红字

王希茜

原作節选|

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（绞刑台）， 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（罪恶）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（炽热的）！ 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.

人群一片哗然。可牧师和官员们无法相信眼前所见的，只好保持沉默。他们看到赫斯特用手臂挽着年轻的牧师，他的手紧握着珍珠的小手，三个人一起登上了绞刑台。老罗杰·齐林沃斯紧随在后。

“这是你能找到的唯一一处可以摆脱我的地方吗？”齐林沃斯低声道，“就是这座绞刑台！”

“是上帝引领我到这里来的！”丁梅斯代尔先生说，“我为此感谢上帝。”然而，他转身面对赫斯特时发抖了。“这样做不是比我们在树林中计划的更好吗？”

“我不知道！”她急切地回答，“会更好吗？我们俩也许都会死，还有小珍珠陪葬！”

“上帝会判定一切，而上帝是仁慈的！”牧师说，“让我按上帝的指示去做吧。我已经是个垂死的人。赫斯特，那就让我在临死前承担起我的耻辱吧！”

他转过身俯看人群。

“新英格兰的人们！”他喊道，“你们一直热爱着我！现在请看着我，我和这个女人一起站在这里。在过去漫长的七年里，你们称她为罪人，并且憎恨她。你们看到她胸前的红字，也曾穿过街道躲避她。但就在你们中间，有一个人，他的罪孽和耻辱不为你们所知！”他向前迈了一步，离开了母女二人。“可上帝知道他的所作所为，魔鬼也知道！如今，在他濒死之际，你们也应该知道他是谁！他就站在你们面前！你们再看看赫斯特的红字，它虽然神秘、可怕，但只不过是我胸前这东西的影子而已，看吧！看吧！你们自己看吧！”

他猛地扯开衬衣，向人们露出胸膛。

人群中发出惊恐的叫声。这一刻，牧师自豪地站在那里——就像一个终于战胜了痛苦与恐惧的人。随后，他就瘫倒在地上！

赫斯特托起他，让他的头靠在自己胸前。齐林沃斯跪在他身旁，表情空洞而呆滞。

“你总算逃脱了我！”齐林沃斯一再重复，“你总算逃脱了我！”

“愿上帝饒恕你吧！”牧师说，“你，同样罪孽深重！”他将失神的目光转向赫斯特和孩子。“我的小珍珠，”他的声音低得如同耳语一般，“你现在愿意亲吻我吗？”

珍珠亲吻了他，她的泪珠滑落在父亲的脸上。

“赫斯特！”牧师说，“别了！”

“我们难道不能再相会了吗？”她把脸贴近他的脸悄声说，“我们难道不能在天堂相聚吗？永远地在一起？”

“赫斯特，赫斯特，我不知道。”他说，“但上帝是仁慈的！他证明了他的仁慈。他给了我胸前这灼烧的痛苦！他派来那个阴森恐怖的老人，使那痛楚灼烧不停！他把我带到这里，让我在众人面前，死在耻辱之中！如果没有这些，我就要永世沉沦了！为此我感谢他，我感激上帝！别了！”

说完这最后一句话，牧师也停止了呼吸。

背景故事

Hester： 小说女主人公的名字，全名为Hester Prynne（赫斯特·普林）。作者在给人物起名时，综合运用了圣经故事、希腊神话、词形近似、谐音以及首字母暗合等方式，使得作品充满象征意味。譬如Hester使人联想到希腊神话中主神宙斯的姐姐Hestier（赫斯提亚）。作为炉灶女神、家宅的保护者，这个名字让人感受到热情与温暖，恰恰契合了女主人公热情、奔放的形象。Hester还是hastier（原型hasty， 表示轻率）的谐音。不论是她的婚姻，还是与年轻牧师的爱情，都算不上谨慎。书中其他三位主要人物Arthur Dimmesdale， Roger Chillingworth和Pearl的名字同样蕴含丰富意义。有兴趣的同学可以探究一番。

考点详解

Points

词语辨析：die， dead， dying， death

die： 作动词，意为“死亡”，指因生病、年老、负伤等原因而死，表示动作。动词的过去式和过去分词形式分别为：died， died，动词的现在分词形式为dying。如：He died of cancer. 他死于癌症。

dead：作形容词，指“死的；无生命的”，表示状态。如：The dog is dead. 狗死了。

提醒：动词die为非延续性动词，不能与表一段时间的状语连用；而dead表状态，可以与表一段时间的状语连用。如：1）His father died ten years ago. 2）His father has been dead for ten years.

dying： 作形容词，指“垂死的；要死的”，也可以作动词die的现在分词。如：This is a dying bird. 这是一只快要死了的鸟。比较：This is a dead bird. 这是一只死了的鸟。

death： 作名词，指“死亡”，可以作句子的主语或宾语。如：1） His fathers death makes him very sad. 他父亲的死让他很悲伤。（在句中作主语）2）He is afraid of death.他对死亡很恐惧。（在句中作宾语）