Bertha
Dr. Bonnet, my old friend--one sometimes has friends older than one'sself--had often invited me to spend some time with him at Riom, and, as Idid not know Auvergne, I made up my mind to visit him in the summer of1876.I arrived by the morning train, and the first person I saw on theplatform was the doctor. He was dressed in a gray suit, and wore a soft,black, wide-brimmed, high-crowned felt hat, narrow at the top like achimney pot, a hat which hardly any one except an Auvergnat would wear,and which reminded one of a charcoal burner. Dressed like that, thedoctor had the appearance of an old young man, with his spare body underhis thin coat, and his large head covered with white hair.He embraced me with that evident pleasure which country people feel whenthey meet long-expected friends, and, stretching out his arm, he saidproudly:"This is Auvergne!" I saw nothing before me except a range of mountains,whose summits, which resembled truncated cones, must have been extinctvolcanoes.Then, pointing to the name of the station, he said:"Riom, the fatherland of magistrates, the pride of the magistracy, andwhich ought rather to be the fatherland of doctors.""Why?" I, asked."Why?" he replied with a laugh. "If you transpose the letters, you havethe Latin word 'mori', to die. That is the reason why I settled here, myyoung friend."And, delighted at his own joke, he carried me off, rubbing his hands.As soon as I had swallowed a cup of coffee, he made me go and see thetown. I admired the druggist's house, and the other noted houses, whichwere all black, but as pretty as bric-a-brac, with their facades ofsculptured stone. I admired the statue of the Virgin, the patroness ofbutchers, and he told me an amusing story about this, which I will relatesome other time, and then Dr. Bonnet said to me:"I must beg you to excuse me for a few minutes while I go and see apatient, and then I will take you to Chatel-Guyon, so as to show you thegeneral aspect of the town, and all the mountain chain of the Puy-de-Domebefore lunch. You can wait for me outside; I shall only go upstairs andcome down immediately."He left me outside one of those old, gloomy, silent, melancholy houses,which one sees in the provinces, and this one appeared to lookparticularly sinister, and I soon discovered the reason. All the largewindows on the first floor were boarded half way up. The upper part ofthem alone could be opened, as if one had wished to prevent the peoplewho were locked up in that huge stone box from looking into the street.When the doctor came down again, I told him how it struck me, and hereplied:"You are quite right; the poor creature who is living there must neversee what is going on outside. She is a madwoman, or rather an idiot,what you Normans would call a Niente. It is a miserable story, but avery singular pathological case at the same time. Shall I tell you?"I begged him to do so, and he continued:"Twenty years ago the owners of this house, who were my patients, had adaughter who was like all other girls, but I soon discovered that whileher body became admirably developed, her intellect remained stationary."She began to walk very early, but she could not talk. At first Ithought she was deaf, but I soon discovered that, although she heardperfectly, she did not understand anything that was said to her. Violentnoises made her start and frightened her, without her understanding howthey were caused."She grew up into a superb woman, but she was dumb, from an absolute wantof intellect. I tried all means to introduce a gleam of intelligenceinto her brain, but nothing succeeded. I thought I noticed that she knewher nurse, though as soon as she was weaned, she failed to recognize hermother. She could never pronounce that word which is the first thatchildren utter and the last which soldiers murmur when they are dying onthe field of battle. She sometimes tried to talk, but she producednothing but incoherent sounds."When the weather was fine, she laughed continually, and emitted lowcries which might be compared to the twittering of birds; when it rainedshe cried and moaned in a mournful, terrifying manner, which sounded likethe howling of a dog before a death occurs in a house."She was fond of rolling on the grass, as young animals do, and ofrunning about madly, and she would clap her hands every morning, when thesun shone into her room, and would insist, by signs, on being dressed asquickly as possible, so that she might get out."She did not appear to distinguish between people, between her mother andher nurse, or between her father and me, or between the coachman and thecook. I particularly