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

譯者: 柏陞 郭 審譯者: Helen Chang

A mirror that shatters without warning.

一面鏡子毫無預警地碎了。

A trail of cracker crumbs strewn across the floor.

餅乾屑在地板上散落成一條軌跡。

Two tiny handprints that appear on a cake.

蛋糕上出現兩個小手印。

Everyone at 124 Bluestone Road knows their house is haunted—

住在青石路 124 號的每個人 都曉得他們的房子鬧鬼了。

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

但這位糾纏人們的鬼魂 可沒那麼神祕。

This ghost is the product of an unspeakable trauma;

它是由一個難以言喻的創傷 遺留的產物，

而這一段殘暴的過去

the legacy of a barbaric history

that hangs over much more than this lone homestead.

如今仍盤踞在這座孤寂的農莊裡。

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

托妮·莫里森的《寵兒》， 這部曾獲頒普立茲獎的小說。

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

內容指出奴隸制度引發的痛苦， 以及幡然醒悟後的陣痛。

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

1987 年出版，《寵兒》描述著 一位女子：賽絲

a woman who escaped enslavement.

和她逃離奴隸生活後的的故事。

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

在小說的開頭，賽絲已經過了 十年以上自由的生活。

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

賽絲的家人多已不在身邊， 她的岳母在早幾年前就去世，

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

而兩個兒子因為畏懼鬼魂 早先逃離這個家。

Sethe’s daughter Denver remains in the house,

儘管女兒丹佛依然陪伴著她。

but the pair live a half-life.

但這對母女只是活著等待年華老去。

Shunned by the wider community,

由於社區大眾的冷落，

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

兩人只能跟鬼魂朝夕相處。

Sethe is consumed by thoughts of the spirit,

賽絲對那個鬼魂朝思暮想，

whom she believes to be her eldest daughter.

因為她相信那就是她的大女兒。

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

在賽絲的晚年有一位客人來訪， 他威脅並驅走那個鬼魂。

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

這一刻似乎對她的家庭是 一個全新的開始。

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

但接下來發生在屋裡的事， 可比鬼魂還要更擾人。

As with much of Morrison’s work,

就如同莫里森絕大多數的作品，

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

《寵兒》探討著非裔美國人歷史中 創傷與愛的作用。

Morrison writes about black identities in a variety of contexts,

莫里森在不同的情境中描寫 黑人身分問題，

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

而她的角色都有一個共通點： 他們都渴望找到愛人和被愛，

even when it’s painful.

儘管過程十分痛苦。

Some of her novels explore when love challenges social conventions,

她的一些小說探討著 愛情與社會規範的碰撞。

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

例如在《天堂》裡， 小鎮居民與外來者之間

and their fugitive neighbors.

發展出禁忌的戀情。

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

一部分的作品則探討為何 我們對既有的愛視而不見。

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

在小說《蘇拉》裡， 有位角色體悟到自己愛的並非婚姻，

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

而是一位友人才是她一生的摯愛。

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

或許在莫里森的作品當中， 以探索情愛之難最為著稱的

takes place in "Beloved."

非《寵兒》莫屬。

Here, the author considers how the human spirit is diminished

在書裡，作者關切著人性

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

在知道自己最愛的人事物被奪走時， 是如何隨之消失。

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

莫里森指出奴隸制度 各方面而言對愛都具破壞性，

poisoning both enslaved people and their enslavers.

且不論是受害者和加害者都深受毒害。

"Beloved" examines the dehumanizing effects of the slave trade

除此之外，《寵兒》也以不同角度探討 奴隸貿易中去人類化的影響。

in numerous ways.

Some are straightforward, such as referring to enslaved people

有些敘事直接了當，例如將奴隸貶為

as animals with monetary value.

如動物般的買賣價值。

But others are more subtle.

有些則相當隱晦，

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

像是賽絲、保羅‧D 和從賽絲曾待過的農莊來的訪客，

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

他們都被描述成嘗試在 「不是人能過的人生」繼續活著。

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

他們各自有不同的應對機制。 賽絲選擇沉溺於過去，

while Paul D. dissociates himself completely.

而保羅則完全把自己與外界隔絕。

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

這兩個角色很明顯 已傷痕累累無藥可醫了。

Morrison also blends perspectives and timelines,

莫里森也將不同的觀點和時間線結合，

to convey how the trauma of slavery

傳達出奴隸制度造成的創傷

ripples across various characters and time periods.

如何在不同世代和角色間傳遞。

As she delves into the psyche of townspeople, enslavers,

隨著作者深入探究小鎮居民、奴隸主

and previously enslaved people,

和之前成為奴隸的人的心理，

she exposes conflicting viewpoints on reality.

她揭露眾人對現實彼此衝突的觀點。

This tension shows the limitations of our own perspectives,

這種劍拔弩張的情勢恰好說明 我們自身視野的侷限性，

and the ways in which some characters

以及一些角色用各自的方式 積極地迴避現實。

are actively avoiding the reality of their actions.

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

但在其他情況下，角色不斷遞移的 記憶是如此整齊劃一，

capturing the collective trauma that haunts the story.

因此共同營造出的創傷 如鬼魂般糾纏整個故事。

Though "Beloved" touches on dark subjects,

儘管《寵兒》觸及沉重的題材，

the book is also filled with beautiful prose,

但書裡同時充滿了優美的散文，

highlighting its characters’ capacity for love and vulnerability.

凸顯出角色們的愛和脆弱。

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

透過一連串意識流的手法 解析賽絲的觀點，

Morrison unspools memories of subjugation alongside moments of tenderness;

莫里森在解開角色們壓抑的記憶時， 連同喚起那些溫柔的時刻。

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

像是嬰兒伸手觸碰 媽媽的耳環、春天的景色

and freshly painted stairs.

和剛漆好的樓梯。

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

賽絲想起她的岳母 將樓梯漆成白色時曾說過：

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

「即使燈光照不到上頭， 你仍可見到你要走的路。」

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

透過這本書，莫里森要我們 即使身在絕望中也要尋求希望

and to question what freedom really means.

和思考自由真正的意義。

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

她勸勉讀者們反思 彼此施加在他人上的權力，

and to use that power wisely.

以及理智地行使權力。

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

這麼一來，《寵兒》就見證了 憎恨的破壞性

the redeeming power of love,

和愛救贖的力量，

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

以及我們都有責任 去關懷所有來自過去的聲音。