Page 285 - madame-bovary

neighbour. The little Homais also came to see her; Justin
accompanied them. He went up with them to her bedroom,
and remained standing near the door, motionless and mute.
Often even Madame Bovary; taking no heed of him, began
her toilette. She began by taking out her comb, shaking her
head with a quick movement, and when he for the first time
saw all this mass of hair that fell to her knees unrolling in
black ringlets, it was to him, poor child! like a sudden en-
trance into something new and strange, whose splendour
terrified him.
Emma, no doubt, did not notice his silent attentions or
his timidity. She had no suspicion that the love vanished
from her life was there, palpitating by her side, beneath that
coarse holland shirt, in that youthful heart open to the ema-
nations of her beauty. Besides, she now enveloped all things
with such indifference, she had words so affectionate with
looks so haughty, such contradictory ways, that one could
no longer distinguish egotism from charity, or corruption
from virtue. One evening, for example, she was angry with
the servant, who had asked to go out, and stammered as she
tried to find some pretext. Then suddenly—
‘So you love him?’ she said.
And without waiting for any answer from Felicite, who
was blushing, she added, ‘There! run along; enjoy yourself!’
In the beginning of spring she had the garden turned
up from end to end, despite Bovary’s remonstrances. How-
ever, he was glad to see her at last manifest a wish of any
kind. As she grew stronger she displayed more wilfulness.
First, she found occasion to expel Mere Rollet, the nurse,

Madame Bovary