評(píng)論
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"He pulled his great red beard and smiled.
思特里克蘭德一邊揪著大紅胡子，一邊笑起來。
"'Well, Ata,' he said, 'do you fancy me for a husband.'
“‘喂，愛塔，’他說，‘你喜歡不喜歡叫我當(dāng)你丈夫？’”
"She did not say anything, but just giggled.
她什么話也沒說，只是嘰嘰咯咯地笑著。
"'But I tell you, my poor Strickland, the girl has a beguin for you,' I said.
“‘我不是告訴你了嗎，思特里克蘭德，這個(gè)女孩子對(duì)你挺有情意嗎？’”我說。
"I shall beat you,' he said, looking at her.
“‘我可是要揍你的?！彼f。
"'How else should I know you loved me,' she answered."
“‘你要是不打我，我怎么知道你愛我呢？’”她回答說。
Tiare broke off her narrative and addressed herself to me reflectively.
蒂阿瑞把這個(gè)故事打斷，回溯起自己的往事來。
"My first husband, Captain Johnson, used to thrash me regularly. He was a man. He was handsome, six foot three, and when he was drunk there was no holding him. I would be black and blue all over for days at a time. Oh, I cried when he died. I thought I should never get over it. But it wasn't till I married George Rainey that I knew what I'd lost. You can never tell what a man is like till you live with him. I've never been so deceived in a man as I was in George Rainey. He was a fine, upstanding fellow too. He was nearly as tall as Captain Johnson, and he looked strong enough. But it was all on the surface. He never drank. He never raised his hand to me. He might have been a missionary. I made love with the officers of every ship that touched the island, and George Rainey never saw anything. At last I was disgusted with him, and I got a divorce. What was the good of a husband like that? It's a terrible thing the way some men treat women."
“我的第一個(gè)丈夫，約翰生船長(zhǎng)，也總是經(jīng)常不斷地用鞭子抽我。他是個(gè)男子漢，六英尺三高，長(zhǎng)得儀表堂堂。他一喝醉了，誰也勸不住他，總是把我渾身打得青一塊、紫一塊，多少天也退不去。咳，他死了的時(shí)候我那個(gè)哭啊。我想我這輩子再也不能從這個(gè)打擊里恢復(fù)過來啦。但是我真的懂得我的損失多么大，那還是在我同喬治·瑞恩尼結(jié)婚以后。要是不跟一個(gè)男的一起生活，你是永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)知道他是怎樣一個(gè)人的。喬治·瑞恩尼叫我大失所望，任何一個(gè)男人也沒有這么叫我失望過。他長(zhǎng)得也挺漂亮，身材魁梧，差不多同約翰生船長(zhǎng)一樣高，看起來非常結(jié)實(shí)。但是這一切都是表面現(xiàn)象。他從來沒有喝醉過，從來沒有動(dòng)手打過我。簡(jiǎn)直可以當(dāng)個(gè)傳教士。每一條輪船進(jìn)港我都同船上的高級(jí)船員談情說愛，可是喬治·瑞恩尼什么也看不見。最后我實(shí)在膩味他了，我跟他離了婚。嫁了這么一個(gè)丈夫有什么好處呢？有些男人對(duì)待女人的方式真是太可怕了?！?/div>
I condoled with Tiare, and remarked feelingly that men were deceivers ever, then asked her to go on with her story of Strickland.
我安慰了一下蒂阿瑞，表示同情地說，男人總是叫女人上當(dāng)?shù)?；接著我就?qǐng)她繼續(xù)給我講思特里克蘭德的故事。
"'Well,' I said to him, 'there's no hurry about it. Take your time and think it over. Ata has a very nice room in the annexe. Live with her for a month, and see how you like her. You can have your meals here. And at the end of a month, if you decide you want to marry her, you can just go and settle down on her property.'
“‘好吧，’我對(duì)思特里克蘭德說，‘這事不用著急。慢慢地好好想一想。愛塔在廂房里有一間挺不錯(cuò)的屋子，你跟她一起生活一個(gè)月，看看是不是喜歡她。你可以在我這里吃飯。一個(gè)月以后，如果你決定同她結(jié)婚，你就可以到她那塊地產(chǎn)上安下家來?！?/p>