liked her parents, who were very unhappy on heraccount, and went to see them nearly every day. I dined with them quitefrequently, which enabled me to remark that Bertha (they had called herBertha) seemed to recognize the various dishes, and to prefer some toothers. At that time she was twelve years old, but as fully formed infigure as a girl of eighteen, and taller than I was. Then the ideastruck me of developing her greediness, and by this means of cultivatingsome slight power of discrimination in her mind, and to force her, by thediversity of flavors, if not to reason, at any rate to arrive atinstinctive distinctions, which would of themselves constitute a kind ofprocess that was necessary to thought. Later on, by appealing to herpassions, and by carefully making use of those which could serve ourpurpose, we might hope to obtain a kind of reaction on her intellect, andby degrees increase the unconscious action of her brain."One day I put two plates before her, one of soup, and the other of verysweet vanilla cream. I made her taste each of them successively, andthen I let her choose for herself, and she ate the plate ofcream. In a short time I made her very greedy, so greedy that itappeared as if the only idea she had in her head was the desire foreating. She perfectly recognized the various dishes, and stretched outher hands toward those that she liked, and took hold of them eagerly, andshe used to cry when they were taken from her. Then I thought I wouldtry and teach her to come to the dining-room when the dinner bell rang.It took a long time, but I succeeded in the end. In her vacant intellecta vague correlation was established between sound and taste, acorrespondence between the two senses, an appeal from one to the other,and consequently a sort of connection of ideas--if one can call that kindof instinctive hyphen between two organic functions an idea--and so Icarried my experiments further, and taught her, with much difficulty, torecognize meal times by the clock."It was impossible for me for a long time to attract her attention to thehands, but I succeeded in making her remark the clockwork and thestriking apparatus. The means I employed were very simple; I asked themnot to have the bell rung for lunch, and everybody got up and went intothe dining-room when the little brass hammer struck twelve o'clock, but Ifound great difficulty in making her learn to count the strokes. She ranto the door each time she heard the clock strike, but by degrees shelearned that all the strokes had not the same value as far as regardedmeals, and she frequently fixed her eyes, guided by her ears, on the dialof the clock."When I noticed that, I took care every day at twelve, and at sixo'clock, to place my fingers on the figures twelve and six, as soon asthe moment she was waiting for had arrived, and I soon noticed that sheattentively followed the motion of the small brass hands, which I hadoften turned in her presence."She had understood! Perhaps I ought rather to say that she had graspedthe idea. I had succeeded in getting the knowledge, or, rather, thesensation, of the time into her, just as is the case with carp, whocertainly have no clocks, when they are fed every day exactly at the sametime."When once I had obtained that result all the clocks and watches in thehouse occupied her attention almost exclusively. She spent her time inlooking at them, listening to them, and in waiting for meal time, andonce something very funny happened. The striking apparatus of a prettylittle Louis XVI clock that hung at the head of her bed having got out oforder, she noticed it. She sat for twenty minutes with her eyes on thehands, waiting for it to strike ten, but when the hands passed the figureshe was astonished at not hearing anything; so stupefied was she, indeed,that she sat down, no doubt overwhelmed by a feeling of violent emotionsuch as attacks us in the face of some terrible catastrophe. And she hadthe wonderful patience to wait until eleven o'clock in order to see whatwould happen, and as she naturally heard nothing, she was suddenly eitherseized with a wild fit of rage at having been deceived and imposed uponby appearances, or else overcome by that fear which some frightenedcreature feels at some terrible mystery, and by the furious impatience ofa passionate individual who meets with some obstacle; she took up thetongs from the fireplace and struck the clock so violently that she brokeit to pieces in a moment."It was evident, therefore, that her, brain did act and calculate,obscurely it is true, and within very restricted limits, for I couldnever succeed in making her