白痴 英文版 The Idiot
陀思妥耶夫斯基 Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Idiot VI. Page 2
"I remember--I remember it all!" he cried. "I was captain then.You were such a lovely little thing--Nina Alexandrovna!--Gania,listen! I was received then by General Epanchin."
"Yes, and look what you have come to now!" interrupted Mrs.Epanchin. "However, I see you have not quite drunk your betterfeelings away. But you've broken your wife's heart, sir--andinstead of looking after your children, you have spent your timein public-houses and debtors' prisons! Go away, my friend, standin some corner and weep, and bemoan your fallen dignity, andperhaps God will forgive you yet! Go, go! I'm serious! There'snothing so favourable for repentance as to think of the past withfeelings of remorse!"
There was no need to repeat that she was serious. The general,like all drunkards, was extremely emotional and easily touched byrecollections of his better days. He rose and walked quietly tothe door, so meekly that Mrs. Epanchin was instantly sorry for him.
"Ardalion Alexandrovitch," she cried after him, "wait a moment,we are all sinners! When you feel that your conscience reproachesyou a little less, come over to me and we'll have a talk aboutthe past! I dare say I am fifty times more of a sinner than youare! And now go, go, good-bye, you had better not stay here!" sheadded, in alarm, as he turned as though to come back.
"Don't go after him just now, Colia, or he'll be vexed, and thebenefit of this moment will be lost!" said the prince, as the boywas hurrying out of the room.
"Quite true! Much better to go in half an hour or so said Mrs.Epanchin.
"That's what comes of telling the truth for once in one's life!"said Lebedeff. "It reduced him to tears."
"Come, come! the less YOU say about it the better--to judge fromall I have heard about you!" replied Mrs. Epanchin.
The prince took the first opportunity of informing the Epanchinladies that he had intended to pay them a visit that day, if theyhad not themselves come this afternoon, and Lizabetha Prokofievnareplied that she hoped he would still do so.
By this time some of the visitors had disappeared.
Ptitsin had tactfully retreated to Lebedeff's wing; and Ganiasoon followed him.
The latter had behaved modestly, but with dignity, on thisoccasion of his first meeting with the Epanchins since therupture. Twice Mrs. Epanchin had deliberately examined him fromhead to foot; but he had stood fire without flinching. He wascertainly much changed, as anyone could see who had not met himfor some time; and this fact seemed to afford Aglaya a good dealof satisfaction.
"That was Gavrila Ardalionovitch, who just went out, wasn't it?"she asked suddenly, interrupting somebody else's conversation tomake the remark.
"Yes, it was," said the prince.
"I hardly knew him; he is much changed, and for the better!"
"I am very glad," said the prince.
"How has he changed for the better?" asked Mrs. Epanchin. "Idon't see any change for the better! What's better in him? Wheredid you get THAT idea from? WHAT'S better?"
"There's nothing better than the 'poor knight'!" said Colia, whowas standing near the last speaker's chair.
"I quite agree with you there!" said Prince S., laughing.
"So do I," said Adelaida, solemnly.
"WHAT poor knight?" asked Mrs. Epanchin, looking round at theface of each of the speakers in turn. Seeing, however, thatAglaya was blushing, she added, angrily:
"What nonsense you are all talking! What do you mean by poorknight?"
"It's not the first time this urchin, your favourite, has shownhis impudence by twisting other people's words," said Aglaya,haughtily.
Every time that Aglaya showed temper (and this was very often),there was so much childish pouting, such "school-girlishness," asit were, in her apparent wrath, that it was impossible to avoidsmiling at her, to her own unutterable indignation. On theseoccasions she would say, "How can they, how DARE they laugh atme?"
This time everyone laughed at her, her sisters, Prince S., PrinceMuishkin (though he himself had flushed for some reason), andColia. Aglaya was dreadfully indignant, and looked twice aspretty in her wrath.
"He's always twisting round what one says," she cried.
"I am only repeating your own exclamation!" said Colia. "A monthago you were turning over the pages of your Don Quixote, andsuddenly called out 'there is nothing better than the poorknight.' I don't know whom you were referring to, of course,whether to Don Quixote, or Evgenie Pavlovitch, or someone else,but you certainly said these words, and afterwards there was along conversation . . . "
"You are inclined to go a little too far, my good boy, with yourguesses," said Mrs. Epanchin, with some show of annoyance.
"But it's not I alone," cried Colia. "They all talked about it,and they do still. Why, just now Prince S. and Adelaida Ivanovnadeclared that they upheld 'the poor knight'; so evidently theredoes exist a 'poor knight'; and if it were not for AdelaidaIvanovna, we should have known long ago who the 'poor knight'was."
"Why, how am I to blame?" asked Adelaida, smiling.
