英文名著精选阅读：《红字》第六章（下）
英文名著精选阅读：《红字》第六章(下)
Chapter 06 PEARL
第六章 珠儿
The truth was, that the little Puritans, being of the most intolerant broodthat ever lived, had a vague idea of something outlandish, unearthly, or at variance with ordinary fashions, in the mother and child; and therefore scornedthem in their hearts, and not unfrequently reviledthem with their tongues. Pearl felt the sentiment, and requitedit with the bitterest hatred that can be supposed to ranklein a childish bosom. These outbreaks of a fierce temper had a kind of value, and even comfort, for her mother; because there was at least an intelligible earnestnessin the mood, instead of the fitful caprice that so often thwartedher in the child's manifestations. It appalledher, nevertheless, to discernhere again, a shadowy reflection of the evil that had existed in herself. All this enmityand passion had Pearl inherited, by inalienableright, out of Hester's heart. Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusionfrom human society; and in the nature of the child seemed to be perpetuated those unquietelements that had distracted Hester Prynne before Pearl's birth, but had since begun to be soothedaway by the softening influences of maternity.
事实上，这伙小清教徒们是世上最不容人的，他们早就在这对母女身上模模糊糊地看出点名堂，觉得她们不象是人世间的人，古里古怪地与众不同;于是便从心里蔑视她们，嘴里时常不干不净地诅咒她们。珠儿觉察出这种情绪，便以一个孩子心胸中所能激起的最刻毒的仇恨反唇相讥，这种大发脾气对她母亲颇有价值，甚至是一种慰藉，因为在这种气氛中，她至少表现出一种显而易见的真诚，替代了那种刺痛她母亲的一阵阵的任性发作。然而，海丝特吃惊地从中又辨出了曾存在她自己身上的那种邪恶的阴影的反射。这一切仇恨和热情，都是珠儿理所当然地从海丝特心中承袭下来的。母女二人一起被摒弃在人间社会之外，在珠儿降生之前折磨着海丝特·白兰，在孩子出生后随母性的温柔而渐渐平息下去的那些不安定成分，似乎都植根于珠儿的天性之中了。
At home, within and around her mother's cottage, Pearl wanted not a wide and various circle of acquaintance. The spell of life went forth from her ever creative spirit, and communicated itself to a thousand objects, as a torch kindlesa flame wherever it may be applied. The unlikeliest materials- a stick, a bunch of rags, a flower- were the puppetsof Pearl's witchcraft, and, without undergoing any outward change, became spiritually adapted to whatever drama occupied the stage of her inner world. Her one baby-voice served a multitude of imaginary personages, old and young, to talk withal. The pine-trees, aged, black and solemn, and flinginggroansand other melancholyutterances on the breeze, needed little transformation to figure as Puritan elders; the ugliest weeds of the garden were their children, whom Pearl smotedown and uprooted, most unmercifully. It was wonderful, the vast variety of forms into which she threw her intellect, with no continuity, indeed, but dartingup and dancing, always in a state of preternaturalactivity- soon sinking down, as if exhausted by so rapid and feverisha tide of life- and succeeded by other shapes of a similar wild energy. It was like nothing so much as the phantasmagoricplay of the northern lights. In the mere exercise of the fancy, however, and the sportivenessof a growing mind, there might be little more than was observable in other children of bright faculties; except as Pearl, in the dearth of human playmates, was thrown more upon the visionarythrongwhich she created. The singularitylay in the hostile feelings with which the child regarded all these offspring of her own heart and mind. She never created a friend, but seemed always to be sowing broadcast the dragon's teeth, whence sprung a harvest of armed enemies, against whom she rushed to battle. It was inexpressiblysad- then what depth of sorrow to a mother, who felt in her own heart the cause!- to observe, in one so young, this constant recognition of an adverseworld, and so fierce a training of the energies that were to make good her cause, in the contest that must ensue.
