"Theatre" by S. Maugham Chapter 14

I. Find in the text the following words and phrases and translate them into Russian:
on one excuse and another – то под одним,то под другим предлогом

to confess to oneself – признаться кому-либо

that was all to the good – все, что не делается - все к лучшему

shrewd – проницательный

vanity – тщеславие

to have an affair with sb. – иметь  интрижку с кем-либо

sallow – болезненный, землистого цвета

to feel compassion for sb. – чувствовать сострадание к кому-либо

eminent persons – выдающиеся личности

to lay no claims on sb. – ничего не предъявлять

to use all her arts of cajolery -призывать все свое искусство обольщения

stale food – несвежая еда

to overcome one's scruples – преодолеть сомнения

to find someone a trifle dull – находить кого-либо немного скучным

to have no inclination – не иметь склонностей

a man of the world – светский человек

she was modest about herself – она была скромного мнения о себе

a smack in the face – прямо в лицо (как пощечина)

sulkily – сердито

Julia's heart was wrung – сердце Джулии екнуло

chivalrous courtesy – рыцарская учтивость

a vile disposition – отвратительный ,ужасный нрав

alacrity – готовность

wistful – тоскливый

to act with great naturalness – играть очень естественно

to make a scene – закатывать сцену

she was in a black rage – ее душила черная ярость

she'd get even with him – расплатиться с ним

 to rack one's brains – ломать голову

II. Answer the following questions:
1. Was Julia really in love with Tom Fennell? And he?
To my mind,Julia was really in love with him,she felt a strange passion to him. She tried to hide this felling from herself . As for Tom Fennel, he didn't love her.To have an affair with her flattered his vanity.
 2. How old was Tom? What did he do? Why was he a success with women?
Tom was 22. He was a highly-sexed young man and enjoyed sexual exercise. From hints, from stories that she had dragged out of him, Julia discovered that since he was seventeen he had had a great many women. He loved the act rather than the person. He looked upon it as the greatest lark in the world. And she could understand why he had so much success. There was something appealing in his slightness, his body was just skin and bone, that was why his clothes sat on him so well, and something charming in his clean freshness. His shyness and his effrontery combined to make him irresistible.

3. How can you characterize Roger? Where was he educated? What were his relations like with his parents? Did he know what he wanted to be? Did he want to go on the stage?

Roger was 17. He was educated in Eton. He was a nice-looking boy, with reddish hair and blue eyes, but that was the best you could say of him. He had neither his mother's vivacity and changing expression nor his father's beauty of feature. The relationship between him and the parents were rather cold.  As the family,they didn't spent a lot of time together. Julia only acted a good mother, but really wasn't interested in her son's brining up. He did not yet know what he wanted to be. Both Julia and Michael had from the first been obsessed by the fear that he would go on the stage, but for this apparently he had no inclination.
4. How did Tom and Roger get on together?
They were almost at the same age and spent all the time together. They spend a good time together.
5. Was Julia as successful in the movies as in the theatre? Did she envy the film-stars?
She had no success in the movies. Her face on the stage so mobile and expressive for some reason lost on the screen, and after one trial she had with Michael's approval refused to accept any of the offers that were from time to time made her. She had got a good deal of useful publicity out of her dignified attitude. But Julia did not envy the film-stars; they came and went; she stayed.
 6. Describe in detail how Julia managed to play different characters on the stage. What thrilled her? Why did she sometimes fell like God?
Julia was not aware that she deliberately observed people, but when she came to study a new part vague recollections surged up in her from she knew not where, and she found that she knew things about the character she was to represent that she had had no inkling of. It helped her to think of someone she knew or even someone she had seen in the street or at a party; she combined with this recollection her own personality, and thus built up a character founded on fact but enriched with her experience, her knowledge of technique and her amazing magnetism. People thought that she only acted during the two or three hours she was on the stage; they did not know that the character she was playing dwelt in the back of her mind all day long, when she was talking to others with all the appearance of attention, or in whatever business she was engaged.
7. How did Julia revenge herself on Tom?

Her revenge was refined: knowing how to hurt his feelings, she reminded him to leave the maid tips, leaving the money in the envelope.

III. Make up a list of words and phrases describing Tom Fennell. Comment on the repetition of "a young man" in the text. First "he was a blushing young man" for Julia. Did her attitude change when she was better aquainted with him? Prove it by giving examples from the text.

