Requiem for a Nun

252 WILLIAM FAULKNER

Mannigoe's lawyer told me before we ever left Jefferson that you were not

going to save Nancy Mannigoe. What we came here and waked you up at two

o'clock in the morning for is just to give Temple Drake a good fair

honest chance to suffer-you know: just anguish for the sake of anguish,

like that Russian or somebody who wrote a whole book about suffering, not

suffering for or about anything, just suffering, like somebody

unconscious not really breathing for anything but just breathing. Or

maybe that's wrong too and nobody really cares, suffers, any more about

suffering than they do about truth or justice or Temple Drake's shame or

Nancy Mannigoe's worthless nigger life-

She stops speaking, sitting quite still, erect in the chair, her face raised

slightly, not looking at either of them while they watch her.

GOVERNOR

Give her the handkerchief now.

Stevens takes a fresh handkerchief from his pocket, shakes it out and

extends it toward Temple. She does not move, her hands still clasped in her

lap. Stevens rises, crosses, drops the handkerchief into her lap, returns to

his chair.

TEMPLE

Thanks really. But it doesn't matter now; we're too near the end; you

could almost go on down to the car and start it and have the engine

warming up while I finish.

(to Governor)

You see? All you'll have to do now is just be still and listen. Or not

even listen if you dont want to: but just be still, just wait. And not

long either now, and then we can all go to bed and turn off the light.

And then, night: dark: sleep even maybe, when with the same arm you turn

off the light and pull the covers up with, you can put away forever

Temple Drake and whatever it is you have done about her, and Nancy

Mannigoe and whatever it is you have done about her, if you're going to

do anything, if it even matters anyhow whether you do anything or not,

and none of it will ever have to bother us any more. Because Uncle Gavin

was only partly right. It's not that you must never even look on evil and

corruption; sometimes you cant help that, you are not always