Chapter 21 Chapter Eighteen

Now, everything is going well: the theater is being set up, the actors are practicing, and the costumes are being made.But, although no major problems were encountered, it did not take long for Fanny to discover that the staff were not always happy.At first she could hardly bear to see them all in high spirits, but it did not last.Each of them has their own troubles.Edmund had many worries.Instead of heeding his advice, they had a matte-painter brought in from London and started working, which greatly increased expenses and, what was worse, made a scene.Instead of following his advice not to invite outsiders, his brother extended invitations to every family with whom he had association.Tom himself was irritated by the slow progress of the matte painter and impatient to wait.He already knew his lines by heart, all of his lines because he took on all the small roles that could be merged with the butler, so he couldn't wait to act.Every day he spends doing nothing like this, he will feel more and more that all the roles he played are meaningless, and he regrets why he didn't choose a particular play.

Fanny's respectful listening to what was said to them, and as she was often the only one listening to them, made it almost impossible for them to complain to her.She heard: Everyone thinks Mr. Yates is terrible when he shouts;Crawford was disappointed; Tom.Bertram speaks too fast, and the audience will not understand; Mrs. Grant loves to laugh, spoiling the scene; Edmund has not yet recited his lines; Give him lines.She had heard, too, that poor Mr. Rushworth had difficulty finding anyone to rehearse with him; and he, for his part, complained to her, and to others.She saw so clearly that her cousin Maria was avoiding him, and rehearsing their first scenes with Mr. Crawford unnecessarily often, that she was at once apprehensive of other complaints from Mr. Rushworth.She found that, far from being everyone satisfied and everyone happy, the group wanted to get something they didn't have, and made others unhappy.Everyone either thinks their play is good or short. No one can show up on time, and no one remembers where they came from. They only blame others, and no one is willing to obey the guidance.

Fanny, while not participating in the show, felt that she was getting the same pleasure out of it.Henry.Crawford did well, and Fanny slipped into the theater to watch the rehearsal of the first act, and enjoyed it, though she had some distaste for some of Maria's lines.She thought it was great that Maria also acted very well.After a rehearsal or two, Fanny was left alone in the audience, and it was often useful sometimes to prompt the actors, and sometimes to look on.In her opinion, Mr. Crawford was absolutely the best actor: he had more confidence than Edmund, more judgment than Tom, more talent and taste than Mr. Yates.She doesn't like him as a person, but has to admit that he is the best actor.Not many people disagree with her on this point.It is true that Mr. Yates had something to say about him, that he was dull.Finally one day, Mr. Rushworth turned to her with a sullen face and said: What do you think he plays well?To be honest, I don't appreciate him.Let's talk privately, I think it's ridiculous that such a short, unattractive person should be praised as a good actor.

From then on, his former jealousy relapsed.Maria, wanting Crawford more than ever, did not care whether he was jealous or not.This made Mr. Rushworth's forty-two lines more difficult to learn by heart.No one but his mother expects him to be able to recite his lines properly.And his mother even thought that her son should play a more important role.She did not come to Mansfield until after some extra rehearsal, in order to see every scene her son was going to play.But everyone else only hoped that he could remember the catchphrases he used on stage, remember the first line of each of his lines, and mention the rest of the lines.Fanny was soft-hearted and sympathetic to him, she spent a lot of effort teaching him to recite, helped him in every possible way, inspired him, and tried to help him memorize in various ways, but in the end she memorized every line of his lines, and He didn't make much progress.

She did have many restless, anxious, and worrying thoughts in her mind.But with so much going on, and so many other things to worry about and work on, she felt that she was by no means idle and useless among them, by no means restless alone, and by no means unoccupied with her leisure. , begging for her mercy.She had feared that she would live in depression, but it turned out that was not the case.She was sometimes useful to all of us, and she was perhaps as at peace with us all. Also, there is a lot of needlework that needs her help.Mrs. Norris thought she was enjoying herself as well as everyone else, and this was evident from her words.Come, Fanny, she cried, you are having a good time these days.However, you don't always have to walk freely from one room to another like this, just watching the fun from the sidelines.I need you here.I've been working so hard I can't stand, and I'm trying to make a cloak for Mr. Rushworth out of this bit of satin, and I thought you could do me a favor and put it together.With only three seams, you can sew in one go.I'd be lucky if I just stayed in charge.I can tell you that you are the happiest.If everyone had as much leisure as you, we wouldn't be progressing so quickly.

