A Slave Mother為奴隸的母親
柔石
Rou Shi
她的丈夫是一個(gè)皮販，就是收集鄉(xiāng)間各獵戶底獸皮和牛皮，販到大埠上出賣的人。但有時(shí)也兼做點(diǎn)農(nóng)作，芒種(1)的時(shí)節(jié)，便幫人家插秧，他能將每行插得非常直，假如有五人同在一個(gè)水田內(nèi)，他們一定叫他站在第一個(gè)做標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。然而境況總是不佳，債是年年積起來(lái)了。他大約就因?yàn)榫硾r的不佳，煙也吸了，酒也喝了，錢也賭起來(lái)了。這樣，竟使他變做一個(gè)非常兇狠而暴躁的男子，但也就更貧窮下去，連小小的移借，別人也不敢答應(yīng)了。
He was a dealer in animal skins which he bought from hunters in the countryside and sold in town. Sometimes he also worked in the fields; early each summer he turned
farm-hand, transplanting rice for other people. As he had learned to transplant the seedlings in wonderfully straight rows, the peasants always asked him to help them. But he never made enough money to support his family and his debts mounted with each passing year. The wretchedness of his life and the hopeless situation he was in caused him to take to smoking, drinking and gambling, and he became vicious and bad-tempered. As he grew poorer, people stopped lending him money, even in small sums.
在窮底的結(jié)果的病以后，全身便變成枯黃色，臉孔黃的和小銅鼓(2)一樣，連眼白也黃了。別人說(shuō)他是黃疸病，孩子們也就叫他“黃胖”了。有一天，他向他底妻子說(shuō)：“再也沒(méi)有辦法了，這樣下去，連小鍋?zhàn)右捕假u去了。我想，還是從你底身上設(shè)法罷。你跟著我挨餓，有什么辦法呢？”
With poverty came sickness. He grew sallow: his face took on the sickly colour of a brass drum and even the whites of his eyes became yellow. People said that he had
jaundice and urchins nicknamed him “Yellow Fellow”. One day, he said to his wife,“There’s no way out of it. It looks as if we’ll even have to sell our cooking pot. i.m
afraid we have to part. It’s no use both of us going hungry together.”
“我底身上？……”
“We have to part? ...”
他底妻坐在灶后，懷里抱著她剛滿三周歲的男小孩。她訥訥地低聲地問(wèn)。
muttered his wife, who was sitting behind the stove with their three-year-old boy in her arms.
“你，是呀，”她的丈夫病后的無(wú)力的聲音，“我已經(jīng)將你出典了(3)……”
“Yes, we have to part,” he answered feebly. “There’s somebody willing to hire you as a temporary wife, …”
“什么呀？”他底妻幾乎昏去似的。
“ What?” she almost lost her senses.
“三天前，王狼來(lái)坐討了半天的債回去以后，我也跟著他去，走到了九畝潭邊，我很不想要做人了。但是坐在那株爬上去一縱身就可落在潭里的樹(shù)下，想來(lái)想去，終沒(méi)有力氣跳了。貓頭鷹在耳朵邊不住在囀，我底心被它叫寒起來(lái)，我只得回轉(zhuǎn)身，但在路上，遇見(jiàn)了沈家婆，她問(wèn)我，晚也晚了，在外做什么。我就告訴她，請(qǐng)她代我借一筆款，或向什么人家的小姐借些衣服或首飾去暫時(shí)當(dāng)一當(dāng)，免得王狼底狼一般的綠眼睛天天在家里閃爍(4)?？墒巧蚣移畔蛭倚Φ溃?BR> “Three days ago, Wang Lang came here and spent a long time pressing me to pay my debt to him. After he had left, I went out. I sat under a tree on the shore of Chiumous Lake and thought of committing suicide. I wanted to climb the tree and dive into the water and drown myself, but, after thinking about it, I lost courage. The hooting of an owl frightened me and I walked away. On my way home, I came across Mrs. Shen, the matchmaker, who asked me why I was out at night. I told her what had happened and asked her if she could borrow some money for me, or some lady’s dresses and ornaments that I could pawn to pay Wang Lang so that he’d no longer be prowling after me like a wolf. But Mrs. Shen only smiled and said,
“‘你還將妻養(yǎng)在家里做什么呢，你自己黃也黃到這個(gè)地步了？”
“ ‘What do you keep your wife at home for? And you’re so sick and yellow!’
