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所屬教程:譯林版·一個陌生女人的來信:茨威格中短篇小說選

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2022年04月20日

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THE engine gave a hoarse shriek as the express drew up at Semmering station. A moment of silence followed, during which the carriages rested in the translucent mountain air. The train belched forth a traveller or two and swallowed down a couple of fresh arrivals. Peppery exclamations shuttlecocked to and fro. Again the locomotive uttered a raucous cry as it started off, dragging a dark serpent behind it, to disappear into the tunnel’s maw. A healing peace once more pervaded the landscape, and the windswept atmosphere was good to breathe.

One of the men who had stepped out of the train was young, and of agreeable aspect. He was stylishly dressed and debonair, with an elasticity of gait which brought him to the cabstand well in advance of the other passengers. He engaged the solitary vehicle, and was conveyed without haste to the hotel he had selected. Spring was in the air. A few white clouds, glinting and glowing in the sky, such clouds as are seen only in the months of May and June, seemed to be playing at catch-ascatch-can in the blue, only to hide themselves from the observer’s eye behind the scaling mountains, there to embrace and flee, to wave a lilywhite hand, as it were, then to melt away into nothingness, reappear, and finally to settle down as night-caps on the neighbouring hills.

A restless, insurgent wind rustled among the lean and raindrenched trees, so that their limbs groaned, and thousands of waterdrops were scattered on the ground. Chill currents of snow-laden air descended from the peaks, until one caught one’s breath in the keen, sharp atmosphere. The heavens and the earth were both in a yeasty ferment of impatience. The cab rattled along to the accompaniment of the leisurely trot of the horses and the silvery tinkle of the bells with which the harness was adorned.

On arriving at the hotel the young man’s first move was to consult the list of guests. Not a name that he knew was to be found!

“What the devil have I come here for?” he communed. “No office could be worse than this lonesome place with not a soul for company. Obviously I am too early in the season or too late. My vacations never seem to strike it lucky. Not a creature of my acquaintance among the whole bally lot of them. At least one or two women might have graced the list, so that I could have whiled away my one short week in a mild flirtation.”

The youth, a scion of the minor Austrian nobility and employeem the Treasury, had decided to give himself this week’s holiday, not because he was in need of a rest but because his colleagues were off on a jaunt and he did not see why he should not follow their example. Though by no means lacking in philosophical capacity, Baron Otto von Sternfeldt was essentially of a sociable disposition, and was popular in the circles he frequented. He found solitude irksome, soon tired of his own company, and avoided every occasion for being alone since he felt scant inclination to get to know himself better. If his talents were to flourish, the warmth of his heart to glow into a flame, and his natural high spirits to find vent, he needed constantly to rub shoulders with men and women. By himself he felt cold and lifeless like a match unlighted in a box.

He now wandered aimlessly about in the empty lounge, disconsolately fingering the papers and magazines; then he tried the music-room and strummed a waltz on the piano, but his fingers were stiff and clumsy, refusing to impart the necessary swing and rhythm to the tune. Utterly depressed, he threw himself into an easy-chair and stared out of the window. The evening was drawing in, and grey mistwreaths lurked among the pines. For a full hour, he remained drearily watching the gathering shadows. Then he decided to go into the diningroom.

Very few tables were laid; and he cast a hasty glance at the persons sitting over their meal. Not a friend or an acquaintance to be seen! Ah, yes, over there was a face he knew—but it was merely that of a professional trainer to whom he gave a nod. Women there were none; not a sign of anything worth the attention of a charming young gentleman on pleasure bent. His vexation swelled into impatience.

