american tragedy

Chapter 65 (1)
Chapter 229 (1)
For Roberta, since meeting Clyde at Lycurgus, the lifeless field of Beards had become even more disheartening.Everything here is inseparable from poverty, which casts a shadow over the nostalgia for hometown.

She got off the train, and as soon as she got to the gray and yellow house at the station, she saw her father.He was still wearing the same winter coat he had worn for over a decade.Sitting in their family's dilapidated carriage and waiting for her.The pony was old and the horse was skinny and worn out, just like his father.He looked as if worn out, and his countenance brightened when he saw Roberta, for she had always been his darling.She got in the car and sat next to him, and he chatted happily.Then they turned the carriage around and drove off on the road to the farm.Elsewhere, there are good roads everywhere, but this one is dirty, dirt, and winding.

As they drove along, Roberta couldn't help counting every tree, every turn, and every wooden sign silently.But my heart is not happy.Everything is so gray that people can't lift their spirits.In the case of the Grange, Titus was always ill, and the youngest, Tom, could not help his mother much, so that the Grange became more and more a heavy burden.Put two thousand dollars on the house many years ago and never paid it off.The chimneys to the north are still bad, and the steps are more crooked than ever.The walls, railings, and some small houses on the side are still the same, but now that they are covered with snow, they look better.Even the furniture is as disorganized as ever.And her family, they still don't know the real relationship between her and Clyde, here, he is just a common name, they still think she and they can get together again, she must be Couldn't be happier.In fact, in her own life, Clyde's vacillating attitude towards her, she knew very well that she was more depressed now than ever before.

In fact it is.Although she seems to be doing well recently, she has actually taken such a big risk. Only by marrying Clyde can she reach the moral standard in her parents' minds. Otherwise, she will lose the face of the whole family. Lost, ruined the family, thinking of this, she became even more depressed, thinking of this extremely depressed, almost torn apart.

Worse and more painful was another thought of the matter: that she had fantasized about Clyde from the beginning, and had never been able to tell her mother or anyone about him.Because she was afraid that her mother might think that she was high-ranking, so she might ask about the affairs between him and her, which would make her very embarrassed.On the other hand, unless she found someone she could trust, all these nagging doubts involving her and Clyde would have to be kept secret.

After talking to Tom and Emily for a while, she went into the kitchen.Her mother is busy with Christmas.She had meant to talk to her about her feelings, and then gradually turn the subject on that side, but as soon as she went in, her mother said, "How do you feel when you're back in the country, my dear? Compared with Lycurgus, I Do you think everything looks poor?" Her mother said thoughtfully.

Judging from her mother's eyes and tone, her mother must have regarded her as a greatly developed person.She walked towards her mother, and suddenly hugged her mother tightly and shouted: "Mom, as long as you are there, the happiest place is, you know?"

As if to thank her for her kindness, her mother looked at her with kind and blessed eyes, and then patted her on the shoulder. "Well, honey," she said calmly, "you must also understand how much I love you."

Her mother's tone showed a kind of sincere feelings and mutual understanding for many years. This kind of deep affection between each other is not only obtained from each other's good blessings, but also an exchange of unreserved confiding to each other. She was moved. Tears flowed down.Her throat tightened and her eyes watered, though she tried not to look too emotional.She wished everything had been told to her.However, her infatuation with Clyde and her relationship with her have made her realize her serious problems, so the traditional views of the place are very different from her current situation, even for her mother.

She hesitated for a moment, hoping to tell her mother all of her thoughts, and even though she could not help much, she could also get her understanding and understanding, but in the end she could only say: "Ah, I really hope you always With me in Lycurgos, Mother, maybe..." She paused, knowing that she had almost lost her words.She was thinking that if her mother was with her, she might be able to check Clyde's demands.

"Well, I guess you miss me, too," her mother went on, "but it's better for you. Don't you think so? You know what's going on here, and you like your job. ,right?"

"Oh, it's a nice job, and I like it in that way. It's a pleasure to be able to help here, but it's not good to be alone."

"Why did you move out of the Newtons, baby? Is Grace such a nuisance? I thought she was your mate?"

