目 录 上一节 下一节 
她失败时,我知道她本可以取胜。我知道,那些不断擦过罗切斯特先生的胸膛,没有射中落在脚下的箭,要是由一个更为稳健的射手来射,满可以在他高傲的心坎上剧烈颤动--会在他严厉的目光中注入爱,在嘲弄的面部表情中注入柔情,或者更好,不需要武器便可无声把他征服。 "Why can she not influence him more, when she is privileged to drawso near to him?" I asked myself. "Surely she cannot truly like him,or not like him with true affection! If she did, she need not coinher smiles so lavishly, flash her glances so unremittingly,manufacture airs so elaborate, graces so multitudinous. It seems tome that she might, by merely sitting quietly at his side, sayinglittle and looking less, get nigher his heart. I have seen in hisface a far different expression from that which hardens it now whileshe is so vivaciously accosting him; but then it came of itself: itwas not elicited by meretricious arts and calculated manoeuvres; andone had but to accept it--to answer what he asked withoutpretension, to address him when needful without grimace--and itincreased and grew kinder and more genial, and warmed one like afostering sunbeam. How will she manage to please him when they aremarried? I do not think she will manage it; and yet it might bemanaged; and his wife might, I verily believe, be the very happiestwoman the sun shines on."" 为什么她有幸如此接近他,却无法给予他更大的影响呢?"我问自己。"当然她不可能真正喜欢他,或者真心实意爱他!要是那样,她就不必那么慷慨卖笑,频送秋波,不必如此装腔作势,卖弄风情了。我似乎觉得,她只要安安静静地坐在他身边,不必张口抬眼,就可以贴近他的心坎。我曾见到过他一种全然不同的表情,不象她此刻轻佻地同他搭讪时露出的冷漠态度。但那时这种表情是自然产生的,不是靠低俗的计谋和利己的手腕来索讨的。你只要接受它就是--他发问时你回答,不用弄虚作假;需要时同他说话,不必挤眉弄眼--而这种表情会越来越浓,越来越温和,越来越亲切,象滋养人的阳光那样使你感到温暖。他们结合以后,她怎样来使他高兴呢?我想她不会去想办法。不过该是可以做到使他高兴的。我真的相信,他的妻子会成为天底下最快乐的女人。" I have not yet said anything condemnatory of Mr. Rochester's projectof marrying for interest and connections. It surprised me when Ifirst discovered that such was his intention: I had thought him aman unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in hischoice of a wife; but the longer I considered the position,education, &c., of the parties, the less I felt justified in judgingand blaming either him or Miss Ingram for acting in conformity toideas and principles instilled into them, doubtless, from theirchildhood. All their class held these principles: I supposed,then, they had reasons for holding them such as I could not fathom.It seemed to me that, were I a gentleman like him, I would take tomy bosom only such a wife as I could love; but the very obviousnessof the advantages to the husband's own happiness offered by thisplan convinced me that there must be arguments against its generaladoption of which I was quite ignorant: otherwise I felt sure allthe world would act as I wished to act. 对罗切斯特先生从个人利益和亲属关系考虑的婚姻计划,我至今没有任何微词。我初次发觉他的这一打算时,很有些诧异。我曾认为像他这样的人,在择偶时不会为这么陈腐的动机所左右。但是我对男女双方的地位、教养等等考虑得越久,我越感到自己没有理由因为罗切斯特先生和英格拉姆小姐无疑在童年时就灌输进去的思想和原则行事,就责备他们。他们整个阶级的人都奉行这样的原则,我猜想他们也有我无法揣测的理由去恪守这些原则。我似乎觉得,如果我是一个像他这样的绅士,我也只会把自己所爱的妻子搂入怀中。