Mrs Batholommey Monologue from The Return of Peter Grimm

From The Return of Peter Grimm by David Belasco

female · defiant · 1:06 min

Oh, no, you don't! You may flout our beliefs; but wouldn't you like to bolster up your report with "the wife of a clergyman who was present!" It sounds so respectable and sane, doesn't it? No, sir! You cannot prop up your wild-eyed-- (REV. MR. BATHOLOMMEY: Rose, my dear!) (Sweeping on.) --theories against the good black of a minister's coat. I think myself that you have probably stumbled on the truth about William's mother. (REV. MR. BATHOLOMMEY: Can it be true? Oh, dreadful! Dreadful!) But that child knew it all along. He's eight years old and he was with her until five--and five's the age of memory. Every incident of his mother's life has lingered in his little mind. Supposing you do find her and learn that it's all true: what do you prove? Simply that William remembered, and that's all there is to it.

Rehearse Mrs Batholommey's monologue

Run it out loud with a spotlight that follows your voice, line by line, until it's off the page. Free to start, no credit card.

Rehearse free Get started free