2012诺贝尔文学获得者 诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第3章Part 10

诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第3章Part 10  

Move. Walk. Run. Hide. Steal and move on. Only once had it been possible for him to stay in onespot — with a woman
or a family — for longer than a few months. That once was almost oyears with a weaver lady in Delaware
the meanest place for Negroes he had ever seen outsidePulaski County
Kentucky
and of course the prison camp in Geia.
From all those Negroes
Beloved was different. Her shining
her new shoes. It bothered him. Maybe it was just the fact that he didn't bother her. Or it could be timing. She had appeared andbeen taken in on the very day Sethe and he had patched up their quarrel
gone out in public and hada right good time — like a family. Denver had e around
so to speak; Sethe was laughing; hehad a promise of steady work
124 was cleared up from spirits. It had begun to look like a life. Anddamn! a water-drinking woman fell sick
got took in
healed
and hadn't moved a peg since.
He wanted her out
but Sethe had let her in and he couldn't put her out of a house that wasn't his. Ias one thing to beat up a ghost
quite another to throw a helpless coloredgirl out in territoryinfected by the Klan. Desperately thirsty for black blood
without which it could not live
thedragon swam the Ohio at will.
Sitting at table
chewing on his after-supper broom straw
Paul D decided to place her. Consulith the Negroes in town and find her her own place.
No sooner did he have the thought than Beloved strangled on one of the raisins she had picked outof the bread pudding. She fell backward and off the chair and thrashed around holding her throat.
Sethe knocked her on the back while Denver pried her hands away from her neck. Beloved
on herhands and knees
vomited up her food and struggled for breath.
When she was quiet and Denver had wiped up the mess
she said
"Go to sleep now.""Come in my room
" said Denver. "I can watch out for you up there."No moment could have been better. Denver had worried herself sick trying to think of a way to getBeloved to share her room. It was hard sleeping above her
wondering if she was going to be sickagain
fall asleep and not wake
or (God
please don't) get up and wander out of the yard just theway she wandered in. They could have their talks easier there: at night when Sethe and Paul Dwere asleep; or in the daytime before either came home. Sweet
crazy conversations full of halfsentences
daydreams and misunderstandings more thrilling than understanding could ever be.
When the girls left
Sethe began to clear the table. She stacked the plates near a basin of water.
塞丝去捶她的背，丹芙将她的手从脖子上掰开。宠儿趴在地上，一边呕吐，一边艰难地捯气。
等到她平静下来，丹芙擦去了秽物。宠儿说道：“现在去睡吧。”“到我屋里来，”丹芙说，“我会在上边好好看着你的。”没有比这更好的时机了。丹芙为了设法让宠儿和她合住一室，都快急疯了。睡在她上铺并不容易，得担心着她是否还会犯病、长睡不醒，或者（上帝保佑，千万可别这样）下牀漫步出院，像她漫步进来时那样。她们在那里可以更随便地说话：在夜里，当塞丝和保罗·D睡着以后；或是白天，在他们俩都没到家的时候。甜蜜、荒唐的谈话里充满了半截话、白日梦和远比理解更令人激动的误解。
姑娘们离开以后，塞丝开始收拾饭桌。她把盘子堆在一盆水旁边。