Dialogue #2 and Explanation
Nov 26th, 2011 by sarahkeller
Victorian era Britain:
Characters:
- Henry: An upper middle class gentleman.
- Muriel: Henry’s wife, Lily’s mother. Obsessed with gaining a good reputation in society.
- Lily: Henry and Muriel’s Daughter. She’s getting a bit too old to be without a husband (which means that she’s 18).
- Lord Herbert Fitzwilliam: A lord who went to the orient to trade for tea. He has made a small fortune in the tea trade.
- Hatty: A servant paid for by Henry.
Setting:
- Birmingham, England
- Victorean Era (in this case, after the 1840’s)
- The Estate Of a State Official
Point of the Dialogue:
- Although the British of the Victorian era believed that tea had the medical capability to stimulate the senses, they did not know why. This could be attributed to the very small part of China that they were allowed to trade in. Their ignorance as to how advanced a culture the Chinese were by 1840 can also be attributed to this fact (besides imperialism, nationalism).
Part 1: Before the tea party
Muriel: Henry dear, could you please send someone out for Hyson tea. I’ve decided to host afternoon tea next week and we’re running out.
Henry: Yes dear, but why the Hyson tea? It’s very expensive, you know.
Muriel: The duchess of Bedford is coming and I don’t want to look cheap. Afternoon tea is her tradition after all. And we’ll use the good china.
Henry: Not the good china. What if Lord Endslydale invites himself in like last time? Smashed teacups, milk on the rug, cake smears on the furnitu-
Muriel: We’ll use the good china because it will improve our reputation. You do want Lily to get a good husband, don’t you? She’s not as pleasing to the eyes as she was when she was fifteen and her needlework is atrocious.
Henry: Yes dear. Will that Herbert Fitzwilliam be coming to tea? I heard that he took a trip to the orient and traded with the Chinese.
Muriel: Yes he’s coming, but that’s rubbish Henry. He went, but I can assure you that he got someone else to trade for him. Who would want to deal with those dirty diseased orientals?
Henry: But at least we’re trying to help them.
Muriel: Yes, that’s true. Hatty! Oh Hatty!
[Enter – Hatty]
Muriel: —- Oh Hatty, there you are. May you please bring us some Myron tea. I need a bit of stimulation. And Hatty, please tell Lily to come down stairs and join us.
Hatty: Yes mu’um.
[Exit – Hatty. Enter Lily]
Lily: You wanted to see me mother?
Muriel: Yes, Lily. I wanted to talk to you about the afternoon tea I’ve scheduled for next Sunday after church.
Lily: Will Lord Fitzwilliam be there, mother? If he is, make sure you bring out the finest tea. He knows a lot about it, you know. I heard that he went to-
Muriel:Yes yes, your father told me. We’ll just have to see how much he knows at the tea party.Part 2: At The Tea Party
Henry: Yes dear, but why the Hyson tea? It’s very expensive, you know.
Muriel: The duchess of Bedford is coming and I don’t want to look cheap. Afternoon tea is her tradition after all. And we’ll use the good china.
Henry: Not the good china. What if Lord Endslydale invites himself in like last time? Smashed teacups, milk on the rug, cake smears on the furnitu-
Muriel: We’ll use the good china because it will improve our reputation. You do want Lily to get a good husband, don’t you? She’s not as pleasing to the eyes as she was when she was fifteen and her needlework is atrocious.
Henry: Yes dear. Will that Herbert Fitzwilliam be coming to tea? I heard that he took a trip to the orient and traded with the Chinese.
Muriel: Yes he’s coming, but that’s rubbish Henry. He went, but I can assure you that he got someone else to trade for him. Who would want to deal with those dirty diseased orientals?
Henry: But at least we’re trying to help them.
Muriel: Yes, that’s true. Hatty! Oh Hatty!
[Enter – Hatty]
Muriel: —- Oh Hatty, there you are. May you please bring us some Myron tea. I need a bit of stimulation. And Hatty, please tell Lily to come down stairs and join us.
Hatty: Yes mu’um.
[Exit – Hatty. Enter Lily]
Lily: You wanted to see me mother?
Muriel: Yes, Lily. I wanted to talk to you about the afternoon tea I’ve scheduled for next Sunday after church.
