【经典名著阅读】《德伯家的苔丝》第二十九章（中）

英语自学网

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        Not expecting this he had put his arm lightly round her waist the moment after speaking, beneath her hanging tall of hair. (The younger dairymaids, including Tess, breakfasted with their hair loose on Sunday mornings before building it up extra high for attending church, a style they could not adopt when milking with their heads against the cows.) If she had said 'Yes' instead of 'No' he would have kissed her; it had evidently been his intention; but her determined negative deterred his scrupulous heart. Their condition of domiciliary comradeship put her, as the woman, to such disadvantage by its enforced intercourse, that he felt it unfair to her to exercise any pressure of brandishment which he might have honestly employed had she been better able to avoid him. He released her momentarily-imprisoned waist, and withheld the kiss.他没有想到她会说不。他把话说完就伸出胳膊紧紧地搂住了她的腰，搂在她披散的头发下面。（年轻的挤奶女工，包括苔丝，星期天吃早饭时都披散着头发，在去教堂的时候她们才把头发高高地挽起来，她们在挤牛奶的时候要用头靠着奶牛，所以不能那样梳法。）要是她说的是肯定而不是否定，他就一定吻过她了；这显然是他的意图；可是她坚决的否定阻止了他的顾虑重重的渴望。他们同住在一幢屋子里，不能不相互来往，这样她作为一个女人就被置于一种不利的地位。他觉得，要是他向她施加压力，步步紧逼，这对她就是不公平的，假如她能够避开他，他反倒可以诚实地采用这些手段了。他把围在她腰上的手松开了，也没有去吻她。
        It all turned on that release. What had given her strength to refuse him this time was solely the tale of the widow told by the dairyman; and that would have been overcome in another moment. But Angel said no more; his face was perplexed; he went away.他一松手，情势就发生了变化。这一次她之所以有力量拒绝他，完全是由于她刚才听了奶牛场老板讲的那个寡妇的故事；要是再过一会儿，那点儿力量也就要化为乌有了。不过安琪尔没有再说话；他脸上的表情是困惑的；他只好走开了。
        Day after day they met - somewhat less constantly than before; and thus two or three weeks went by. The end of September drew near, and she could see in his eye that he might ask her again.他们还是天天见面——和过去相比，他们见面的次数有些减少了；两三个星期就这样过去了。九月末来到了，她从他的眼睛中可以看出，他也许还要向她求婚。
        His plan of procedure was different now - as though he had made up his mind that her negatives were, after all, only coyness and youth startled by the novelty of the proposal. The fitful evasiveness of her manner when the subject was under discussion countenanced the idea. So he played a more coaxing game; and while never going beyond words, or attempting the renewal of caresses, he did his utmost orally.他进行求婚的计划和过去不同了——仿佛他一心认为，她的拒绝只不过是被她没有经历过的求婚吓着了，不过因为年轻羞怯而已。每次讨论这个问题，她总是闪烁其辞，这使他越发相信自己的看法不错。因此他就采取哄和劝的方法；他从来都不超越使用语言的界限，也没有再想到拥抱抚摸，他只是想尽量用言辞去打动她。

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        In this way Clare persistently wooed her in undertones like that of the purling milk - at the cow's side, at skimmings, at butter-makings, at cheese-makings, among broody poultry, and among farrowing pigs - as no milkmaid was ever wooed before by such a man.克莱尔仍然坚持不懈地向她求婚，他低声求婚的声音就像是牛奶汩汩流动的声音——在奶牛旁边，在撇奶油的时候，在制作黄油的时候，在制作奶酪的时候，在孵蛋的母鸡中间，在生产的母猪中间——过去从来没有一个挤奶姑娘被这样一个男子求过婚。
        Tess knew that she must break down. Neither a religious sense of a certain moral validity in the previous union nor a conscientious wish for candour could hold out against it much longer. She loved him so passionately, and he was so godlike in her eyes; and being, though untrained, instinctively refined, her nature cried for his tutelary guidance. And thus, though Tess kept repeating to herself, 'I can never be his wife,' the words were vain. A proof of her weakness lay in the very utterance of what calm strength would not have taken the trouble to formulate. Every sound of his voice beginning on the old subject stirred her with a terrifying bliss, and she coveted the recantation she feared.苔丝也知道她必定要抵抗不住了。无论是认为她从前那次结合具有某种道德的效力的宗教观点，还是她想坦白过去的诚心愿望，都再也抵挡不住了。她爱他爱得这样热烈，在她的眼里，他就像天上的神一样；她虽然没有经过教育培养，但是她却天性敏慧，从本能上渴望得到他的呵护和指导。虽然她心里不断重复着说，“我决不能做他的妻子，”但是这也都成了毫无用处的话。她这种内心的说话，正好证明她冷静的决心已经遇到了问题，不能继续坚持了。每当她听到克莱尔开始提到从前提到的话题，心里头不免又惊又喜，渴望自己改口答应，又害怕自己改口答应。
        His manner was - what man's is not? - so much that of one who would love and cherish and defend her under any conditions, changes, charges, or revelations, that her gloom lessened as she basked in it. The season meanwhile was drawing onward to the equinox, and though it was still fine, the days were much shorter. The dairy had again worked by morning candle-light for a long time; and a fresh renewal of Clare's pleading occurred one morning between three and four.他的态度——只要是男人，谁的态度不是那样呢？——那完全是一种无论在任何情况下，无论发生了什么变化，无论遭受到什么指责，无论在她身上发现了什么，他都要爱她、疼她、呵护她的态度，于是她的忧郁减少了。时令正在接近秋分，尽管天气依然晴朗，但是白天的时间变得更短了。在奶牛场里，早晨点上蜡烛工作已经有了好些日子；有一天早晨三四点钟的时候，克莱尔又一次向她求婚。
        She had run up in her bedgown to his door to call him as usual; then had gone back to dress and call the others; and in ten minutes was walking to the head of the stairs with the candle in her hand. At the same moment he came down his steps from above in his shirt-sleeves and put his arm across the stairway.那天早晨，她穿着睡衣，像往常一样来到他的门口把他叫醒了；然后再回去穿好衣服，把其他的人也叫醒了；过了十分钟，她就拿着蜡烛向楼梯口走去。同时，克莱尔也穿着短袖衬衫从楼上下来，在楼梯口伸着胳膊把她拦住了。