欲望与道德的剧烈碰撞——"Sister Carrie"（嘉莉妹妹）部分细节赏析
2015-07-10 17:22阅读：
“Sister Carrie”
是美国20世纪初现实主义作家Theodore
Dreiser
(德莱赛)的第一部作品，也是他的代表作之一。小说以主人公Carrie（嘉莉）来到大城市后的人生际遇为线索，展现了19世纪末美国万花筒般的社会场面和底层民众的艰难生活。有评论说Dreiser的故事写得很好，但文笔却缺乏文采。但在我看来，Dreiser
以近乎白描的手法，朴实无华而又清晰细致地描写了诸多细节，使整部小说丰满厚重，十分耐读。Hurstwood（赫斯沃）是小说的第二主角，他与Carrie的情感纠葛，构成了小说的主要部分。Hurstwood
原是芝加哥一个中年酒店经理，生活富足，人生得意。和Carrie
私奔后，逐渐走入困境，最后沦落为一个客死他乡的可怜乞丐。他的悲剧人生对Carrie
人物形象起到了一种强烈的烘托作用，所以Dreiser
对Husrtwood的刻画极其用心，有关他不同时期一些重要场景的细节描写都十分细腻精确，既有行为的，也有心理的，其中特别是他在一个偶然的情况下私拿酒店公款的情节给人留下了深刻的印象。下面就来看看Dreiser在这个场景中一些精彩的细节处理。
…
…he came out and tried the safe. His way was to give a sharp
pull. This time the door responded. He was slightly surprised at
that, and looking in found the money cases as left for the day,
apparently unprotected. His first thought was, of course, to
inspect the drawers and shut the door.
出事这天晚上Hurstwood当班，他十分尽职守责，临离开办公室前他总要看看是否一切就绪，特别要用力拉一拉放在他办公室外间的保险柜的门（钥匙是由老板掌握的），所谓give
a sharp
pull，检查是否锁严。但这一次，门居然开了，这里responded
这个词用得好，是前一个动作give a sharp
pull的反应或结果，
而且看见里面装钱的盒子像白天那样放着。显然没有收拾过。他当然吃惊，但他毕竟是一个资深经理人，所以作者在surprised”的前面用了个修饰语slightly，“有一点”，以表现出他的素养，而且first
thought所谓第一感就是先检查抽屉的情况，再关保险柜的门。职业经理人的训练有素和有条不紊通过简单的句子不动声色地得以体现。
“I’ll look in
here”，thought the manager, pulling out
the money drawer. He did not know why he wished to look in there.
It was quite a superfluous action, which another time might not
have happened at all.
这一段极有深意。Hurstwood
竟动了想仔细看看里面的念头，而不是简单地碰上门或是查看一下抽屉的情况。他自己都不明白为什么要这样，因为这本就是一个多余的（superfluous）动作，这在其它时候是不可能发生的。那为什么这次会发生呢？这里，“想看看”的心情，作者用了一个wish，而不是want或would
like to
之类，状一种更为迫切的主观要求。这一段实际上告诉读者，这些念头和之后发生的故事有不为Hurstwood
此刻所察觉的直接联系，因而有伏笔的效果。
He put his hand into the first of the boxes and lifted the
stack, letting the separate parcels fall. They were bills of fifty
and one hundred dollars done in packages of a thousand. He thought
he counted ten such.
“why don’t I shut the
safe?””his mind said to itself,
lingering. “What makes me pause
here?”
For answer there came the strangest
words:“Did you ever have ten thousand
dollars in ready money?”
