31 Plays in 31 Days, #4 - “Soft Touch”

[breakinglight11]

Another scene from the eventual continuation of the main Mrs. Hawking series. One thing I’ve been wanting to is bring more of a presence of Nathaniel and Clara’s children into things. They’ve been too young up to this point to easily depict on stage, so we’ve only referred to them previously. But while I haven’t nailed down exactly when part 7 would take place, it likely won’t be any earlier than 1890, at which point Beatrice would be fourteen, and Reggie would be twelve. Reggie would go away to boarding school at Harrow like his old man, but Beatrice would be present to figure in the story.

My current thought is that she would represent a hope for the next generation, the idea that other bright young women could be inspired by Mrs. Hawking, and that there is greater strength in numbers than in Mrs. Hawking’s typical lone wolf ways. But I also like the idea that Clara has to come to terms with this path for Beatrice’s life, as she’d hoped her daughter would take more after her. So this would be an early scene, demonstrating the slightly different attitudes Nathaniel and Clara hold towards their children— he’s a soft touch, she’s a bit more stern —and expose Clara’s uneasiness about Beatrice becoming wayward. It’s very nonspecific now, but I think at this early point Clara would not be comfortably fully voicing her fears that she’s losing her daughter to Mrs. Hawking.

This would be continued later in the piece with #26 - Her Own from 31P31D 2019.


Photo by Daniel Fox

Day #4 - Soft Touch
From Mrs. Hawking 7
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

NATHANIEL HAWKING, a London gentleman, Mrs. Hawking’s nephew and assistant, mid-thirties
CLARA HAWKING, a society lady and his wife, late thirties

London, England, 1890
~~~

CLARA: You indulge her too much.

NATHANIEL: Can you blame me? With Reggie gone, she’s all we’ve got.

CLARA: For heaven’s sake, darling. He’s only away at school, not in Russian prison.

NATHANIEL: Still, don’t you miss him so?

CLARA: Of course I do. But the boy’s a third-generation Harrow man; we’ve had plenty of time to prepare ourselves.

NATHANIEL: That’s true. When we saw him off, I cried more than he did. But that’s our little boy all the way away from home.

CLARA: He’s clever and bright. He’ll handle himself just fine.

NATHANIEL: My beamish boy. We ought to send him something— I don’t know, a hamper from Fortnam and Mason, perhaps?

CLARA: Only if we want the other boys to shut him up inside it. You know how schoolboys can be.

NATHANIEL: I suppose. But you know I was always very popular. I can’t imagine Reggie won’t take after his old man.

CLARA: Then you’ve nothing to worry over. I’m more concerned for Beatrice at the moment.

NATHANIEL: For Beatrice? Why ever so?

CLARA: She’s been so restless of late. Impudent, almost.

NATHANIEL: Really? I haven’t noticed.

CLARA: That’s because you let her get away with murder.

NATHANIEL: Our darling girl?

CLARA: That’s precisely what I mean. She knows you’re an easy mark and so she tries it on.

NATHANIEL: I honestly don’t know what you mean.

CLARA: She’s testing her limits, mark me. And I’ll thank you to help me hold the line. I’ll not play the prison warden while you keep in her good graces.

NATHANIEL: If you say so, dear.

CLARA: Only keep your eyes open. Something’s amiss with her, and I don’t want to let it get out of hand.