Next came that more difficult matter, the discussion of ways and means, the more practical details. Alan hardly knew at first on what precise terms it was Herminia's wish that they two should pass their lives together. His ideas were all naturally framed on the old model of marriage; in that matter, Herminia said, he was still in the gall2 of bitterness, and the bond of iniquity3. He took it for granted that of course they must dwell under one roof with one another. But that simple ancestral notion, derived4 from man's lordship in his own house, was wholly adverse5 to Herminia's views of the reasonable and natural. She had debated these problems at full in her own mind for years, and had arrived at definite and consistent solutions for every knotty6 point in them. Why should this friendship differ at all, she asked, in respect of time and place, from any other friendship? The notion of necessarily keeping house together, the cramping7 idea of the family tie, belonged entirely8 to the regime of the manmade patriarchate, where the woman and the children were the slaves and chattels9 of the lord and master. In a free society, was it not obvious that each woman would live her own life apart, would preserve her independence, and would receive the visits of the man for whom she cared,—the father of her children? Then only could she be free. Any other method meant the economic and social superiority of the man, and was irreconcilable10 with the perfect individuality of the woman.
So Herminia reasoned. She rejected at once, therefore, the idea of any change in her existing mode of life. To her, the friendship she proposed with Alan Merrick was no social revolution; it was but the due fulfilment of her natural functions. To make of it an occasion for ostentatious change in her way of living seemed to her as unnatural11 as is the practice of the barbarians12 in our midst who use a wedding—that most sacred and private event in a young girl's life—as an opportunity for display of the coarsest and crudest character. To rivet13 the attention of friends on bride and bridegroom is to offend against the most delicate susceptibilities of modesty14. From all such hateful practices, Herminia's pure mind revolted by instinct. She felt that here at least was the one moment in a woman's history when she would shrink with timid reserve from every eye save one man's,—when publicity15 of any sort was most odious16 and horrible.
Only the blinding effect of custom, indeed, could ever have shut good women's eyes to the shameful17 indecorousness of wedding ceremonial. We drag a young girl before the prying18 gaze of all the world at the very crisis in her life, when natural modesty would most lead her to conceal19 herself from her dearest acquaintance. And our women themselves have grown so blunted by use to the hatefulness of the ordeal20 that many of them face it now with inhuman21 effrontery22. Familiarity with marriage has almost killed out in the maidens23 of our race the last lingering relics24 of native modesty.
Herminia, however, could dispense25 with all that show. She had a little cottage of her own, she told Alan,—a tiny little cottage, in a street near her school-work; she rented it for a small sum, in quite a poor quarter, all inhabited by work-people. There she lived by herself; for she kept no servants. There she should continue to live; why need this purely26 personal compact between them two make any difference in her daily habits? She would go on with her school-work for the present, as usual. Oh, no, she certainly didn't intend to notify the head-mistress of the school or any one else, of her altered position. It was no alteration27 of position at all, so far as she was concerned; merely the addition to life of a new and very dear and natural friendship. Herminia took her own point of view so instinctively28 indeed,—lived so wrapped in an ideal world of her own and the future's,—that Alan was often quite alarmed in his soul when he thought of the rude awakening29 that no doubt awaited her. Yet whenever he hinted it to her with all possible delicacy30, she seemed so perfectly31 prepared for the worst the world could do, so fixed32 and resolved in her intention of martyrdom, that he had no argument left, and could only sigh over her.
It was not, she explained to him further, that she wished to conceal anything. The least tinge33 of concealment34 was wholly alien to that frank fresh nature. If her head-mistress asked her a point-blank question, she would not attempt to parry it, but would reply at once with a point blank answer. Still, her very views on the subject made it impossible for her to volunteer information unasked to any one. Here was a personal matter of the utmost privacy; a matter which concerned nobody on earth, save herself and Alan; a matter on which it was the grossest impertinence for any one else to make any inquiry35 or hold any opinion. They two chose to be friends; and there, so far as the rest of the world was concerned, the whole thing ended. What else took place between them was wholly a subject for their own consideration. But if ever circumstances should arise which made it necessary for her to avow36 to the world that she must soon be a mother, then it was for the world to take the first step, if it would act upon its own hateful and cruel initiative. She would never deny, but she would never go out of her way to confess. She stood upon her individuality as a human being.
