Part 1 Chapter 13

Open-work StockingsA novel is a mirror taken along a road.

　　SAINT-REALWhen Julien caught sight of the picturesque¹ ruins of the old church ofVergy, it occurred to him that for two whole days he had not oncethought of Madame de Renal. The other day, as I was leaving, that woman reminded me of the vast gulf² that separates us, she treated me like aworkman's son. No doubt she wished to show me that she repented³ ofhaving let me hold her hand the night before … It is a lovely hand, allthe same! What charm, what nobility dwells in that woman's glance!'

　　The possibility of making a fortune with Fouque gave a certain facilityto the course of Julien's reasoning; it was less often interrupted by irritation⁴, and the keen sense of his own poverty and humble⁵ position in theeyes of the world. As though perched on a lofty promontory⁶, he was ableto judge, and, so to speak, overlooked extreme poverty on the one handand that life of comfort which he still called riches on the other. He wasfar from considering his position like a philosopher, but he had sufficientperception to feel that he was different after this little expedition amongthe mountains.

　　He was struck by the extreme uneasiness with which Madame de Renal listened to the short account of his journey, for which she had askedhim.

　　Fouque had had thoughts of marriage, unhappy love affairs; the conversation between the friends had been filled with long confidences ofthis nature. After finding happiness too soon, Fouque had discoveredthat he was not the sole possessor of his mistress's heart. These disclosures had astonished Julien; he had learned much that was new to him.

　　His solitary⁷ life, compounded of imagination and suspicion, had kepthim aloof⁸ from everything that could have enlightened him.

　　 During his absence, life had been for Madame de Renal nothing morethan a succession of torments⁹, each different but all alike intolerable; shewas really ill.

　　'You must not, on any account,' Madame Derville told her when shesaw Julien return, 'feeling as you do, sit in the garden this evening, thedamp air would make you worse.'

　　Madame Derville was surprised to see that her friend, who was always being scolded by M. de Renal for the undue¹⁰ simplicity¹¹ of her attire,had put on open-work stockings and a pair of charming little shoes thathad arrived from Paris. For the last three days Madame de Renal's soledistraction had been to cut out and make Elisa put together in all haste asummer gown, of a charming little fabric¹³ greatly in fashion. It was justpossible to finish this gown a few minutes after Julien's arrival; Madamede Renal at once put it on. Her friend had no longer any doubt.

　　'She is in love, poor woman!' Madame Derville said to herself. She understood all the strange symptoms of her illness.

　　She saw her speak to Julien. Pallor took the place of the most vividblushes. Anxiety stood revealed in her eyes, fastened on those of theyoung tutor. Madame de Renal expected every moment that he was going to offer an explanation, and announce that he was leaving the house,or would remain. It never occurred to Julien to say anything about thissubject, which had not entered his thoughts. After a terrible struggle,Madame de Renal at last ventured to say to him, in a tremulous voice, inwhich the whole extent of her passion lay revealed:

　　'Are you going to leave your pupils to take a post elsewhere?'

　　Julien was struck by her quavering voice and by the look in her eyes.

　　'This woman loves me,' he said to himself; 'but after this passing weakness for which her pride is reproaching her, and as soon as she is nolonger afraid of my going, she will return to her arrogance¹⁴.' This glimpseof their respective positions came to Julien like a flash of lightning; hereplied, hesitatingly:

　　'I should greatly regret leaving such attractive and well-born children,but perhaps it will be inevitable¹⁵. A man has duties towards himself also.'

　　As he uttered the words well born (this was one of the aristocratic expressions which Julien had recently acquired), he burned with a strongfeeling of antipathy¹⁶.

　　'To this woman,' he said to himself, 'I am not well born.'

　　 Madame de Renal, as she listened to him, was admiring his intelligence, his beauty, her heart was pierced by the possibility of departurewhich he dangled¹⁷ before her. All her friends from Verrieres who, duringJulien's absence, had come out to dine at Vergy, had almost vied in complimenting her upon the astonishing young man that her husband hadhad the good fortune to unearth¹⁸. This was not to say that they understood anything of the progress that the children had made. The fact ofhis knowing the Bible by heart, and in Latin, too, had provoked in the inhabitants of Verrieres an admiration¹⁹ that will endure for, it may be, acentury.

　　Julien, who spoke²⁰ to no one, knew nothing of all this. If Madame deRenal had had the slightest self-control, she would have congratulatedhim on the reputation he had won, and Julien, his pride set at rest, wouldhave been pleasant and affable to her, all the more as her new gownseemed to him charming. Madame de Renal, also pleased with her prettygown, and with what Julien said to her about it, had proposed a turn inthe garden; soon she had confessed that she was not well enough towalk. She had taken the returned traveller's arm, and, far from restoringher strength, the contact of that arm deprived her of what little strengthremained to her.

　　It was dark; no sooner were they seated than Julien, relying on theprivilege he had already won, ventured to press his lips to the arm of hispretty neighbour, and to take her hand. He was thinking of the boldnesswhich Fouque had used with his mistresses, and not of Madame de Renal; the phrase well born still weighed upon his heart. His own hand waspressed, but this afforded him no pleasure. Far from his being proud, oreven grateful for the affection which Madame de Renal betrayed thisevening by unmistakable signs, beauty, elegance²¹, freshness found himalmost unconscious of their appeal. Purity of heart, freedom from anyfeeling of hatred²², serve doubtless to prolong the duration of youth. It isthe face that ages first in the majority of beautiful women.

