了解更多:雅思:常规本意&熟词僻义目录
作者:William Faulkner 威廉·福克纳
首次出版:1931 年 3 月
首次收录于:《The American Mercury》《美国信使》
(首发原题《That Evening Sun Go Down》)
出版背景:美国,以杂志刊载形式推出
收录说明:同年收录于短篇集《These 13》《这十三篇》,
集内版本定名《That Evening Sun》《夕阳》
创作背景:
属于约克纳帕塔法系列小说。
以昆丁·康普生的孩童视角叙事,
聚焦黑人女佣南希的恐惧,
折射美国南方种族压迫与底层弱者的无助。

英文原文
Fifteen years ago,
on Monday morning the quiet, dusty, shady streets
would be full of Negro women,
with bundles of clothes balanced on their heads.
They carried laundry between white kitchens
and the cabins in Negro Hollow.
Nancy was one of them.
She washed for our family.
We children, Quentin, Caddy and Jason,
would often run down the lane to call her.
Nancy was afraid of her husband Jesus.
He was a short black man with a razor scar down his face.
She believed Jesus would kill her,
because she was carrying a child that was not his.
Jesus had left town once,
but Nancy thought he had slipped back in the dark.
She dared not walk home alone along the ditch after dusk.
The dark lane seemed to swallow her.
“Jesus out there,” she would whisper,
her eyes wide and fixed on the shadowy yard.
Father would walk her toward her cabin sometimes.
Mother disliked this,
and said Nancy’s fears were not their responsibility.
We children followed them,
not fully understanding what terror meant.
We only felt the heavy, quiet dread hanging in the air.
When we reached her small cabin,
Nancy hurried inside,
lit the dim kerosene lamp,
and slid the wooden bar across the door.
She would sit before the low fire,
not speaking much,
as if waiting for something terrible to step out of the night.
Caddy asked what would happen if Jesus came.
Father told her nothing would happen.
But his voice was not sure.
We left Nancy there,
alone with the lamp and the fire.
Looking back from the ditch,
we could see her small figure through the open doorway.
The moonlight tangled with black shadows all along the lane.
The dark did not make a sound.
It only watched.
We walked back toward our white house,
and the quiet fear stayed behind us,
trapped inside Nancy’s cabin,
held by the evening sun that would not keep the dark away.
译文
十五年前,
每逢周一清晨,那些安静、尘土飞扬、树荫遮蔽的街道上,
总能看见黑人妇女,
头顶捆好的衣物包袱。
她们往返于白人家庭的厨房
和黑人聚居区的小屋之间送洗衣物。
南希就是其中一人。
她为我们家洗衣干活。
我们几个孩子,昆丁、凯蒂和杰森,
常常跑到小路那头喊她过来。
南希很害怕她的丈夫耶稣。
他个子不高,脸上有一道剃刀留下的疤痕。
南希相信耶稣会杀了她,
因为她怀了别人的孩子,不是耶稣的。
耶稣曾经离开小镇,
可南希总觉得他已经趁着夜色悄悄回来了。
黄昏之后,她不敢独自沿着沟渠走回家。
那条幽暗的小路仿佛要把她吞没。
“耶稣就在外面。”她会低声念叨,
眼睛睁得大大的,死死盯着幽暗的院子。
父亲有时会护送她往小屋走。
母亲并不赞同,
说南希的恐惧不该由我们家承担。
我们几个孩子跟在后面,
还不能完全明白恐惧究竟意味着什么。
我们只察觉到空气中沉甸甸、凝滞的不安。
走到她狭小的木屋时,
南希快步进屋,
点亮昏暗的煤油灯,
插上木门的横闩。
她坐在微弱的火堆前,
话很少,
仿佛在等着什么可怕的东西从夜色里现身。
凯蒂问,如果耶稣来了会发生什么。
父亲说不会有事。
可他的语气并不笃定。
我们把南希留在那里,
陪着一盏灯和一堆柴火。
走到沟渠边回头望去,
我们能透过敞开的门看见她小小的身影。
月光和浓重的阴影交织,铺满整条小路。
黑暗悄无声息。
它只是静静窥视。
我们走回白人的大房子,
那份沉寂的恐惧留在身后,
困在南希的小木屋里,
任凭夕阳落下,也挡不住漫上来的黑夜。
🔍长难句赏析与拆解
原句一
Fifteen years ago,
on Monday morning the quiet, dusty, shady streets
would be full of Negro women,
with bundles of clothes balanced on their heads.
句式解读
with复合结构作伴随状语,描绘南方小镇日常景象;
would be 用于描写过去习惯性场景,奠定怀旧、疏离的叙事基调。
句子主干
The streets would be full of Negro women.
原句二
She believed Jesus would kill her,
because she was carrying a child that was not his.
句式解读
because引导原因状语从句,从句内部嵌套that引导的定语从句,
交代南希恐惧的根源,句子简洁,却暗藏悲剧张力。
句子主干
She believed Jesus would kill her.
原句三
Looking back from the ditch,
we could see her small figure through the open doorway.
句式解读
现在分词短语作方式状语,视角是孩童的回望,
画面感强,用客观的旁观视角烘托南希的孤立无援。
句子主干
We could see her small figure.
📖全篇句式特点
福克纳采用孩童限知视角,语言克制平缓。
长句铺陈环境、交代背景;短句承载对话与心理暗示。
大量静态景物描写,不直接渲染暴力,
以夜色、阴影、孤灯营造压抑氛围。
叙事表层平淡,底层暗藏种族秩序带来的绝望,
留白多,依靠画面暗示人物命运。
核心词汇
1. bundle
/ˈbʌndl/
捆,包裹
名词(n.)
2. laundry
/ˈlɔːndri/
待洗的衣物,洗衣活
名词(n.)
3. razor
/ˈreɪzə(r)/
剃刀
名词(n.)
4. dusk
/dʌsk/
黄昏,薄暮
名词(n.)
5. ditch
/dɪtʃ/
沟渠,水沟
名词(n.)
6. kerosene
/ˈkerəsiːn/
煤油
名词(n.)
7. cabin
/ˈkæbɪn/
简陋小屋
名词(n.)
8. tangle
/ˈtæŋɡl/
纠缠,缠绕
动词(v.)
9. dread
/dred/
恐惧,畏惧
名词(n.)
📜文学赏析
《夕阳》是福克纳极具代表性的短篇。
以孩童纯真懵懂的眼光,旁观黑人女性南希的生存困境。
南希的恐惧,不只是来自丈夫的威胁,
更是整个南方种族环境下底层黑人无处可逃的宿命。
白人雇主抱有同情,却不愿真正承担责任,
这种温和的旁观,也是一种冷漠。
标题“夕阳”具有象征意义:落日看似温暖,
无法驱散黑夜,也保护不了弱势者。
💡主旨品读
小说揭露旧南方种族秩序里的不公。
弱者的恐惧常常被他人漠视、轻描淡写。
孩童视角拉开一层距离,
让残酷的现实变得更加寒凉。
故事告诉读者:很多苦难无声无息,
旁人的短暂怜悯,不足以对抗根深蒂固的压迫。
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