(Skip the italicized font if you want to cut to the chase.)
"The Star to Ev'ry Wandering Bark " Alternative Ending and Epilogue to The Bostonians by Henry James(No, you homo-philes. I'm not shipping Verena and Olive in this "alternative ending." It is the same ending as the narrative of the movie, but in a more dramatic fashion. Verena ascends the stage and launches into her usual discourse on the emancipation of women. But when she sees Basil in the audience, she forgets her rehearsed speech and speaks from her heart instead-the 116th Sonnet of William Shakespeare.)
(I visited this movie last week and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel. I suppose, I'll have to do some more research on the novel, to understand the philosophy of Henry James. I know a lot of people-left wingers in general-despise Basil and label him a fragile white male and a sexist, chauvinist pig but I found myself liking his character best because he was always kind and courteous to the feminists even if he didn't see eye to eye with them and he helped Verena think for herself instead of being moved around like a prop by all the other characters. Regardless of his 'old-fashioned' beliefs about gender roles, he rescued Verena at the end from the toxic enviroment of her parents and career agents who treated her like a cash cow over her rhetorical skills.)
(I don't think the jist of this movie is to ask who is right and wrong on either side of the spectrum of the culture war but rather to find one's own voice and identity in a sea of voices. Verena learns that good feminism will not teach her to fear or despise men the way Olive did, but encourage her to find a man who allows her to express herself authentically and have her own thoughts, feelings and pursuits, even when he possesses her, so that she might become a fuller version of herself.)
(So I wrote an ending and epilogue where she finds her true voice at last. I usually don't add steamy scenes in my writings but I thought the wedding night on the beach was important to illustrate how Verena will finally give herself to love, now that she is no longer ashamed of her feelings for Basil; all she had to do was put them in their proper place.)
When Verena saw Basil in the front row of the auditorium, her heart leapt in her throat. It seemed he knew her better than she knew herself. Her rejection of him was not her decision; it was Olive's.
Who was it who allowed her only an hour with him when he came to call at their beach house? Who put those words into her mouth when she appeared on stage and charmed the audience with her ethereal prescence? And who was it who told her to reject his proposal of marriage-and gave her only five minutes to do so?
The last day on the beach when she had told him a love between them could never be, flashed before her. His words echoed in her mind over the droning of the organ.
"I don't want to subjugate you! Olive does! She doesn't want you to have a husband and children, like any other natural woman. She wants you all to herself. She wants to live through you for some bizarre fancy of her own which is beyond my comprehension. She doesn't want you to be REAL. But I do. I want you to have your own thoughts and feelings. Your own wishes. Your own ideals-not Olive's-but YOUR OWN. I want you to have your own tastes, passions and pursuits...even when I when I hold you in my arms and make love to you."
"It's not up to you to save me, Basil."
"You're right. Only you can do that."
"It's time." said Olive, breaking the spell of Verena's musings. "Go on."
Verena took a deep breath, straightened her posture and ascended the stage. She surveyed the audience, all eyes fixed upon her. For the first time, her mind went blank. She closed her eyes and tried to remember.
"Gentlemen, you do not know what it is to live in the box. You have not been subjugated for hundreds of years. You do not know what it is not to have a say in the dealings of our nation's capital, to..."
Her voice strayed as her eyes met Basil's. She gazed at his noble, handsome face with it's kind, gentle smile, not approving of what she said, but silently cheering her on, nonetheless. It was not by mere chance, their paths crossed once more...this was her final chance...to live and to speak-not from Olive's heart, or her parents, or any of those vultures backstage who saw her only as a bankable product-but from her own.
She remembered how her father once said "Listen to your heart and the words will come of their own accord" during their sessions of hypnosis. This may have been the best wisdom he had ever imparted to her.
As she took in Basil's smile, suddenly a courage rose within her, such as she had never known before.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove."
Olive winced, as she watched her young protegee, backstage.
Slowly, Verena descended the stage and came closer to the audience, never letting her gaze stray from Basil. It seemed a will, stronger than her own drew her to him.
"Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. It is the star to ev'ry wand'ring bark Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come. Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom."
At last, she was standing before Basil. Her face was filled with radiance.
"If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
She stood on tip toe, threw her arms around him, and kissed him passionately.
Basil's heart was filled with joy for not only did Verena return his love; she had found her true voice at last.
"Forgive me." she whispered in his ear. "I wasn't sure of myself then but I am now. I want you more than anything in the world."
"Hey!" he hollered. "Is there a preacher here? We want to get married!"
"Yes! Yes!" said Verena, beaming a great smile.
An older man with a black suit and preacher's collar came forth.
"This is all very untoward." he said. "Are you sure you are of sound mind?"
"Yes Father." said Verena. "I assure you I am sounder mind at this moment than I even have been in my entire life!'
"This is a holy thing, my children."
"It concerns Verena." said Basil. "I look on it as holy."
"So do I." said Verena, still smiling. "Come!"
