Chapter 28 4. Emile's Ideal Companion: Sophie

Finally the time has come for Sophie and Emile to meet.Now, I will describe the image of the woman who will bring him a happy life.I repeat, it is not my intention to create a child prodigy. Sophie is not a child prodigy, and neither is Emile. Sophie was born in a wonderful family, which created her kind and sensitive character.Due to sensitivity, inexplicable fluctuations often appear in her heart. Her insight is strong, but her understanding of things is not very deep; her temperament is gentle, but her mood is not very stable; Say those fluffy things. When you meet her for the first time, you won't feel that there is anything special about her, but after you get in touch with her for a while, you will be reluctant to leave her.

Perhaps, she does not have the good qualities that others have, and the good qualities she possesses are not as good as others, but when you comprehensively consider her qualities, you will find that there is no one more charming and lovable than her. The flaws that exist in others will become less annoying when they come to her. Perhaps, if she is a perfect person, she will not be as attractive as she is now.She just has this ability to fascinate people, but you can't tell where she attracts you. Sophie is a girl who likes to dress up very much, and she also knows how to dress herself up.She doesn't like gorgeous clothes, she always looks elegant and simple.She doesn't know what color is popular nowadays, but she knows what color suits her.She looks casual, but no girl cares more about her clothes than she does.

Her outfit is nothing special, but when she walks on the street, she can become the focus of the crowd.She never shows her charm in front of people, but it is her cover-up that makes others have to imagine her charming appearance. Sophie is a very talented girl, and she knows this very well, but she doesn't dig it all out too much.She sang harmonious songs with a sweet voice, took lively steps with brisk feet, and treated everyone she met on every occasion with a generous attitude.She felt that these were enough, and there was no need to show her talents too much in front of others. Her father was her only music teacher and her mother was her only dance teacher.Also, her neighbor who was an organist taught her to play the organ a few times, but she has since been practicing by herself.But she still doesn't know how to read music. For her, music is just a hobby, not a talent.

What Sophie likes most, and what others are willing to teach her to do, is the duty of being a woman. She is even interested in things that don't have to be done by herself, such as sewing clothes.She is very good at all kinds of needlework, but her favorite is lace, because the posture is very comfortable, and it can also exercise the dexterity of the fingers. Housework is even more difficult for her.She not only cooks good rice and fried dishes, but also knows the price of each vegetable and how to distinguish the quality of vegetables.She calculated accounts so quickly that she could have been her mother's little housekeeper.

Of course, there are some housework that she doesn't like to do, such as cooking.Although she loves to eat food, she is bored with certain details of cooking.She also doesn't like gardening, she hates dirty soil, and she doesn't like the smell of chemical fertilizers. Her shortcomings stem from her mother's education for her. Her mother taught her since she was a child that girls must be clean, which is an order of nature.In this way, she spends most of her time keeping her body clean. Sophie is smart, but not intelligent; Sophie is thoughtful, but not profound.Compared with those well-educated girls, Sophie's language is not overly embellished, but everyone who has dealt with her will think that she is an interesting girl.

The words she said were not learned from textbooks, but learned from her parents' conversations, or summed up from her own trivial life. Sophie is too sensitive, she can't always keep her inner peace, but she is too gentle, she never does embarrassing things or says embarrassing things.She will not hurt anyone but herself. Sophie has faith, and her beliefs are simple and reasonable.She neither obeys any dogma nor does she pray any prayers, but uses her actual actions to prove what is morality.She is willing to do all good things, and is willing to dedicate her whole life to God in the way of doing good deeds.

In order to make her develop a submissive and humble character, her parents often taught her this way: "You don't need to know what religion is now, when you are old enough to understand these things, your husband will tell you. " They seldom give her endless moral education, but lead by example, set an example of behavior for her, and let her comprehend and imitate by herself. Sophie's love for virtue is from the heart, and even virtue has become the only force that dominates her actions. The reason why she loves virtue is not only because virtue is the most noble thing in the world, but also because virtue can bring infinite glory to women and win the respect of others.

The reason why she loves virtue is because she feels that virtue can turn a woman into an angel and bring her a happy life.She had seen that all those indiscreet women ended up in ruins. In the end, she loved virtue because her parents not only possessed virtue, but also educated her to be a virtuous person.They are proud of her virtue, and her pride is to bring them happiness with her virtue. Under the stimulation of these emotions, all the enthusiasm in Sophie's heart burst out, and her soul was elevated to a new level.Whenever she has a bad tendency, there will be a voice in her heart to stop her from continuing this behavior.

