Why should you read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved”? - Yen Pham

翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Helen Chang

A mirror that shatters without warning.

无任何征兆破裂的镜子。

A trail of cracker crumbs strewn across the floor.

洒满饼干屑的地板。

Two tiny handprints that appear on a cake.

印在蛋糕上的两个小手印。

Everyone at 124 Bluestone Road knows their house is haunted—

蓝石路124号的每个人 都知道他们的房子闹鬼——

but there’s no mystery about the spirit tormenting them.

但折磨他们的幽灵并不神秘。

This ghost is the product of an unspeakable trauma;

这个幽灵是一种 无法言说的创伤的产物，

是一段野蛮历史的遗留物，

the legacy of a barbaric history

that hangs over much more than this lone homestead.

它所笼罩的不仅仅是这个孤独的家园。

So begins "Beloved," Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel

托妮·莫里森获得普利策奖的小说 《宠儿》就是这样开头的，

about the suffering wrought by slavery and the wounds that persist in its wake.

它讲述了奴隶制度带来的 痛苦和持续的创伤。

Published in 1987, "Beloved" tells the story of Sethe,

该书出版于1987年， 《宠儿》讲述了一位逃离奴役

a woman who escaped enslavement.

的女性塞丝的故事，

When the novel opens, Sethe has been living free for over a decade.

小说开始时，塞丝 已经自由生活十多年了。

Her family has largely dissolved— Sethe’s mother-in-law died years earlier,

她的家庭基本解体了—— 婆婆早在几年前就去世了，

and her two sons ran away from fear of the specter.

她的两个儿子因为害怕 这个幽灵而离家出走。

Sethe’s daughter Denver remains in the house,

塞丝的女儿丹芙仍然待在家中，

but the pair live a half-life.

但两个人的生活半死不活。

Shunned by the wider community,

被更广泛的社区排斥，

the two have only each other and the ghost for company.

她们只有彼此和鬼魂作伴。

Sethe is consumed by thoughts of the spirit,

塞丝被精神上的幽灵折磨着，

whom she believes to be her eldest daughter.

她认为是她的大女儿。

When a visitor from Sethe’s old life returns and threatens the ghost away,

当一个来自塞丝过往生活之处的 访客到来，并威胁赶走鬼魂时，

it seems like the start of a new beginning for her family.

她的家庭看起来有了新的开始。

But what comes in the ghost’s place may be even harder to bear.

但是，来自幽灵的地方的东西 可能更令人难以忍受。

As with much of Morrison’s work,

与莫里森的许多作品一样，

"Beloved" investigates the roles of trauma and love in African-American history.

《宠儿》讲述了创伤和爱 在非裔美国人历史上的角色。

Morrison writes about black identities in a variety of contexts,

莫里森在各种背景下写黑人故事，

but her characters are united by their desire to find love and be loved—

但她的人物都渴望找到爱和被爱——

even when it’s painful.

即使爱很痛苦。

Some of her novels explore when love challenges social conventions,

她的一些小说探讨了挑战世俗的爱情，

like the forbidden affection that grows between the townsfolk of "Paradise"

比如“天堂”镇民与逃亡的邻居之间

and their fugitive neighbors.

生长的禁忌之爱。

Other works examine how we can be blind to the love we already possess.

其他作品则审视我们 对拥有的爱是如何地盲目。

In "Sula," one character realizes that it’s not her marriage,

在《秀拉》中，主人公意识到，

生命中最伟大的爱情 不是婚姻，而是一段友谊。

but rather, one of her friendships that embodies the great love of her life.

Perhaps Morrison’s most famous exploration of the difficulty of love

可能莫里森对爱的艰难最著名的探索

takes place in "Beloved."

发生在《宠儿》这本书中。

Here, the author considers how the human spirit is diminished

在这里，作者思考了 当你清楚你最爱的东西和人

when you know the things and people you love most will be taken away.

将被带走时， 人类的精神是如何被削弱的。

Morrison shows that slavery is destructive to love in all forms,

莫里森展示了奴役 对所有的爱都是摧毁的，

poisoning both enslaved people and their enslavers.

毒害被奴役和奴役她们的人。

"Beloved" examines the dehumanizing effects of the slave trade

《宠儿》以多种方式审视 奴隶贸易的非人性化影响。

in numerous ways.

Some are straightforward, such as referring to enslaved people

一些很直接，比如把被奴役的人

as animals with monetary value.

比作有货币价值的动物。

But others are more subtle.

但还有一些要更微妙。

Sethe and Paul D.— the visitor from her old plantation—

塞丝和来自她原来种植园的保罗·Ｄ

are described as trying to “live an unlivable life.”

都被描述为试图过 一种“无法生存的生活”。

Their coping mechanisms are different; Sethe remains mired in her past,

他们的应对机制不同； 塞丝仍陷在过去的泥潭里，

while Paul D. dissociates himself completely.

而保罗·D 则将自己完全分离。

But in both cases, it’s clear each character has been irreparably scarred.

但这两个人，显然两个角色 都受到了无法弥补的伤害。

Morrison also blends perspectives and timelines,

莫里森还融合了视角和时间线，

to convey how the trauma of slavery

表达了奴隶制的创伤

ripples across various characters and time periods.

如何波及不同的人物和时期。

As she delves into the psyche of townspeople, enslavers,

她深入研究了城镇居民、奴役者

and previously enslaved people,

和之前被奴役的人的心理，

she exposes conflicting viewpoints on reality.

她表达了对现实矛盾的观点。

This tension shows the limitations of our own perspectives,

这种紧张反映了我们自身观点

and the ways in which some characters

以及一些角色积极逃离

are actively avoiding the reality of their actions.

现实行为方式的局限性。

But in other instances, the characters’ shifting memories align perfectly;

但在其他例子中， 角色完美腾挪了记忆；

capturing the collective trauma that haunts the story.

捕捉了故事中挥之不去的集体创伤。

Though "Beloved" touches on dark subjects,

尽管“宠儿”涉及黑暗题材，

the book is also filled with beautiful prose,

这本书也充满了美丽的散文，

highlighting its characters’ capacity for love and vulnerability.

凸显了书中角色爱和脆弱的能力。

In a stream-of-consciousness sequence written from Sethe’s perspective,

从塞丝的角度的意识流中，

Morrison unspools memories of subjugation alongside moments of tenderness;

莫里森将压制的记忆 与温柔的时刻交织在一起，

like a baby reaching for her mother’s earrings, spring colors,

比如婴儿伸手去拿母亲的耳环、 春天的色彩

and freshly painted stairs.

和刚刚粉刷过的楼梯。

Sethe’s mother-in-law had them painted white, she recalls,

塞丝的婆婆把楼梯刷成白色， 她回想起，

“so you could see your way to the top… where lamplight didn’t reach."

“这样你就能看到没有灯光的山顶。”

Throughout the book, Morrison asks us to consider hope in the dark,

通过该书，莫里森让我们 思考黑暗中的希望，

and to question what freedom really means.

并且追问自由的真正意义。

She urges readers to ponder the power we have over each other,

我敦促读者思考我们 对彼此拥有的力量，

and to use that power wisely.

并去明智地使用这种力量。

In this way, "Beloved" remains a testimony to the destructiveness of hate,

用这种方式，《宠儿》是 仇恨的毁灭性的显示，

the redeeming power of love,

是爱的救赎性力量，

and the responsibility we bear to heed the voices of the past.

是我们倾听过去声音的责任。