Chapter 7 Farmer Boldwood proposes marriage

On Saturday at Casterbridge market Boldwood saw the woman who was disturbing his dreams. For the first time he turned his head and looked at her. It was in fact the first time in his life that he had looked at any woman. Up to now he had considered women to be distant，almost foreign creatures who had nothing to do with him. Now he saw Bathsheba's hair，and every detail of her face. He noticed her figure，her dress，and even her feet. She seemed very beauti-ful to him，and his heart began to move within him. ‘And this woman，this lovely young woman，has asked me to marry her！’he thought. As he was watching Bathsheba selling wheat to another farmer，he was filled with jealousy¹.

All this time Bathsheba was aware of his eyes on her. At last she had made him look at her！But she would have pre－ferred him to admire her from the beginning，without the en- couragement of her valentine. She felt sorry she had disturbed the usual calmness of a man she respected，but considered she could not apologize to him without either offending or encour-aging him.

Mr Boldwood did not try to speak to her，and returned home to his farm. He was a man of strong feelings，which normally lay hidden deep inside him. Because he was serious，and did not joke with his neighbours，people thought he was cold But when he loved or hated，it was with his whole heart. If Bathsheba had known how strong the feelings of this dark and silent figure were，she would have blamed herself terribly for her thoughtlessness³. But nobody guessed what lay behind his calm appearance.

A few days later Mr Boldwood was looking at Bathsheba's fields，which were next to his own，when he saw her helping⁴ Gabriel Oak⁵ with the sheep. To Boldwood，Bathsheba shone like the moon on a dark night. His heart，which had never been touched before，was filled completely with his love for her. He decided⁶ to go and speak to her.

As he stopped at the gate of the field，Bathsheba looked up and noticed him. Gabriel was watching her face and saw her blush⁷. He immediately thought of the envelope，with the valentine，that Boldwood had shown him，and suspected Bathsheba of encouraging the farmer to fall in love with her.

Boldwood realized they had noticed him，and suddenly felt unsure of himself. He did not know enough about women to discover from Bathsheba's manner whether she wanted to see him or not. And so he did not enter the field，but walked on， past the gate.

Bathsheba，however，knew that he had come to see her， and felt extremely guilty. She promised herself never again to disturb the peace of this man's life. Unfortunately her promise was made too late，as such promises often are.

It was not until the end of May that Boldwood was brave enough to declare his love. He went to Bathsheba's house，where the maids told him their mistress⁸ was watching the sheep－washing. Every spring the sheep were washed in a spe－ cial pool，to keep their wool clean and to get rid of insects on their skin. Boldwood walked across the fields to the pool， where he found the farm workers busily washing the sheep.

Bathsheba was standing⁹ near them，and saw Boldwood com- ing towards her. She moved away，walking beside the river， but she could hear footsteps behind her in the grass，and felt love all around her，like perfume in the air Boldwood caught up with her.

‘Miss Everdene！’he said quietly.

She trembled，turned，and said，‘Good morning. ’She had guessed the truth from the way he spoke¹⁰ those two words.

‘I feel—almost too much to think， ’he said simply. ‘My life does not belong to me any more，Miss Everdene，but to you. I've come to propose marriage to you. ’

Bathsheba tried not to show any expression on her face.

‘I'm now forty-one，’he continued. ‘I've never married，or thought I ever would marry. But we all change，and I changed when I saw you. More than anything else，I want you as my wife. ’ ‘I think，Mr Boldwood，that although I respect you very much，I don't feel—enough for you—to accept your proposal. ’

‘But my life is worthless without you！’he cried，calm no longer. ‘I want you-to let me say I love you，again and again！’Bathsheba remained silent. ‘I think and hope you care enough for me to listen to what I have to say！’he added.

Bathsheba was about to ask why he should think that，when she remembered the valentine After all，it was quite natural for him to think she admired him.

‘I wish I could court you with beautiful words，’the farmer went on，‘but I can only say I love you madly and want you for my wife. I wouldn't have proposed if you hadn't allowed me to hope. ’

‘Mr Boldwood，this is difficult for me！I'm afraid I can't marry you. I'm not in love with you！I should never have sent that valentine—forgive me—it was a thoughtless² thing to do. ’

‘No，no，don't say it was thoughtless！Say it was the beginning of a feeling that you would like me. Just consider whether you can accept me as a husband. I know I'm too old for you，but believe me， I'll take more care of you than a younger man would. You'll have nothing to worry about. You'll have everything you want. God only knows how much you mean to me！’

Bathsheba's young heart was full of pity for this sensitive man who had spoken so simply and honestly.

‘Don't say it，don't！You feel so much，and I feel nothing，’she replied. ‘Don't discuss it any more. I can't think！Oh，I've given you such pain！’

‘Tell me that you don't refuse completely. Give me some hope！May I ask you again？May I think of you？’

‘Yes，I suppose so. ’

‘May I hope you will accept my proposal next time？’

‘No，don't hope！I must go now. Give me time to think. ’

‘Yes，I'll give you time，’he answered gratefully. ‘Thank you，I'm happier now. ’

‘No，please，don't be happier，Mr Boldwood，if happiness only comes from my agreeing！I must think. ’

‘I'll wait，’he agreed. They turned away from each other， and returned to their separate houses.

1 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

2 thoughtless   

adj.没有考虑的，无深虑的，轻率的

参考例句：

• It was thoughtless of you to forget your sister's birthday.你真粗心，把你姐姐的生日都给忘了。
• I wonder why you are so thoughtless of others.我很奇怪，你为何如此不替别人着想。

3 thoughtlessness   

n.欠考虑；轻率；不体贴；不亲切

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everything listened to the singing larks in brooding thoughtlessness. 周围的一切都忘情地静听着云雀的歌唱。 来自名作英译部分

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 blush   

vi.脸红，羞愧，觉得难为情；n.脸红，难为情

参考例句：

• His remark brought a blush into the girl's cheeks.他的话使这姑娘两颊红晕。
• I have to blush to admit that thing.我不得不羞愧地承认了那件事。

8 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 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。