Signor Brunoni’s Performance Opening
After a long wait watching the obstinate green curtain with its odd staring eyes, the audience is finally revealed a magnificent gentleman in Turkish costume seated at a table. Miss Pole insists this cannot be Signor Brunoni because he wears a beard, while Miss Matty sorrowfully observes through her eye-glass that turbans are indeed in fashion. When the performer announces himself as Signor Brunoni in broken English so disjointed that the parts have no cohesion, Miss Pole continues to express disbelief at his bearded, turbaned appearance. The Signor at last perceives the futility of his speech and proceeds to action.
第九章
Chapter IX of Cranford depicts the aftermath of the magician Signor Brunoni’s performance, contrasting the varied reactions of the Cranford ladies and resolving their unease through the unexpected presence of the rector. The narrator observes astonishment, skepticism, moral disquiet, and eventual reassurance, culminating in Miss Pole’s persistent denial of the magician’s authenticity.
Astonishment at the Magician’s Unexplained Tricks
The narrator confesses genuine astonishment at Brunoni’s tricks, unable to account for them even when Miss Pole attempts to expose his methods by reading aloud the “receipts” for common illusions. The Grand Turk, Brunoni’s assistant, glares at Miss Pole in indignation at her expository efforts, prompting her tart observation that unchristian looks are only to be expected from a “Mussulman.”
Divergent Audience Reactions to the Performance
Audience response fractures along sharply individual lines. Miss Pole remains skeptical, absorbed in diagrams and receipts, and declares she could replicate every trick with two hours’ study of the Encyclopædia and a flexible third finger. Miss Matty and Mrs Forrester are thoroughly mystified. Mrs Jamieson repeatedly wipes her spectacles, suspecting a defect in the lenses rather than true legerdemain. Lady Glenmire, drawing on her experience of Edinburgh curiosities, is genuinely impressed and refuses to accept Miss Pole’s dismissive account.
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