OCEANA. No, no... I don't. I don't think I ever can. You'd let some man come and make love to Ethel... and you'd never warn her? ETHEL. They warned me to turn my toes out when I walked, and not to eat fish with a knife. MRS. MASTERSON. If this conversation is to go on, I insist that the children shall leave the room. OCEANA. Oh, I'm awfully sorry, Aunt Sophronia! Why, I didn't mean any harm. It's all so real to me. [She gazes from one to the other, hoping for some sign of a thaw.] Just think... these were the people that I'd loved... that I'd grown up with all my life. I'd fished in their canoes, I'd hunted with them and basked on the beach with them. I'd watched the young men and girls dancing their love-dances in the moonlit glades... [She pauses again.] Oughtn't I to talk about THAT? DR. MASTERSON. My dear girl... OCEANA. [Stares at them; a sudden idea occurs to her.] Perhaps I ought to explain to you... you're no doubt wondering. I'm a virgin myself, you know. MRS. MASTERSON. [Starting up.] OH! LETITIA. Oceana! OCEANA. But weren't you thinking of that? MRS. MASTERSON. Why, of course not! OCEANA. But Aunt Sophronia! You know you were! MRS. MASTERSON. [Sputters.] Oh! OH! OCEANA. You were thinking to yourself, this girl's been playing around on the beaches with savages... and what's been happening to her? DR. MASTERSON. My dear niece, I'm afraid you'll have to take some account of our civilized prejudices. We simply don't say everything that we think. OCEANA. [Springing up.] Oh, dear me! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you unhappy! I was going to be so good. I was going to try to conform to everything. Why, just think of it, Aunt Sophronia... in Rio I actually bought a pair of corsets. And I tried to wear them. I. .. Oceana! Around my waist! Think of it! [She looks for sympathy.] I couldn't stand them... I climbed to the topmast and threw them to the sharks. But now it seems that you all wear corsets on your minds and souls. [A pause.] Never mind... let's talk about something else. I'm getting restless. You see... I'm not used to being in a room... it seems like a box to me... I can hardly breathe. The air in here is dreadful... hadn't any of you noticed? [Silence. Apparently nobody had.] Would you mind if I opened a window? MRS. MASTERSON. It is storming outside, Anna. OCEANA. Yes, but one can exercise and keep warm. just a minute... please. [She flings up a window; a gale blows in.] Ah, feel that! [MRS. MASTERSON, LETITIA and DR. MASTERSON draw away from the window.] MRS. MASTERSON. This is simply outrageous! LETITIA. It is beyond all words! DR. MASTERSON. My dear, consider... MRS. MASTERSON. I won't have that creature in my house a minute longer. DR. MASTERSON. My dear, be reasonable! LETITIA. REASONABLE? DR. MASTERSON. Consider what is at stake! MRS. MASTERSON. But what hope have we to get anything out of such a woman? DR. MASTERSON. We have some hope, I'm sure. If we...