of his rival, Jim Greeley, who was now a junior partner in the big chemical works where his father manufactured drug staples2.
Dorothy had never forgotten the child Sheila, and the two women resumed their acquaintance, their souls little changed, for all their bodily evolution. They were still
two little girls playing with dolls. They were still utterly3 incomprehensible to each other, and the friendlier for that fact. Dorothy found Sheila a trifle insane,
but immensely interesting, and Sheila found Dorothy stodgily4 Philistine5, but thoroughly6 reliable, as normal as a yardstick7.
Sheila gave to her two children all the adoration8 of a Madonna. They were fascinating toys to her; though at times she tired of them. She entertained them with all her
talents, wasting on the infantile private audience graces and gifts that the public would have paid thousands of dollars to see.
But the children tired of their expensive toy, too, and preferred a rag doll or a little tin automobile9 that banged into chair legs and turned over at the edge of a
rug.
Sheila had nursed her babies with an ecstatic pride. That was more than many of the village women did. She had been amazed to learn how many bottle-fed infants there
were in town. Dorothy herself strongly recommended one or two foods prepared in other factories than the mother’s veins10.
Dorothy was not the mother one meets in romance, but very much like the mothers next door and across the street—the ones the doctors know. Her children drove her into
storms of impatience11 and outbursts of temper. Now and then she had to get away from them for half a day or for many days. If she could not escape on a shopping prowl
to some other city she would send them off with the nurse under instructions to stay as long as the light held out. She welcomed their visits to relatives, she
encouraged them to play in other people’s yards. Other mothers with headaches urged their children to play in one another’s yards. Nobody knew very well where they
played or at what.
Dorothy was a violent anti-suffragist and the head of the local league, whose motto was that woman’s place is in the home. She was kept away from home a good deal in
Jim Greeley, the normal business man, spent his days at his desk, his evenings at his club, and his free afternoons at baseball games. Sometimes he added a little
variety to the peace of his household by rolling in late, lyrical and incoherent.
There was a general impression about town that he found his home so well ordered that he sought a recreative disorder13 elsewhere. From the first meeting with him Sheila
disliked the way he looked at her. His eyes, as it were, crossed swords with hers playfully and said, “Do you fence?” She found the compliments he murmured to her
whenever opportunities arrived uncomfortably unctuous14. But there was nothing that she could openly resent.
In the summer all the wives of Blithevale whose husbands had the money or could borrow it followed the national custom and went to the seashore, the mountains,
anywhere to get away from home and husband; they took the children with them. The husbands stuck to their jobs and made occasional dashes to their families. All signs
fail in hot weather. Even the churches close up. It is curious. It is even agreed that the rule about woman’s place being the home does not hold in hot weather.
Dorothy and Sheila and their youngsters went together one summer to a beach with nearly as much boardwalk as sand.
Sheila fretted15 about leaving Bret at his lonely grindstone. Dorothy ridiculed16 her and told her she must get over her honeymoon17. Dorothy emphasized the importance of
the sea air “for the children.” She insisted that a mother’s first duty was to them. Dorothy paid little enough heed18 to her own. She slept late, played cards,
watched the dancing, and changed her clothes with a chameleonic19 frequence.
Sheila found that her children, like the rest, preferred the company of fellow-children and the sea to any other attractions. Their mothers bored them, hampered20 them,
disgraced them. The children were self-sufficient, and better so. By the early evening they had played themselves into a comatose21 condition and never knew who took off
their shoes or put them to bed. The long evenings remained to the mothers and they formed porch-colonies, and rocked and gabbled and stared through the windows at the
dancers.
All over the country wives were enjoying their summer divorce. Thousands, millions of wives deserted22 their husbands and loafed at great cost, and it was all right. But
for an actress to desert her husband and work—that was all wrong!
Sheila felt that her husband needed her more than her children did. She pictured him distraught with longing23 for her. And he was—so far as his business worries gave
him time for sentimental24 worries. Sheila left the children in charge of the governess and fled back to Bret, who was enraptured25 at the sight of her and had an enormous
amount of factory news to tell her.
The men-folk were working in spite of the summer, and glad to be working. Bret was absorbed in his business and left Sheila all day to sit in the darkened oven of the
closed-up house, alone.
She contrasted her life this summer with the summer she had played in the stock company and toiled27 so hard to furnish amusement to the people who could not get away to
seashores or mountains. She wondered wherein her present indolence was an improvement over her period of toil26.
Still she was glad to be where her husband could find her in the brief entr’actes of his commercial drama. She had learned enough of the village to know that some of
the men whose wives left them for the summer found substitutes among the village belles28 who could not or would not leave the old town.
Sheila had heard a vast amount of gossip concerning Jim Greeley. She had not repeated any of it to Dorothy, of course. It is not according to the rules of the game and
only very unpleasant persons do it.
Bret knew of Jim’s repute, but did not forbid Jim his house. The village was full of such scandals and it was dangerous to begin cutting and snubbing. When the
gossips whispered they made a terrifying picture of village life, yet whenever the theater was mentioned they assumed an air of Pharisaic superiority.
As soon as Sheila hurried back to Blithevale Jim Greeley began to spoil her evening communions with her husband by “just dropping round.” He talked till Bret yawned
him home.
Still, Sheila was glad to keep Jim interested in respectable conversation, for Dorothy’s sake. Sometimes when Bret had to go back to his office, after dinner, and Jim
was free, he just dropped round just the same.
