海明威：《雨中的貓》

夏末

歐內(nèi)斯特·海明威（Ernest Hemingway，1899—1961），美國小說家。海明威被譽為美利堅民族的精神豐碑，是“新聞體”小說的創(chuàng)始人。其寫作風格以簡潔著稱，對美國文學及20世紀文學的發(fā)展有極深遠的影響。1953年，他憑借《老人與海》獲得普利策獎，1954年又獲諾貝爾文學獎。《老人與海》（The Old Man and the Sea，1952）之外，海明威的其他代表作有：小說《太陽照常升起》（The Sun Also Rises，1926）、《永別了，武器》（A FareweH幻Arms，1929）、《喪鐘為誰而嗚>（For Whom the BeH ToHs，1940）以及短篇小說《雨中的貓》（Cat in the Rain，1925）、《在我們時代里》（In Our Time，1925）、《沒有女人的男人》（ Men without Women，1927）、《乞力馬扎羅的雪）XThe Snow of Kilimanjaro，1932）等。這位素有“文壇硬漢”之稱的作家晚年卻自殺身亡。

受在《堪城星報>做記者時的寫作經(jīng)歷的影響，海明威的寫作風格以惜墨如金著稱，對美國文學及20世紀文學的發(fā)展有極為深遠的影響。下面選的是海明威的短篇小說《雨中的貓》，其創(chuàng)作風格和海明威其他作品一樣，文字簡潔，很多東西作者都沒有寫出來，但讀者卻完全可以領(lǐng)會得到。

There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea.talianS came from a long way off to look up at the war monument. It was made of bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees. Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke ina long line in the rain and slipped back down the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war monument. Across the square in the doorway of the cafe a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.

The American wife stood at the window looking out. Outside right under their window a cat was crouched under one of the dripping green tables. The cat was trying to make herself so compact that she would not be dripped on.

“l(fā)'m going down and get that kitty，”theAmerican wife said. “I'll do it，”her husband offered from the bed.

“No， l'II get it. The poor kitty out trying to keep dry under a table.”

The husband went on reading， lying propped up with the two pillows at the foot of the bed.

“Don't get wet，”he said.

The wife went downstairs and the hotel owner stood up and bowed to her as she passed the office. His desk was at the far end of the office. He was an old man and very tall.

“l(fā)l piove，”the wife said. She liked the hotel-keeper.

“Si， si， Signora， brutto tempo. It is very bad weather.”

He stood behind his desk in the far end of the dim room. The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he wanted to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old， heavy face and big hands.

Liking him she opened the door and looked out. It was raining harder. A man in a rubber cape was crossing the empty square to the cafe. The cat would be around to the right. Perhaps she could go along under the eaves. As she behind her. It was the maid who looked after their room.

“You must not get wet，”she smiled， speaking ItaIian. Of course， the hotel-keeper had sent her.

With the maid holding the umbrella over her， she walked along the gravel path until she was under their window. The table was there， washed bright green in the rain， but the cat was gone. She was suddenly disappointed. The maid looked up at her.

“Ha perduto qualque cosa， Signora？”

“There was a cat，”said the American girl.

“A cat？”

“Si， il gatto.”

“A cat？”the maid laughed.“A cat in the rain？”

“Yea，”she said， “under the table.”Then，“Oh， I wanted it so much. I wanted a kitty.”

When she talked English the maid's face tightened.“Come， Signora，”she said.“Wemust get back inside. You will be wet.”

“I suppose so，”said the American girl.

They went back along the gravel path and passed in the door. The maid stayed outside to close the umbrella.

As the American girl passed the office， the padrone bowed from his desk. Something felt very small and tight inside the girl. The padrone made her feel very small and at the same time really important. She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance. She went on up the stairs. She opened the door of the room. George was on the bed， reading.

“Did you get the cat？”he asked， putting the book down.

“It was gone.”

“Wonder where it went to，”he said， resting his eyes from reading.

She sat down on the bed.

“I wanted it so much，”she said.“I don't know why I wanted it so much. I wanted that poor kitty. It isn't any fun to be a poor kitty out in the rain.”

George was reading again.

She went over and sat in front of the mirror of the dressing table looking at herself with the handglass. She studied her profile， first one side and then the other. Then she studied the back of her head and her neck.

“Don't you think it would be a good idea if l let my hair grow out？”she asked， looking at her profile again.

George looked up and saw the back of her neck clipped close like a boy's.

“I like it the way it is.”

“I get so tired of it，”she said. “I get so tired of looking like a boy.”

George shifted his position in the bed. He hadn't looked away from her since she stared to speak.

“You look pretty darn nice，”he said.

She laid the mirror down on the dresser and went over to the window and looked out. It was getting dark.

“I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I can feel，”she said. “I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her.”

“Yeah？”George said from the bed.

“And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles. And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of a mirror and I want a kitty and I want some new clothes.”

“Oh， shut up and get something to read，” George said. He was reading again.

His wife was looking out of the window. It was quite dark now and still raining in the palm trees.

“Anyway， I want a cat，”she said， “I want a cat. I want a cat now. If I can't have long hair or any fun I can have a cat.”

George was not listening. He was reading his book. His wife looked out of the window where the light had come on in the square.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Avanti，”George said. He looked up from his book.

In the doorway stood the maid. She held a big tortoise-shell cat pressed tight against her and swung down against her body.

“Excuse me，”she said， “the padroneasked me to bring this for the Signora.”

旅館里，留宿的美國客人只有兩個。他們打房間里出出進進，經(jīng)過樓梯時，一路上碰到的人他們都不認識。他們的房間就在面對海的二樓。房間還面對公園和戰(zhàn)爭紀念碑。公園里有大棕櫚樹，綠色的長椅。天氣好的時候，常常可以看到一個帶著畫架的藝術(shù)家。藝術(shù)家們都喜歡棕櫚樹那種長勢，喜歡面對著公園和海的旅館的那種鮮艷的色彩。意大利人老遠趕來望著戰(zhàn)爭紀念碑。紀念碑是用青銅鑄成的，在雨里閃閃發(fā)光。天正在下雨。雨水打棕櫚樹滴下來。石子路上有一潭潭的積水。海水夾著雨滾滾地沖了過來，又順著海灘滑回去，再過一會兒，又夾著雨滾滾地沖過來。停……