Lily: Will Lord Fitzwilliam be there, mother? If he is, make sure you bring out the finest tea. He knows a lot about it, you know. I heard that he went to-
Muriel:Yes yes, your father told me. We’ll just have to see how much he knows at the tea party.Part 2: At The Tea Party
Lord Fitzwilliam: You want to know about the orientals, do you? Well, what do you want to know?
Muriel: How could you trade with such an unadvanced race? Do they understand it?
Lord Fitzwilliam: First of all, we Englishman are only allowed to stay at a single port. But at this single port, one can see that although the orientals are less advanced than us, they have cultivated the most glorious tealeaves. They’ve used them to become stimulated for hundreds of years, I bet. Perhaps a thousand!
Henry: A thousand years of tea cultivation? That’s impossible. A thousand years ago even we weren’t civilized enough to cultivate something as rich and delicious as tea.
Lord Fitzwilliam: Well, it’s only what I’ve heard from them. And why would they lie?
Lily: You’ve spoken to the orientals?!
Lord Fitzwilliam: Of course I have. I had a translator, of course. How else could I have traded?
Lily: Did they tell you how it stimulates the soul? I’m curious about how such an innocent leaf can do so much to a person.
Lord Fitzwilliam: I was never quite told how it stimulates but, well, just think of Duncan Campbell’s, “A poem Upon Tea.“
Muriel: How could you trade with such an unadvanced race? Do they understand it?
Lord Fitzwilliam: First of all, we Englishman are only allowed to stay at a single port. But at this single port, one can see that although the orientals are less advanced than us, they have cultivated the most glorious tealeaves. They’ve used them to become stimulated for hundreds of years, I bet. Perhaps a thousand!
Henry: A thousand years of tea cultivation? That’s impossible. A thousand years ago even we weren’t civilized enough to cultivate something as rich and delicious as tea.
Lord Fitzwilliam: Well, it’s only what I’ve heard from them. And why would they lie?
Lily: You’ve spoken to the orientals?!
Lord Fitzwilliam: Of course I have. I had a translator, of course. How else could I have traded?
Lily: Did they tell you how it stimulates the soul? I’m curious about how such an innocent leaf can do so much to a person.
Lord Fitzwilliam: I was never quite told how it stimulates but, well, just think of Duncan Campbell’s, “A poem Upon Tea.“
“Tea thaws the freezing Veins, of Limbs and tongue,/And makes the Feeble eloquent and strong:/The aged Lady, here, renews her Youth,/And pretty misses learn to speak the truth…”
It obviously has some sort of medical property that warms from the inside out increasing the body’s youthful qualities, and bringing out the best in people, even you Lily. I like your curiosity and I see that you’ve been drinking tea for the last half hour.
Lily: Why thank you, my lord.
Muriel to Henry: I sure hope that was a sign of a wedding in the future. And with his background, I expect a low dowry. Thank God, for what tea will do for this family.
Explanation:
This second two-part dialogue takes place in Victorian Era Britain. I chose the Victorian era because it was a period of much trade of tea. It was also the first time in over four and a half thousand years that tea was seen in a different way and was consumed by others besides those in Asia. This time tea was seen as a stimulant, somewhat like coffee, and become a popular drink, especially among woman. It should be noted that tealeaves were the main ingredients in tea in Britain, and that like, milk and sugar were added to it. The china tea set mentioned in the first for the two-part dialogue would have been a new and expensive thing in Europe – and another item traded from China. Although tea was seen as a stimulant, and an overall healthy drink to enjoy socially, there were other factors alluded to in the primary source for this dialogue. Duncan Campbell’s, A poem Upon Tea, states that “Tea thaws the freezing Veins, of Limbs and tongue,/And makes the Feeble eloquent and strong:/The aged Lady, here, renews her Youth,/And pretty misses learn to speak the truth…” and each line in that part of the poem can be seen as a symptom that tea cured. In the poems, the warming qualities of tea are shown, as a result giving the drinker more focus and strength, letting the elderly feel rejuvenated, and bringing about good behavior from the young. The other primary sources for the dialogue were from the names of the teas. Hyson and Myron teas were sent from China by the chest, and were sold by the chest in newspapers such as The Daily Advertiser – a newspaper with a name stating its exact purpose, to advertise daily. Tea is common among the goods advertised in the newspaper, but expensive depending on which tea a person wanted.