| Set in a 19th century winter in the
drawing room at the decaying stately home
of Lord and Lady Cavendish.
Lord Walter Cavendish, an elderly high
court judge, is a bigoted old man prone
to sudden outbursts.He is also deeply sad
as he hides a great secret that he can never
share. He thinks that he controls this household.
He does not.
Lady Josephine Cavendish, his long suffering
wife is trapped in a loveless marriage but
seeks solace in books, and in the butler.
Highly manipulative and prone to sudden
acts of extreme violence when tested, she
easily controls her husband, and thinks
that she controls Stiles, their butler.
He is very polite in manner but is a subversive
influence in this household, for it is he
who is manipulative of Lord and Lady Cavendish
until his own masculinity is threatened
at the end.
|
