A WIFE'S JOURNAL 1 One evening, while we were sitting in the living

almost as if she were inviting me to read what she had written. ... 4- Explain in your own words the following sentence : "My whole youth had been sacrificed to a.
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A WIFE'S JOURNAL 1

One evening, while we were sitting in the living room with David, Delia asked me to fetch her glasses from a shelf in her upstairs study, and when I entered the room I saw her journal lying open oil her desk. Delia had been keeping a journal since the age of thirteen or fourteen, and by now it ran to dozens of volumes, notebook after notebook filled with the ongoing saga of her inner life. She had often read passages from it to me, but until that evening I had never so much as dared to look at it without her permission. Standing there at that moment, however, I found myself gripped by a tremendous urge to read those pages. In retrospect, I understand that this meant our life together was already finished, that my willingness to break this trust proved that I had given up any hope for our marriage, but I wasn't aware of it then. At the time, the only thing I felt was curiosity. The pages were open on the desk, and Delia had just asked me to go into the room for her. She must have understood that I would notice them. Assuming that was true, it was almost as if she were inviting me to read what she had written. In all events, that was the excuse I gave myself that night, and even now I'm not so sure I was wrong. It would have been just like her to act indirectly, to provoke a crisis she would never have to claim responsibility for. That was her special talent taking matters into her own hands, even as she convinced herself that her hands were clean. So I looked down at the open journal, and once I crossed that threshold, I wasn't able to turn back. I saw I was the subject of that day's entry, and what I found there was an exhaustive catalogue of complaints and grievances, a grim little document set forth in the language of a laboratory report. Delia had covered everything, from the way I dressed to the foods I ate, to my incorrigible lack of human understanding. I was morbid and selfcentered, frivolous and domineering, vengeful and lazy and distracted. Even if every one of those things had been true, her portrait of me was so ungenerous, so mean-spirited in its tone, that I couldn't even bring myself to feel angry. I felt sad, hollowed out, dazed. By the time I reached the last paragraph, her conclusion was already self-evident, a thing that no longer needed to be expressed. "I have never loved Peter," she wrote. "It was a mistake to think I ever could. Our life together is a fraud, and the longer we go on like this, the closer we come to destroying each other. We never should have gotten married. I let Peter talk me into it, and I've been paying for it ever since. I didn't love him then, and I don't love him now. No matter how long I stay with Peter, I will never love him." It was all so abrupt, so final, that I almost felt relieved. To understand that you are despised in this way eliminates any excuse for self-pity. I couldn't doubt where things stood anymore, and however shaken I might have been in those moments, I knew that I had brought this disaster down on myself. I had thrown away eleven years of my life in search of a figment (1). My whole youth had been sacrificed to a delusion, and yet rather than crumple up (2) and mourn what I had just lost, I felt strangely invigorated, set free by the bluntness and brutality of Delia's words. All this strikes me as inexplicable now. But the fact was that I didn't hesitate. I went downstairs with Delia's glasses, told her that I had read her journal, and the next morning I moved out. Paul AUSTER, Leviathan. (1) figment : something invented or imagined (2) crumple up : collapse

I - COMPREHENSION 1

Complete the following sentences: 1 - The main part of the story takes place … 2- The story is about a man who discovers… 3- At the end the man decides…

2

This text contains five errors. Underline them and correct them by quoting from the text. The narrator went upstairs to read his wife's journal. He had to look for it because she had hidden it carefully. When he started reading it, he was not really interested because at the beginning, she only mentioned what had happened to her on that day. Then she explained that, in spite of some misunderstandings, they had been right to marry each other.

3

4

All the following statements are right. Justify by quoting from the text. 1 - The narrator felt like reading his wife's diary, which he had never done before. 2-He discovered that he had been the subject of a minute scrutiny. 3- When reading it, he did not feel resentment but only a deep sorrow. 4- Delia pretended that she had been talked into marrying him, which made her suffer a lot. 5- The narrator got aware that he had wasted several years of his life. Briefly answer the following questions. About Delia 1- What does this first paragraph reveal about the personality of Delia ? Which three adjectives would you choose to characterize her ?Justify your choice in your own words. 2- Analyse Delia's state of mind in the second paragraph (1.27-31) About the narrator 3- What are the different feelings of the narrator from the moment when he saw his wife's journal to the moment when he went downstairs with his wife's glasses? 4- Explain in your own words the following sentence : "My whole youth had been sacrificed to a delusion, and yet rather than crumple up and mourn what I had just lost, I felt strangely invigorated, set free by the bluntness and brutality of Delia's words."

5

Translate from : "It was all so abrupt" (1.32) down to : "in search of a figment" (1.36).

II- COMPETENCE LINGUISTIQUE 1

Turn the following sentences into indirect speech. 1- She wrote: "I have never loved Peter." 2- She said : "Our life together is a fraud." 3- She added: "No matter how long I stay, I will never love him." 4- She wondered: "Why did I marry him?" 5- He said: "the longer we go on like this, the closer we come to destroying each other."

2

Rephrase the following sentences starting as indicated: 1 - We should never have married. If only… 2- Rather than crumple up and mourn what I had just lost, I felt invigorated. Instead… 3- Delia asked me to fetch her glasses in her study. I… 4-I am sure I was not wrong. I… 5-I felt strangely invigorated by the bluntness and brutality of Delia's words. The bluntness and brutality of Delia's words…

3

Match the following sentences with the appropriate link-words.

1- Our life together is a fraud

UNLESS

she had often read passages to me.

2-Peter was convinced that their marriage was a good match

AS LONG AS he was generous to her.

3-I didn't dare to look at her journal . 4-She was very kind to him

UNTIL

she deceives him

SINCE

we have never loved each other.

5-He will be faithful to her for ever

ALTHOUGH

he discovered her journal.

4 Turn the following sentences into the passive voice. 1 - Peter talked me into it. 2-I had thrown away eleven years of my life. 3- All this strikes me now. 4- You should take such matters into account. 5- He will make her admit her fault.

5 Match the words in the first column with equivalents of the second. 1-urge a- grieve 2- mean-spirited b- strengthened 3- gripped c- nasty 4- mourn d- strong desire 5- invigorated e- seized

III- EXPRESSION ECRITE Traitez l'UN de ces deux sujets: (300-350 mots) 1- Curiosity : a quality and/or a defect. Discuss. 2- Imagine what the narrator wrote in his diary on the day he left.