“我低著頭站在她面前沒(méi)有答，她又說(shuō)：“‘兒子呢，你只有一個(gè)了，舍不得。但妻——’
“I hung my head and said nothing. She continued,“ ‘Since you’ve got only one son, you might find it hard to part with him. But as for your wife…’
“我當(dāng)時(shí)想：‘莫非叫我賣妻子么？’
“I thought she meant that I should sell you, but she added,
“而她繼續(xù)道：“‘但妻——雖然是結(jié)發(fā)的，窮了，也沒(méi)有法，還養(yǎng)在家里做什么呢？’
“ ‘Of course she is your lawful wife, but you’re poor and you can’t do anything about it. What do you keep her at home for? Starve her to death?’
“這樣，她就直說(shuō)出：‘有一個(gè)秀才，因?yàn)闆](méi)有兒子，年紀(jì)已五十歲了，想買一個(gè)妾；又因他底大妻不允許，只準(zhǔn)他典一個(gè)，典三年或五年，叫我物色相當(dāng)?shù)呐耍耗昙o(jì)約三十歲左右，養(yǎng)過(guò)兩三個(gè)兒子的，人要沉默老實(shí)，又肯做事，還要對(duì)他底大妻肯低眉下首。這次是秀才娘子向我說(shuō)的，假如條件合，肯出八十元或一百元的身價(jià)。我代她尋了好幾天，終于沒(méi)有相當(dāng)?shù)呐?。’她說(shuō)：現(xiàn)在碰到我，想起了你來(lái)，樣樣都對(duì)的。當(dāng)時(shí)問(wèn)我底的意見(jiàn)怎樣，我一邊掉了幾滴淚，一邊卻被她催的答應(yīng)她了?！闭f(shuō)到這里，他垂下頭，聲音很低弱，停止了。他底妻簡(jiǎn)直癡似的，話一句沒(méi)有。又靜寂了一息，他繼續(xù)說(shuō)：“昨天，沈家婆到過(guò)秀才底家里，她說(shuō)秀才很高興，秀才娘子也喜歡，錢是一百元，年數(shù)呢，假如三年養(yǎng)不出兒子，是五年。沈家婆并將日子也揀定了——本月十八，五天后。今天，她寫典契了?！?BR> “Then she said straight out, ‘There’s a fifty-year-old scholar who wants a concubine to bear him a son since his wife is barren. But his wife objects and will only allow him to hire somebody else’s wife for a few years. I’ve been asked to find them a woman. She has to be about thirty years old and the mother of two or three children. She must be honest and hard-working, and obey the scholar’s wife. The scholar’s wife has told me that they are willing to pay from eighty to a hundred dollars for the right sort of woman. I’ve looked around for one for several days, but without any luck. But your wife is just the woman I’ve been looking for.’“She asked me what I thought about it. It made me cry to think of it, but shecomforted me and convinced me that it was all for the best.”
這時(shí)，他底妻簡(jiǎn)直連腑臟都顫抖，吞吐著問(wèn)：
At this point, his voice trailed off, he hung his head and stopped.
