02.Coming home from the dance

2.Coming home from the dance
2．舞会归家路
It was a cold, clear night, and the village lay under deep snow. Bright, icy stars shone from a dark sky down on the silent whiteness below.


这是一个寒冷而晴朗的夜晚，厚厚的积雪铺满了整个村子。明朗清亮的星星在黑色的夜空中俯照着这片寂静的白色大地。


Young Ethan Frome walked quickly down the empty, moonlit street. He passed Eady's fine new shop and the Varnums' house with its two tall black trees. Below that was the slope of the Corbury road. On clear nights this was often full of young people coasting down, laughing and shouting as they went. But there was not a sound from the icy slope as Ethan passed by. Tonight all Starkfield's life was in a room in the church. Its windows sent yellow light across the snow, and the sound of dance music flowed out into the still midnight air. Ethan hid in the shadows outside the church, and looked in through the nearest window.


月光下，空无一人的街道上，年轻的伊桑·弗罗姆快步走来。他走过伊迪家的新店铺，走过瓦纳姆屋外两棵阴森的大树。那下面就是科贝里路的斜坡，晴朗的夜晚，许多年轻人会在这儿滑斜坡，一边玩儿，一边笑着、叫着。但伊桑经过时，这冰雪覆盖的斜坡却悄然无声。这一晚，斯塔克菲尔德镇的居民都聚在教堂的一个房间内。黄色的灯光透过窗子照在屋外的积雪上，舞曲飘出屋子，在寂静的夜空中飘荡。教堂外，伊桑藏在阴影中，从离他最近的窗子向房间内望去。


The room was hot, bright, and filled with young men and girls. The music had finished, and people were getting ready to leave. Suddenly, a lively young man with thick black hair jumped into the middle of the floor. He went into the crowd and pulled out a young girl. She was dark-haired, and had a bright red scarf around her head. The music started again, and soon the floor was alive with dancing figures.


屋里气氛热烈，灯火通明，全是小伙子和年轻姑娘。音乐已经结束，人们正准备离开。突然，一个活泼的长着浓密黑发的小伙子跳到屋子中间，从人群中拽出个年轻姑娘。姑娘长着深色头发，头上系着鲜亮的红头巾。音乐又响了起来，不一会儿，屋子里又都是跳舞的人们了。


Outside in the cold, Ethan's heart was beating fast. His eyes followed the girl's red scarf and cloud of brown hair as she danced in faster and faster circles. The young man was Denis Eady, the son of Starkfield's most successful shopkeeper. Denis's own success with the young women of the village was well known. Ethan watched jealously as Mattie, the dark-haired girl, held Eady's hands and smiled at him with her dark, shining eyes.


屋外寒冷的黑夜中，伊桑的心跳得厉害。姑娘转动得越来越快，而他的眼睛一直追随她的红头巾和浓密的褐发。那小伙子叫丹尼斯·伊迪，他父亲是斯塔克菲尔德镇最成功的店主。大家都知道丹尼斯在村里的姑娘中非常有人缘。伊桑嫉妒地看着玛蒂，这个长着深色头发的姑娘，看着她拉着伊迪的双手，还用明亮的深色眼睛笑盈盈地看他。


How can she look at him like that?' Ethan wondered unhappily. 'Doesn't she realize what he is like?'


“她怎么能那么看着他？”伊桑很不高兴地想，“难道她不知道他是什么人？”


Ethan used to walk into Starkfield to fetch home his wife's cousin, Mattie Silver, on the few evenings when some chance of amusement brought her to the village. Mattie had been with the Fromes for a year now. She lived with them in their lonely farmhouse and helped Ethan's wife, Zeena, with the housework. Ethan had liked the warm, smiling girl from the moment that she arrived. She brought hope and life and brightness into his home, like someone lighting a fire in a cold room. But she had more than brightness; Ethan found that she loved the beauty of the natual world around them. Here at his side, living under his roof and eating his bread, was someone who felt the same wonder as he did. He could tell her things and show her things — the bright stars in the clear night sky, birds flying over golden fields, the blue shadows of trees on sunlit snow. And he knew that these things gave Mattie and him the same feelings of deep, silent happiness.


