Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 28-29

I. Answer the following questions:

1. What seemed the most scaring for Julia in the talk with her son on the first day of his arrival?

It was his suggestion that if she went into an empty room and someone suddenly opened the door there would be nobody there.

2. How did Julia prepare for the play?

Julia studied her part. She didn’t deliberately create the character she was going to act by observation, she had a knack of getting into the shoes of the woman she had to portray so that she thought with her mind and felt with her senses. Julia wanted to show the courageous yet uneasy breeziness of the Mrs. Marten who played golf and could talk to a man like one good chap to another and yet, essentially a respectable, middle-class woman, hankered for the security of the marriage state.

3. How did she act at the dress-rehearsal? Why?

Julia spared herself because she thought she would give everything she could only on the stage in the first night.

4. What advice did Julia give Michael about Avice Crichton? Why did she need it? Was that carefully planned?

Julia gave advice towards Avice to Michael but he was not still sure in her. Julia decided to train her role individually. It was planned to take revenge for her.  “You can never really tell how a performance is going to pan out till you've got an audience”.

5. Who did Julia talk to about her conversation with Roger? Why? What did she need to get from the conversation?

Julia talked to Charles about her conversation with Roger, because this woman expected him to be more sympathetic.

6. Describe the state Julia was in before a first night? Compare her attitude towards first-night acting with the bygone years?

Julia was very nervous. She had felt slightly sick all day and as the hours passed got into such a state that she almost thought she would have to leave the stage. But by now she had acquired a certain nonchalance. Throughout the early part of the day she felt only happy and mildly excited; it was not till late in the afternoon that she began to feel ill at ease. She grew silent and wanted to be left alone. She also grew irritable. Her hands and feet got cold and by the time she reached the theatre they were like lumps of ice.

7. Who did she meet while wandering the streets of London at noon, 6 hours before the first night? Where did they go?

Julia met Tom, who offered her to have tea with him.

8. What thoughts accompanied Julia when she visited Tom's place?

Julia looked round the room. Nothing was changed. Her photograph stood in its old place, but on the chimney piece was a large photograph also of Avice Crichton. The room might have been a set in which she had once acted; it was vaguely familiar, but no longer meant anything to her.

9. Why did Julia change her attitude to Tom? What phrase does Julia pronounce to herself at the end of chapter 28? Comment on it.

Julia didn’t love him anymore. She was free. "I dare say there's something in what Roger said. Love isn't worth all the fuss they make about it" .

10. Was the first night a success for Julia? For Avice? Why?

As for Julia, it was the success while for Avice it was a catastrophe. Julia literally outshined her.

11. What was Tom's attitude towards Avice's acting? How does the scene in Julia's dressing-room characterize him?

Tom found Avice’s acting a rotten one. It characterized him as a person who only wanted to be with people who could introduce him to the high society.

12. Why do you think Julia refused to supper with Tom that night?

Julia refused to supper with Tom that night, because it was the end with him, she didn’t love him anymore.

13. How did Julia spend that night? Was it typical of her? Why did she prefer this?

Julia wanted to be alone and it wasn’t typical for her. This woman understood that she would never have another moment like this in her life.

14. What was peculiar about Julia's appearance and order at the Berkeley? Do you feel that night was somehow significant to her? Why?

Julia was without any make up because it was so unusual moment when she didn’t care about her appearance. She looked at herself at the mirror and thought about her life.

15. How does she reflect about the day passed? Does she feel satisfied? Why? Prove your point of view.

Julia was satisfied with her meetings with Tom because she realized her indifference towards him. "It was an amusing experience."

16. Describe the place in a restaurant where Julia was having supper? What was special about it? Why had she chosen to be seated there?

The room in which she sat was connected by three archways with the big dining-room where they supped and danced; amid the crowd doubtless were a certain number who had been to the play. How surprised they would be if they knew that the quiet little woman in the corner of the adjoining room, her face half hidden by a felt hat, was Julia Lambert. It gave her a pleasant sense of independence to sit there unknown and unnoticed. They were acting a play for her and she was the audience.

17. What conclusion did Julia come to while sitting at the Berkeley and "throwing prudence to the winds?"

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. But there's the illusion, through that archway; it's we, the actors, who are the reality.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 25-27

III. Answer the following questions:

1. Why was Julia doubtful about her beauty and sex appeal the night after her adventure with Charles?

Julia was doubtful about her beauty and sex appeal the night after her adventure with Charles, because he didn’t desire her.