Fanny, not wanting to defend herself, took over the work in silence, though her kinder aunt Bertram spoke for her. There is no wonder, sister, that Fanny should be happy.You know, she's never seen anything like it.You and I both liked to watch acting, and I still like to watch it now.As soon as I have a little more time, I will also go in and watch their rehearsal.Fanny, what is this play about?You never told me that. oh!Sister, please don't ask her now.Fanny was not the sort of person to talk and do.The play was about lovers' vows. I think, said Fanny to Aunt Bertram, there are three acts to be rehearsed to-morrow night, and you can see all the actors at once.

You'd better wait till the curtains are up, Mrs. Norris put in.In a day or two the curtain will be up.There is no curtain in acting and no spectacle. I am sure that when the curtain is pulled, it will show very beautiful folds. Lady Bertram seemed content to wait.Fanny was not as calm as her aunt.She is very concerned about tomorrow's rehearsal.If three acts are rehearsed tomorrow, Edmund and Miss Crawford will be performing together for the first time.There was a scene in the third act, involving the two of them, which Fanny was particularly interested in, and both wanted to see and dread to see how they acted.The whole theme is to talk about love, men talk about marriage based on love, and women are almost talking about love.

Fanny read the scene over and over with bitterness and apprehension, and thought about it anxiously, waiting to see them play, and could not help seeing what happened.She believed they hadn't rehearsed, nor were they rehearsing in private. The next day came, and the plans for the evening remained unchanged.Fanny was still restless at the thought of the evening's rehearsal.Under the command of her aunt, she worked diligently, but her diligence and silence concealed her restlessness and absent-mindedness.About noon, she fled back to the east room with her needlework, because she heard Henry.Crawford offered to rehearse the first act, which she was not interested in, seeing no need to rehearse it at all. She wanted to be alone, and to avoid seeing Mr. Rushworth at the same time.As she passed the hall, she saw two ladies coming from the vicarage, and she still had no change in her mind of going back to her room for shelter.She worked and meditated in the east room, without any disturbance around her.A quarter of an hour later, there was a light knock at the door, and Miss Crawford entered.

Did I go through the wrong door?Yes, this is the East House.Dear Miss Price, I beg your pardon, but I have come to ask for your help. Fanny was greatly surprised, but after a few civilities to show that she was the owner of the house, she looked sheepishly at the shining iron bars on the empty grate. Thank you I am not cold, not cold at all.Please allow me to stay here for a while, help me, and listen to me recite the third act.I've brought the script, and I'd appreciate it if you'd like to rehearse with me!I came here today, I thought we'd rehearse with Edmund and we'd do our own practice to get ready for the evening, but I didn't meet him.Even if I meet him, I'm afraid I'll be too embarrassed to practice with him until I thicken my skin, because there are actually a couple of passages in which you will help me, right?

Fanny assented very politely, though not very firmly. Have you read the passage I was talking about?Miss Crawford went on, opening the script.right here.At first I didn't think it was a big deal but, honestly look, you look at this passage, and this passage, and this passage.How could I look him in the eye and say something like that?Can you tell?But he's your cousin, which makes all the difference.You must practice it with me, so I can imagine you as him and get used to it.You look like him sometimes. Do I look like that?I'm more than happy to do my best but I can only read, not recite.

