Chapter I - Sisters Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen sat one morning in the window-bay of their father ’ s house in Beldover, working and talking. Ursula was stitching a piece of brightly-coloured embroidery, and Gudrun was drawing upon a board which she held on her knee. They were mostly silent, talking as their thoughts strayed through their minds.
‘ Ursula, ’ said Gudrun, ‘ don ’ t you REALLY WANT to get married? ’ Ursula laid her embroidery in her lap and looked up. Her face was calm and considerate.
‘ I don ’ t know, ’ she replied. ‘ It depends how you mean. ’
Gudrun was slightly taken aback. She watched her sister for some moments.
‘ Well, ’ she said, ironically, ‘ it usually means one thing! But don ’ t you think anyhow, you ’ d be — ’ she darkened slightly — ‘ in a better position than you are in now. ’
A shadow came over Ursula ’ s face.
‘ I might, ’ she said. ‘ But I ’ m not sure. ’
Again Gudrun paused, slightly irritated. She wanted to be quite definite.
‘ You don ’ t think one needs the EXPERIENCE of having been married? ’ she asked.
‘ Do you think it need BE an experience? ’ replied Ursula.
‘ Bound to be, in some way or other, ’ said Gudrun, coolly. ‘ Possibly undesirable, but bound to be an experience of some sort. ’
‘ Not really, ’ said Ursula. ‘ More likely to be the end of experience. ’
Gudrun sat very still, to attend to this.
‘ Of course, ’ she said, ‘ there ’ s THAT to consider. ’ This brought the conversation to a close. Gudrun, almost angrily, took up her rubber and began to rub out part of her drawing. Ursula stitched absorbedly.
‘ You wouldn ’ t consider a good offer? ’ asked Gudrun.
‘ I think I ’ ve rejected several, ’ said Ursula.
‘ REALLY! ’ Gudrun flushed dark — ‘ But anything really worth while? Have you REALLY? ’
‘ A thousand a year, and an awfully nice man. I liked him awfully, ’ said Ursula.
‘ Really! But weren ’ t you fearfully tempted? ’
‘ In the abstract but not in the concrete, ’ said Ursula. ‘ When it comes to the point, one isn ’ t even tempted — oh, if I were tempted, I ’ d marry like a shot. I ’ m only tempted NOT to. ’ The faces of both sisters suddenly lit up with amusement.
‘ Isn ’ t it an amazing thing, ’ cried Gudrun, ‘ how strong the temptation is, not to! ’ They both laughed, looking at each other. In their hearts they were frightened.
There was a long pause, whilst Ursula stitched and Gudrun went on with her sketch. The sisters were women, Ursula twenty-six, and Gudrun twenty-five. But both had the remote, virgin look of modern girls, sisters of Artemis rather than of Hebe. Gudrun was very beautiful, passive, soft-skinned, soft-limbed. She wore a dress of dark-blue silky stuff, with ruches of blue and green linen lace in the neck and sleeves; and she had emerald-green stockings. Her look of confidence and diffidence contrasted with Ursula ’ s sensitive expectancy. The provincial people, intimidated by Gudrun ’ s perfect sang-froid and exclusive bareness of manner, said of her: ‘ She is a smart woman. ’ She had just come back from London, where she had spent several years, working at an art-school, as a student, and living a studio life.
ჩუქება