2. How did she put her looks to the test? Why did she need it?

Julia made up a little more than usual, and without calling Evie put on a dress that was neither plain nor obviously expensive and a red straw hat with a wide brim. She needed it to know whether she was attractive or not.

3. Describe Julia's feelings when she had caught a young man's eye in the street? Rely on the lines starting with, "Suddenly her heart gave an exultant leap..." (Ch.25) and use your stylistic and linguistic knowledge while commenting.

Suddenly her heart gave an exultant leap. She had caught a young man's eye and she was sure that there was a gleam in it. He passed, and she had all she could do not to turn round. She shot him a glance and then modestly lowered her eyes. He fell back and she was conscious that he was following her. She stopped to look into a shop window and he stopped too.

4. Did the date meet Julia's expectations? What were the man's real intentions towards having a cup of tea with Julia?

The date didn’t meet Julia's expectations, because she thought his request to give him her autograph was an excuse for speaking to her. In reality the man only wanted to get her autograph for his young lady.

5. The young man didn't seem to be very polite and well-bred. Prove it using the text and comment on the techniques the author employs to create a desirable effect upon the reader.

“Before we go any further let's 'ave this autograph, eh? Do it now, that's my motto. Let me bring my young lady to see you in your dressing-room one day. Just shake 'ands with her, see? It would mean a rare lot to her. Why, she'd go on talking about it the rest of her life.” There was some impudence in his manner that Julia did not like.

6. After the stroll, what thoughts occurred to Julia when she got back home and started reflecting over herself? Rely on the lines starting with, "When she got home she went upstairs to her room..." (Ch.25) and use your stylistic and linguistic knowledge while commenting.

At first the woman began speaking to herself, asking rhetorical questions, what shows her emotionality and acting skills as if she was on stage at that moment: Old, old, old. There are no two ways about it; I'm entirely devoid of sex appeal. You wouldn't believe it, would you? You'd say it was preposterous. What other explanation is there? She felt herself old and devoid of sex appeal.

7. Why did Julia begin to do an imitation of Lydia Mayne? What affect did this acting have on her? How does that characterize Julia as professional and personality?

Julia was a great mimic and did it only to prove herself.

8. What was the name of the play Michael was putting on?

Michael was putting on Nowadays.

9. How did Julia feel before the rehearsals?

Julia felt as if she were a girl playing her first small part. However at the same time she had a delicious sense of her own powers.

10. The play Michael was staging was a modern version of The Second Mrs. Tanqueray by Arthur Pinero (1855-1934), an English playwright. What changes did Michael introduce to the original?

Some of the old characters were introduced, and Aubrey Tanqueray appeared in the second act. The change of manners of this generation it had been treated from the standpoint of comedy.

11. Why did Michael need Julia's advice about Avice's acting?

Avice's cold, matter-of-fact prettiness had been exactly what he had thought would be so telling in the circumstances. But after half a dozen rehearsals he began to think that was all she had to give.

12. What motifs did Julia have to praise the mediocre Avice Crichton and keep her in the cast?

Julia knew her well enough to be sure that if she were dismissed she would tell Tom that it was because Julia was jealous of her. He loved her and would believe anything she said. “She must play the part, and fail; and Tom must see with his own eyes what a bad actress she was”.

13. What pains did Julia take to make herself look nice to meet Roger? How does that characterize her as an actress and a mother?

Julia wanted Roger to be proud of her. So, she tended to look very young and pretty. She strolled up and down the platform. You would have thought, but wrongly, that she was perfectly unconscious of the attention she attracted.

14. What did Michael ask Julia to discuss with Roger?

He was going to Cambridge so soon he ought to make up his mind what he wanted to do. Michael was afraid that he would drift through his time there and then go into a broker's office or even on the stage. Thinking that Julia had more tact than he, and more influence with the boy, he had urged her to put before him the advantages of the Foreign Office and the brilliant possibilities of the Bar.

15. How did Julia react on Roger's reflection about his future? What did they eventually talk about?

Julia felt discomfort.

