Sign in with Facebook
“ROSALIND. (To the audience.) I have two rumors. Twin tumors.
Twins scampering around my body on tricycles, dropping handfuls
of dirt as they go ... For a moment I think of naming one Watson
and the other Crick, but no, I tell myself: Rosalind, dispel the
thought. (Beat.) No. I have ovarian cancer. A tumor in each ovary,
one the size of a tennis ball, and the other a croquet ball, and they
are indeed an efficient pair.”
―
Twins scampering around my body on tricycles, dropping handfuls
of dirt as they go ... For a moment I think of naming one Watson
and the other Crick, but no, I tell myself: Rosalind, dispel the
thought. (Beat.) No. I have ovarian cancer. A tumor in each ovary,
one the size of a tennis ball, and the other a croquet ball, and they
are indeed an efficient pair.”
―
“ROSALIND. I do love the shapes of things, you know. I love them
even before they mean something.”
―
even before they mean something.”
―
“DON. You know, I have this theory ... I think the things we
want but can't have are probably the things that define us ...
And I've spent more time than I'd like to admit coming to this
pretty simple conclusion so I hope you don't think it's completely
ridiculous. But ... I guess I'm talking about ... I don't know ...
yearning?”
―
want but can't have are probably the things that define us ...
And I've spent more time than I'd like to admit coming to this
pretty simple conclusion so I hope you don't think it's completely
ridiculous. But ... I guess I'm talking about ... I don't know ...
yearning?”
―
“RAY. But she never went to Leeds. Rosalind was thirty-seven when
she died. It was a particularly cold April that year; there was frost on
the trees in London; the Alps stayed snow-covered well into June.
MAURICE. No, no, no ... I won't have it.
RAY. Eulogies about her focused on her single-minded devotion
to work, the progress she made in her work, the lasting contributions
she made through her work.
MAURICE. (To Ray.) Stop that! I said: stop that right now.
RAY. I can't. It's what happened.
DON. It's the tricky thing about time, and memory. I tell my grandchildren: whole worlds of things we wish had happened are
as real in our heads as what actually did occur.
MAURICE. Stop that right now. We start over. At the beginning.This instant.
JAMES. You've got to be kidding me, Wilkins. I mean, you won.
We won. Your name on the Nobel Prize. Remember that part? For
god's sakes: this was the finest moment in your life.
MAURICE. No. It wasn't. (He turns to Rosalind.) We start over.
Just us this time. (Everyone else exits.) Please ... You see, I need ...
ROSALIND. (Gently.) What is it you need, Maurice?
MAURICE. There's something I need to tell you ... It's important.
ROSALIND. Then tell me. (Beat.)
MAURICE. I saw you. The day you went to see The Winters Tale at the Phoenix.
ROSALIND. This is what you needed to tell me?”
―
she died. It was a particularly cold April that year; there was frost on
the trees in London; the Alps stayed snow-covered well into June.
MAURICE. No, no, no ... I won't have it.
RAY. Eulogies about her focused on her single-minded devotion
to work, the progress she made in her work, the lasting contributions
she made through her work.
MAURICE. (To Ray.) Stop that! I said: stop that right now.
RAY. I can't. It's what happened.
DON. It's the tricky thing about time, and memory. I tell my grandchildren: whole worlds of things we wish had happened are
as real in our heads as what actually did occur.
MAURICE. Stop that right now. We start over. At the beginning.This instant.
JAMES. You've got to be kidding me, Wilkins. I mean, you won.
We won. Your name on the Nobel Prize. Remember that part? For
god's sakes: this was the finest moment in your life.
MAURICE. No. It wasn't. (He turns to Rosalind.) We start over.
Just us this time. (Everyone else exits.) Please ... You see, I need ...
ROSALIND. (Gently.) What is it you need, Maurice?
MAURICE. There's something I need to tell you ... It's important.
ROSALIND. Then tell me. (Beat.)
MAURICE. I saw you. The day you went to see The Winters Tale at the Phoenix.
