-
A Respectable Woman
Mrs.
Baroda
was
a
little
provoked
to
learn
that
her husband expected his friend,
Gouvernail, up
to spend a week or two
on the plantation.
They
had
entertained
a
good
deal
during
the
winter; much of the time
had also been passed in
New
Orleans
in
various
forms
of
mild
dissipation. She was
looking forward to a period
of
unbroken
rest,
now,
and
undisturbed
tete-a-tete
with
her
husband,
when
he
informed
her
that
Gouvernail
was
coming
up
to
stay
a
week or
two.
This was a man she had heard much
of but never
seen. He had been her
husband's college friend;
was now a
journalist, and in
no sense a society
man
or
man
about
town,
which
were,
perhaps, some of the reasons she had
never met
him.
But
she
had
unconsciously
formed
an
image of him in her mind.
She pictured him tall,
slim, cynical;
with eye-glasses, and his hands in
his
pockets; and she did not like him. Gouvernail
was slim enough, but he wasn't very
tall nor very
cynical; neither did he
wear eyeglasses nor carry
his
hands
in
his
pockets.
And
she
rather
liked
him
when he first presented himself.
But why she liked him she could not
explain
satisfactorily
to
herselfwhen
she
partly
attempted
to
do
so.
She
could
discover
in
him
none
of
those
brilliant
and
promising
traits
which
Gaston,
her
husband,
had
often
assured
her
that
he
possessed.
On
the
contrary,
he
sat
rather
mute
and
receptive
before
her
chatty
eagerness to make him feel at home and
in face
of
Gaston's
frank
and
wordy
hospitality.
His
manner was as courteous toward her as
the most
exacting
woman
could
require;
but
he
made
no
direct appeal to her
approval or even esteem.
Once
settled
at
the
plantation
he
seemed
to
like to
sit upon the wide portico in the shade of
one
of
the
big
Corinthian
pillars,
smoking
his
cigar lazily and
listening attentively to Gaston's
experience as a sugar planter.
is
what
I
call
living,
he
would
utter
一位正派女人
当巴洛达女士得知她丈夫的朋友
会来
庄园做客一两周的时候，她是有
些恼怒的。
< br>他们夫妻俩冬天的时候过的还算
愉快，
大部分时间都消遣
在新奥尔良，
参加一些无伤大雅的活动。她很期待
一段完整的假
期，能和丈夫一起共度
不被外界打扰的二人世界。结果得知
果维
纳尔要来待上一两周。
果维纳尔对于她算是百闻未得一
见。他是她丈夫的大学好友，而现在
是一名记者，毫无疑问，他是个“
社
会人”，或者说“城里人”。也许是
因为这些原因，她从来没
见过他。但
是她不由自主的在意识里形成了一个
他的形象。她想
象着他又瘦又高，性
格是愤世嫉俗，戴着副眼镜，手总插
兜里，
而且她不喜欢这样的。果维纳
尔确实够瘦但没那么高，也没那么愤
世嫉俗。
他也没戴眼镜或是双手插兜。
所以她第一次见他时，
竟然对他有些
好感。
但是当她试图解
释自己为什么会
对他有好感的时候，她却找不到一个
令自己满意
的答案。她没有发现丈夫
加斯顿向她保证时所说的他应该有的
聪
明才智和光明前途。完全相反，她
看到，他在她和加斯顿为了让他感到
< br>家的感觉而开始不停的热心交谈以显
示热情好客面前显得相当沉默。他表
现出一副她和大多数女人都喜欢的彬
彬有礼，但是他却没有直接显露出一
副希望获得她的认同及尊重的样子。
在庄园安顿下来后，他似乎很喜
欢坐在某根巨大的科林斯式柱子阴影
处的宽阔柱廊上，悠闲地抽着雪茄，
聚精会神地听加斯顿讲自己的甘蔗园
生活。
“这才是生活啊。”他非常满足
地感叹道，微风吹过甘蔗园，像是用
温暖、芬芳、天鹅绒般柔软的手抚摸
他。另外，他也很亲近那些大狗狗，
with
deep
satisfaction,
as
the
air
that
swept
across
the
sugar
field
caressed
him
with
its
warm and scented velvety
touch. It pleased him
also
to
get
on
familiar
terms
with
the
big
dogs
that
came
about
him,
rubbing
themselves
sociably against his legs. He did not
care to fish,
and
displayed
no
eagerness
to
go
out
and
kill
grosbecs when Gaston
proposed doing so.
