大家談Toni Morrison 之「所羅門之歌」（2）
（我們昨天發現英文文本，並續談些Toni 之小說。Hc自己也不見得能完全再現討論情況。努力以赴。特別謝謝參與之朋友。）
（小讀者解題；「--又發現那位singing woman的祖父原來叫Solomon...唉如此瞎子摸象東拼西湊地亂猜, 殊非讀書之道, 小讀者忽然覺得很慚愧...」）
******
hc 留言：「我們無意中雜談 Song of Soloman, 也是很有意思的brain storming
譬如說，Stone發現書名同「聖經 雅歌」ㄝ。……
對我而言有許多出乎意料的想法。譬如說，我對於lacing her fingers,…. Move now. Move!" She unlaced her fingers and made scooping motions with her hands, the palms pushing against the wintry air.
原先同意小讀者的「十指互扣相抵, 兩掌或對貼,」（這姿勢是權威性？緊張？）
不料之後老朋友等提到：「應該是「兩人兩雙手『廿』指緊扣…..」
難道會握小孩之手？（可能性不高，因為他們之間「黑白兩道」…….）
不過恰巧我在catv 再看到 Little Women結尾之鏡頭，竟然就是Jo將一隻玉手lacing到 Professor 之 a empty hand 去……讓我大驚……
於是我找原書看看：
竟然可能是『「兩人兩雙手『廿』指緊扣」』！」
Ah! Thou gifest me such hope and courage, and I haf nothing to gif back but a full heart and these empty hands, cried the Professor, quite overcome.
Jo never, never would learn to be proper, for when he said that as they stood upon the steps, she just put both hands into his, whispering tenderly, Not empty now, and stooping down, kissed her Friedrich under the umbrella.
*****
hc：「找到Song of Solomon
Written by Toni Morrison
第一章
http://www.bookclubs.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400033423&view=excerpt」
【參考資料：
3.1 Oral vs. literate culture and black vs. white race group
Song of Solomon begins with the suicide of a black insurance agent who jumps from the roof of a hospital officially called "Mercy," thinking he will be able to fly with two wings fashioned out of cloth.16 The scene introduces two of the novel''s most important thematical aspects: flying, on the one hand, a metaphorical motive we will look at more closely later on, and oral culture, on the other. Some critics have interpreted the beginning of Morrison''s novel as typical for oral storytelling.17……
…An order given by a white nurse to a black boy reveals the language barriers that separate the white from the black community: "Listen. Go around the back of the hospital to the guard''s office. It will say ''Emergency Admissions'' on the door. A-D-M-I-S-I-O-N-S. But the guard will be there."18 In contrast to the nurse''s standard English, the black boy addressed uses black vernacular when conversing with his mother: "You reckon he''ll jump?" – "A nutwagon do anything." (7). In this instance and throughout the novel, Morrison imitates spoken vernacular language in her text, representing both the lexical and grammatical structures and the phonetic aspect. The text thus acquires an oral quality.
（Philipp Mehne (Berlin) Writing and Orality in Toni Morrison''s Song of Solomon
）
http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin20/p20t2.htm】
*****stone 留言：「
這下我真的很難再捱了。 Song of Soloman, 雅歌ㄝ。
我對這部引起編織縫紉法、白袍在醫學文化史上之定位等討論的小說實在難提興趣，倒是因而覺得乾脆再讀讀聖經雅歌好了。
童妮小姐以此做為小說名，難道也是歌詠愛情？不太可能吧，也許按照直覺、猜測它在反諷愛情，可能還會比較接近。 ……..
