那些无法抗拒的名篇09:Sister Carrie 嘉莉妹妹(节选)
09 嘉莉妹妹
In the light of the world's attitude toward woman and her duties,the nature of Carrie s mental state deserves consideration. Actions such as hers are measured by an arbitrary scale. Society possesses a conventional standard whereby it judges all things. All men should be good,all women virtuous. Wherefore, villain，hast thou failed?
按照世俗对女人及其职责的看法，嘉莉的心态确实值得推敲。像她这种行为，人们总要用一种专断的尺度来加以衡量。本来判断一切行为，社会上就有一套传统标准。男人应该刚正不阿，女人应该玉洁冰清。恶人啊，你为什么所谋不遂呢!
For all the liberal analysis of Spencer and our modern naturalistic philosophers, we have but an infantile perception of morals. There is more in the subject than mere conformity to a law of evolution. It is yet deeper than conformity to things of earth alone. It is more involved than we, as yet, perceive. Answer, first, why the heart thrills, explain wherefore some plaintive note goes wandering about the world, undying, make clear the rose's subtle alchemy evolving its ruddy lamp in light and rain. In the essence of these facts lie the first principles of morals.
根据斯宾塞和我们当代自然主义哲学家们的分析研究，我们对道德的认识还很少;其内涵除了它仅仅符合进化规律以外，还有很多。反正它比仅仅符合尘世间的事物这一标准更深刻，而且比我们已知的还要复杂。首先，请回答，心为什么会颤抖?请解释，为什么某些哀伤的曲子在世上广为流传且经久不衰?谁又能说清，玫瑰花为什么在日光和雨露微妙的魔力之下灼然盛开，有如一盏红灯?道德的首要原则，寓于所有这些现象的实质之中。
"Oh了thought Drouet, "how delicious is my conquest."
“啊，”德鲁埃暗自欣喜地想道，“我初战告捷，该有多美。”
"Ah了thought Carrie,with mournful misgivings,"what is it I have lost?"
“啊，”嘉莉忧心忡忡地暗自思忖道，“我，从个人来说，失去了什么呢?”
Before this world-old proposition we stand，serious，interested, confused; endeavouring to evolve the true theory of morals-the true answer to what is right.
面对这个像世界一样古老的难题，我们态度严肃，满怀兴趣，却又感到困惑不解。努力找出道德的真谛，寻求正确行为的真正答案。
In the view of a certain stratum of society,Carrie was comfortably established一in the eyes of the starveling,beaten by every wind and gusty sheet of rain，she was safe in a halcyon harbour.
照某些社会阶层的标准看，如今嘉莉的境遇是够舒适的了—在那些饱受风吹雨打、忍饥挨饿的人的眼里，嘉莉正安身在风平浪静的海港里。德鲁埃在西区协和公园对过的奥格登公寓给她租下了一套三间带家具的房子。那里绿草成茵，空气新鲜。如今在芝加哥再也找不到比这更优美的地方了。从窗户看出去，景色美不胜收，令人心旷神恰。最好的那个房间俯瞰着公园里的大草坪，这时草木早已枯黄，可小湖上却依然树影婆娑。树梢后面耸立着联合公园公理会教堂的尖顶，再远处，还有好几个教堂的塔楼耸立着。
Drouet had taken three rooms, furnished,in Ogden Place, facing Union Park, on the West Side. That was a little, green- carpeted breathing spot,than,which,today,there is nothing more Beautiful in Chicago. It afforded a vista pleasant to contemplate. The best room look叫out upon the lawn of the park, now sear and brown,where a little lake lay sheltered. Over the bare limbs of the trees,which now swayed in the wintry wind，rose the steeple of the Union Park Congregational Church,and far off the towers of several others.
房间布置得舒舒服服。地上铺着漂亮的布鲁塞尔地毯，暗红配淡黄的鲜艳底色上织着插满奇花异卉的大花瓶图案。两扇窗子之间有一个大穿衣镜。房间的一个角落里摆着一张大而柔软的长沙发，上面盖着绿厚绒布，还散放着几把摇椅。几张画，几块小地毯，还有几件小古玩，这些就是屋里的全部摆设了。
The rooms were comfortably enough furnished. There was a good Brussels carpet on the floor, rich in dull red and lemon shades, and representing large jardinieres filled with gorgeous, impossible flowers. There was a large pier-glass mirror between the two windows. A large, soft, green，plush-covered couch occupied one corner,and several rocking-chairs were set about. Some pictures,several rugs,a few small pieces of bric-a-brac, and the tale of contents is told.
