Rose is already almost happy. Hope is penetrating1 her life; and the moments of rest filter into her days of wearisome toil2 like the cool water trickling3 through the rocks.
As soon as she can get away on any excuse, she runs across to me. Flushed and laughing, she hurls4 herself into my arms with all the violence of a catastrophe5; she crushes my cheek with a vehement6 kiss which waits for no response; and my hair catches in the rough hands squeezing my head. Smiling, I cannot help warding7 off the attack, while she pours out a torrent8 of incoherent words at the top of her voice....
During our early talks, I tried speaking very quietly, as a hint that she should do the same. She would shake the house with the thunder of her most intimate confidences, bellowed9 after the fashion of the peasants, who are accustomed to keep up a conversation from one end of a field to the other. As I
obtained no result, I had to speak to her about it; and, because I did so as delicately as possible, in order not to wound her feelings, she burst into a roar of laughter which showed me that her rustic10 life had robbed her of all sensitiveness.
Being now authorised to admonish11 her at all times with regard to her gestures, her voice and her accent, I often make her repeat the same sentence; and, when I at last hear her natural voice, her original sweet and attractive voice, to which the music is beginning to return, shily and timidly, my heart overflows12 with joy. But, two minutes after, she is again bawling13 out her most trivial remarks, with a cheerful unconcern that disarms14 my wrath15. Then I plead for silence as I would for mercy, draw her down upon my lap, take her head in my arms and nurse her as I would a child.
2
The stillness is so intense in the grove16 where we are sitting side by side, I am so anxious for her to feel it, that I become impatient and irritable17. When I am with her, I am in a perpetual ferment18. Her beauty and her coarseness hurt me, like two ill-matched
colours that attract and wound the eyes. I calm myself by scattering19 all my thoughts over her promiscuously20; and, though most of them are carried away by the wind, I imagine that I am sprinkling them on her life to make it blossom anew.
"I am nursing you in my arms to wake you, my Roseline, just as one nurses children to put them to sleep. See what poor creatures we are! As a rule, it is the conventions and constraint21 of our upbringing, with all its artificiality and falsehood, that divide us. To-day, it is the opposite that rises between you and me and spoils our happiness! I have often longed to meet a woman who was so simple as to be almost uncivilised; and, now that you are here, I dread22 your gestures and your voice, which grate upon me and annoy me!"
"But am I not simple?" Rose asks, ingenuously23.
"People generally confuse simplicity24 with ignorance, too often also with silliness—which is not the case with you," I added, with a smile. "Real, that is to say, conscious simplicity is not even recognised; and, when it becomes active, it appears to vulgar minds a danger that must be averted25. The better to attack it, they disfigure it. It is this proud and noble grace that I want you to acquire. Look, it
may be compared with this diamond which I wear on my finger. The stone is absolutely simple; and yet through how many hands has it passed before becoming so! How many transformations26 has it undergone! How magnificent is its bare simplicity when set off by the plain gold ring! It is the same with us. For simplicity to be beautiful in us, we must have cut and polished our soul and person many times over. Above all, we must have learnt the harmony of things and become fixed27 in that knowledge, like the stone which you see held in these gold claws."
She asked, with an effort to modulate28 her voice:
"Oughtn't I to take you for my model?"
"No, Rose! You frighten me when you say that! You must not think of it. Listen to me: if ever we are permitted to imitate any one, it is only in the pains which she herself takes to improve herself. As for me, I wanted to achieve simplicity and I looked for it as one looks for a spot that is difficult to reach and easy to miss. For a long time, I wandered beyond it. Rather than stoop to false customs, to lying conventions, I followed the strangest fancies.... Now it all makes me laugh."
"Makes you laugh?"
"Yes, past errors are dead branches that make
our present life burn more brightly. But, when I see how I judge my former selves, I become suspicious as to what I may soon think of my actual self; and therefore I do not wish you to take me as an example."
Rose was still lying in my arms; and her beautiful eyes were looking up at me. I raised her head in my hands and whispered, tenderly:
"I feel that you understand me, that my words touch you, that you trust me and that you love me deep down in your heart; I feel that you also will soon be able to speak and unburden yourself freely, to be silent amid silence and peaceful amid the peace of things...."
3
The girl rose to her feet, with a glint of emotion animating29 her features; and, as though to escape my eyes, she took a few steps in the garden. While she was hidden by the bend of the narrow path fenced by the tall sunflowers, my heart was filled with misgiving30: her step was so heavy, so clumsy! Would she ever be able to improve her walk? Judging by the ponderous31 rhythm of her hips32, one would always
think that she was carrying invisible burdens at the end of each of her drooping33 arms....
But she soon returned; and her fair countenance34 was so adorable amid the golden glory of the great flowers that I could not suppress a cry of admiration35. She came towards me smiling; and, to protect herself a little from the blinding sunlight, she was holding both hands over her head. Was it simply the curve of her raised arms that thus transfigured her whole bearing, that reduced the unwieldiness of her figure and made its lines freer? It was, no doubt; but it was also the soft breeze which now blew against her and accentuated36 the movement of her limbs by plastering her thin cotton skirt against them. And the heavy gait now seemed stately; and the excessive stride appeared virile37 and bold. I watched the humble38 worker in the fields, the poor farm-girl; and I thought of the proud Victory whom my mind pictured enfolding all the beauties of the Louvre in her mighty39 wings!
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
penetrating
|
|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
toil
|
|
| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
trickling
|
|
| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
hurls
|
|
| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
catastrophe
|
|
| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
vehement
|
|
| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
warding
|
|
| 监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
bellowed
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
rustic
|
|
| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
admonish
|
|
| v.训戒；警告；劝告 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
overflows
|
|
| v.溢出，淹没( overflow的第三人称单数 )；充满；挤满了人；扩展出界，过度延伸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
bawling
|
|
| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
disarms
|
|
| v.裁军( disarm的第三人称单数 )；使息怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
grove
|
|
| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
irritable
|
|
| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
ferment
|
|
| vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
scattering
|
|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
promiscuously
|
|
| adv.杂乱地，混杂地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
constraint
|
|
| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
ingenuously
|
|
| adv.率直地，正直地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
simplicity
|
|
| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
averted
|
|
| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
transformations
|
|
| n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
modulate
|
|
| v.调整，调节(音的强弱)；变调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
animating
|
|
| v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
misgiving
|
|
| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ponderous
|
|
| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
hips
|
|
| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
drooping
|
|
| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
accentuated
|
|
| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
virile
|
|
| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |