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【導(dǎo)讀】《趕牲口人的妻子》是亨利·勞森以叢林女性為主人公的短篇佳作，展示了澳大利亞早期叢林女性生活的困苦和艱辛。小說描寫了女主人公在等待鉆到家里的毒蛇出洞期間對自己過去艱苦叢林生活的種種回憶。在這個沒有名字的“她”的故事中，趕牲口的丈夫“常年出去放羊，留她和孩子獨自在家”。然而，惡劣的生活并沒有把頑強的趕牲口人的妻子擊垮，反而激起了她與困難作斗爭的勇氣和智慧。在大黑狗“鱷魚”的幫助下，在孩子們的協(xié)助下，她成功地將鉆到房子里伺機攻擊孩子的大蛇“扔進(jìn)了火爐”。小說最后，她的兒子伸出胳膊，摟著她的脖子說：“媽媽，我長大了絕不會去趕牲口?！弊屪x者對趕牲口人的妻子的叢林生活遭遇唏噓不已。

亨利·勞森借助叢林狹窄的女性生存空間敘事視角，給讀者如實呈現(xiàn)出叢林女性生存的心酸與凄慘。《趕牲口人的妻子》講述了叢林女性“趕牲口人的妻子”面對困難英勇抗?fàn)幍墓适?，塑造了一個積極樂觀的叢林女性形象。這部作品讓我們得以管窺勞森復(fù)雜而矛盾的女性思想，又能了解勞森“有能力解救世界，卻無能力解救自己”的內(nèi)心焦慮。

The two-roomed house is built of round timber,slabs,and stringybark,and floored with split slabs.A big bark kitchen standing at one end is larger than the house itself,veranda included.

房子共有兩個房間，由圓木、石板和細(xì)長而干枯的樹皮搭成，鋪地的石板處處是裂縫。房子盡頭是一間用樹皮搭成的廚房，算上陽臺，廚房看上去比房子要大。

[2]Bush3bush〈澳〉未開墾的叢林地。all around—bush with no horizon,for the country is flat.No ranges in the distance.The bush consists of stunted,rotten native apple-trees.No undergrowth.Nothing to relieve the eye save the darker green of a few she-oaks which are sighing above the narrow,almost waterless creek.Nineteen miles to the nearest sign of civilisation—a shanty on the main road.

[2]周圍到處都是叢林，一眼望不到頭，因為鄉(xiāng)村地勢平坦，遠(yuǎn)處也看不到任何山脈。叢林中生長著原生蘋果樹，矮小、枯朽。樹下沒長灌叢。除了幾株深綠的木麻黃，實在沒什么可看的，起風(fēng)時，木麻黃的悲鳴會從幾近干涸的狹長小溪上空飄過。至少要走19英里才有人跡——干道邊上搭了座棚屋。

[3]The drover,an ex-squatter4squatter（合法）取得放牧權(quán)者。,is away with sheep.His wife and children are left here alone.

[3]房子主人原本已經(jīng)在公地定居放牧，如今趕牲口為生，現(xiàn)在出去牧羊了，留下妻子和孩子們獨自在叢林里生活。

[4]Four ragged,dried-up-looking children are playing about the house.Suddenly one of them yells: “Snake!Mother,here’s a snake!”

The gaunt,sun-browned bushwoman dashes from the kitchen,snatches her baby from the ground,holds it on her left hip,and reaches for a stick.

[4]四個穿著破爛、干癟瘦弱的孩子在房子周圍玩耍，突然，一個小孩兒大叫起來:“蛇！媽媽，有條蛇！”

只見一個面容憔悴、皮膚被曬得黝黑的叢林女人從廚房里沖出來，一手拎起地上的嬰兒擱在左胯上，另一只手去夠木棍。

[5]“Where is it?”

“Here! Gone in the wood-heap,” yells the eldest boy—a sharp-faced urchin5urchin貧窮骯臟的兒童；頑童。of eleven.“Stop there,mother! I’ll have him.Stand back! I’ll have the beggar!”

“Tommy,come here,or you’ll be bit.Come here at once when I tell you,you little wretch6wretch壞蛋；惡棍。!”