珠儿在家中，并不想在母亲茅屋的里里外外结识很多各种各样的伙伴。她那永不停歇的创造精神会进发出生命的魔力，并同丰万种物体交流，犹如一个火炬可以点燃一切。那些最不值一玩的东西——一根棍子、一块破布、一朵小花——都是珠儿巫术的玩偶，而且无需经过任何外部变化，便可以在她内心世界的舞台上的任何戏剧中，派上想象中的用场。她用自己一人的童音扮作想象中的形形色色、老老少少的角色相互交谈。在风中哼哼唧唧或是发出其它忧郁呻吟的苍劲肃穆的松树，无需变形，就可充当清教徒的长者，面园中最丑陋的杂草便权充他们的子孙，珠儿会毫不留情地将这些“儿童”踩倒，再连根拔起。真是绝妙之极!她开动脑筋幻化出来的备色各样的形体，虽然缺乏连续性，但确实活脱跳跃，始终充满超越自然的活力——这种活力很快便消沉下去，仿佛在生命之潮的急剧而热烈的进发之中衰竭了，继之而来的又是另一种有狂野精力的形象。这和北极光的变幻不定极其相似。然而，单从一个正在成长着的头脑喜欢想象和活泼好动来说，珠儿比起其他聪慧的儿童并没有什么明显的长处，只不过是由于缺乏玩伴，她同自己创造出来的幻想中的人群更加接近而己。她的独特之处在于她对自己心灵和头脑中幻化出来的所有的人都怀着敌对情绪。她从来没有创造过一个朋友，却总象是在大面积地播种龙牙①，从而收获到一支敌军，她便与之厮杀。看到孩子还这么年幼，居然对一个同自己作对的世界有如此坚定的认识，而且猛烈地训练自己的实力，以便在肯定会有的争斗中确保自己获胜，是多么让人心酸得难以形容啊!而当一个母亲在内心中体会到这一切都是由她才引起的，又是多么深切地哀伤啊!
Gazing at Pearl, Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with an agonywhich she would fainhave hidden, but which made utterance for itself, betwixtspeech and a groan, "O Father in heaven- if Thou art still my Father- what is this being which I have brought into the world!" And Pearl, overbearing the ejaculation, or aware, through some more subtilechannel, of those throbsof anguish, would turn her vivid and beautiful little face upon her mother, smile with sprite-like intelligence, and resume her play.
海丝特·白兰眼望着珠儿，常常把手里的活计放到膝上，由于强忍不下的痛苦而哭出声来，那泪泪涌出的声音，半似说话，半似鸣咽：“噢，天上的圣父啊——如果您还是我的圣父的话——我带到这人世上来的是一个什么样的生命啊!”珠儿呢，在一旁听到了这迸射而出的语言，或是通过某种更微妙的渠道感受到了那痛苦的悸动，便会把她那美丽动人的小脸转向她母亲，露着精灵般聪慧的笑容，然后继续玩起她的游戏。
One peculiarity of the child's deportmentremains yet to be told. The very first thing which she had noticed, in her life, was- what?- not the mother's smile, responding to it, as other babies do, by that faint, embryosmile of the little mouth, remembered so doubtfully afterwards, and with such fond discussion whether it were indeed a smile. By no means! But that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was- shall we say it?- the scarlet letter on Hester's bosom! One day, as her mother stooped over the cradle, the infant's eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroideryabout the letter; and, putting up her little hand, she grasped at it, smiling, not doubtfully, but with a decided gleam, that gave her face the look of a much older child. Then, gasping for breath, did Hester Prynne clutchthe fatal token, instinctivelyendeavouring to tear it away; so infinite was the tortureinflictedby the intelligent touch of Pearl's baby hand. Again, as if her mother's agonised gesture were meant only to make sport for her, did little Pearl look into her eyes, and smile! From that epoch, except when the child was asleep, Hester had never felt a moment's safety; not a moment's calm enjoyment of her. Weeks, it is true, would sometimes elapse, during which Pearl's gaze might never once be fixed upon the scarlet letter; but then, again, it would come at unawares, like the stroke of sudden death, and always with that peculiar smile, and odd expression of the eyes.
