Why did Phillis Wheatley disappear? - Charita Gainey

翻译人员: Lesley Xu 校对人员: Yuwei Wu

In late 1775, the newly appointed General George Washington

在 1775 后期， 新任命的乔治·华盛顿将军

received a poem from one of colonial America’s most famous writers.

收到了一首来自殖民时期美国 最为著名的作家之一的诗。

Its verses praised the burgeoning revolution,

它字里行间里 赞美了迅速发酵的革命，

invoking the goddess of their new nation to aid the general’s righteous cause.

并祈求新国家的女神 眷顾华盛顿将军。

But this ode to liberty wasn’t written by some aloof, aristocratic admirer.

但是这首自由的颂歌 不是什么冷漠的贵族崇拜者写的。

Its author was a young Black woman who’d been enslaved for over a decade.

它的作者是一位被 奴役十几年了的年轻黑人女人。

The young girl, who’d been renamed Phillis Wheatley,

这位被改名为 菲利斯·惠特莉的年轻的女孩，

had arrived in the colonies on a slave ship in 1761.

在 1761 年的一艘 奴隶船支上到达了殖民地。

The ship landed in Boston,

那艘船在波士顿登陆，

where Susanna and John Wheatley purchased Phillis to work in their house.

在那里苏珊娜与约翰·惠特莉买下了 菲利斯，让她来他们的房子劳作。

However, for reasons that remain unclear, they also taught her to read and write.

但是，出于未知原因， 他们也教会了她如何阅读和书写。

Over the following decade,

在接下来的十年后，

Wheatley became well versed in poetry and religious texts,

惠特莉变得精通诗词和宗教文章，

eventually beginning to produce her own poems.

最后开始书写她自己的诗。

The family published her work in a local newspaper,

这个家庭把她的作品 发布在一个当地的报刊上，

and in 1771, her elegy for renowned reverend George Whitefield

然后在 1771 年， 她给著名的牧师怀特菲尔德的挽歌

captured the public’s imagination.

吸引了公众对她的想象。

The poem’s repetitive rhythms, dramatic religious references,

这首诗中重复的韵脚， 令人震撼的宗教典故引用，

and soaring spiritual language

与高昂的宗教用语

depicted how Whitefield’s sermons “inflame the soul and captivate the mind.”

描述了菲尔德的布道如何 “振聋发聩与醍醐灌顶”。

Wheatley ends with an arresting image of life after death,

惠特莉的诗的以一个在死后 成为了惹人注目的象征的生命收尾，

trusting that divine forces “will re-animate his dust.”

她坚信着神的力量 “会复活他的骨灰”。

This moving tribute found an audience in both the US and England.

这首悼词在美国和英国 都引起了关注。

And since the piece was published with a note identifying the author

以及由于这首诗发布的时候 注明了作者的身份是

as an enslaved woman,

一个被奴隶的女人，

many readers were as fascinated with the poet as they were with the poem.

许多读者都被作者深深吸引 就如同他们在诗中一般。

In 1773, Phillis traveled to London,

在 1773年， 菲利斯到达了伦敦，

where her collection of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”

在那里她的诗集 “五花八门的诗，宗教与道德”

became the first book of poetry published by an African-American woman.

成为了第一本 由非裔美国女人发布的诗集。

It was filled with profound meditations on life, death, and religion,

它包含了在生命，死亡， 与宗教上的含义深远的冥想，

as well as Biblical and classical references.

以及从圣经与古典文学中引经据典。

In “A Hymn to Humanity,” Wheatley linked these themes to her own creative growth,

在“人性的赞美诗”中，惠特利把 这些主题与她自己的创作

portraying herself as a muse smiled upon by heavenly bodies.

进步联系起来，把自己描绘成一个 被星球上祝福的缪斯女神。

Unsurprisingly, Wheatley had her critics.

不出意外地，惠特利收到了批评。

Many white Americans believed Black people were incapable

许多白种美国人认定黑人无法

of producing intellectual and creative work.

