Every light in the hall was ablaze1; every lamp turned as high as it could be without smoking the chimney or threatening explosion. The lamps were fixed2 at intervals3 against the wall, encircling the whole room. Some one had gathered orange and lemon branches, and with these fashioned graceful4 festoons between. The dark green of the branches stood out and glistened5 against the white muslin curtains which draped the windows, and which puffed6, floated, and flapped at the capricious will of a stiff breeze that swept up from the Gulf7.
It was Saturday night a few weeks after the intimate conversation held between Robert and Madame Ratignolle on their way from the beach. An unusual number of husbands, fathers, and friends had come down to stay over Sunday; and they were being suitably entertained by their families, with the material help of Madame Lebrun. The dining tables had all been removed to one end of the hall, and the chairs ranged about in rows and in clusters. Each little family group had had its say and exchanged its domestic gossip earlier in the evening. There was now an apparent disposition8 to relax; to widen the circle of confidences and give a more general tone to the conversation.
Many of the children had been permitted to sit up beyond their usual bedtime. A small band of them were lying on their stomachs on the floor looking at the colored sheets of the comic papers which Mr. Pontellier had brought down. The little Pontellier boys were permitting them to do so, and making their authority felt.
Music, dancing, and a recitation or two were the entertainments furnished, or rather, offered. But there was nothing systematic9 about the programme, no appearance of prearrangement nor even premeditation.
At an early hour in the evening the Farival twins were prevailed upon to play the piano. They were girls of fourteen, always clad in the Virgin10’s colors, blue and white, having been dedicated11 to the Blessed Virgin at their baptism. They played a duet from “Zampa,” and at the earnest solicitation12 of every one present followed it with the overture13 to “The Poet and the Peasant.”
“Allez vous-en! Sapristi!” shrieked14 the parrot outside the door. He was the only being present who possessed15 sufficient candor16 to admit that he was not listening to these gracious performances for the first time that summer. Old Monsieur Farival, grandfather of the twins, grew indignant over the interruption, and insisted upon having the bird removed and consigned17 to regions of darkness. Victor Lebrun objected; and his decrees were as immutable18 as those of Fate. The parrot fortunately offered no further interruption to the entertainment, the whole venom19 of his nature apparently20 having been cherished up and hurled21 against the twins in that one impetuous outburst.
Later a young brother and sister gave recitations, which every one present had heard many times at winter evening entertainments in the city.
A little girl performed a skirt dance in the center of the floor. The mother played her accompaniments and at the same time watched her daughter with greedy admiration22 and nervous apprehension23. She need have had no apprehension. The child was mistress of the situation. She had been properly dressed for the occasion in black tulle and black silk tights. Her little neck and arms were bare, and her hair, artificially crimped, stood out like fluffy24 black plumes25 over her head. Her poses were full of grace, and her little black-shod toes twinkled as they shot out and upward with a rapidity and suddenness which were bewildering.
But there was no reason why every one should not dance. Madame Ratignolle could not, so it was she who gaily26 consented to play for the others. She played very well, keeping excellent waltz time and infusing an expression into the strains which was indeed inspiring. She was keeping up her music on account of the children, she said; because she and her husband both considered it a means of brightening the home and making it attractive.
Almost every one danced but the twins, who could not be induced to separate during the brief period when one or the other should be whirling around the room in the arms of a man. They might have danced together, but they did not think of it.
The children were sent to bed. Some went submissively; others with shrieks27 and protests as they were dragged away. They had been permitted to sit up till after the ice-cream, which naturally marked the limit of human indulgence.
The ice-cream was passed around with cake-gold and silver cake arranged on platters in alternate slices; it had been made and frozen during the afternoon back of the kitchen by two black women, under the supervision28 of Victor. It was pronounced a great success-excellent if it had only contained a little less vanilla29 or a little more sugar, if it had been frozen a degree harder, and if the salt might have been kept out of portions of it. Victor was proud of his achievement, and went about recommending it and urging every one to partake of it to excess.
After Mrs. Pontellier had danced twice with her husband, once with Robert, and once with Monsieur Ratignolle, who was thin and tall and swayed like a reed in the wind when he danced, she went out on the gallery and seated herself on the low window-sill, where she commanded a view of all that went on in the hall and could look out toward the Gulf. There was a soft effulgence30 in the east. The moon was coming up, and its mystic shimmer31 was casting a million lights across the distant, restless water.
