Part 1 Chapter 15

Cock-crowAmour en latin faict amor; Or done provient d'amour la mort, Et,par avant, soulcy qui mord, Deuil, plours, pieges, forfaitz,remord …Blason d'amourIf Julien had had a little of that discernment which he so gratuitouslysupposed himself to possess, he might have congratulated himself nextday on the effect produced by his visit to Verrieres. His absence hadcaused his clumsiness to be forgotten. All that day too, he was inclined tosulk; towards nightfall a preposterous¹ idea occurred to him, and he imparted it to Madame de Renal with a rare intrepidity².

　　No sooner had they sat down in the garden than, without waiting for asufficient cloak of darkness, Julien put his lips to Madame de Renal's ear,and, at the risk of compromising her horribly, said to her:

　　'Tonight, Ma'am, at two o'clock, I am coming to your room, I havesomething to say to you.'

　　Julien was trembling lest his request should be granted; the part of aseducer was so horrible a burden that if he had been free to follow hisown inclination³, he would have retired⁴ to his room for some days, andnot set eyes on the ladies again. He realised that, by his clever tactics ofyesterday, he had squandered⁵ all the promise of the day before, andreally he did not know where to turn.

　　Madame de Renal replied with a genuine and by no means exaggerated indignation to the impertinent announcement which Julien had hadthe audacity⁶ to make. He thought he could read scorn in her brief answer. It was certain that in this answer, uttered in the lowest of tones, theword 'Fie!' had figured. Making the excuse that he had something to sayto the children, Julien went up to their room, and on his return placedhimself by the side of Madame Derville and at a distance from Madame de Renal. He thus removed from himself all possibility of taking herhand. The conversation took a serious turn, and Julien held his own admirably, apart from a few intervals⁷ of silence during which he cudgelledhis brains. 'Why cannot I think of some fine plan,' he asked himself, 'toforce Madame de Renal to show me those unmistakable marks of affection which made me imagine, three days ago, that she was mine!'

　　Julien was extremely disconcerted by the almost desperate situationinto which he had been led. And yet nothing could have embarrassedhim so much as success.

　　When the party broke up at midnight, his pessimism⁸ led him to believe that Madame Derville looked upon him with contempt, and thatprobably he stood no higher in the favour of Madame de Renal.

　　Being in an extremely bad temper and deeply humiliated⁹, Julien couldnot sleep. He was a thousand leagues from any thought of abandoningall pretence¹⁰, all his plans, and of living from day to day with Madame deRenal, contenting himself like a child with the happiness that each daywould bring.

　　He wearied his brain in devising clever stratagems¹¹; a moment later, hefelt them to be absurd; he was in short extremely wretched, when twostruck from the clock tower.

　　This sound aroused him as the crow of the cock aroused Saint Peter.

　　He saw himself arrived at the moment of the most distressing¹⁴ event. Hehad not thought once again of his impertinent suggestion, from the moment in which he had made it. It had met with so hostile a reception!

　　'I told her that I should come to her at two o'clock,' he said to himselfas he rose; 'I may be inexperienced and coarse, as is natural in the son ofa peasant, Madame Derville has let me see that plainly enough; but atany rate I will not be weak.'

　　Julien had every right to praise his own courage, never had he set himself a more painful task. As he opened the door of his room, he trembledso much that his knees gave way beneath him, and he was obliged tolean against the wall.

　　He was in his stockinged feet. He went to listen at M. de Renal's door,through which he could hear him snoring. This dismayed him. He hadno longer any excuse for not going to her. But, great God! What shouldhe do when he got there? He had no plan, and even if he had had one, hewas in such distress¹³ of mind that he would not have been in a fit state toput it into practice.

　　 Finally, with an anguish¹⁵ a thousand times keener than if he had beengoing to the scaffold, he entered the little corridor that led to Madame deRenal's room. He opened the door with a trembling hand, making a fearful noise as he did so.

　　There was a light in the room, a night light was burning in the fireplace; he had not expected this fresh calamity¹⁶. Seeing him enter, Madame de Renal sprang quickly out of bed. 'Wretch¹²!' she cried. There wassome confusion. Julien forgot his futile¹⁷ plans and returned to his ownnatural character. Not to please so charming a woman seemed to him thegreatest disaster possible. His only answer to her reproaches was to flinghimself at her feet, clasping her round the knees. As she spoke¹⁸ to himwith extreme harshness, he burst into tears.

