The Story of an Hour

By Kate Chopin

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband’s death.

[2] It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband’s friend Richards was there, too,near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard’s name leading the list of “killed.” He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

[3] She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its signif i-cance. She wept at once, with sudden,wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

大家都知道马拉德夫人患有心脏病，所以在把她丈夫的死讯告诉她时都格外小心，尽量把话说得婉转一点。

[2]消息是马拉德的姐姐约瑟芬告诉她的。约瑟芬不敢直说，只能吞吞吐吐、遮遮掩掩地向她暗示。她丈夫的朋友理查兹当时也在场，就在她的身旁。铁路出事的消息传来时，理查兹正好就在报社。“遇难者”的名单中，布伦特里·马拉德的名字排在了首位。等到第二封电报证实了消息，他便急忙赶在那种做事轻率、鲁莽的朋友之前把不幸消息捎了过来。

[3]许多女人遇到这种情况，一定是手足无措，无法接受现实，可她不是这样。她立刻扑倒在姐姐的怀里，放声大哭起来。一阵悲痛过后，她独自回到自己的房间，不要任何人跟在她后面。

[4] There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair.Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

[5] She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.

[6] There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

[7] She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

[8] She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

[4]在敞开的窗户对面，摆放着一把舒适宽大的扶手椅。她疲惫不堪地把整个身体陷在了椅子里——这疲惫不仅占据了她的身体，似乎也侵入了她的灵魂。

[5]她看见屋外的露天广场上，树梢新芽吐翠，一派春意盎然。空气中弥漫着芬芳怡人的雨的气息。下面的街道上，一个小贩在叫卖东西。远处有人在唱着歌，歌声隐隐约约地传到了她的耳边，数不清的麻雀在屋檐下叽叽喳喳地叫个不停。

[6]从窗口望去，西边的天空上，云朵聚在一起，层层叠叠地堆积着，间或露出一片片蓝天。

[7]她坐在那儿，头向后靠在扶手椅的软垫上，一动也不动，只是在哽咽时身体偶尔颤动一下，就像一个哭着入睡的孩子在梦中仍在抽泣一样。

[8]她很年轻，漂亮的脸蛋上没有一丝儿表情，但从她面部的轮廓可以看出她内心的压抑，甚至还透出某种坚毅。可现在，她目光呆滞，紧紧凝视着远处的天空中那一片蓝天。不像是在沉思，更像一时放空了大脑。

[9] There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully.What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.

[10] Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will—as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been. When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!”The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

[11] She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her,fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.

[9]有一种感觉朝她的心头袭来，她在惶恐地等待着。是什么？她并不知道。这感觉太微妙，说不清，也道不明。可她感觉得出来，它正从空中悄悄而来，穿过弥漫于空气中的声音、气味和颜色朝她走来。

[10]这时候，她心潮澎湃。她开始意识到，那渐渐逼近、快要占据她的是什么。 她挣扎着，企图用自己的意志力去打败它——可这意志却像她那双雪白纤细的手一样软弱无力。当她放弃挣扎时，从她微启的双唇低声蹦出了几个字。这几个字，她一连重复了好几遍：“自由了，自由了，自由了！”随之而来的那种茫然与惶恐从她的眼神里消失了，她的目光变得热切而炯炯有神。她的脉搏在快速跳动，沸腾的血液温暖了她身体的每一个地方，让她感到浑身轻松。

[11]她并没有停下来问自己，此时此刻，她满心欢喜是不是很邪恶。一种清晰、兴奋的感觉让她根本无暇顾及这些个微不足道的琐事。她知道，当她见到丈夫那双温柔亲切的双手变得僵硬，那张从来都不会对她吝啬爱意的面孔变得毫无表情、灰白如纸的时候，她肯定还是会哭的。然而，在这痛苦之后，她看到了长远的未来，那些完全属于她自己的未来岁月。她张开双臂去迎接它们。

[12] There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

[13] And yet she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

[14] “Free! Body and soul free!” she kept whispering.

[15] Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. “Louise,open the door! I beg; open the door—you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise? For heaven’s sake open the door.”

[16] “Go away. I am not making my-self ill.” No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.

[12]在即将到来的岁月里，她不再为别人活着，她要为自己而活。再也没有任何强大的意志让她屈服——人们总是盲目地坚信，他们有权将个人的意志强加于别人。在这茅塞顿开的刹那间，她觉得，无论是出于善意还是恶意，这种行为都无异于犯罪。

[13]不过，她还是爱过他——至少有时是爱他的，但更多的时候，她并不爱他。那又有什么关系呢！她突然意识到，她拥有了自我，只有这自我才是她活着的最大动力；而爱情，这个未解之谜，如何能与之相比！

[14]“自由了！身心这下都自由了！”她不停地喃喃自语。

[15]约瑟芬跪在紧闭的房门前，嘴对着锁孔，恳求让她进去。“路易丝，开开门！求求你，把门打开——你这样会病倒的。路易丝，你这是干什么呀？看在上帝的分上，快把门打开。”

[16]“你走吧。我不会让自己病倒的。”当然不会。她正透过那敞开的窗子，吮吸着一种真正的长生不老药呢！

[17] Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days,and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long.It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

[18] She arose at length and opened the door to her sister’s importunities.There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister’s waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

[19] Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travelstained, composedly carrying his gripsack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine’s piercing cry; at Richards’ quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

But Richards was too late.

[20] When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease—of the joy that kills3这篇小说最大的争议点：“他们说，她死于心脏病——是极度欢喜要了她的命！”这是医生的结论。其实,她的死是因为极度的失望，是对未来希望的破灭的结果：“不自由,毋宁死。”. ■

[17]她纵情地幻想着未来的岁月将会如何。春天，夏天，还有所有那些属于她自己的日子。她匆匆地做了一个祷告，祈祷生命能长久一些。而就在昨天，一想到生命那么漫长，她就不寒而栗。

[18]最后，她站了起来,在姐姐的再三恳求下打开了房门。她的眼里充满了胜利的激情，并情不自禁地摆出了一副胜利女神的姿态。她搂住姐姐的腰，一起走下了楼梯。理查兹站在下面等着她们。

[19]这时，有人用钥匙开着前门。进来的正是布伦特里·马拉德，只见他风尘仆仆，手里提着他的旅行包和雨伞，一副若无其事的样子。事发当时，他离现场很远，甚至根本就不知道发生了事故。他愣在那儿，不明白约瑟芬为什么会发出刺耳的尖叫，更不明白理查兹为什么会飞快地窜到他的面前，挡住他不让妻子看见。

不过，理查兹的反应还是太晚了。

[20]医生赶到的时候，他们说，她死于心脏病——是极度欢喜要了她的命！ □