Read the following passage from an unpublished drama.
(Line 1) Lady Althea: You stand there, Thomas, as if the ledger itself could protect you
(Line 2) from the winter wind. Sit down. The tea is cold, but the hearth still holds
(Line 3) a spark. We must discuss the spring leases. The tenants are restless,
(Line 4) and the estate cannot endure another season of forbearance.
(Line 5) Thomas: *(He remains standing, adjusting his spectacles.)* The leases, my Lady,
(Line 6) are already settled. I have taken the liberty of signing them in my own name.
(Line 7) Lady Althea: *(A pause, her cup pausing mid-air.)* In your name? By whose authority?
(Line 8) Thomas: By the authority of the mortgage deeds I purchased from the bank in London
(Line 9) three weeks ago. The deeds you signed over to secure the drainage of the west marshes.
(Line 10) Lady Althea: That was a temporary arrangement. A matter of convenience.
(Line 11) Thomas: *(Softly, stepping closer to the desk.)* Convenience is a luxury of the solvent,
(Line 12) my Lady. To the creditor, it is simply a transfer of title. The marshes remain wet,
(Line 13) but the land beneath them is now mine. Or rather, the debt is mine, and since
(Line 14) the estate cannot repay the principal, the land follows the debt.
(Line 15) Lady Althea: *(Setting the cup down with a sharp click.)* You forget your place, Thomas.
(Line 16) Your father was my father's bailiff. We pulled you from the village school
(Line 17) because you had a quick hand with figures. We gave you a roof, a desk, a pension.
(Line 18) Thomas: And in return, I kept your ledgers balanced while your cousins squandered
(Line 19) the timber revenues in Paris. I watched you sell the silver plate piece by piece,
(Line 20) pretending it was being sent to London for polishing. I have not forgotten my place.
(Line 21) I have merely bought it.
(Line 22) Lady Althea: *(Looking at him, her voice dropping to a whisper.)* And what of our alliance?
(Line 23) When the creditors circled last winter, it was you who devised the plan
(Line 24) to shield the dower house. You swore you would protect my interest.
(Line 25) Thomas: I did protect it. From them. Had the London banks foreclosed, you would be
(Line 26) in the street today. I have merely transferred the ownership to a more...
(Line 27) sympathetic landlord.
(Line 28) Lady Althea: Sympathetic? You? You look at me now with the same calculating eye
(Line 29) you cast upon the timber yields.
(Line 30) Thomas: It is the only eye that sees clearly in this house, my Lady. But do not fear.
(Line 31) Your tenancy in the dower house remains secure, provided we come to a new
(Line 32) understanding regarding the management of the remaining lands. I shall require
(Line 33) your signature on the agency agreement. It gives me sole power of attorney.
(Line 34) Lady Althea: And if I refuse?
(Line 35) Thomas: *(He gently places a document on the desk before her and offers a pen.)*
(Line 36) Then the London banks will be notified that the interest payments, which I have
(Line 37) privately been covering on your behalf, have ceased. The foreclosure will proceed
(Line 38) by Friday. I believe the wind is rising outside, my Lady. It will be a cold night.
In the context of the entire passage, how does Thomas’s disclosure in lines 25-27 ('I did protect... sympathetic landlord') and his subsequent demand for power of attorney characterize the shift in his relationship with Lady Althea?
- AIt indicates a change from personal intimacy to absolute estrangement, suggesting that Lady Althea's aristocratic pride is the sole cause of their rift.
- BIt reflects a progression from administrative service to overt hostility, indicating that Thomas's actions are driven by a sudden and uncharacteristic loss of self-control.
- It reveals a transition from subservient strategic collaboration to paternalistic economic dominance, exposing the transactional nature of his past loyalty.Cevap
- DIt demonstrates a shift from cooperative preservation to systemic exploitation, reflecting the author’s explicit condemnation of Thomas's middle-class greed.
- EIt signals a movement from loyal stewardship to malicious betrayal, which is revealed through Thomas’s failure to comprehend the legal mechanisms of the foreclosure.