CHAPTER LVII

 Eight o’clock and a section of Broadway is a throng¹ of throngs², as if all the world were prowling for pleasure. At this theater or that, parts of the crowd turn in. 

 

Where many go there is success; but there are sad doorways³ where few cabs draw up and few people march to the lonely window; and that is a home of failure, though as 

 

much work has been done and as much money deserved. Only, the whim⁵ of the public is not for that place.

 

Eight o’clock and Sheila sits in her dressing-room in an ague of dread⁶, painting her face and wondering why she is here, a lone⁴ woman fighting a mob for the sake of a 

 

dying man’s useless glory, and for the ruin of a living man’s schedule of life. Why is she not where Bret Winfield said a woman’s place was—at home?

 

She wonders about Bret. If she fails, if she succeeds, what does it mean to him and her? She understands that he has left her alone till now because he could not help 

 

her. But no flowers, no telegram, nothing? She looks over the heap of telegrams—no, there is nothing from him.

 

Then a note comes. He is there. Can he see her? Her heart leaps with rapture⁷, but she dares not see him before the play. She would cry and mess her make-up, and she 

 

must enter with gaiety. She sends Pennock with word begging him to come after the play is over—“if he still wants to—if he’s not ashamed of me; tell him that.”

 

She thinks of him wincing⁸ as he is turned away from the stage door. Then she banishes⁹ the thought of him, herself, everybody but the character she is to play.

 

Outside the curtain is a throng eager to be entertained, willing to pay a fortune for entertainment, but merciless to those who fail. There is no active hostility¹⁰ in 

 

the audience—just the passive inertia¹¹ of a dull, dreary¹², anxious mob afraid of being bored and cheated of an evening.

 

“Here are our hearts,” it says; “we are sick of our own lives. We do not care what your troubles are or your good intentions. We have left our homes to be made 

 

happy, or to be thrilled to that luxurious¹³ sorrow for some one else that is the highest happiness. We have come here at some expense and some inconvenience. We have a 

 

hard day ahead of us to-morrow. It is too late to go elsewhere. You have said you have a good show. Show us!”

 

Back of that glum¹⁴ curtain the actors, powdered, caparisoned, painted, wait in the wings like clowns for the crack of the whip—and yet also like soldiers about to 

 

receive the command to charge on trenches¹⁵ where unknown forces lie hidden. No one can tell whether they are to be hurled¹⁶ back in shame and confusion, or to sweep on in 

 

uproarious triumph. Their courage, their art, will be the same. The result will be history or oblivion, homage¹⁷ or ridicule¹⁸.

 

It is an old story, an incessantly¹⁹ recurring²⁰ story, a tragi-farce so commonplace that authors and actors and managers and critics make jokes of their failures and 

 

successes—afterward. But they are not jokes at the time.

 

It was no joke for the husband who had intrusted Sheila to the mercy of the public and the press, and who made one of the audience, though he quivered with an anguish²¹ 

 

of fear as each line was delivered, and an anguish of joy or woe²² as it scored or lapsed²³.

 

It was no joke to Eugene Vickery, lying in the quiet white room with the light low and one stolid²⁴ stranger in white to sentinel him. It was hard not to be there where 

 

the lights were high, where the throngs heard his pen and ink made flesh and blood. It was hard not to know what the words he had put on paper sounded like to New York

 

—the Big Town of his people. He wanted to see and hear and his soul would have run there if it could have lifted his body. But that it could not do.

 

It could lift thousands of hands to applause and lift a thousand voices to cry his name, but it could not lift his own hands or his own voice.

 

The nurse, who did not understand playwrights²⁵, tried to keep him quiet. She kept taking the sheet from his hands where they kept tugging²⁶ at its edge. She forbade him 

 

to talk. She refused to tell him what time it was.

 

But he would say, “Now the overture’s beginning,” and then, later, “Now the curtain’s going up.” He tried to rise with it, but she pressed him back. Later he 

 

reckoned that the first act was over, and then that the second act was begun.

 

Then a telephoned message was brought to him that Mr. Reben telephoned to say, “the first act got over great.”

 

That almost lifted him to his feet, but he fell back, sighing, “He’d say it anyway, just to cheer me up.”

 

The same message or better came after the other acts. But he would not believe, he dared not believe, till suddenly Sheila was there in her costume of the last act. 

 

The divine light of good news poured from her eyes. She had not waited to meet the people who crowded back to congratulate her—“and they never crowd after a failure,

 

” she said.

 

She had not waited to change her costume lest she be too late with her music. She had waited only for Bret to run to her and tell her how wonderful she was, and to 

 

crush him as hard as she could in her arms. Then she had haled him to the cab that was held in readiness, and they had dashed for Vickery’s bed—his “throne,” she 

 

called it.

