03.A visit to the doctor

3.A visit to the doctor
3．求诊
The next morning was cold and bright. Ethan was down at his saw-mill early because he had to take some wood to the village builder that day. The winter sun burned red in a clear sky, and the sunlight danced over the bright, snowy fields, leaving deep blue shadows under the trees.


第二天早晨晴朗而寒冷。伊桑一早就到了他的锯木场，因为这一天他要把一些木材送到村上的建筑商那儿去。晴朗的天空中，冬日的太阳红艳艳的，阳光在白雪皑皑的光灿灿的田野上跳着舞，在树下投射出深蓝色的影子。


Ethan's thoughts were always clearest when he was working in the quiet morning air. Last night, after the bedroom door had closed behind them, Zeena had taken her medicine and gone to bed without a word. Ethan lay next to her, watching the light from under Mattie's door, and thinking. Why had he not kissed her on the walk home? He remembered her soft lips in the moonlight. Now, in the clear morning sunshine, he could still see her face. He could see it in the red sky and in the bright shining snow.


在宁静的清晨工作时，伊桑的脑子总是清醒得很。昨晚，关上卧室门后，齐娜服下她的药，一言不发地上了床。伊桑在她身边躺下，看着玛蒂房门下透出的光，思索着。在回家的路上他干吗不亲她呢？他记起月光下她柔软的嘴唇。现在，在这明亮的清晨阳光下，他依然看得见她的面庞，在那阳光映红了的天空中，在那莹莹的白雪上。


Mattie was the daughter of Orin Silver, a cousin of Zeena Frome's. Silver's medicine company had seemed successful, and he had lived like a rich man. But when he died, his wife and daughter had a terrible surprise. They discovered that he had borrowed thousands of dollars which he could not pay back. This awful news killed Mrs Silver immediately. He had also lost money which belonged to his brothers and sisters, so there was nobody in the family who wanted to help poor Mattie. The twenty-year-old girl was alone in the world, without money and without friends. She was not strong, and she had never studied or learnt to do a job. So Mattie came to Starkfield to work, without pay, in her cousin Zeena's home. At first Zeena often complained about the girl's work. Then, as the months went by, Mattie grew stronger and found the work easier. Zeena had more time to think about her illnesses, and life under the Fromes' roof became more peaceful.


玛蒂是奥林·西尔弗的女儿，齐娜·弗罗姆的表妹。西尔弗的医药公司似乎曾生意兴隆，他活得跟个有钱人似的。可他死后，他的妻女却大吃一惊。她们发现，他借了上千美元，根本无法还清。这个坏消息立时要了西尔弗夫人的命。西尔弗先生甚至花掉了他兄弟姐妹的钱，因此，他的家族中没人愿意帮助可怜的玛蒂。这个20岁的女孩儿孤身一人，既没钱也没朋友。她不壮实，也从没上过学或是去学着做过什么工作。因此她来到斯塔克菲尔德的齐娜表姐家干活，没有报酬。最初齐娜经常抱怨玛蒂做活差。几个月过后，玛蒂长得壮实些了，感觉家务变得容易些了。齐娜有了更多的时间去琢磨她的病情，于是弗罗姆家的生活变得安宁多了。


But now, Zeena's strange silent looks, the warning in Mattie's eyes last night... Ethan was sure that something was wrong. By midday the wood was all loaded, ready to take to Andrew Hale the builder. But Ethan decided to go home. If there was going to be trouble, he wanted to be there. So Ethan and Jotham Powell, his hired man, walked through the fields back to the house.


可现在，齐娜奇怪的沉默表情，昨夜玛蒂警告的眼色……伊桑确信一定是出了什么问题了。中午之前，木材已经全装好了，要送到建筑商安德鲁·黑尔那里去。可伊桑决定回家，要是家里有什么麻烦，他想在那里。于是伊桑和他雇的帮手乔撒姆·鲍威尔穿过田野往家走去。


When they entered the kitchen, Mattie was making coffee. Zeena was sitting at the table, wearing her best brown dress and a tall hat. A suitcase stood beside her.


他们进厨房时，玛蒂正在煮咖啡。齐娜坐在桌子前，穿着她最好的褐色衣服，戴着高高的帽子，身旁放着个手提箱。


Where're you going, Zeena?' asked Ethan, surprised.


