The Model (variant of Le Modèle)

Curving like a crescent moon, the little town of Etretat, with its white cliffs, its white, shingly beach and its blue sea, lay in the sunlight at high noon one July day. At either extremity of this crescent its two “gates,” the smaller to the right, the larger one at the left, stretched forth—one a dwarf and the other a colossal limb—into the water, and the bell tower, almost as tall as the cliff, wide below, narrowing at the top, raised its pointed summit to the sky.

七月里的一天，正午时分，阳光照耀下，小城埃特勒塔像一弯新月般蜿蜒着，白色的悬崖、白色的卵石海滩、蔚蓝的大海尽收眼底。这弯新月的两端各有一道“石门”，右边的较小，左边的较大，一个如矮人，一个似巨人，都向海水中伸展而去，而那几乎与悬崖同高的钟楼，下宽上窄，将它尖尖的顶端指向天空。

On the sands beside the water a crowd was seated watching the bathers. On the terrace of, the Casino another crowd, seated or walking, displayed beneath the brilliant sky a perfect flower patch of bright costumes, with red and blue parasols embroidered with large flowers in silk.

沙滩上，海水边坐着一群人，正观看着戏水的人们。赌场露台上，另一群人或坐或站，在灿烂的天空下，展示出一片色彩鲜艳的服饰花圃，红的蓝的阳伞上绣着丝线大花。

On the walk at the end of the terrace, other persons, the restful, quiet ones, were walking slowly, far from the dressy throng.

在露台尽头的步道上，另有几个人，安静而悠闲，远离那衣着光鲜的人群，缓步而行。

A young man, well known and celebrated as a painter, Jean Sumner, was walking with a dejected air beside a wheeled chair in which sat a young woman, his wife. A manservant was gently pushing the chair, and the crippled woman was gazing sadly at the brightness of the sky, the gladness of the day, and the happiness of others.

一位年轻男子，作为画家颇有名气，名叫让·萨姆纳，正带着郁郁寡欢的神情，走在一辆轮椅旁，椅中坐着一位年轻女子，是他的妻子。一名仆役正轻轻推着轮椅，那位残疾的妇人满怀哀伤地凝望着明亮的天空、这美好的一天，以及旁人的快乐。

They did not speak. They did not look at each other.

他们没有说话，也没有看对方一眼。

“Let us stop a while,” said the young woman.

“我们歇一会儿吧，”年轻的妇人说道。

They stopped, and the painter sat down on a camp stool that the servant handed him.

他们停了下来，画家在仆人递来的一张折叠凳上坐下。

Those who were passing behind the silent and motionless couple looked at them compassionately. A whole legend of devotion was attached to them. He had married her in spite of her infirmity, touched by her affection for him, it was said.

从这对沉默不语、一动不动的夫妇身后经过的人们，都以怜悯的目光看着他们。有一整段忠贞不渝的传说与他们相关。据说，尽管她身有残疾，他还是娶了她，是被她对他的感情所打动。

Not far from there, two young men were chatting, seated on a bench and looking out into the horizon.

不远处，两个年轻男子坐在长椅上闲聊，望着地平线的方向。

“No, it is not true; I tell you that I am well acquainted with Jean Sumner.”

“不，这不是真的；我告诉你，我和让·萨姆纳很熟。”

“But then, why did he marry her? For she was a cripple when she married, was she not?”

“可那他为什么娶她呢？她嫁给他的时候不是已经是个残疾人了吗？”

“Just so. He married her—he married her—just as every one marries, parbleu! because he was an idiot!”

“正是如此。他娶了她——他娶了她——就像人人都会娶妻一样，见鬼！因为他是个傻瓜！”

“But why?”

“可是为什么呢？”

“But why—but why, my friend? There is no why. People do stupid things just because they do stupid things. And, besides, you know very well that painters make a specialty of foolish marriages. They almost always marry models, former sweethearts, in fact, women of doubtful reputation, frequently. Why do they do this? Who can say? One would suppose that constant association with the general run of models would disgust them forever with that class of women. Not at all. After having posed them they marry them. Read that little book, so true, so cruel and so beautiful, by Alphonse Daudet: 'Artists' Wives.'

“为什么——为什么，我的朋友？没有为什么。人们做蠢事，仅仅是因为他们要做蠢事。而且，你也很清楚，画家们最擅长的就是荒唐的婚姻。他们几乎总是娶模特儿为妻——说白了，就是些名声可疑的女人，往往还是他们从前的情人。他们为什么要这样做？谁说得清呢？照理说，长年与那些普通模特儿打交道，应该会让他们对这类女人永远心生厌恶才对。可事实完全相反。给她们做完模特之后，他们就娶了她们。去读读都德那本小巧却真实、残酷而美丽的书吧，书名叫《艺术家的妻子们》。

“In the case of the couple you see over there the accident occurred in a special and terrible manner. The little woman played a frightful comedy, or, rather, tragedy. She risked all to win all. Was she sincere? Did she love Jean? Shall we ever know? Who is able to determine precisely how much is put on and how much is real in the actions of a woman? They are always sincere in an eternal mobility of impressions. They are furious, criminal, devoted, admirable and base in obedience to intangible emotions.