玛蒂·西尔弗是伊桑妻子的表妹，她偶尔在晚上参加村里的一些娱乐活动，而伊桑都会来接她回家。玛蒂和弗罗姆夫妇在一起住了一年了。她住在他们那孤零零的农舍里，帮助伊桑的妻子齐娜做家务。这个热情的、笑眯眯的女孩儿一到家里，伊桑就喜欢上了她。她为他的家带来了希望、活力和光明，就像在一间冷冰冰的屋子里点燃了一团火。而她带来的不止是光明，伊桑发现她热爱身边的自然界。这个生活在他身边、住在他家里、依赖他生活的女孩儿，同样感受着他所感受着的奇迹。他能向她讲述、展示这些事物——晴朗夜空中明亮的星星、金色田野上飞过的鸟儿、阳光映照的白雪上树木投下的蓝色影子。他知道，这些事物给了他们相同的感受——那些深深的、默然于心的幸福感受。


But now those feelings seemed so far away. He watched Mattie's laughing face as she flew round and round the room, and he felt lonely and unhappy. Then he remembered a fear that he had tried to forget. His wife was a cold, silent woman who noticed everything but said very little. Her only real interest was her own ill health. But recently she had started to complain more and more about Mattie's housework, and to say things which worried Ethan.


可现在，那些幸福的感觉似乎如此遥远。望着玛蒂在房间里翩翩起舞时的盈盈笑脸，他感到孤独和不快。他忽然回忆起一丝恐惧，他曾尽力去忘记的恐惧。他的妻子是个冷漠寡言的女人，什么事情都逃不过她的眼睛，只是她很少谈起罢了。她只关心自己的病情。但最近，她开始越来越频繁地抱怨玛蒂的家务做得不好，还说些令伊桑忧虑的话。


I'll need someone to help me when Mattie leaves,' she had said suddenly one morning.


一天早晨，她忽然说：“玛蒂走后我需要人帮忙。”


Oh, Mattie'll never leave us while you need her,' he replied.


“哦，只要你需要玛蒂，她就不会走。”他回答。


His wife lay in bed and watched as he got dressed. 'If a poor girl like her has a chance to marry a smart boy like Denis Eady, I ain't going to stop her,' she said in her flat, whining voice. 'The doctor says I can't manage on my own, so we'll need to hire a girl.'


她躺在床上，看着他穿衣服。“要是像她这么个穷姑娘能有机会和丹尼斯·伊迪那样的帅小伙结婚，我一定不会反对。”她拖着平淡尖细的声音说道，“大夫说我自己应付不过来，咱们得雇个女孩儿。”


Life without Mattie! Ethan could not think of it. Her voice, her sweet smile, her gentle arm in his arm during those night walks back to the farm — these were the only things which mattered in his world. Had he been stupid to think that Zeena would not notice his interest in Mattie? He had not thought about it before, but now, as he stood in the darkness outside the church, he remembered other things that Zeena had said, and his fear grew...


没有玛蒂的生活！伊桑没法想象。他和玛蒂在夜晚步行回农场时，她的声音、她甜美的笑容、她那挽着他的柔软手臂——只有这些才是他的世界中最重要的东西。难道是自己犯了蠢，认为齐娜没注意到他对玛蒂的关切？他之前从没想过这些，但现在，站在教堂外的夜幕中，他记起了齐娜说的另外一些事，他的恐惧也在增长……


The dancers, now in their thick coats and scarves, came out into the cold night air. Ethan heard Mattie's voice in the crowd, and he stepped back into the shadows, suddenly afraid to speak to her. The crowd quickly disappeared, and Mattie stood alone outside the church, looking around her. Then a man's figure appeared.


跳舞的人们这会儿穿上了厚厚的外衣，围着头巾，走出了教堂，来到寒冷的夜幕中。伊桑听到玛蒂的声音从人群中传来，他退回到阴影中，突然感到自己害怕和她说话。人们很快散去，玛蒂独自一人站在教堂外，四下张望。这时，一个男人的身影出现了。


Nobody to walk you home, Matt? What a pity! But ain't I lucky that I got my dad's horse and sleigh down here waiting for us? Come on, let's take a ride!'


