Chapter 33 Chapter Thirty-Three Beyond the Forbidden City: Getting Worse

The affair did not produce any immediate results. It takes a long time for such things to produce any results. The morning brings a new mood. The present situation always excuses itself. Only now and then we catch a glimpse The misfortune of things. The human heart can feel the misfortune in contrast. Without contrast, the pain is lessened. Carrie went on in this way for more than six months after this. She never saw Ames again. He called on the Vances once, but she only heard about it from the young lady. Then he went West, and if the man had once attracted her, that attraction was now fading. The spiritual effect of the event had not, however, never been entirely. She had an example of the Used to compare men, especially the men around her.

Three years were fast approaching. During the whole period, Hurstwood had had a smooth ride. There had been no marked downs, no marked ups, as the average observer could see. But he was psychologically There has been a change in his life which is significant enough to show clearly what will happen in the future. The change is merely due to the interruption of his career caused by his departure from Chicago. A man's property or material development and his The growth of the body is very similar. He is either as a youth approaching adulthood, becoming stronger, healthy, and wise; or as an adult approaching old age, becoming weaker, aging, and mentally dull. Nothing else. As for middle-aged people In other words, there is often a period between the cessation of youthful vigor and the onset of the tendency to age, in which the two progressions are almost perfectly balanced, with little tilt in either direction. However, after a long enough time, the balance begins to The grave sinks on one side. Slowly at first, then a little quicker, and finally at full speed towards the grave. So is human property. If the process of increasing property was never interrupted, if that state of equilibrium was never attained, it would not Beat. These rich men of today are often prevented from depleting their fortunes in this way because they can hire smart young men who see the interests of their employers' property as their own. Hence, property has Stabilization. Immediate development. If each man were to look after his property absolutely for himself, and after a long enough time grow extremely old, his property would pass away as would his energy and will .He and his property will be completely wiped out and disappeared.

But now to see how this analogy differs. A property, like a person, is an organism that attracts the ingenuity and energy of others, in addition to that inherent in the entrepreneur. In addition to those young people attracted by salary, it also needs to unite the strength of young people. Even when the energy and wisdom of entrepreneurs gradually decline, the power of these young people can still maintain its survival. It may be due to a society or the development of the country. It may devote itself to supplying something that is in increasing demand. In this way, it is immediately free from the special care of the entrepreneur. It then needs no vision but only guidance. .If men decline, and needs continue or increase, the property, no matter who it may fall into, will last. Therefore, some people are never aware of the decline of their abilities. Only in some occasional cases , when their fortunes or success are taken away from them, it becomes evident that they have lost the old capacity for business. When Hurstwood settles in his new surroundings, he should be able to see that he has No longer young. If he doesn't see it, it's simply because his condition is perfectly balanced and shows no signs of decay.

He himself is not good at reasoning or introspection, so he cannot analyze the changes that are taking place in his mind and body, but he has already felt the depression brought about by this change. He constantly compares his past situation with his present situation. ratio, indicating that the balance is tilting to the bad side, thus producing a state of mind that is always depressed or at least depressed. Now, experiments have shown that being depressed all the time will produce certain toxins in the blood called disruptors, just as happy Just as a happy mood produces a beneficial chemical called auxin. The toxins produced by regret attack the tissues of the body, eventually causing a marked physical deterioration. This is what is happening with Hurstwood.

After a time, his temperament was affected. His eyes were not so light and sharp as they were in Adams Street. His steps were not so quick and firm. He was always brooding. His new friends were not well-known people. They belonged to the lower, sensual, and coarser class. With this group he could not have the pleasure he had in the company of the elegant folk who frequented the Chicago Hotel. .He can only let himself be depressed. Gradually, he was no longer willing to greet. The importance of flattery and wealth began to gradually become clear. When he was in it, he didn't think it was so wonderful. It seemed that everyone went there easily, Every man has plenty of clothes to wear and enough money to spend. But now, when he is shut out, it has become so remote. He begins to see it as a walled city. The gates are guarded .You can't go in. People in the city don't bother to come out to see who you are. They are so happy inside that they forget everyone outside, and he is outside.

Every day he could read the activities of the forbidden city in the evening papers. In the announcements about tourists in Europe, he read the names of famous patrons of his past hotel. Reports of the latest successes of people he knew. He knew they were still happy. First-class carriages towing them around the country, newspapers welcoming them with interesting news, the lights in the elegant halls and bright dining rooms of hotels. Splendor surrounded them tightly in the Forbidden City. Ah, the men he knew, the men he drank with, the rich men, and he was forgotten! What was Mr. Wheeler? What is the London Street Hotel? Pooh!

