Three Sides of a Square by Michelene Wandor

SCENE 14

(At dinner. Sitting cross-legged on the ground.)

GERTRUDE Some more lamb? Spinach? Rice and beans.

LAWRENCE We are making schemes for the government of the universe. From Cairo.

GERTRUDE We are treating Mesopotamia as if it is an isolated unit, when it is part of Arabia. Its politics are connected with the great Arab question, We need some sort of wide scheme which will ultimately form the basis of our relations with the Arabs. Why do we continue to muddle through, wading through blood and tears which need never have been shed?

LAWRENCE The first step is to remove the Turks. Have you eaten ices, made of milk, snow and lemonade?

GERTRUDE Do you know the best way to catch fish? You put a basin weighted with stones in the stream. In the basin you put some bread. You cover the basin with a cloth, in which there are a few holes. The fish swim in to eat the bread, and can’t get out again.

Read more