Deep in her heart, Sophie has vowed that she will be a chaste and sentimental woman in her whole life. Whether it is judgment or other aspects of development, Sophie is already like an adult, so when she was 15 years old, her parents no longer regarded her as a child.Her parents quickly noticed the restlessness typical of young people of that age in her, and they began to take steps to prevent the situation from developing further. They called her to her, intending to have a kind and meaningful conversation with her that would not go against her ideas.If Sophie's character had been as I describe it, her father would have begun with these words:

Now, it is necessary for us to create an agreement that fully expresses our respect for you and redefines our relationship with you. The usual practice is: when choosing a husband for their daughter, the parents will seek their daughter's opinion formally, and the decision-making power is still in their hands.But now, we let you choose by yourself, as long as you ask for our opinions on the form. This is your right, Sophie, and you must use it wisely.You should go out on your own to find the one who is compatible with you.However, we have the right to intervene when judging whether the conditions for the two of you are suitable. Perhaps in this regard, we know better than you whether you have followed your heart.

We will not be disturbed by those so-called birth, status, wealth and social prejudices.We want that man to be honest, good-natured, and have a personality that matches yours.From our own considerations, we are very willing to choose such a man as our son-in-law. As long as he works hard, behaves well, and loves his family, he will have a successful career in the future.If his occupation can be respected by society because of his virtue, his social status will be improved. "If you can really find such a husband, even if people all over the world stand up against us, what's the point? Our greatest wish is that you can achieve happiness. As for other people's opinions, we don't care at all. " After that conversation, Sophie's parents felt that it was impossible for Sophie to find an ideal partner in their small village, so they sent Sophie to the city one winter, let her board at an aunt's house, and took her They secretly told their aunt about their purpose. Sophie's heart is full of pride, so no matter how much she wants to find a husband, she can restrain her emotions.She would rather not marry for life than to let go of her self-esteem and take the initiative to find that person. In order to fulfill Sophie's parents' wishes, her aunt often took her to visit other people's homes, or to various social occasions and some lively places, so that she could get in touch with more men, more precisely, to let men know more about Touch her. For those handsome but mature young people, Sophie does not reject them, but she never takes the initiative to approach them, and does not give them any chance to flatter herself. While she didn't dislike them, she didn't have the desire to be their wife either.Soon, life in the city made her feel tired, and she felt that the countryside was more suitable for her, so she returned to her parents. After returning home, Sophie started to do housework again, but her condition was not as good as before, and she became depressed and restless.At the beginning, her parents thought she had someone they liked, so they were embarrassed to expose her little thoughts.However, she strenuously denied that it was not at all what they thought. Sophie's mother was very distressed. She thought: since she wants a husband, why doesn't she take advantage of the rights we have given her?Why didn't she take the initiative to pursue it?There used to be several good young men who came to propose marriage, but she flatly rejected them all.Her complex and contradictory state is really confusing! "What an unfortunate person I am," Sophie complained to her mother. I need a love, but I really can't get interested in those people.In spite of all their efforts to draw my attention to them, I have yet to meet a man who gave me hope and kept it alive.Two people who cannot respect each other cannot live together for long! How could your Sophie marry such a person!She has already portrayed the appearance of her sweetheart in her heart. Only when she is with such a person can she feel happy, and she only wants to bring such a person happiness. "She would rather waste her time, grow old, and spend her life alone but free, rather than live with someone she doesn't like. Let her endure this pain, she would rather die." Having said this, Sophie stopped.Her mother was a little puzzled, and just wanted her to continue talking, but saw her get up silently and go out the door.After a while she came back with a copy of The Adventures of Telemachus in her hand. Telemachus is a character Sophie likes very much, and she even fell into this kind of love for a time and couldn't extricate herself. "Is the human mind really determined by the will?" she asked her mother, "Why do I like a fictional character? Am I wrong?" "I know that there is no such person as Prince Telemachus. I just want to find someone with similar qualities to him. Since fate has brought me into this world and made me feel that kind of heart, But why not let me meet such a person? Perhaps, this person really exists, and he is looking for me like I am looking for him. But who is he? Where is he?"