Gouvernail's
personality
puzzled
Mrs.
Baroda,
but
she
liked
him.
Indeed,
he
was
a
lovable,
inoffensive
fellow.
After
a
few
days,
when she could
understand him no better than at
first,
she gave over being puzzled and remained
piqued.
In
this
mood
she
left
her
husband
and
her guest, for the most part, alone
together. Then
finding
that
Gouvernail
took
no
manner
of
exception to her action, she imposed
her society
upon
him,
accompanying
him
in
his
idle
strolls
to
the
mill
and
walks
along
the
batture.
She
persistently
sought
to
penetrate
the
reserve
in
which
he had unconsciously enveloped himself.
is
he
going
—
your
friend?
she
one
day asked her husband.
frightfully.
he gives you no
trouble.
were
more
like
others,
and
I
had
to
plan
somewhat
for his comfort and enjoyment.
Gaston
took
his
wife's
pretty
face
between
his
hands
and
looked
tenderly
and
laughingly
into her troubled
eyes.
They
were
making
a
bit
of
toilet
sociably
together in Mrs.
Baroda's dressing-room.
to
her.
I
can
never
count
upon
how
you
are
going
to
act
under
given
conditions.
He
kissed her and turned to fasten his
cravat before
the mirror.
you
are,
he
went
on,
poor
Gouvernail
seriously
and
making
a
commotion
over
him,
the
last
thing
he
would
desire
or
expect.
she
hotly
resented.
那些狗喜欢温和地蹭着并靠在他的腿
边。他不是很痴迷钓鱼，当加斯顿邀
请他打猎的时候，他也没表现出
一副
急着出门的样子。
果维纳尔的性格困扰着巴洛达
夫人，不过她还是挺喜欢他。确实，
他是一个可爱无害的家伙。
几天过后，
她对他的
印象仍然提留在最初的层
面，不过她放弃了困惑并对他始终保
持
兴趣。带着这样的心情，在很多情
况下，她离开了，留下丈夫和这位客
< br>人一起。可是她却发现果维纳尔对她
的行为没有任何反应，于是她便利用
了自己女主人的身份，陪他在空闲的
时候沿着河床散步到磨坊。她坚持不
懈地寻找他内心无意识间保留的部
分。
“
你
的
朋
友
—
—
他
还
要
待
多
久？”某天，她问自己的丈夫，“我
觉得他好像对我非常厌倦。”
“我不知道，一个星期都还不到
呢，亲爱的。他
也没给你添麻烦啊。”
“确实，但如果他给我添了麻烦
还好了，我没准会更喜欢他。如果他
能像平常人一样，我就可以给他安
排
些舒适愉悦的活动。”
加斯顿捧起
妻子美丽的脸庞，温
柔且带着笑意地凝视她困惑的双眼。
在巴洛达夫人的更衣室里，他们
应酬的梳洗了一下。
“我美丽的女士，你真的是充满
惊喜。”他对她说道
：“在各种各样
情况下，你的表现真是让我安心又舒
坦。”他吻
了一下她，然后在镜子前
紧了紧领结。
“可你现在。
”
他继续说道：
“把<
/p>
可怜的果维纳尔看得太重了，并对他
无理取闹，他肯定是不想要这
样的啊。
“无理取闹！”她大发雷霆说道：
< br>“胡说八道！你怎么可以这样说我？
无理取闹，好吧，我就无理取闹了！
但是你要记住你说过他很聪明的。”
“他的确
很聪明。只是这个可怜
的家伙已经快被工作压垮了。这也是
How
can
you
say
such
a
thing?
