Coquette

About the show

Act I (Living room of Dr. Besant's home. September, early evening.) Jimmie, Dr. Besant, and Stanley Wentworth discuss Norma's refusal to settle on one man. Jimmie resents her curtailing of his second helpings at dinner, so she has tidbits to feed her evening callers. Stanley dotes on her but she will not take him seriously, in part because her father favors him as suitor. Norma's latest beau is ne'er-do-well Michael Jeffery, which alarms Dr. Besant. Norma tries to paint a brighter picture of Michael, coercing Stanley to support her, but betrays her interest and arouses her father's suspicions. Later, Norma upsets Stanley by breaking their dance date so she can go with Michael, and persuades him to take Betty instead. Betty is staying with the Besant's temporarily, so Norma helps her try on a dress for the dance, her first. Mr. Wentworth comes to advise Dr. Besant that Michael Jeffery was involved in a fight on Main Street with a former beau of Norma, who called her a "coquette". Michael calls early on Norma; he cannot take her to the dance because he lacks a dress suit. Norma is unused to being turned down, but quickly rallies and puts Michael on the defensive. A confrontation between Dr. Besant and Michael is averted when Norma fibs and says a patient telephoned about a sick baby. Nevertheless, Dr. Besant forbids Michael to see Norma again. Michael and Norma confess their love for each other. Michael tells Norma he will go away for six months to work with a surveying party in the hills, and return only when he has made enough money for them to marry. (Curtain) Act II (Same as Act I. A bright morning, three months later.) Stanley calls on Norma, but Betty Lee will not let him see her. Norma is moody and upset, for Michael came back unexpectedly last night to the Country Club dance. He had been drinking, and after she cut other partners to dance with him, the two of them left the dance. A friend of Betty saw them driving around at 3am, so Norma must have come home very late. Later, Dr. Besant calls out Jimmie for coming home at 4am and making so much noise. Jimmie says nothing; he actually got in at 12:30am, but allows his father to believe otherwise. Jimmie scolds his sister for chancing her reputation like that, but Norma is unrepenetant. However, she grows anxious as Dr. Besant draws Betty Lee aside to have a little talk. When Michael rings the bell, the other young people clear off to let him speak with Norma alone. From their conversation it is clear they have been intimate. Michael is determined they shall marry today, but Norma pleads with him to let her deal with father. A sternly cold Dr. Besant comes in to accuse Norma of disobeying him and Michael of putting her at risk. He orders Michael out, but the young man will not go without saying his piece. He is intemperate and hotheaded, and reveals all in his rage, before rushing out. Dr. Besant orders Julia to take Norma to her room, and commands Jimmie to take care of Norma, for he will soon no longer be there. Taking a pistol from the matched set in the drawer of a side table, he goes out of the house. It is Stanley who takes the news to Norma; her father has shot and killed Michael, and turned himself in to the law. Norma rages against her father for killing the man she loved, and scorns Mr. Wentworth's advice to say she resented Michael's attention. Growing hysterical, she vows to let her father hang. (Curtain) Act III (Same as Act I. A cold day in March.) Norma and Jimmie have returned home from their father's ongoing trial. They are both discouraged, and Norma expresses remorse for having precipitated this crisis. Joe Reynolds tells Jimmie that sentiment is running against his father, especially as he is being permitted to remain under house arrest, with Sheriff Forsythe transporting him each day to court. Mr. Wentworth, as defense counsel, advises Norma that the District Attorney may subpeona her if the defense does not call her as a witness. Michael having been a veteran, the local Legion post has joined the press in pushing for a tough prosecution. Norma is scared of testifying, and when Wentworth explains the crux of the trial hangs on whether the jury believes her to be pure, she becomes hysterical. Her father has an unwritten right to defend a virgin daughter, but if she is found morally wanting it is murder. Controlling herself, Norma asks Wentworth to return after dinner. She summons Stanley and confesses to him she is carrying Michael's child. After swearing him to secrecy and sending him away, she takes the other pistol from the side table drawer and hides it in her pocket book. As Forsythe brings her father home, Norma intercepts him and asks him to be kind to her. They embrace, and he goes to his study. Norma chats inanely with Betty Lee and Jimmie, excusing herself after a few minutes. A shot is heard from the dining room, followed by screams and shouts. Norma has killed herself, to save her father from conviction once her condition is known. (Curtain)