"Well, she was all right at first," replied Roberta, "but she had no boyfriends of her own, and she was very jealous if anyone paid any attention to me. She always went with me wherever I went." or keep me with her so I can't go anywhere by myself. You know what it is, mother. Two girls can't be with a young lad."

"Yeah, I know what it's all about, baby," her mother smiled, and then said, "Who's he?"

"Mr. Griffiths, mother." She hesitated.Compared with the very poor world here, the people she came into contact with had a very prominent meaning, and this feeling flashed in her eyes like a lightning bolt.For all her apprehensions, the possibility of marrying Clyde, even by a small amount, was remarkable. "You don't have to mention his name to anyone now, though," she went on. "He doesn't want me to. His relatives are rich, you know. It's theirs, I mean, his uncle's. But Everyone who works for the company has to abide by a rule, that is to say, the heads of all departments are not allowed to associate with any girl. Moreover, he does not want to associate with any other girl, but he likes me, and I like it too He, we're different. And besides, I'm planning to quit my job soon and find somewhere else, so it won't matter. I can tell anyone, and he can, too."

It occurred to Roberta that, with Clyde's recent treatment of her, and the fact that she had given herself to him in such a way that there was no future determination of her identity by marriage, what he said might not be correct. How real.Maybe he (it was a vague, unsure fear, so to speak) didn't want her to tell anyone now, never to tell anyone.And unless he continued to love her and marry her, maybe she didn't want anyone to know about it.What an unfortunate, disgraceful, embarrassing situation all this brought her to.

Mrs. Alden, after overhearing such a curious and apparently ambiguous relationship, was not only disturbed, but bewildered, that Roberta's happiness was a matter of great importance.She wondered in her heart, Roberta was a good girl, would she be..., no, probably not.So went on: "A relation of Mr. Samuel Griffiths, isn't it?"

"Yes, mother, he is his nephew."

"A young man in the factory?" The mother wondered how her daughter could date someone with such a status.But what is the result of such relations in the world!

"Well," replied Roberta.

"What kind of a man is he, baby".

"Ah, that's really nice. He's so pretty, and he's always been nice to me. I wouldn't think it's a nice place if it wasn't for someone as well-behaved as him. He's in charge of the girls in the factory, the company The manager's nephew, you know, the girls naturally have to respect him."

"Well, that's nice, isn't it? I also think it's better to do things with people with rules than with people. You don't like the job at Tribez Mills much, I don't know." I know that too. Does he see you often, baby?"

"Well, yes, often," replied Roberta, blushing a little.Because she felt unable to tell the truth to her mother.

Mrs. Alden looked up, noticed this too, thought she was embarrassed, and asked her in a teasing tone: "You like him, don't you?"

"Well, I like him, mother," replied Roberta simply and honestly.

"How is he? Does he like you?"

Roberta went to the kitchen window.Below the window is a flat land below the slope, which can lead to the shelf by the well, which is also the best producing area in the whole farm.There are a few ramshackle houses that, more than anything else, illustrate the financial hardships of the family.In fact, for a decade these things have come to symbolize mismanagement and poverty.She felt in her heart that these desolate and snow-covered things were the exact opposite of everything she longed for.In fact, this is not surprising.Some of her desires are inseparable from Clyde, whether it is sorrow or happiness; whether it is success in love or failure in love.Assuming he really loves her now, take her away from everything here.Then she and her mother may not suffer from the desolation and loneliness here again, but if he is not like this, then all the dreams she longed for, maybe it can be said that they are muddled dreams, once broken, the consequences caused will not be so. It's just going to come to her alone, and it's going to come to these other people, and the first one is going to come to her mother.She was so troubled that she didn't know what to say, and finally said: "Well, he said he likes it."

"Do you think he intends to marry you?" asked Mrs. Alden, timidly but eagerly.For of all her children, her heart, her hopes, were especially placed on Roberta.

"Well, I'll tell you, Mom..." The sentence didn't finish.For Emily, who was hurrying in through the gate, called out now: "Ah, here's Keefe. He's come in a car, I see someone sent him here, and he's got four or five big bags."

Tom and his brother came in next.His brother wore a new overcoat, his first achievement since arriving at General Electric in Schnackdart, and he greeted his mother affectionately, and then Roberta.

(End of this chapter)