Page 59 - madame-bovary

boots that had two long creases over the instep running
obliquely towards the ankle, while the rest of the upper con-
tinued in a straight line as if stretched on a wooden foot. He
said that ‘was quite good enough for the country.’
His mother approved of his economy, for she came to
see him as formerly when there had been some violent row
at her place; and yet Madame Bovary senior seemed preju-
diced against her daughter-in-law. She thought ‘her ways
too fine for their position”; the wood, the sugar, and the
candles disappeared as ‘at a grand establishment,’ and the
amount of firing in the kitchen would have been enough for
twenty-five courses. She put her linen in order for her in the
presses, and taught her to keep an eye on the butcher when
he brought the meat. Emma put up with these lessons. Ma-
dame Bovary was lavish of them; and the words ‘daughter’
and ‘mother’ were exchanged all day long, accompanied by
little quiverings of the lips, each one uttering gentle words
in a voice trembling with anger.
In Madame Dubuc’s time the old woman felt that she
was still the favorite; but now the love of Charles for Emma
seemed to her a desertion from her tenderness, an en-
croachment upon what was hers, and she watched her son’s
happiness in sad silence, as a ruined man looks through the
windows at people dining in his old house. She recalled to
him as remembrances her troubles and her sacrifices, and,
comparing these with Emma’s negligence, came to the
conclusion that it was not reasonable to adore her so ex-
clusively.
Charles knew not what to answer: he respected his

Madame Bovary