Henrietta Lines Part 5

• MARGARET: Henrietta!

  Margie! I missed you so much. Welcome to Boston.
• MARGARET: And the same to you. Welcome back. Now tell me everything.

  Well Paris is as perfect as you'd like to think and London is just-
• MARGARET: Henri. Henri.

  I'm fine.
• MARGARET: You're not fine. What is this?

  It's nothing. It passes.
• MARGARET: It's not nothing. You should've come home immediately.

  There were only a few bad days.
• MARGARET: Henrietta, they've invented doctors.

  I saw one in London.
• MARGARET: And you're seeing another one right now.

  Margie, no-
• MARGARET: The luggage can wait.

  I'm going straight to Harvard-
• MARGARET: You're coming back to Wisconsin with me-you're coming and-

  I'm going to work - I want to work-
• MARGARET: I don't care. There's time for all that-

  There's not.
• WILLIAMINA: That's what I said. I said that was her. Henrietta, dear!

  Oh my goodness, what are you doing here?
• MARGARET: I'm Margaret. Hello.

  Oh, this is my sister Margie. I thought you'd met.
• ANNIE: Alright, ladies. The early graphs from Princeton are in and we need your eyes on them.

  I can do that.
• MARGARET: Henri, wait-She was just saying she's been a bit poorly these days.

  I'm fine and I'm so looking forward to being back.
• ANNIE: You're sick?

  No.
• MARGARET: Yes. She nearly fainted just now-She's not well-and I really must insist-

  I'm insisting, Margie. My work is here. And my life, and every chance I've ever had is here.
• ANNIE: And you can work from home when you like, so there's not a single reason we can't all go about our business as usual.

  Thank you. Lunatic woman.
• MARGARET: We got the census today. I started to fill it out but I didn't know what to put under your profession?

  Astronomer is my profession.
• MARGARET: Alright.

  Astronomer.
• MARGARET: With a capital "A." And how are we doing today?

  You know the worst part of this? Sitting still.
• MARGARET: For you, I'm sure it is. How's the pain?

  Not bad today.
• MARGARET: But relaxing bothers you?

  You can't order someone to relax and have it be

  relaxing.
• MARGARET: Would you like to read some news?

  I can't take any more war news. Did they send another astronomy circular?
• MARGARET: You'd think a world war would make the stars seem trivial.

  You'd think stars would make war seem trivial. I have never felt so helpless.
• MARGARET: You're not helpless.

  I write all these letters and no one answers. These men, colleagues, all using my work, but they won't let me near it. Useless. Helpless.
• MARGARET: You're getting upset.

  Life is about getting appropriately upset. And all I want to know is what's true - what else is true. And how long is that list. And I know I won't know. And what does all the knowing of the not knowing do to a sane person? What does that mean?
• MARGARET: It could mean that we're all helpless. And alone. And because you can't connect everything yourself that nothing's connected. Or. It could mean that you may not know how you might matter to people right now, and you cannot know how you will matter in the future. But you are already connected-and you already matter. Because what you do outlasts you. Sometimes. Am I helping or hurting?

  I can't tell. But thank you. And ... I want to explain.
• MARGARET: Oh, you've tried explaining it and I'm just too thick.

  Not stars. Something like ... souls.
• MARGARET: Henri...

  I just know that you worry about those things. And I don't want you to think that I don't believe in anything. I do, just a different kind of ... Faith in ... Grand Observation.
• MARGARET: Which is comforting?

  Which is ... nimble. And that is comforting. My heaven? Is a cosmos deep in a gorgeous void.
• MARGARET: A void.

  Full darkness-
• MARGARET: Not all darkness-

  Mottled with immaculate combustion-
• MARGARET: But the stars are-

  Hot gas in a lonely-
• MARGARET: Not lonely-

  Broad, airless-
• MARGARET: Don't say airless-

  Deep, vast, dark-
• MARGARET: Stop it just Stop It. Alright. I know we don't speak plainly about this but...Where does my heaven go?

  Maybe it doesn't.
• MARGARET: Henri.

  I'm going first, I'll tell you who's right.
• MARGARET: You cannot say that. Not to me.

  I've made peace with that part.
• MARGARET: I haven't. And what other part is there?

  The part of meaning something.
• MARGARET: You mean everything to me.

  But you have your babies, your music, you ... like church.