王希茜

原作節(jié)選|

There was great excitement in the crowd， but the priests and magistrates could not believe what they were seeing， and they remained silent. They saw the young priest with Hesters arm around him， and his hand holding little Pearls hand. They three of them climbed the steps of the scaffold（絞刑臺）， and were followed by old Roger Chillingworth.

“Is this the only place that you could find to escape from me？” whispered Chillingworth. “The scaffold！”

“It is God who led me here！”said Mr. Dimmesdale，“and I thank Him for it.” But he trembled as he turned to Hester. “Is this not better than what we planned in the forest？”

“I dont know！” she replied hurriedly. “Better？ We may both die， and little Pearl may die with us！”

“God will decide， but He is merciful，” said the priest. “Let me do now what God has told me to do. I am a dying man， Hester. Let me accept my shame before I die.”

He turned and looked down at the crowd.

“People of New England！” he cried. “You who have loved me！ Look at me now， as I stand here with this woman. For seven long years you have called her a sinner（罪人） and hated her. You have seen the scarlet letter on her bosom， and have crossed the street to avoid her. But there has been someone living among you whose sin（罪惡）and shame you have not known！” He stepped forward， away from Hester and the child. “God knew him！ The Devil knew him！ And now， at the hour of his death， you shall know him！ He stands in front of you！ Look again at Hesters scarlet letter. With all its mysterious horror， it is only a shadow of what is on my own bosom！ Look！ See for yourselves！”

And he pulled open his shirt fro（向后）them to see his chest！

Cries of horror came from the crowd. For a moment， the priest stood proudly—a man who has won a battle over his own pain and fear. Then he fell to the ground.

Hester lifted him， and held his head against her bosom. Chillingworth knelt down beside him， an empty， dull look on his face.

“Yo u h a v e e s c a p e d m e ！”Chillingworth repeated again and again. “You have escaped me！”

“God may forgive you，” the young priest said to him. “You， too， have sinned（犯罪）deeply.”He turned his dying eyes towards Hester and the child. “My little Pearl！” he said， his voice almost a whisper. “Will you kiss me now？”

P e a r l k i s s e d h i m ，and her tears fell on her fathers face.

“Hester！” said the priest. “Goodbye！”

“Wont we meet again？” she whispered， her face close to his. “Wont we meet in heaven， and be together forever？”

“Hester， Hester， I dont know，” he said. “But God is merciful！ He has proved his mercy. He gave me this burning pain to suffer on my bosom！ He sent me that dark and terrible old man， to keep the pain always redhot（熾熱的）！ He has brought me here， to die a death of shame， in front of the people！ Without all this， I would be lost forever！ For this I thank Him. I thank God！ Goodbye...！”

The final word came with the priests dying breath.

人群一片嘩然。可牧師和官員們無法相信眼前所見的，只好保持沉默。他們看到赫斯特用手臂挽著年輕的牧師，他的手緊握著珍珠的小手，三個人一起登上了絞刑臺。老羅杰·齊林沃斯緊隨在后。

“這是你能找到的唯一一處可以擺脫我的地方嗎？”齊林沃斯低聲道，“就是這座絞刑臺！”

“是上帝引領(lǐng)我到這里來的！”丁梅斯代爾先生說，“我為此感謝上帝?！比欢?，他轉(zhuǎn)身面對赫斯特時發(fā)抖了。“這樣做不是比我們在樹林中計劃的更好嗎？”

“我不知道！”她急切地回答，“會更好嗎？我們倆也許都會死，還有小珍珠陪葬！”

“上帝會判定一切，而上帝是仁慈的！”牧師說，“讓我按上帝的指示去做吧。我已經(jīng)是個垂死的人。赫斯特，那就讓我在臨死前承擔起我的恥辱吧！”

