月亮和六便士 第四十三章(1)

 Chapter 43 第四十三章

Looking back, I realise that what I have written about Charles Strickland must seem very unsatisfactory. 回过头来看一下，我发现我写的关于查理斯·思特里克兰德的这些事似乎很难令人满意。

I have given incidents that came to my knowledge, but they remain obscure because I do not know the reasons that led to them. 我把自己知道的一些事情记载下来，但是我写得并不清楚，因为我不了解它们发生的真实原因。

The strangest, Strickland's determination to become a painter, seems to be arbitrary; 最令人费解的莫过于思特里克兰德为什么决心要做画家这件事，看来简直没有什么道理可寻。

and though it must have had causes in the circumstances of his life, I am ignorant of them. 尽管从他的生活环境一定找得出原因来，我却一无所知。

From his own conversation I was able to glean¹ nothing. 从他的谈话里我任何线索也没有获得。

If I were writing a novel, rather than narrating² such facts as I know of a curious personality, 如果我是在写一部小说，而不是叙述我知道的一个性格怪异的人的真人真事，

I should have invented much to account for this change of heart. 我就会编造一些原因，解释他生活上的这一突变。

I think I should have shown a strong vocation³ in boyhood, crushed by the will of his father or sacrificed to the necessity of earning a living; 我会描写他童年时期就感到绘画是自己的天职，但迫于父亲的严命或者必须为谋生奔走，这个梦想遭到破灭；

I should have pictured him impatient of the restraints of life; 我也可以描写他如何对生活的桎梏感到痛恨，

and in the struggle between his passion for art and the duties of his station I could have aroused sympathy for him. 写他对艺术的热爱与生活的职责间的矛盾冲突，用以唤起读者对他的同情。

I should so have made him a more imposing⁴ figure. 这样我就可以把思特里克兰德这个人写得更加令人敬畏。

Perhaps it would have been possible to see in him a new Prometheus. 或许人们能够在他身上看到另一个普罗米修斯。

There was here, maybe, the opportunity for a modern version of the hero who for the good of mankind exposes himself to the agonies of the damned. 我也许会塑造一个为了替人类造福甘心忍受痛苦折磨的当代英雄。

It is always a moving subject. 这永远是一个动人心弦的主题。

On the other hand, I might have found his motives⁵ in the influence of the married relation. 另外，我也可以从思特里克兰德的婚姻关系中找到他立志绘画的动机。

There are a dozen ways in which this might be managed. 我可以有十几种方法处理这个故事：

A latent gift might reveal itself on acquaintance with the painters and writers whose society his wife sought; 因为他妻子喜欢同文艺界人士来往，他也有缘结识一些文人和画家，因而唤醒了那隐伏在他身上的艺术才能；

or domestic incompatability might turn him upon himself; 也可能是家庭不和睦使他把精力转到自己身上；

a love affair might fan into bright flame a fire which I could have shown smouldering dimly in his heart. 再不然也可以归结于爱情，譬如说，我可以写一下他心中早就埋着热爱艺术的火种，因为爱上一个女人，一下子把闷火扇成熊熊的烈焰。

I think then I should have drawn⁶ Mrs. Strickland quite differently. 我想，如果这样写的话，思特里克兰德太太在我笔下也就要以另一副面貌出现了。

I should have abandoned the facts and made her a nagging⁷, tiresome⁸ woman, or else a bigoted⁹ one with no sympathy for the claims of the spirit. 我将不得不把事实篡改一下，把她写成一个唠唠叨叨、惹人生厌的女人，再不然就是性格褊狭，根本不了解精神的需求。

I should have made Strickland's marriage a long torment¹⁰ from which escape was the only possible issue. 思特里克兰德婚后生活是一场无尽无休的痛苦煎熬，离家出走将是他的唯一出路。

I think I should have emphasised his patience with the unsuitable mate, 我想我将在思特里克兰德如何委曲求全这件事上多费些笔墨，

and the compassion¹¹ which made him unwilling¹² to throw off the yoke¹³ that oppressed him. 他如何心存怜悯，不愿贸然甩掉折磨他的枷锁。

I should certainly have eliminated the children. 这样写，我当然就不会提他们的两个孩子了。

1 glean   

v.收集(消息、资料、情报等)

参考例句：

• The little information that we could glean about them was largely contradictory.我们能够收集到的有关它们的少量信息大部分是自相矛盾的。
• From what I was able to glean,it appears they don't intend to take any action yet.根据我所收集到的资料分析，他们看来还不打算采取任何行动。

2 narrating   

v.故事( narrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She entertained them by narrating her adventures in Africa. 她讲述她在非洲的历险来使他们开心。
• [Mike Narrating] Worm and I fall into our old rhythm like Clyde Frazier and Pearl Monroe. [迈克叙述] 虫子和我配合得象以前一样默契我们两好象是克莱德。弗瑞泽和佩尔。门罗。 来自电影对白

3 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

4 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

5 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

9 bigoted   

adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
• I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。

10 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

11 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

12 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

13 yoke   

n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶

参考例句：

• An ass and an ox,fastened to the same yoke,were drawing a wagon.驴子和公牛一起套在轭上拉车。
• The defeated army passed under the yoke.败军在轭门下通过。