書蟲四級《紅字》：10.赫斯特·普林的悲傷

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10．Hester Prynne's sadness

10．赫斯特·普林的悲傷

After many days, when there had been time for people to arrange their thoughts, there was more than one report about what had been seen on the scaffold.

過了許多天，人們總算有了充分的時間來調(diào)整思路，于是關(guān)于絞刑臺上的那一幕就有了多種說法。

Most of those watching said that they saw a scarlet letter, like Hester Prynne's, on the priest's chest. But how long had it been there? There were various explanations, all of which were no more than guesses. Some said that Mr Dimmesdale had burned the letter into his chest on the same day that Hester Prynne received her scarlet letter. Others said that old Roger Chillingworth had caused it to appear, by some devilish magic. And others said it was a terrible sign of a guilty heart, and of God's punishment. The reader may choose from these possible explanations.

絕大多數(shù)在場的人說，他們在牧師的胸前看到了一個紅字，與赫斯特·普林所佩戴的十分相似。至于其存在的時間長短，說法則各不相同，而且都是些臆測。一些人說，丁梅斯代爾先生自從赫斯特·普林戴上她的紅字那一天開始，就將那個字母也烙在自己的胸口了。另一些人則說，那烙印是由老羅杰·奇林沃思用邪惡的魔力顯示出來的。還有一些人認(rèn)為，那是一顆負(fù)罪的心的可怕印記，是上帝懲罰的烙印。讀者可以從這幾種說法中自行選擇。

However, there were some who were watching who said that there was no mark at all on Mr Dimmesdale's chest. Neither, they said, had his dying words accepted any part of, or responsibility for, Hester Prynne's shame. The priest, they said, by choosing to die in the arms of that sinful woman, was simply trying to teach his people that even the most godly of them were all sinners in the eyes of God.

不過，也有一些在場的人聲明，他們沒有在牧師胸前看到任何標(biāo)記。據(jù)他們講，牧師的臨終致辭沒有承認(rèn)他同赫斯特·普林的恥辱有絲毫牽連。他們說，牧師選擇在那個墮落的女人的懷抱中咽氣，只為教導(dǎo)他的教眾，在上帝的心目中，就算最神圣的人也是罪人。

But nothing was more extraordinary than the way old Roger Chillingworth changed after Mr Dimmesdale's death. This unhappy man grew weaker every day. Revenge had been his food and drink, and without it, his life had no meaning. Before the end of a year, he was dead.

但最引人注目的是，丁梅斯代爾先生死后，羅杰·奇林沃思老人發(fā)生了變化。這個不快樂的人一天比一天虛弱。因?yàn)閺?fù)仇就是他的食物和水，沒有了復(fù)仇，他的生命便毫無意義。不出一年，他就死了。

But he left all his money—together with land and houses in England—to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne.

他把所有的財產(chǎn)——包括在英國的土地和房產(chǎn)——都留給了赫斯特·普林的女兒小珍珠。

So Pearl became the richest person of those days in New England. This, of course, changed the way people behaved towards Hester and her daughter. Many families, thinking about the future, now saw Pearl, not as a child of sin, but as a most suitable wife for one of their sons! But soon after Chillingworth died, Hester and Pearl disappeared, and for many years no one knew where they had gone.

于是，小珍珠就成了當(dāng)時新英格蘭最富有的人。這么一來，人們對赫斯特母女的態(tài)度自然不同了。許多家庭在考慮將來的時候，都不再把珍珠視為罪惡所生的孩子，反而把她看做是兒子們將來最合適的妻子！但是奇林沃思去世后不久，赫斯特和珍珠就消失了，后來許多年當(dāng)中，都沒有人知道她們的行蹤。

People told the story of the scarlet letter to their children, and their children's children. The scaffold where the poor priest died remained, and was as strong a warning of shame as it ever was.

人們把紅字的故事告訴孩子們，以及孩子的孩子們。那個可憐牧師的喪生之地——絞刑臺還保留著，它始終是一個有力的恥辱的警示。

And then, one afternoon, some children were playing near Hester's old cottage when they saw a tall woman in a grey dress go up to the door. In all those years it had never once been opened, but she seemed to unlock it before going inside. She turned in the doorway and looked back—long enough for those watching to see the scarlet letter on her bosom. Hester Prynne had returned!

后來，有一天下午，幾個孩子正在赫斯特住過的茅屋附近玩耍，忽然看見一個身穿灰衣的高個子女人走近屋門。多年以來，屋門從沒打開過，但是那女人似乎在走進(jìn)房子之前開了鎖。她在門口處轉(zhuǎn)過身來，回頭張望——時間足以讓人看到她胸前的紅字。赫斯特·普林回來了！

But where was little Pearl, now a young woman? Was she alive or dead? No one knew, nor did they ever find out. But for the remainder of Hester's life, she received letters from England. And in the cottage were beautiful, expensive things which Hester never used, but which spoke of somebody's loving thoughts towards her. And once, someone saw Hester decorating a baby's dress with the richest of gold thread.

可是小珍珠在哪里呢？她現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該長大了。她還活著嗎？誰也不知道，誰也沒有找到答案。不過，從赫斯特后來的生活來看，她常接到來自英國的信件，而且那間茅屋里有一些漂亮的奢侈用品，雖然赫斯特從來不用，但這些東西表達(dá)了別人對她的牽掛。有一次，有人看到赫斯特用最華美的金線繡一件嬰兒的衣服。

All these things led people to believe that Pearl was not only alive but also married and happy. And that she did not forget her mother and always kept her home in England open for her, if Hester should ever want it.

所有這些都使人們相信，珍珠不但活在世上，而且結(jié)了婚，生活得很幸福。她一直惦記著母親，如果赫斯特樂意的話，珍珠在英格蘭的家永遠(yuǎn)準(zhǔn)備迎接她的母親。

But Hester Prynne's life was in New England. Here she had sinned, and here she would end her life. She had returned willingly, and once again put on her scarlet letter.

但是對赫斯特·普林來說，她的生命在新英格蘭。她在這里犯下罪孽，也要在這里終老此生。她心甘情愿地回來了，并且又戴上了那個紅字。

Never again did it leave her bosom. However, in the years that followed, it became a sign not of shame but of sadness. It reminded others that here was a woman who had done wrong, but who had been punished enough. And people, especially women, came to her for advice, for her wise words, for comfort in their times of trouble and misery and suffering.

從那以后，那紅字就再也沒離開過她的胸前。但是隨著歲月的流逝，它不再是恥辱的烙印，卻變成了一個令人哀傷的標(biāo)志，提醒人們有一個做過錯事的女人，而她承受了足夠多的懲罰。人們，尤其是女人們，前來尋求她的建議，聆聽她睿智的言語，以便在艱難苦痛的時刻得到安慰。

When she died, a new grave was dug next to an old one, but there was only one gravestone for the two graves. It was a simple stone—you may still see it there today and on it was just one letter; a letter that had been scarlet, a letter that both began this sad story, and brought it to an end.

她去世的時候，在一座老墳旁邊，又挖建了一座新墳，但兩座墳只有一塊墓碑。這是一塊很普通的石頭——今天你可能還會在那兒看到它，在那上面只有一個字母；這個字母曾被漆成猩紅色。這個悲傷的故事以它開始，也以它結(jié)束。