“昨天在你底面前旋了三個(gè)圈子，可是對(duì)你說(shuō)不出。不過(guò)我仔細(xì)想，除出將你底身子設(shè)法外，再也沒(méi)有辦法了。”“決定了么？”婦人戰(zhàn)著牙齒問(wèn)?！爸淮淦鯇懞?。”“倒霉的事情呀，我——一點(diǎn)也沒(méi)有別的方法了么？”“倒霉，我也想到過(guò)，可是窮了，我們又不肯死，有什么辦法？今年，我怕連插秧也不能插了。”
“Yesterday, Mrs. Shen went to see the scholar again. She came back and told me that both the scholar and his wife were very happy about the idea of having you and had
promised to pay me a hundred dollars. If you bear them a child they will keep you for three years, if not—for five. Mrs. Shen has fixed the date for you to go –the eighteenth of this month, that is, five days from now. she is going to have the contract drawn up today.” Trembling all over, the wife faltered,
這時(shí)，在她過(guò)去的回憶里，卻想起恰恰一年前的事：那時(shí)她生下了一個(gè)女兒，她簡(jiǎn)直如死去一般臥在床上。死還是整個(gè)的，她卻肢體分作四碎與五裂：剛落地的女嬰，在地上的干草堆上叫：“呱呀，呱呀，”聲音很重的，手腳揪縮。臍帶繞在她底身上，胎盤落在一邊，她很想掙扎起來(lái)給她洗好，可是她底頭昂起來(lái)，身子凝滯在床上。這樣，她看見(jiàn)她底丈夫，這個(gè)兇狠的男子，緋紅著臉，提了一桶沸水到女嬰的旁邊。她簡(jiǎn)直用了她一生底最后的力向他喊：“慢！慢……”但這個(gè)病前極兇狠的男子，沒(méi)有一分鐘商量的余地，也不答半句話，就將“呱呀，呱呀，”聲音很重地在叫著的女兒，剛出世的新生命，用他底粗暴的兩手捧起來(lái)，如屠戶捧將殺的小羊一般，撲通，投下在沸水里了！除出沸水的濺聲和皮肉吸收沸水的嘶聲以外，女孩一聲也不喊。她當(dāng)時(shí)剜去了心一般地昏去了。
Then, looking back upon the past, she remembered what had just happened one year before: she was lying on her bed more dead than alive after giving birth to a baby girl. The newborn infant was lying on a heap of straw on the ground, crying at the top of her lungs and twitching her little limbs. The umbilical cord was wound round her body and the placenta left by her side. The poor young woman was anxious to get up to wash her baby. But she could only manage to lift her head while her whole body seemed to remain glued to the bed. All of a sudden she saw her husband, fierce and flushed, come up to the baby with a bucket of boiling water. “Stop, stop! ... ,” she threw what little strength she had into yelling at him. The vicious husband, nevertheless, was uncompromising. Without saying a word, he held up in both hands the baby with her cry of new life and, like a butcher slaughtering a small lamb, splashed her into the boiling water. The baby immediately stopped crying. All was silent except for the sizzling of her flesh in the boiling water. The young woman fainted away at the heart-rending scene.
翻譯解析：
作家柔石，浙江寧海人，1931年在上海犧牲，年僅30，本文是他于1930年寫成的秀的短篇小說(shuō)。作品揭露當(dāng)時(shí)浙東一帶農(nóng)村典妻制度的野蠻和殘酷，對(duì)農(nóng)村勞動(dòng)?jì)D女的苦難表示了極大的同情。
(1)“芒種”為中國(guó)24節(jié)氣之一，約在每年6月上、中旬，該時(shí)農(nóng)村多忙于夏收夏種。如英譯為Mangzhong或wheat in the ear，勢(shì)必借助腳注，詳加說(shuō)明，否則外國(guó)讀者無(wú)法理解?，F(xiàn)結(jié)合上下文干脆把它譯為early each summer。
(2)“小銅鼓”譯為a brass drum。注意brass和bronze、copper在顏色上的區(qū)別。三者之中，僅brass是淺黃色。
(3)“我已經(jīng)將你出典了……”如逐字直譯為I’ve pawned you或I’ve hired you out，均欠達(dá)意?，F(xiàn)以增詞釋義的辦法譯為there’s somebody willing to hire you as a temporary wife，可較清楚地交代原意。
(4)“免得王狼底狼一般的綠眼睛天天在家里閃爍”譯為so that he’d no longer be prowling after me like a wolf，用prowling after（潛行覓食）代替原文中有關(guān)比喻，同樣傳神。
(5)“這一晚，她和她底丈夫都沒(méi)有吃晚飯?！币饧捶驄D兩人都不想吃飯，故譯That evening, neither he nor she felt like having supper。如按字面直譯為That evening, both husband and wife did not eat supper，就未能表達(dá)原句含義。
(6)“三周四歲離娘身”譯為A child of three can move about free，有節(jié)奏，有韻律，易于上口。
(7)“燒飯的黃媽”即在廚房干活的女仆，可簡(jiǎn)譯為the kitchen-maid。
