The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

Lights illuminate the jail cell, and the town clock strikes two. Henry rises and tells the Bailey that though the government controls his body, he remains a free man because it cannot control his mind. Lydian appears, telling Henry he must “go along” to “get along,” a sentiment Henry loathes. When Edward and Henry go huckleberrying, Edward races to fill his basket, but Henry moves with “deliberate relaxation.” When Edward trips, spilling his basket, Henry reassures him that he has just planted a whole field of huckleberries for a generation of Emersons. Henry pours his berries into Edward’s basket, surprising the boy, who says the berries are Henry’s; but Henry refers to ownership as a kind of “voodoo” that means “absolutely nothing.” Edward wishes that Henry was his father, and he tells Lydian this when they return. Edward says Henry can be her husband, too, since he would stay at home rather than travel abroad.

Lydian dismisses Edward and tells Henry it might not be a good idea for Henry to work there while Waldo is away. They discuss the “accidental” nature of love, and she asks why Henry chooses loneliness. Just then, Edward bursts in, holding a chicken with gloves on its feet.