16. During their conversation, Julia notices some new traits in her son's character and behavior. What are they?

Julia listened to him attentively, because she felt he was expressing something that had burdened him for years. She had never in his whole life heard him talk so much.

17. Roger sounds reproachful to Julia. What doesn't he approve of? Do you agree with him?

Roger doesn’t approve of her affair with Tom. I agree with him, because Tom was much younger than she and he needed only her money.

18. What were Julia's arguments to support her point of view about acting? Do you feel they are ground and serious? Why?

Julia said that acting is an art. Real grief is ugly; the business of the actor is to represent it not only with truth but with beauty.

19. How did their talk end?

Their talk ended with conversation about Tom and Julia. Then they heard a car drive up. It was Michael.

20. What was the thing Roger said that bothered Julia most?

His suggestion of her affair with Tom was the thing that bothered Julia most.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 22-24

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

 to make a clean breast of sth – сделать чистосердечно

to tear sb limb from limb – перемывать кому-то кости

a sleeping-draught - снотворное

to and fro – взад и вперед

curtain calls - поклон

pull oneself together - собраться

magnanimous - щедрый

to cramp one's style - мешать

contrition - раскаяние

a succinct account of sth – краткое содержание

a bereavement - лишение

an austere and snug little town – аскетичный и уютный маленький город

to adhere to sth – придерживаться чего-то 

VII. Answer the questions:

1. Why couldn't Julie take her troubles to Charles or Dolly as usual?

Julie couldn’t take her troubles to Charles as usual because she thought it would be cruel to tell Charles that she had given to a very ordinary young man what he would gladly have sacrificed ten years of his life for. As for Dolly, she was shocked and jealous when Julia made a clean breast of it.

2. How different was Charles's circle from that of Tom's?

It was like heaven and earth, because Charles spoke about politics, aids, books and Julia wondered how she could exchange it all for a circle in which Tom was.

3. Was Michael right when criticizing Julie's acting?

I think yes. To my mind, Michael was absolutely right, because Julia lived through her role in the play, she didn’t act like actress should do, but splashed out her real emotions.

4. How did Julie react to her husband's criticism?

At first she was furious, but then understood that he was right.

5. How did the breakup with Tom influence Julie's attitude to Michael and Charles?

Julia began to love them more than before. This woman really appreciated all what they had done for her.

6. Why did Julie decide to spend the summer with her mother and aunt?

Julie decided to spend the summer with her mother and aunt to have a rest and completely cut herself off for a time from her old life.

7. What kind of lifestyle did Aunt Carrie and Mrs Lambert have?

Aunt Carrie and Mrs. Lambert were very devout. They went to Mass every morning and to High Mass on Sundays.

8. How did the old ladies treat Julie? How did they feel about her occupation?

The old ladies treated Julia with cordiality, but thought her profession to be indecent.

9. How did Julie imagine Charles's love for her?

As for Julia, she thought that Charles passionately loved her for 20 years, and that she was the only woman in the world whom he fully loved.

10. When in Paris, what did Julie mean when saying, "I feel like a queen returning from an exile?"

Julia was very happy to feel herself again famous and leading an eventful life.

11. How did Julie slip out from the awkward situation with Charles?

Julia turned it into her own advantage. She said that she was glad that they didn’t spoil their friendship.

12. How did Julie explain to herself the fact that her amorous advances had been declined by Charles?

Julia believed that Charles was impotent and used his devotion to her to distract attention from his real inclinations.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 19-21

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

an understudy - дублер

perfidy -измена

wanton temperament – своенравный темперамент

to cut the date – отменить встречу

an American conjurer – американский иллюзионист

to make a stab at acting in America – попытаться сделать актерскую карьеру в Америке

off the nail – быть навеселе

the R.A.D.A. – Королевская академия драмы

in point of fact – в действительности

insipid - безвкусный

hard as nails – в форме

for toffee – ни за что

be a sport – будь человеком

to beat about the bush – ходить вокруг да около

to feel all in – чувствовать себя в порядке

to give the air – не принять во внимание

to put one's foot down – занять твердую позицию

IV. Answer the questions:

1. Under what circumstances did Roger get acquainted with Joan Denver? What kind of favour did he ask of Julie?

Tom Fennel acquainted Roger with Joan Denver. After the show boys invited Jill and Joan to Tom`s flat and spent the night together. As we can see, Joan Denver wanted to take part at new play of Siddons theatre, so she asked Roger to put in a good word for her in front of Julia Lambert.