然而这种打算显然对丈夫自身的幸福有利,所以未被普遍采纳,必定有我全然不知的争议,否则整个世界肯定会象我所想的那样去做了。 But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient tomy master: I was forgetting all his faults, for which I had oncekept a sharp look-out. It had formerly been my endeavour to studyall sides of his character: to take the bad with the good; and fromthe just weighing of both, to form an equitable judgment. Now I sawno bad. The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that hadstartled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish:their presence was pungent, but their absence would be felt ascomparatively insipid. And as for the vague something--was it asinister or a sorrowful, a designing or a desponding expression?--that opened upon a careful observer, now and then, in his eye, andclosed again before one could fathom the strange depth partiallydisclosed; that something which used to make me fear and shrink, asif I had been wandering amongst volcanic-looking hills, and hadsuddenly felt the ground quiver and seen it gape: that something,I, at intervals, beheld still; and with throbbing heart, but notwith palsied nerves. Instead of wishing to shun, I longed only todare--to divine it; and I thought Miss Ingram happy, because one dayshe might look into the abyss at her leisure, explore its secretsand analyse their nature. 但是在其他方面,如同在这方面一样,我对我主人渐渐地变得宽容了。我正在忘却他所有的缺点,而过去我是紧盯不放的。以前我研究他性格的各个方面,好坏都看,权衡两者,以作出公正的评价。现在我看不到坏的方面了。令人厌恶的嘲弄,一度使我吃惊的严厉,已不过像是一盘佳肴中浓重的调料,有了它,热辣辣好吃,没有它,便淡而无味。至于那种令人难以捉摸的东西--那种表情是阴险还是忧伤,是工于心计还是颓唐沮丧,--一个细心的旁观者会看到这种表情不时从他目光中流露出来,但是没等你探测暴露部分的神秘深渊,它又再次掩盖起来了。那种神态过去曾使我畏惧和退缩,仿佛徘徊在火山似的群山之中,突然感到大地颤抖,看到地面裂开了,间或我还能见到这样的表情,我依旧怦然心动,却并未神经麻木。我不想躲避,只渴望迎头而上,去探知它的底细。我认为英搭拉姆小姐很幸福,因为有一天她可以在闲暇时窥深这个深渊,考察它的秘密,分析这些秘密的性质。 Meantime, while I thought only of my master and his future bride--saw only them, heard only their discourse, and considered only theirmovements of importance--the rest of the party were occupied withtheir own separate interests and pleasures. The Ladies Lynn andIngram continued to consort in solemn conferences, where they noddedtheir two turbans at each other, and held up their four hands inconfronting gestures of surprise, or mystery, or horror, accordingto the theme on which their gossip ran, like a pair of magnifiedpuppets. Mild Mrs. Dent talked with good-natured Mrs. Eshton; andthe two sometimes bestowed a courteous word or smile on me. SirGeorge Lynn, Colonel Dent, and Mr. Eshton discussed politics, orcounty affairs, or justice business. Lord Ingram flirted with AmyEshton; Louisa played and sang to and with one of the Messrs. Lynn;and Mary Ingram listened languidly to the gallant speeches of theother. Sometimes all, as with one consent, suspended their by-playto observe and listen to the principal actors: for, after all, Mr.Rochester and--because closely connected with him--Miss Ingram werethe life and soul of the party. If he was absent from the room anhour, a perceptible dulness seemed to steal over the spirits of hisguests; and his re-entrance was sure to give a fresh impulse to thevivacity of conversation. 