(8)“你應(yīng)該稱一稱你自己底老骨頭是多少重”意即“你應(yīng)該珍惜自己的身子”，故譯為 You should take good care of your old carcase，其中carcase本作“死尸”解，指活人的“身 軀”時(shí)，是帶有輕蔑或嘲笑口氣的用語(yǔ)。
柔石
Rou Shi
她的丈夫是一個(gè)皮販，就是收集鄉(xiāng)間各獵戶底獸皮和牛皮，販到大埠上出賣的人。但有時(shí)也兼做點(diǎn)農(nóng)作，芒種(1)的時(shí)節(jié)，便幫人家插秧，他能將每行插得非常直，假如有五人同在一個(gè)水田內(nèi)，他們一定叫他站在第一個(gè)做標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。然而境況總是不佳，債是年年積起來(lái)了。他大約就因?yàn)榫硾r的不佳，煙也吸了，酒也喝了，錢也賭起來(lái)了。這樣，竟使他變做一個(gè)非常兇狠而暴躁的男子，但也就更貧窮下去，連小小的移借，別人也不敢答應(yīng)了。
He was a dealer in animal skins which he bought from hunters in the countryside and sold in town. Sometimes he also worked in the fields; early each summer he turned
farm-hand, transplanting rice for other people. As he had learned to transplant the seedlings in wonderfully straight rows, the peasants always asked him to help them. But he never made enough money to support his family and his debts mounted with each passing year. The wretchedness of his life and the hopeless situation he was in caused him to take to smoking, drinking and gambling, and he became vicious and bad-tempered. As he grew poorer, people stopped lending him money, even in small sums.
在窮底的結(jié)果的病以后，全身便變成枯黃色，臉孔黃的和小銅鼓(2)一樣，連眼白也黃了。別人說(shuō)他是黃疸病，孩子們也就叫他“黃胖”了。有一天，他向他底妻子說(shuō)：“再也沒(méi)有辦法了，這樣下去，連小鍋?zhàn)右捕假u去了。我想，還是從你底身上設(shè)法罷。你跟著我挨餓，有什么辦法呢？”
With poverty came sickness. He grew sallow: his face took on the sickly colour of a brass drum and even the whites of his eyes became yellow. People said that he had
jaundice and urchins nicknamed him “Yellow Fellow”. One day, he said to his wife,“There’s no way out of it. It looks as if we’ll even have to sell our cooking pot. i.m
afraid we have to part. It’s no use both of us going hungry together.”
“我底身上？……”
“We have to part? ...”
他底妻坐在灶后，懷里抱著她剛滿三周歲的男小孩。她訥訥地低聲地問(wèn)。
muttered his wife, who was sitting behind the stove with their three-year-old boy in her arms.
“你，是呀，”她的丈夫病后的無(wú)力的聲音，“我已經(jīng)將你出典了(3)……”
“Yes, we have to part,” he answered feebly. “There’s somebody willing to hire you as a temporary wife, …”
“什么呀？”他底妻幾乎昏去似的。
“ What?” she almost lost her senses.
“三天前，王狼來(lái)坐討了半天的債回去以后，我也跟著他去，走到了九畝潭邊，我很不想要做人了。但是坐在那株爬上去一縱身就可落在潭里的樹(shù)下，想來(lái)想去，終沒(méi)有力氣跳了。貓頭鷹在耳朵邊不住在囀，我底心被它叫寒起來(lái)，我只得回轉(zhuǎn)身，但在路上，遇見(jiàn)了沈家婆，她問(wèn)我，晚也晚了，在外做什么。我就告訴她，請(qǐng)她代我借一筆款，或向什么人家的小姐借些衣服或首飾去暫時(shí)當(dāng)一當(dāng)，免得王狼底狼一般的綠眼睛天天在家里閃爍(4)?？墒巧蚣移畔蛭倚Φ溃?BR> “Three days ago, Wang Lang came here and spent a long time pressing me to pay my debt to him. After he had left, I went out. I sat under a tree on the shore of Chiumous Lake and thought of committing suicide. I wanted to climb the tree and dive into the water and drown myself, but, after thinking about it, I lost courage. The hooting of an owl frightened me and I walked away. On my way home, I came across Mrs. Shen, the matchmaker, who asked me why I was out at night. I told her what had happened and asked her if she could borrow some money for me, or some lady’s dresses and ornaments that I could pawn to pay Wang Lang so that he’d no longer be prowling after me like a wolf. But Mrs. Shen only smiled and said,
“‘你還將妻養(yǎng)在家里做什么呢，你自己黃也黃到這個(gè)地步了？”
“ ‘What do you keep your wife at home for? And you’re so sick and yellow!’
