The Miracle Worker (8 page)

What's the matter there?

KATE:
Miss Annie. You see, she's accustomed to helping herself from our plates to anything she—

ANNIE
[
EVENLY
]: Yes, but
I'm
not accustomed to it.

KELLER:
No, of course not. Viney!

KATE:
Give her something, Jimmie, to quiet her.

JAMES
[
BLANDLY
]: But her table manners are the best she has. Well.

(He pokes across with a chunk of bacon at
HELEN'S
hand, which
ANNIE
releases; but
HELEN
knocks the bacon away and stubbornly thrusts at
ANNIE'S
plate,
ANNIE
grips her wrists again, the struggle mounts.)

KELLER:
Let her this time, Miss Sullivan, it's the only way we get any adult conversation. If my son's half merits that description.

(He rises.)

I'll get you another plate.

ANNIE
[
GRIPPING HELEN
]: I have a plate, thank you.

KATE
[
CALLING
]: Viney! I'm afraid what Captain Keller says is only too true, she'll persist in this until she gets her own way.

KELLER
[
AT THE DOOR
]: Viney, bring Miss Sullivan another plate—

ANNIE
[
STONILY
]: I have a plate, nothing's wrong with the
plate,
I intend to keep it.

(Silence for a moment, except for
HELEN'S
noises as she struggles to get loose; the
KELLERS
are a bit nonplussed, and
ANNIE
is too darkly intent on
HELEN'S
manners to have any thoughts now of her own.)

JAMES:
Ha. You see why they took Vicksburg?

KELLER
[
UNCERTAINLY
]: Miss Sullivan. One plate or another is hardly a matter to struggle with a deprived child about.

ANNIE:
Oh, I'd sooner have a more—

(
HELEN
begins to kick,
ANNIE
moves her ankles to the opposite side of the chair.)

—heroic issue myself, I—

KELLER:
No, I really must insist you—

(
HELEN
bangs her toe on the chair and sinks to the floor, crying with rage and feigned injury;
ANNIE
keeps hold of her wrists, gazing down, while
KATE
rises.)

Now she's hurt herself.

ANNIE
[
GRIMLY
]: No, she hasn't.

KELLER:
Will you please let her hands go?

KATE:
Miss Annie, you don't know the child well enough yet, she'll keep—

ANNIE:
I know an ordinary tantrum well enough, when I see one, and a badly spoiled child—

JAMES:
Hear, hear.

KELLER
[
VERY ANNOYED
]: Miss Sullivan! You would have more understanding of your pupil if you had some pity in you. Now kindly do as I—

ANNIE:
Pity?

(She releases
HELEN
to turn equally annoyed on
KELLER
across the table; instantly
HELEN
scrambles up and dives at
ANNIE'S
plate. This time
ANNIE
intercepts her by pouncing on her wrists like a hawk, and her temper boils.)

For this
tyrant
? The whole house turns on her whims, is there anything she wants she doesn't get? I'll tell you what I pity, that the sun won't rise and set for her all her life, and every day you're telling her it will, what good will your pity do her when you're under the strawberries, Captain Keller?

KELLER
[
OUTRAGED
]: Kate, for the love of heaven will you—

KATE:
Miss Annie, please, I don't think it serves to lose our—

ANNIE:
It does you good, that's all. It's less trouble to feel sorry for her than to teach her anything better, isn't it?

KELLER:
I fail to see where you have taught her anything yet, Miss Sullivan!

ANNIE:
I'll begin this minute, if you'll leave the room, Captain Keller!

KELLER
[
ASTONISHED
]: Leave the—

ANNIE:
Everyone, please.

(She struggles with
HELEN,
while
KELLER
endeavors to control his voice.)

KELLER:
Miss Sullivan, you are here only as a paid teacher. Nothing more, and not to lecture—

ANNIE:
I can't
unteach
her six years of pity if you can't stand up to one tantrum! Old Stonewall, indeed. Mrs. Keller, you promised me help.

KATE:
Indeed I did, we truly want to—

ANNIE:
Then leave me alone with her. Now!

KELLER
[
IN A WRATH
]: Katie, will you come outside with me? At once, please.

(He marches to the front door.
KATE
and
JAMES
follow him. Simultaneously
ANNIE
releases
HELEN'S
wrists, and the child again sinks to the floor, kicking and crying her weird noises;
ANNIE
steps over her to meet
VINEY
coming in the rear doorway with biscuits and a clean plate, surprised at the general commotion.)

VINEY:
Heaven sakes—

ANNIE:
Out, please.

(She backs
VINEY
out with one hand, closes the door on her astonished mouth, locks it, and removes the key.
KELLER
meanwhile snatches his hat from a rack, and
KATE
follows him down the porch steps.
JAMES
lingers in the doorway to address
ANNIE
across the room with a bow.)

JAMES:
If it takes all summer, general.

(
ANNIE
comes over to his door in turn, removing her glasses grimly; as
KELLER
outside begins speaking,
ANNIE
closes the door on
JAMES,
locks it, removes the key, and turns with her back against the door to stare ominously at
HELEN,
kicking on the floor.

JAMES
takes his hat from the rack, and going down the porch steps joins
KATE
and
KELLER
talking in the yard,
KELLER
in a sputter of ire.)

KELLER:
This girl, this—cub of a girl—
presumes!
I tell you, I'm of half a mind to ship her back to Boston before the week is out. You can inform her so from me!

KATE
[
EYEBROWS UP
]: I, Captain?

KELLER:
She's a
hireling
! Now I want it clear, unless there's an apology and complete change of manner she goes back on the next train! Will you make that quite clear?

KATE:
Where will you be, Captain, while I am making it quite—

KELLER:
At the office!