“你要去哪儿，齐娜？”伊桑惊讶地问道。


My pains are getting really bad. I'm going over to my aunt's in Bettsbridge for the night, and tomorrow I'll see that new doctor,' she answered. 'If you're too busy, I suppose you can let Jotham Powell drive me to the station.'


“我的病痛正变得越来越厉害。我要去贝茨布里奇我姑妈家，在那儿过夜，明天我要去看一个新医生。”她答道，“你要是太忙，我想你可以让乔撒姆·鲍威尔送我到车站去。”


Ethan said nothing. He was lost in his own thoughts. He realized that, for the first time, he and Mattie would be alone for the night. He looked at Mattie. Was she thinking the same thing? Then he looked at his wife's thin, lined, bloodless face. Zeena was thirty-five, only seven years older than he was, but she was already an old woman.


伊桑没回答。他陷入了思考。他发现，他和玛蒂将第一次单独过一夜了。他看着玛蒂。她也有相同的想法吗？然后他看着妻子瘦削的、布满皱纹的、没血色的脸。齐娜35岁，只比他大7岁，可她已经是个老女人了。


Of course Jotham'll take you,' he said at last. 'I can't do it myself, because I've got to get the money for the wood from Andrew Hale.'


“乔撒姆当然能送你去了。”他终于说道，“我没法儿亲自送你去了，我得到安德鲁·黑尔那儿拿木材钱。”


This was a lie. Andrew Hale never paid immediately, but Ethan really had no wish to make the long, slow journey to the station with his miserable wife at his side.


这是谎话。安德鲁·黑尔从不马上付钱，可伊桑实在不想让满口抱怨的妻子坐在他身边，一起去度过到车站的这段漫长而缓慢的旅程。


Zeena made no reply, and soon afterwards she left with Jotham. Ethan picked up his coat and stood for a moment in the doorway. 'See you later, Matt,' he said.


齐娜没回答，不久就和乔撒姆一块儿离开了。伊桑拿起了外套，在门口站了一会儿。“再见，玛蒂。”他说。


It was warm and bright in the kitchen. The sun shone in on the flowering pot plants by the window, and the cat sleeping in a chair. Mattie looked up from her housework. 'See you later, Ethan,' she said happily.


厨房里温暖又明亮。阳光照在窗边正在开花的盆栽上，猫儿在椅子上睡觉。玛蒂停下手中的家务活儿，抬起头来。“再见，伊桑。”她欢快地说。


All the way down to the village Ethan thought of his return to Mattie that night. Without Zeena, his house seemed more like a home. And as he drove through the snowy fields, this usually silent man began to sing.


去村里的路上，伊桑都在想着晚上回家去见玛蒂。齐娜不在，他的房子会更像个家。当他驶过白雪覆盖的田野时，这个通常沉默寡言的人唱起了歌。


Ethan Frome had not always been so quiet and lonely. As a student he had liked being among happy, friendly, young people. He had enjoyed his science studies and wanted to become an engineer. But after his father's accident and death, Ethan had to leave his studies and return home. Life was hard for him, working alone on the poor farm and unsuccessful saw-mill. Then his mother fell ill, and became more and more silent. Sometimes she used to say a few crazy words, but for most of the time she refused to speak at all. So with each long, cold Starkfield winter, the silence and loneliness round Ethan grew deeper.


伊桑·弗罗姆并非一向这么沉默孤独。当学生时，他喜欢和快乐友好的年轻人在一起。他喜欢自然学科，想成为一名工程师。可父亲出事死后，他就不得不辍学回家了。对他来说，独自一人在破旧的农场和不景气的锯木场工作，生活很艰难。之后，他母亲病倒了，变得越来越沉默。有时她会说些疯言疯语，可大多数时候她根本不说话。于是，伴随着一个又一个漫长寒冷的冬季，伊桑周遭的沉寂与孤独变得越来越深了。


As his mother came towards her last illness, Ethan's cousin Zeena arrived to take care of her. It was wonderful to hear another person's voice in the house again, and Zeena was an excellent nurse and housekeeper. Old Mrs Frome finally died on a dark winter's day, and the idea of being alone again filled Ethan with fear. He was grateful to Zeena for all that she had done, and he asked her to stay and marry him. They had at first planned to sell the farm and move to the town. But it was hard to find a buyer, and Ethan soon realized that his wife could not live in a place where she was not someone 'important'. In less than a year her 'sickliness' appeared; then she too fell silent. Her strange, wordless looks worried Ethan. Was she going a little crazy, like his mother? What thoughts and plans were hidden behind her cold eyes?


