狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第37章Part7

'Isn't it natural that I should dwell on this, when I am all affection and sensitiveness, and am wounded in the cruellest way, whenever you look at me?'
'I do not mean to wound you, mother. Have you no remembrance of what has been said between us? Let the Past rest.'
'Yes, rest! And let gratitude to me rest; and let affection for me rest; and let me rest in my out-of-the-way room, with no society and no attention, while you find new relations to make much of, who have no earthly claim upon you! Good gracious, Edith, do you know what an elegant establishment you are at the head of?'
'Yes. Hush!'
'And that gentlemanly creature, Dombey? Do you know that you are married to him, Edith, and that you have a settlement and a position, and a carriage, and I don't know what?'
'Indeed, I know it, mother; well.'
'As you would have had with that delightful good soul - what did they call him? - Granger - if he hadn't died. And who have you to thank for all this, Edith?'
'You, mother; you.'
'Then put your arms round my neck, and kiss me; and show me, Edith, that you know there never was a better Mama than I have been to you. And don't let me become a perfect fright with teasing and wearing myself at your ingratitude, or when I'm out again in society no soul will know me, not even that hateful animal, the Major.'
But, sometimes, when Edith went nearer to her, and bending down her stately head, Put her cold cheek to hers, the mother would draw back as If she were afraid of her, and would fall into a fit of trembling, and cry out that there was a wandering in her wits. And sometimes she would entreat her, with humility, to sit down on the chair beside her bed, and would look at her (as she sat there brooding) with a face that even the rose-coloured curtains could not make otherwise than scared and wild.
The rose-coloured curtains blushed, in course of time, on Cleopatra's bodily recovery, and on her dress - more juvenile than ever, to repair the ravages of illness - and on the rouge, and on the teeth, and on the curls, and on the diamonds, and the short sleeves, and the whole wardrobe of the doll that had tumbled down before the mirror. They blushed, too, now and then, upon an indistinctness in her speech which she turned off with a girlish giggle, and on an occasional failing In her memory, that had no rule in it, but came and went fantastically, as if in mockery of her fantastic self.
But they never blushed upon a change in the new manner of her thought and speech towards her daughter. And though that daughter often came within their influence, they never blushed upon her loveliness irradiated by a smile, or softened by the light of filial love, in its stem beauty.

“我是一個非常重感情和敏感的人，而每當你看到我的時候，我卻總是受到了最殘酷的傷害；我爲什麼嘮嘮叨叨地說這個，這不是很自然的嗎？”
“我不是有意要傷害你，媽媽。難道你不記得我們兩人之間說過的話了嗎？讓過去安息吧。”
“不錯，安息吧！讓對我的感激安息吧；讓對我親切的感情安息吧；讓我躺在偏闢的房間裏，沒有人陪伴，沒有人照顧，就這樣安息吧，而這時候你卻結交上新的親屬，雖然她們對你是沒有任何世俗權利的，你卻對她們盡心地照顧！哎呀，我的天，伊迪絲，你知不知道你現在是在一個多麼優雅高尚的家庭裏當主婦哪？”
“知道，小點聲！”
“還有那位身份高貴的人物，董貝？你知不知道你跟他結了婚，伊迪絲，你有了財產、地位、馬車，我不知道還有什麼？”
“自然，我知道，媽媽，我知道得很清楚。”
“就像你跟那位可愛的好人兒--他們管他叫什麼？--格蘭傑在一起的時候也會有這一切一樣，如果他沒有死的話。這一切你應該感謝誰呢，伊迪絲？”
“你，媽媽，你。”
“那麼，你就用胳膊摟着我的脖子，親親我；向我表示一下，你明白世界上沒有一個比我更好的媽媽了，伊迪絲。別讓我因爲你的忘恩負義而奚落自己，折磨自己，變成一個十足的怪物；要不然當我重新到社會上跟人們交際的時候，誰也不會認出我來了，甚至連少校那可恨的畜牲也會認不出我來了。”
可是有時當伊迪絲走近她，低垂下神色莊嚴的頭，把冷冰冰的臉頰貼到她的臉頰上的時候，母親會往後退縮，彷彿她害怕她，併發出一陣震顫，喊道，她覺得神志恍惚。有時候她會低聲下氣地求伊迪絲坐在牀邊的椅子上；當伊迪絲坐在那裏出神地想着心事的時候，她則會看着她；這時她臉上那副乾癟、蒼老的樣子，甚至連玫瑰色的帳子也無法改變。
隨着時間的流逝，玫瑰色的帳子發出紅光，照射到克利奧佩特拉日益痊癒的身體，照射到她的衣服（爲了補償疾病的損害，她的衣服比過去任何時候都顯得更加年輕了），照射到她的胭脂、牙齒、捲髮、鑽石、短袖和在鏡子前面摔倒的玩偶的全部服裝。玫瑰色帳子發出紅光，也不時觀察到她的口齒變得含混不清，她發出少女般格格的傻笑來掩飾這一點。玫瑰色帳子發出紅光，還可不時觀察到她的記憶力時而衰退，這種衰退毫無規則，而是希奇古怪地忽來忽去，彷彿在戲弄她這希奇古怪的本人一樣。
可是玫瑰色的帳子發出的紅光從來沒有觀察到她想到她女兒和跟她說話的新的方式中有什麼變化。雖然這位女兒時常來到帳子的紅光所能照射到的地方，可是紅光卻從來沒有觀察到她可愛的臉上露出過高興的微笑，或者孝順之愛的亮光使她嚴峻的美貌變得溫柔起來。