Oct. 30th Task

Fifth & Final Outline – Sisterly Love



 Lizzie begins her story after the inquest when she is taken into custody

 She not put in a cell, but accommodated in a waiting room

 She and Emma have words that are reported to the general public my Mrs. Reagan, the matron

 Lizzie’s staunch supporters try and bully Mrs. Reagan to retract her statement

 She does—but she doesn’t

 Lizzie and the press

 The  Preliminary Hearing pronounces Lizzie  ‘probably guilty’ she’s and taken back into custody

 She is taken to the railroad station and transported to Tauton jail, she is accompanied by Emma and several church people

 When she arrives at the jail, the jailer’s wife, Mrs. White (who also acts as the matron for the female prisoners) recognizes her—by her startling ice blue eyes.  She also lived on Ferry Street and knew her family even before Lizzie was born

 Everyone has been stunned by the verdict—but no one more so than Lizzie herself—once left alone in the jail, she finds comfort in the kindness of Mrs. White, who remembers her own daughter playing with Lizzie as children

 Emma arrives the next day with some of Lizzie’s things—she has also brought the family photo album which contains pictures of her mother, Baby Alice, Emma, Lizzie, her uncles and father, as well as their father and Abby’s wedding portrait

 Lizzie flips through the book and tries to remember her mother

 She later relates what she is sure the only memory she has of her mother to Mrs. White

 She continues to lie in bed in the dark, thinking about her life…beginning with life before her father married Abby—and how Emma had been a mother to her

 Thinking about that time of her life stirs up unpleasant memories and Lizzie has a nightmare where we learn about her most terrible and shameful secret

 Over a midnight cup of tea and sympathy, Lizzie asks Mrs. White shat she remembers of her mother

 Mrs. White continues to listen as Lizzie relates about how things had changed when her father remarried—and what had not

 Their next conversation is about home life when Emma was sent away to school

 Later Lizzie thinks of what it was like when Emma returned—how the dynamics o the house shifted

 She then realizes that Emma encouraged her to be cold and uncompromising, while she (Emma) presented the image of a meek, mild little mouse to the world

 Emma visits regularly and continues insisting that everything will be all right—that the real murderer(s) will be caught long before Lizzie’s trial begins

 Lizzie’s not sleeping at night—she isn’t having bad dreams—more like something’s nagging at her, but she just can’t seem to get hold of whatever it is

 Emma and Lizzie discuss the first major blowup in the household—when her father purchased the other half of a duplex Abby’s mother lived in and gave it to her

 After Emma leaves, Lizzie remembers about the uncomfortable neutrality that evolved and of the palpable tension filing the house

 After Lizzie has asked several times, Emma finally remembers to bring Lizzie’s scrapbook—filled with picture and postcards of all the places she visited on her Grand Tour

 After Emma leaves and she’s alone again, she remembers her trip—the only time she had been away from her home and family—how it had been the best time of her life—the only time when she felt free and alive—an adult

 She recalls how sad she was to return home—how she had been determined to maintain her autonomy—and how fast that resolve faded once she was in Emma's presence

 She recounts how she found the home even more divided and dysfunctional than before and how she truly did try to if not act friendly—at least act civilly to her father and Abby

 Tension is mounting within the house

 The daylight robbery

 The cover-up

 Isolated and with plenty of time to sit and think, Lizzie begins to notice that Emma behaves much differently when they’re alone—how her sister isn’t nearly as passive and innocent as she projects herself to others—and Lizzie is getting the uncomfortable feeling that she’s being manipulated

 Lizzie lies in her cell at night thinking about the months leading up to the murders—about how she knew something was going on—but again was clueless

 Too late, Lizzie realizes that Emma was becoming more and more agitated as her jealousy and frustration levels mounted

 Lizzie recounts the days immediately preceding the murders—and about how everyone is twitch

 Lizzie tries to poison  (have Emma send Lizzie for the poison—and berate her for not procuring it

