The Woman Pays 14Her story came to an end．She had not raised her voice： she had not cried．But things seemed to change as the story progressed．The fire looked as if it was laughing at her troubles．All the objects around her appeared not to care about her tragic history．And yet it was only a short time since he had been kissing her．Everything looked different now．Clare stirred the fire．It was unnecessary，but he felt he had to do something．He had not really taken in the whole story yet．He stood up．Now as he began to understand the story in its full horror，his face was like an old man's．He made uncertain movements，because everything in his head was vague and uncertain．He could not make himself think clearly．‘Tess！Can I believe this？Are you mad perhaps？My wife， my Tess―you aren't mad，are you？’‘And yet，’he said，looking strangely at her，‘why didn't you tell me before？Oh yes，you would have told me，in a way，but I stopped you，I remember！’
吃亏的是女人 14她的故事叙述完了。她没有提高声调：她没有哭。但是随着故事的发展，事情像是发生了变化，炉火像是正在嘲笑她的遭遇。她周围的一切对她的悲惨遭遇似乎都漠不关心。然而，就在不久以前，他还亲吻着她。现在，一切都显得变了样。克莱尔拨弄着炉火。虽然没必要，但他觉得他必须做点什么。还没有完全真正领会这整个故事。他他站起来。现在，当他开始体会到这故事全部可怕的内涵时，他的脸变得像一涨老人的脸。他茫然地走来走去，因为他脑子里的一切都是模糊而不确定的。他无法让自己冷静、清晰地思考。“苔丝！我能相信这些吗？也许你是疯了？我的妻子，我的苔丝――你没有疯，是吗？”‘I am not，’she said．“我没有疯，”她说。“可是，”他神情怪异地看着她，说，“为什么以前你不告诉我？哦，是的，你本来会告诉我的，可以这么说，但是我没让你说，我记起来了！”