 

Perhaps she exaggerated the excitement of the audience; perhaps she drew a little on prophecy in quoting what the critics had been overheard to say in praise of the 

 

drama—“epoch-making” was the least word she quoted.

 

But she brought in with her a very blast of beauty and of rapture, and she carried flowers that she would have flung across his bed if she had not suddenly feared the 

 

look of them there.

 

As for Vickery, he felt the beauty and fragrance²⁷ of the triumphal red roses on the towering stems.

 

But he closed the great eyelids²⁸ over the great eyes and inhaled²⁹ the sweeter, the ineffable³⁰ aroma³¹ of success. It was so sweet that he turned his face to the wall and 

 

sobbed³².

 

Sheila tried to console him—console him for his triumph! She said: “Why, ’Gene, ’Gene, the play is a sensation! The royalties³³ will be enormous. The notices will be 

 

glorious. You mustn’t be unhappy.”

 

He put out a hand that tried to be soft, he made a sound that tried to be a laugh, and he spoke³⁴ in a sad rustle³⁵ that tried to be a voice:

 

“I’m not unhappy. I never was happy till now. The royalties won’t be necessary where I’m going—just a penny to pay the ferryman. The notices I’ll read over there

 

—I suppose they get the papers over there so that the obituary³⁶ notices can be read—the first kind words some of us ever get from this world.

 

“I owe it to you two that my play got on and succeeded. Success! to write your heart’s religion and have it succeed with the people—that’s worth living for—that’

 

s worth dying for—”

 

His speech was frail³⁷, and broken with long pauses and with paroxysms:

 

“I hope I haven’t ruined your lives for you two. But you weren’t very happy when I came along, were you? Sheila was breaking your heart, Bret, just because she 

 

couldn’t keep her own from breaking. You were like a man chained to a dead woman. If you had gone on, maybe you would have been less happy than you will be now. Look 

 

at poor Dorothy. How long will she stand her unhappiness? My royalties will go to her! They will make her independent of that—But I’ve got no time to be bitter 

 

against anybody now.

 

“I hope you’ll be happy, you two. But happiness isn’t the thing to work for. The thing to work for is work—to do all you can with what you have. I’m a poor, weak, 

 

ramshackle sack of bones, but I’ve done what I could—and a little more. J’ai fait mon possible. That’s all God or man can ask. Go on and do your possible, Bret—

 

you in your factory—and Sheila in her factory. I can’t see why your chance for happiness isn’t as good as anybody’s, if you’ll be patient with each other and run 

 

home to each other when you can—and—and—now I’ve got to run home, too.”

 

Then a deep peace soothed³⁸ him, and them.

 

CURTAIN

 

THE END

1 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

2 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

3 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

6 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

7 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

8 wincing   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She switched on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. 她打开了灯，突如其来的强烈光线刺得她不敢睜眼。
• "I will take anything," he said, relieved, and wincing under reproof. “我什么事都愿意做，"他说，松了一口气，缩着头等着挨骂。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 banishes   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty.(Voltaire, French philosopher) 工作撵跑三个魔鬼：无聊、堕落和贫穷。（法国哲学家伏尔基泰） 来自互联网
• The Consumer: It Banishes Uterine Fibroids, but for How Long? 消费者：它驱逐子宫的纤维瘤，但是为多久？ 来自互联网

10 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

11 inertia   

adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝

参考例句：

• We had a feeling of inertia in the afternoon.下午我们感觉很懒。
• Inertia carried the plane onto the ground.飞机靠惯性着陆。

12 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

13 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

14 glum   

adj.闷闷不乐的，阴郁的

参考例句：

• He was a charming mixture of glum and glee.他是一个很有魅力的人，时而忧伤时而欢笑。
• She laughed at his glum face.她嘲笑他闷闷不乐的脸。

15 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

16 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

18 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

19 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

20 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

21 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

22 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

23 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 stolid   

adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的

参考例句：

• Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference.她的脸上毫无表情，只有麻木的无动于衷。
• He conceals his feelings behind a rather stolid manner.他装作无动于衷的样子以掩盖自己的感情。

25 playwrights   

n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We're studying dramatic texts by sixteenth century playwrights. 我们正在研究16 世纪戏剧作家的戏剧文本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hung-chien asked who the playwrights were. 鸿渐问谁写的剧本。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

26 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

27 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

28 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 ineffable   

adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的

参考例句：

• The beauty of a sunset is ineffable.日落的美是难以形容的。
• She sighed a sigh of ineffable satisfaction,as if her cup of happiness were now full.她发出了一声说不出多么满意的叹息，仿佛她的幸福之杯已经斟满了。

31 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

32 sobbed   

哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说

参考例句：

• She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
• She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。

33 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

34 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

35 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

36 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

37 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

38 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》