Old Habits Die Slowly

In Old Habits Die Slowly, Wilford tells his daughter that he received a telegram from her mother that states she wishes to marry another man in Paris.

Featured Monologue – Old Habits Die Slowly

WILFORD: It’s a release of all the years of built up stress and agony. All the years of waiting by the window for your mother to return. Always scared that one day she’d leave me, when you became old enough to understand and now it has happened and I am quite relieved of it.

The more I sit here and talk to you, the more happy I become.

This news isn’t anything I had imagined it would be. No. This feeling is a pleasure I never could have invented. There’s a lightness in my chest, I feel as though I can fly away and soar through the sky! Don’t you see? I am free!

Don’t think your father doesn’t have other interests, oh, I have a great many interests…many things to occupy my time, my mind…my mind has always been my greatest asset, you know…when one knows how to take the time to think, all will be very well.

And don’t you dare look at me and feel sorry for me. No! No! There are women who will still have me, too. The kind of women who have always let me know with their eyes that they found me attractive, but I never acted upon such inclinations due to my loyalty to your mother.

So, there you have it! I will enjoy this wondrous day in the month of May and think and wonder…and have some wine, out in the garden, and…and…read over those words in the telegram…those words…and wonder if they were sent out from glee or uncertainty or anger, perhaps, but…no…there must not have been a mistake or a jest of some sort…no, no, of course not.

Ha, ha, ha, ha.

It will all be fine in the end won’t it, Cadence?

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Monologue Summary

In drama monologue from Old Habits Die Slowly, Wilford talks to his daughter about the difficult break in their family and the reasons as to why it has occurred.

• Genre: Drama
• Length: ~1 Minute
• Monologue Character: Wilford
• Age Range: Any
• Themes: family, father / daughter
• Best For: Male Dramatic Monologues

World of the Play

• Cast Size: 2 women
• Characters in Play: Wilford
• Time Period: Modern
• Synopsis: In the one-act eplay Old Habits Die Slowly, Wilford confesses to his daughter more than she could have ever imagined about the true nature of his relationship with her mother.

FAQ

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Monologue Source: Old Habits Die Slowly

Old Habits Die Slowly is a drama one-act ePlay by Joseph Arnone, 2026.