On these occasions he seemed to be laboring29 under some excitement, full of audacious impulses restrained by timidity. Sheila felt a nausea30 at her suspicions; she was
ashamed of them.
One cruelly hot evening when Bret was at the factory and the only stir of air eddied31 in a vine-covered corner of the big piazza32 she heard Jim come up the walk. She did
not speak, hoping that he would go away. But he called her twice, and she had to answer.
He invited himself to sit down, and after violently casual chatter33 began to talk of his loneliness and her kindliness34. She was his one salvation35, he said.
In the dusk he was only a voice, a voice of longing and appeal, like a disembodied Satan in a mood of desire. In the gloom she felt his hand brush hers, then cling.
She drew hers away. His followed. It was very strange that two beings should conflict so tangibly36, audibly, without any other evidence of existence.
Suddenly she knew that he was standing37 close to her, bending over her. She pushed her chair back and rose. Unseen arms caught her to a ghost as invisible and
Sheila was horrified39. She blamed herself more than Jim. She hated herself and humanity. “Don’t! please!” she pleaded in a whisper. She dreaded40 to have the servants
overhear such an encounter. Jim misinterpreted her motive41, clenched42 her tighter, and tried to find her lips with his.
“I thought you were Bret’s friend,” she protested as she hid her face from him.
“I like Bret,” Jim whispered in a frenzy43, “but I love you. And I want you to love me. You do! You must! Kiss me!”
She tried to release the proved weapon of her elbow, but he held her by the wrists till she wrenched44 her hand loose with great pain and gave him her knuckles45 for a
kiss.
The shock to his self-esteem was more than to his mouth, and he let her go. She rebuked46 him in guttural disgust:
“I suppose you think that because I’m an actress you’ve got to be a cad.”
“No, no,” he mumbled47. “It’s just because you are you, and because you are so wonderful. Forgive me, won’t you?”
Even as he asked for forgiveness his hand sought her arm again. She slipped away and went into the starlight and sat on the steps.
“You’d better go now,” she said, “and you’d better not come back.”
“All right,” he sighed.
In the silence she heard Bret’s car far away. “Sit down,” she said, “and stay awhile. And smoke!”
She had foreseen Bret arriving as Jim hurried away. She did not like the way it would appear. If Bret’s suspicions were aroused he could not but look uneasily on her,
and once he suspected her she felt that she would never forgive him. And it was altogether odious48, too, to be included in the list of women whose names were remembered
when Jim Greeley’s was mentioned.
And so she conspired49 with a knave50 by lies and concealments to keep peace in her husband’s home. Jim lighted a cigar and dropped down on the steps, puffing51 with
Sheila looked out on the innocent seeming of the village and the gentle benignity53 of the stars, and hated to think how much evil could cloak itself and prosper54 in
these deep shadows and soft lights and peaceful hours.
The car bustled55 to the curb56, stopped while Bret got out. Then the chauffeur57 shot away with it to the garage. Bret came drowsily58 up the walk, kissed his wife, gripped
the hand of his friend, and sat down.
Jim asked how business was, and they talked shop with zest59 while Sheila sat in utter solitude60, watching the village Lothario play the r?le of honest Horatio.
Her husband had spent the day and half the evening at his business, and yet it interested him more than Sheila did. He showed no impatience to be rid of this man, no
eagerness to be alone with his wife who had given up all her own industry to be his companion.
No instinct warned him that his absorption in his business was imperiling his home, nor that his crony was a sneaking61 conspirator62 against his happiness.
Sheila was wildly excited, but she pretended to be sleepy and yawningly begged to be excused. It was an hour later before Bret finished talking and she heard him
exchange cheery good nights with Jim Greeley. When Bret arrived up-stairs she pretended to be asleep. Before long he was asleep, worn out with honest toil, while she
lay battling for the slumber63 she had not earned. She was sleeping little and ill nowadays, and she rose unrefreshed from unhappy nights to uninteresting days. The
effect on her health was growing manifest.
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收听单词发音
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1
scintillating
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| adj．才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的 | |
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2
staples
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| n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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3
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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stodgily
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philistine
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| n.庸俗的人；adj.市侩的，庸俗的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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7
yardstick
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| n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准 | |
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8
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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9
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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10
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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11
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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12
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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13
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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14
unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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15
fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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16
ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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18
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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19
chameleonic
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| adj.变色龙一样的，反复无常的，轻浮的 | |
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20
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
comatose
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| adj.昏睡的，昏迷不醒的 | |
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22
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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23
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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24
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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25
enraptured
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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27
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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28
belles
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| n.美女( belle的名词复数 )；最美的美女 | |
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29
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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30
nausea
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| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
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31
eddied
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| 起漩涡，旋转( eddy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
piazza
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| n.广场；走廊 | |
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33
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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34
kindliness
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| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
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35
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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36
tangibly
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| adv.可触摸的，可触知地，明白地 | |
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37
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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38
wrestler
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| n.摔角选手，扭 | |
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39
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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40
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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41
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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42
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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44
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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45
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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46
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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49
conspired
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| 密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致 | |
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50
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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51
puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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52
ostentation
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| n.夸耀，卖弄 | |
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53
benignity
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| n.仁慈 | |
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54
prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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55
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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56
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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57
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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58
drowsily
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| adv.睡地，懒洋洋地，昏昏欲睡地 | |
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59
zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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60
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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61
sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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62
conspirator
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| n.阴谋者，谋叛者 | |
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63
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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