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幕后故事
Buyer beware
買禮物的人請注意
A guide to festive gift-giving from stage, page and screen.
來自舞臺、書本、銀幕的節日送禮指南。
The man who has everything is only the start of your worries.
不缺任何東西的人只是你煩惱的開始。
What about the uncle with obnoxious views and the teenage niece you scarcely know?
那個有著逆耳觀點的叔叔和你幾乎不認識的十幾歲侄女是不是也讓你煩惱呢？
Suggestions for what to get people for Christmas abound, but, collectively, classic stories provide one of the best guides to gifts.
關于圣誕節送什么禮物給別人的建議比比皆是，但是總的來說，經典故事為送禮提供了最好的指南之一。
An overarching lesson is that a present is not just an object but a statement—about you, the recipient and your feelings towards them.
一個首要的教訓是，禮物不僅僅是一個物品，更是一種表達——關于你、收禮者、你對他們的感情的表達。
Another is that gifts are a chance to express hostility as well as affection.
另一個教訓是，禮物既是表達愛意，也是表達敵意的機會。
Presents are often the continuation of warfare by other means, used to placate foes and rivals as much as to hearten friends, especially in ancient literature and myth.
禮物常常是以其他方式對戰爭的延續，既用于鼓舞朋友，也用于安撫敵人和對手，特別是在古代文學和神話中。
In the “Iliad”, Agamemnon mollifies the wrathful Achilles with treasure, horses and slave girls.
在《伊利亞特》中，阿伽門農用財寶、馬匹、奴隸女孩安撫憤怒的阿喀琉斯。
Gifts can even be exchanged during combat itself: Ajax and Hector maul each other “like hungry lions”, writes Homer, then break off to swap keepsakes instead of blows.
禮物甚至可以在戰斗之中交換：荷馬寫道，阿賈克斯和赫克托耳像“饑餓的獅子”一樣互相攻擊，然后停下來，交換紀念品而非拳頭。
A gift to your estranged relative could offer them a festive truce.
給疏遠的親戚送一份禮物，可以讓他們在節日期間休戰。
Alternatively, it could be a way to show them how little you think of them.
或者這也可以是向他們表示你有多么蔑視他們的一種方式。
That is the message of the tennis balls sent by the French dauphin to the hero of Shakespeare’s “Henry V”, one of the worst-judged gifts in literature.
莎士比亞《亨利五世》中法國王太子送給主人公亨利五世網球，其中所傳達的信息就是蔑視，這是文學作品中判斷最失誤的禮物之一。（注：王太子以為亨利依然如少年時那樣愛玩樂，便送來網球表示嘲笑。）
Irked by this mocking allusion to the revels of his youth, the English king promptly invades France.
英國國王被這個對他少年縱樂的嘲弄影射所激怒，于是立即入侵法國。
Or recall the toothpick and single tissue that the dismal Dursleys give their put-upon lodger Harry Potter in J. K. Rowling’s books.
或者回想一下，在J.K.羅琳的小說中，陰沉的德思禮一家給寄居他們家的總是受氣的哈利·波特送了牙簽和一片紙巾作禮物。
If insulting an in-law is your aim, and they have young children, try inflicting a remote-control car, with which their offspring will smash up the furniture.
如果你的目標是侮辱你的姻親，而且他們有年幼的孩子，那就試試送他們一輛遙控汽車，他們的孩子會用這汽車撞壞家具。
Lavish gifts can cause trouble as much as stingy ones.
奢華的禮物和摳門的禮物一樣會帶來麻煩。
Chebutykin, a boozy doctor, brings a silver samovar to a low-key name-day celebration for Irina, one of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”.
契訶夫的《三姐妹》中，嗜酒的醫生契布蒂金帶著一個銀質茶炊去參加為伊里娜（三姐妹之一）舉行的低調命名日慶祝活動。
In some productions the over-the-top gift is a hint that Chebutykin, who was in love with the sisters’ dead mother, is secretly Irina’s father.
在一些戲劇演出中，這份過于貴重的禮物暗示契布蒂金，這個曾經愛著三姐妹的已故母親的人，是伊里娜從未公開的生父。
In “Emma”, the pianoforte that Frank Churchill anonymously gives Jane Fairfax sets off cruel rumours about her love life.
在《愛瑪》中，弗蘭克·丘吉爾匿名送給簡·費爾法克斯的鋼琴引發了關于簡的戀愛生活的殘酷謠言。
In Jane Austen’s world, the piano is as much a mark of Churchill’s vulgarity as the time he spends on his haircuts.
在簡·奧斯汀的世界里，鋼琴和丘吉爾花在理發上的時間一樣，是他粗俗的標志。
Before splashing the cash, remember that every gift comes with an obligation.
在揮霍金錢之前，請記住，每一份禮物都伴隨著一份義務。
That may simply be to say “thank you” for the bath salts and pretend you like them.
這義務可能只是為收到浴鹽說聲“謝謝”，并假裝你很喜歡。
But often it is more than that.
