Mourning Becomes Electra Homecoming, Act 4 Summary

  • We're in Christine and Ezra's bedroom. They've recently gotten it on. Ezra's asleep.
  • Christine stands up alone in the dark, looking kind of creepy.
  • Ezra calls out to her and it spooks her.
  • He asks Christine if his voice is so disgusting to her that it scares her that way.
  • Christine tells him not to be ridiculous, but this starts a huge argument.
  • Ezra says that he wants Christine to honestly and truly love him, and he can tell that she doesn't.
  • He wonders if she only had sex with him that night hoping he'd keel over dead from a heart attack.
  • Fed up, she admits that he disgusts her, and that she's never loved him since they were married.
  • Since she's already on a roll, Christine tells Ezra all about her affair with Brant, along with who Brant really is.
  • Ezra calls her a whore and threatens to kill her, forgetting about his heart condition.
  • He suddenly collapses in pain, and calls out for his medicine.
  • Obviously, Christine's scheme is working just as planned.
  • Christine pretends to get his heart medicine. She gives him a tablet of poison that she takes out of a small box instead.
  • Old Man Mannon realizes what's just gone down. He calls to Lavinia to come help.
  • Lavinia rushes in, even though she didn't hear him. She said she'd dreamed that her father was calling to her.
  • Christine tries to pretend everything's okay and holds the box of poison behind her back.
  • Ezra's able to gasp with his last breath that he was poisoned, and he points to Christine, saying she's guilty. Guilty!
  • He falls back, dead.
  • Lavinia shrieks; Christine's strangely calm.
  • Lavinia's hysterical—what did her father mean by pointing at Christine?
  • Christine tries to play it off, saying that all she did was tell Ezra that she was boffing Brant, as if that's not a big deal.
  • Lavinia knows this isn't true and accuses Christine of killing Ezra.
  • Christine says she's feeling faint and has to leave the room. How dare Lavinia call her a killer? She falls to the floor and the box of poison pills rolls out of her hands.
  • As Lavinia checks to see if her mother is dead or just fainted, she notices the pills.
  • Screaming, she tells Christine that she doesn't believe she's innocent, and will make her pay for what she did, adding that she'll never let her mother marry Brant.
  • Lavinia dramatically falls to her knees, crying "Father! Don't leave me alone!"