“至于你眼前看到的这对夫妻，事情发生的经过尤其特别，也格外可怕。那个小妇人演了一出可怕的喜剧，或者不如说是悲剧。她孤注一掷，想要赢得一切。她当时是真心的吗？她爱让吗？我们又怎能知道呢？谁又能精确判断，一个女人的举动中，有多少是装出来的，又有多少是真心实意的呢？她们始终是真诚的，只不过这种真诚永远处在瞬息万变的印象之中。她们会因为一些捉摸不定的情绪，时而暴怒，时而狠毒，时而忠贞，时而令人钦佩，时而又卑劣不堪。

“They tell lies incessantly without intention, without knowing or understanding why, and in spite of it all are absolutely frank in their feelings and sentiments, which they display by violent, unexpected, incomprehensible, foolish resolutions which overthrow our arguments, our customary poise and all our selfish plans. The unforeseenness and suddenness of their determinations will always render them undecipherable enigmas as far as we are concerned. We continually ask ourselves:

“她们总是不断地说谎，却毫无用意，自己也不明白，也不理解为什么要这样做，可尽管如此，她们在感情和情绪上却又绝对坦率，她们会用一些猛烈的、出人意料的、令人费解的、愚蠢的决定来表达这份坦率，把我们的种种理论、我们惯常的沉着，还有我们所有自私的算计统统推翻。她们下决心时的那种出人意料和突如其来，将永远使她们在我们看来是一个无法破解的谜。我们总是忍不住问自己：

“'Are they sincere? Are they pretending?'

“‘她们究竟是真心的呢，还是在假装？’

“But, my friend, they are sincere and insincere at one and the same time, because it is their nature to be extremists in both and to be neither one nor the other.

“可是，我的朋友，她们同时既真心又虚假，因为这正是她们的天性——在这两者上都走极端，却又两者都不是。

“See the methods that even the best of them employ to get what they desire. They are complex and simple, these methods. So complex that we can never guess at them beforehand, and so simple that after having been victimized we cannot help being astonished and exclaiming: 'What! Did she make a fool of me so easily as that?'

“看看即便是她们当中最好的那些人，为了达到目的会采用怎样的手段吧。这些手段既复杂又简单。复杂到我们永远无法事先猜到，又简单到我们上当受骗之后，还忍不住惊讶地感叹：‘什么！她竟然这么轻易就把我耍得团团转？’

“And they always succeed, old man, especially when it is a question of getting married.

“而她们总能得逞，老兄，尤其是在谈婚论嫁这件事上。

“But this is Sumner's story:

“不过，还是说回萨姆纳的故事吧：

“The little woman was a model, of course. She posed for him. She was pretty, very stylish-looking, and had a divine figure, it seems. He fancied that he loved her with his whole soul. That is another strange thing. As soon as one likes a woman one sincerely believes that they could not get along without her for the rest of their life.

“那个小妇人，当然是个模特儿。她给他当模特儿。她长得漂亮，穿着入时，据说身材也十分姣好。他觉得自己全心全意地爱上了她。这也是件怪事。一个人一旦喜欢上一个女人，便会真心相信，往后余生都离不开她了。

“One knows that one has felt the same way before and that disgust invariably succeeded gratification; that in order to pass one's existence side by side with another there must be not a brutal, physical passion which soon dies out, but a sympathy of soul, temperament and temper. One should know how to determine in the enchantment to which one is subjected whether it proceeds from the physical, from a certain sensuous intoxication, or from a deep spiritual charm.

“一个人明明知道，自己以前也有过同样的感觉，而满足之后，厌倦总是接踵而至；明明知道，要与另一个人相伴一生，靠的不该是那种粗暴的、很快就会熄灭的肉体激情，而应是灵魂、气质与性情上的相通。一个人应该懂得，在自己所沉迷的那份魔力之中，分辨出它究竟源自肉体，源自某种感官上的陶醉，还是源自某种深切的精神魅力。

“Well, he believed himself in love; he made her no end of promises of fidelity, and was devoted to her.

