評論
打印
"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, and I realized I was staring openmouthed after him. I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was still being careful not to frighten me. She matched her stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace.
“我們要過去了嗎？”艾思梅用她溫柔的，優美的聲線問道，我這才意識到自己一直貪婪地注視著他的背影。我立刻調整好自己的表情，點了點頭。艾思梅始終和我保持著幾英尺的距離，我懷疑她還在小心翼翼地避免嚇著我。她配合著我的步調走著，沒有絲毫的不耐煩。
"You don't play with them?" I asked shyly.
“你不和他們一起打球嗎？”我羞澀地問道。
"No, I prefer to referee — I like keeping them honest," she explained.
“不，我更喜歡當裁判——我喜歡讓他們誠實地比賽。”她解釋道。
"Do they like to cheat, then?"
“那么，他們喜歡作弊嗎？”
"Oh yes — you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."
“哦是的——你真應該聽聽他們是怎樣吵吵嚷嚷的！事實上，我希望你不必聽到，否則你會認為他們是在狼群里長大的。”
"You sound like my mom," I laughed, surprised.
“你說話的語氣真像我媽。”我驚訝地大笑起來。
She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over my mothering instincts — did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"
她也大笑起來。“好吧，基本上，我確實視他們如己出。我從沒能從自己的母性本能中恢復過來——愛德華有沒有告訴過你，我失去過一個孩子？”
"No," I murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime she was remembering.
“沒有。”我大受驚嚇，喃喃低語著。我腦子里很混亂，不知道她想起的是哪段人生。
"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.
“是的，我第一個，也是唯一一個還在。他生下來幾天就夭折了，可憐的小東西，”她嘆息著說道。“我的心都碎了——所以我才會從懸崖上跳下來，你知道。”她實話實說地補充道。
"Edward just said you f-fell," I stammered.
“愛德華只是說你跳——跳下來了。”我結結巴巴地說道。
"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at me warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone."
“他總是那么紳士。”她笑了起來。“愛德華是我新生后的第一個兒子。我總是那樣認為的，雖然他比我更為年長，至少在某種程度上來說是這樣。”她溫和地向我微笑著。“所以，當他找到你的時候，我才會那么的高興，親愛的。”她語氣里的親切感是那么的自然。“他獨自一人過得太久了，看著他一直單身讓我很難過。”
《暮光之城》
與圖書題目相得益彰的是，“暮光之城”系列別具匠心的封面設計則很好地傳達出了每本書內在的深遠寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅爾指出《暮色》封面上的蘋果代表“創世紀” 內善惡樹上的禁果。象征貝拉和愛德華之間人類與吸血鬼禁忌的愛戀。在書的開頭引用了“創世紀”217頁的內容：“只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死。”這同時也代表了貝拉如何分辨善惡——選擇是否吃下那顆禁忌的果實，這比喻了選擇跟愛德華在一起或遠離他。