I don't think you can recite a word.Of course I will give you the script.Get started now.We need two chairs beside us, so you can take them in front of the table.It would be nice to have lessons there, maybe not so good for acting.It is more suitable for little girls to sit on it and kick their feet to study homework.What would your governess and your uncle say if they saw us play with this chair?If Sir Thomas had seen us at this moment, he would have been furious, and we had turned his house all over into rehearsal grounds.Yates yelled at the restaurant.I heard it upstairs, and the theater must have been occupied by the two indefatigable rehearsals: Agatha and Frederick.It's no wonder they don't act well.By the way, I went five minutes to see them, and just as they were refraining from embracing, Mr. Rushworth was beside me.I felt that his face was not right, so I wanted to divert the matter as much as possible, and whispered to him: We will have a very good Agatha, her every move has a bit of maternal charm, and her voice and expression are even more Full of maternal charm.Am I doing well?He suddenly cheered up.Now I'll practice my monologue. Miss Crawford began.When Fanny helped her practice, she couldn't help becoming cautious and steady when she thought that she represented Edmund, but her expression and voice were completely feminine, so she was not a very good image of a man.However, facing such an Anhalt, Miss Crawford was quite courageous. They had just finished half-time practice when they heard someone knocking on the door, and stopped.In a second, Edmund entered, and the rehearsal came to a complete halt. This unexpected encounter made the three of them surprised, happy, and embarrassed.Edmund's purpose in coming here was exactly the same as Miss Crawford's, and the joy between them was not fleeting.He also came to Fanny with the script, and asked her to rehearse with him first, to help him prepare for the evening rehearsal, but he did not expect that Miss Crawford was in the mansion.They met in this way, introduced their projects to each other, and praised Fanny for her kindness, which was a great joy and excitement. Fanny wasn't as interested as they were.While they were elated, she was down.She felt that she had become almost insignificant to both of them, and she was not comforted by the fact that they both came to her.They are going to rehearse together now.Edmund proposed, urged, and entreated the young lady, who at first was not very reluctant, and then stopped refusing that Fanny's use was only to give them prompts and watch their rehearsal.Those two really gave her the mission of judging and offering opinions from the sidelines, and earnestly hoped that she would exercise her authority and point out every defect to them.But she was timid about it, unable, unwilling, and afraid to do so.Even if she is entitled to an opinion, her conscience does not allow her to criticize rashly.She felt that this incident made her feel uncomfortable in her heart, and specific opinions would not be objective and reliable.Prompting them is enough for her to do, sometimes she may not be able to do a good job, because she can't concentrate on the script all the time.She would get distracted while watching them rehearse.Seeing Edmund getting more and more excited, she felt agitated, and once, just when he needed a prompt, she closed the script and turned away.She explained that it was because of fatigue, which was a very valid reason.They thanked her and pitied her.However, they could never guess how much pity she deserved from them.At last the practice was over, and the two men praised each other, and Fanny made an effort to praise them both.After those two people left, she thought about the situation before and after, and felt that their acting was sincere and would definitely win praise, but it would bring her great pain.No matter what the result was, she would have to endure another heavy blow that day. The first official rehearsal of the first three acts is sure to take place in the evening.Mrs. Grant, the Crawfords, and the Crawfords had agreed to attend after dinner, and others concerned were eagerly looking forward to the evening.During this period, everyone seemed to be smiling.Tom was elated at the end of the day, Edmund was elated at the morning's practice, and people's little annoyances seemed to be swept away.Everyone was in such a hurry that the ladies rose at once, and the gentlemen followed, and all, except Mrs. Bertram, Mrs. Norris, and Julia, arrived at the theater early.At this time candles were lit to illuminate the unfinished stage, and when Mrs. Grant and the Crawford brothers and sisters arrived, the rehearsal was about to begin. The Crawfords arrived before long, but Mrs. Grant did not appear.She can't come.Dr. Grant said he wasn't well enough to let his wife in, but his pretty sister-in-law didn't believe there was anything wrong with him. Dr. Grant is ill, said Miss Crawford, with affected seriousness.He has been unwell, and he didn't eat any pheasant today.He said it wasn't burnt and pushed the plate aside and was uncomfortable all the time. What a sight!It is a pity that Mrs. Grant cannot come.Her pleasing demeanor and easy-going, happy disposition have always made her popular, and today she is absolutely inseparable from her.If she doesn't come, everyone will not perform well and rehearse well.The fun of the whole evening would be lost.How to do it?Tom was playing the villager, and he couldn't do anything.After a moment of bewilderment, several eyes were turned to Fanny, and one or two said whether Miss Price would read her parts.Immediately entreaties came from every direction, and everyone begged her, even Edmund: "Come, Fanny, if you don't find it very offensive." But Fanny still hesitated.She dared not imagine such a thing.Why didn't they go to Miss Crawford?She knew that her room was the safest, so why didn't she go back to her room earlier, but she wanted to watch the rehearsal?She already knew that she should not have come here to watch the rehearsal and get angry.She deserves to be punished now. You just have to say your lines, Henry.Crawford pleaded again. I'm sure she recited every sentence, added Maria, who corrected Mrs. Grant twenty times that day.Fanny, I think you can recite the character's lines by heart. Fanny dared not say that she could not recite the persistent entreaties that Edmund begged her again, and with an air of kindly dependence, believed that she would carry it out.At this point she had to obey and had to do what she could.Everyone was satisfied, and everyone was preparing to start, while her heart was still beating violently with fear. The rehearsal has officially begun.Everyone was so engrossed in acting that they didn't notice an unusual noise coming from the other end of the mansion.Then the door flew open, and Julia stood at the door, crying out in horror: My father is back!Right now in the hall.