As to other practical matters, about which Alan ventured delicately to throw out a passing question or two, Herminia was perfectly frank, with the perfect frankness of one who thinks and does nothing to be ashamed of. She had always been self-supporting, she said, and she would be self-supporting still. To her mind, that was an essential step towards the emancipation37 of women. Their friendship implied for her no change of existence, merely an addition to the fulness of her living. He was the complement38 of her being. Every woman should naturally wish to live her whole life, to fulfil her whole functions; and that she could do only by becoming a mother, accepting the orbit for which nature designed her. In the end, no doubt, complete independence would be secured for each woman by the civilized39 state, or in other words by the whole body of men, who do the hard work of the world, and who would collectively guarantee every necessary and luxury to every woman of the community equally. In that way alone could perfect liberty of choice and action be secured for women; and she held it just that women should so be provided for, because the mothers of the community fulfil in the state as important and necessary a function as the men themselves do. It would be well, too, that the mothers should be free to perform that function without preoccupation of any sort. So a free world would order things. But in our present barbaric state of industrial slavery, capitalism40, monopoly,—in other words under the organized rule of selfishness,—such a course was impossible. Perhaps, as an intermediate condition, it might happen in time that the women of certain classes would for the most part be made independent at maturity41 each by her own father; which would produce for them in the end pretty much the same general effect of freedom. She saw as a first step the endowment of the daughter. But meanwhile there was nothing for it save that as many women as could should aim for themselves at economic liberty, in other words at self-support. That was an evil in itself, because obviously the prospective42 mothers of a community should be relieved as far as possible front the stress and strain of earning a livelihood43; should be set free to build up their nervous systems to the highest attainable44 level against the calls of maternity45. But above all things we must be practical; and in the practical world here and now around us, no other way existed for women to be free save the wasteful46 way of each earning her own livelihood. Therefore she would continue her schoolwork with her pupils as long as the school would allow her; and when that became impossible, would fall back upon literature.
One other question Alan ventured gently to raise,—the question of children. Fools always put that question, and think it a crushing one. Alan was no fool, yet it puzzled him strangely. He did not see for himself how easy is the solution; how absolutely Herminia's plan leaves the position unaltered. But Herminia herself was as modestly frank on the subject as on every other. It was a moral and social point of the deepest importance; and it would be wrong of them to rush into it without due consideration. She had duly considered it. She would give her children, should any come, the unique and glorious birthright of being the only human beings ever born into this world as the deliberate result of a free union, contracted on philosophical47 and ethical48 principles. Alan hinted certain doubts as to their up-bringing and education. There, too, Herminia was perfectly frank. They would be half hers, half his; the pleasant burden of their support, the joy of their education, would naturally fall upon both parents equally. But why discuss these matters like the squalid rich, who make their marriages a question of settlements and dowries and business arrangements? They two were friends and lovers; in love, such base doubts could never arise. Not for worlds would she import into their mutual49 relations any sordid50 stain of money, any vile51 tinge of bargaining. They could trust one another; that alone sufficed for them.
So Alan gave way bit by bit all along the line, overborne by Herminia's more perfect and logical conception of her own principles. She knew exactly what she felt and wanted; while he knew only in a vague and formless way that his reason agreed with her.
A week later, he knocked timidly one evening at the door of a modest little workman-looking cottage, down a small side street in the back-wastes of Chelsea. 'Twas a most unpretending street; Bower53 Lane by name, full of brown brick houses, all as like as peas, and with nothing of any sort to redeem54 their plain fronts from the common blight55 of the London jerry-builder. Only a soft serge curtain and a pot of mignonette on the ledge56 of the window, distinguished57 the cottage at which Alan Merrick knocked from the others beside it. Externally that is to say; for within it was as dainty as Morris wall-papers and merino hangings and a delicate feminine taste in form and color could make it. Keats and Shelley lined the shelves; Rossetti's wan52 maidens gazed unearthly from the over-mantel. The door was opened for him by Herminia in person; for she kept no servant,—that was one of her principles. She was dressed from head to foot in a simple white gown, as pure and sweet as the soul it covered. A white rose nestled in her glossy58 hair; three sprays of white lily decked a vase on the mantel-piece. Some dim survival of ancestral ideas made Herminia Barton so array herself in the white garb59 of affiance for her bridal evening. Her cheek was aglow60 with virginal shrinking as she opened the door, and welcomed Alan in. But she held out her hand just as frankly61 as ever to the man of her free choice as he advanced to greet her. Alan caught her in his arms and kissed her forehead tenderly. And thus was Herminia Barton's espousal consummated62.
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1
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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iniquity
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| n.邪恶；不公正 | |
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4
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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5
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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7
cramping
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| 图像压缩 | |
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8
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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9
chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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10
irreconcilable
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| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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12
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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13
rivet
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| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
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14
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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15
publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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16
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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17
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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18
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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19
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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20
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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21
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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22
effrontery
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| n.厚颜无耻 | |
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23
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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24
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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25
dispense
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| vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施 | |
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26
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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27
alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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28
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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29
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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30
delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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32
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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33
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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34
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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35
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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36
avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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37
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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38
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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39
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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40
capitalism
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| n.资本主义 | |
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41
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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42
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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43
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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44
attainable
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| a.可达到的，可获得的 | |
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45
maternity
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| n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的 | |
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46
wasteful
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| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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47
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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48
ethical
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| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
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49
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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50
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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51
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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52
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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53
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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54
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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55
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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56
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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57
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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58
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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59
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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60
aglow
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| adj.发亮的；发红的；adv.发亮地 | |
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61
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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62
consummated
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| v.使结束( consummate的过去式和过去分词 )；使完美；完婚；（婚礼后的）圆房 | |
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