这孩子的举止上还有一个特点也要说一说。她降生以来所注意到的头一件事情是——什么呢?不是母亲的微笑——别的孩子会学着用自己的小嘴浅浅一笑来呼应，事后会记忆模糊，以致热烈地争论那到底是不是真的在笑。珠儿意识到的第一个目标绝不是母亲的微笑!似乎是——我们要不要说出来呢?是海丝特胸前的红字!一天，当她母亲脑身在摇篮上的时候，婴儿的眼睛被那字母四周绣着的金钱的闪光吸引住了;接着便伸出小手朝那字母抓去，脸上还带着确定无疑的笑容，闪出果断的光彩，使她的表情象个大得多的孩子。当时，海丝特·白兰喘着粗气，紧紧抓住那致命的标记，本能地试图把它扯下来;珠儿那小手这莫测的一触，纷她带来了多么无穷无尽的熬煎啊。此时，小珠几以为她母亲那痛苦的动作只不过是在和她逗着玩，便盯着母亲的眼睛，微微一笑。从那时起，除非这孩子在睡觉，海丝特没有过片刻的安全感，也没有过片刻的宁静和由孩子带来的欢乐。确实，有时一连几个星期过去了，其间珠儿再没有注视过一次红字;之后，又会冷不丁地象瘁死地一抖似的看上一眼，而且脸上总要露出那特有的微笑，眼睛也总要带着那古怪的表情。
Once, this freakish, elvishcast came into the child's eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly- for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pesteredwith unaccountable delusions- she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniatureportrait, but another face, in the small black mirror of Pearl's eye. It was a face fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.
一次，当海斯特象做母亲的喜欢做的那样，在孩子的眼睛中看着自己的影象时，珠儿的眼睛巾又出现了那种不可捉摸的精灵似的目光;由于内心烦闷的妇女常常为莫名其妙的幻象所萦绕，她突然幻想着，她在珠儿的眼睛那面小镜子中看到的不是她自己的小小的肖像，而是另外一张面孔。那张魔鬼似的面孔上堆满恶狠狠的微笑，可是长的容貌象她极其熟悉的面孔，不过她熟悉的那面容很少有笑脸，更从来不会是恶狠狠的。刚才就象有一个邪恶精灵附在了孩子身上，并且探出头来嘲弄地望着她。事后，海丝特曾多次受到同一幻觉的折磨，不过那幻觉没有那么活生生地强烈了。
In the afternoon of a certain summer's day, after Pearl grew big enough to run about, she amused herself with gathering handfuls of wild-flowers, and flinging them, one by one, at her mother's bosom; dancing up and down, like a little elf, whenever she hit the scarlet letter. Hester's first motion had been to cover her bosom with her clasped hands. But, whether from pride or resignation, or a feeling that her penancemight best be wrought out by this unutterablepain, she resisted the impulse, and sat erect, pale as death, looking sadly into little Pearl's wild eyes. Still came the batteryof flowers, almost invariably hitting the mark, and covering the mother's breast with hurts for which she could find no balmin this world, nor knew how to seek it in another. At last, her shot being all expended, the child stood still and gazed at Hester, with that little laughing image of a fiend peeping out- or, whether it peeped or no, her mother so imagined it- from the unsearchable abyssof her black eyes.
一个夏日的午后，那时珠儿已经长大，能够到处跑了。孩子采集了一把野花自己玩着，她把野花一朵接一朵地掷到母亲胸口上;每当花朵打中红字，她就象个小精灵似的蹦蹦跳跳。海丝特的第一个动作就是想用合着的双手来捂住胸膛。可是，不知是出于自尊自豪还是出于容忍顺从，抑或是感到她只有靠这种难言的痛苦才能最好地完成自己赎罪的苦行，她压抑下了这一冲动，坐得挺挺的，脸色变得死一般地苍白，只是伤心地盯着珠儿的狂野的眼睛。此时，花朵仍接二连三地抛来，几乎每一下都未中那标记，使母亲曲胸口布满伤痛，不但在这个世界上她找不到止痛药膏，就是在另一个世界上，她也不知道如何去找这种灵丹妙药。终于，孩子的弹药全都耗尽了，她一动不动地站在那里瞪着海丝特，从她那深不可测的黑眼睛中，那小小的笑眯眯的魔鬼形象又在探出头来望着她了——或者，根本没那么国事，只是她母亲这么想象罢了。
"Child, what art thou?" cried the mother.
“孩子，你到底是个什么呀?”母亲叫着。
"Oh, I am your little Pearl!" answered the child.
“噢，我是你的小珠儿!”孩子回答。
But, while she said it, Pearl laughed, and began to dance up and down, with the humorsome gesticulationof a little imp, whose next freak might be to fly up the chimney.
珠儿边说边放声笑着，并且用小妖精的那种调皮样子蹦蹦跳跳着，她的下一步想入非非的行动可能是从烟囱中飞出去。
"Art thou my child, in very truth?" asked Hester.
