Arcadia

Act One

The first scene of Arcadia opens on an estate in Derbyshire, England in April of 1809. Tutor Septimus Hodge is at lessons with his pupil, Thomasina Coverly, who is the thirteen-year-old daughter of the owner of the house, Lord Croom. The two sit at a large table at the center of a grand, but rather bare, room in the house, reading. Septimus is intent on a poem, recently written by Mr. Chater, an acquaintance who is also currently visiting the house; Thomasina is reading a volume on mathematics. Septimus has given Thomasina the assignment of proving Fermat’s last theorem (something no one has yet done,) in the hopes of keeping her occupied so he can focus on Chater’s poem. In spite of his efforts to occupy her, Thomasina suddenly asks Septimus about the nature of “carnal embrace.” Septimus is evasive about the true nature of the definition, telling Thomasina something about wrapping one’s arms around a piece of meat. Upon further inquiry, it is clarified that Thomasina