在前屋后面的卧室里，有嘉莉的一个大箱子，是德鲁埃给她买的。壁橱里挂着一大排漂亮衣服—嘉莉穿着不仅非常合身—而且数量之多是嘉莉一辈子都没有过的。第三个房间用作厨房，德鲁埃在那里装了一个可以移动的煤气灶，让嘉莉做一些简单的便餐和德鲁埃最爱吃的牡蝠、烤奶酪面包之类的食品。最后还有一个浴室。整个房子很舒适，因为室内使用煤气照明，还有调温取暖设备，那种设备还带有一个衬着石棉的炉栅。这是当时最新潮的、最舒适的取暖设备。由于嘉莉的勤劳和整洁，这套房间始终保持着一种格外宜人的气氛。
In the bedroom,off the front room,was Carries trunk,bought by Drouet, and in the wardrobe built into the wall quite an array of clothing-more than she had ever possessed before, and of very becoming designs. There was a third room for possible use as a kitchen,where Drouet had Carrie establish a little portable gas stove for the preparation of small Iunches,oysters,Welsh rarebits,and the like，of which he was exceedingly fond, and, lastly,a bath. The whole place was cosey,in that it was lighted by gas and heated by furnace registers, possessing also a small grate,set with an asbestos back,a method of cheerful warming which was then first coming into use. By her industry and natural love of order,which now developed,the place maintained an air pleasing in the extreme.
嘉莉就在这种惬意的地方安顿了下来，摆脱了那些一直在生活上威胁着她的困顿，可是同时又添了许多心理负担。她的人际关系发生了如此大的改变，真可以把她看成是一个与旧日告别的新人。她从镜子里看到一个比以前漂亮的嘉莉，但是从她脑子里的那面镜子里，她看到了一个比以前丑陋的嘉莉，那面镜子代表了她自己的看法和世俗的见解。她在这两个影像之间摇摆不定。不知道该相信哪一个。
Here,then,was Carrie,established in a pleasant fashion，free of certain difficulties which most ominously confronted her, laden with many new ones which were of a mental order, and altogether so turned about in all of her earthly relationships that she might well have been a new and different individual. She looked into her glass and saw a prettier Carrie than she had seen before, she looked into her mind，a mirror prepared of her own and the world's opinions,and saw a worse. Between these two images she wavered, hesitating which to believe.
“哎呀，你—好一个小美人儿!”德鲁埃常常喜欢这样大声嚷嚷。于是，她就睁大眼睛高兴地望着他。
"My, but you're a little beauty; Drouet was wont to exclaim to her.She would look at him with large, pleased eyes.
“你知道你有多美，是不是?”他会继续说。
"You know it, don't you?" he would continue.
“哦，我不知道。”嘉莉这么回答，有人认为她美，她心里不禁感到欣喜，尽管她相信自己很美，她还是不敢肯定，生怕自己太虚荣，自视过高。
"Oh，I don't know," she would reply, feeling delight in the fact that one should think so, hesitating to believe, though she really did,that she was vain enough to think so much of herself.
不过，凭良心说，她不像德鲁埃那样喜欢一味恭维。她的良心听到了另一种声音，她在这种声音面前争辩，并且还试图替自己开脱。归根到底，她的良心也不是公正贤明的顾问。这只是世俗庸人那种渺小的良心，其中混杂着世人的见解，还有嘉莉在过去的环境、习惯和世风流俗中曾亲身经历过的。有了它，人们的声音真的就无异于上帝的声音了。
Her conscience, however, was not a Drouet, interested to praise. There she heard a different voice, with which she argued，pleaded, excused. It was no just and sapient counsellor, in its last analysis. It was only an average little conscience，a thing which represented the world，her past environment, habit，convention,in a confused way. With it,the voice of the people was truly the voice of God.
“嘿，你堕落了。”那个声音低声对她说。
"Oh，thou failure!”said the voice.
“为什么?”嘉莉问。
"Why?" she questioned.
“看看你周围的那些人吧，”那个声音低声说，“看看那些正派人吧，他们不屑于做你所做的事。看看那些好姑娘，要是让她们知道你那么经不住诱惑，她们会躲开你。你还没有真正试图反抗，就认输了。”
"Look at those about," came the whispered answer. "Look at those who are good. How would they scorn to do what you have done. Look at the good girls; how will they draw away from such as you when they know you have been weak. You had not tried before you failed”.
嘉莉一个人在家，凭窗眺望公园的时候，她就会听到这个声音。每当百无聊赖的时候，生活中的安适和逸乐赫然在目的时候，或者德鲁埃不在她身边的时候，这个声音就会出现。这个声音起初很清晰，不过嘉莉从来没有完全信服过，因为她总是有话可说。12月严冬的威胁啦，她很孤单啦，她渴望着太多的东西，她害怕呼啸的寒风。穷困的声音替她做了回答。
It was when Carrie was alone, looking out across the park, that she would be listening to this. It would come infrequently-when something else did not interfere，when the pleasant side was not too apparent, when Drouet was not there. It was somewhat clear in utterance at first, but never wholly convincing. There was always an answer,always the December days threatened. She was alone, she was desireful; she was fearful of the whistling wind. The voice of want made answer for her.