我也很意外地讀完了 Toni Morrison''s Song of Solomon 的第一章，沒想到它還真有吸引力。有些當然不易懂，as hc said 它有太多美國歷史、社會、生活層面的俚語或特別的表示法，我 so far 只能在輕描淡寫、轉出再鞭入（呃，這種描述我也沒辦法，我意思是可以明顯感覺到她不直接寫某件事，卻用從邊緣看似繞過主題卻其實切入主題的深刻冷諷方式寫）的筆法裏享受很好聽，有如在大腦紋路上按摩通過的語感／字感。
hc 你讀的是 wo 改過稿的那個人的（呃，胡允桓）的譯本？可是在那第一章的網頁底下說這篇是 2004 年 Toni Morrison 的 copyright？ why? 胡允桓或＜譯評者＞還說他的譯本好到二十年後再看還是無有可需更動之處？我有點搞胡塗了。光是這一章應該就很難譯了，我覺得。
雅歌裏戀慕 Solomon 而與他對唱的那名美麗女子，是黑膚色的。我還沒仔細讀雅歌，現在只能找到這一個可能與這小說有一點關連的 hint. 」
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stone「hc 你讀的是 wo 改過稿的那個人的（呃，胡允桓）的譯本？可是在那第一章的網頁底下說這篇是 2004 年 Toni Morrison 的 copyright？ why? 胡允桓或＜譯評者＞還說他的譯本好到二十年後再看還是無有可需更動之處？我有點搞胡塗了。」
hc說過：「托妮．莫瑞森《所羅門之歌（【原出版年】一九七七）》（Song of Solomon）胡允桓譯，上海譯文（2005【hc之版本】；原翻譯於1987由「（北京）外國文學出版社」出版, 書名： 索羅門之歌）」。又，所謂copyright 2004 大概指如Obasan的新聞台所言：「如果你如此原樣轉載本網頁，你就吃…….」
stone：「光是這一章應該就很難譯了，我覺得。」
hc：「沒錯，類似這種書，沒多少人能翻好。我只是說說閒話。不過我們新將單字搞懂，譬如說，什麼是nutwagon等等….. 」
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小讀者 留言：「hohoho 沒想到這lacing引起這麼多討論(包括小讀者自己). 基本上這指頭交織動作小讀者想來就是發生在兩手之間, 至於這是一人之兩手十指(或八指), 或二人十指, 或二人廿指, 甚至三人廿指卅指, N人10(N-1)/10N指...就視情況而定了...
小讀者以為此處書中, 顯示這位護士的心理狀態, condescending + 耐住性子 + 輕蔑 + tension + 有一點害怕, 她那放慢的語調, 又把字拼出來 (結果拼錯, 反諷十足), 下意識兩手十指交織, 說完又兩手"鏟"空氣 (趕小孩快去, 或是嫌同一呼吸"空氣"空間的不淨?), 在在都反映出黑白之間整體的緊張關係.
至於所羅門的雅歌, 那是歌中之歌, 主題是愛, 又是歌, 也許是反映書中主題, 以及Morrison作品本身的音樂性?
真是很好看, 引人入勝的開章與文筆...小讀者哪有能耐領導, 只是作個斥候, 帶狗先去探查一下敵情...」
"Granny, she left out a s."
"And a 'please.' "
"You reckon he'll jump?"
"A nutwagon do anything."
"Who is he?"
"Collects insurance. A nutwagon. （瘋漢）
小讀者：「nutwagon: 見網址最後一圖（
http://www.rootsweb.com/~miclare/pstcard2.html）. 此處可能是借用nuts (eccentric) 之意吧? 」
"Who is that lady singing?"
"That, baby, is the very last thing in pea-time." But she smiled when she looked at the singing woman, so the cat-eyed boy listened to the musical performance with at least as much interest as he devoted to the man flapping his wings on top of the hospital.
胡譯「孩子，那是和平時期最壓場的一件事。」
小讀者 留言：「he last/end in/of pea time指最後一批收成的peas (六月到九月為pea time), 意指old, very old, sad and old. 據查是美國南方用語. 這裡是指歌老抑人老, 歌哀或人悲? 小讀者不知也, 胡譯云何? 」
小讀者：「last of pea time, 無論怎麼解, 應該都不是壓場壓軸, 好戲留後之意. 」
【wo 留言：末學我最喜歡瞎猜瞎譯，在小丁丁的解釋基礎下，不妨再瞎猜瞎譯一次：
"Who is that lady singing?""That, baby, is the very last thing in pea-time."
「那在唱歌的女人是啥人？」「小寶貝，不就是那個老得嗆的歐巴桑嗎。」 】
The crowd was beginning to be a little nervous now that the law was being called in. They each knew Mr. Smith. He came to their houses twice a month to collect one dollar and sixty-eight cents and write down on a little yellow card both the date and their eighty-four cents a week payment. They were always half a month or so behind, and talked endlessly to him about paying ahead--after they had a preliminary discussion about what he was doing back so soon anyway.
"You back in here already? Look like I just got rid of you."
胡先生譯：."「你又跑到這兒來啦？我覺得才把你甩掉呢。」
"I'm tired of seeing your face. Really tired."
胡先生譯：「看你們的臉我已經看煩了。真的煩了。」
小讀者留言：「這句話和前後兩句同, 也是人們"abused" Mr. Smith的言語之一, 而不是Mr. Smith 與他們對話的回答. 所以不是"你們"的臉.」
"I knew it. Soon's I get two dimes back to back, here you come. More regular than the reaper. Do Hoover know about you?"
