经典名著：《小妇人（连载10）》

导读

 

《小妇人》（Little Women）是由美国女作家露易莎·梅·奥尔科特创作的长篇小说，首次出版于1868年。该作是一部以美国南北战争为背景，以19世纪美国新英格兰地区的一个普通家庭四个姐妹之间的生活琐事为蓝本的带有自传色彩的家庭伦理小说。小说受到当时的大思想家爱默生的影响，强调了个人尊严与自立自律的观念；内容平实却细腻，结构单纯而寓意深远，富有强烈的感染力。

 

 

 

“Give them all of my dear love and a kiss. Tell them I think of them by day, pray for them by night, and find my best comfort in their affection at all times. A year seems very long to wait before I see them, but remind them that while we wait we may all work, so that these hard days need not be wasted. I know they will remember all I said to them, that they will be loving children to you, will do their duty faithfully, fight their bosom enemies bravely, and conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women.” Everybody sniffed when they came to that part. Jo wasn’t ashamed of the great tear that dropped off the end of her nose, and Amy never minded the rumpling of her curls as she hid her face on her mother’s shoulder and sobbed out, “I am a selfish girl! But I’ll truly try to be better, so he mayn’t be disappointed in me by-and-by.”

“给她们献上我所有的爱和吻。告诉她们我天天想念她们，夜夜为她们祈祷，每时每刻都从她们的爱中得到最大的安慰。要见到她们还要等上漫长的一年，但请提醒她们我可以在等待中工作，不虚度这段难忘的日子。我知道她们会牢记我的话，做好孩子，忠实地做她们该做的事，勇敢地生活、战斗，善于自我控制。等我重返家园的时候，我的四个小妇人一定变得更可爱，更令我感到骄傲。”读到这段，每个人都抽泣鼻子，乔任由大滴大滴的泪珠从鼻尖滚落下来，艾美顾不得一头鬈发会被弄乱，把脸埋在妈妈的肩头上，呜呜咽咽地说：“我是个自私的女孩！但我一定努力进取，不让爸爸失望。”

 

“We all will,” cried Meg. “I think too much of my looks and hate to work, but won’t any more, if I can help it."

“I’ll try and be what he loves to call me, ‘a little woman’ and not be rough and wild, but do my duty here instead of wanting to be somewhere else,” said Jo, thinking that keeping her temper at home was a much harder task than facing a rebel or two down South.

“我们都会努力！”梅格哭着说，”我太注重衣着打扮，而且讨厌工作，以后一定尽量改正。”“我会试着做个'小妇人'，就像爸爸总爱这么叫我的那样，改掉粗野的脾气，做好自己的分内事，不再胡思乱想，“乔说，心里明白在家管好自己的脾气比在南方对付两个敌人还要艰难。

 

Beth said nothing, but wiped away her tears with the blue army sock and began to knit with all her might, losing no time in doing the duty that lay nearest her, while she resolved in her quiet little soul to be all that Father hoped to find her when the year brought round the happy coming home.

贝思没有言语，只是用深蓝色的军袜抹掉眼泪，拼命埋头编织。她不浪费点滴时间，而是从身边的工作做起，并暗下决心，一定让爸爸回来欢聚的时候如愿以偿。

 

Mrs. March broke the silence that followed Jo’s words, by saying in her cheery voice, “Do you remember how you used to play Pilgrims Progress when you were little things? Nothing delighted you more than to have me tie my piece bags on your backs for burdens, give you hats and sticks and rolls of paper, and let you travel through the house from the cellar, which was the City of Destruction, up, up, to the housetop, where you had all the lovely things you could collect to make a Celestial City.”

马奇太太用她愉悦的声音打破了乔说话之后的一阵沉默：“你们还记得演《天路历程》的情形吗？那时候你们还都是些小东西。你们最喜欢我把布袋绑到你们背上做担子，再给你们帽、棍子和纸卷，你们从屋里走到地窖，也就是'毁灭城'，又再往上一直走到屋顶，在那里你们可以得到许多好东西，这就是'天国'了。

 

“What fun it was, especially going by the lions, fighting Apollyon, and passing through the valley where the hob-goblins were,” said Jo.

“那多好玩啊，特别是走过狮子群，大战'地狱魔王'，路过'妖怪谷'时候！”乔说。