She led her beloved up the stairs, on to the stage once more. They faced each other, holding hands as is the custom and the pastor stood in front of them with his prayer book.
"Do you Basil Ransome, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, cherish her, keep her, in sickness and in health. And forsaking all others, keep ye only unto her as long as ye both shall live?"
"I do." said Basil.
"And wilt thou, Verena Tarrant, take this man to be thy lawful wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, cherish him, keep him, in sickness and in health and forsaking all others, keep ye only unto him as long as ye both shall live?"
"With all of my heart." said Verena.
"I now pronounce you, man and wife. Whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen."
Basil kissed her, picked her up and twirled her around. As they glided down the aisle to the cheering crowd, the organist launched into a brilliant "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."
"Hurry, hurry!" said Basil, shoving her into a carriage. "An adventure awaits us!"
"Where are we going?" said Verena.
"I don't know. That's the fun of it all!"
The crowd was already coming out of the building to watch the newlyweds depart. Verena surveyed their merry faces and found Olive in the front. Her face was pale and sad and her eyes, filled with defeat. For a moment, Verena felt sorry for her. But then she smiled as she thought of her new husband and knew there would always be a place in her heart for her dearest friend as well.
She removed her corsage of roses and cried out. "Olive! Catch!"
The flowers went soaring through the air and landed into Olive's hands. A tear slipped through the lashes of her soft blue eyes as she pressed them to her bosom.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Verena's heart pounded like a drum as she lay in the warm, secure arms of Basil. For a long time, they had no words.
Basil told the coachman to stop at the seaside where Olive lived. As the two approached the shore hand in hand, Verena came to the silent understanding, the culmination of love was soon to take place. All these months, she had been afraid of how she would feel but now that she had broken free of all the voices that guided her this way and that, against her will, she was her wild, winsome self, at last.
They came to a cave in the mountains, far away from the village and stopped, staring at each other for a moment. He kissed her once, then twice, then nuzzled her all over, burying his hands in the luscious waves of dark red hair, he loved so much.
Then he removed his coat, his neck tie, his shirt, and so did she until they stood before each other as Adam and Eve in all their glory. He plunged headlong into the crashing waves and motioned for her to do the same. There, they dived, twirled, splashed and tumbled over each other, delirious with pleasure. When they had stopped, they crawled back into the cave, dripping and panting for breath. Basil stood over her for a moment, his eyes blazing with passion. Then he kissed her with all his might and held her fast and from then on, Verena felt as though she were in a dream.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Verena awoke, the sun had risen. Basil still lay in her arms, snoring peacefully, enraptured beyond measure. He opened his eyes, dreamily and said with his roughish smile.
"Good morning, Mrs. Ransome."
Verena laughed.
"Good morning, Mr. Ransome."
When he saw her thus and remembered the magic of the other night, he was overcome with passion and wanted to make love to her once more-relishing every moment to it's fullest. But then there were voices and footsteps.
Quick as lightning, they snatched up their clothes and hid behind a rock.
A couple of lads in frock coats and caps were looking for seashells.
"Look at that!" said one, pointing at a large crab.
"Cool!"
"I'm going to catch it and put it in Brenda's lunch bucket!"
The boy tried to pounce upon the creature but it was too quick and he landed in the shallows of the water.
"Tommy! Archie!"
"Coming Mom!"
As the lovers watched the boys leave, from behind the rock, they giggled.
"Ooooooo! That was close!" said Verena.
"Here." said Basil. "Let's get dressed."
They hastily pulled on their clothes-now somewhat wrinkled and disarrayed. Verena's teeth chattered from the strong north wind that blew through the cave with a restless moan. Basil wrapped his coat around his new wife, rolled a few strands of red hair back, then held her fast and kissed her once more.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Four years passed and Basil and Verena were settled in a little white cottage in Mississippi, with a thatched roof, covered in ivy with roses and hollyhocks around the hedges. They kept a negro housekeeper named Dahlia to help Verena with the domestic chores and watch the twin boys-Caleb and Josiah and baby Esther. Sometimes, Verena still longed for the stage, but when she saw those two little sprites getting into mischief, saying and doing the funniest things-as their father did, no doubt-she felt she wouldn't trade this state of existence for any other. Basil promised her that when they were a little older and able to go to school-if she still felt the need for something else to enrich her life, she could join a community theater and charm audiences with the legendary heroines of Shakespeare and of course the current geniuses of their time such Tennyson, Wilde and Keats-a richer and far more rewarding use of her God-given talents.
She thought of how silly she had been to believe he wanted to chain her down, simply because he did not see eye to eye with her feminist friends. Regardless of his thoughts on the suffrage movement, he had allowed her to express herself authentically, where others had tried in vain to stiffle. It had always been more Olive's religion than her own-but even though she still occasionally mentioned it's ideals with sympathy, Basil always smiled and nodded-for they had too much in common to let their differences pull them apart.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
One day, she was reading from a fairy tale-her two sons nestled beside her, when the doorbell rang.