If anyone thinks that such thoughts do not arise in such ordinary minds...such feelings require a higher state of thought...then I draw their attention to the fact that it is the higher thoughts It is the higher realms of thought that rule out such thoughts. It is the higher realms of thought that give rise to philosophy and that fortitude with which one does not want to dwell on such things, and does not want to be overwhelmed by thinking about such things. And asking for trouble. The average mind is very sensitive to all things related to material well-being. . . very sensitive. Only an ignorant miser would be heartbroken over the loss of a hundred dollars. Only the Epictetus type Only those who advocate patience and temperance can laugh when the last vestiges of material happiness are wiped away.

By the third year, the idea was starting to take hold at the Warren Street Hotel. Foot traffic was down slightly from the best time he had been in the store. It both irritated and worried him. He confided to Carrie one evening that business had not been as good this month as it had been the previous. He said it in reply to her request for something small. She had noticed that he was buying clothes for himself. She didn't seem to discuss it with her. For the first time, she felt that this was a trick, or that he said it so that she would stop thinking about asking for things. Although her answer was very gentle, she was very disgusted in her heart. He didn't think so at all. Don't care about her. She pins her fun on the Vances.

However, at this time the Vances said they were going to leave here. Spring was coming, and they were going north. "Oh, yes," said Mrs. Vance to Carrie, "we thought it best to return the house and store things. We're not here all summer, and it's a useless waste of time to rent the house. I'd like to wait." When we come back, we will live in a place closer to the city." Carrie was very sorry to hear the news. She enjoyed Mrs. Vance's company very much. She knew no one else in the house. She was going to be alone again. Hurstwood's apprehension of diminished profits and the departure of the Vances were simultaneous. Carrie, therefore, had to endure her own loneliness and her husband's mood at the same time. It was a sad thing. She became irritable. Dissatisfaction, not quite dissatisfaction with Hurstwood, as she thought, but dissatisfaction with life. What kind of life is this? The whole dull cycle of day after day is really tasteless. What did she have? She had nothing but this tiny apartment. The Vances could travel, they could do something worthwhile, and she stayed here. What was she born for? The more I thought about it, the more I burst into tears. Tears seemed justifiable, and the only consolation in the world.

This situation continued for some time, and the couple lived a rather monotonous life, and then it deteriorated a little. One evening, thinking of some means of reducing Carrie's need for clothes and relieving the pressure on him After the total burden on affordability, Hurstwood says: "I don't think I'll ever be able to do it with Shaughnessy again." "What's the matter?" said Carrie. "Well, he's a dull, greedy Irishman. He won't agree to any way of improving the hotel, and the hotel won't make any money without it." "Can't you convince him?" said Carrie.