Sternfeldt belonged to the category of those whose face is a fortune; one took a liking to him at first sight. He was always eager for new experiences, fresh adventures; he was never taken off his guard, because he kept perpetually on the alert to seize the skirts of happy chance; Cupid stood ready at his elbow to give him a hint at the first approach of amorous possibilities; he looked at every woman, be she the wife of a friend or the chambermaid who opened his bedroom door for him, with a searching eye which seemed to unclothe her. It is customary to call such men “Women hunters,” and there is much penetrating wisdom in the appellation, for they actually do possess many of the instincts of the huntsman, passionately stalking their prey, enjoying the excitement of bringing the quarry to bay, and revelling in the spiritual cruelty of the kill. They are perpetually ambushed for the spring, and refuse to give up the chase until the game is theirs. Passion swamps their whole being; not the passion of a lover, but the passion of a gambler, which is cool, calculating, and dangerous. Some continue thus their whole life long, persistent adventurers in the field of“l(fā)ove,” persons whose days are divided into countless petty and lustful episodes—a significant glance in passing, a suggestive smile, a touch of the knee to a neighbour at table—and the year is made up of hundreds of such days wherein sensuality is the main ingredient.

That evening, the baron found no one to take a hand in his favourite sport; and there is nothing so exasperating to the temper of a gamester as to sit with the cards in his hand awaiting the arrival of a partner. Otto asked the waiter to bring him a newspaper. His eyes ran down the columns and over the headlines; but his mind was elsewhere, and he read as though his senses were benumbed by drink.

Then a skirt rustled behind him, and he heard a clear voice say somewhat irritably and with an affectation of culture:

“Mais tais-toi donc, Edgar!”

A tall, finely built woman in a silk dress passed followed by a boy with a pale face and eyes filled with vague curiosity which seemed to caress his companion’s form. The couple sat down at a table reserved for them. Edgar was obviously on his best behaviour, and yet the restlessness in his dark eyes betrayed his real feelings. The lady—and she it was who absorbed the whole of the baron’s interest—was well groomed and dressed with taste. She was a type that the young man admired being a not too buxom Jewess just past the prime but not as yet blowzy, a woman still capable of passion, though keeping her natural sensuousness veiled behind an outward decorum. At first he was denied a look into her eyes, for she kept the lids resolutely lowered; but he could contemplate at leisure the arch of her brows meeting delicately over her finely chiselled nose, which, though it betrayed her race, gave a noble grace to a clear-cut and interesting profile. Her hair was as abundant and feminine as the other charms of the flesh, and swept in opulent waves over her head. She possessed the assurance of a woman whose beauty has been the open delight of everyone with whom she has come in contact. Her voice was soft and low as she gave her orders to the waiter and told her son, who was fiddling with his spoon and fork, to remember his manners and to sit still. Seemingly indifferent to what was going on around her she appeared to ignore the baron’s cautious scrutiny—though in reality her masked interest in him had been awakened by the fact that he was frankly interested in her.

The cloud upon the young man’s spirit had dispersed, and his face was serene. Lines and wrinkles of annoyance were smoothed away, his muscles became taut, the blood flooded his skin and gave it renewed life, his eyes sparkled. Having many a feminine attribute in his nature, he responded to the presence of an attractive woman, as a woman responds to the presence of a man. Sensuous pleasure stretched his energies to the full. The hunter scented the game. His eyes challenged hers to the tourney. But she, though giving him a furtive glance, refused to look him in the face and thus to pick up the gauntlet. It seemed to him, however, that a hint of a smile might be detected flitting around the corners of her mouth. He could not be sure, and this excited him the more. What contented him was the fact that she deliberately avoided his eyes. A good sign, he thought, for it might be interpreted as defiance and at the same time as embarrassment. Besides, her preoccupation with the child was too meticulous, and must undoubtedly be aimed at the onlooker. Nor was her conversation with the lad quite natural; she seemed, rather, to be talking at her observant neighbour. The forced repose of her manner was, Otto felt, the mark of an initial uneasiness.

