Emmeline 1996
A young girl’s seduction and betrayal…
…in the sweatshop mills of 19th-century Massachusetts is central in the true-life story of Emmeline Mosher. After years of hidden shame, she finds the romance denied her – evoking a new and wrenching tragedy played out between the two lovers, an unforgiving community and the forces of love and disaster.
Synopsis
Act I
Scene 1: The Mosher family burying ground. Fayette, Maine. Henry Mosher, a farmer fallen on hard times, has just finished filling the grave of another of his children. Several other Mosher children – Emmeline the oldest at thirteen – stand by; their mother Sarah weeps on the shoulder of her sister-in-law Hannah. A sternly religious woman, Hannah berates Henry for his weakness and urges him to send Emmeline to work in the Massachusetts textile mills, in the hope of sending money home to save the family. Henry resists but, quoting scripture and by the force of her will, Hannah takes the frightened girl away with her.
Scene 2: The Mill. Lowell, Massachusetts. The foreman Hooker, a huge man with a great black ledger, is interviewing girls who have come to be hired. One girl, because she has a small child in tow, is summarily dismissed. Hannah leads Emmeline up to Hooker, and answers his questions for the girl. Emmeline is hired, told she will live in Mrs. Bass’ boarding house, and put to work at once. Sophie, an older girl, explains to Emmeline how to work the machines. The mill owner, Mr. Summers, enters with his son-in-law, the factory supervisor Stephen Maguire, who notices Emmeline and comes over to speak with her. Emmeline is both embarrassed by and grateful for the attention. Almost before it has begun, their conversation is swallowed up by the relentless routines and loud clatter of the mill.
Scene 3: The boarding house. An air of thrift, cleanliness, and propriety prevail in the dining room. The meal is just over, and Mrs. Bass is directing the girls to tidy up and go off to bed. Before retiring herself, she tries to comfort the new girl, Emmeline, whose exhaustion is obvious. Sophie and Emmeline stay behind, and Sophie tells her of the rewards of hard work. Together, the two girls sing of their fantasies of wealth and freedom – though Sophie warns Emmeline to stay away from Maguire, a married man with a dangerous reputation.
Scene 4: The Mill. The work day is coming to an end. Emmeline lingers at her seat. Maguire approaches, and comments on her sad look. To cheer her, he tells her the story of his adventurous life – emigrating from Ireland, working his way up at the mill. When Emmeline teases him about marrying the boss’ daughter, Maguire complains about his wife’s coldness and asks Emmeline if he might stand in as her father, and if she will be his friend. Emmeline frees herself from his grasp and rushes out of the factory, as Maguire calls after her.
Scene 5: The boarding house. Emmeline is alone, finishing a letter to her parents. Suddenly, from outside, she hears Maguire’s voice calling her name. She rushes to the window and sings to the dark of her confusion: ”What am I to answer? What does he want me to say?” She blows out her lantern and walks through the door into the blackness. We see her running, looking back over her shoulder. She seems to be running away. It is gradually revealed that she is in:
Scene 6: A forest near Lowell. Emmeline is running, and Maguire is pursuing. She laughs and it is apparent she has been playing a sort of teasing game with him. Tired by the chase, he pauses and tells Emmeline how beautiful she is. Despite her protests, he insists on telling her that she alone understands his loneliness and can soothe it. She needs a man she can trust, he needs a woman to love. His arguments increase her confusion. In Maguire’s face she sees her sad, defeated father. She reaches up to touch the face, and Maguire kisses her. He picks her up, laughs, and walks slowly off, Emmeline huddled in his arms.
Scene 7: The Mill. Hooker is rehearsing the factory girls in a song to entertain Mr. Summers. Emmeline is working with a pained, exaggerated determination, and Sophie questions why Maguire won’t see her any longer. As Mr. Summers enters, with his daughter and Maguire, the girls start their song, but as the group nears Emmeline, she faints. People gather around the stricken girl. Sophie realizes that Emmeline is pregnant. Mrs. Bass defends her guardianship; Hooker insists the girl be sent away; Maguire tries to give Emmeline money; Maguire’s wife – understanding the situation – gives Emmeline the beautiful shawl she is wearing and leaves on her father’s arm, disdaining Maguire. Hooker looks in his ledger and finds the name of Emmeline’s Aunt Hannah, who is sent for. Helped to her feet, Emmeline is led off.
Scene 8: A bedroom in Aunt Hannah’s house. Lynn, Massachusetts. In a small, sparsely furnished bedroom in Aunt Hannah’s house, Emmeline is in bed, thrashing in pain. Hannah tells her that the couple who have agreed to take the child are downstairs, waiting. They are moving far away “where the poor child may have a new life in the Lord.” Emmeline, though resigned, still pleads that her child not be taken from her. Hannah coldly remarks that the child, as Emmeline was, will be born to sorrow, born to sin. Emmeline gasps and sinks back in the bed. The moment of birth has arrived. Hannah moves to help her.
Artists
Patricia Racette
Soprano
Emmeline Mosher
Curt Peterson
Tenor
Matthew Gurney
Anne-Marie Owens
Mezzo-soprano
Aunt Hannah
Kevin Langan
Bass
Henry Mosher
Victor Ledbetter
Baritone
Mr. Maguire
Josepha Gayer
Mezzo-soprano
Mrs. Bass
Herbert Perry
Bass-baritone
Pastor Avery
Wright Moore
Tenor
Hooker
Mary Jane Kania
Soprano
Ella Burling
Melanie Sarakatsannis
Soprano
Sophie
Charlotte Dick
Soprano
Mrs. Maguire
Gregory Keil
Baritone
Simon Fenton
Michelle Bradley
Soprano
Harriet Mosher
George Manahan
Conductor
Francesca Zambello
Director
Robert Israel
Scenic Designer
Dunya Ramicova
Costume Designer
Amy Appleyard
Lighting Designer
Gary Wedow
Chorus Master