胡先生譯：?"「我知道。只要我賺上兩毛錢回來，你就會跑到這兒來的。比收割莊稼的人還要準時。胡佛知道你這個人吧。」
小讀者留言：「back to back: 連著, 接連. 只要我連著賺上兩毛, 你老兄就又上門了.
grim reaper: 這裡的"the" reaper也許是指死神, 頭身披斗篷, 帶鐮刀, "收割"人命如"收成". 還是指聖經裡的sower and "reaper"?
soon's 想是 (as) soon as 的口語縮語?
胡佛, 應指那位美國"警總""終身"局長... 不知是半開玩笑威脅要密報他, 還是指他老兄情報這麼靈通, 應該被胡佛大人recruit了去.」
hc：「這Hoover，可能指美國總統Herbert Hoover, U.S. President，1929-1933任總統。1929年開始大蕭條，這一年要記著。這HOOVER向以工程、精密、簡樸生活聞名……」
小讀者留言：「校長說得有理, 從經濟觀點出發, 這位胡佛也可能胡佛總統, 股市大崩盤後, 他不肯透過聯邦提供就業機會, 結果尋求連任敗給了羅斯福.小讀者則是從死神抓人觀點, 聯想到胡佛局長的"白色"恐怖... :-) 」
hc：「『小讀者則是從死神抓人觀點, 聯想到胡佛局長的"白色"恐怖... :-) 』」這可能更對，我沒想到. Edgar Hoover任 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1924-72 ，半世紀…… 不過，暫時兩解釋都擱置….」
They kidded him, abused him, told their children to tell him they were out or sick or gone to Pittsburgh. But they held on to those little yellow cards as though they meant something--laid them gently in the shoe box along with the rent receipts, marriage licenses, and expired factory identification badges. Mr. Smith smiled through it all, managing to keep his eyes focused almost the whole time on his customers' feet. He wore a business suit for his work, but his house was no better than theirs. He never had a woman that any of them knew about and said nothing in church but an occasional "Amen." He never beat anybody up and he wasn't seen after dark, so they thought he was probably a nice man. But he was heavily associated with illness and death, neither of which was distinguishable from the brown picture of the North Carolina Mutual Life Building on the back of their yellow cards. Jumping from the roof of Mercy was the most interesting thing he had done. None of them had suspected he had it in him. Just goes to show, they murmured to each other, you never really do know about people.
The singing woman quieted down and, humming the tune, walked through the crowd toward the rose-petal lady, who was still cradling her stomach.
"You should make yourself warm," she whispered to her, touching her lightly on the elbow. "A little bird'll be here with the morning."
胡先生譯：「你要暖暖身子，」她對她低聲說，碰了碰她的臂肘。「隨著清晨，一隻小鳥就會到來啦。」
"Oh?" said the rose-petal lady. "Tomorrow morning?"
"That's the only morning coming."
胡先生譯：.「就是這唯一的未來的清晨。」
"It can't be," the rose-petal lady said. "It's too soon."
"No it ain't. Right on time."
胡先生譯：「不，不快。剛剛準時。」
The women were looking deep into each other's eyes when a loud roar went up from the crowd--a kind of wavy oo sound. Mr. Smith had lost his balance for a second, and was trying gallantly to hold on to a triangle of wood that jutted from the cupola. Immediately the singing woman began again:
胡先生譯：「兩個女人深深地盯住對方的眼睛，這時人群中掀起了一陣高聲的喧嘩---是一種波浪起伏的” "噢"的聲音。史密斯先生有一陣失去了平衡，但馬上瀟灑地抓住了圓頂上伸出的木製三角架。隨著，那唱歌的女人又開始了。」
老朋友：「這時人群中掀起了一陣高聲的喧嘩－是一種波浪起伏的 "噢" 的聲音？這會是怎樣的聲音？」
hc：「這人群（對「圓頂」（詳後文）上的史密斯的驚險之舉）的驚叫聲，當然要想像一下…..」
老朋友：「Hmm... 那應該是「此起彼落」的「噢、噢」驚叫聲吧？」
小讀者留言：「cupola: 美式殖民時代風格建築如銀行, 醫院, 教堂等頂上常戴有這頂"小帽子", 方圓不定, 具裝飾與實際功能, 帽底下或是小閣樓, 或為瞭望用, 或掛時鐘, 或掛鳴鐘, 或照明, 還有風向儀. 大型堂皇建築有它的大帽, 小木造建築也可有它的小帽.。
"a triangle" of wood, 作者這種寫法, 也許就表示"不知是什麼玩意的一截三角木"」
O Sugarman done fly【口歐】售糖人飛走了
O Sugarman done gone . . .