Commotion, indeed!
But, you know, you said he
was
clever.
overwork
now.
That's
why
I
asked
him
here
to
take a rest.
retorted,
unconciliated.
expected
him
to
be
interesting,
at
least.
I'm
going
to
the
city
in
the
morning to
have my spring gowns fitted. Let me
know when Mr. Gouvernail is gone; I
shall be at
my Aunt
Octavie's.
That
night
she
went
and
sat
alone
upon
a
bench
that
stood
beneath
a
live
oak
tree
at
the
edge of the gravel walk.
She
had
never
known
her
thoughts
or
her
intentions
to
be
so
confused.
She
could
gather
nothing
from
them
but
the
feeling
of
a
distinct
necessity to quit her home in the
morning.
Mrs.
Baroda
heard
footsteps
crunching
the
gravel;
but
could
discern
in
the
darkness
only
the approaching red point of a lighted
cigar. She
knew it was Gouvernail, for
her husband did not
smoke.
She
hoped
to
remain
unnoticed,
but
her
white gown revealed her
to him. He threw away
his
cigar
and
seated
himself
upon
the
bench
beside
her;
without
a
suspicion
that
she
might
object
to his presence.
you,
Mrs.
Baroda,
he
said,
handing
her
a
filmy,
white scarf with
which she sometimes enveloped
her
head
and
shoulders.
She
accepted
the
scarf
from him with a murmur
of thanks, and let it lie
in her lap.
He
made
some
commonplace
observation
upon
the
baneful
effect
of
the
night
air
at
the
season.
Then
as
his
gaze
reached
out
into
the
darkness, he murmured,
half to himself:
of
south
winds
—
night
of
the
large
few stars! Still nodding
night
—
'
She made no reply to this apostrophe to
the
night, which, indeed, was not
addressed to her.
Gouvernail was in no sense a diffident
man,
for he was not a self-conscious
one. His periods
我为什么邀请他到这休养的原因。”
“你以前经常说他是个很有想法
的人。“她毫不留情地反驳道：”我
以为他至少是个有趣的人。我明早就
去城里试穿我的春衣，告诉我果维纳
尔先生何时离开，在他离开前我将一
直住在奥克塔维姨妈家。”
这晚，她走了出去，独自一人坐
在槲树背后的长
椅上，在碎石小路的
尽头。
她从未想
过她的的思想和意图会
如此时般混乱。
她已经不知如何是好，<
/p>
只知道她明天早上必须离开家。
巴洛达
夫人听见碎石小路那边传
来嘎吱的脚步声，但是夜太深，她不
能
看清楚是谁，只看见雪茄在黑夜中
冒着点点红光。于是她知道那一定是
< br>果维纳尔了，因为她丈夫从不抽烟。
她真希望自己没有被发现，但是她白
色的外套将她暴露在他面前。他扔掉
雪茄，然后坐在她身旁。毫无疑问，
她应该反感他的出现。
“你丈夫让我
把这个带给你，巴
洛达夫人。”他说着便递给她一条薄
薄的白色
披肩，这是那条她偶尔会用
来包住自己头和肩膀的披肩。她接过
披肩，含糊的道谢，然后将它摊在腿
上。
他说了几句关于这个季节夜晚空
气有害健康的老生常谈。然后将目光
投入无尽的黑夜，轻声说道，有一半
也算自言自语：
“吹着南风的夜晚——没有星辰
的夜晚！依旧让人昏昏欲睡的夜
晚—
—”
她没有回答这段对此夜的小
感，
确实，这并不能吸引她。
果维纳
尔并不是一个冷漠的人，
这从他的自然得体上就可以看出。他
那
段有所保留的日子也并非天生，而
是心情的原因。此时坐在巴洛达夫人
< br>身边，他的沉默随着时间而消融。
他说话时随意而亲密
，以一种低
沉犹豫的腔调让人听起来也不会不