The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

In jail, Henry laughs, hearing the bells of the town clock tower for the first time. He thanks Concord for jailing him so that he can be “free” to hear it; he says that he is the “free one” because everyone else is “chained to what [they] have to do tomorrow morning” (40). Lights come up to reveal several characters at church, including John, Ellen, Ball, Waldo, and Lydian. Henry passes the prim group, shirt open, pushing a wheelbarrow, and he marvels that they spent the beautiful morning inside. Ball suggests that Henry does the devil’s work by laboring on Sunday, and John explains that the woods are Henry’s church.

Six weeks later, John asks Ellen to marry him, but her father says that marriage to either of the Thoreau brothers is absurd. She asks John why Henry didn’t propose, though she claims she’d say no to him, too. The brothers decide this is for the best, joking about maintaining their family tradition of celibacy. Suddenly, the light changes, and the church is back. It is John’s funeral, and Henry claims he won’t pray to a God who failed to see his brother’s godliness. Ellen asks Henry what happened, and Henry says John died of lockjaw after cutting his finger on a rusty razor.