Children: Mommy, Mommy, tell us a good-night story!
Vivie: Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who lived separated from her mother. She was brought up by foster-parents because her own mother didn’t have time for her, so she never had a close relationship with her real mother. The little girl grew up with no beauty or romance in her life, she was only interested in factual things, especially mathematics, which was unconventional at that time. This might sound sad to other people, but this girl wasn’t sad at all, she was satisfied with her own achievements and proud that she, as a woman, had made it so far in the male-dominated fields. She has reached her goals, she graduated from Cambridge with a wrangler and she was about to work for Honoria Fraser in London as an accountant. This girl was not like other girls, she was special and outstanding because she enjoyed working hard and getting paid for it.
But then after 21 years her mother returned and this brought chaos her life, because her mother expected from the little girl who was grown up to give up all her plans in order to live a “conventional” life like her mother. But how can her mother expect that from her after 21 years of separation? She couldn’t pretend as if nothing had happened and be a happy family with her mother. She simply couldn’t put up with it! Her mother couldn’t do that to her, could she?
So the girl confronted her mother and her mother answered that she must have some excitement in her life or otherwise she would go melancholy mad and that was one of the reasons why she couldn’t care for the girl. At this point the girl realized that she was just like her mother, they both liked to work and they both had to make money…
Children: [sleeping] tzzzzzz! tzzzzzzzz!
Vivie: [disappointed and talking to herself] Oh, I see you are not interested in my story. I guess it was so boring that you fell asleep immediately. Oh well, I guess this is fine now I can go back to my work. [suddenly the door bell rings] Who might this be? [looking at the clock] 12 o’clock, it must be something important. [walks to the door and opens it] MOTHER, what are you doing here?
Mrs. Warren: Don’t shut the door on me, please. I have something important to tell you! I am sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth about my profession. It took me 10 years to realize that I was wrong. Please forgive me! And now I can assure you that I am finished with it! I have nothing to do with it anymore.
Vivie: Mother, call it by its name, ok?!
Mrs. Warren: Dearest, you know that I can’t call it by its name. That is not appropriate in our society to speak out such things. As you said 10 years ago, I am a conventional woman at heart. We both know what I did, so I don’t need to say it… [Vivie interrupts her mother]
Vivie: Mother, I think you haven’t gotten the point yet! [sarcastically] Take another ten years to think about it! [is about to close the door]
Mrs. Warren: As you leave me no choice, I was a PROSTITUTE and it was wrong.
Vivie: [surprised] Ahh, there you go. Come on in, mother and we can talk about it.
The End