"You wouldn't draw his portrait for us, that's why you are toblame! Aglaya Ivanovna asked you to draw his portrait, and gaveyou the whole subject of the picture. She invented it herself;and you wouldn't."
"What was I to draw? According to the lines she quoted:
"'From his face he never liftedThat eternal mask of steel.'"
"What sort of a face was I to draw? I couldn't draw a mask."
"I don't know what you are driving at; what mask do you mean?"said Mrs. Epanchin, irritably. She began to see pretty clearlythough what it meant, and whom they referred to by the generallyaccepted title of "poor knight." But what specially annoyed herwas that the prince was looking so uncomfortable, and blushinglike a ten-year-old child.
"Well, have you finished your silly joke?" she added, and am I tobe told what this 'poor knight' means, or is it a solemn secretwhich cannot be approached lightly?"
But they all laughed on.
"It's simply that there is a Russian poem," began Prince S.,evidently anxious to change the conversation, "a strange thing,without beginning or end, and all about a 'poor knight.' A monthor so ago, we were all talking and laughing, and looking up asubject for one of Adelaida's pictures--you know it is theprincipal business of this family to find subjects for Adelaida'spictures. Well, we happened upon this 'poor knight.' I don'tremember who thought of it first--"
"Oh! Aglaya Ivanovna did," said Colia.
"Very likely--I don't recollect," continued Prince S.
"Some of us laughed at the subject; some liked it; but shedeclared that, in order to make a picture of the gentleman, shemust first see his face. We then began to think over all ourfriends' faces to see if any of them would do, and none suitedus, and so the matter stood; that's all. I don't know why NicolaiArdalionovitch has brought up the joke now. What was appropriateand funny then, has quite lost all interest by this time."
"Probably there's some new silliness about it," said Mrs.Epanchin, sarcastically.
"There is no silliness about it at all--only the profoundestrespect," said Aglaya, very seriously. She had quite recoveredher temper; in fact, from certain signs, it was fair to concludethat she was delighted to see this joke going so far; and acareful observer might have remarked that her satisfaction datedfrom the moment when the fact of the prince's confusion becameapparent to all.
"'Profoundest respect!' What nonsense! First, insane giggling,and then, all of a sudden, a display of 'profoundest respect.'Why respect? Tell me at once, why have you suddenly developedthis 'profound respect,' eh?"
"Because," replied Aglaya gravely, "in the poem the knight isdescribed as a man capable of living up to an ideal all his life.That sort of thing is not to be found every day among the men ofour times. In the poem it is not stated exactly what the idealwas, but it was evidently some vision, some revelation of pureBeauty, and the knight wore round his neck, instead of a scarf, arosary. A device--A. N. B.--the meaning of which is notexplained, was inscribed on his shield--"
"No, A. N. D.," corrected Colia.
"I say A. N. B., and so it shall be!" cried Aglaya, irritably."Anyway, the 'poor knight' did not care what his lady was, orwhat she did. He had chosen his ideal, and he was bound to serveher, and break lances for her, and acknowledge her as the idealof pure Beauty, whatever she might say or do afterwards. If shehad taken to stealing, he would have championed her just thesame. I think the poet desired to embody in this one picture thewhole spirit of medieval chivalry and the platonic love of a pureand high-souled knight. Of course it's all an ideal, and in the'poor knight' that spirit reached the utmost limit of asceticism.He is a Don Quixote, only serious and not comical. I used not tounderstand him, and laughed at him, but now I love the 'poorknight,' and respect his actions."
So ended Aglaya; and, to look at her, it was difficult, indeed,to judge whether she was joking or in earnest.
"Pooh! he was a fool, and his actions were the actions of afool," said Mrs. Epanchin; "and as for you, young woman, youought to know better. At all events, you are not to talk likethat again. What poem is it? Recite it! I want to hear this poem!I have hated poetry all my life. Prince, you must excuse thisnonsense. We neither of us like this sort of thing! Be patient!"
They certainly were put out, both of them.
The prince tried to say something, but he was too confused, andcould not get his words out. Aglaya, who had taken such libertiesin her little speech, was the only person present, perhaps, whowas not in the least embarrassed. She seemed, in fact, quitepleased.
She now rose solemnly from her seat, walked to the centre of theterrace, and stood in front of the prince's chair. All looked onwith some surprise, and Prince S. and her sisters with feelingsof decided alarm, to see what new frolic she was up to; it hadgone quite far enough already, they thought. But Aglaya evidentlythoroughly enjoyed the affectation and ceremony with which shewas introducing her recitation of the poem.
Mrs. Epanchin was just wondering whether she would not forbid theperformance after all, when, at the very moment that Aglayacommenced her declamation, two new guests, both talking loudly,entered from the street. The new arrivals were General Epanchinand a young man.
Their entrance caused some slight commotion.