His feelings were roused. The hunt was on. He lingered over his meal, staring at the woman incessantly during a full hour until at length he could have drawn every curve of her face, while his eyes had secretly caressed each nook and fold of her splendid body. A heavy shroud of darkness had fallen over the countryside, blotting out the forest whose trees continued to sob as though they were frightened children, for the rainclouds were stretching eager fingers towards them grey and full of menace. Shadows had gathered in the corners of the room, and an oppressive silence hung like a pall upon the groups clustered round the dining-tables. Sternfeldt noticed that the lady’s chatter with her son became more and more forced under the burden of this silence, became more and more artificial and soon would have to cease. A test occurred to his mind. He got up, and, walking very slowly, with his eyes glued on the window, he passed close to her without giving her a glance, and disappeared through the doorway. Suddenly he reappeared as if he had forgotten something and had come back to fetch it. She was caught in the trap, for he found that she had been gazing with lively interest at his retreating figure.

Baron Otto von Sternfeldt was enchanted at the success of his ruse, and waited patiently in the entrance hall. She soon came out of the dining-room holding her boy by the hand, fluttering the pages of some magazines as she passed the big hall table, and showed a few of the illustrations to the little boy. As if by chance, the baron too, approached the table, pretending he wanted to read a paper but in reality that he might get another glimpse into those lustrous eyes, perhaps, even, say a word or two....However, the woman turned abruptly away not deigning to give him so much as a glance. She tapped her son lightly on the shoulder, saying with affectionate decision.

“Viens, Edgar. Au lit!”

A trifle crestfallen, Otto stared after her. He had fully expected to make acquaintance that very night. The postponement was a disappointment. And yet, it must be agreed, the situation was not lacking in charm. A zest had been added to the adventure. The incident goaded him to enhance desire. He had to admit that a partner had come his way, and he could now play his hand.

機車沙啞地吼叫著,塞默林到了。黑色的列車在山上銀白色燈光的照耀下停了一分鐘,下來幾個穿著五顏六色衣服的乘客,又上了幾個人。到處是惱人的噪音。接著,前面的機車又沙啞地嘶鳴起來,扯動黑色的車鏈,嘎嘎地開了過去,沖進隧道的洞口。廣漠的景色又純凈地展現(xiàn)出來了,清晰的背景,被濕潤的風吹得分外明亮。

下車的人中有一位年輕人,他那考究的衣著,帶有天然彈性的步履,給人以好感。他迅速地走在別人前邊,叫了一輛去旅館的馬車。馬兒不慌不忙地在上坡路上得得地走著??諝饫锍錆M春意,那只有五六月才特有的潔白而輕盈的浮云,像穿著白色衣裳的輕佻的小伙子,在藍色的空中嬉戲奔跑,時而躲藏在高山背后,時而互相擁抱,又再度逃開,有時像手絹似的揉成一團,有時又散成絲片,末了又戲弄地給群山頭上戴上白色的帽子。風在高空奔馳,狂暴不羈地搖動著細長的沐雨的樹枝,直搖得根根枝丫咔咔作響,飛落下千百顆晶瑩的水滴。有時仿佛從山里飄來清涼的雪的芬芳,隨后又讓人呼吸到一種又甜又沖鼻的氣息??罩泻偷厣系囊磺卸荚隍}動,顯得極度的煩躁不寧。馬匹輕輕地噴著鼻息,往已是下坡的路上跑去。小鈴鐺在前邊叮叮當當作響。

一到旅館,這位年輕人就立即跑到旅客登記處,匆匆地稍一瀏覽,馬上就失望了?!拔腋蓡岬竭@里來?”他開始煩躁不安地自忖,“光在這里的山上待著,沒有社交,這比在辦公室還煩人。顯然,我來得不是太早就是太晚,每逢假期,我的運氣總是不好,登記本上沒有一個熟悉的名字。哪怕有幾個女人在這里也好,那就可以來次小小的必要時甚至是真摯的調情,而不至于索然寡味地度過這個星期?!边@位年輕人是個男爵,出身于名望不是那么太高的奧地利官僚貴族,現(xiàn)在總督府供職。他這次短短的休假并沒有特別必要,只是因為他的同事都休過了一星期春假,而他又并不愿意把自己的一周假期送給國家。他雖然不乏才干,卻具有一種喜愛社交的秉性,喜歡在各種人物的圈子里出頭露面,并深知自己對于孤獨是一籌莫展的。他從來不喜歡深居簡出,盡可能地避免只身獨處,因為他根本不愿意閉門反躬自省。他知道,他需要人的摩擦面,以便使他內在的才華、他心底的熱情得以放縱,并燃起火光,而他一人獨處時則是冷冰冰的,毫無用處,就像那裝在匣子里的火柴。

