Act One Summary

Scene One

Herault-Sechelles is with a group of women at a card table. Georges and Julie Danton are sitting a distance away from them. Danton admires a beautiful women playing cards. He hears that the woman, who is married, is quite a flirt. He tells Julie that women can trick me into loving them with a lie. Julie wants to know if Danton trusts her but Danton doesn't know. They really don't know much about each other. She is upset when Danton says he loves her like a grave. But he equates "grave" with "peace." Danton speaks of relationships between men and women as a game of cards - something he wouldn't let his daughter partake in. Danton had created the Revolutionary Tribunal the year before and was having misgivings about its harsh treatment of enemies of the Revolution.

Camille and...