Now one must care for himself, or care for such or such a little one, now it is the professor, the private tutor, the governesses, . . . and life is absolutely empty. In this activity we were less conscious of the sufferings of our cohabitation. Moreover, in the first of it, we had a superb occupation,— the arrangement of the new dwelling2, and then, too, the moving from the city to the country, and from the country to the city.
“Thus we spent a winter. The following winter an incident happened to us which passed unnoticed, but which was the fundamental cause of all that happened later. My wife was suffering, and the rascals3 (the doctors) would not permit her to conceive a child, and taught her how to avoid it. I was profoundly disgusted. I struggled vainly against it, but she insisted frivolously4 and obstinately5, and I surrendered. The last justification6 of our life as wretches7 was thereby8 suppressed, and life became baser than ever.
“The peasant and the workingman need children, and hence their conjugal9 relations have a justification. But we, when we have a few children, have no need of any more. They make a superfluous10 confusion of expenses and joint11 heirs, and are an embarrassment12. Consequently we have no excuses for our existence as wretches, but we are so deeply degraded that we do not see the necessity of a justification. The majority of people in contemporary society give themselves up to this debauchery without the slightest remorse13. We have no conscience left, except, so to speak, the conscience of public opinion and of the criminal code. But in this matter neither of these consciences is struck. There is not a being in society who blushes at it. Each one practices it,— X, Y, Z, etc. What is the use of multiplying beggars, and depriving ourselves of the joys of social life? There is no necessity of having conscience before the criminal code, or of fearing it: low girls, soldiers’ wives who throw their children into ponds or wells, these certainly must be put in prison. But with us the suppression is effected opportunely14 and properly.
“Thus we passed two years more. The method prescribed by the rascals had evidently succeeded. My wife had grown stouter15 and handsomer. It was the beauty of the end of summer. She felt it, and paid much attention to her person. She had acquired that provoking beauty that stirs men. She was in all the brilliancy of the wife of thirty years, who conceives no children, eats heartily16, and is excited. The very sight of her was enough to frighten one. She was like a spirited carriage-horse that has long been idle, and suddenly finds itself without a bridle17. As for my wife, she had no bridle, as for that matter, ninety-nine hundredths of our women have none.”
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1 celebrities | |
n.(尤指娱乐界的)名人( celebrity的名词复数 );名流;名声;名誉 | |
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2 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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3 rascals | |
流氓( rascal的名词复数 ); 无赖; (开玩笑说法)淘气的人(尤指小孩); 恶作剧的人 | |
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4 frivolously | |
adv.轻浮地,愚昧地 | |
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5 obstinately | |
ad.固执地,顽固地 | |
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6 justification | |
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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7 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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8 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
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9 conjugal | |
adj.婚姻的,婚姻性的 | |
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10 superfluous | |
adj.过多的,过剩的,多余的 | |
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11 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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12 embarrassment | |
n.尴尬;使人为难的人(事物);障碍;窘迫 | |
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13 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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14 opportunely | |
adv.恰好地,适时地 | |
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15 stouter | |
粗壮的( stout的比较级 ); 结实的; 坚固的; 坚定的 | |
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16 heartily | |
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很 | |
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17 bridle | |
n.笼头,束缚;vt.抑制,约束;动怒 | |
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