他把手伸进第一个抽屉，拿起那一叠钱，这里作者用了一个词stack，给人一种厚厚的沉甸甸的感觉。钞票是五十和一百元面额的，捆成一千元一扎。共有十扎。钱在眼前晃着，心里却有一个声音在说，“我为什么不关上保险柜？”“我怎么还停在这里？”lingering
生动地描述了他的犹豫不决。
既有形态上的，也有心理上的。似乎做为回答，一个十分奇怪的声音响起来：“你有过一万块钱的现金吗？”作者通过对钞票的形态的详细描述以及Hurstwood心中的两种声音，使我们看到Hurstwood
在强烈的诱惑面前心理在逐渐发生变化。
He puzzled at the thoughts of these things, then pushed in
the drawers and closed the door, pausing with his hand upon the
knob, which might so easily lock it beyond temptation. Still he
paused. Finally he went to the windows and pulled down the
curtains. Then he tried the door, which he had previously locked.
What was this thing, making him suspicious? Why did he wish to move
about so quietly. He came back to the end of the counter as if to
rest his arm and think. Then he went and
unlocked his little office door and turned on the light. He also
opened his desk, sitting down before it, only to think strange
thoughts.
这些想法连Hurstwood
自己都觉得困惑不解，怎么会这样？所以他接下来就把抽屉推进去，关上柜门，但手却停在把手上不动，本来把手一转就可以轻而易举地锁上门，一切诱惑都不存在（beyond）了，可是，手还是停在那里，一个still,，道出了他心中的迟疑。终于他走过去放下窗帘，又去拉了拉门，而门是早就锁好的。这个finally,
使我们感觉得到他在保险柜前迟疑不决的时间是很长的，他在想什么呢？是什么使他自己都觉得有点疑神疑鬼的？然后又回到柜台的端头，似乎要把手臂枕在上面思考一下？as
if
是虚拟的表达，似是而非，人物心绪不宁的状态跃然纸上。然后又去打开自己的办公室的门，扭开电灯，坐在写字台前，脑筋在转一些莫名其妙的念头，这里only
to do something 的句型，表示前面的一系列的动作只是为了think
strange thoughts.
这一节虽是写的动作，实际上却又形象地反映了主人公内心复杂的心理活动，读来饶有趣味。
“What about it？”his
mind asked, and for answer he put his hand slowly up and scratched
his head.……He went back to the safe and
put his hand on the knob. Then he pulled the door open and took the
drawer with the money quite out.
With it once out and before him, it seemed a foolish thing to
think about leaving it. Certainly it would. Why, he could living
quietly with Carrie for years.
这段之前作者有提及Hurstwood
的纠葛和困境，莫非这是个解决办法？他的mind在问，似乎与他本人无关，实际是内心极度纠结的反映，以致抓自己的头，想有个清晰的判断。put
his hand slowly up,
手是慢慢举起来（抓头）的，说明他在紧张的思考，而scratched his
head，就是想有个结果，scratch
抓扯，有力度。晚上喝的酒也在血管里发酵，一时间，Hurstwood脑子里乱糟糟地想了很多，拿到一万美元的前景变得色彩斑斓，想到Carrie，想到可以摆脱老婆，想到不用再去苦恼如何回老婆的信……他回到保险柜前握住把手，拉开门，把装钱的抽屉端出来。两句话一连串几个动词，went,
put, pull, took
使动作一气呵成。字面上看，没有suddenly
之类的修饰词，但我们仍然感觉得到主人公已经有了明确的想法，一下子回到保险柜，断然把装钱的抽屉再次取出的那种决绝，took
the drawer with money quite out 这一句里的
out前面多了个quite
意思是整个儿的端了出来，和“决绝”意思十分吻合，说明Dreiser
是非常讲究用词的。钱既然再次取出，再不要当然是傻瓜，因为有这笔钱，可以和Carrie
安安逸逸过好多年啊！但是，Hurstwood
真的下定决心了吗？请看紧接着的下一段。
Lord！What was that? For the first
time he was tense, as if a stern hand had been laid upon his
shoulder. He looked fearfully around. Not a soul was present. Not a
sound. Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. He took the box
and the money and put it back in the safe. Then he partly closed
the door again.
