How (and why) to read William Faulkner - Sascha Morrell

翻译人员: Sophia Ye 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

You’re halfway through

你开始阅读

what’s supposedly one of the greatest novels of the 20th century,

20 世纪最伟大的小说之一， 读了一半以后，

but nothing quite makes sense.

但你不太明白。

Narrating characters offer clashing versions of the same story

叙事人物在同一个故事里却自相矛盾，

and often seem unsure who, what, or when they’re talking about.

而且常常不确定他们在谈论谁、什么， 或者他们在什么时候发生的对话。

Seemingly minor details trigger intense emotional reactions you don't understand.

看似微不足道的细节会引发 你无法理解的强烈情绪反应。

And the prose is loaded with convoluted sentences and outlandish imagery.

而散文中充斥着 复杂的句子和离奇的意象。

Confused? Good— that means you’re on the right track.

困惑吗？很好—— 这意味着你走在正确的道路上。

William Faulkner is considered one of America’s most remarkable

威廉·福克纳（William Faulkne）被认为是 美国最杰出且令人困惑的作家之一。

and perplexing writers.

Fortunately, he wasn’t just toying with his audience.

幸运的是， 他并非只是在玩弄观众。

Faulkner used confusion intentionally,

福克纳有意利用混乱，

to explore the most mysterious parts of the human mind

探索人类心灵最神秘的部分，

and investigate pressing issues of personal, racial, and regional identity.

并探索个人、种族， 以及地区身份的紧迫问题。

The result is a body of work that’s shocking, inventive, and often hilarious—

结果是一部令人震惊、 独具创意且常常令人捧腹的作品集，

but above all, challenging.

但最重要的是， 它极具挑战性。

So what clues should readers look for to navigate his literary labyrinths?

那么，读者应该寻找哪些线索 引领自己走进他的文学迷宫呢？

Many of Faulkner’s novels are set in the fictional county of Yoknapatawpha—

福克纳的许多小说都设定 在虚构的约克纳帕塔法县——

a fantastical reimagining of Lafayette County, Mississippi,

这是对他一生中大部分时间

where he spent most of his life.

所在的密西西比州拉斐特县的 奇幻再创造。

Born in 1897, Faulkner grew up steeped in oral storytelling traditions,

福克纳于 1897 年出生， 他在口述故事传统中长大，

from folklore and family histories to local legends of Civil War glory.

从民间传说和家族历史到 关于南北战争辉煌的当地传奇。

However, these grand myths didn’t match the messy reality of the American South,

然而，这些宏大的神话 与美国南方混乱的现实并不相符，

divided by racist Jim Crow laws

南方因种族主义的吉姆·克劳法律而分裂，

and plagued by the legacies of slavery and colonial violence.

并受到奴隶制度和 殖民暴力遗留问题的困扰。

All these tensions come alive inside Yoknapatawpha.

所有这些紧张局势都在 约克纳帕塔法内得以生动展现。

Full of horror, humor, and human tragedy,

充满恐怖、幽默和人类悲剧的福克纳的故事中

Faulkner’s stories feature many memorable characters,

涌现出许多令人难忘的角色，

like the spurned bride who sleeps beside her would-be husband’s corpse,

比如被抛弃的新娘 与她未婚夫的尸体相伴而眠，

or the duped sharecropper obsessively hunting for imaginary coins.

或是被欺骗的佃农痴迷地 寻找想象中的硬币。

At first glance, these characters seem grotesquely absurd.

乍看之下，这些角色似乎荒诞离奇。

But under the surface, they all reflect his obsession

然而，在表面之下，它们都反映了 他对人们如何处理过去的执念——

with how people process the past—

他们顽固地坚守着什么，

what they stubbornly hold on to, unwittingly forget and willingly distort.

不自觉地遗忘了什么，并愿意歪曲事实。

Much of Faulkner’s fiction is told from multiple perspectives,

福克纳的很多小说以多重视角叙述，

offering the reader several versions of the story’s events.

从多个人的角度为读者呈现了故事事件。

For example, “The Sound and the Fury” combines the narratives

例如，《喧哗与骚动》结合了本吉、

of Benjy, Quentin, and Jason Compson,

昆廷和贾森·康普森三兄弟的叙述，

three brothers haunted by memories of their sister Caddy.

