[Masterpiece Les Miserables] Paris Sparks

The next day, when the news of Valentine's illness had been officially announced, Coronne called on Villefort's.Madame de Villefort led her to Valentine's bed with that false pity and kindness.Monsieur Noirtier was also sitting there, and Madame de Villefort hurried away as if she did not want to be with him.

Taking a look at Valentine, one knew that the original elopement plan was absolutely impossible: her face was pale and her body was weak, but her spirit was abnormally excited due to the drugs, and she couldn't take a good rest.With her current physical condition, she couldn't even get out of bed and walk around on her own.As a result, Valentine's life had to be completely entrusted to the earl.Corona is not used to such passivity, but she really can't go beyond her parents to protect her, and all she can do is visit her every day.

The next day she met Maximilian.Maximilian, who had just returned early that morning, received the news, and rushed straight to Villefort's house under the pretense of visiting M. Noirtier.Corona therefore changed the time of her visit.She originally came to visit in the morning, but from the next day she changed it to almost noon, sat at Villefort's for a while, and left before lunch, so that the young lovers could leave a little room for themselves. .

She was relieved to see that Valentine's body was indeed recovering day by day, but on the fourth day, things suddenly took a turn for the worse.At 10:30 on the fourth day, when Corona got off the car at the gate of Villefort's house, she could already hear the commotion in the house across the garden.She walked towards the garden gate, but before she could get to the gate, a person rushed out from inside.The man slammed open the door to the garden outside, nearly bouncing on top of her.Corona stepped back hastily. "Maximilian!" she exclaimed in surprise, but Maximilian didn't even look at her, and ran away along the road as if he didn't even notice her existence.

Corona looked at his back in amazement, feeling an ominous premonition gradually rising in her heart.She walked inside, and then she met Dr. Avrini coming out of the house. She and this doctor had only met during the past few days when they were visiting patients. "Are you here again to see Mademoiselle Valentine?" asked the doctor.

"What happened to her?" Corona asked.

Dr. Avrigini sighed heavily: "The misfortune finally befell her! You can go see her for the last time."

Corona's eyes almost went dark.She took a step back and held on to the railing next to her in time to stabilize her body. "You mean—it can't be—"

"She has left us," the doctor announced.

Corona turned pale and closed her eyes.count!She thought, I still shouldn't entrust such a thing to another person so easily-has the count violated what he said?

But this time, perhaps because of the previous news that made her mentally prepared, she quickly regained her senses.The apparent death did not mean that this person had really passed away. Her own experience with Enjolras had told her this. Therefore, she still held a little hope in her heart, and she did not immediately lose heart. "Where is Valentine?" she asked.

"In her room. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Where are you going?"

"Go to the city government doctor who specializes in autopsies."

"You go, don't delay you for me." Corona said weakly.

She watched the figure of Dr. Avrini go away, and stood at the door for a while, feeling unable to muster up the courage to face the life that might have withered.At this moment, the door of the next room opened, and a priest came out, as if he wanted to enjoy the flowers in the garden. "Hello, ma'am." He greeted Corona in French with a strong Italian accent.Corona nodded to him absently, then stared at him for a long while.

"Are you new here?"

"Yes, just four days ago," answered the priest.

Corona took a few steps closer to that side, as if she wanted to see him more clearly. "I'm Corona Evermond. I don't know what to call you?"

"Everyone calls me the Abbe Busoni."

"It's you." Corona said, her eyes flickering, "I heard the Count of Monte Cristo... mentioned you."

"I do know the Count."

Corona's lips trembled slightly. "I don't know what you think of him? Do you think he is a man who keeps his promise?"

"Please forgive me, I don't think it's polite to judge a person behind his back." Father Busoni replied politely, "But he has always been a person who keeps his promises, and I can assure you with my life of."

"Will you repeat this to Mr. Morel, who has just rushed out?"

"I can assure him with my life."

"Really?" Coronna asked, taking a few steps closer, and staring at Father Busoni.From the perspective of outsiders, it was just a weak woman and a kind priest looking at each other, but only the two of them noticed that each other's eyes shone with the resolute light of a strong man. "You have to know that with Maximilian's character, if he sees his lover die in front of him, he can't live alone."

"Death in the eyes of outsiders is not necessarily the real end of life. You understand this better than me, don't you?" Father Busoni replied.

They confronted each other for a while, and in the end, Corona took a step back. "Then I will leave the unhappy family alone," she said, "if I can take your word for it."

"Of course you can."

Corona didn't say anything, and turned to leave.She went home and shut herself up in the studio until evening.When Combeferre came to look for her at night, the studio was filled with the smell of turpentine, and a small unfinished oil painting was stretched on the easel. From the color tone, it can be roughly seen that the picture is a gloomy winter sky and a snow-falling wilderness .Coronne, who herself was sitting at a little desk in the corner, saw Combeferre, and rose to meet him. "Are you well?" asked Combeferre.

