The Spider's Web

I share with you today this unpublished story of mine, an attempt at stream of conciousness (monólogo interior), a literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow as they come to the person's mind, uninterrupted by conventional punctuation marks. This technique can be found, for example, in some pages of James Joyce's Ulysses.

THE SPIDER’S WEB

What awful weather tonight my friend so windy and cold outside but how nice and cosy it is to sit here with you near the fire what were you saying dear yes you said its better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all oh come on thats Tennyson cant you think of anyone better well hes not bad but give me Shakespeare any day my only love sprung from my only hate aha Romeo and Juliet thats more like it though it all seems so faraway so distant now but yes it might fit me perhaps because with him you never knew if it was love or hate anyway in my case I suppose it wasnt love its hate now certainly hes so highbrow so supercilious those airs of superiority it makes me sick sometimes I feel I could hit his face wipe that stupid grin off his mouth...thank you dear I could do with a nice hot cup of coffee too Im so at ease with you no I dont mind talking about my private life with you honest with him it wasnt the same hes so complicated such a crooked mind and to think that I gave him my most precious flower okay okay dont laugh I know virginity is just a nuisance to get rid of as soon as possible and yes I wanted to get rid of mine enough of that then worms shall try that long preserved virginity stuff Im glad I lost it and Im convinced my choice of man was right too a mature chap with plenty of experience somebody who was in a position to help me with my career too you smile well one must keep ones feet on the ground in any situation dont you agree anyway a passable lover at worst he was and imagination could do the rest besides I could always have as many young men as I liked after him...mm very nice coffee you make my dear and that Roxettes song so melodic it mustve been love but its over now very appropriate where was I ah yes I could have as many young lovers as I pleased later and indeed after the accident when he wouldnt have anything to do with me I did try some powerful studs that pierced my flesh stallions that rammed into me but I wasnt satisfied how stupid and blind can men be they think its their virility that turns our heads they dont realize the fools it doesnt work like that for us its something much more subtle anyhow with him I have to admit it wasnt too bad he knew the bastard how to arouse my senses in that respect he was an expert oh there were times when he drove me crazy when I rode the runaway horse of passion in his arms of course Im no fool I knew there was no future hed always go back to his wife and children but who cared no place in my heart for the greeneyd monster besides Ive long known that the joys of married life are not for me no Ill never be a mother and Im not made to be a wife either no way to kill a wife with kindness for me no taming of the shrew...a little drink now yes why not I feel good tonight its so pleasant to be here with you so peaceful and I trust you Im telling you things I never told anybody before Im sure you understand me well we women understand each other better to tell you the truth it was never a rose garden at his side the arguments the rows the sordid clandestineness his obsessive fear of being discovered there were times when I felt like a whore I confess naughty wicked even but I couldnt help it I liked the look in his eyes that proclaimed his desire for my young body my tender but firm flesh he knew it was his last opportunity and he couldnt afford to let it pass I also knew it no silly that it was his last chance to feel young I mean not mine but I enjoyed myself too as Ive already said he was a passable lover but a friend he never was I have no use for him as a friend but now I have you...yes go on dear dont hold back the sweetness of a tender kiss the promise of a white breast the smooth velvety skin oh God at times like this I wouldnt mind being a man and get up a lovely woman oh dont stop now I feel different tonight relaxed I close my eyes and I imagine Im running along a deserted beach naked my hair to the wind my lips salty with the foam from the sea then I lie on the sand and abandon myself to the gentle caress of the waves lapping at the inside of my thighs oh how pleasurable it feels a silken touch to kindle the fire beneath the cool of my skin ooh darling...

GLOSSARY

'Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all - es mejor haber amado y perdido/que nunca haber amado [from In Memorian by Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)] 
give me Shakespeare any day - prefiero a Shakespeare mil veces
my only love sprung from my only hate - mi único amor nacido de mi único odio (from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet)
that's more like it - eso está mejor
so faraway - tan lejano
it might fit me - podría venirme bien
highbrow - intelectual
supercilious - arrogante
to wipe that stupid grin off his mouth - borrar esa estúpida sonrisa de su boca
I could do with... - me vendría bien...
to be at ease - estar a gusto
honest - de verdad, te lo juro
crooked - retorcido,-a
a nuisance - un estorbo
to get rid of sth - librarse de algo
enough of that 'then worms shall try that long preserved virginity' stuff - ya está bien de todo eso de 'entonces gusanos probarán esa virginidad tanto tiempo preservada' [from To His Coy Mistress, perhaps the best known carpe diem poem in English, by the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)] 
mature - maduro,-a
to keep one's feet on the ground - tener los pies en la tierra
at worst - en el peor de los casos
'it must've been love, but it's over now' - 'debe de haber sido amor, pero ahora se acabó' (from a song by Roxette, a Swedish pop rock duo, formed in 1986, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle)
not have anything to do with sb - no querer saber nada de alguien
stud - semental
who pierced my flesh  - que traspasaron mi carne
stallion - caballo semental
to ram into sb - penetrar a alguien con fuerza
to turn sb's head - hacer perder la cabeza a alguien
it doesn't work like that for us - no funciona así con nosotras
subtle - sutil
bastard - cabrón
to arouse sb's senses - despertar los sentidos a alguien
to drive sb crazy - volver loco,-a a alguien
a runaway horse - un caballo desbocado
the green-ey'd monster - el monstruo de los celos (from Shakespeare's Othello)
to kill a wife with kindness - 'matar'/abrumar a una esposa con atenciones (from Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew) 
no taming of the shrew - nada de fierecilla domada (The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's plays)
row - riña, pelea
whore - prostituta
naughty - travieso,-a, malo,-a
wicked - perverso,-a
to have no use for sb - no servirle una persona a alguien para nada
to hold back - refrenarse
smooth velvety skin - piel suave y aterciopelada
salty - salado,-a
foam - espuma
waves - olas
to lap - lamer
thighs - muslos
silken touch - tacto suave como la seda
to kindle the fire of passion - encender el fuego de la pasión
beneath the cool of my skin - bajo el frescor de mi piel

