A Man with a Conscience

By W.S. Mougham.

Read the story given below and do the following assignments.

1.Introduce the main characters of the story, namely give the basic information on:
a. Jean’s and Henri’s background;

Through his childhood, his adolescence, and his young manhood, he lived in the
constant companionship of a boy called, shall we say for the purposes of this
narrative, Henri Renard, whose father was also an official in the Customs. Jean
and Riri went to school together, played together, worked for their examinations
together, spent their holidays together, for the two families were intimate, had
their first affairs with girls together, partnered one another in the local
tennis tournaments, and did their military service together. They never
quarrelled. They were never so happy as in one another’s society. They were
inseparable. When the time came for them to start working they decided that they
would go into the same firm; but that was not so easy; Jean tried to get Riri a
job in the exporting house that had engaged him, but could not manage it, and it
was not till a year later that Riri got something to do.

b. Henri’s most prominent features of character;

Riri was a light–hearted youth, and he enjoyed his leisure. He danced,

bathed, and played tennis.

‘He had immense vitality. He was the gayest, most amusing lad you ever met. His
high spirits were infectious. You couldn’t be dull in his company.’ ‘He had pep,’
I smiled. ‘And an incredible charm.’ ‘Was he good–looking?’ ‘No, not very. He was
shorter than me, slight and wiry; but he had a nice, good–humoured face.’ Jean
Charvin smiled rather pleasantly. ‘I think without any vanity I can say that I
was better–looking than Riri.’

c. Mary’s background and her attitude to the two friends;

Marie–Louise was then eighteen. She had spent almost all her life in Tonkin.
This gave her an exotic attraction for the young men who had never been out
of France in their lives, and first Riri, then Jean, fell in love with her.

She was a well–brought–up girl, an only child, and her mother, besides her
pension, had a little money of her own. It was evident that she could be
pursued only with a view of marriage.

Madame Meurice was something of an invalid, so that Marie–Louise had more

liberty than most French girls of her age and station. She knew that both
Riri and Jean were in love with her, she liked them both and was pleased by
their attentions, but she gave no sign that she was in love with either. It
was impossible to tell which she preferred. She was well aware that Riri was
not in a position to marry her.
 ‘She was small, with a pretty little figure, with large grey eyes, a pale
skin, and soft, mouse–coloured hair. She was rather like a little mouse. She
was not beautiful, but pretty, in a quaint demure way; there was something
very appealing about her. She was easy to get on with. She was simple and
unaffected. You couldn’t help feeling that she was reliable and would make
anyone a good wife.’

d. Henri’s plans for the future;

One day Riri waited for Jean to come away from his office and told him that
Marie–Louise had consented to marry him. They had arranged that as soon as he
got a job his father should go to her mother and make the formal offer.

e. Jean Charvin’s attitude to his wife.

For a year Jean and Marie–Louise were extremely happy. Madame Meurice died, and
Marie–Louise inherited a couple of hundred thousand francs; but with the
depression and the unstable currency they decided not to have a child till the
economic situation was less uncertain. Marie–Louise was a good and frugal
housekeeper. She was an affectionate, amiable, and satisfactory wife. She was
placid. This before he married her had seemed to Jean a rather charming trait,
but as time wore on it was borne in upon him that her placidity came from a
certain lack of emotional ardour. It concealed no depth. He had always thought
she was like a little mouse; there was something mouse–like in her furtive
reticences; she was oddly serious about trivial matters and could busy herself
indefinitely with things that were of no consequence. She had her own little set
of interests and they left no room in her pretty sleek head for any others. She
sometimes began a novel, but seldom cared to finish it. Jean was obliged to admit
to himself that she was rather dull. The uneasy thought came to him that perhaps
it had not been worth while to do a dirty trick for her sake. It began to worry
him.

He began to dislike her. For it was for her that he had done the shameful thing,
and what was she? An ordinary, commonplace, rather calculating little woman.
‘What a fool I’ve been,’ he repeated. He did not even find her pretty any more.
He knew now that she was terribly stupid.

She had only to express a wish for him to fulfil it if it was in his power. He
tried to pity her, he tried to be tolerant; he told himself that from her own
petty standpoint she was a good wife, methodical, saving, and in her manner,
dress, and appearance a credit to a respectable young man. All that was true; but
it was on her account that Riri had died, and he loathed her. She bored him to
distraction. Though he said nothing, though he was kind, amiable, and indulgent,
he could often have killed her

2.Summarize the story in 150 words starting it as follows: “A man with the conscience is
tragic a story of friendship, love and betrayal …”
A man with the conscience is tragic a story of friendship, love and betrayal. Jean Charvin,
imprisoned for 6 years for killing his wife, seems like a well-educated man, compared to other
prisoners. He tells a story from his life. Jean and his best friend Riri are both in love with the same
woman, but Riri can’t get a job and realizes that Mary will never marry a jobless man. She still
chooses the charismatic best friend and Jean decides not to stand on their way. However, when
Jean’s employer decides to hire Henri, Jean does the mean thing because he loves Mary a lot. Henri
moves to Cambodia, contracts typhoid fever and dies. Jean blames himself for this tragedy and
starts hating his wife. He can’t stand her; she is the reason why Riri is dead. One day, Jean kills her
in a fit of anger and he is no longer opposed by remorse.
3.Prove that:
 Jean Charvin is the polar opposite of Henri Renar;
He was a handsome man, tall, erect, and lean, with flashing dark eyes and clean–cut,
strong features. The first thing I noticed about him was that he had a fine head of
long, naturally–waving dark brown hair. This at once made him look different from the
rest of the prisoner.
‘Was he good–looking?’ ‘No, not very. He was shorter than me, slight and wiry; but he
had a nice, good–humoured face.’ Jean Charvin smiled rather pleasantly. ‘I think
without any vanity I can say that I was better–looking than Riri.’

