|
Wuthering Heights 呼嘯山莊 (Excerpt 節(jié)選) 
By Emily Bronte (艾米莉·勃朗特 著)
艾米莉·勃朗特(1818－1848)從小生活在英國約克郡的荒原上，荒原造就了她自由不羈的個性，同時也為她提供了一個想象的世界。她的杰作《呼嘯山莊》便以此為背景，講述吉普賽棄兒希刺克厲夫和凱瑟琳之間的愛情傳奇。全書自始至終貫穿著離奇、緊張、浪漫的氣氛和一種“有呼吸、有心跳的活生生的激情”。誠如一位評論家所說，“盡管這本書中有那么多極其痛苦的場面，卻令人不厭再讀，每讀一遍必有所獲。”
 Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff’s dwelling. “Wuthering” being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. One may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones.
The window ledge, above the bed where I placed my candle, was covered with writing scratched on the paint. A name repeated in all kinds of characters, large and small – a Catherine Earnshaw, here and there varied to Catherine Heathcliff, and then again to Catherine Linton.
In vapid Listlessness I leant my head against the window, and continued spelling over Catherine Earnshaw – Heathcliff – Linton, till my eyes closed, but they had not rested five minutes when I was disturbed by the noise from the branch of a fir tree that touched my lattice, as the wind wailed by, and rattled its dry cones against the panes.
I resolved to silence it, if possible; I endeavoured to unhasp the casement, but the hook was soldered into the staple.
“I must stop it, nevertheless!” I muttered, knocking my knuckles through the glass, and stretching an arm out to seize the branch; instead of which, my fingers closed on the fingers of a little, ice-cold hand! The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed, “Let me in, let me in!”
“Who are you?” I asked, struggling, meanwhile, to disengage myself. 
“Catherine Linton,” it replied shiveringly, “I’m come home. I’ve lost my way on the moor!” As it spoke, I discerned, obscurely, a child’s face looking through the window.
Terror made me cruel; and, finding it useless to attempt shaking the creature off, I pulled its wrist on to the broken pane, and rubbed it to and fro till the blood ran down and soaked the bedclothes: still it wailed, “Let me in!” and maintained its tenacious grip, almost maddening me with fear.
“How can I?” I said at length. “Let me go, if you want me to let you in!”
The fingers relaxed, I snatched mine through the hole, and stopped my ears to exclude the lamentable prayer. I seemed to keep them closed above a quarter of an hour; yet, the instant I listened again, there was the doleful cry moaning on!
“Begone!” I shouted, “I’ll never let you in, not if you beg for twenty years.”
“It is twenty years,” mourned the voice. “Twenty years. I’ve been a waif for twenty years!”
There at began a feeble scratching outside. I tried to jump up, but could not stir a limb; and so yelled aloud, in a frenzy of fright. Hasty footsteps approached my chamber door; somebody pushed it open, with a vigorous hand.
Heathcliff stood with a candle dripping over his fingers, and his face as white as the walls around him.
呼嘯山莊是希刺克厲夫先生的住宅名稱�！昂魢[”是一個意味深長的形容詞，形容這地方在風暴的天氣里所受的氣壓波動。房屋那頭有幾棵矮小的樅樹過度傾斜，由此就可以猜想到北風吹過的威力了。幸虧建筑師很有先見，把房子蓋得很結(jié)實：窄小的窗子深深地嵌在墻里，墻里有大塊的凸出的石頭防護著。
在床頭我放蠟燭的窗臺上，油漆面多處給字跡劃得亂七八糟。一個名字用各種字體寫著，有大有小——凱瑟琳·恩蕭，有的地方又改成凱瑟琳·希刺克厲夫，跟著又是凱瑟琳·林頓。
我無精打采地把頭靠在窗子上，接連地拼寫著凱瑟琳·恩蕭——希刺克厲夫——林頓，一直到我的眼睛合上為止，可是還沒有五分鐘，一棵樅樹的枝子觸到了窗格子上，驚醒了我�？耧L正悲嘆而過，它的干果在玻璃窗面上碰得嘎嘎作響。
我決定把這聲音止住，如果可能的話。我試著去打開那窗子，但窗鉤給焊在鉤環(huán)里了。
“不管怎么樣，我非止住它不可！”我咕嚕著，用拳頭打穿了玻璃，伸出一個胳膊去抓那條樹枝�？晌业氖种割^沒抓到它，卻碰著了一只冰涼小手的手指！夢魘的恐怖壓倒了我：我極力把胳膊縮回來，可是那只手卻拉住它不放，一個異常憂郁的聲音抽泣著：“讓我進去，讓我進去！”
“你是誰？”我問，同時拼命想把手掙脫。
“凱瑟琳·林頓，” 那聲音顫抖著回答�！拔一丶襾砝�，我在曠野上走迷路啦！”在她說話時，我模模糊糊地辨認出一張小孩的臉向窗里望。
恐怖使我狠了心，發(fā)現(xiàn)想甩掉那個人是沒有用的，就把她的手腕拉到那個破了的玻璃面上，來回地擦著，直到鮮血滴下來，沾濕了床單。可她還是哀哭著，“讓我進去！”而且還是緊緊抓住我，簡直要把我嚇瘋了。
“我怎么能夠呢？”我終于說�！叭绻阋易屇氵M來，先放開我！”
手指松開了。我把自己的手從窗洞外抽回，捂住耳朵不聽那可憐的祈求聲。大概捂了有一刻鐘以上吧，等到我再聽時，那悲慘的呼聲還繼續(xù)哀叫著！
“走開！”我喊道，“就是你求我二十年，我也絕不讓你進來�！�
“已經(jīng)二十年啦，”這聲音哭著說，“二十年啦。我已經(jīng)流浪了二十年啦�！�
接著，外面開始了一個輕微的刮擦聲。我想跳起來，可是四肢動彈不得，于是在驚駭中大聲喊叫起來，一陣匆忙的腳步聲走近我的臥室門口。有人使勁推開了門。
希刺克厲夫站在那里，拿著一支蠟燭，燭油直滴到他的手指上，臉色蒼白得猶如他身后的墻。 (實習編輯：夏根建) | 