"Valentine is alive," said Corona, "or I should say, perhaps she is. It all depends on the count's reliability."

Combeferre was astonished. "How could this be? The doctor has confirmed that..."

"I don't know. Maybe he has some kind of magical medicine that can fake death. Maybe he really knows magic and can bring the dead back to life. Or, he just used money to buy the doctor in the city hall. Of course, he may just A big liar. I don't believe the last case, though."

"Isn't it wonderful?" said Combeferre cheerfully, "I thought an innocent young girl would die a tragic death in a family conspiracy, but now she lives and is free from it all. Isn't it worth it Are you happy, Corona? Why do you look so sad?"

"Because I can't do anything." Corona said, "Things have come to this point, and all developments are entirely under the arrangement of the Count of Monte Cristo. Whether Valentine's life or death can be said to be under his control , I have no room to intervene in the slightest; and, assuming that he really broke his promise, I also have no means to counter and retaliate."

"There are many in this world whom we cannot deal with in our strength. I suppose that is not the only cause of your distress, is it?" asked Combeferre mildly, sitting down beside her.

"That's right. What really troubles me is--that I have a way of dealing with him. Combeferre. I ought to have a way."

She looked up at Combeferre, and even with her back turned to the oil lamp beside the easel, she could see the fierce struggle on her face, "I know a secret of the Count of Monte Cristo. If he had set foot in Paris on the first day At that time, I regarded him as an enemy, so I can use such a secret to check and balance him, to attack him secretly. Let him fight with his enemies and hurt each other. But now, the count has almost collapsed his enemies Now that I have the power, I hold this secret, and I can't do him any harm. Although I am willing to believe—no, I already believe that he is a person of noble character, but I am also afraid that if he really becomes us enemy, I have nothing to do now."

"Then, if the matter were to be repeated now, would you have told the secret to his enemies at the beginning?" asked Combeferre.

"No. I believe his vengeance is just."

"Then what are you still troubled with?" asked Combeferre, smiling.

Corona let out a long sigh, and she leaned forward on the table, resting her head on her arms: "But that's my trouble. Even if I have something that can threaten him, it seems that I can only come to such a place. Situation: In front of the Count of Monte Cristo, I have no control over the matter at all. Valentine's life and death is no longer something that I can participate in and change with my efforts, but I have to rely on others. In the past thirty years In my life, I keep discovering that what I can do is actually so limited, while the shackles of the world are so impenetrable. It seems that I am a bird born in a cage, and every time I grow up, I feel that the cage changes. Smaller. What's happening over the railing is right in front of my eyes, but I can't reach out."

They were silent for a long time, and then Combeferre smiled wryly: "I have thought about it for a long time, and I found that I can't refute you. When we went to the barricades, I believed that we could break down those railings and change those wrong social systems. But now, do I still have such confidence? I can’t give you a definite answer myself.”

"Perhaps we would be happier dying on the barricades," Corona said.

"Perhaps. But dead people no longer contribute anything to society, and the final contribution is their own death—and people are good at forgetting death. It may not be that happy to continue living in this imperfect world, but But after all, it is more beneficial to the country and the people.”

He reached out and took Corona's hand.

"Even if you don't save Miss Valentine, don't be disappointed, my friend. You've saved hundreds of working girls and vagrants over the years. Maybe you can't break the cage, but at least you've bent A railing. That’s progress. The day when all the railings are broken will come, maybe we won’t see it, but it’s not that far away.”

Corona shook his hand back, and finally forced a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. our guide," she said. "I wish I could see such a day."

The author has something to say: I would like to explain to readers who have not read the original work of the Count of Monte Cristo: Father Busoni = the Count of Monte Cristo's commonly used cross-dressing identity (one).

Regarding ABC, there has always been a widely accepted interpretation that their death on the barricades is the best ending.Otherwise, after the passionate young man grows into a slippery and sophisticated adult, no one can tell whether he will become the person he hated the most.After all, it is very common for Courfeyrac to grow into a second Doromeer in reality. It is also a good result for them to dedicate themselves to their ideals in their best years and die well.

I myself (largely) agree with this statement, so I struggled with it for a long time when I conceived this article and designed the second half of the plot.But it was not until the process of writing this chapter that I really gave myself a statement:

Dying for an ideal is a sacrifice; it is also a sacrifice to live and endure the pain of life, endure the fragmentary passing of a long time and stick to your inner beliefs.Even the latter may be more difficult than the former.But I believe they also have the courage to make the latter sacrifice.

I feel so uncomfortable writing Corona after surviving, it’s so hard to live (.