distinguish persons as she distinguished thetime; and to stir her intellect, it was necessary to appeal to herpassions, in the material sense of the word, and we soon had another, andalas! a very terrible proof of this!"She had grown up into a splendid girl, a perfect type of a race, a sortof lovely and stupid Venus. She was sixteen, and I have rarely seen suchperfection of form, such suppleness and such regular features. I saidshe was a Venus; yes, a fair, stout, vigorous Venus, with large, bright,vacant eyes, which were as blue as the flowers of the flax plant; she hada large mouth with full lips, the mouth of a glutton, of a sensualist, amouth made for kisses. Well, one morning her father came into myconsulting room with a strange look on his face, and, sitting downwithout even replying to my greeting, he said:"'I want to speak to you about a very serious matter. Would it bepossible--would it be possible for Bertha to marry?'"'Bertha to marry! Why, it is quite impossible!'"'Yes, I know, I know,' he replied. 'But reflect, doctor. Don't youthink--perhaps--we hoped--if she had children--it would be a great shockto her, but a great happiness, and--who knows whether maternity might notrouse her intellect?'"I was in a state of great perplexity. He was right, and it was possiblethat such a new situation, and that wonderful instinct of maternity,which beats in the hearts of the lower animals as it does in the heart ofa woman, which makes the hen fly at a dog's jaws to defend her chickens,might bring about a revolution, an utter change in her vacant mind, andset the motionless mechanism of her thoughts in motion. And then,moreover, I immediately remembered a personal instance. Some yearspreviously I had owned a spaniel bitch who was so stupid that I could donothing with her, but when she had had puppies she became, if not exactlyintelligent, yet almost like many other dogs who had not been thoroughlybroken."As soon as I foresaw the possibility of this, the wish to get Berthamarried grew in me, not so much out of friendship for her and her poorparents as from scientific curiosity. What would happen? It was asingular problem. I said in reply to her father:"'Perhaps you are right. You might make the attempt, but you will neverfind a man to consent to marry her.'"'I have found somebody,' he said, in a low voice."I was dumfounded, and said: 'Somebody really suitable? Some one of yourown rank and position in society?'"'Decidedly,' he replied."'Oh! And may I ask his name?'"'I came on purpose to tell you, and to consult you. It is MonsieurGaston du Boys de Lucelles.'"I felt inclined to exclaim: 'The wretch!' but I held my tongue, andafter a few moments' silence I said:"'Oh! Very good. I see nothing against it.'"The poor man shook me heartily by the hand."'She is to be married next month,' he said."Monsieur Gaston du Boys de Lucelles was a scapegrace of good family,who, after having spent all that he had inherited from his father, andhaving incurred debts in all kinds of doubtful ways, had been trying todiscover some other means of obtaining money, and he had discovered thismethod. He was a good-looking young fellow, and in capital health, butfast; one of that odious race of provincial fast men, and he appeared tome to be as suitable as anyone, and could be got rid of later by makinghim an allowance. He came to the house to pay his addresses and to strutabout before the idiot girl, who, however, seemed to please him. Hebrought her flowers, kissed her hands, sat at her feet, and looked at herwith affectionate eyes; but she took no notice of any of his attentions,and did not make any distinction between him and the other persons whowere about her."However, the marriage took place, and you may guess how my curiosity wasaroused. I went to see Bertha the next day to try and discover from herlooks whether any feelings had been awakened in her, but I found her justthe same as she was every day, wholly taken up with the clock and dinner,while he, on the contrary, appeared really in love, and tried to rousehis wife's spirits and affection by little endearments and such caressesas one bestows on a kitten. He could think of nothing better."I called upon the married couple pretty frequently, and I soon perceivedthat the young woman knew her husband, and gave him those eager lookswhich she had hitherto only bestowed on sweet dishes."She followed his movements, knew his step on the stairs or in theneighboring rooms, clapped her hands when he came in, and her face waschanged and brightened by the flames of profound happiness and of desire."She loved him with her whole body and with all