• There was something appealing in his slightness, his body was just skin and bone, that was why his clothes sat on him so well, and something charming in his clean freshness. His shyness and his effrontery combined to make him irresistible.
• What he's got, of course, is sex appeal.
• He was so conventional
• Very commonplace
•  Young, fresh and ingenuous
•  He was so deceitful

The author uses the repetition "young man"to show that Julia admired Tom’s youth and through it she remembered her times when she was a young woman. She understood that he wasn't in love with her.

 Sometimes she felt like God – Julia realize how powerful and important she was

He reminded Julia of an old dog lying in the sun and gently beating his tail on the ground as he looked at a pair of puppies gambolling about him.-The author underlines that Michael was old.

She read his mind like an open book. –  she understands him perfectly

V. What stylistic device did Maugham employ at large to characterize Julia? Illustrate your answer with the examples from the text. Comment on the lexicon used by Julia. To what stylistic layer of the vocabulary does it belong? How does it characterize Julia?

 Julia was very polite with other people,and the choice of words characterizes her as  an intelligent woman. In her internal monologues she uses vulgar words  (“The blasted fool, why does he talk all that rot?”, “Gosh, I’m going down like a barrel of oysters.”) It is not characterized her as a person of high society.

VI. Give a summary of chapter 14.

Julia understood that she fell in love with Tom Fennel.She tried to attract his attention using different things:gave him expensive presents,payed off his debts.Julia forgot about her age, but on vacation Tom so obviously and naturally prefered to spend his time with her son, Roger, that it really hurted her. That’s why Julia decided to revenge on Tom, but later, she felt she couldn’t lose him and did her best to make it up.

W.S. Maugham "Theater".Chapters 11-13

1)Find the following words and phrases in the text and translate them into Russian.
a profound contempt-глубочайшее презрение
to have first nights- премьеры
to be exemplary-быть образцовым,достойным подражания
a pattern оf conjugal fidelity-образец супружеской верности
to separate-разлучаться,расставаться
be ingenuous-быть открытым,искренним
to cry almost at will-плакать по собственному желанию
common sense-здравый смысл
to elope with smb-сбежать тайком,чтобы пожениться
preposterous-абсурдный,нелепый
curtain calls-поклоны
prudish-излищне щепитильный,ханжеский
in for a penny in for a pound-взялся за гуж не говори что не дюж
this was all a put-up job-сфабрикованное дело
indecent-недостойный
in a flash-мгновенно
to take liberties with smb-распускать руки
a matinée- дневной спектакль
amiably-дружелюбно,любезно
well-chosen words-хорошо-подобранные слова
to have no sequel-не иметь будущего
to erase the episode from the memory-стирать эпизод из памяти
pleasant reveries sauntered through her mind-приятные воспоминания мелькали в ее памяти
hectic flush- лихорадочный румянец
to see in the flesh-увидеть собственной персоной
to hurt one's pride-задеть самолюбие
to have an inkling-осторожный намек
to pawn-заложить

2) Answer the following questions:
1. How did Julia and Lord Tamerly get acquainted? Was Julia his mistress? What did Julia owe to Charles Tamerly?
They got  acquainted at a luncheon party. It was  Lady Charles who had first brought Julia and Charles together.  Lord Tamerly was madly fall in love with Julia,but Julia wasn't his mistress.
2. Describe Julia's acting when Lord Tamerly declared his love to her. How can you prove that it was only make-believe?
She could cry almost at will, it was one of her most telling accomplishments, and now without a sound, without a sob, the tears poured down her cheeks. With her mouth slightly open, with the look in her eyes of a child that has been deeply hurt and does not know why, the effect was unbearably pathetic.She played her role and was happy her actions were very impressive.
3. Why do you think Julia agreed to have tea with the young man? What was his name? Did Julia know it or not?
She agreed because of her own curiosity.His name was Tom Fennel. She didn't know  his name.
4. Was the young man as shy as he seemed to be?
He pretended to be shy,but he was very determined and cunning.
5. How did he show his admiration for Julia? 
He had seen her in every play she had acted in since he was twelve years old. He told her that once when he was fourteen he had stood outside the stage door after a matinee and when she came out had asked her to sign her name in his autograph-book.
6. What feelings did Julia experience after the date with the young man? How did she act after that? How old was Julia at that time? What's your opinion of Julia's behaviour?
  On the one hand she considered it to be absurd,but on the other hand she was happy and felt young again in her 40.Her behaviour was strange,she played perfectly after the affair with the young man,her eyes were shining. To my mind,she mustn't  betray her husband,but I can't judge her,because I wasn't in her shoes.
7. Describe the episode of Julia's adventure on the train to Cannes. What was Julia's attitude towards this accident? Give quotations from the text and comment on them. What do you think of this adventure?
  On her way to Cannes she met the attache at the Spanish Embassy in Paris who was going down to Cannes for Easter. He gave her his place in the sleeper, for there were no free ones. They spent the night together, and after a while it turned out that he had a family. But as time passed Julia's indignation was mitigated, and she had often thought of the adventure since with a good deal of pleasure. After all it had been fun. Sometimes she allowed her reveries to run away with her and she went over in her fancy the incidents of that singular night. He had been a most agreeable lover. It would be something to look back on when she was an old woman. He remained in her recollection, and in her bones, without a name.
For Julia it was a funny accident and unusual adventure. I think it is immorality.
8. When did Julia see Tom Fennell again? Under what circumstances?
Some days passed and he called her and they agreed that he would come to her dressing-room for a tea.

