Speakingofmoney, youknow, Ihope, thatifeveryougetinatoughspotIcanalwaysmanagetocomeacrosswithsomething, although, asyoumayguess, thenextcoupleofyearswillbeleanonesunlessthatrarityforme, aMovie-rightspurchase, 'sandmyhouseholdexpenses, , , amateurperformances' royaltiesdon'—butaredoneinrepertoireforafewperformancesatatime, andwithhalftoatranslator, tax, , , Wilderness! BytheIrishGroupTheatre, butinspiteofaunanimouslyenthusiasticcriticalreception, nooneisgoingtoseeitandithaspossiblyclosedbythis.
Sothat'saboutthesituation—anditisduetogrowsteadilyworseinsteadofbetter, , youunderstand, buttopresentthehardfacts.
Iamdetermined, ifIgobrokeintheprocess, nottoreleaseanyplayoftheCycleuntilIhaveatleastthreeorfourinfinalform, , —fortheyintendtogettogetheraspecialrepertoirecompanyjusttodothisCycle, andwhenitcomestotyingupactorsandactressesforthreeorfouryears, inthesedaysofTalkietemptation, you''tdoitononeortwoplayswithavaguepromiseofgoodpartsinplaysnotyetwritten, , asIguessI'vetoldyoubefore, istodotwoplaysaseason.
SoyouseehowthisCyclehasmeinvolvedinahellofalotoflabor—andcostlytime—'Neillheebie-jeebieswhenIfeelveryoldandtired, anddoubtmyselfandmywork, andwonderwhyinhellsomethinginmedrovemeontoundertakesuchahellishjobwhenImighthavecoastedalongandjustwrittensomemoreplays, asawellbehavedplaywrightdoes.
Butenoughofthat.
-Westernersareverysensitivepeople—thatis, inonerespect.
LovetoyouandBettyfromus—andasweetkissfromBlemietoCabot.
Father
June20th1936
亲爱的尤金:
很高兴收到你的信。我本来已经在给你写信了,不过你在电话中说你正写信给我,于是我就等着详细地了解你的好消息。这确实是好消息!当我从电话中得知你干得如此出色时,我没有感到意外,一点也没有,因为我觉得你先前种种不祥的预兆根本不可能会在后来应验。我对那些可恶的预兆非常明了,那是我们这些奥尼尔家族成员的共同特征——恐怕这是你从我这里继承的有害遗传因子。我近来也一直遇到这种情况,而且比以前还要糟。因为,这个系列剧拉得太长,似乎这烦人的工作永远也做不完。现在看起来好像还得接下去写另外的一个剧本——第九个剧本,这将把我带回1770年刚开始创作剧本的阶段。
你在信里所说的关于考试的情形非常有趣,我很高兴你如此详尽地谈了口试的情况。我知道有口试这回事,但并没想到口试竟是那样一种可怕的询问,我可以想象当时你在大厅中走来走去,等待最后结果时焦急的心情。