 Everyone is ill

 Abby runs to the doctor about being poisoned

 Uncle John arrives and Lizzie reacts oddly

 Lizzie visits Emma's friend, Alice Russell

 The morning of the murders

 A stranger, a buggy and a note

 Lizzie and her father

 The discovery of the first murder

 Sound the alarm

 The second body is found

 The investigation

 The funeral

 The elephant in the parlor

 The burning of the dress

 The inquest

 The witnesses

 Lizzie’s testimonies

 Lizzie’s initial shock at being arrested and tries to remember what had happened as opposed to what she’d been told by Emma and what she said

 The will—where Emma inherits (check this-only stated in one source-find Andrew’s will)

 What really happened in front of Mrs. Reagan

 The newspaper coverage

 Lizzie is beginning to think about all that was said at the inquest—about how it must have been someone familiar with the house and it’s occupants—but is doing her best to remain in denial—even after she reads what some journalists are writing about her

 Emma perpetuates the ‘mad intruder’ theory, insisting that the murder will be found and captured—that the truth will out—to just trust her and do what Emma and her lawyers tell her to do

 Mrs. Wright becomes more and more ‘chatty’ and tells Lizzie some of the neighborhood gossip from when Alice and their mother died

 With nothing but time on her hands, Lizzie begins to fit pieces together and they are leading her in a direction she really doesn’t want to go in

 The trial—including Alice Russell’s story of the burning dress and Bridget’s modified testimony

 The acquittal

 The hubbub

 Lizzie’s triumphant release and return to the Second St. house

 Lizzie ignores the changing temperature of the populace of Fall River

 Emma makes a grand gesture and gives Lizzie an equal share of their father’s estate—and never lets her forget it

 They purchase the house on French St. and move but Lizzie’s romantic and grandiose notions of changing her name  to Lisbeth, naming the house Maplecroft and having the name carved on the steps outside and poems/lyrics over fireplace are beginning to grate on Emma's nerves, as well as pushes Fall River in general to shun Lizzie

 Lizzie is the last one to realize that her victory is not quite what she had expected and is confused by people’s change of heart

 Emma's reaction to the public shunning is to become extremely religious, more of a ‘good-deed-doer’ and a bit of a recluse

 Somehow Lizzie is becoming more and more uncertain about her feelings regarding her sister—despite Emma’s self-effacing personae

 Little by little, Lizzie begins pulling away from Emma's control—she breaks out and travel to Boston and New York to shop and enjoy the theatre

 ???—the porcelain pictures—stolen or otherwise (I’d really like to figure out a way for Emma to have stolen them and given them to Lizzie)

 Veiled in the polite acceptance of her new name, Lizzie feels free of the stigma of being tried for the murder of her father and step-mother

 Lizzie meets people in New York and Boston, and is befriended by the famous actress, Nance O’Neil—Nance is the first person Lizzie knows that has no preconceived notion of Emma's goodness and piety

 Nance and a few more show people visit Maplecroft and Emma makes a ‘scene’

 Emma storms to her room for duration of the house party

 Later she begins a campaign of anti-theatre people with her few friends and acquaintances

  Then she forbids Lizzie from having any more house parties—or anything else to do with ‘those’ people

 Lizzie isn’t quite sure how to react—while she has no intention of not entertaining her friends—but she’s never really said ‘no’ to Emma

 In typical ‘Lizzie fashion, she just punts

 She tries to ignore the discussion, but when Lizzie announces an upcoming trip to the city for a play, Emma starts to pontificate and Lizzie stands up to her

 Emma goes to church—Lizzie goes to Boston to see Nance in a play and over a late night supper, Nance tells exactly what she thinks about Lizzie’s dear, sanctimonious and ever-suffering sister

 Lizzie contemplates everything Nance had said on the train right home

 She arrives home with a new ‘eye’—and observes just how much Emma does try to control and manipulate her

 Slowly at first and over very minor issues—Lizzie begins to stand up to Emma

 Lizzie notices Emma's displeasure at her loss of control

 As tension builds, Emma makes several comments and veiled threats that have Lizzie at last wondering if she is living with her father’s murder