明媚的夏天一过去，城市就变得灰蒙蒙的，在这个漫长的冬天，一望无际的楼宇都显得灰不溜秋，天空和街道也都蒙上了一层灰暗的色调。光秃秃的树木以及在风中飞舞的灰尘和废纸，更增添了阴沉严峻的气氛。席卷大街小巷的阵阵寒风，仿佛带有悔恨的意思。并非只有诗人、艺术家、或者感情细腻的上流人物才能感受到这种愁思。连狗和普通人都受了感染。他们的感受并不亚于诗人，只是他们没有诗人那样的表达能力而已。站在电线上的麻雀，躲在门洞里的猫，还有负重跋涉的辕马，全都感受到了漫长严冬刺骨的寒风。世上万物，一切有生命的和没有生命的东西，都深切感受到这气息刺心入肺。要是没有那些欢乐的炉火，没有以营利为目的的商业活动，没有出售欢乐的游乐场所，要是没有那些在店堂内外照常展出的货物，没有街上那些花花绿绿的招牌，没有熙熙攘攘的顾客，我们会迅速感受到冰冷的冬之手沉重地压在我们心上。碰到阴雨天，太阳不肯赐予我们那一份应得的光和热，这种日子是多么让人沮丧。我们对光和热的依赖，远远超出了常人的想象。我们只是一群由光和热孕育的昆虫，离开了光和热，我们就不复存在了。
Once the bright days of summer pass by, a city takes on that sombre garb of grey,wrapt in which it goes about its labours during the long winter. Its endless buildings look grey, its sky and its streets assume a sombre hue; the scattered, leafless trees and wind-blown dust and paper but add to the general solemnityof colour. There seems to be something in the chill breezes which scurry through the long,narrow thoroughfares productive of rueful thoughts. Not poets alone, nor artists, nor that superior order of mind which arrogates to itself all refinement, feel this, but dogs and all men. These feel as much as the poet, though they have not the same power of expression. The sparrow upon the wire, the cat in the doorway, the dray horse tugging his weary load, feel the long, keen breaths of winter. It strikes to the heart of all life, animate and inanimate. If it were not for the artificial fires of merriment, the rush of profit-seeking trade, and pleasure-selling amusements;if the various merchants failed to make the customary display within and without their establishments; if our streets were not strung with signs of gorgeous hues and thronged with hurrying purchasers,we would quickly discover how firmly the chill hand of winter lays upon the heart; how dispiriting are the days during which the sun withholds a portion of our allowance of light and warmth. We are more dependent upon these things than is often thought. We are insects produced by heat,and pass without it.
在这种灰蒙蒙的漫漫寒冬，这个神秘莫测的声音就会越来越弱，越来越无力了。
In the drag of such a grey day the secret voice would reassert itself, feebly and more feebly.
这种思想斗争并非时时浮上心头。嘉莉并不是一个郁郁寡欢的人，她也没有不达真理誓不罢休的决心。她在这个问题上左思右想，陷入了逻辑混乱的迷宫，实在找不到一条出路，于是就干脆不想了。
Such mental conflict was not always uppermost. Carrie was not by any means a gloomy soul. More, she had not the mind to get firm hold upon a definite truth. When she could not find her way out of the labyrinth of ill-logic which thought upon the subject created, she would turn away entirely.
作者介绍：
西奥多·德莱塞(1871-1945)，美国小说家，出生于印第安纳州特雷霍特镇。他的第一部小说《嘉莉妹妹》，因被指控“有破坏性”而长期禁止发行，但一些散发出去的赠阅本却引起了许多作家的注意。德莱塞以他的代表作《美国的悲剧》、《珍妮姑娘》和《欲望三部曲》，奠定了在美国文学界的地位。1944 年，德莱塞被美国文学艺术学会授予荣誉奖。
嘉莉是个俊俏的农村姑娘，她羡慕大都市的物质生活，便来到了芝加哥谋生。严酷的现实破碎了她的美梦，迎接她的是失业和疾病。在走投无路时，她做了推销员德鲁埃的情妇，后来由于更大的欲望又做了酒店经理赫斯渥的情妇。与赫斯渥私奔后，在纽约由于偶然的机会她成了走红一时的演员，挤上了上流社会，实现了她的幻想。然而，所谓的“上流社会生活”又给她带来了什么呢?她感到空虚，找不到生活的真正意义，在寂寞和凄凉中，她坐在摇椅里梦想着那终不可得的幸福。