"Dahlia, will you answer that?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am."
She read a few more paragraphs and was stopped once more.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Ransom." said Dahlia. "I hate to interrupt you but there's a lady who wishes to speak to you."
"Oh. Well, show her in."
She turned to Caleb and Josiah.
"Allright, Mommy has visitors now. Why don't you go play with your toys? We'll finish it tonight."
"Yes Ma'am." they said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, for they had been raised to have good manners.
Verena gasped at the sight of the visitor standing in the doorframe. For it was Olive.
She stood straight and tall, with her usual melancholy expression. Her eyes spoke volumes for her silence was more powerful than words.
"Olive?"
"Verena."
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm campaigning in Missisippi, when I learned you lived not far from the town square where the event will be held...I hope I'm not intruding."
Verena lips turned into that warm, honest smile Olive loved so much.
"Of course not...Sit down...Dahlia...could you bring some tea?"
Dahlia nodded and left.
Olive sat down and took off her bonnet.
"How's the work?" asked Verena.
"Very good. There are several counties in this state who are sympathetic to our cause. Already two of them have passed laws allowing women to vote in the legislative and mayoral elections."
"That's wonderful."
Dahila came in with a tray.
"Here's the tea, ma'am."
"Thanks Dahila."
Dahila bowed and left.
"Did you know Dr. Prance died?" asked Olive.
"No...what happened?"
"She took ill. She thought it was some sort of brain tumor. 'One of these days, there will probably be a cure, but it will not happen in my lifetime. 'Til then, we must wait and hope.' I was with her in her last days. I've never seen a woman accept death so bravely."
"Awww. She was such a hearty person. I loved looking over her herbs and bandages. She once told me 'Most physical ailments are brought on from the problems of relationships. If you hold onto the hurts of others, you will remain crippled for life. But if you forgive, you will go on to live freely again.'"
"Dear old Prance..." said Olive. "She was the best of us...if only...I had listened..."
The two women paused for a moment.
"Last year, when we arranged our tour in Mississippi, I began to feel a pain in my throat. It made public speaking difficult, so I limited my speeches. At first I thought it was simply laryngitis, but it kept coming back. I looked through Prance's notes and went to other doctors. But then I remembered what she said...what you said just now. I paid attention to how I felt when it came on, and I realized I was so sad. I had never really said goodbye to you. I wanted to write so many times but I didn't know what to say. I thought it would be best if I kept my distance...Oh Verena..."
Olive burst into tears and embraced her, planting a couple of kisses on her rosy cheeks.
"I know I was selfish. I wanted you all to myself. But I never meant to cause you any trouble...Will you forgive me?"
Verena smiled.
"I could never be angry at you for long."
Olive smiled and laughed softly. She wiped away the last tears.
"Are you happy here, Verena? Are you finding what you really want?"
"Oh yes. Basil is truly the kindest and best of men. He's a bit rough around the edges and likes to joke but there is no real harm in him. He's been through a lot-the war and all. I've no doubt he'd lay down his life for us."
"I'm sure he would." said Olive.
"Would you like to see the baby?"
"Of course."
Verena left for a moment and returned with a carriage. There laid Baby Esther, cooing like a dove.
Verena held her for a moment, then deposited her into the arms of Olive. Olive rocked her back and forth. Then she began to sniff and wipe her eyes.
"I'm sorry." she said. "I don't mean to carry on like this. I seem to cry a lot these days."
"That's okay. Remember what Mrs. Birdseye said? 'To weep is to cleanse the soul.'"
"Verena." came a rich, masculine voice.
"Basil!"
Verena ran to her husband's arms.
"Look who it is!"
"Oh Miss Chancellor." said Basil. "Fancy seeing you again."
"Well, I'm campaigning in Mississippi and I thought I'd say hello to an old friend. I'd best be on my way."
"Oh, that's a pity. Well, I'll see you out."
The two cousins walked down the porch, through the front yard.
"I saw the baby." said Olive. "She's so beautiful, just like her mother."
"Yeah, that little Esther is as cute as a button."
"You must be very proud of yourself."
"Well, a man should take pride in his work and his family...So should a woman."
Olive put a hand to her face.
"I should never have come. It hurts too much."
Basil took a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it her.
"Can you ever forgive me, for being jealous?"
"Ah, it weren't nothing...Life's too short to hold grudges. How long are you staying?"
"Two more days."
"Well, as long as your in town...would you care to dine with us?"
He held out his hand.
At first, Olive hesitated, remembering how she had refused to shake his hand long ago. But then she looked up at his twinkling blue eyes and honest smile and felt a little braver. With a great effort, she clasped it and smiled.
"I will."
Olive returned to the city to help decorate the platform for the next presentation. When she went to bed that night, a peaceful smile rested on her lips for her heart was happier than it had ever been.
The End