2. Why did Julie feel she had lost Roger?

Julia’s life had always been so full and so exciting that she had never had the time to busy herself much with Roger. She got in a state, when he had whooping-cough or measles, but he was for the most part in robust health, and then he occupied a pleasant place in the background of her consciousness. However she had always felt that he was there to be attended to when she was inclined and she had often thought it would be nice when he was old enough really to share her interests. It came to her as a shock now to realize that she had lost him.

3. How did Tom react to Julie's plans to take her play to New York?

He thought it would be a great chance for her to make an effort in America.

4. What kind of new acquaintances and connections did Tom make through Julie?

It had spread around among Julia's grander friends that Tom was very clever at helping one with one's income-tax returns. The Dennorants had asked him down to the country for a week-end, so he had met a number of persons who were glad to take advantage of his technical knowledge. He began to get invitations from people whom Julia didn’t know.

5. How did Julie receive Joan Denver?

Julia received Joan Denver at the moment when she had taken her last call. Julia could in the twinkling of an eye leap from her part into private life, but now she continued to play the imperious, stately and well-bred woman of the play.

6. How did Michael hear about Avice Crichton?

Michael heared about Avice Crichton from Tom.

7. Why does Maugham describe Julie's appearance at the Sunday night show as "beautifully timed?"

Maugham described Julie's appearance at the Sunday night show as "beautifully timed" to show how Julia was famous.

8. What impression did Avice Crichton and her acting produce on Julie?

Avice Crichton was very pretty, with lovely golden hair, fine blue eyes and a little straight nose. Julia watched her performance for a few minutes. At first she watched intently, then she leant back in her stall with a little sigh.

9. Why did it irk Tom to have to come back with Julie after the Sunday night show?

Tom wanted to be at the party with Avice.

10. What kind of relationship did Tom and Avice have?

As for Tom, he loved her, but Avice only used him.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 15-18

I. Give Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

condescending letter – снисходительное письмо

pearl studs – жемчужные запонки

peevish – раздраженный

make head or tail of it – ничего не понимать

fatuous irony – глупая ирония

to get back on sb – отделаться от кого-то

song and dance – скандал, постоянные объяснения

to spend a lot on green fees – тратиться на аренду поля для гольфа

despicable – презренный

to give sb a treat – доставить удовольствие кому-то

to wheedle sb into – впутывать кого-то во что-то

prudishness – ханжество

to take liberties with sb – быть непозволительно фамильярным с кем-то

to grudge sb – завидовать

conspicuous – очевидный

to take the rough with the smooth – стойко переносить превратности судьбы

to have a joke up your sleeve – держать шутку наготове

to mortify sb – усмирять, укрощать кого-то

disconcerted – смущенный

II. Explain the following metaphors. Who do they refer to?

It won't hurt him to discover that I'm not all milk and honey.

It refers to Julia. It was the moment when she wanted to hurt Tom’s feelings and reminded him to leave the maid tips, leaving the money in the envelope. So this metaphor describes Julia’s feelings in one of the most important moments in her life -her love to the young man.

I'm not the woman to desert a sinking ship.

It refers to Dolly de Vries. The author used it while speaking to Michael about his wife, Julia, and how her love affairs with Tom could adversely affect her career and her position in the society.

III. Give a character sketch of Dolly de Vries. Pay special attention to the description of hr appearance: "Dolly de Vries was now a woman of sixty. …and a slight cockney accent revealed itself." Dwell on her relationship with Michael and Julia. How did she feel about Tom?

“Dolly de Vries was now a woman of sixty. She was very fat, and her face, with its large nose and heavy red lips, seemed larger than life. There was a slightly masculine touch in her black satin dress, but she wore a double string of pearls round her neck, a diamond brooch at her waist and another in her hat. Her short hair was dyed a rich copper. Her lips and her finger-nails were bright red. Her voice was loud and deep, but when she got excited the words were apt to tumble over one another and a slight cockney accent revealed itself.” She was a very rich admirer of Julia Lambert and at the same time her faithful companion throughout the actress’s life. Dolly loved Julia and the last fell in love with the young man Tom, was jealous of her. At the same time she didn’t like Tom, she even gave necessary inquiries and learned that he, in turn, had love affairs with an incompetent debutante Evis Crichton.