“Would you like to hear Mademoiselle Reisz play?” asked Robert, coming out on the porch where she was. Of course Edna would like to hear Mademoiselle Reisz play; but she feared it would be useless to entreat32 her.
“I’ll ask her,” he said. “I’ll tell her that you want to hear her. She likes you. She will come.” He turned and hurried away to one of the far cottages, where Mademoiselle Reisz was shuffling33 away. She was dragging a chair in and out of her room, and at intervals objecting to the crying of a baby, which a nurse in the adjoining cottage was endeavoring to put to sleep. She was a disagreeable little woman, no longer young, who had quarreled with almost every one, owing to a temper which was self-assertive and a disposition to trample34 upon the rights of others. Robert prevailed upon her without any too great difficulty.
She entered the hall with him during a lull35 in the dance. She made an awkward, imperious little bow as she went in. She was a homely36 woman, with a small weazened face and body and eyes that glowed. She had absolutely no taste in dress, and wore a batch37 of rusty38 black lace with a bunch of artificial violets pinned to the side of her hair.
“Ask Mrs. Pontellier what she would like to hear me play,” she requested of Robert. She sat perfectly39 still before the piano, not touching40 the keys, while Robert carried her message to Edna at the window. A general air of surprise and genuine satisfaction fell upon every one as they saw the pianist enter. There was a settling down, and a prevailing41 air of expectancy42 everywhere. Edna was a trifle embarrassed at being thus signaled out for the imperious little woman’s favor. She would not dare to choose, and begged that Mademoiselle Reisz would please herself in her selections.
Edna was what she herself called very fond of music. Musical strains, well rendered, had a way of evoking43 pictures in her mind. She sometimes liked to sit in the room of mornings when Madame Ratignolle played or practiced. One piece which that lady played Edna had entitled “Solitude44.” It was a short, plaintive45, minor46 strain. The name of the piece was something else, but she called it “Solitude.” When she heard it there came before her imagination the figure of a man standing47 beside a desolate48 rock on the seashore. He was naked. His attitude was one of hopeless resignation as he looked toward a distant bird winging its flight away from him.
Another piece called to her mind a dainty young woman clad in an Empire gown, taking mincing49 dancing steps as she came down a long avenue between tall hedges. Again, another reminded her of children at play, and still another of nothing on earth but a demure50 lady stroking a cat.
The very first chords which Mademoiselle Reisz struck upon the piano sent a keen tremor51 down Mrs. Pontellier’s spinal52 column. It was not the first time she had heard an artist at the piano. Perhaps it was the first time she was ready, perhaps the first time her being was tempered to take an impress of the abiding53 truth.
She waited for the material pictures which she thought would gather and blaze before her imagination. She waited in vain. She saw no pictures of solitude, of hope, of longing54, or of despair. But the very passions themselves were aroused within her soul, swaying it, lashing55 it, as the waves daily beat upon her splendid body. She trembled, she was choking, and the tears blinded her.
Mademoiselle had finished. She arose, and bowing her stiff, lofty bow, she went away, stopping for neither, thanks nor applause. As she passed along the gallery she patted Edna upon the shoulder.
“Well, how did you like my music?” she asked. The young woman was unable to answer; she pressed the hand of the pianist convulsively. Mademoiselle Reisz perceived her agitation56 and even her tears. She patted her again upon the shoulder as she said:
“You are the only one worth playing for. Those others? Bah!” and she went shuffling and sidling on down the gallery toward her room.
But she was mistaken about “those others.” Her playing had aroused a fever of enthusiasm. “What passion!” “What an artist!” “I have always said no one could play Chopin like Mademoiselle Reisz!” “That last prelude57! Bon Dieu! It shakes a man!”
It was growing late, and there was a general disposition to disband. But some one, perhaps it was Robert, thought of a bath at that mystic hour and under that mystic moon.
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1
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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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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intervals
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| 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 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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puffed
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| adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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solicitation
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| n.诱惑；揽货；恳切地要求；游说 | |
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overture
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| n.前奏曲、序曲，提议，提案，初步交涉 | |
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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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vanilla
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| n.香子兰，香草 | |
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30
effulgence
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| n.光辉 | |
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shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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34
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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batch
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| n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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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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40
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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expectancy
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| n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额 | |
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evoking
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 ) | |
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44
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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45
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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46
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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47
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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48
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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49
mincing
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| adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎 | |
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50
demure
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| adj.严肃的；端庄的 | |
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51
tremor
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| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
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52
spinal
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| adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的 | |
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53
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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54
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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56
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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57
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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