CHAPTER SEVEN

The next day, Emma was quite upset. Everything seemed sad and depressing. She had nothing in her life to excite her. She again began to think of la Vaubyessard with the dance and the happiness she felt at that time. Then, she would think of Leon, a taller, more handsome Leon. He was far away, and yet he had not left her. She remembered where he sat, what he said, how he moved ... He was gone—her only joy in life, her only happiness! Why did she not tell him she loved him? She wanted to run to him, and say, "I am yours!" But she could not, and only thought of him.

From that time on, she thought of him at every moment, and was upset when thinking of him. Little by little, however, she began to forget about her love for Leon, as time went on without him.

She began to feel the lonely sadness of her time at Tostes. To occupy her time, she spent money buying clothes and changing her hairstyle. She sat on the sofa, with her new clothes and hair, with a book in her hand.

She decided to learn Italian, and bought many dictionaries and grammar books. She attempted serious reading, no more romantic love stories. Meanwhile, she didn't look cheerful. Her skin was pale, and she fainted often. Charles worried considerably about his dear wife, and cried often about the worrisome matter.

One morning, Emma was looking out her bedroom window, where she often amused herself watching the townspeople. A man came to the door.

"Can I see the doctor? Tell him it's Monsieur Rodolphe Boulanger, of la Huchette."

He was unmarried and quite wealthy, with an income of six hundred pounds a year.

Charles came into the dining room. Monsieur Boulanger told the doctor his apprentice, a student learning his business, needed treatment, as he was quite ill. The man looked ill, indeed, caused by his extreme fear of doctors. Charles began treating the man when he fainted. The doctor called for Emma to help him; Charles was quite anxious.

"It's nothing," said Monsieur Boulanger quite calmly. He was quite annoyed with his apprentice's behavior.

As he left, he turned to the Bovarys, "It was a pleasure to meet you," and he looked at Emma. Then he left three francs on the table and left.

Emma watched him as he returned home.

"Very nice!" he said to himself. "Very nice, this doctor's wife! Pretty teeth, dark eyes, how did that awkward man find her?"

Monsieur Rodolphe was thirty-four years old, with a cold heart and much experience with women. This woman had attracted him.

"He looks stupid. Of course he bothers her. Poor little thing! She's looking for love. If I tell her I love her, she'll be in love with me immediately. Yes, but how to end the relationship?"

"Oh, I'll have her!" he shouted.

He thought about how to meet her again. "I'll visit them some time soon. We'll get friendly. There's an event coming to Yonville soon! She'll be there, at the Agricultural Show!"

(end of section)