 It hurt Jean Charvin to think of his friend.

‘I’m going to tell you something now that I’ve never told to anyone before. I’m an
honest man, a man of principle; I’m going to tell you of the only discreditable action
I’ve ever done in my life.’ – talking about betraying Riri.
Jean felt that he had killed him. If he had told the director all the good he knew of
Riri, knew as no one else in the world did, he would have got the post and would now be
alive and well.
Jean was tortured by remorse. What he had suffered before was nothing to what he
suffered now. The anguish that the recollection of his treachery caused him was worse
than a physical pain gnawing at his vitals.

4.State who of the characters produced the following statements and recount the
circumstances under which they occurred in the story:

 “When one’s young, one’s foolish.” they said, with a careless gesture or a
deprecating smile. Others told me that if they had known what the punishment was
they would suffer; they would certainly have held their hands. I found in none
any regret for the human being they had violently bereft of life. It seemed to me
that they had no more feeling for the creature they had killed than if it had
been a pig whose throat they had cut in the way of business.
 “They are dirty lot of scoundrels.” St Jean is a camp seventeen kilometres from
St Laurent, and it is here that are interned the habitual criminals who have been
sentenced to transportation after repeated terms of imprisonment. They are petty
thieves, confidence men, forgers, tricksters, and suchlike; the prisoners of St
Laurent, condemned for more serious offences, look upon them with contempt.
 “I think the want of books is what I most suffer from” The few I can get hold of
I’m forced to read over and over again.’ To so great a reader as myself no
deprivation seems more insupportable than the lack of books. ‘I have several
French ones in my bag. I’ll look them out and if you care to have them I’ll give
them to you if you can come along again.’
 The strip of sky you saw with a single coconut tree on one side, its green
foliage harsh against the blue, looked like an advertisement for a tropical
cruise. Jean Charvin’s eyes searched the distance as though he sought to see the
future. “But the next time I marry I shan’t marry for love, I shall mary for
money.”
5.Find the Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and phrases, remind of the context
they are used in:
at your/somebody’s disposal – у
твому/чиємусь розпорядженні
(But the Governor of the colony, who
lives at Cayenne, had put at my disposal
his own bungalow and it was there I
slept.)
to get on with somebody – ладити з
кимось
(She was easy to get on with.)
to stand in somebody’s way – стояти в
когось на заваді
(Jean and Riri hid nothing from one
another and Jean made no secret of the
fact that he was in love with Marie–
Louise, but Riri had met her first and it
was an understood thing between them
that Jean should not stand in his way.)
to be under a spell – бути під впливом
чогось
(and when she was no longer under the
spell of Riri’s charm there was no reason
why her great liking for him should not
turn to love.)
to play into somebody’s hands – зіграти
комусь на руку
(Jean hated losing him, but from the
moment Riri told him his bad news, he
had realized with an exulting heart that
fate was playing into his hands)
to take precautions – вжити заходів
обережності
(But I will not conceal from the reader
that when I went to bed at night I took the
precaution to lock my door and to bolt
my shutters.)
to put oneself together – зібратись
духом
(“Pull yourself together, my dear boy;
you’re upset and I can understand it.)
on somebody’s account – на чиїсь
совісті
(but it was on her account that Riri had
died, and he loathed her.)
an apple-pie order – до ладу
The accounts were very badly kept when
I took them over, and I’ve got them in
apple–pie order.

6.Give a written literary Ukrainian translation of the opening paragraph starting with the
words “St. Laurent de Maroni is a pretty little place” and closing with the words “there is no
lack of convicts to keep them so”. What is the purpose of such a detailed description of the
place in the story?
St Laurent de Maroni is a pretty little place. It is neat and clean. It has an Hôtel
de Ville and a Palais de Justice of which many a town in France would be proud.
The streets are wide, and the fine trees that border them give a grateful shade.
The houses look as though they had just had a coat of paint. Many of them nestle
in little gardens, and in the gardens are palm trees and flame of the forest;
cannas flaunt their bright colours and crotons their variety; the bougainvillaeas,
purple or red, riot profusely, and the elegant hibiscus offers its gorgeous flowers
with a negligence that seems almost affected. St Laurent de Maroni is the centre
of the French penal settlements of Guiana, and a hundred yards from the quay
at which you land is the great gateway of the prison camp. These pretty little
houses in their tropical gardens are the residence of the prison officials, and if
the streets are neat and clean it is because there is no lack of convicts to keep
them so.
Сен-Лоран де Мароні[1] — гарненьке містечко. Охайне та чисте. З міською
ратушею та судом, якими пишалися б багато міст Франції. Розкішні дерева
вздовж широких вулиць створюють тут приємну тінь. А будинки мають
такий вигляд, ніби їх щойно пофарбували. Більшість з них розташовані в
маленьких садочках, де ростуть пальми та кущі лісового полум'я[2];
канни[3] пишаються своїми яскравими кольорами, а кротони[4] —
різноманітністю; щедро буяє пурпурна і червона бугенвілія[5], а елегантний
гібіскус[6] простягає свої пишні шати з манірною щедрістю. Сен-Лоран де
Мароні — центр французьких виправних поселень у Гвіані, і за сто ярдів від
пристані, де ви сходите на берег,— стоять великі ворота тюремного табору.
Оці гарненькі будиночки у тропічних садках — місце, де мешкають тюремні
 службовці, проте якщо вулички тут ошатні та чисті, то в цьому заслуга лише
засуджених, котрі доглядають за ними.

7.Which of the following proverbs is applicable to the story and in what way?
“Appearences are deceiptful”
“All is fair in love and war”
“One cannot put back the clock”