IV. Speak on Julia's reputation and talent. Do you agree that no one expects an actress to be a pattern of propriety?

Julia didn’t find any difficulty for her to think over every detail, every scene of her life, not only on the stage. This woman wasn’t aware that she deliberately observed people, but when she came to study a new part vague recollections surged up in her from she knew not where, and she found that she knew things about the character she was to represent that she had had no inkling of. People thought that she only acted during the two or three hours she was on the stage; they did not know that the character she was playing dwelt in the back of her mind all day long, when she was talking to others with all the appearance of attention, or in whatever business she was engaged.

V. Answer the questions:

1. Why did Julia offer Tom the money for servants' tips? Do you think she made the right decision?

Julia wanted Tom to feel aggrieved as he didn’t have money to pay for himself and even he couldn’t give tips for servants. I think, it wasn’t a perfect decision because it only showed her as a selfishe and rude person.

2. Did Julia manage to induce Tom to see her again after that?

Julia made Tom believe that he understood her erroneous and that she didn’t understand what had happened with him and their relationships.

3. Did Dolly believe that Julia didn't have a lover? Why?

No, Dolly didn’t believe that Julia didn’t have a lover, because people were saying rather disagreeable things about her.

4. Whom did Dolly finally decide to talk to about Julia's cheating?

Dolly was a little frightened of Julia. There was something about her that prevented you from taking liberties with her. This woman came to the conclusion that Michael had to speak to his wife. She had never liked Michael, but after all he was Julia's husband and it was her duty to make him put a stop to whatever was going on.

5. Why did Dolly not confess to Michael that she suspected Julia of having a love affair?

Dolly had an intuition that she could not mistrust. The woman couldn’t give Julia away. Her husband might go and tell her and Julia would never speak to her again. He might have Julia watched and catch her out.

6. Why did Michael suggest buying Dolly's share out?

If Julia's gadding about all night it must tell on her performances. “I know Julia well enough to know that she wouldn't put up with any interference with her liberty of action. I'm her husband and I've got to put up with it. But you're in a different position altogether. I shouldn't blame you if you wanted to get out while the going was good.”

7. What was the reason for Dolly's desperate jealousy?

Dolly knew how much money meant to him and she had a hope that what she had said would rankle. She helped Julia at the very beginning of her career and loved her, she couldn’t allow her to loose anything.

8. How did Dolly try to convince Julia that Tom was not very discreet?

Dolly knew that Tom’s father bought him a share in the firm and he became a junior partner. Then it seems a little strange that on that the young man should be able to have a flat, dress the way he does and take people to night clubs, as if his father bought him a partnership he wasn’t making him an allowance as well.

9. Why couldn't Julia fall asleep after the lunch with Dolly?

The strange thing was that when she looked into her heart it was not Julia Lambert the woman who resented the affront, she didn't care for herself, it was the affront to Julia Lambert the actress that stung her. She had often felt that her talent, genius the critics called it, but that was a very grand word, her gift, not even part of her, but something outside that used her.

VI. Summarize the events of chapters 15-18.

Julia decided to take revenge on Tom. Knowing how to hurt his feelings, she reminded him to leave the maid tips, leaving the money in the envelope. The next day Tom returned all her presents, because this woman managed to hurt him. After a little conversation Tom remained with her. Julia even bought him a flat, that was near to her, furnished it. Several times a week together they appeared in restaurants and night clubs. Gossip had so nearly reached the truth about them. Julia got to know about that from Michael, who knew that from possessed with jealousy Dolly de Vries. Julia tried to find out from Dolly, who gossiped about her, and during the conversation she knew that Tom promised some Evis Crichton the role in the play. It was the moment when the woman understood that the young man didn’t love her.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapter 14

