A Woman's Life Page #33

"A Woman's Life" (French: "Une vie") by Guy de Maupassant tells the poignant story of Jeanne, a young noblewoman in the 19th century, as she navigates the complexities of love, marriage, and societal expectations. Spanning her life from a romanticized youth to a disillusioned adulthood, the novel explores themes of gender, class, and the harsh realities faced by women. Through Jeanne's experiences, Maupassant critiques the constraints imposed by society and highlights the emotional turmoil that often accompanies personal choices. The narrative is both a reflection on the individual's struggle for autonomy and a subtle commentary on the limitations placed on women of the era.

								


The baroness was tickled by the perplexed look on the yokel's face and
began to shake with laughter as she sat in her armchair. Her gayety
surprised the peasant, who looked at her suspiciously out of the corner
of his eye as he waited for an answer.

The baron cut short all this haggling.

"I have told M. le curé that you shall have the farm at Barville, which
is worth twenty thousand francs, for life, and then it is to become the
child's. That is all I have to say on the matter, and I always keep my
word. Now is your answer yes or no?"

A satisfied smile broke over the man's face, and, with a sudden
loquacity:

"Oh, then, I don't say no," he replied. "That was the only thing that
pulled me up. When M'sieu l'curé said somethin' to me about it in the
first place, I said yes at once, 'specially as it was to oblige M'sieu
l'baron who'd be sure to pay me back for it, as I says to myself. Ain't
it always the way, and doesn't one good turn always deserve another? But
M'sieu Julien comes up and then it was only fifteen 'undred francs. Then
I says to myself, 'I must find out the rights o' this and so I came
'ere. In coorse I b'lieved your word, M'sieu l'baron, but I wanted to
find out the rights o' the case. Short reck'nings make long friends,
don't they, M'sieu l'baron?"

He would have gone on like this till dinner-time if no one had
interrupted him, so the baron broke in with:

"When will you marry her?"

The question aroused the peasant's suspicions again directly.

"Couldn't I have it put down in writin' first?" he asked in a halting
way.

"Why bless my soul, isn't the marriage-contract good enough for you?"
exclaimed the baron, angered by the man's suspicious nature.

"But until I get that I should like it wrote down on paper," persisted
the peasant. "Havin' it down on paper never does no harm."

"Give a plain answer, now at once," said the baron, rising to put an end
to the interview. "If you don't choose to marry the girl, say so. I know
someone else who would be glad of the chance."

The idea of twenty thousand francs slipping from his hands into someone
else's, startled the peasant out of his cautiousness, and he at once
decided to say "yes":

"Agreed, M'sieu l'baron!" he said, holding out his hand as if he were
concluding the purchase of a cow. "It's done, and there's no going back
from the bargain."

The baron took his hand and cried to the cook:

"Ludivine! Bring a bottle of wine."

The wine was drunk and then the peasant went away, feeling a great deal
lighter-hearted than when he had come.

Nothing was said about this visit to Julien. The drawing up of the
marriage-contract was kept a great secret; then the banns were
published and Rosalie was married on the Monday morning. At the church a
neighbor stood behind the bride and bridegroom with a child in her arms
as an omen of good luck, and everyone thought Desiré Lecoq very
fortunate. "He was born with a caul," said the peasants with a smile.

When Julien heard of the marriage he had a violent quarrel with the
baron and baroness and they decided to shorten their visit at Les
Peuples. Jeanne was sorry but she did not grieve as before when her
parents went away, for now all her hopes and thoughts were centered on
her son.

IX

Now Jeanne was quite well again she thought she would like to return the
Fourville's visit, and also to call on the Couteliers. Julien had just
bought another carriage at a sale, a phaeton. It only needed one horse,
so they could go out twice a month, now, instead of once, and they used
it for the first time one bright December morning.

After driving for two hours across the Normandy plains they began to go
down to a little valley, whose sloping sides were covered with trees,
while the level ground at the bottom was cultivated. The ploughed fields
were followed by meadows, the meadows by a fen covered with tall reeds,
which waved in the wind like yellow ribbons, and then the road took a
sharp turn and the Château de la Vrillette came in sight. It was built
between a wooded slope on the one side and a large lake on the other,
the water stretching from the château wall to the tall fir-trees which
covered the opposite acclivity.

The carriage had to pass over an old draw-bridge and under a vast Louis
XIII. archway before it drew up in front of a handsome building of the
same period as the archway, with brick frames round the windows and
slated turrets. Julien pointed out all the different beauties of the
mansion to Jeanne as if he were thoroughly acquainted with every nook
and corner of it.

"Isn't it a superb place?" he exclaimed. "Just look at that archway! On
the other side of the house, which looks on to the lake, there is a
magnificent flight of steps leading right down to the water. Four boats
are moored at the bottom of the steps, two for the comte and two for the
comtesse. The lake ends down there, on the right, where you can see that
row of poplars, and there the river, which runs to Fécamp, rises. The
place abounds in wild-fowl, and the comte passes all his time shooting.
Ah! it is indeed a lordly residence."

The hall door opened and the fair-haired comtesse came to meet her
visitors with a smile on her face. She wore a trailing dress like a
châtelaine of the middle ages, and, exactly suited to the place in which
she lived, she looked like some beautiful Lady of the Lake.

Four out of the eight drawing-room windows looked on to the lake, and
the water looked dull and dismal, overshadowed as it was by the gloomy
fir-trees which covered the opposite slope.

The comtesse took both Jeanne's hands in hers as if she had known her
for ages, placed her in a seat and then drew a low chair beside her for
herself, while Julien, who had regained all his old refinement during
the last five months, smiled and chatted in an easy, familiar way. The
comtesse and he talked about the rides they had had together. She
laughed a little at his bad horsemanship, and called him "The Tottering
Knight," and he too laughed, calling her in return "The Amazon Queen."

A gun went off just under the window, and Jeanne gave a little cry. It
was the comte shooting teal, and his wife called him in. There was the
splash of oars, the grating of a boat against the stone steps and then
the comte came in, followed by two dogs of a reddish hue, which lay down
on the carpet before the door, while the water dripped from their shaggy
coats.

The comte seemed more at his ease in his own house, and was delighted to
see the vicomte and Jeanne. He ordered the fire to be made up, and
Madeira and biscuits to be brought.

"Of course you will dine with us," he exclaimed.

Jeanne refused the invitation, thinking of Paul; and as he pressed her
to stay and she still persisted in her refusal, Julien made a movement
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