　　Some hours later, when Julien emerged from Madame de Renal'sroom, one might have said, in the language of romance, that there wasnothing more left for him to wish. And indeed, he was indebted to thelove he had inspired and to the unforeseen impression made on him byher seductive charms for a victory to which not all his misplaced ingenuity¹⁹ would ever have led him.

　　But, in the most delicious moments, the victim of a freakish pride, hestill attempted to play the part of a man in the habit of captivating women: he made incredible efforts to destroy his natural amiability²⁰. Insteadof his paying attention to the transports which he excited, and to the remorse²¹ that increased their vivacity²², the idea of duty was continually before his eyes. He feared a terrible remorse, and undying ridicule²³, shouldhe depart from the ideal plan that he had set himself to follow. In aword, what made Julien a superior being was precisely²⁴ what preventedhim from enjoying the happiness that sprang up at his feet. He was like agirl of sixteen who has a charming complexion²⁵ and, before going to aball, is foolish enough to put on rouge²⁶.

　　In mortal terror at the apparition²⁷ of Julien, Madame de Renal was soona prey²⁸ to the cruellest alarms. Julien's tears and despair distressed²⁹ hergreatly.

　　Indeed, when she had no longer anything to refuse him, she thrusthim from her, with genuine indignation, and then flung herself into hisarms. No purpose was apparent in all this behaviour. She thought herself damned without remission, and sought to shut out the vision of hellby showering the most passionate³⁰ caresses³¹ on Julien. In a word, nothingwould have been wanting to complete our hero's happiness, not even aburning sensibility in the woman he had just vanquished³², had he been capable of enjoying it. Julien's departure brought no cessation of thetransports which were shaking her in spite of herself, nor of her strugglewith the remorse that was tearing her.

　　'Heavens! Is to be happy, to be loved, no more than that?' Such wasJulien's first thought on his return to his own room. He was in that stateof astonishment³³ and uneasy misgivings³⁴ into which a heart falls when ithas just obtained what it has long desired. It has grown used to desiring,finds nothing left to desire, and has not yet acquired any memories. Likea soldier returning from a parade, Julien was busily engaged in reviewing all the details of his conduct. 'Have I failed in one of the duties I oweto myself? Have I really played my part?'

　　And what a part! The part of a man accustomed to shine beforewomen.

1 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

2 intrepidity   

n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为

参考例句：

• I threw myself into class discussions, attempting to dazzle him with my intelligence and intrepidity. 我全身心投入班级讨论，试图用我的智慧和冒险精神去赢得他的钦佩。 来自互联网
• Wolf totem is a novel about wolves intrepidity, initiation, strong sense of kindred and group spirit. 《狼图腾》是一部描写蒙古草原狼无畏、积极进取、强烈家族意识和团队精神的小说。 来自互联网

3 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 squandered   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He squandered all his money on gambling. 他把自己所有的钱都糟蹋在赌博上了。
• She felt as indignant as if her own money had been squandered. 她心里十分生气，好像是她自己的钱给浪费掉了似的。 来自飘（部分）

6 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

7 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

8 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

9 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

10 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

11 stratagems   

n.诡计，计谋( stratagem的名词复数 )；花招

参考例句：

• My bargaining stratagems are starting to show some promise. 我的议价策略也已经出现了一些结果。 来自电影对白
• These commanders are ace-high because of their wisdom and stratagems. 这些指挥官因足智多谋而特别受人喜爱。 来自互联网

12 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

13 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

14 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

15 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。

16 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

17 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

18 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。

19 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

20 amiability   

n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的

参考例句：

• His amiability condemns him to being a constant advisor to other people's troubles. 他那和蔼可亲的性格使他成为经常为他人排忧解难的开导者。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I watched my master's face pass from amiability to sternness. 我瞧着老师的脸上从和蔼变成严峻。 来自辞典例句

21 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

22 vivacity   

n.快活，活泼，精神充沛

参考例句：

• Her charm resides in her vivacity.她的魅力存在于她的活泼。
• He was charmed by her vivacity and high spirits.她的活泼与兴高采烈的情绪把他迷住了。

23 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。

24 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。

25 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

26 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

27 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

28 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

29 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。

30 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

31 caresses   

爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze caresses the cheeks. 微风拂面。
• Hetty was not sufficiently familiar with caresses or outward demonstrations of fondness. 海蒂不习惯于拥抱之类过于外露地表现自己的感情。

32 vanquished   

v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

33 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

34 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》