"No, I tried. I see there is only one way to improve, and that is to open a hotel myself." "Why don't you do that?" asked Carrie. "Well, all my money is stuck there at the moment. If I can save a while, I think I can open a hotel and make us a lot of money." "Is it possible for us to save?" said Carrie. "Let's try," he suggested. "I've been thinking that if we rent a smaller apartment downtown and live frugally for a year, with what I've already invested, I'll have enough." Money to open a nice hotel. Then we can live as you wish." "That would suit me very well," said Carrie, though she was sorry to think that it had come to this. Talking of taking a smaller flat, it sounded as though she were going to be poor. "There's a lot of nice little apartments down there on Sixth Avenue, south of Fourteenth Street. We might rent one there." "I'll go and see, if you say so," said Carrie. "I think I can break up with this fellow within a year," said Hurstwood. "The way it's going, it's not a profitable business." "I'll go and see," said Carrie, who saw that his suggestion of changing houses seemed serious. The result of this conversation was a change of house at last, and Carrie could not help being unhappy about it. It affected her more than anything else had ever happened. She began to think of Hurstwood as a man. Not a lover or a husband. As a wife, she felt that she was connected with him, and that no matter what his fate, she was always with him. However, she began to find him morose. Silent, not a young and strong. Happy The corners of his eyes and the sides of his mouth seemed to her to be a little older now. There were other things, she reckoned, that brought him out. She began to feel that she had made a mistake. By the way , she also began to remember that he actually forced her to elope with him. The new apartment was on Thirteenth Street, a little west of Sixth Avenue, and had only four rooms. The surroundings of the new residence were not as pleasing to Carrie as the previous one. There were no trees here, and the river could not be seen to the west. The street The house is full of houses. There are twelve families living here, all very respectable people, but not as good as the Vances. The richer people need more living space. Carrie had no maid, for she was alone in the little place. She had made the house rather lovely, but could not make it to her liking. Hurstwood was troubled by the thought that they would have to change their situation. Not happy, but he argued that there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was look happy and let it go. He was trying to show Carrie that instead of panicking over financial problems, he should be thankful that in a year's time he would be able to take her to more theaters and have more food on the table. It was just a temporary expediency His mood had become one of wanting to be alone so that he could think about his thoughts. He had begun to fall prey to the brooding disease. The only thing worth doing was reading the newspaper and thinking alone. The joys of love were missed again. The question now is just to live, to enjoy life as much as possible in a very ordinary life. Downhill roads seldom have footholds on peaceful ground. His mental state, commensurate with the situation, widened the rift between him and his partner. At last, the man began to wish to get rid of Hurstwood. However, as it happened, , the owner of the land made an estate transaction, which settled the matter more effectively than mutual enmity could have contrived. "Did you see this?" Shaughnessy said to Hurstwood one morning, pointing to a real estate deal in the Herald he was holding. "No, what's the matter?" said Hurstwood, looking down at the news. "The owner of the land sold it." "You're not kidding, are you?" said Hurstwood. He took a look, and sure enough there was a notice: Mr. August Weir had paid 57,000 yuan for the 25 x 75-foot land at the corner of Warren Street and Hudson Street yesterday, and officially transferred the ownership To Jay Faye Slawson. "When does our lease end?" asked Hurstwood, thinking. "Next February, isn't it?" "Yes," Shaughnessy replied. "It doesn't say what the new owner of the lot intends to do with it," said Hurstwood, looking again at the paper. "I think we'll find out soon enough," Shaughnessy said. Indeed, things have progressed. Mr. Slawson is the owner of the land adjacent to the hotel, and he plans to build a modern office building here. The existing house will be demolished, and it will take about a year and a half To build a new building. All this was going on gradually, and Hurstwood also began to think about the prospect of the hotel. One day, he talked about it to his partner. "Do you think it's worth opening another hotel somewhere else in the vicinity?" "What's the use?" said Shaughnessy. "We can't find another corner around here." "Do you think you can't make money opening hotels elsewhere?". "I don't want to try," said another. By this time the impending change seemed grim to Hurstwood. Dissolution would mean losing his thousand dollars, and he would not be able to save another thousand in the meantime. He understood that Shaughnessy was simply tired of the partnership and would wait until When the new building on the corner was completed, he would probably rent a shop there by himself. He began to worry about having to find new relationships, and began to realize that, unless something changed, serious financial difficulties were looming. It took him no interest in admiring his home or Carrie, and thus depression invaded the family. During this period, he tried to find time to travel about, but the opportunities were few. Moreover, he no longer had the charming temperament when he first came to New York. It will leave a good impression on people. During the conversation, he did not have 1,300 yuan on hand as the capital of the conversation. About a month later, he found that he had made no progress, and at this time Shaughnessy told him clearly that Slauson Do not want to extend the lease term. "I think the business must be over," he said, with feigned concern. "Oh, if it must be finished, let it be finished," replied Hurstwood coldly. He did not want to be shown what he thought, no matter what it was. He could not be pleased with it. After a day or two he felt he must speak to Carrie. "You know," said he, "I think the worst is going to happen to my hotel business." "How could this be?" asked Carrie, startled. "Well, the owner of the land has sold it, and the new owner won't let us any more. The business may be over." "Can't you open another one elsewhere?" "Looks like there's nowhere to drive. Shaughnessy doesn't want to either." "Are you going to lose your entire investment?" "Yes," said Hurstwood, looking sad. "Why, isn't that too bad?" said Carrie. "It's a hoax," said Hurstwood, "that's what it is. They're sure to open another one there." Carrie looked at him, and read the significance of the matter in his whole manner. It was a serious matter, very serious. "Do you think you can think of something else?" she asked timidly, summoning up her courage. Hurstwood thought for a moment. Now he couldn't talk about riches, investments, and bullshit. She could see that he was "broke" now. "I don't know," he said gravely. "I might try."