创造出需要脑力劳动 与创造力的作品。

Thomas Jefferson wrote that her writing didn't even deserve to be called poetry,

托马斯杰弗逊写道 她的作品甚至不配被叫做诗，

and others dismissed her as a poor imitation of another well-known poet.

以及他人把她贬为其他 知名诗人的一个可怜的模仿者。

But many readers of the time were enamored with Wheatley's work,

但是许多当时的读者 倾心于惠特利的诗作，

including prominent European writers and politicians.

包括杰出的欧洲作家与政治家。

Many modern readers, however,

许多现代的读者，也许却会，

might expect her work to cover a different topic: slavery.

期待她的诗包括 一个额外的主题：奴隶制。

Wheatley rarely wrote directly about her experiences as an enslaved person.

惠特利极少直接写出 她作为一个被奴役的人的经历。

And her poem addressing the topic has been criticized

并且她写出的关于 这个主题的诗因为表明

for suggesting she was grateful that enslavement led her to Christianity.

她感谢奴役使她 信仰基督教而被批评。

But it’s incredibly unlikely Wheatley would have been able to publicly condemn

但是让惠特利公开地指责奴隶制 而不受到严重后果

slavery without serious consequences.

的可能性微乎其微。

And many readers have found a more nuanced critique hidden within her work.

许多读者还在她的作品里 找到了一个更加细微的批评。

For example, Wheatley was a vocal supporter of American independence,

例如，惠特利是一名 为美国独立发声的支持者，

writing that her “love of freedom” came from early experiences

她写道“对自由的爱” 来自于她小时候

of being kidnapped into slavery and separated from her parents.

被绑架进奴隶制 并与父母骨肉分离的经历。

When disparaging England’s imperial control,

当贬低英格兰的帝国主义控制时，

she evokes imagery of an “iron chain.”

她把这比喻为一串”铁链“。

And by comparing her lack of freedom to America’s lack of independence,

以及把她匮乏的自由 与美国匮乏的独立相比较，

Wheatley subtly laments her own circumstances.

惠特利巧妙地哀叹了自己的处境。

Thankfully, Wheatley secured her freedom after returning from London.

好在惠特利在从伦敦归来后 保卫了自己的自由。

The reasons for her emancipation aren't entirely clear,

她被解放的原因不是完全清楚，

as there’s no evidence of the Wheatleys freeing other enslaved people.

因为没有证据表明 惠特利家解放了其他奴隶。

However, since Phillis could have remained free in London,

但是，因为菲利斯 可以在伦敦保持自由，

some believe she bargained to make emancipation a condition of her return.

一些人认为她以被 解放为前提换取了回归。

It’s difficult to know exactly what happened,

了解当时发生的一切并不容易，

both here and throughout the rest of Wheatley’s life.

包括这一刻与惠特利 余下生命中的其它时刻。

Her proposal for a second book was never published.

她发布第二本书的建议从未公开。

In 1778, she married a free Black man named John Peters.

在 1778 年，她和一个叫 约翰彼得的自由的黑人男性结婚了。

The two are believed to have had three children,

人们认为他们有了三个孩子，

all of whom died in infancy.

但都在婴儿期夭折了。

Their last child is thought to have died around the same time as Wheatley,

他们的最后一个孩子被认定 和惠特利死在了几乎同一时期，

and the two were buried together in an unmarked grave.

然后两个人在一个无名坟墓中长眠。

While some of Wheatley’s letters survived, she never released an account of her life.

当一些惠特利的字句被存下来时 她从未写过一部自传。

So despite her tenure as perhaps the most famous African on the planet,

所以哪怕她是地球上 最有名的非洲人，

Wheatley’s story has been lost to the ravages of history,

惠特利的故事也早已被历史淹没，

like those of countless other enslaved peoples.

就如同数不胜数的其他奴隶一样。

But her poetry lives on today—

但是如今她存于世上的诗作

celebrating creative growth and offering spiritual sustenance.

赞美了创作的发展并奉献了精神食粮