 After several weeks of an uncomfortable truce, Emma decides to go to Swansea for a few weeks

 Lizzie takes advantage of Emma's absence and has another house party

 She is caught in the act when Emma comes back a few days early and finds the houseguests, including the forbidden ‘show people’, just leaving and storms upstairs to her room in a tizzy

 Surprising herself, Lizzie handles Emma calmly but firmly, and returns to saying good-byes to her guests

 Lizzie sees the last guest off, dismisses the servants and goes up to her sister’s room

 Emma is seething—she is pitching a royal fit—ripping up and breaking things

 Lizzie attempts to soothe her

 An enraged Emma turns on Lizzie like a cornered animal and reveals everything—beginning with the murder of little Alice when Emma was only five—the poisoning of her mother when she was about twelve—and how she managed the murders, manipulated the investigation, handled potential witnesses, Lizzie and her lawyers

 Lizzie is horrified by what she hears and distraught about how blind she had been

 She asks Emma to disclose what she’s done—to seek help and forgiveness

 Emma laughs at her

 Lizzie asks that she at least write out the entire story and leave the sealed confession with her lawyer—to be opened after her death

 Emma only laugh again—harder and more sinisterly

 Lizzie pleads with her—begs her to admit to what she’s done

 Emma again refuses—adding with a spiteful glee that she was responsible for Lizzie’s most awful secret—one that Lizzie is even worse than patricide

 Now enraged herself—Lizzie tells how disgusted by Emma and her deeds—but cools enough to say that if Emma would write the letter and place it in the hands of her lawyer, Lizzie will never reveal any of what she has been told

 Emma remains unrepentant

 Lizzie announces that she is going to live her life as she sees fit—soing what she pleases, when she pleases and with whom she pleases—and if Emma isn’t happy about it she had better just leave now and be done with her

 Emma begins tossing things in a valise

 Lizzie tries to stop her—to reach some goodness inside of Emma

 Emma expands on her life and what she’s done—how she enjoyed it as she wildly packs

 Lizzie pleads

 Emma laughs and leaves

 Lizzie makes up excuses as to why Emma has left—but no one believes her

 Everyone is sure that Emma has left because of something Lizzie, said or did—or had done in the past

  Once again, Lizzie is the object of gossip and speculation

 Lizzie anguishes over all she’s learned—she knows that Fall River—probably the world think her guilty and Emma driven away by the knowledge of Lizzie’s sins

 But Lizzie holds her head up high and her mouth shut

 Letters through Emma's lawyer are returned unopened

 Free to do as she pleases, Lizzie suddenly finds freedom has lost its appeal—and she becomes more and more of a recluse

 Lizzie has always been extremely fond of animals—and now relies on them for companionship and comfort—for they do not pass judgement

 Her final years are troubled—she prays for her sister’s soul and agonizes over which is worse—maintaining silent to protect her sister—the only person that she ever truly thought of as ‘mother—or telling someone the truth

 In spite of the horrendous things Emma's done, in the end, Lizzie decides that only Emma can redeem herself—and rationalizes that what good  would it do anyway—the populace wouldn’t believe her—and would just believe her even more evil

 But there is more—she loves Emma and cannot bring herself to betray her

 Over and over she writes letters to Emma—trying to re-establish some sort of relationship with her sister—but the letters are returned, unopened

 She has spent more than half her life in a living Purgatory

 As Lizzie becomes more frail and ill, she looks forward to death—equating it with peace

 But when she dies, she finds no peace—she is bound to Purgatory in death as she has been in life

 All she can do is remember the events that formed her life—replaying in one long loop, over and over again—with no end in sight

 After years in her grave—lying so close to her father and Abby, and Emma—she decides that her only hope of escaping is to tell the entire story—the true story

 As she comes to the end of her tale, she is filled with a light and airiness

 Released, Lizzie’s spirit rises up from her grave and float up over the twon of Fall River—at peace at last