I. Find in the text the following words and phrases and translate them into Russian:

on one excuse and another – то под одним предлогом, то под другим

to confess to oneself – признаться самому себе

that was all to the good – тем лучше

shrewd – проницательный

vanity – тщеславие

to have an affair with sb. – роман с кем-то

sallow – болезненный

to feel compassion for sb. – чувствовать сострадание к кому-то

eminent persons – выдающийся человек

to lay no claims on sb. – не претендовать ни на кого

to use all her arts of cajolery – призывать все свое искусство обольщения

stale food – несвежая пища

to overcome one's scruples – преодолеть сомнения

to have no inclination – не быть склонным

a man of the world – светский человек

she was modest about herself – она была скромного о себе мнения

a smack in the face – прямо в лицо

sulkily – надувшись

Julia's heart was wrung – сердце Джулии сжалось

chivalrous courtesy – рыцарская учтивость

a vile disposition – ужасный нрав

alacrity – готовность

wistful – мечтательный

to act with great naturalness – изображать с большой естественностью

to make a scene – устроить сцену

she was in a black rage – ее душила черная ярость

she'd get even with him – она с ним сквитается

to rack one's brains – биться над задачей

II. Answer the following questions:

1. Was Julia really in love with Tom Fennell? And he?

Julia was really in love with him, she felt a strange passion to him. This woman knew that Tom wasn’t in love with her. He was too young, he was not so interested in her.

2. How old was Tom? What did he do? Why was he a success with women?

Tom was twenty-two and he was five years elder Julia’s son. He was a highly-sexed young man. Julia discovered that since he was seventeen he had had a great many women. He loved the act rather than the person. He looked upon it as the greatest lark in the world. And she could understand why he had so much success. There was something appealing in his slightness, his body was just skin and bone, that was why his clothes sat on him so well, and something charming in his clean freshness. His shyness and his effrontery combined to make him irresistible.

3. How can you characterize Roger? Where was he educated? What were his relations like with his parents? Did he know what he wanted to be? Did he want to go on the stage?

Roger was a nice-looking boy, with reddish hair and blue eyes. He was seventeen. He had neither his mother's vivacity and changing expression nor his father's beauty of feature. As a child Roger was rather stolid and he had a serious look. His only good features were his teeth and his hair, but his figure was rather lumpy. Roger desired to leave Eton at Christmas, he thought he had got everything out of it that he could, and he wanted to go to Vienna for a few months and learn German before going up to Cambridge. As for his future, this young man didn’t know what he wanted to be but at the same time he didn’t want to go on the stage.

4. How did Tom and Roger get on together?

Tom and Roger were at the same age and they spent all the time together.

5. Was Julia as successful in the movies as in the theatre? Did she envy the film-stars?

Julia was not successful in the movies. Her face on the stage so mobile and expressive for some reason lost on the screen, and after one trial she had with Michael's approval refused to accept any of the offers that were from time to time made her. Julia did not envy the film-stars because they came and went but she could stay.

6. Describe in detail how Julia managed to play different characters on the stage. What thrilled her? Why did she sometimes fell like God?

Julia was not aware that she deliberately observed people, but when she came to study a new part vague recollections surged up in her from she knew not where, and she found that she knew things about the character she was to represent that she had had no inkling of. It helped her to think of someone she knew or even someone she had seen in the street or at a party; she combined with this recollection her own personality, and thus built up a character founded on fact but enriched with her experience, her knowledge of technique and her amazing magnetism. People thought that she only acted during the two or three hours she was on the stage; they did not know that the character she was playing dwelt in the back of her mind all day long, when she was talking to others with all the appearance of attention, or in whatever business she was engaged.

7. How did Julia revenge herself on Tom?

Julia decided to revenge on him by reminding him to leave the maid tips, leaving the money in the envelope.

III. Make up a list of words and phrases describing Tom Fennell. Comment on the repetition of "a young man" in the text. First "he was a blushing young man" for Julia. Did her attitude change when she was better aquainted with him? Prove it by giving examples from the text.

- What he's got, of course, is sex appeal

- Sweet with his blue eyes and pale brown hair

- He was so deceitful

-  Young, fresh and ingenuous

- Lips were soft and there was a perfume of youth about him which was really rather delightful
The author uses the repetition "young man" to show that Julia admired Tom’s youth and through it she remembered her times when she was a young woman. At first, Julia tried to attach Tom to her giving him expensive gifts, paying his debts. “She felt a strange compassion for him. He had the high spirits of youth, and she lapped them up as a kitten laps up milk. But he was not amusing. Though he laughed when Julia said a funny thing he never said one himself. She did not mind. She found his dullness restful”.