  9. What do you think attracted Julia to Tom? How old was he? 
He was very young and his youth attracted Julia.Though he was of no more than average height his slimness made him look tall.
10. Why do you think Tom was interested in grand people?
He wanted to be rich and famous as grand people were.
11. Do you approve or disapprove of Julia's love affair with Tom Fennell?
I think it was foolish,because he was interested in her because of money.

3.Make up a list of words and phrases which the author uses to show Julia's attitude towards Tom Fennell. Comment on their semantics and stylistic value.

-She could have taken him in her arms then and there and kissed his blue eyes. She adored him.
-She found his slight awkwardness rather charming.
-I am a fool,I am a bloody foll. I can't have fallen in love with him.
-She had been as excited all the evening as a girl going to her first ball. She could not help thinking how absurd she was.
-What the devil's the matter with me? God, I can hardly breathe.
-When she saw him, so slight, with his hectic flush and his blue eyes, so charmingly boyish, she felt a sudden pang.

All of these phrases reflect Julia’s attitude to Thomas. She understood that her actions and behaviour were wrong but she was fell in love with him and couldn't do anything with it.

4.The author uses a number of theatrical allusions. Find them in the text and say what you know about them. (Consult the Oxford Guide to British and American Culture or any other culture dictionary).
   Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1730 – 4 April 1774) was an Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771, first performed in 1773). He also wrote An History of the Earth and Animated Nature. He is thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, the source of the phrase "goody two-shoes".
   Mlle Clairon-was a leading actress of the Comédie-Française who created many parts in the plays of Voltaire, Jean-François Marmontel, Bernard-Joseph Saurin, and others.She began her career as a soubrette but made her debut at the Comédie-Française in 1743 as Phèdre in the tragedy by Racine. She also portrayed Corneille’s heroines, who combined nobility of soul, pride, and intelligence. In 1753 Marmontel influenced her to simplify her declamatory style. Prompted by Diderot, she introduced touches of character and of ethnic realism into her roles.
  Madame de Pompadour was a mistress, friend and adviser to Louis XV, remained with the king up to her death in 1764. Introduced to the court through relatives, she was noticed by the king and quickly became one of his preferred mistresses. Louis XV had the Petit Trianon palace built for her, a haven of peace away from the court.
  Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay ; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist. Along with his poetry, he is known for writing La Confession d'un enfant du siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century, autobiographical) from 1836.

 5)In chapter 11 you can find the following phrase: "... like Venus rising from the waves." What is the source of this allusion? Comment on it and its stylistic effect.
:"... like Venus rising from the waves” is an artistic allusion.It is related to the 1486 painting by Sandro Botticelli “The Birth of Venus”. It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman, arriving at the sea-shore (which is related to the Venus Anadyomene motif). It represents the birth of love.

6)Give a summary of chapters 11-13. (in written form) 
The reader got to know about  Julia's  acquaintance with  Charles Tamerly,who was madly in love with her.She found him very polite and elegant man,he was her adviser and supporter. Some time later Thomas Fennel called Julia and invited her for a tea. His poor apartment reminded Julia the times when she was in the beginning of her carrier, the times of her youth... Suddenly the young man kissed her and she didn't resist. After this affair Julia was happy and her eyes were shining. During her trip she had another sexual affair with an unknown man. After the returning Julia and  Thomas Fennel went to an expensive restaurant, where Tom payed for them both. She noticed he had pawned his watch in order to take her out to supper. A lump came into her throat. She adored him. After that they drove back to his bed-sitting room in Tavistock Square.