ig hands hidden in woolen gloves; and he was for ever
talking of turning them out, whilst the snow continued to fall outside,
as though it were preparing a bed for them on the pavement with white
sheets. To have paid the quarter's rent they would have sold their very
flesh. It was the rent which emptied the larder and the stove.

No doubt the Coupeaus had only themselves to blame. Life may be a
hard fight, but one always pulls through when one is orderly and
economical--witness the Lorilleuxs, who paid their rent to the day, the
money folded up in bits of dirty paper. But they, it is true, led a life
of starved spiders, which would disgust one with hard work. Nana as yet
earned nothing at flower-making; she even cost a good deal for her keep.
At Madame Fauconnier's Gervaise was beginning to be looked down upon.
She was no longer so expert. She bungled her work to such an extent that
the mistress had reduced her wages to two francs a day, the price paid
to the clumsiest bungler. But she was still proud, reminding everyone of
her former status as boss of her own shop. When Madame Fauconnier hired
Madame Putois, Gervaise was so annoyed at having to work beside her
former employee that she stayed away for two weeks.

As for Coupeau, he did perhaps work, but in that case he certainly made
a present of his labor to the Government, for since the time he returned
from Etampes Gervaise had never seen the color of his money. She no
longer looked in his hands when he came home on paydays. He
arrived swinging his arms, his pockets empty, and often without his
handkerchief; well, yes, he had lost his rag, or else some rascally
comrade had sneaked it. At first he always fibbed; there was a donation
to charity, or some money slipped through the hole in his pocket, or he
paid off some imaginary debts. Later, he didn't even bother to make up
anything. He had nothing left because it had all gone into his stomach.

Madame Boche suggested to Gervaise that she go to wait for him at the
shop exit. This rarely worked though, because Coupeau's comrades would
warn him and the money would disappear into his shoe or someone else's
pocket.

Yes, it was their own fault if every season found them lower and lower.
But that's the sort of thing one never tells oneself, especially when
one is down in the mire. They accused their bad luck; they pretended
that fate was against them. Their home had become a regular shambles
where they wrangled the whole