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Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 10 of 18 · 1'35" · B2

Robert Learns Cora Is Ill, Explained: more than capable

Robert discovers that Cora has kept her illness from him, and his anger at being left out gives way to fear. "You should have told me!" he says, before the two of them fall into an exchange about how their marriage began and what they mean to each other.

What happens

In the South of France, Robert learns that Cora has been hiding her illness. He is hurt and frightened, insisting on a proper doctor and offering to take her to London or America. Cora defends the trip as one last treat, and the argument softens into a quiet exchange about the love that grew out of their arranged marriage.

ArgumentsMarriage troubleConfessing loveComfortingSpousesB2fastbritishClean
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Listen for

more than capablemake an early startcan't bear itquack

00:00 / 01:35
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  2. ❝ MonologueA husband books doctors like a man drowning5 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

more than capable

完全有能力

丈夫主张另找医生，妻子提醒他熟识的克拉克森医生完全有能力做出诊断。

She's more than capable of running the department.

Also in this scene

  • make an early start

    早点动身

  • can't bear it

    受不了

  • quack

    庸医；江湖郎中

Everything marked in this scene

26 notes across 34 lines

Phrase · A2was going to do somethingI was going to, and then suddenly we were coming here.
Phrase · B2should never have done somethingBut you should never have come here.
Grammar · B2should never have come

should have done

But you should never have come here.
Phrase · B1get someone to a placeWe have to get you to a proper doctor, and I don't mean some quack in Marseilles.
Slang · B2quackWe have to get you to a proper doctor, and I don't mean some quack in Marseilles.
Phrase · B2more than capable of doing somethingDr. Clarkson is more than capable of coming up with a diagnosis.
Soundcoming up with

liaison

Dr. Clarkson is more than capable of coming up with a diagnosis.
Phrase · B1if someone has toThen we'll go to London. We'll-We'll go to America if we have to.
Phrase · B2should have done somethingWe'll discuss it when we know more. You should have told me!
Phrase · B2a last treatWith the chance of a last treat before illness took over our lives?
Phrase · B1take over somethingWith the chance of a last treat before illness took over our lives?
Phrase · B1as bad as thatIt may not be as bad as that. Robert, I've run the hospital for years.
Soundas bad as that

liaison

It may not be as bad as that. Robert, I've run the hospital for years.
Phrase · B1not what someone wanted at allThis is not what I wanted at all.
Grammar · B2My being ill

gerund with a possessive

My being ill now doesn't make us sad.
Phrase · B1can't bear somethingI can't bear it. If I can bear it, you can.
Grammar · B2If I can bear it, you can

ellipsis in a conditional

I can't bear it. If I can bear it, you can.
Soundcan't bear it

liaison

I can't bear it. If I can bear it, you can.
Phrase · A2from the startRemember, I loved you from the start.
Grammar · B1before you loved me

time clause with before

I loved you before you loved me.
Phrase · B1be ashamed of somethingI've always been ashamed of that.
Phrase · B2be everything to someoneYou have been everything to me.
Phrase · B2for a while yetAnd I hope I can be everything for a while yet.
Phrase · B2make an early startwe must make an early start tomorrow... Oh.
Phrase · B1be past one's bedtimeAnd it's hours past my bedtime.
Phrase · A2get ticketsHope we can still get tickets on the Blue Train.

Robert Learns Cora Is Ill, explained

What's really going on

The scene turns a fight into a love scene without ever raising its voice. Robert's fear comes out as accusation, "You should have told me!" and Cora answers him with the calm of a woman who has run a hospital for years: there may be nothing to panic about. What neither says directly is the real subject, which is that they have built a life on a marriage that began as a transaction. "I had money. You needed it," she reminds him, "and then love came." That is the reassurance he needs. From there the lines are all tenderness, "You have been everything to me," and for once the couple speak plainly about what they owe each other. The illness is the occasion, but the scene is really about a marriage looking back and finding it was worth it.

Theme

MarriageA marriage that began as a transaction turns, in this scene, into an open declaration of love and gratitude.
Death & griefCora's hidden illness forces the couple to face a future without each other, and to say what they never say.

What you'll learn

  • 'quack' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
  • 'come up with' changes the pressure of the reply.
  • The surrounding lines set the social temperature.

Listen for

  • coming up with — liaison
  • as bad as that — liaison
  • can't bear it — liaison
I can't bear it. If I can bear it, you can.

One of them admits the pain is almost too much, then immediately offers the other strength: if I can endure it, so can you.

You have been everything to me.

A plain declaration of how much the other person has meant, the closest the couple come to saying everything at once.

Remember, I loved you from the start.

A reminder that affection was there from the beginning, even in a marriage that began as an arrangement.

I loved you before you loved me.

An admission of who fell first, offered without pride and answered with reassurance about the marriage's real foundation.

And we have been happy, haven't we?

A question that asks the other to confirm the life they built together, turning illness into a reason to look back.

Questions about this scene

Why is Robert angry when he learns Cora is ill?

He is hurt that she kept it from him and frightened by what it might mean, so he wants proper doctors and offers to take her to London or America.

Why did Cora keep the trip a secret?

She wanted one last treat before illness took over their lives, and she did not want the journey cancelled because of her diagnosis.

Why does Cora mention running a hospital for years?

She is telling Robert not to panic. Her experience with medicine lets her promise the illness may not be as bad as he fears.

What does "I had money. You needed it" refer to?

It refers to their marriage. Cora was a wealthy American heiress and Robert needed her money to save Downton, so their marriage began as a practical arrangement.

How does the argument between Robert and Cora end?

It softens into tenderness. They admit they have been happy, and each says the other has meant everything, ending on a note of affection rather than fear.

Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 11in your handsMyrna Walks Off the Set
Chapter 1who are we to argueViolet Gives Sybbie a French VillaChapter 2take a dim viewJack Barber Pitches Filming at DowntonChapter 3wouldn't hear of itHollywood Comes to DowntonChapter 4frighten the horsesThe Family Dines with Myrna DalgleishChapter 5eye someone upDinner at the Villa of the DovesChapter 6in a wayTom and Lucy Inherit the VillaChapter 7perform miraclesMary Saves the TalkieChapter 8On an impulseMolesley Pitches His Own EndingChapter 9trouble in paradiseMary Talks About Her MarriagesWatching · Chapter 10more than capableRobert Learns Cora Is IllChapter 11in your handsMyrna Walks Off the SetChapter 12washed upThe Maids Talk Myrna DownChapter 13had in mindViolet Says Goodbye to TomChapter 14await developmentsGuy Offers Barrow a Hollywood JobChapter 15an object of desireBarber Asks to Kiss MaryChapter 16a fool for loveViolet Tells Mary the TruthChapter 17what the blazesMolesley Proposes to BaxterChapter 18last the courseViolet's Deathbed Goodbyes
Chapter 10 of 18 · about 18 min to go