“我低著頭站在她面前沒(méi)有答，她又說(shuō)：“‘兒子呢，你只有一個(gè)了，舍不得。但妻——’
“I hung my head and said nothing. She continued,“ ‘Since you’ve got only one son, you might find it hard to part with him. But as for your wife…’
“我當(dāng)時(shí)想：‘莫非叫我賣妻子么？’
“I thought she meant that I should sell you, but she added,
“而她繼續(xù)道：“‘但妻——雖然是結(jié)發(fā)的，窮了，也沒(méi)有法，還養(yǎng)在家里做什么呢？’
“ ‘Of course she is your lawful wife, but you’re poor and you can’t do anything about it. What do you keep her at home for? Starve her to death?’
“這樣，她就直說(shuō)出：‘有一個(gè)秀才，因?yàn)闆](méi)有兒子，年紀(jì)已五十歲了，想買一個(gè)妾；又因他底大妻不允許，只準(zhǔn)他典一個(gè)，典三年或五年，叫我物色相當(dāng)?shù)呐耍耗昙o(jì)約三十歲左右，養(yǎng)過(guò)兩三個(gè)兒子的，人要沉默老實(shí)，又肯做事，還要對(duì)他底大妻肯低眉下首。這次是秀才娘子向我說(shuō)的，假如條件合，肯出八十元或一百元的身價(jià)。我代她尋了好幾天，終于沒(méi)有相當(dāng)?shù)呐?。’她說(shuō)：現(xiàn)在碰到我，想起了你來(lái)，樣樣都對(duì)的。當(dāng)時(shí)問(wèn)我底的意見(jiàn)怎樣，我一邊掉了幾滴淚，一邊卻被她催的答應(yīng)她了?！闭f(shuō)到這里，他垂下頭，聲音很低弱，停止了。他底妻簡(jiǎn)直癡似的，話一句沒(méi)有。又靜寂了一息，他繼續(xù)說(shuō)：“昨天，沈家婆到過(guò)秀才底家里，她說(shuō)秀才很高興，秀才娘子也喜歡，錢是一百元，年數(shù)呢，假如三年養(yǎng)不出兒子，是五年。沈家婆并將日子也揀定了——本月十八，五天后。今天，她寫典契了?！?BR> “Then she said straight out, ‘There’s a fifty-year-old scholar who wants a concubine to bear him a son since his wife is barren. But his wife objects and will only allow him to hire somebody else’s wife for a few years. I’ve been asked to find them a woman. She has to be about thirty years old and the mother of two or three children. She must be honest and hard-working, and obey the scholar’s wife. The scholar’s wife has told me that they are willing to pay from eighty to a hundred dollars for the right sort of woman. I’ve looked around for one for several days, but without any luck. But your wife is just the woman I’ve been looking for.’“She asked me what I thought about it. It made me cry to think of it, but shecomforted me and convinced me that it was all for the best.”
這時(shí)，他底妻簡(jiǎn)直連腑臟都顫抖，吞吐著問(wèn)：
At this point, his voice trailed off, he hung his head and stopped.