与此同时,在我只考虑我的主人和他未来的新娘时--眼睛只看见他们,耳朵只听见他们的谈话,心里只想着他们举足轻重的动作--其他宾客都沉浸于各自的兴趣与欢乐。林恩太太和英格拉姆太太依旧相伴,在严肃交谈。彼此点着戴了头巾帽的头,根据谈及的话题,各自举起双手,作着表示惊愕、迷惑或恐俱的手势,活象一对放大了的木偶。温存的登特太太同敦厚的埃希顿夫人在聊天,两位太太有时还同我说句把客套活,或者朝我笑笑。乔治.林恩爵士、登特上校和埃希顿先生在谈论政治、郡里的事或司法事务。英格拉姆勋爵和艾米.埃希顿在调情。路易莎弹琴唱歌给一位林恩先生听,也跟他一起弹唱。玛丽.英格拉姆懒洋洋地听着另一位林恩先生献殷勤的话。有时候,所有的人都不约而同地停止了自己的插曲,来观看和倾听主角们的表演,因为罗切斯特先生和--由于与他密切有关--英格拉姆小姐,毕竟是全场人的生命的灵魂。要是他离开房间一个小时,一种可以觉察到的沉闷情绪便悄悄地漫上客人们的心头,而他再一次进屋必定会给活跃的谈话注入新的激情。 
一天,他有事上米尔科特去了,要很晚才能回来,大家便特别感觉到缺少了他生气勃勃的感染力。那天下午下了雨,结果原来计划好的,徒步去看新近扎在海村工地上的吉卜赛人营房的事,也就推迟了。一些男士们去了马厩,年青一点的与小姐们一起在台球房里打台球。遗孀英格拉姆和林恩,安静地玩纸牌解闷。登特太太和埃希顿太太拉布兰奇.英格拉姆小姐一起聊天,她爱理不理地拒绝了,自己先是伴着钢琴哼了一些感伤的曲调,随后从图书室里拿了本小说,傲气十足却无精打彩地往沙发上一坐,准备用小说的魅力,来消磨几个钟头无人作伴的乏味时光。除了不时传来楼上玩台球人的欢叫,整个房间和整所房子都寂静无声。 It was verging on dusk, and the clock had already given warning ofthe hour to dress for dinner, when little Adele, who knelt by me inthe drawing-room window-seat, suddenly exclaimed - 时候已近黄昏,教堂的钟声提醒人们已到了换装用饭的时刻。这当儿,在客厅里跪在我身边窗台上的阿黛勒突然大叫起来: I turned, and Miss Ingram darted forwards from her sofa: theothers, too, looked up from their several occupations; for at thesame time a crunching of wheels and a splashing tramp of horse-hoofsbecame audible on the wet gravel. A post-chaise was approaching. 我转过身,英格拉姆小姐从沙发上一跃而起,其余的人也停下自己的活动抬起头来。与此同时,车轮的吱嘎声和马蹄涉水的泼喇声,在湿漉漉的沙土路上隐约传来,一辆驿站马车驶近了。 "What can possess him to come home in that style?" said Miss Ingram."He rode Mesrour (the black horse), did he not, when he went out?and Pilot was with him:- what has he done with the animals?"" 他中了什么邪啦,这等模样回家来?"英格拉姆小姐说道。"他出门时骑的是梅斯罗(那匹黑马),不是吗?而派洛特也跟着他的,他把这两头动物怎么啦?" As she said this, she approached her tall person and ample garmentsso near the window, that I was obliged to bend back almost to thebreaking of my spine: in her eagerness she did not observe me atfirst, but when she did, she curled her lip and moved to anothercasement. The post-chaise stopped; the driver rang the door-bell,and a gentleman alighted attired in travelling garb; but it was notMr. Rochester; it was a tall, fashionable-looking man, a stranger. 她说这话时,高高的身子和宽大的衣服紧挨着窗子,弄得我不得不往后仰,差一点绷断了脊骨。焦急之中,她起初没有看见我,但一见我便噘起嘴,走到另外一扇窗去了。马车停了下来,驾车人按了按门铃,一位穿着旅行装的绅士跳下车来。不过不是罗切斯特先生,是位看上去很时髦的大个子男人,一个陌生人。 
真恼人!"英格拉姆小姐嚷道:"你这个讨厌的猴子!"(称呼阿黛勒)"谁将你弄上窗子谎报消息的?"她怒悻悻地瞥了我一眼,仿佛这是我的过错。 Some parleying was audible in the hall, and soon the new-comerentered. He bowed to Lady Ingram, as deeming her the eldest ladypresent. 大厅里隐隐约约响起了交谈声,来人很快便进了屋。他向英格拉姆太太行了个礼,认为她是在场的人中最年长的妇人。
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