Since the morning, they had been experiencing
strange sensations, which they did not seek to fathom. From the
commencement, they had felt bewildered at the rapidity with which
the formalities and ceremony were performed, that had just bound them
together for ever.
Then, the long drive on the boulevards had soothed them and made them
drowsy. It appeared to them that this drive lasted months. Nevertheless,
they allowed themselves to be taken through the monotonous streets
without displaying impatience, looking at the shops and people with
sparkless eyes, overcome by a numbness that made them feel stupid, and
which they endeavoured to shake off by bursting into fits of laughter.
When they entered the restaurant, they were weighed down by oppressive
fatigue, while increasing stupor continued to settle on them.
Placed at table opposite one another, they smiled with an air of
constraint, and then fell into the same heavy reverie as before, eating,
answering questions, moving their limbs like machines. Amidst the idle
lassitude of their minds, the same string of flying thoughts returned
ceaselessly. They were married, and yet unconscious of their new
condition, which caused them profound astonishment.
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