“昨天在你底面前旋了三個(gè)圈子，可是對(duì)你說(shuō)不出。不過(guò)我仔細(xì)想，除出將你底身子設(shè)法外，再也沒(méi)有辦法了。”“決定了么？”婦人戰(zhàn)著牙齒問(wèn)?！爸淮淦鯇懞?。”“倒霉的事情呀，我——一點(diǎn)也沒(méi)有別的方法了么？”“倒霉，我也想到過(guò)，可是窮了，我們又不肯死，有什么辦法？今年，我怕連插秧也不能插了。”
“Yesterday, Mrs. Shen went to see the scholar again. She came back and told me that both the scholar and his wife were very happy about the idea of having you and had
promised to pay me a hundred dollars. If you bear them a child they will keep you for three years, if not—for five. Mrs. Shen has fixed the date for you to go –the eighteenth of this month, that is, five days from now. she is going to have the contract drawn up today.” Trembling all over, the wife faltered,
這時(shí)，在她過(guò)去的回憶里，卻想起恰恰一年前的事：那時(shí)她生下了一個(gè)女兒，她簡(jiǎn)直如死去一般臥在床上。死還是整個(gè)的，她卻肢體分作四碎與五裂：剛落地的女嬰，在地上的干草堆上叫：“呱呀，呱呀，”聲音很重的，手腳揪縮。臍帶繞在她底身上，胎盤落在一邊，她很想掙扎起來(lái)給她洗好，可是她底頭昂起來(lái)，身子凝滯在床上。這樣，她看見(jiàn)她底丈夫，這個(gè)兇狠的男子，緋紅著臉，提了一桶沸水到女嬰的旁邊。她簡(jiǎn)直用了她一生底最后的力向他喊：“慢！慢……”但這個(gè)病前極兇狠的男子，沒(méi)有一分鐘商量的余地，也不答半句話，就將“呱呀，呱呀，”聲音很重地在叫著的女兒，剛出世的新生命，用他底粗暴的兩手捧起來(lái)，如屠戶捧將殺的小羊一般，撲通，投下在沸水里了！除出沸水的濺聲和皮肉吸收沸水的嘶聲以外，女孩一聲也不喊。她當(dāng)時(shí)剜去了心一般地昏去了。
Then, looking back upon the past, she remembered what had just happened one year before: she was lying on her bed more dead than alive after giving birth to a baby girl. The newborn infant was lying on a heap of straw on the ground, crying at the top of her lungs and twitching her little limbs. The umbilical cord was wound round her body and the placenta left by her side. The poor young woman was anxious to get up to wash her baby. But she could only manage to lift her head while her whole body seemed to remain glued to the bed. All of a sudden she saw her husband, fierce and flushed, come up to the baby with a bucket of boiling water. “Stop, stop! ... ,” she threw what little strength she had into yelling at him. The vicious husband, nevertheless, was uncompromising. Without saying a word, he held up in both hands the baby with her cry of new life and, like a butcher slaughtering a small lamb, splashed her into the boiling water. The baby immediately stopped crying. All was silent except for the sizzling of her flesh in the boiling water. The young woman fainted away at the heart-rending scene.
翻譯解析：
作家柔石，浙江寧海人，1931年在上海犧牲，年僅30，本文是他于1930年寫成的秀的短篇小說(shuō)。作品揭露當(dāng)時(shí)浙東一帶農(nóng)村典妻制度的野蠻和殘酷，對(duì)農(nóng)村勞動(dòng)?jì)D女的苦難表示了極大的同情。
(1)“芒種”為中國(guó)24節(jié)氣之一，約在每年6月上、中旬，該時(shí)農(nóng)村多忙于夏收夏種。如英譯為Mangzhong或wheat in the ear，勢(shì)必借助腳注，詳加說(shuō)明，否則外國(guó)讀者無(wú)法理解?，F(xiàn)結(jié)合上下文干脆把它譯為early each summer。
(2)“小銅鼓”譯為a brass drum。注意brass和bronze、copper在顏色上的區(qū)別。三者之中，僅brass是淺黃色。
(3)“我已經(jīng)將你出典了……”如逐字直譯為I’ve pawned you或I’ve hired you out，均欠達(dá)意?，F(xiàn)以增詞釋義的辦法譯為there’s somebody willing to hire you as a temporary wife，可較清楚地交代原意。
(4)“免得王狼底狼一般的綠眼睛天天在家里閃爍”譯為so that he’d no longer be prowling after me like a wolf，用prowling after（潛行覓食）代替原文中有關(guān)比喻，同樣傳神。
(5)“這一晚，她和她底丈夫都沒(méi)有吃晚飯?！币饧捶驄D兩人都不想吃飯，故譯That evening, neither he nor she felt like having supper。如按字面直譯為That evening, both husband and wife did not eat supper，就未能表達(dá)原句含義。
(6)“三周四歲離娘身”譯為A child of three can move about free，有節(jié)奏，有韻律，易于上口。
(7)“燒飯的黃媽”即在廚房干活的女仆，可簡(jiǎn)譯為the kitchen-maid。
(8)“你應(yīng)該稱一稱你自己底老骨頭是多少重”意即“你應(yīng)該珍惜自己的身子”，故譯為 You should take good care of your old carcase，其中carcase本作“死尸”解，指活人的“身 軀”時(shí)，是帶有輕蔑或嘲笑口氣的用語(yǔ)。