　　Julien was sullen²³ all the evening; hitherto he had been angry only withfortune and with society; now that Fouque had offered him an ignobleway of arriving at comfort, he was angry with himself. Absorbed in hisown thoughts, although now and then he addressed a few words to theladies, Julien ended by unconsciously letting go Madame de Renal'shand. This action completely nonplussed²⁴ the poor woman; she saw in itan indication of her fate.

　　 Had she been certain of Julien's affection, her virtue²⁵ might perhapshave found strength to resist him. Trembling at the thought of losing himfor ever, her passion carried her to the point of seizing Julien's hand,which, in his distraction¹², he had allowed to rest upon the back of a chair.

　　This action stirred the ambitious youth; he would have liked it to be witnessed by all those proud nobles who, at table, when he was at the lowerend with the children, used to look at him with so patronising a smile.

　　'This woman cannot despise me any longer: in that case,' he said to himself, 'I ought to be stirred by her beauty; I owe it to myself to be her lover.' Such an idea would never have occurred to him before he receivedthe artless confidences of his friend.

　　The sudden resolution he had just made formed a pleasing distraction.

　　He said to himself: 'I must have one of these two women'; he realisedthat he would greatly have preferred to pay his court to MadameDerville; it was not that she was more attractive, but she had seen him always as a tutor honoured for his learning, and not as a working carpenter, with a ratteen jacket folded under his arm, as he had first appeared to Madame de Renal.

　　It was precisely²⁶ as a young workman, blushing to the whites of hiseyes, hesitating outside the door of the house and not venturing to ringthe bell, that Madame de Renal delighted most to picture him.

　　As he followed up this survey of his position, Julien saw that he mustnot think of attempting the conquest of Madame Derville, who had probably noticed the weakness that Madame de Renal showed for him.

　　Forced to return to the latter: 'What do I know of this woman's character?' Julien asked himself. 'Only this: before I went away, I took her hand,she withdrew it; today I withdraw my hand, she seizes it and presses it.

　　A good opportunity to repay her all the contempt she has shown for me.

　　God knows how many lovers she has had! Perhaps she is deciding in myfavour only because of the facilities for our meeting.'

　　Such is, alas²⁷, the drawback of an excessive civilisation²⁸. At the age oftwenty, the heart of a young man, if he has any education, is a thousandleagues from that devil-may-care attitude without which love is oftenonly the most tedious duty.

　　'I owe it to myself all the more,' went on Julien's petty vanity, 'to succeed with this woman, so that if I ever make my fortune, and someonereproaches me with having filled the humble post of tutor, I may let it beunderstood that it was love that brought me into that position.'

　　 Julien once more withdrew his hand from that of Madame de Renal,then took her hand again and pressed it. As they returned to thedrawing-room, towards midnight, Madame de Renal murmured in hisear:

　　'Are you leaving us, are you going away?'

　　Julien answered with a sigh:

　　'I must indeed go away, for I love you passionately²⁹; it is a sin … andwhat a sin for a young priest!'

　　Madame de Renal leaned upon his arm, bending towards him untilher cheek felt the warmth of his.

　　The night passed for these two people very differently. Madame deRenal was exalted³⁰ by transports of the most lofty moral pleasure. Acoquettish girl who falls in love early grows accustomed to the distressof love; when she comes to the age of true passion, the charm of noveltyis lacking. As Madame de Renal had never read any novels, all the refinements³¹ of her happiness were new to her. No melancholy³² truth cameto freeze her heart, not even the spectre of the future. She saw herself ashappy in ten years' time as she was at that moment. Even the thought ofvirtue and of the fidelity³³ she had vowed³⁴ to M. de Renal, which had distressed³⁵ her some days before, presented itself in vain, she dismissed itlike an importunate³⁶ stranger. 'Never will I allow Julien to take anyliberty,' Madame de Renal told herself, 'we shall live in future as we havebeen living for the last month. He shall be a friend.'

1 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。

4 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

5 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

6 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

7 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

8 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

9 torments   

（肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人]

参考例句：

• He released me from my torments. 他解除了我的痛苦。
• He suffered torments from his aching teeth. 他牙痛得难受。

10 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

11 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

14 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

15 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

16 antipathy   

n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物

参考例句：

• I feel an antipathy against their behaviour.我对他们的行为很反感。
• Some people have an antipathy to cats.有的人讨厌猫。

17 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

18 unearth   

v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出

参考例句：

• Most of the unearth relics remain intact.大多数出土文物仍保持完整无损。
• More human remains have been unearthed in the north.北部又挖掘出了更多的人体遗骸。

19 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

20 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。

21 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

22 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

23 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

24 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

26 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

27 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

28 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

29 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

30 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

31 refinements   

n.（生活）风雅；精炼( refinement的名词复数 )；改良品；细微的改良；优雅或高贵的动作

参考例句：

• The new model has electric windows and other refinements. 新型号有电动窗和其他改良装置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is possible to add a few useful refinements to the basic system. 对基本系统进行一些有益的改良是可能的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

33 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

34 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

35 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

36 importunate   

adj.强求的；纠缠不休的

参考例句：

• I would not have our gratitude become indiscreet or importunate.我不愿意让我们的感激变成失礼或勉强。
• The importunate memory was kept before her by its ironic contrast to her present situation.萦绕在心头的这个回忆对当前的情景来说，是个具有讽刺性的对照。