[5]“在哪兒？”“這里！鉆到柴堆下面去了?！彼拇髢鹤雍暗?。這個11歲的小頑童看上去很機靈。“媽媽別動，我來對付它。你往后退！我來對付這個家伙！”

“湯米，過來，它會咬你的。小壞蛋，快點過來！”

[6]The youngster comes reluctantly,carrying a stick bigger than himself.Then he yells,triumphantly:

“There it goes—under the house!”and darts away with club uplifted.At the same time the big,black,yelloweyed dog-of-all-breeds,who has shown the wildest interest in the proceedings,breaks his chain and rushes after that snake.He is a moment late,however,and his nose reaches the crack in the slabs just as the end of its tail disappears.Almost at the same moment the boy’s club comes down and skins the aforesaid nose.Alligator takes small notice of this,and proceeds to undermine7undermine從根基處破壞；挖……墻角。the building;but he is subdued after a struggle and chained up.They cannot afford to lose him.

[6]小家伙手上提著一根比他還高的木棍，很不情愿地退了回來，然后，以勝利者的姿態(tài)大喊道：

“往那兒去了，鉆到房子下面了！”一邊說，一邊高舉木棍快速追過去。這時，家中那只黃眼睛大黑狗對眼前的一切很是興奮，它掙脫鎖鏈，朝著蛇的方向猛沖過去，可惜遲了一步，鼻子剛碰到石板裂縫，蛇尾就從那兒消失了。正在這時，湯米的大棒揮了下來，蹭掉了狗鼻子上的一塊皮。黑狗“鱷魚”對此毫不在意，繼續(xù)刨地找蛇。他們頗費周折才把它重新拴了起來。他們可不能讓它有半點閃失。

[7]The drover’s wife makes the children stand together near the dog-house while she watches for the snake.She gets two small dishes of milk and sets them down near the wall to tempt it to come out;but an hour goes by and it does not show itself.

[7]趕牲口人的妻子一邊讓孩子們圍在一起站在狗窩旁，一邊留意著蛇的動向。她拿了兩小碟牛奶放到墻角，想把它引出來；但是過了一個鐘頭，它也沒出來。

[8]It is near sunset,and a thunderstorm is coming.The children must be brought inside.She will not take them into the house,for she knows the snake is there,and may at any moment come up through a crack in the rough slab floor;so she carries several armfuls of firewood into the kitchen,and then takes the children there.The kitchen has no floor—or,rather,an earthen one—called a “ground floor” in this part of the bush.There is a large,roughly-made table in the centre of the place.She brings the children in,and makes them get on this table.They are two boys and two girls—mere babies.She gives some supper,and then,before it gets dark,she goes into house,and snatches up some pillows and bedclothes—expecting to see or lay her hand on the snake any minute.She makes a bed on the kitchen table for the children,and sits down beside it to watch all night.

[8]時近傍晚，一場雷暴就要來臨。不能讓孩子們露天待著，但她不能領(lǐng)他們到屋子里，因為蛇還在那兒，隨時可能從凹凸石板地的某個縫里鉆出來。她抱了幾把柴火到廚房，把孩子們也都弄到那里。廚房沒有地板，是泥土地面。當(dāng)然，在叢林深處，那就是地板了。廚房中間是一張大大的、做工粗糙的桌子。她把孩子們領(lǐng)進(jìn)廚房，并讓他們坐到桌子上去。她有兩男兩女，女孩兒還都小得很。等她做好晚飯，天也快黑了。她到屋里拿了幾個枕頭和一些床單被褥——拿時一直想著會不會看到或摸到那條蛇。她讓孩子睡在廚房的大桌上，自己則打算坐在桌邊守一晚上。

[9]She has an eye on the corner,and a green sapling8sapling幼樹。club laid in readiness on the dresser by her side;also her sewing basket and a copy of theYoung Ladies’ Journal.She has brought the dog into the room.

[9]她緊緊盯著墻角，身邊的碗櫥上備著一根小樹做的綠色木棍，旁邊還放著她的針線筐和一本《淑女》雜志。她把狗也拉進(jìn)屋里來了。

[10]Tommy turns in9turn in休息，上床睡覺。,under protest10under protest不情愿地。,but says he’ll lie awake all night and smash that blinded snake.

His mother asks him how many times she has told not to swear.

