I couldn't foresee that I was doomed to pay the price all nervous men pay for success; that the greater my success became, the more cancer-like grew the fear of never being able to continue it, to excel it; that the triumph of today was always to be the torture of tomorrow! Oh, Agnes, the agony of success to a nervous, sensitive man; the dismal apprehension that fills his life and gives each victory a voice to cry out "Hear, hear! Bravo, bravo, bravo! But this is to be your last--you'll never overtop it!" Ha, yes! I soon found out the weak spot in my armour--the need of constant encouragement, constant reminder of my powers; the need of that subtle sympathy which a sacrificing, unselfish woman alone possesses the secret of. Well, my very weakness might have been a source of greatness if, three years ago, it had been to such a woman that I had bound myself--a woman of your disposition; instead of to--! Ah!

Lucas Monologue from The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith

Rehearse Lucas's monologue