Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 349: The cutting continues, and the reasoning remains chaotic.

The moment the name "Madeleine" was confirmed, a low, suppressed gasp rose from the audience.

Many people subconsciously sat up straight, leaned forward, and used their binoculars to try to capture every subtle change in the expressions of the two people on stage more clearly.

The dignified and cold Lord Laverne, who symbolized absolute order and control in the first act, now had "cracks" on his face.

It wasn't just surprise; it was a sudden shift from reminiscing about the past to being jolted awake by reality, and an instinctive wariness when a secret is exposed.

Madeleine's journey begins with her effort to maintain composure upon entering the living room, followed by an overwhelming sorrow when facing her former lover, culminating in a resolute and detached acceptance.

The reactions of male and female audience members to this scene of recognizing each other were instantly distinct, yet equally intense.

The gentlemen, especially the older "La Verne"s, looked unusually grave.

Faced with the sudden reappearance of a forgotten lover from their "disgraceful" past, they felt a strong sense of unease, as if their property and reputation were threatened.

Laverne's stern question, "What are you doing here?" and the subsequent cold skepticism struck at their deepest, most hidden fears.

They fear that past mistakes will backfire in their most embarrassing moments, destroying the dignity they have carefully maintained.

They exchanged glances, their lips pursed, and they nodded slightly, silently acknowledging Laverne's "vigilance" as necessary and reasonable.

A gentleman with a handsome mustache whispered to his companion, "See? These women always appear when you least expect them, bringing with them years of trouble!"

The ladies, on the other hand, almost unanimously sided with Madeleine.

What they saw was a woman cruelly tormented by fate, seduced and abandoned in her youth.

After enduring years of hardship alone, she still had to face the indifference and defensiveness of her former lover.

Madeleine's indignant accusation, "Fate! Unfair fate has sent me here!" made many women take out their handkerchiefs and wipe their eyes.

They wept for Madeleine's sorrow, and were even more moved by the resolute determination she displayed.

A young woman in a formal dress gripped her companion's arm tightly, her voice choked with emotion: "My God, she's so pitiful! How could that man be so heartless!"

Another elderly noblewoman shook her head, fanning herself rapidly: "This is our fate! Always forgotten, always doubted, even though we endure everything!"

However, what nearly drove all viewers, regardless of gender, to a mental breakdown was the intricate web of relationships that surfaced as the former lovers reunited.

It is so complex that no one can figure it out immediately.

"Wait... Madeleine is Lord Laverne's former lover? That maid?"

"Not only that! She just admitted that Edward and Fanny are her children! That means..."

"God! Young Master Edward and Fanny are siblings? Half-siblings?"

"They... Oh my god! Young Master Edward loved Fanny? This, this is also **!"

Why did you say 'also'?

"You've forgotten! Edward is also Lady Madeleine's stepson and her lover!"

"Young Master Antoine, born to Lady Madeleine, has also fallen in love with Fanny!"

"Madeleine is the biological mother of the girl Antoine fell in love with! And Antoine's mother is Madame Madeleine, and his father is Lord Laverne..."

"Lord Laverne is Edward and Fanny's biological father, and also Antoine's father..."

“Marcel is Laverne’s son and also the leader of the workers’ rebellion in his mine!”

"Wait a minute, let me figure it out. Dad's dad is called Grandpa..."

"I can't even count them on my fingers! Just how many layers of forbidden relationships are there in this manor?"

The audience was in complete chaos.

The gentlemen forgot their manners, the ladies forgot to fan themselves, and everyone tried to untangle the mess—but each attempt only revealed more shocking connections.

Siblings, stepmother and son, master and servant, former lovers...

Almost every relationship that could challenge the bottom line of human ethics was entangled within this secluded manor.

The audience’s faces were filled with disbelief, confusion, and a morbid excitement at being drawn to this extreme situation.

They couldn't imagine what kind of storm would eventually brew on top of this already complex contradiction, with the added layer of blood ties and emotional entanglements.

The flashes of lightning seemed to illuminate all ugliness; while the dull, oppressive thunder was the cruel sigh of fate from behind the clouds.

The audience then realized that the sound and light effects were no longer just background; they had become an indispensable part of the dramatic atmosphere.

It foreshadows that this long-brewing "thunderstorm" will eventually sweep away everything in this manor with unstoppable force.

The actors on stage, Madame Berthe and François Gautier-Luzard, maintained this extreme emotional tension to its peak.

Madeleine's sorrow and strength, La Verne's surprise and defensiveness, collide fiercely in every exchange of glances and every line of dialogue.

Meanwhile, the nearly two thousand audience members were deeply moved by the complex relationships between the characters and the immense suspense surrounding the plot's development...

They knew that the cruelest truth and the fiercest storm were yet to come.

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In the subsequent scene, workers' representative Marcel bursts into the living room and confronts his biological father, La Verne, in a heated argument.

However, Laverne had already bribed the other three worker representatives, signed the return-to-work contract, and fired Marcel.

To defend his father, Edward slapped Marcel twice, and Madeleine left the manor in tears with Marcel.

Then, Edward and Mrs. Madeleine, a stepmother and son deeply entangled in an illicit affair, meet again in an empty living room.

The stage was no longer filled with ambiguous pain, but with despair on the verge of collapse and the ugliness of mutual tearing apart.

At this point, the lights were deliberately dimmed, leaving only a few localized areas of light to create a secretive and oppressive atmosphere.

Outside the window, the faint rumble of thunder added an unsettling background to the conversation.

Lady Madeleine stopped Edward from leaving.

[Mrs. Madeleine (sneer): "You, a person with such a high level of education, are now with the daughter of such a lowly person, a woman of inferior status—"]

Edward (suddenly bursts out): "You're talking nonsense! You're not worthy to call her inferior, you're not worthy. She's not like you, she—"

Mrs. Madeleine: "Be careful, be careful! Don't push a disappointed woman too far; she's capable of anything."

Edward (with a determined look): "I've made up my mind."

Mrs. Madeleine: "Alright, go ahead! Be careful, (looking out the window, to herself, hinting at an ominous sign) a storm is about to break out!"

Edward: "Thank you, I know."

This intense and desperate argument brought the audience's emotions to another climax.

They watched as Edward resolutely severed his dangerous relationship with his stepmother and rushed toward Fanny, whom he considered pure and innocent, as if grasping at a straw.

The gentlemen in the audience were somewhat relieved that Edward was trying to get back on the "right track," but they secretly shook their heads at the "right track" he had chosen.

The ladies were distressed by Madame Madeleine's utterly shattered pride and her all-too-obvious destructive tendencies.

Her words, "Be careful, be careful! Don't push a disappointed woman too far," pierced everyone's heart.

A suffocating thought lingered in the minds of all the viewers: Edward's self-proclaimed path to redemption would lead to an even darker abyss!

(End of this chapter)