IV. Find in the text epithets and similes which characterize Julia and Michael and say what effect the author achieves by using them.

Some epithets to describe Julia: very pretty and young (within a company of Tom Julia felt herself much younger); a maiden aunt (to show her disappointment and despair); the popular favourite, the best-dressed woman in London (to show that Julia pretended to be such a woman, it wasn’t her real substance).  

Some epithets to describe Michael: friendly way (to show Michael’s kindness); she read his mind like an open book (to show that Julia knew him perfectly).

V. What stylistic device did Maugham employ at large to characterize Julia? Illustrate your answer with the examples from the text. Comment on the lexicon used by Julia. To what stylistic layer of the vocabulary does it belong? How does it characterize Julia?

There were vulgar words: “The blasted fool, why does he talk all that rot?”, “Gosh, I’m going down like a barrel of oysters”. The author used them in Julia’s internal monologues to show that in reality she was not a person of high society. She only seemed to be intelligent with other people.

VI. Give a summary of chapter 14. (in written form)

Julia found herself totally enamored with Tom. She tried to attach the young man to her giving him expensive gifts and paying his debts.  In his turn, Tom had the high spirits of youth, but he was not amusing. Though he laughed when Julia said a funny thing he never said one himself. She found his dullness restful. Also Tom became close friends with her seventeen year son, Roger, and they spent all their time together. However this young man didn’t notice Julia decided to take revenge on him. She reminded him to leave the maid tips, leaving the money in the envelope.

Theatre by W.S. Maugham

Chapters 11-13

I. Find the following words and phrases in the text and translate them into Russian:

a profound contempt – глубочайшее презрение

to have first nights – премьеры

to be exemplary – примерный

a pattern of conjugal fidelity – образец супружеской верности

to separate – разлучать

be ingenuous – искренний

to cry almost at will – вызвать слезы по собственному желанию

common sense – здравый смысл

to elope with sb. – сбежать с кем-то

preposterous – абсурдный

curtain calls – выход на поклон

prudish – строгий

in for a penny in for a pound – назвался груздем – полезай в кузов

this was all a put-up job – подстроить что-то специально

indecent – неприличный

in a flash – в мгновение ока

to take liberties with sb. – быть чересчур фамильярным с кем-то

a matinee – дневной спектакль

amiably – дружелюбно

well-chosen words – меткие слова

to have no sequel – продолжения не будет

to erase the episode from her memory – вспоминать

pleasant reveries sauntered through her mind – приятные полумечты-полувоспоминания неторопливо ей в  голову

hectic flush – лихорадочный румянец

to see in the flesh – увидеть в живую

to hurt one's pride – задеть чью-то гордость

to have an inkling – заподозрить

to pawn –ручаться

II. Answer the following questions:

1. How did Julia and Lord Tamerly get acquainted? Was Julia his mistress? What did Julia owe to Charles Tamerly?

Julia and Lord Tamerly got  acquainted at a luncheon party. In spite of the fact that Lord Tamerly was madly fall in love with Julia, she wasn't his mistress.

2. Describe Julia's acting when Lord Tamerly declared his love to her. How can you prove that it was only make-believe?

As for Julia’s acting when Lord Tamerly declared his love to her, she found it rather comic. S said that he was a nice middle-aged man, but she didn’t love him. She sat down and for a minute looked silently at the miniature. Julia raised her eyes till they met Charles's. With her mouth slightly open, with the look in her eyes of a child that has been deeply hurt and does not know why, the effect was unbearably pathetic. She cried and nodded.

3. Why do you think Julia agreed to have tea with the young man? What was his name? Did Julia know it or not?

To my mind, she agreed to have tea with them out of curiosity. His name was Tom Fennel and Julia did not know it.

4. Was the young man as shy as he seemed to be?

The young man seemed shy but one moment he put his arm round her waist and kissed her full on the lips. At that moment this young man wasn’t so shy.

5. How did he show his admiration for Julia?

He had seen her in every play she had acted. He also said that when he was fourteen he had stood outside the stage door after a matinee and had asked her to sign her name in his autograph-book.

6. What feelings did Julia experience after the date with the young man? How did she act after that? How old was Julia at that time? What's your opinion of Julia's behaviour?