[10]湯米不情愿地睡下，但他說要一整夜躺著絕不睡著，親手將那條“瞎了眼”的蛇摔死。

媽媽問他，她說過多少次了，不要隨便發(fā)誓。

[11]He has his club with him under the bedclothes,and Jacky protests:

“Mummy! Tommy’s skinnin’ me alive wif his club.Make him take it out.”

Tommy: “Shet up you little—! D’yer want to be bit with the snake?”

Jacky shuts up.

[11]他將木棒隨身放到被褥下面，這時杰基抗議道：“媽媽，湯米用木棍把我弄醒了，快讓他拿出去?！?/p>

湯米說：“閉嘴，你個小……！你難道想被蛇咬？”

杰基閉上了嘴。

[12]“If yer bit,” says Tommy,after a pause,“you’ll swell up,an smell,an’turn red an’ green an’ blue all over till yer bust.Won’t he mother?”

“Now then,don’t frighten the child.Go to sleep,” she says.

[12]“如果被咬了，”湯米停了一會兒說，“渾身就會腫起來，然后就會青一塊紫一塊，然后就會死去。是這樣嗎，媽媽？”

“好了，好了，不要嚇杰基了。睡吧?！彼f。

[13]The two younger children go to sleep,and now and then Jacky complains of being “skeezed.” More room is made for him.Presently Tommy says:“Mother! Listen to them little possums.I’d like to screw their blanky necks.”

[13]兩個小一點的孩子上床睡覺了，杰基時不時會嚷一句“別擠我”，于是，他睡的地方更大了。這時，湯米說：“媽媽，你聽，好像有幾只小負(fù)鼠，我真想把它們脖子擰斷?！?/p>

[14]And Jacky protests drowsily.

“But they don’t hurt us,the little blanks!”

Mother: “There,I told you you’d teach Jacky to swear.” But the remark makes her smile.Jacky goes to sleep.

[14]杰基很困乏地反對說。

“那些小笨蛋又不會傷害我們。”

媽媽說：“看，我讓你不要說臟話，杰基也跟你學(xué)了?！闭f完，她自己也笑了。杰基接著睡了。

[15]Presently Tommy asks:

“Mother! Do you think they’ll ever extricate11extricate（使）擺脫，脫離。the kangaroo?”

“Lord! How am I to know,child? Go to sleep.”

“Will you wake me if the snake comes out?”

“Yes.Go to sleep.”

[15]一會兒，湯米又問：“媽媽！你說這些小袋鼠它們能逃過大袋鼠嗎？”

“天哪！我怎么知道？快睡吧！”

“蛇出來的話，一定要把我叫醒！”

“知道了，睡吧！”

[16]Near midnight.The children are all asleep and she sits there still,sewing and reading by turns.From time to time she glances round the floor and wall-plate,and,whenever she hears a noise,she reaches for the stick.The thunderstorm comes on,and the wind,rushing through the cracks in the slab wall,threatens to blow out her candle.She places it on a sheltered part of the dresser and fixes up a newspaper to protect it.At every flash of lightning,the cracks between the slabs gleam like polished silver.The thunder rolls,and the rain comes down in torrents.

[16]時近午夜。孩子都入睡了，她一直坐在那兒，一會兒做做針線活兒，一會兒翻翻雜志。時不時地，她會看看地板和墻面，每當(dāng)聽到什么動靜，她就抄起棍子。外面雷暴還在肆虐，風(fēng)透過石板墻縫呼呼吹進(jìn)來，快將蠟燭吹滅了。她把蠟燭挪到碗柜避風(fēng)處，用報紙遮起來。每一次閃電，石板的裂縫處都會現(xiàn)出耀眼的銀光。外面雷聲隆隆，暴雨如注。

[17]Alligator lies at full length on the floor,with his eyes turned towards the partition.She knows by this that the snake is there.There are large cracks in that wall opening under the floor of the dwelling-house.

[17]“鱷魚”伸直身子躺在地板上，眼睛盯著房間的隔斷處。她因此知道蛇就藏在那個地方，因為房門地板下面有幾處大的裂縫。

[18]She is not a coward,but recent events have shaken her nerves.A little son of her brother-in-law was lately bitten by a snake,and died.Besides,she has not heard from her husband for six months,and is anxious about him.

