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By Root 911 0

rather take no notice of it? Little by little, they adopted the solution of treating Mme Raquin as though nothing had happened to her. Eventually, they came to pretend that they were quite unaware of her condition. They chatted with her, putting the questions and replying to them, laughing for her and for themselves and never allowing the rigid expression on her face to disconcert them. It was an odd sight: these men seemed to be talking sensibly to a statue, as little girls talk to their dolls. The paralysed woman sat stiff and silent in front of them while they talked on, with lots of gestures, having very animated conversations with her. Michaud and Grivet congratulated themselves on their excellent behaviour. In this way, they thought they were showing good manners while additionally avoiding the awkwardness of the conventional expressions of sympathy. Mme Raquin must be flattered to see that she was treated as a healthy person and, because of that, they could enjoy themselves in her presence without the slightest scruple.

Grivet had an obsession: he insisted that he had a perfect understanding with Mme Raquin and that she could not look at him without his at once knowing what she meant. That was another sign of how considerate he was - except that, each time, Grivet got it wrong. He would often interrupt the game of dominoes and examine the paralysed woman whose eyes had been calmly watching them play, and announce that she wanted this or that. When they looked into it, either Mme Raquin wanted nothing or she wanted something else entirely. This did not deter Grivet, who would exclaim victoriously: ‘I told you so!’, then start again a few minutes later. It was quite different when the cripple did openly express a wish. Thérèse, Laurent and the guests, one after another, would name the things that she might want. On such occasions. Grivet would distinguish himself by the inappropriateness of his suggestions. He named whatever came into his head, haphazardly, always choosing the opposite of what Mme Raquin wanted - which would not prevent him from repeating:

‘I can read her eyes like a book. Look, there, she’s telling me I’m right ... Aren’t you, dear lady? Yes, yes ...’

In any event, it was no easy matter to grasp the poor old woman’s wishes. Only Thérèse knew how. She would communicate quite easily with this immured mind, still living but buried in the depths of a dead body. What was going on in this unfortunate being who was just enough alive to observe life without taking part in it? She could see, hear and no doubt reason in a sharp and clear enough way, but she no longer had any movement or any voice to express outwardly the thoughts that arose in her. Perhaps her ideas were stifling her. She could not have raised a hand or opened her mouth even if a single movement or a single word might determine the fate of the world. Her spirit was like one of those living people who are accidentally buried and who awake in the darkness of the earth under two or three metres of soil.2 They shout and thrash around while others walk above them without hearing their appalling cries for help. Laurent would often look at Mme Raquin, with her tight lips and hands resting on her knees, putting all her life into her bright, quick eyes, and he would think:

‘Who knows what might be going on in her mind? Some cruel drama must be taking place in the depths of this corpse.’

Laurent was wrong. Mme Raquin was happy, happy in the dedication and affection of her dear children. She had always dreamed of ending her life like this, slowly, surrounded by care and caresses. Of course, she would have liked to be able to speak so that she could thank the friends who were helping her to die in peace. But she accepted her state with resignation. The quiet, retiring life that she had always led and the gentleness of her personality meant that she did not feel the loss of speech and mobility too deeply. She had become a child again and spent her days without boredom, staring in front of her and dreaming of the past. She even came to enjoy staying