他沮喪地在空無一人的前廳里踱來踱去,時而心不在焉地翻翻報紙,時而又在音樂室的鋼琴上彈一曲華爾茲,不過手不由己,老是彈不出正確的旋律。后來他煩躁地坐下,凝視著窗外。窗外夜幕正緩緩下垂,灰色的霧靄像蒸氣一樣從松林中升騰起來。他心煩意亂百無聊賴地在那里待了一個小時后走進了餐廳。

餐廳里才只有幾張桌子坐了人,他都匆匆地投以一瞥。毫無所獲!只有那邊的一位教練——他是在跑馬場認識的——漫不經(jīng)心地招呼了他,還有一張面孔在環(huán)城路上見過,此外,什么也沒有了。沒有女人,沒有任何能夠引起一次——即便是短暫的也好——鐘情的對象。他本來就沮喪的情緒變得更加煩躁。像他這樣的年輕人,他們標致的面孔常使他們獲得成功,他們心里總是在為一次新的相遇,一次新的經(jīng)歷做好準備,他們總是急不可待地憧憬那未知的艷遇,他們對任何看來意外的事情都不會吃驚,因為一切早就在他們預料之中了,他們的眼睛不會放過任何性愛的東西,因為他們投向每個女人的第一瞥目光,就是從肉欲上打量的,不管她是朋友的妻子,還是給他開門的女仆。如果以某種草率的鄙視態(tài)度把這些人稱作追逐女人的能手,那么無意中就會使這個字眼包含多少由觀察而得來的真理??!因為在他們身上確實集中了狩獵者各種強烈的本能:偵察、興奮和心靈的冷酷。他們的舉止總是落落大方,時刻準備著,一心想尋花問柳,并窮追不舍,不達目的決不罷休。他們總是充滿激情,但不是戀人那種高尚的激情,而是賭徒那種冷酷的、謀略的、危險的激情。他們當中有一些固執(zhí)的人,他們不僅把青年時期,而且單是由于等待機緣就把整個一生變成無窮無盡的追逐冒險,他們把一天分解成幾百次小的官能享樂——馬路上的一瞥、一個瞬息即逝的微笑、對坐時輕輕觸到的膝頭——把一年又分解為幾百個這樣的日子。對他們來說,官能享樂就是永遠潺潺流動的、富于滋養(yǎng)的、充滿刺激的生活的源泉。

然而這里卻沒有一個可供玩弄的對手,這一點,這位在用目光狩獵的人馬上就看清了。宛如一個賭徒手里拿著牌,滿懷信心地坐在綠色的賭桌旁,卻等不到一個對手。對一個賭徒來說,任何刺激都沒有這種刺激最使人惱火的了。男爵要了一份報紙,他的目光陰郁地在字行上移動,但思想?yún)s是麻木的,像是醉酒似的在這些鉛字上磕磕絆絆。

忽然他聽見背后有衣服的窸窣聲和一個略為有點生氣的裝腔作勢的聲音:“Mais taistoi donc,埃德加!”

