評論
打印
"I shall very soon think him handsome, Elinor, if I do not now. When you tell me to love him as a brother, I shall no more see imperfection in his face, than I now do in his heart. "
“埃麗諾，我要是現在不認為他漂亮，馬上就會這么認為的。既然你叫我愛他如愛兄長，我將看不到他外貌上的缺欠，就像我現在看不出他內心里有什么缺欠一樣。”
Elinor started at this declaration, and was sorry for the warmth she had been betrayed into, in speaking of him. She felt that Edward stood very high in her opinion. She believed the regard to be mutual; but she required greater certainty of it to make Marianne's conviction of their attachment agreeable to her. She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next--that with them, to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect. She tried to explain the real state of the case to her sister.
一聽這話，埃麗諾不禁為之一驚。她后悔自己不該那樣熱烈地贊揚愛德華。她覺得，她對愛德華尊崇備至。她認為這種尊崇是雙方互有的。不過，對這種相互尊崇，她需要有更大的把握，才能讓瑪麗安確信他們是相互鐘情的，她自己也好感到踏實一些。她知道，瑪麗安和母親忽而胡猜亂想，忽而信以為真。對她倆來說，想望著的便是有希望的，有希望的便是指日可待的。她想把事情的真相向妹妹解釋清楚。
"I do not attempt to deny, " said she, "that I think very highly of him--that I greatly esteem, that I like him. "
“我不想否認，”她說，“我非常看重他—一我十分尊敬他，喜歡他。”
Marianne here burst forth with indignation--
瑪麗安突然勃然大怒起來。
"Esteem him! Like him! Cold-hearted Elinor! Oh! worse than cold-hearted! Ashamed of being otherwise. Use those words again, and I will leave the room this moment. "
“尊敬他！喜歡他！冷漠無情的埃麗諾。哼！比冷漠無情還壞！你怕羞才這樣講。你再說這些話，我馬上就離開這個房間。”
Elinor could not help laughing. "Excuse me, " said she; "and be assured that I meant no offence to you, by speaking, in so quiet a way, of my own feelings. Believe them to be stronger than I have declared; believe them, in short, to be such as his merit, and the suspicion--the hope of his affection for me may warrant, without imprudence or folly. But farther than this you must not believe. I am by no means assured of his regard for me. There are moments when the extent of it seems doubtful; and till his sentiments are fully known, you cannot wonder at my wishing to avoid any encouragement of my own partiality, by believing or calling it more than it is. In my heart I feel little--scarcely any doubt of his preference. But there are other points to be considered besides his inclination. He is very far from being independent. What his mother really is we cannot know; but, from Fanny's occasional mention of her conduct and opinions, we have never been disposed to think her amiable; and I am very much mistaken if Edward is not himself aware that there would be many difficulties in his way, if he were to wish to marry a woman who had not either a great fortune or high rank. "
埃麗諾忍不住笑了。“請原諒，”她說，“你盡管放心，我這樣平心靜氣地談論我的感情，決沒有冒犯你的意思。請你相信，我的感情比我表白的還要強烈。而且你要相信，由于他有那么多優點，由于我懷疑他——希望他有情于我，我才理所當然地產生了這種感情，這既不輕率，也不唐突。但是除此之外，你切不可信以為真。我不敢保證他一定有心于我。有些時候，這種事情還很難說。在沒有徹底摸清他的真實思想以前，我想自己還是不要縱容這種偏愛，不要以想象代替事實，輕信妄言，這你是不會感到奇怪的。講心里話，我并不——幾乎一點也不懷疑他對我特別喜愛。但是，除此之外，還有別的問題需要考慮。他絕非是獨立自主的。他母親究竟是什么樣的人，我們不得而知。不過，范妮偶爾談到過她的行為和見解，我們從不認為她是和悅的。愛德華自己也肯定知道，他假若想娶一個財產不多、身價不高的女人，一定會遇到重重困難。”
