A scene from Gosford Park.
Background: Ms Parks used to
work in a factory owned by Sir William who was in the habit of seducing his factory
workers. Women who fell pregnant were given the choice to keep the baby or
their job. Ms Parks was among the women
who opted for the latter, believing the baby was being put up for adoption in a
good family where he stood the chance of a better future. In reality, Sir William
gave the babies to an orphanage. Having
changed her name to Mrs Wilson, she ends up head servant at Sir William’s Gosford
Park. At a weekend shooting party, her long lost son turns up at Gosford Park
among the valets. Anticipating that her son was planning on murdering his
father, she poisons Sir William before her son comes to stab him. Mary,
lady’s maid to one of the guests, discovers the truth and in one of the final
scenes comes to talk to Mrs Wilson:
Mrs Wilson:
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What gift do
you think a good servant has that marks them apart from the rest? It is the
gift of anticipation. And I am a good servant. I am better than good, I am
the best. I am the perfect servant. I know when they'll be hungry and
the food is ready. I know when they'll be tired and the bed is turned down. I
know it before they know it themselves.
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Mary:
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Will you ever
tell him?
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Mrs Wilson:
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Why would I?
What purpose could it possibly serve?
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Mary:
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What if they
find out?
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Mrs Wilson:
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It’s not a
crime to stab a dead person. They can never touch him. That’s what’s
important now, his life.
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Mary:
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And your
life, isn’t that important?
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Mrs Wilson:
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What do you
mean? Didn’t you hear me? I’m the Perfect Servant. I have no life.
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