ELLEN
I can't be your wife, Newland. Is it your idea I should live with you as your
mistress?
ARCHER
I want...somehow I want to get away with you. Find a world where words like that
won't exist.
ELLEN
Oh my dear...whare is that country? Have you ever been there? Is there anywhere we
can be happy behind the backs of people who trust us?
ARCHER
I'm beyond caring about that.
ELLEN
No, you're not! You've never been beyond that. I have. I know what it looks like.
A lie in every silence. It's no place for us.
[He looks at her, dazed. Then he reaches for the small cab bell that signals orders to
the coachman. The coach pulls up and Archer gets out]
ELLEN
Why are we stopping? This isn't Granny's.
ARCHER
No. I'll get out here. You were right. I shouldn't have come today.
[He closes the door]
[In the library at the Archer House that night. Archer is reading a book and May is
embroidering a soft cushion]
MAY
What are you reading?
ARCHER
Oh, a history. About Japan.
MAY
Why?
ARCHER
I don't know. Because it's a different country.
MAY
You used to read poetry. It was so nice when you read it to me.
[He gets to his feet]
ARCHER
I need some air.
[He goes to the window and opens it and leans out into the cold]
MAY
Newland! You'll catch your death.
ARCHER
Catch my death. Of course.
NARRATOR
But then he realized, I am dead. I've been dead for months and months. Then it
occurred to him that she might die. People did. Young people, healthy people, did.
She might die, and set him free.
[May sees him looking at her]
MAY
Newland?
[He walks to her and touches her head]
ARCHER
Poor May.
MAY
Poor? Why poor?
ARCHER
Because I'll never be able to open a window without worrying you.
MAY
I'll never worry if you're happy.
ARCHER
And I'll never be happy unless I can open the windows.
MAY
In this weather?
[On the street at Ellen's house. Ellen is coming down the front steps toward a waiting
carriage. As she approaches the carriage door, Archer steps out of the shadows]
ARCHER
I have to see you. I didn't know when you were leaving again.
ELLEN
I'm due at Regina Beaufort's. Granny lent me her carriage.
ARCHER
With all that's happened, you're still goinig to see Regina Beaufort?
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