你看，一声“天啦！这是怎么回事？”道出Hurstwood
内心的苦恼和矛盾。他生平第一次感到紧张，好像有一只严厉的手压住了他的肩头，一声叹息，一个stern，感觉主人公心理不堪重负。他恐惧地四面张望，眼前没有一个人没有一点响动，只听得到外面人行道上有人走过，可见是夜深人静了。沉重的精神负担下，他别无选择，又把抽屉和钱放回保险柜，然后关上门。注意，closed
之前有一个修饰语partly，就是说门是半关上的，或者说是虚掩着的，并没有关死，为什么呢？依然是内心的极度矛盾所致：想要钱，又不敢，但又想要，所以把门虚留着，再想想。这里，主人公那种彷徨纠结的矛盾心理在读者面前展露无遗。
To those who have never wavered in conscience, the
predicament of the individual whose mind is less strongly
constituted and who trembles in the balance between duty and desire
is scarcely appreciable, unless graphically portrayed. Those who
have never heard that solemn voice of the ghostly clock which ticks
with awful distinctness, “ thou shalt,” “thou shalt not”, “thou
shalt,” “ thou shalt not, “ are in no position to judge. Not alone
in sensitive, highly organized natures is such a mental conflict
possible. The dullest specimen of humanity, when drawn by desire
toward evil, is recalled by a sense of right, which is
proportionate in power and strength to his veil
tendency.
这四个句子是一大段议论的一部分。前两个句子作者都用了长长的定语从句，特别是第一句的定语从句竟有三个之多，作者通过这些冗长的限定语表明了，对一个良心上从未有过动摇的人来说是理解不了那些意志不够坚定且摇摆于责任和欲望之间的人的困境的，也无从加以判断，因为他们是听不到像幽灵一样的时钟那庄严肃穆的滴答声的，而那声音就像是在说：“你该做，”“你不该做，”“你该做，”“你不该做”。这两个句子可以说是活化出Hurstwood
现在的心境，那种矛盾重重又无法言说的苦恼。而内心清晰响着的滴答声，作者用了Thou
shalt，Thou shalt
not，既状其声，又得其意，加之不断重复，有一种对当事人的催促感，十分巧妙。之所以有矛盾，有剧烈的思想斗争，说明当事人心中还有道德感或正义感，要阻止犯罪，而这种“道德感”究其本质，是源于动物性的一种害怕犯罪的本能。整个这一段有如一个画外音的效果，让读者从一个客观的立场来审视Hurstwood
内心的激烈冲突。
When Hurstwood put the money back, his nature again resumed
its ease and daring. No one had observed him. He was quite alone.
No one could tell he wished to do. He could work this thing out for
himself.
钱放回去后，他又气定神闲起来，胆子也大了，一个resumed
说明了之前的心理状态。就他一个人，没有人看见，无人知道他要干什么，他可以自己解决好这件事。几个短句道出他此刻轻快的心情。
The imbibation of the evening had not yet worn off. Moist as
was his brow, tremble as did his hand once after the nameless
fright, he was still flushed with the fumes of liquor. He scarcely
noticed that the time was passing. He went over his situation once
again, his eye always seeing the money in a lump, his mind always
seeing what it would do. He strolled into his little room, then to
the door, then to the safe again. He put his hand on the knob and
opened it. There was the money! Surely no harm could come from
looking at it!
imbibation 和liquor
都是指的酒，晚上喝的酒还在起作用，脸也通红。刚才一阵无名的恐惧之后，额头上还有汗，手也还在抖，以至于都没有注意到时间在流逝。现在脑筋里又在想自己的处境，went
over 细细地考虑。这句话后面跟了两个独立主格结构，his eye always
seeing……his mind always
seeing……和前面的“考虑”密切相关，就是说“考虑”的同时，眼睛在看着那一捆钱，脑筋在想着这些钱可以做什么用。所以后面这几个动作就顺理成章了：走进自己的房间，然后又走到门口，最后到保险柜前。“走进自己的房间”是短暂的犹豫，接下来就是到门口，到保险柜前了。手捏着把手打开门，钱就在那里！一个惊叹号说明激动的心情，“看看总没有害处吧！”这明显是主人公自己在欺骗自己，接下来会做什么，估计读者多半心中有数了。
He took out he drawer again and lifted the bills. They were
so smooth, so compact, so portable. How little they made, after
all. He decided he would take them. Yes, he would. He would put
them in his pocket. Then he looked at that and saw they would not
go there. His hand satchel! To be sure, his hand satchel! They
would go in that——all of it would. No one
would think anything of it either. He went into the little office
and took it form the shelf in the corner. Now he set it upon his
desk and went out toward the safe. For some reason he did not want
to fill it out in the big room.
