“I want you to leave.”
Why it's great
Five plain words end a marriage; the calm delivery is what makes it cut.
Register
Informal
Use it yourself
I want you to leave by the end of the month.
00:00 / 03:02
00:00 / 03:02
Myra Finally Tells Sidney to Leave, Explained
Deathtrap · 1982
Chapter 12 of 30 · 3'02"
Myra has watched her husband cover up a killing, and she has reached her limit. "I want you to leave," she tells him, and then works out the terms: once the play's money comes in, he will buy the vegetable patch and the house from her.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:31–1:37
❝ Monologue · 7 lines Myra Confronts Sidney
67s - 1:56–2:09
❝ Monologue · 5 lines Sidney's cover story
He rehearses a lie like a schedule, and the precise details make it chilling.
12s
Myra Finally Tells Sidney to Leave, explained
What happens
After the killing, Myra tells Sidney she cannot understand how he did it, even weighed against his disappointments and their money troubles. She says he is a stranger to her, and finally asks him to leave. The two then divide things up: once the play earns money, he buys the vegetable patch and the house.
What's really going on
The scene is the end of a marriage, played as an inventory. Myra's horror comes out as careful reasoning — 'I've just been trying to understand how you could do it, Sidney' — and her verdict is total: 'Completely alien to me.' She doesn't scream or call the police; she plans. Sidney's answer to the risk of being caught is almost cheerful ('He disappeared in Quogue. This is Easthampton'), which only makes her decision easier. Then the parting is negotiated like a business deal: once the play's money is rolling in, he buys the vegetable patch, the house, all 9.3 acres. The coldness of the bargaining is the point.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I want you to leave.”
- Myra's calm verdict: not a threat or a plea, but a decision that the marriage is over.
- “You must always have been very different from the man I thought you were.”
- Her realization that the husband she knew was an illusion, expressed without any drama.
- “I wish you could take the vegetable patch with you...”
- A bittersweet joke in the middle of a breakup: she wishes the thing they fought over could simply go with him.
- “I mean, we both know that it's his play. I can't understand that either.”
- She names the moral problem plainly: the play belongs to the man he killed, and the theft is as hard to accept as the murder.
- “We'll have arguments in people's living rooms.”
- A wry prediction that their private fights will become public gossip once their story gets out.
Theme
- Marriage — A marriage ends not with a fight but with clauses: after the cover-up, Myra asks Sidney to leave and then settles the property.
- Trust — Myra says he is a stranger she never really knew, and the life they built is dissolved in one quiet decision.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level3/6
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“You must always have been very different from the man I thought you were.”
Why it's great
It turns years of misreading into a sigh, heavier than any accusation.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
You must always have been different from the friend I thought you were.
“I wish you could take the vegetable patch with you...”
Why it's great
The wish sounds domestic, but it quietly bundles all her anger into a garden.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
I wish you could take the sofa with you too.
“I mean, we both know that it's his play. I can't understand that either.”
Why it's great
Shared knowledge and shared confusion sit side by side, calm and damning.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
We both know it's his idea. I can't understand that either.
“We'll have arguments in people's living rooms.”
Why it's great
Domestic ruin is pictured as a social routine, and that calm is what stings.
Register
Neutral
Use it yourself
We'll have arguments in people's living rooms if this leaks.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Myra's disillusioned speech
YOU are... Completely alien to me, Sidney. And that just can't be since 5:00. You must always have been very different from the man I thought you were. I don't think the police are going to be as disinterested as you do either... So I wouldn't want anything to happen that would embarrass you... Or look like we're being suspicious if they came to question us.
It moves from feeling estranged to fearing the police, withdrawing love step by step.
❝ Sidney's cover story
If they do come, I'll simply say that he did write to me... Asking for a secretarial position. He sent me his resume and I threw it away... Which I know I shouldn't have done... But then I've been so busy night and day writing this play.
He rehearses a lie like a schedule, and the precise details make it chilling.
Up next · 13guilt-riddenThe scene: Helga Ten Dorp ArrivesTakeaways
What you walk away with- Five calm words can end a marriage more sharply than shouting.
- The wish about the vegetable patch hides her anger in a household chore.
- Sidney's cover story works because of small, specific details.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy does Myra want Sidney to leave?
She has seen him cover up a killing and can no longer recognize the man she married. Rather than turn him in, she ends the marriage.
Does Myra call the police on Sidney?
No. She talks about the risk of police questions, but her answer is to leave him, not to report him. The scene stays a private reckoning.
What deal does Myra make with Sidney?
When the play starts earning, he is to buy the vegetable patch and the house from her, even the full 9.3 acres — a settlement dressed up as a land sale.
Why does Sidney think the police won't come?
He argues that the disappearance happened in Quogue while they are in Easthampton, so it won't lead back to them — a hope Myra immediately questions.