Resumo de The Ruling Class

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The death of Lord Ralph Arnold

Alexander

Tancred

Gurney, apart from the embarrassing

circumstances

(he'd

hung himself while wearing a cocked
hat,

Grenadier

jacket

and ballet skirt) has left the Gurneys
in a

difficult

spot.

He's passed on the bulk of the estate
to

his son,

which

might

be

natural enough except that the boy is
mad---

confined to

a

sanatorium though only voluntarily---
which

is

why

he's

able

to appear suddenly, late for the
funeral

but in

time

for

the reading of the will. Dressed as a

Capuchin

monk

with a

gentle smile and shoulder-length
flowing

locks,

young

jack

Gurney thinks he's Jesus Christ!

literally. "Fine

figure

he'd make gibbering in the house of
Lords!"

It won't do. Jack must be certified

insane

and

committed

before he does something disastrous
like

redistribute

Gurney land and wealth more equitably.

First,

though,

he

must produce an heir. "We've decided
that

you

must

take

a

wife." "Who from?" From Ralph's half

brother

Charles,

principal schemer, as it happens---Jack

believes

he's

already married to Marguerite Gauthier,
La

Dame

Aux

Camellias, and Charles' mistress Grace

Shelley

has

the

figure and voice for the part. (Charles

schemed

first

to

marry her to Ralph, before the Noble
Lord

jilted

her

for

Lady Hemp.) Once Jack's persuaded to
renew

his

vows

(cousin

Bertie's an Archbishop so of course
it's

legal)

and

has

successfully mounted and invested the

fortress

of

Grace,

proceedings can be instituted for
having

him

declared

insane, and formally committed.

the psychiatrist Dr. Herder wanats
to

change

the

script

by curing Jack---as Lady Claire

says "Making

him

sane

like

the rest of us" (which in context is
one of

the

play's

funniest lines). He succeeds, or
appears to-

--

but

his

is a

killing cure. Partly because it's

surrounded

and

inflected

by the plot against Jack, partly
because

his

concern is

humane but his methods icy and brutal.
Jack

is

cured of

the

delusion that he is the God of love:
love's

been

stripp'd

from his world and he arises a new God,
the

God

of

wrath

and vengeance. "Trade name? Jack the

Ripper."

What's with the aging manservant

Daniel

Tucker?

He's

inherited enough money to retire and

frequently

announces

his plans to, but stays on. Out of fear
and

habit

as he

speculates? Or is it in part because
he's

touched

by

Jack

and disturbed by the plots he senses
being

mounted

against

him? to the extent he stays on out of

affection

for

Master

Jack, he's brutally repaid.)

The last act's a killer.

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