Private Lives Study Guide

This scene opens on a terrace of a hotel in France. There are two separate suites divided by a line of small trees in tubs. It is a summer's evening around eight o'clock and an orchestra is playing nearby. A pretty, young woman, Sibyl Chase, steps out onto the terrace and calls back into the suite to her husband, Elyot Chase. He joins her on the terrace and they begin to talk about the lovely view and how happy they are to be married. Shortly after, they begin to argue, but before the argument gets too heated, Sibyl apologizes for annoying Elyot and he kisses her. Sibyl asks Elyot if he is happier being married to her than he was to his ex-wife, Amanda. (read more)