“玛蒂，没人陪你回家吗？真糟糕！不过我很幸运呀，我爸爸的马和雪橇在这儿等我们。来，一块儿走吧！”


The girl said nothing, but stood still, watching, while Denis Eady went to untie the horse. In the shadows, Ethan too watched and waited, with his heart beating fast. Mattie held his life in her hands. Eady got into the sleigh and called to Mattie to join him. Then she turned and ran up the slope.


丹尼斯·伊迪去解马缰绳时，玛蒂没说话，她仍静静地站在那儿望着。阴影中，伊桑也在望着，等着，他的心跳得厉害。玛蒂掌握着他的命运。伊迪上了雪橇，招呼玛蒂一起回家。忽然，玛蒂转身跑上了斜坡。


Goodbye! Have a lovely ride!' she called back.


“再见！一路顺风！”她喊道。


Eady laughed and followed her up the slope in his sleigh. After a moment he jumped down and tried to put his arm through hers. She stepped quickly out of the way, and Ethan's sudden fear turned to happiness. A moment later he heard the sound of Eady's sleigh going away, and saw Mattie walking alone across the snow.


伊迪笑着，驾着雪橇上了斜坡，跟着她。不一会儿，他跳下雪橇，想去搂她。她快步走开，伊桑的忧虑立时化为快乐。不一会儿，他听到伊迪雪橇离去的声音，看到玛蒂一个人在雪地里走着。


He caught up with her by the Varnums' trees. She turned round, surprised.


他在瓦纳姆家的大树旁赶上了她。她惊讶地转过身。


Oh!' she said. 'I thought maybe you couldn't come.'


“哦，”她说，“我以为你可能来不了呢。”


If you thought I couldn't come, why didn't you ride back with Denis Eady?' he answered.


“如果你以为我没来，为什么不和丹尼斯·伊迪一块儿回去呢？”他答道。


Oh, how did you know?' she cried. 'Where were you? I never saw you!'


“啊，你怎么知道的？”她大叫，“你那时在哪儿？我一直没见到你！”


They stood in the dark shadows of the trees, and their laughing voices ran together like water dancing down from the mountains in springtime. He put his arm through hers, but neither of them moved. Ethan wished he could stand there with her all night in the blackness. Mattie took a few steps forward and then stopped, looking down the icy slope of the Corbury road.


他们站在大树的黑影里，笑声交织在一起，像从春日的山上欢畅地淌下的水流。他搂着她，他们都没动。伊桑希望整个晚上都能和她一起在这阴影中站着。玛蒂向前走了几步，然后停下来，看着科贝里路旁被冰雪覆盖的斜坡。


There were lots of people coasting this evening,' she said. 'Ned Hale and Ruth Varnum almost crashed into the big tree down there. It's so dangerous, that tree.'


“今晚有很多人在斜坡上滑着玩儿。”她说，“内德·黑尔和露丝·瓦纳姆差点儿就撞上下面那棵大树。那棵树实在太危险了。”


You'd be safe with me, Matt,' replied Ethan.


“跟我在一起你会很安全，玛蒂。”伊桑答道，


Would you like to come coasting some night? We could come tomorrow if there's a moon.'


“哪天晚上咱们也来滑着玩儿吧？明晚要是有月亮，咱们就来。”


Oh, yes. How lovely!'


“啊，好哇。太好了！”


They walked along in silence, but then all Ethan's jealous fears returned.


他们默不作声地走着。忽然，唯恐失去玛蒂的恐惧又袭上伊桑心头。


I guess it's natural that you're going to leave us,' he said at last.


“我想你要离开我们也挺正常的。”他终于说道。


Leave? You mean Zeena ain't happy with me? I know I ain't so strong or so smart, but I want to try, I really do.'


“离开？你的意思是齐娜对我不满意？我知道自己不够强壮，也没那么聪明，可我想努力，真的。”


So you don't want to leave us, Matt?'


“那么你不想走喽，玛蒂？”


Where could I go?' she whispered, almost crying.


“我能去哪儿呢？”她低声说道，几乎要哭了。


Her answer made Ethan sad and happy at the same time. They continued their walk, with the dark, starry sky above them, and the quiet, lonely fields all around. At the entrance to Ethan's farmland they passed by the Frome graves. Ethan had always felt that the gravestones were looking at him and saying 'We never got out of Starkfield. Why should you?' But now he didn't want to escape. All he wanted was to be with Mattie, and some day to lie under that cold ground with Mattie beside him. Ethan was happy now, in his world of dreams. For the first time he put his arm around Mattie. She let it stay there, and they walked up to the farmhouse.


