Nonsense. That woman received word that her husband was killed in the mine and that the son wanted her to come to America, the day I left for Switzerland, a year ago yesterday or to-day; I remember it because I gave her a little money in gold which I had been able to procure. She was to leave two days later. I had no idea that she would still be here, that she would still be waiting. I thought she would have gone, that she would have found a new life, a new hope. But here she is, still clinging to the past, still hoping for something that will never come. It’s tragic, really. To hold on to something that is gone, to live in a memory that only brings pain. I wanted to help her, to give her a chance, but I see now that I was wrong. I should have let her go, let her find her own way. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering, of her being alone. And now, here we are, both of us trapped in this web of regret and lost opportunities.

Paolo Monologue from The Rights of the Soul

Rehearse Paolo's monologue