他们受到对姐姐卡蒂记忆的困扰。

One brother's narration will occasionally fill the gaps left by another's,

一个兄弟的叙述有时会填补 另一个兄弟留下的空白，

but just as often, their accounts contradict each other.

但往往又相互矛盾。

To make things more confusing, Benjy’s narration is disjointed in time,

为了让事情更加混乱， 本吉的叙述在时间上是支离破碎的，

slipping between past and present without warning.

毫无预警地在过去和现在之间切换。

Meanwhile, Quentin's section confuses fact and fantasy

与此同时， 昆廷的部分在时间上向后跳跃，

as it jumps backward in time from the day of his untimely death.

将时间拉回到他不幸去世的那天， 混淆了事实和幻想。

Only the aggressive, money-hungry Jason attempts to embrace the present—

只有具有攻击性且贪婪的 贾森试图接纳现实，

but even he is constantly overtaken by past resentments.

但他也经常被过去的怨恨所困扰。

Following these threads can be bewildering,

跟随这些线索可能会让人困惑，

but Faulkner wants the audience to share in the characters’ confusion.

但福克纳希望观众 能与角色们分享他们的困惑。

This approach allows readers to understand the Compsons’

这种手法让读者能够从第一视角 了解康普森家族的偏见和盲点。

biases and blindspots firsthand.

And since his characters’ distortions of the past

由于他的角色对过去的扭曲往往反映了

often reflect larger denials of Southern history,

对南方历史的更大否认，

it also allows Faulkner to explore his own anxieties about the South.

这也使福克纳能够探索 他自己对南方的焦虑。

For example, his novel “Light in August” deliberately induces ambiguity

例如，他的小说 《八月中的光芒》刻意制造了

about a character’s racial origins in ways that undermine rigid Jim Crow policies.

有关角色种族起源的模糊性， 从而削弱了严格的吉姆·克劳政策。

And in “Absalom, Absalom!” narrating townsfolk

在《押沙龙，押沙龙！》中， 叙述的小镇居民评论道，

remark that “no one knew how”

“没有人知道”，

a local landowner had come into his property,

当地地主如何取得了他的财产，

and that his house was built “apparently out of nothing.”

而且他的房子“似乎是凭空出现”。

This kind of evasive language shows how characters are desperate to cover up

这种回避性的语言显示了角色们

the region's intolerable history of genocide and slavery.

急于掩盖该地区 不可容忍的种族灭绝和奴隶制度的历史。

But even when exploring the heaviest topics,

然而，即使在探讨最沉重的话题时，

Faulkner spellbinds readers with verbal acrobatics.

福克纳也以巧妙的语言技巧迷住了读者。

One particularly bewildering sentence in “Absalom, Absalom!”

在《押沙龙，押沙龙！》中，

runs 1,288 words long,

有一句尤其令人困惑的 长句长达 1288 个字，

and features locals haggling over “violently-colored candy,”

其中有当地人争论“色泽鲜艳的糖果”，

a “cloudy swirl of chickens,” and a hard-drinking planter

有一群“乱哄哄的鸡群”，

who’s compared to both a worn-out cannon and a showgirl.

还将一个酗酒的种植园主 比作疲惫不堪的大炮和舞女。

Even his jokes can breed more confusion,

甚至他的笑话也可能引起更多的困惑，

such as when Benjy Compson conflates his sister Caddy with golf caddies.

比如本吉·康普森将他的姐姐 卡蒂与高尔夫球球童混淆。

Reading Faulkner is rarely easy, but it is deeply rewarding.

阅读福克纳的作品大多不易， 但却受益颇多。

He invites readers to contemplate the unreliable nature of history and memory.

他让读者意识到 历史和记忆的不可靠性。

And in teaching us to embrace confusion

通过教导我们接受混乱，

and recognize the limits of our perception,

并认识到我们感知的局限性，

Faulkner can help us listen for hidden meanings

福克纳教会我们 倾听周围喧哗中隐藏的含义。

in the sound and fury that surround us.