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Awakening & Selected Short Stories-Part3_Kate Chopin(1851-1904)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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arm in arm, under the huge white sunshade. Edna had prevailed upon

Madame Ratignolle to leave the children behind, though she could



not induce her to relinquish a diminutive roll of needlework, which

Adele begged to be allowed to slip into the depths of her pocket.



In some unaccountable way they had escaped from Robert.

The walk to the beach was no inconsiderable one, consisting as



it did of a long, sandy path, upon which a sporadic and tangled growth

that bordered it on either side made frequent and unexpected inroads.



There were acres of yellow camomile reaching out on either hand.

Further away still, vegetable gardens abounded, with frequent



small plantations of orange or lemon trees intervening.

The dark green clusters glistened from afar in the sun.



The women were both of goodlyheight, Madame Ratignolle

possessing the more feminine and matronly figure. The charm of



Edna Pontellier's physique stole insensibly upon you. The lines of

her body were long, clean and symmetrical; it was a body which



occasionally fell into splendid poses; there was no suggestion of

the trim, stereotyped fashion-plate about it. A casual and



indiscriminating observer, in passing, might not cast a second

glance upon the figure. But with more feeling and discernment he



would have recognized the noble beauty of its modeling, and the

graceful severity of poise and movement, which made Edna Pontellier



different from the crowd.

She wore a cool muslin that morning--white, with a waving



vertical line of brown running through it; also a white linen

collar and the big straw hat which she had taken from the peg



outside the door. The hat rested any way on her yellow-brown hair,

that waved a little, was heavy, and clung close to her head.



Madame Ratignolle, more careful of her complexion, had twined

a gauze veil about her head. She wore dogskin gloves, with



gauntlets that protected her wrists. She was dressed in pure

white, with a fluffiness of ruffles that became her. The draperies



and fluttering things which she wore suited her rich, luxuriant

beauty as a greater severity of line could not have done.



There were a number of bath-houses along the beach, of rough

but solid construction, built with small, protecting galleries



facing the water. Each house consisted of two compartments, and

each family at Lebrun's possessed a compartment for itself, fitted



out with all the essential paraphernalia of the bath and whatever

other conveniences the owners might desire. The two women had no



intention of bathing; they had just strolled down to the beach for

a walk and to be alone and near the water. The Pontellier and



Ratignolle compartments adjoined one another under the same roof.

Mrs. Pontellier had brought down her key through force of



habit. Unlocking the door of her bath-room she went inside, and

soon emerged, bringing a rug, which she spread upon the floor of



the gallery, and two huge hair pillows covered with crash, which

she placed against the front of the building.



The two seated themselves there in the shade of the porch,

side by side, with their backs against the pillows and their feet



extended. Madame Ratignolle removed her veil, wiped her face with

a rather delicatehandkerchief, and fanned herself with the fan



which she always carried suspended somewhere about her person by a

long, narrow ribbon. Edna removed her collar and opened her dress



at the throat. She took the fan from Madame Ratignolle and began

to fan both herself and her companion. It was very warm, and for



a while they did nothing but exchange remarks about the heat, the

sun, the glare. But there was a breeze blowing, a choppy, stiff



wind that whipped the water into froth. It fluttered the skirts of

the two women and kept them for a while engaged in adjusting,



readjusting, tucking in, securing hair-pins and hat-pins. A few

persons were sporting some distance away in the water. The beach



was very still of human sound at that hour. The lady in black was

reading her morning devotions on the porch of a neighboring



bathhouse. Two young lovers were exchanging their hearts' yearnings

beneath the children's tent, which they had found unoccupied.






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