Hurstwood
再次取出抽屉，拿起钞票。后面三个so——so
smooth, so compact, so portable,
道尽了钞票对主人公的巨大诱惑。所以他决定拿走这笔钱。口袋装不下，就想到用自己的手提包。他走回办公室从架子上取下包，把他放到桌子上，再到外间保险柜去拿钱，作者在这里有一句话，For
some reason he did not want to fill it out in the big
room，什么意思呢？本来把包拿到外间保险柜前去装钱更方便，但他却把包放在办公室桌上，单去外间拿钱再进来装进提包，作者说他出于某种原因，不想在外间装钱，这不仅是自己办公室更为隐秘，其实还有可能反映了Hurstwood
内心一种心思：不想有在现场直接犯罪的那种感觉，他毕竟是酒店经理，有一定的社会地位，与普通的小偷扒手不一样，这应该是for
some reason 的一种注脚吧。
First he brought the bills and then the loose receipts of the
day. He would take it all. He put the empty drawer back and pushed
the iron door almost to, then stood beside it
meditating,.
拿了那整叠钞票，又拿了当天进账的散钱，他似乎是一不做二部休了，那种心理就像是杀人犯，杀一个是杀，杀十个也是杀。可是，当他把空抽屉放回保险柜，推那扇铁门就差一点关闭时，他又停下了，pushed
the iron door almost to,
十分传神，然后就站在旁边陷入了沉思。啊，“可伶”的Hurstwood !
我们都不记得你是多少次地徘徊在“拿”与“不拿”之间了！
The wavering of a mind under such circumstances is an almost
inexplicable thing, and yet it is absolutely true. Hurstwood could
not bring himself to act definitely. He wanted to think about
it—to ponder over it, do decide whether
it were best. He was drawn by such a keen desire for Carrie, driven
by such a state of turmoil in his own affairs that he thought
constantly it would be best, and yet he wavered. He did not know
what evil might result from it to
him——how soon he might come to
grief.
这种情况下的迟疑不决是有点不可思议，但在Hurstwood
身上却是真实的，因为他还没有下定最后的决心，还无法使自己果断行事。所以他还要全盘考虑，这是不是良策。在段落中间的这个被动语态句子里，两个过去分词drawn,
driven 形象表达出他那种对Carrie
的欲望之不能自拔，自家的那些破事要把他逼疯的艰难处境，这样之下，翻来覆去的考虑觉得（拿走）还是最好的办法，可以使自己解脱。但是，he
wavered，
犹豫什么呢？一个evil，一个grief
是他所害怕的，后果会不会不堪设想？什么时候遇到麻烦？他心中无数。
After he had all the money in the hand bag, a revulsion of
feeling seized him. He would not do
it———no! Think of what a scandal it would
make. The police! They would be after him. He would have to fly.,
and where? Oh, the terror of being a fugitive from justice! He took
out the two boxes and put all the money back. In his excitement he
forgot what he was dong, and put the sums in the wrong boxes. As he
pushed the door to, he thought he remembered doing it wrong and
opened the door again. They were the two boxes mixed.
Hurstwood
的反反复复，与他生平第一次做这种事情有关，加之他的地位和身份，所以尽管拿到这笔钱是个极大的诱惑，他害怕舆论，害怕法律，又把钱放回保险柜抽屉，但两个抽屉他在慌乱中弄错了，刚要关门才意识到，就又打开门。这些描写看似累赘啰嗦，但却使我们形象地感受到那颗长久地徘徊在责任与犯罪之间的悲摧灵魂！
He took them out and straightened the matter, but now the
terror had gone. Why he afraid?