ROSALIND. This is what you needed to tell me?”
―
“ROSALIND. I don't intend to spend any more time in that hospital. If I'm going to be in a dank, disgusting little room, I may as
well be here, where I might even gee some work done before I die.
MAURICE. Please don't say that.
ROSALIND. Why not? It's not pleasant? It makes you think
about your own life? The inevitability of your own death?
MAURICE. Yes. All of those things.
ROSALIND. Well, no one can protect you from those.
MAURICE. No. No I suppose not.
ROSALIND. We lose. In the end, we lose. The work is never
finished and in the meantime our bodies wind down, tick slower,
sputter out.
MAURICE. Like grandfather clocks.
ROSALIND. Well this has been a pleasant conversation.
MAURICE. Rosalind, I ...
ROSALIND. So they really got it, did they?
MAURICE. Yes.
ROSALIND. Is the model ... is it just beautiful?
MAURICE. Yes.
ROSALIND. Well. We were close, weren't we? By god, we were close.
MAURICE. But we Lost.
ROSALIND. Lost? No ... We all won. The world won, didn't it?
MAURICE. But aren't you at all ...
ROSALIND. Yes, but .. . It's not that they got it first ... It really
isn't ... It's that I didn't see it. I wish I'd been able to see it.
MAURICE. I think you would have. A few more days, even.
ROSALIND. So why didn't I get those days? Who decided I shouldn't get those days? Didn't I deserve them? (Beat.) I mean, if
I'd only ...
RAY. Been more careful around the beam.
JAMES. Collaborated.
FRANCIS. Been more open, less wary. Less self-protective.
DON. Or more wary, more self-protective.
JAMES. Been a better scientist.
DON. Been willing to take more risks, make models, go forward
without the certainty of proof.
FRANCIS. Been friendlier.
RAY. Or born at another time.
FRANCIS. Or born a man.”
―
well be here, where I might even gee some work done before I die.
MAURICE. Please don't say that.
ROSALIND. Why not? It's not pleasant? It makes you think
about your own life? The inevitability of your own death?
MAURICE. Yes. All of those things.
ROSALIND. Well, no one can protect you from those.
MAURICE. No. No I suppose not.
ROSALIND. We lose. In the end, we lose. The work is never
finished and in the meantime our bodies wind down, tick slower,
sputter out.
MAURICE. Like grandfather clocks.
ROSALIND. Well this has been a pleasant conversation.
MAURICE. Rosalind, I ...
ROSALIND. So they really got it, did they?
MAURICE. Yes.
ROSALIND. Is the model ... is it just beautiful?
MAURICE. Yes.
ROSALIND. Well. We were close, weren't we? By god, we were close.
MAURICE. But we Lost.
ROSALIND. Lost? No ... We all won. The world won, didn't it?
MAURICE. But aren't you at all ...
ROSALIND. Yes, but .. . It's not that they got it first ... It really
isn't ... It's that I didn't see it. I wish I'd been able to see it.
MAURICE. I think you would have. A few more days, even.
ROSALIND. So why didn't I get those days? Who decided I shouldn't get those days? Didn't I deserve them? (Beat.) I mean, if
I'd only ...
RAY. Been more careful around the beam.
JAMES. Collaborated.
FRANCIS. Been more open, less wary. Less self-protective.
DON. Or more wary, more self-protective.
JAMES. Been a better scientist.
DON. Been willing to take more risks, make models, go forward
without the certainty of proof.
FRANCIS. Been friendlier.
RAY. Or born at another time.
FRANCIS. Or born a man.”
―
Oprah's Book Club (Official)
— 86388 members
— last activity 17 hours, 46 min ago
Welcome to the official Oprah's Book Club group. OBC is the interactive, multi-platform reading club bringing passionate readers together to discuss i ...more
Goodreads Librarians Group
— 321297 members
— last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
Setayesh’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Setayesh’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Setayesh
Lists liked by Setayesh