一個穿著綢衣的女人走過他桌旁,衣服發(fā)出輕微的窸窣聲,旁邊投下高大而豐腴的身影,她后面跟著一個臉色蒼白的小男孩,他穿著黑絲絨上裝,目光好奇地掃了他一眼。這兩個人在對面為他們留著的桌旁坐下,孩子顯然竭力想使自己的舉止合乎禮節(jié),但是從他不安靜的黑眼珠來看卻又做不到。這位夫人——年輕男爵的注意力全在她身上——穿著十分整齊和優(yōu)雅,他非常喜歡她這種類型,這是一個快要進入中年的猶太女人,身材顯得稍為豐滿了些,熱情充沛,可又善于把自己的熱情隱藏在高雅的傷感后面。起初他還不敢看她的眼睛,只是欣賞她那兩道彎彎的、美麗的眉毛,在她那柔嫩的鼻子之上呈一弧形,那秀麗的鼻子雖然顯示了她的種族,但這高貴的造型卻也使她的輪廓顯得分明和可愛。她的頭發(fā)如同她豐滿的身體上一切女性的東西一樣,長得特別濃密??磥硭龑ψ约旱拿烂差H為自信,對于種種仰慕早已司空見慣。她輕聲地點了飯菜,并教訓正在叮叮當當玩叉子的男孩——做這一切的時候,她裝出一副漫不經(jīng)心的神態(tài),對男爵小心翼翼投來的目光,裝出不在意的樣子,而實際上正是由于他那目不轉睛的眼光才迫使她這般拘束和小心的。

男爵陰沉的臉一下子變得豁然開朗起來。眉開眼笑,精神煥發(fā),皺紋平整了,肌肉放開了,因此他的身材也一下子變得魁梧了,眼睛閃閃發(fā)光。他同那些需要男人在場才能煥發(fā)自己全部力量的女人完全一樣,只有情欲的刺激才能把他的精力全部調動起來。潛伏在他心里的獵手嗅出了這里有獵物。他的目光挑戰(zhàn)似的搜尋她的目光,要與之相遇。她的目光閃爍著猶豫的神態(tài),有時在移動中與他的目光交叉,但卻從不做什么明確的回答。他覺得她的嘴角有時也泛起一絲微笑。不過這一切都是那么模棱兩可,而使他激動的,卻正是這種不可捉摸的神情。唯一使他覺得有希望的,是她的目光常常在掃視,這意味著反抗和拘束,再加上她同孩子的談話顯得出奇的謹慎,這顯然是做給一個觀眾看的。他感覺到,過分強調這種惹人注意的鎮(zhèn)定正是用來掩飾她意馬心猿的一種手法。他自己也激動了:這場戲已經(jīng)開場了。他巧妙地拖長吃飯的時間,目光幾乎不停地把這位夫人緊緊盯了半個小時,直到他默畫了她臉上的每一根線條,能無形地觸摸她豐腴身體的每個部位為止。外面天色更暗了,大片雨云向樹林伸出灰色的雙手,樹林像孩子似的,因為恐怖而呻吟起來,擠入屋內的陰影也越來越濃了,沉默使屋里的人越加感到窘迫。他覺察到,在寂靜的威脅下,母親同孩子的談話變得越來越勉強,越來越不自然,話快說完了。這時他決定進行一次試探:他第一個站起身來,經(jīng)過她的身旁慢慢向門口走去,久久凝望著室外的景色。到了門口,他像是忘了什么東西似的,突然把頭轉過來,一下子就逮住了她:她活潑的目光正在望著他的背影呢。

這情景刺激了他,他在前廳里等待著。不一會兒她來了,拉著男孩。路過時順手翻了翻幾本雜志,給孩子看了幾張圖片。當男爵像是偶然地走到桌旁,裝著去找本雜志,實際是為了再進一步窺視她那濕潤晶瑩的目光,或許有機會同她搭訕時,她就轉過身子,輕輕拍著她兒子的肩膀說:“Viens,埃德加!Au lit!”說著就冷冷地從他身邊走了過去。男爵略為掃興地目送著她。本來他曾計劃要在今天晚上結識她的,而她這毫不留情的態(tài)度使他失望了。但歸根結底這抗拒之中包含著誘惑,而恰恰是這種讓人捉摸不定的態(tài)度刺激了他的欲望。無論如何,他已經(jīng)有了伙伴,這出戲可以演出了。

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