钱拿出来重新放好，但恐惧却消失了，为什么要害怕呢？人真是此一时彼一时，不可言说。
While the money was in his hand the lock clicked. It had
sprung! Did he do it? He grabbed at the knob and pulled vigorously.
It had closed. Heavens! He was in for it now, sure
enough.
The moment he realized that the safe was locked for a surety,
the sweat burst out upon his brow and he trembled violently. He
looked about him and decided instantly. There was no delaying
now.
真是阴差阳错！钱在手上，保险柜的门却碰上了！the lock clicked
夜深人静之时，我们都仿佛听见了门锁那清脆的一声响，咔嗒。他抓住把手，拼命地拉，哪里还拉得开？已经锁严了。所以，那声heavens
的惊呼，确实是来自Hurstwood
内心的惶恐，他已无法脱开干系了。额头冒汗，the sweat burst
out，有瞬间一涌而出的感觉；人也战抖得厉害；violently
是不可抗拒的抖索。他四周看了看，立即做了决定，事不宜迟，There was no
delaying now,
有一种逼上梁山的意思。看来，也就是这个意外帮他做了决定，否则，要怎么翻来覆去的继续折腾我们还不知道。由此也可以看出Hurstwood
还不是一个彻底的“坏人”。
He hurried into his little room, took down his light overcoat
and hat, locked his desk, and grabbed the satchel. Then he turned
out all but one light and opened the door. He tried to put on his
old assured air, but it was almost gone. He was repenting
rapidly.
“I wish I hadn’t done that,” he said. “that was a
mistake.”
他想过就算是现在把钱放在保险柜上面，人家也会知道是他干的，因为是他当班，最后一个关门的，而且还可能发生其他意外。因此必须马上离开这是非之地。这里，作者在主语he后面用了一连串的动词，hurried
into, took down, locked, grabbed, turned out, opened
，表现出情况的紧急和当事人的慌乱。出得门来他想做出他素有的那种从容笃定的表情，但做不到了，他立刻又后悔了，希望没有干这个，说那只是个错误，但一切都是多余，大错已铸，回不去了，从此走上了他的亡命天涯的不归路。
'Sister
Carrie'我看过好几遍，上述一类的重要章节更是有五六遍，七八遍之多，看得越多，对作品的内涵与作家的文风体会越深。Dreiser
的描写极富线条美，若干精彩的细节描写给我们清晰地勾勒出一幅幅令人难忘的画面。使Hurstwood
这个文学形象生动地在我们面前活了起来，我们仿佛就站在他的办公室内的一角，不为他所知地近距离观察并感受了他的欲望，他的苦恼，他的彷徨，他的挣扎，以至他最后的“被逼上梁山”，从而完整地了解了他灵魂堕落的轨迹，同时也得到了极大的艺术享受。
一万美元，根据小说中当时的购买力大致折算，充其量也就相当于现在几十万人民币的水平，说个题外话，今天的贪官要是看了这一节，指不定会怎样地笑话Hurstwood的“小器”，因为在他们动辄数千万甚至数亿地把公币摄为己有时，他们的手何曾抖过，汗何曾冒过，又何曾像可怜的Hurstwood
那样，在保险柜前无数次的徘徊，踌躇，恐惧，斗争？说白了，现今贪官的词典里不要说法律之类，就是一百多年前一个美国普通中产阶级都能有的一点道德感，恐怕也早就扔到太平洋里去喂鲨鱼了。从这点说，Dreiser的“Sister
Carrie'在21世纪的今天看来都还有一定的现实意义，最起码可以作为一种对照，深刻地反衬出现今贪官的无耻嘴脸以及比Hurstwood
肮脏一百倍的丑恶灵魂。
