Edith Wharton

Name: The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2
Author: Edith Wharton

The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

Summary

“The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2”, published in 1901, is a work by Edith Wharton. It explores elements such as abate, hunchback and Odo.

Quotes from The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (Edith Wharton)

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ Come, come, and I'll show your excellency the aviaries."
From the aviaries they passed to the Chinese pavilion, where the Duke supped on summer evenings, and thence to the bowling-alley, the fish-stew and the fruit-garden. At every step some fresh surprise arrested Odo; but the terrible vision of that other garden planted with the dead bodies of the Innocents robbed the spectacle of its brightness, dulled the plumage of the birds behind their gilt wires and cast a deeper shade over the beech-grove, where figures of goat-faced men lurked balefully in the twilight. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ For two days Odo languished in his corner, whisked by the women's skirts, smothered under the hoops and falbalas which the dressmakers unpacked from their cases, fed at irregular hours, and faring on the whole no better than at Pontesordo. The third morning, Vanna, who seemed the most good-natured of the women, cried out on his pale looks when she brought him his cup of chocolate. "I declare," she exclaimed, "the child has had no air since he came in from the farm. What does your excellency say? Shall the hunchback take him for a walk in the gardens?" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ Her excellency's rooms, during these days, were always crowded, for besides the dressmakers and other merchants there was the hairdresser, or French Monsu--a loud, important figure, with a bag full of cosmetics and curling-irons--the abate, always running in and out with messages and letters, and taking no more notice of Odo than if he had never seen him, and a succession of ladies brimming with condolences, and each followed by a servant who swelled the noisy crowd of card-playing lacqueys in the ante-chamber. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ Odo, abashed by her rebuke and the abate's apology, had drawn his heels together in a rustic version of the low bow with which the children of that day were taught to approach their parents.
"Holy Virgin!" said his mother with a laugh, "I perceive they have no dancing-master at Pontesordo. Cavaliere, you may kiss my hand. So--that's better; we shall make a gentleman of you yet. But what makes your face so wet? Ah, crying, to be sure. Mother of God! as for crying, there's enough to cry about." ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ The abate, who carried a much lower crest than at Pontesordo, and seemed far more anxious to please the servants than they to oblige him, led the way up a shining marble staircase where beggars whined on the landings and powdered footmen in the ducal livery were running to and fro with trays of refreshments. Odo, who knew that his mother lived in the Duke's palace, had vaguely imagined that his father's death must have plunged its huge precincts into silence and mourning ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ Odo, who was very weary of his corner, sprang up readily enough when Vanna, at this, beckoned him to the inner ante-chamber. Here, where persons of a certain condition waited (the outer being given over to servants and tradesmen) , they found a lean humpbacked boy, shabbily dressed in darned stockings and a faded coat, but with an extraordinary keen pale face that at once attracted and frightened the child.
"There, go with him; he won't eat you," said Vanna, giving him a push as she hurried away; and Odo, trembling a little, laid his hand in the boy's. "Where do you come from?" ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ Sometimes I think he has money put away...all I want is two hundred ducats...a woman of my rank!" She turned suddenly on Odo, who stood, very small and frightened, in the corner to which she had pushed him. "What are you staring at, child? Eh! the monkey is dropping with sleep. Look at his eyes, abate! ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edith Wharton, The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (1901)

“ I clean the birdcages and feed the monkeys, and do the steward's accounts when he's drunk, and sleep on a bench in the portico and steal my food from the pantry...and my father very likely goes in velvet and carries a sword at his side. ”

Edith Wharton

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Quotes from The Valley of Decision — Book I, Chapter 2 (Edith Wharton)

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