EXERCISE 

Re-write the story, adding the punctuation marks.

KEY

"What awful weather tonight,  my friend! So windy and cold outside! But how nice and cosy it is to sit here with you near the fire!  What were you saying, dear?  Yes, you said 'it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all'. Oh, come on, that’s Tennyson. Can’t you think of anyone better? Well, he’s not bad, but give me Shakespeare any day: 'my only love sprung from my only hate'. Aha!, Romeo and Juliet, that’s more like it, though it all seems so faraway, so distant now. But yes, it might fit me perhaps, because with him you never knew if it was love or hate. Anyway, in my case, I suppose it wasn’t love. It’s hate now, certainly. He’s so highbrow, so supercilious. Those airs of superiority..., it makes me sick. Sometimes I feel I could hit his face, wipe that stupid grin off his mouth...Thank you, dear, I could do with a nice hot cup of coffee, too. I’m so at ease with you! No, I don’t mind talking about my private life with you, honest. With him, it wasn’t the same. He’s so complicated; such a crooked mind. And to think that I gave him my most precious flower. Okay, okay, don’t laugh. I know virginity is just a nuisance to get rid of as soon as possible. And yes, I wanted to get rid of mine. Enough of that 'then worms shall try that long preserved virginity' stuff. I’m glad I lost it, and I’m convinced my choice of man was right, too. A mature chap with plenty of experience, somebody who was in a position to help me with my career, too. You smile. Well, one must keep one’s feet on the ground in any situation, don’t you agree? Anyway, a passable lover at worst he was, and imagination could do the rest. Besides, I could always have as many young men as I liked after him...Mm, very nice coffee you make, my dear. And that Roxette’s song, so melodic: 'it must’ve been love but it’s over now'. Very appropriate. Where was I? Ah, yes, I could have as many young lovers as I pleased later. And indeed, after the accident, when he wouldn’t have anything to do with me, I did try some powerful studs that pierced my flesh; stallions that rammed into me. But I wasn’t satisfied. How stupid and blind can men be! They think it’s their virility that turns our heads. They don’t realize, the fools, it doesn’t work like that for us. It’s something much more subtle. Anyhow, with him, I have to admit it wasn’t too bad. He knew, the bastard, how to arouse my senses. In that respect, he was an expert. Oh, there were times when he drove me crazy, when I rode the runaway horse of passion in his arms. Of course, I’m no fool. I knew there was no future. He’d always go back to his wife and children. But who cared? No place in my heart for 'the green-ey'd monster'. Besides, I’ve long known that the joys of married life are not for me. No, I’ll never be a mother, and I’m not made to be a wife either. No way 'to kill a wife with kindness' for me, no 'taming of the shrew'...A little drink now? Yes, why not? I feel good tonight. It’s so pleasant to be here with you, so peaceful! And I trust you. I’m telling you things I never told anybody before. I’m sure you understand me. Well, we women understand each other better. To tell you the truth, it was never a rose garden at his side. The arguments, the rows, the sordid clandestineness, his obsessive fear of being discovered. There were times when I felt like a whore, I confess. Naughty, wicked even, but I couldn’t help it. I liked the look in his eyes that proclaimed his desire for my young body, my tender but firm flesh. He knew it was his last opportunity, and he couldn’t afford to let it pass. I also knew it. No, silly. That it was his last chance to feel young, I mean, not mine. But I enjoyed myself, too. As I’ve already said, he was a passable lover, but a friend he never was. I have no use for him as a friend. But now I have you...Yes, go on, dear, don’t hold back! The sweetness of a tender kiss, the promise of a white breast, the smooth velvety skin. Oh, God! at times like this, I wouldn’t mind being a man and get up a lovely woman. Oh, don’t stop now! I feel different tonight, relaxed. I close my eyes, and I imagine I’m running along a deserted beach, naked, my hair to the wind, my lips salty with the foam from the sea. Then I lie on the sand and abandon myself to the gentle caress of the waves lapping at the inside of my thighs. Oh, how pleasurable it feels! A silken touch to kindle the fire beneath the cool of my skin. Ooh!!, darling..."