他轉(zhuǎn)過身俯看人群。

“新英格蘭的人們！”他喊道，“你們一直熱愛著我！現(xiàn)在請看著我，我和這個女人一起站在這里。在過去漫長的七年里，你們稱她為罪人，并且憎恨她。你們看到她胸前的紅字，也曾穿過街道躲避她。但就在你們中間，有一個人，他的罪孽和恥辱不為你們所知！”他向前邁了一步，離開了母女二人?！翱缮系壑浪乃魉鶠?，魔鬼也知道！如今，在他瀕死之際，你們也應(yīng)該知道他是誰！他就站在你們面前！你們再看看赫斯特的紅字，它雖然神秘、可怕，但只不過是我胸前這東西的影子而已，看吧！看吧！你們自己看吧！”

他猛地扯開襯衣，向人們露出胸膛。

人群中發(fā)出驚恐的叫聲。這一刻，牧師自豪地站在那里——就像一個終于戰(zhàn)勝了痛苦與恐懼的人。隨后，他就癱倒在地上！

赫斯特托起他，讓他的頭靠在自己胸前。齊林沃斯跪在他身旁，表情空洞而呆滯。

“你總算逃脫了我！”齊林沃斯一再重復(fù)，“你總算逃脫了我！”

“愿上帝饒恕你吧！”牧師說，“你，同樣罪孽深重！”他將失神的目光轉(zhuǎn)向赫斯特和孩子?！拔业男≌渲?，”他的聲音低得如同耳語一般，“你現(xiàn)在愿意親吻我嗎？”

珍珠親吻了他，她的淚珠滑落在父親的臉上。

“赫斯特！”牧師說，“別了！”

“我們難道不能再相會了嗎？”她把臉貼近他的臉悄聲說，“我們難道不能在天堂相聚嗎？永遠地在一起？”

“赫斯特，赫斯特，我不知道?！彼f，“但上帝是仁慈的！他證明了他的仁慈。他給了我胸前這灼燒的痛苦！他派來那個陰森恐怖的老人，使那痛楚灼燒不停！他把我?guī)У竭@里，讓我在眾人面前，死在恥辱之中！如果沒有這些，我就要永世沉淪了！為此我感謝他，我感激上帝！別了！”

說完這最后一句話，牧師也停止了呼吸。

背景故事

Hester： 小說女主人公的名字，全名為Hester Prynne（赫斯特·普林）。作者在給人物起名時，綜合運用了圣經(jīng)故事、希臘神話、詞形近似、諧音以及首字母暗合等方式，使得作品充滿象征意味。譬如Hester使人聯(lián)想到希臘神話中主神宙斯的姐姐Hestier（赫斯提亞）。作為爐灶女神、家宅的保護者，這個名字讓人感受到熱情與溫暖，恰恰契合了女主人公熱情、奔放的形象。Hester還是hastier（原型hasty， 表示輕率）的諧音。不論是她的婚姻，還是與年輕牧師的愛情，都算不上謹慎。書中其他三位主要人物Arthur Dimmesdale， Roger Chillingworth和Pearl的名字同樣蘊含豐富意義。有興趣的同學可以探究一番。

考點詳解

Points

詞語辨析：die， dead， dying， death

die： 作動詞，意為“死亡”，指因生病、年老、負傷等原因而死，表示動作。動詞的過去式和過去分詞形式分別為：died， died，動詞的現(xiàn)在分詞形式為dying。如：He died of cancer. 他死于癌癥。

dead：作形容詞，指“死的；無生命的”，表示狀態(tài)。如：The dog is dead. 狗死了。

提醒：動詞die為非延續(xù)性動詞，不能與表一段時間的狀語連用；而dead表狀態(tài)，可以與表一段時間的狀語連用。如：1）His father died ten years ago. 2）His father has been dead for ten years.

dying： 作形容詞，指“垂死的；要死的”，也可以作動詞die的現(xiàn)在分詞。如：This is a dying bird. 這是一只快要死了的鳥。比較：This is a dead bird. 這是一只死了的鳥。

death： 作名詞，指“死亡”，可以作句子的主語或賓語。如：1） His fathers death makes him very sad. 他父親的死讓他很悲傷。（在句中作主語）2）He is afraid of death.他對死亡很恐懼。（在句中作賓語）