Julia found herself enamored with a young man. At that time Julia was fourty but she found herself looking and feeling 20 years younger. Everybody in the theatre noticed how she had changed. She acted with a passion and emotions. As for my opinion, I don’t appreciate her behavior, because I think the woman shouldn’t get out of line.

7. Describe the episode of Julia's adventure on the train to Cannes. What was Julia's attitude towards this accident? Give quotations from the text and comment on them. What do you think of this adventure?

During her trip to Cannes, Julia acquainted with the man who told her that he was an attaché at the Spanish Embassy in Paris and was going down to Cannes for
Easter. They spent the night together, and after a while it turned out that he had a family. Next morning she couldn’t believe that it had happened with her, but at the same time she did care more about the safety of her jewelry. I think her behavior was immoral.

8. When did Julia see Tom Fennell again? Under what circumstances?

Several days later Tom called her and ask for one more meeting. Julia tried to refuse him, but finally agreed to meet with Tom in her dressing-room.

9. What do you think attracted Julia to Tom? How old was he?

His youth attracted Julia. As for Tom, he was no more than 20. His lips were soft and there was a perfume of youth about him which was really rather delightful, blue eyes were so charmingly boyish.

10. Why do you think Tom was interested in grand people?

I think, Tom wanted to become rich and famous like them.

11. Do you approve or disapprove of Julia's love affair with Tom Fennell?

I disapprove of Julia’s love affair with Tom. I think any woman shouldn’t get out of line.

III. Make up a list of words and phrases which the author uses to show Julia's attitude towards Tom Fennell. Comment on their semantics and stylistic value.

- Young, fresh and ingenuous.

- Sweet with his blue eyes and pale brown hair.
- His lips were soft and there was a perfume of youth about him which was really rather delightful.
- There was something charming in his clean freshness.
- Julia could have taken him in her arms then and there and kissed his blue eyes. She adored him.
- She had been as excited all the evening as a girl going to her first ball. She could not help thinking how absurd she was.

All these phrases show Julia’s attitude to Thomas Fennel. She realized, she fall in love with Tom but she knew it was wrong to date with him.

IV. The author uses a number of theatrical allusions. Find them in the text and say what you know about them. (Consult the Oxford Guide to British and American Culture or any other culture dictionary).

Ellen Terry was an English actress who became one of the most popular stage performers in both Great Britain and North America. For 24 years she worked as the leading lady of Sir Henry Irving in one of the most famous partnerships in the theatre. In the 1890s she began her famous “paper courtship” with George Bernard Shaw, one of the most brilliant correspondences in the history of English letter writing.

Mlle Clairon was a leading actress of the Comédie-Française who created many parts in the plays of Voltaire, Jean-François Marmontel, Bernard-Joseph Saurin, and others.

George Farquhar was an Irish playwright of real comic power who wrote for the English stage at the beginning of the 18th century. He stood out from his contemporaries for originality of dialogue and a stage sense that doubtless stemmed from his experience as an actor.

Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish essayist, poet, novelist, dramatist, and eccentric, made famous by such works as the series of essays The Citizen of the World, or, Letters from a Chinese Philosopher (1762), the poem The Deserted Village (1770), the novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766).

Marcel Proust was a French novelist, author of “À la recherche du temps perdu”, a seven-volume novel based on Proust’s life told psychologically and allegorically.

Paul Cézanne was a French painter, one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists, whose works and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many 20th-century artists and art movements, especially Cubism.

V. In chapter 11 you can find the following phrase: "... like Venus rising from the waves." What is the source of this allusion? Comment on it and its stylistic effect.

“The Birth of Venus” is a 1486 painting by Sandro Botticelli. I think, the author used such allusion to stress Julia’s state of mind. When she met Tom she was looking and feeling 20 years younger.

VI. Give a summary of chapters 11-13. (in written form)

Julia met with Tom, who was madly in love with her. This woman found him very polite and elegant. Next morning Mr. Fennel called her and invited to have a cup of tea. His poor apartment reminded Julia the times when she was in the beginning of her carrier. Suddenly the young man kissed her. At first Julia didn’t take it seriously, but this relationship made her feel younger and gave her inspiration. During her trip this woman had another affair with an unknown man. After her returning Julia and  Tom went to an expensive restaurant. She pointed out that he had pawned his watch in order to take her out to supper. Finally Julia realized that she had fallen in love with Tom.