她的回答让伊桑难过，但同时他又感到欣慰。他们继续走着，头上是群星闪烁的夜空，身边是寂静无人的田野。在伊桑农场的入口处，他们经过了弗罗姆家族的墓地。伊桑曾经总是觉得那些墓碑在盯着他，对他说：“我们从未离开过斯塔克菲尔德。你又怎能离得开？”而现在，他不想逃了。他只想和玛蒂在一起，有那么一天，和玛蒂一起长眠在那片冰冷的土地下。伊桑现在很幸福，在他自己充满梦想的世界里。他第一次搂住玛蒂。她没有拒绝，二人一起向着农舍走去。


The house was dark and quiet. Zeena always went to bed early. On the nights when they came back late, she used to lock up the house and hide the key outside the kitchen door. Ethan felt for the key under the usual stone.


农舍没有亮灯，很静。齐娜总是很早上床。当伊桑和玛蒂晚上回来得比较晚时，齐娜就会把门锁上，把钥匙藏在厨房门外。伊桑在平时藏钥匙的石头下摸索着。


Matt, the key's not there!' he said. This had never happened before. They began to look for it in the darkness. Suddenly there was a sound inside the house. They heard a step on the stairs and saw light under the door. Then the door opened, and Ethan saw his wife.


“玛蒂，钥匙不在那儿！”他说。这种事从没发生过。他们开始在黑暗中寻找钥匙。忽然，房子里有了动静。他们听见楼梯上响起脚步声，然后看见门底下透出一丝光亮来。门开了，伊桑看见了他的妻子。


She stood in the dark doorway, a tall thin woman with a blanket round her shoulders. She held a lamp in one hand, and its light threw strange shadows onto her thin lined face. She said nothing, and they stepped into the kitchen. It was deadly cold, like a grave, Ethan shook the snow off his boots.


她站在黑漆漆的门口，高高瘦瘦的，肩上裹着毯子，一只手拿着灯，灯光在她布满皱纹的瘦削的脸上投下奇怪的阴影。她一言不发。他们走进了厨房。厨房里寒冷刺骨，好似一座坟墓。伊桑抖落靴子上的雪。


I guess you forget us,' he said, looking at Zeena.


“我猜你把我们忘了吧。”他看着齐娜说道。


No. I just felt too bad. I couldn't sleep.'


“没有。我只是感到很不舒服。我睡不着。”


I'm sorry,' said Mattie. 'Can I do anything to help, Zeena?'


“真糟糕，”玛蒂说道，“我能帮上忙吗，齐娜？”


No, there's nothing you can do.' Zeena turned away from her. 'And why couldn't you shake that snow off outside?' she said to her husband.


“不用，你帮不上忙。”齐娜扭过脸去，不看玛蒂。“你怎么不在外面把雪抖掉？”她对丈夫说道。


They left the kitchen, and the two women went towards the stairs. 'If I go up now, Mattie'll see me go into the bedroom with Zeena,' thought Ethan. 'And I don't want that, not tonight.'


三人离开了厨房，两个女人朝楼梯走去。“要是我现在上楼，玛蒂就会看见我和齐娜一起走进卧室。”伊桑想，“我可不想那样，今晚不行。”


I think I'll stay down here a bit longer, I've got some paperwork to do,' he said.


“我想在这儿再待会儿。我有些文书工作要做。”他说。


What, now?' said Zeena. 'You'll die of cold.'


“什么？现在？”齐娜说，“你会被冻死的。”


Ethan did not answer, but turned back towards the kitchen. Then he saw the look in Mattie's eyes. Was it a look of warning?


伊桑没回答，转身朝着厨房。这时他看见了玛蒂的眼色，是在提醒他吗？


I guess you're right. It is awful cold down here,' he agreed. With his head down, he slowly followed his wife up to their bedroom.


“我想你说得对。楼下还是太冷了。”他赞同地说。他低着头，缓缓地跟随妻子走进卧室。