(He begins off left, finds his napkin still in his irate hand, is uncertain with it, dabs his lips with dignity, gets rid of it in a toss to
JAMES,
and marches off.
JAMES
turns to eye
KATE.
)

JAMES:
Will you?

(
KATE'S
mouth is set, and
JAMES
studies it lightly.)

I thought what she said was exceptionally intelligent. I've been saying it for years.

KATE
[
NOT WITHOUT SCORN
]: To his face?

(She comes to relieve him of the white napkin, but reverts again with it.)

Or will you take it, Jimmie? As a flag?

(
JAMES
stalks out, much offended, and
KATE
turning stares across the yard at the house; the lights narrowing down to the following pantomime in the family room leave her motionless in the dark.

ANNIE
meanwhile has begun by slapping both keys down on a shelf out of
HELEN'S
reach; she returns to the table, upstage.
HELEN'S
kicking has subsided, and when from the floor her hand finds
ANNIE'S
chair empty she pauses.
ANNIE
clears the table of
KATE'S, JAMES'S,
and
KELLER'S
plates; she gets back to her own across the table just in time to slide it deftly away from
HELEN'S
pouncing hand. She lifts the hand and moves it to
HELEN'S
plate, and after an instant's exploration,
HELEN
sits again on the floor and drums her heels.
ANNIE
comes around the table and resumes her chair. When
HELEN
feels her skirt again, she ceases kicking, waits for whatever is to come, renews some kicking, waits again.
ANNIE
retrieving her plate takes up a forkful of food, stops it halfway to her mouth, gazes at it devoid of appetite, and half-lowers it; but after a look at
HELEN
she sighs, dips the forkful toward
HELEN
in a for-your-sake toast, and puts it in her own mouth to chew, not without an effort.

HELEN
now gets holds of the chair leg, and half-succeeds in pulling the chair out from under her.
ANNIE
bangs it down with her rear, heavily, and sits with all her weight.
HELEN'S
next attempt to topple it is unavailing, so her fingers dive in a pinch at
ANNIE'S
flank.
ANNIE
in the middle of her mouthful almost loses it with startle, and she slaps down her fork to round on
HELEN.
The child comes up with curiosity to feel what
ANNIE
is doing, so
ANNIE
resumes eating, letting
HELEN'S
hand follow the movement of her fork to her mouth; whereupon
HELEN
at once reaches into
ANNIE'S
plate.
ANNIE
firmly removes her hand to her own plate.
HELEN
in reply pinches
ANNIE'S
thigh, a good mean pinchful that makes
ANNIE
jump.
ANNIE
sets the fork down, and sits with her mouth tight.
HELEN
digs another pinch into her thigh, and this time
ANNIE
slaps her hand smartly away;
HELEN
retaliates with a roundhouse fist that catches
ANNIE
on the ear, and
ANNIE'S
hand leaps at once in a forceful slap across
HELEN'S
cheek;
HELEN
is the startled one now.
ANNIE'S
hand in compunction falters to her own face, but when
HELEN
hits at her again,
ANNIE
deliberately slaps her again.
HELEN
lifts her fist irresolute for another roundhouse,
ANNIE
lifts her hand resolute for another slap, and they freeze in this posture, while
HELEN
mulls it over. She thinks better of it, drops her fist, and giving
ANNIE
a wide berth, gropes around to her
MOTHER'S
chair, to find it empty; she blunders her way along the table upstage, and encountering the empty chairs and missing plates, she looks bewildered; she gropes back to her
MOTHER'S
chair, again touches her cheek and indicates the chair, and waits for the world to answer.

ANNIE
now reaches over to spell into her hand, but
HELEN
yanks it away; she gropes to the front door, tries the knob, and finds the door locked, with no key. She gropes to the rear door, and finds it locked, with no key. She commences to bang on it.
ANNIE
rises, crosses, takes her wrists, draws her resisting back to the table, seats her, and releases her hands upon her plate; as
ANNIE
herself begins to sit,
HELEN
writhes out of her chair, runs to the front door, and tugs and kicks at it.
ANNIE
rises again, crosses, draws her by one wrist back to the table, seats her, and sits;
HELEN
escapes back to the door, knocking over her
MOTHER'S
chair en route.
ANNIE
rises again in pursuit, and this time lifts
HELEN
bodily from behind and bears her kicking to her chair. She deposits her, and once more turns to sit.
HELEN
scrambles out, but as she passes
ANNIE
catches her up again from behind and deposits her in the chair;
HELEN
scrambles out on the other side, for the rear door, but
ANNIE
at her heels catches her up and deposits her again in the chair. She stands behind it.
HELEN
scrambles out to her right, and the instant her feet hit the floor
ANNIE
lifts and deposits her back; she scrambles out to her left, and is at once lifted and deposited back. She tries right again and is deposited back, and tries left again and is deposited back, and now feints
ANNIE
to the right but is off to her left, and is promptly deposited back. She sits a moment, and then starts straight over the tabletop, dishware notwithstanding;
ANNIE
hauls her in and deposits her back, with her plate spilling in her lap, and she melts to the floor and crawls under the table, laborious among its legs and chairs; but
ANNIE
is swift around the table and waiting on the other side when she surfaces, immediately bearing her aloft;
HELEN
clutches at
JAMES'S
chair for anchorage, but it comes with her, and halfway back she abandons it to the floor.
ANNIE
deposits
her in her chair, and waits.
HELEN
sits tensed motionless. Then she tentatively puts out her left foot and hand,
ANNIE
interposes her own hand, and at the contact
HELEN
jerks hers in. She tries her right foot,
ANNIE
blocks it with her own, and
HELEN
jerks hers in. Finally, leaning back, she slumps down in her chair, in a sullen biding.