但義務往往不止如此。
If the recipient is unable to reciprocate, a present may be an unpayable debt.
如果收禮人無法回報，那么禮物可能是一筆無法償還的債務。
Or it can be an unwelcome claim to intimacy.
或者禮物可能是一種不受歡迎的對親密關系的索要。
This is particularly true when the gift is from a sleazy man to a woman he is pursuing.
當禮物是一個卑鄙的男人送給一個他正在追求的女人時，這一點尤其正確。
“Take back your mink,” sings Miss Adelaide in “Guys & Dolls”, “Take back your pearls/What made you think/That I was one of those girls?”
“把你的貂皮大衣拿回去，”歌舞劇《紅男綠女》中的阿德萊德小姐唱道，“把你的珍珠項鏈拿回去/你憑什么認為/我是那種女孩？”
In “Grease”, too, Danny’s gift of his high-school ring to Sandy has an erotic undertone.
在電影《油脂》中，丹尼送給桑迪的高中戒指也帶有一種色情意味。
He makes a boorish pass at her and winds up “stranded at the drive-in”.
他對桑迪做出了粗俗的舉動，結果“被困在了汽車影院”。
Thoughtlessness is as much a no-no as disproportionality.
輕率的禮物像過于奢侈的禮物一樣都是不行的。
At Kendall Roy’s 40th-birthday party in “Succession”, his girlfriend Naomi, herself an heiress, gives him a flashy watch.
在劇集《繼承之戰》中，在肯德爾·羅伊的40歲生日派對上，他的女友娜奧米（本身也是一位女繼承人）送給他一塊俗麗的手表。
The moment is even more awkward than when Kendall’s brother Roman accidentally buys the wrong Scottish football team for their plutocrat father.
這一刻甚至比肯德爾的哥哥羅曼不小心為富豪父親買下了錯誤的蘇格蘭足球隊還要尷尬。
Naomi’s offering isn’t even engraved; Kendall is appalled.
娜奧米的禮物甚至沒有刻字，肯德爾對此感到震驚。
“I don’t want to be a dick,” he sneers, being a dick, “but I have a watch.”
“我不想當個混蛋，”他像個混蛋一樣嘲笑道，“但我有手表。”
The scene is a concise parable of gift-giving.
這個場景是關于送禮的一個簡潔寓言。
Surrounded by snazzily wrapped boxes, this man who has everything is interested only in a home-made tribute from his children.
這個擁有一切的男人被包裝精美的禮物盒子環繞，但他只對孩子們自己做的禮物感興趣。
He is not alone: many of the most cherished gifts in fiction are modest.
這樣的人并非只有他一個：小說中許多最珍貴的禮物都是很樸素的。
Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet bestow on Eeyore an empty honey jar and a burst balloon. Eeyore is delighted.
小熊維尼和小豬送給毛驢屹耳一個空的蜂蜜罐和一個爆了的氣球。屹耳很高興。
Before he penetrates Willy Wonka’s factory, Charlie Bucket is given a single chocolate bar which he ekes out deliriously for a month.
在進入威利·旺卡的工廠之前，查理·巴克特收到了一塊巧克力，他欣喜若狂地省著吃了一個月。（注：典故為《查理與巧克力工廠》，查理一家非常貧窮但也非常和睦。）
In stories, as in life, buying gifts can be a joy or a minefield, receiving them a blessing or a burden.
在故事中，就像在生活中一樣，買禮物可能是樂事，也可能是雷區，而收禮物可能是福氣，也可能是負擔。
They can convey a surrender or assert supremacy.
禮物可以傳達投降之意或宣示稱霸之意。
They could sweeten your family Christmas or embitter it.
可能讓你的家庭圣誕節變得甜蜜，也可能讓它變得苦澀。
To judge by books and films, if you aim to spread good cheer, personal tends to trump pricey.
從書籍和電影來判斷，如果你想傳播快樂，那么有私人性的禮物往往會勝過昂貴的禮物。
Don’t get too personal, though.
不過不要太涉及個人隱私。
Imbuing a trinket with weighty meaning makes it and you hostages to fortune—or to the machinations of your enemies.
賦予一件小飾品以重大意義會使它和你成為命運的人質，或者成為敵人陰謀的人質。（注：表示帶來災禍。）
For Othello, the strawberry-spotted handkerchief that he gives Desdemona is a symbol of devotion.
對于奧賽羅來說，他送給苔絲狄蒙娜的帶有草莓圖案的手帕是摯愛的象征。
Misplaced, it is turned by Iago into proof of her imaginary infidelity.
但手帕被弄丟了后，伊阿古就把它變成了想象出來的苔絲狄蒙娜不忠的證據。（注：手帕為奧賽羅與苔絲狄蒙娜的定情信物，但不小心丟失后被伊阿古撿到，伊阿古誣陷苔絲狄蒙娜把手帕送給了其他人。）
Perhaps Othello should have got her an Amazon voucher instead.
也許奧賽羅應該送她一張亞馬遜禮品卡才對。