[18]并不是她膽小懦弱，但近來發(fā)生的事情確實讓她有些崩潰。她小叔子的小兒子前不久剛被一條蛇咬死了。而且，丈夫一走六個月，杳無音信，她心里很是擔(dān)心。

[19]He was a drover,and started squatting here when they were married.The drought ruined him.He had to sacrifice12sacrifice廉價賣出。the remnant of his flock and go droving again.

[19]他此前曾靠趕牲口為生，婚后就在這里定居放牧了。干旱摧毀了一切，讓他不得不賤賣掉剩下的牲口，重新趕牲口謀生。

[20]He intends to move his family into the nearest town when he comes back,and,in the meantime,his brother,who keeps a shanty on the main road,comes over about once a month with provisions.The wife has still a couple of cows,one horse,and a few sheep.The brother-inlaw kills one of the latter occasionally,gives her what she needs of it,and takes the rest in return for other provisions.

[20]他計劃回來后就搬到最近的鎮(zhèn)上住。干道邊的柵屋是他弟弟的，差不多每個月一次，他弟弟會帶些補給過來。她現(xiàn)在家里還有幾頭牛、一匹馬和幾只羊。小叔子偶爾會殺一只羊，她需要的部分給她留下，剩下的都會帶走，就算交換補給了。

[21]She is used to being left alone.She once lived like this for eighteen months.As a girl she built the usual castles in the air;but all her girlish hopes and aspirations have long been dead.She finds all the excitement and recreation she needs in theYoung Ladies’ Journal,and Heaven help her! Takes a pleasure in the fashion plates.

[21]她習(xí)慣了獨自留守。她曾經(jīng)像這樣獨自一人帶著孩子生活了18個月。出嫁前她也有過女孩兒空中閣樓般的夢想，然而這些希望和抱負(fù)在現(xiàn)實面前早就消失殆盡了。她所需要的生活的激情和消遣都在《淑女》雜志里了，上帝保佑！那些時尚圖樣還能帶給她快樂。

[22]Her husband is an Australian,and so is she.He is careless,but a good enough husband.If he had the means he would take her to the city and keep her there like a princess.They are used to being apart,or at least she is.“No use fretting13fret煩惱。,” she says.He may forget sometimes that he is married;but if he has a good cheque when he comes back he will give most of it to her.When he had money he took her to the city several times—hired a railway sleeping compartment,and put up at the best hotels.He also bought her a buggy,but they had to sacrifice that along with the rest.

[22]她的丈夫是澳大利亞人，她也是。他粗心但心腸很好。只要有條件，他就帶她到城里轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)，像公主一般待她。他們習(xí)慣了分開的生活，至少她習(xí)慣了?！盁罌]有用?！彼偸钦f。他有時或許忘記自己已經(jīng)結(jié)婚了，不過，只要掙得一大筆錢，回來時就會把大部分留給她。過去他有錢的時候，好幾次帶她乘火車臥鋪去城里，住最好的賓館。他還曾給她買過一架輕便馬車，但是后來和其他東西一樣都賤賣了。

[23]The last two children were born in the bush—one while her husband was bringing a drunken doctor,by force,to attend to her.She was alone on this occasion,and very weak.She had been ill with fever.She prayed to God to send her assistance.God sent Black Mary—the “whitest” gin in all the land.Or,at least,God sent King Jimmy first,and he sent Black Mary.He put his black face round the door post,took in the situation at a glance,and said cheerfully: “All right,missus—I bring my old woman,she down along a creek.”

[23]最小的兩個孩子都是在叢林里出生的——其中一個孩子還是她丈夫強行拉來個醉酒的醫(yī)生給接生的。這種時候她都感到很孤單，身體也很虛弱。她還曾發(fā)燒病倒，當(dāng)時祈禱上帝能幫幫她。于是上帝派來了黑瑪麗——當(dāng)?shù)亍白畎椎摹蓖林；蛘撸辽偕系巯扰蓙砹思淄?，是他叫來了黑瑪麗。吉米面色黝黑，他把臉靠在門柱上，看了看她的狀況，高興地說：“夫人，放心吧，我叫我老婆了，她正沿著小溪趕過來。”

[24]One of the children died while she was here alone.She rode nineteen miles for assistance,carrying the dead child.■

(To be continued)

[24]在叢林獨自生活期間，一個孩子夭折了。那次，她背著孩子的尸體騎了19英里才找到人幫忙。□

（未完待續(xù)）