her soul to the verydepths of her poor, weak soul, and with all her heart, that poor heart ofsome grateful animal. It was really a delightful and innocent picture ofsimple passion, of carnal and yet modest passion, such as nature hadimplanted in mankind, before man had complicated and disfigured it by allthe various shades of sentiment. But he soon grew tired of this ardent,beautiful, dumb creature, and did not spend more than an hour during theday with her, thinking it sufficient if he came home at night, and shebegan to suffer in consequence. She used to wait for him from morningtill night with her eyes on the clock; she did not even look after themeals now, for he took all his away from home, Clermont, Chatel-Guyon,Royat, no matter where, as long as he was not obliged to come home."She began to grow thin; every other thought, every other wish, everyother expectation, and every confused hope disappeared from her mind, andthe hours during which she did not see him became hours of terriblesuffering to her. Soon he ceased to come home regularly of nights; hespent them with women at the casino at Royat and did not come home untildaybreak. But she never went to bed before he returned. She remainedsitting motionless in an easy-chair, with her eyes fixed on the hands ofthe clock, which turned so slowly and regularly round the china face onwhich the hours were painted."She heard the trot of his horse in the distance and sat up with a start,and when he came into the room she got up with the movements of anautomaton and pointed to the clock, as if to say: 'Look how late it is!'"And he began to be afraid of this amorous and jealous, half-wittedwoman, and flew into a rage, as brutes do; and one night he even went sofar as to strike her, so they sent for me. When I arrived she waswrithing and screaming in a terrible crisis of pain, anger, passion, howdo I know what? Can one tell what goes on in such undeveloped brains?"I calmed her by subcutaneous injections of morphine, and forbade her tosee that man again, for I saw clearly that marriage would infallibly killher by degrees."Then she went mad! Yes, my dear friend, that idiot went mad. She isalways thinking of him and waiting for him; she waits for him all day andnight, awake or asleep, at this very moment, ceaselessly. When I saw hergetting thinner and thinner, and as she persisted in never taking hereyes off the clocks, I had them removed from the house. I thus made itimpossible for her to count the hours, and to try to remember, from herindistinct reminiscences, at what time he used to come home formerly. Ihope to destroy the recollection of it in time, and to extinguish thatray of thought which I kindled with so much difficulty."The other day I tried an experiment. I offered her my watch; she tookit and looked at it for some time; then she began to scream terribly, asif the sight of that little object had suddenly awakened her memory,which was beginning to grow indistinct. She is pitiably thin now, withhollow and glittering eyes, and she walks up and down ceaselessly, like awild beast in its cage; I have had gratings put on the windows, boardedthem up half way, and have had the seats fixed to the floor so as toprevent her from looking to see whether he is coming."Oh! her poor parents! What a life they must lead!"We had got to the top of the hill, and the doctor turned round and saidto me:"Look at Riom from here."The gloomy town looked like some ancient city. Behind it a green, woodedplain studded with towns and villages, and bathed in a soft blue haze,extended until it was lost in the distance. Far away, on my right, therewas a range of lofty mountains with round summits, or else cut off flat,as if with a sword, and the doctor began to enumerate the villages, townsand hills, and to give me the history of all of them. But I did notlisten to him; I was thinking of nothing but the madwoman, and I only sawher. She seemed to be hovering over that vast extent of country like amournful ghost, and I asked him abruptly:"What has become of the husband?"My friend seemed rather surprised, but after a few moments' hesitation,he replied:"He is living at Royat, on an allowance that they made him, and is quitehappy; he leads a very fast life."As we were slowly going back, both of us silent and rather low-spirited,an English dogcart, drawn by a thoroughbred horse, came up behind us andpassed us rapidly. The doctor took me by the arm."There he is," he said.I saw nothing except a gray felt hat, cocked over one ear above a pair ofbroad shoulders, driving off in a cloud of dust.
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