母亲病危之际，伊桑的表姐齐娜赶来照顾她了。能在家中再听到另外一个人的声音真是太好了，齐娜又是个非常称职的护士和管家。老弗罗姆夫人终于在一个阴晦的冬日去世了，一想到又要独自一人，伊桑心中就充满了恐惧。他十分感激齐娜所做的一切，并请求她留下来嫁给他。一开始他们计划着卖掉农场，搬到镇上去住。可找不到买主，而且伊桑很快就意识到他妻子不能住在一个她不是什么“重要”人物的地方。不到一年她就出现了“病情”，随后也沉默了起来。她奇怪的无言表情让伊桑感到忧虑：她会变得疯疯癫癫的，就像他母亲一样吗？她那双冷酷的眼睛背后隐藏着什么想法和计划？


But that afternoon, as Ethan drove to the village with his sleigh full of wood for the builder, he felt less afraid. Zeena had gone away to Bettsbridge, with all her thoughts on her own health. And tonight he had an evening alone with Mattie. But there was still one worry — the lie about the money from Andrew Hale. He knew that Zeena would want to know where it was.


可是那个下午，当伊桑驾着满载木材的雪橇去村上的建筑商那儿的时候，他不那么害怕了。齐娜去贝茨布里奇了，脑子里想的全是她自己的健康问题。而今夜，他将和玛蒂共处一晚。可还有一个让人烦心的事儿——他撒谎要从安德鲁·黑尔那儿拿钱。他知道齐娜会问钱在哪儿。


When Ethan arrived at the builder's, Hale invited him into his office to sit down and get warm. He was a large, red-faced and likeable man, an old friend of Ethan's family. Ethan did not know how to begin, but at last he managed to ask Hale for the first fifty dollars towards this winter's wood. The builder was surprised. He always paid at the end of three months, never before. He refused in his warm, friendly way, and then asked:


伊桑到了建筑商那儿后，黑尔请他到办公室坐坐，暖暖身子。黑尔是个大块头，红脸膛，人缘不错，是伊桑家的老朋友。伊桑不知道怎么开口，可最终他还是想法子跟黑尔要这个冬天所卖木材的第一笔50元钱。建筑商感到很意外，他总是在三个月结束时付款，从不提前。他温和而友善地拒绝了伊桑，并问：


Look, you ain't got money problems, have you?'


“瞧，你在钱上不会有什么问题吧，是不是？”


No, not at all,' replied Ethan, very embarrassed.


“没，一点儿问题也没有。”伊桑很尴尬地答道。


The afternoon had turned into a cold grey evening by the time Ethan left the builder's. He heard the sound of sleigh-bells, and Denis Eady drove past, shouting 'Hello, Ethe!' Eady was going towards the Frome farm. Did he know that Zeena had gone? Was he going there to spend some time alone with Mattie? Ethan felt wildly jealous, then moments later was ashamed of his feelings.


伊桑离开建筑商那儿的时候，已经是阴冷的傍晚了。他听到了雪橇的铃铛声，丹尼斯·伊迪驾着雪橇驶过，喊着：“你好哇，伊桑！”伊迪向着弗罗姆的农场驶去。他知道齐娜走了？他是要去那儿和玛蒂单独待会儿吗？伊桑感到一阵强烈的嫉妒，可过了不久他又为自己的嫉妒感到羞愧。


By the Varnum house Ethan saw two figures standing together under the trees. He heard a kiss, and a surprised 'Oh!' as he passed by. Two happy lovers, kissing where he had stood with Mattie the night before. But unlike him, Ruth Varnum and Ned Hale didn't need to hide their feelings. How lucky they were!


驶过瓦纳姆家的时候，伊桑看到在树下有两个人站在一起。经过时他听到一声亲吻，还有人惊讶地“哦”了一声。一对幸福的恋人在他和玛蒂前一天夜里曾经站过的地方亲吻着。与自己不同，露丝·瓦纳姆和内德·黑尔无需隐藏他们的感情。他们多么幸运啊！


As night fell, Ethan passed by the Frome gravestones and drove up to the farmhouse. A light shone in a room upstairs.


夜幕降临，伊桑驶过自家的墓地，来到了农舍前。楼上的一间屋子里亮着灯。


She's getting herself ready for supper,' he thought.


“她正在准备晚饭。”他想。