“你真一点不假是我的孩子吗?”海丝特问。
Nor did she put the question altogether idly, but, for the moment, with a portion of genuine earnestness; for, such was Pearl's wonderful intelligence, that her mother half doubted whether she were not acquainted with the secret spell of her existence, and might not now reveal herself.
她提出这样一个问题绝不是漫不经心的，就当时而论，她确实带着几分诚心诚意;因为珠儿这么鬼精鬼灵的，她母亲吃不大准，她未必还不清楚自己的身世之谜，现在只不过还不打算亲口说出来。
"Yes; I am little Pearl!" repeated the child, continuing her antics.
“是啊!我是小珠儿!”孩子又说了一遍，同时继续着她的调皮动作。
"Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!" said the mother, half playfully; for it was often the case that a sportive impulse came over her, in the midst of her deepest suffering. "Tell me, then, what thou art, and who sent thee hither?"
“你不是我的孩子!你不是我的珠儿!”母亲半开玩笑地说;因为就在她最为痛苦的时候，往往会涌来一阵寻开心的冲动。“那就告诉我吧，你是什么?是推把你打发到这儿来的?”
"Tell me, mother!" said the child seriously, coming up to Hester, and pressing herself close to her knees. "Do thou tell me!"
“告诉我吧，妈妈!”孩子走到海丝特跟前，紧紧靠着她膝头，一本正经地说。“一定跟我说说吧!”
"Thy Heavenly Father sent thee!" answered Hester Prynne.
“是你的天父把你送来的!”海丝特·白兰回答说。
But she said it with a hesitation that did not escape the acutenessof the child. Whether moved only by her ordinary freakishness, or because an evil spirit prompted her, she put up her small forefinger, and touched the scarlet letter.
但她说话时有点犹豫，这没有逃过孩子犀利的目光。不知孩于和往常一样想要调皮，还是受到一个邪恶的精灵的指使，她举起她小小的食指，去摸那红字。
"He did not send me!" cried she positively. "I have no Heavenly Father!"
“不是他把我送来的!”她明确地说。“我没有天父!
"Hush, Pearl, hush! Thou must not talk so!" answered the mother, suppressing a groan. "He sent us all into this world. He sent even me, thy mother. Then, much more, thee! Or, if not, thou strange and elfish child, whence didst thou come?"
“嘘，珠儿，嘘!你不许这么说!”母亲咽下一声哀叹，回答说。“我们所有的人都是他送到这世上来的。连我——你妈妈，都是他送来的。就更不用说你了!要不是这样，你这个怪里怪气的小妖精似的孩子是从哪儿来的?”
"Tell me! Tell me!" repeated Pearl, no longer seriously, but laughing, and caperingabout the floor. "It is thou that must tell me!"
“告诉我!告诉我!”珠儿一再喊着，这次不再板着面孔，而是笑出了声，还在地上跳着脚。“你非告诉我不可!
But Hester could not resolve the query, being herself in a dismallabyrinthof doubt. She remembered- betwixt a smile and a shudder- the talk of the neighbouring townspeople; who, seeking vainly elsewhere for the child's paternity, and observing some of her old attributes, had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring; such as, ever since old Catholic times, had occasionally been seer, on earth, through the agency of their mother's sin, and to promote some foul and wicked purpose. Luther, according to the scandal of his monkishenemies, was a bratof that hellishbreed; nor was Pearl the only child to whom this inauspiciousorigin was assigned among the New England Puritans.
对这一逼问，海丝特可没法作答了，因为连她自己也尚在阴暗的迷宫中徘徊呢。她面带微笑、周身战栗地想起了镇上邻居的说法，他们遍寻这孩子的父亲没有结果，又观察到珠儿的古怪作为，就声称可怜的小珠儿是一个妖魔助产物。自从古天主教时代以来，世上常见这种孩子，都是由于做母亲的有罪孽，才生下来以助长肮脏恶毒的目的。按照路德②在教会中那些敌人的谣言，他本人就是那种恶魔的孽种;而在新英格兰的请教徒中闯，有这种可疑血缘的，可不仅仅珠儿一个孩子。
①希腊种话中说，腓尼基王子卡德马斯杀一龙后种其齿，遂长出一支军队，相互征战，最后余下五人，与卡德马斯建立底比斯国。
②马丁.路德(1482一1546)，德国神学家，家教改革的领袖。
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