莫言什么时候获得诺贝尔文学 诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第9章Part 5

诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第9章Part 5  

"Uh huh
" said Sethe
and told Denver that she believed Beloved had been locked up by somewhiteman for his own purposes
and never let out the door. That she must have escaped to a bridgeor someplace and rinsed the rest out of her mind. Something like that had happened to Ella exceptit was o men — -a father and son — - and Ella remembered every bit of it. For more than a year
they kept her locked in a room for themselves.
"You couldn't think up
" Ella had said
"what them o done to me."
Sethe thought it explained Beloved's behavior around Paul D
whom she hated so.
Denver neither believed nor mented on Sethe's speculations
and she lowered her eyes andnever said a word about the cold house. She was certain that Beloved was the white dress that hadknelt with her mother in the keeping room
the true-to-life presence of the baby that had kept herpany most of her life. And to be looked at by her
however briefly
kept her grateful for therest of the time when she was merely the looker. Besides
she had her own set of questions whichhad nothing to do with the past. The present alone interested Denver
but she was careful to appearuninquisitive about the things she was dying to ask Beloved
for if she pressed too hard
she mightlose the penny that the held-out palm wanted
and lose
therefore
the place beyond appetite. It wasbetter to feast
to have permission to be the looker
because the old hunger — the before-Belovedhunger that drove her into boxwood and cologne for just a taste of a life
to feel it bumpy and notflat — was out of the question. Looking kept it at bay.
So she did not ask Beloved how she knew about the earrings
the night walks to the cold house orthe tip of the thing she saw when Beloved lay down or came undone in her sleep. The look
whenit came
came when Denver had been careful
had explained things
or participated in things
ortold stories to keep her occupied when Sethe was at the restaurant. No given chore was enough toput out the licking fire that seemed always to burn in her. Not when they wrung out sheets so tightthe rinse water ran back up their arms. Not when they shoveled snow from the path to theouthouse. Or broke three inches of ice from the rain barrel; scoured and boiled last summer'scanning jars
packed mud in the cracks of the hen house and warmed the chicks with their skirts.