“总之，他相信自己坠入了爱河；他向她许下了无数忠贞不渝的誓言，对她一往情深。

“She was really attractive, gifted with that fashionable flippancy that little Parisians so readily affect. She chattered, babbled, made foolish remarks that sounded witty from the manner in which they were uttered. She used graceful gesture's which were calculated to attract a painter's eye. When she raised her arms, when she bent over, when she got into a carriage, when she held out her hand to you, her gestures were perfect and appropriate.

“她确实很有魅力，天生带着巴黎小妇人惯有的那种时髦轻佻。她喋喋不休，叽叽喳喳，说些听起来因为说话方式而显得机敏俏皮的蠢话。她做的每一个姿态都优雅得体，恰能吸引一位画家的目光。她抬起手臂时，她弯下腰时，她登上马车时，她向你伸出手时，那些姿态都完美无缺，恰到好处。

“For three months Jean never noticed that, in reality, she was like all other models.

“整整三个月，让都没有察觉到，其实她和所有别的模特儿并无两样。

“He rented a little house for her for the summer at Andresy.

“他在安德雷西为她租了一栋小房子，好过夏天。

“I was there one evening when for the first time doubts came into my friend's mind.

“我曾在一个夜晚在场，那正是我这位朋友心中第一次生出疑虑的时候。

“As it was a beautiful evening we thought we would take a stroll along the bank of the river. The moon poured a flood of light on the trembling water, scattering yellow gleams along its ripples in the currents and all along the course of the wide, slow river.

“那是一个美丽的夜晚，我们便想沿着河岸散散步。月光如流水般泼洒在微微颤动的水面上，在涟漪与水流之中，沿着这条宽阔而缓慢的河流，处处闪着金黄色的光。

“We strolled along the bank, a little enthused by that vague exaltation that these dreamy evenings produce in us. We would have liked to undertake some wonderful task, to love some unknown, deliciously poetic being. We felt ourselves vibrating with raptures, longings, strange aspirations. And we were silent, our beings pervaded by the serene and living coolness of the beautiful night, the coolness of the moonlight, which seemed to penetrate one's body, permeate it, soothe one's spirit, fill it with fragrance and steep it in happiness.

“我们沿着河岸漫步，那种梦幻般的夜晚总会在我们心中激起一种朦胧的兴奋，我们也因此微微陶醉。我们多想去做一番了不起的事业，去爱上某个陌生的、美得如诗如画的人儿。我们感到自己浑身颤动着，充满了狂喜、渴望和种种奇异的向往。我们都沉默不语，整个身心都沉浸在这美丽夜晚那宁静而鲜活的清凉之中，那是月光的清凉，它似乎渗入了人的身体，浸透全身，抚慰人的心灵，让人满怀芬芳，沉醉于幸福之中。

“Suddenly Josephine (that is her name) uttered an exclamation:

“忽然，约瑟芬（这是她的名字）惊叫了一声：

“'Oh, did you see the big fish that jumped, over there?'

“‘哦，你看见那边跳起来的大鱼了吗？’

“He replied without looking, without thinking:

“他头也没回，想也没想地回答：

“'Yes, dear.'

“‘看见了，亲爱的。’

“She was angry.

“她生气了。

“'No, you did not see it, for your back was turned.'

“‘不，你根本没看见，你背对着那边呢。’

“He smiled.

“他笑了笑。

“'Yes, that's true. It is so delightful that I am not thinking of anything.'

“‘是啊，没错。这里太美了，我什么都没在想。’

“She was silent, but at the end of a minute she felt as if she must say something and asked:

“她沉默了，可过了一会儿，她觉得自己非得说点什么不可，便问道：

“'Are you going to Paris to-morrow?'

“‘你明天要去巴黎吗？’

“'I do not know,' he replied.

“‘我也不知道，’他答道。

“She was annoyed again.

“她又恼火了。

“'Do you think it is very amusing to walk along without speaking? People talk when they are not stupid.'

“‘你觉得这样一言不发地走着很有意思吗？人如果不傻，就应该说说话。’

“He did not reply. Then, feeling with her woman's instinct that she was going to make him angry, she began to sing a popular air that had harassed our ears and our minds for two years:

“他没有回答。这时，她凭女人的直觉察觉到自己就要惹他生气了，便开始哼唱起一首流行小调，那小调这两年来一直在折磨着我们的耳朵和神经：

“'Je regardais en fair.'

“‘Je regardais en l'air.’

“He murmured:

“他低声说：

“'Please keep quiet.'

“‘请安静点。’

“She replied angrily:

“她愤然答道：

“'Why do you wish me to keep quiet?'

“‘你为什么要我安静？’

“'You spoil the landscape for us!' he said.

“‘你破坏了我们眼前的风景！’他说。

“Then followed a scene, a hateful, idiotic scene, with unexpected reproaches, unsuitable recriminations, then tears. Nothing was left unsaid. They went back to the house. He had allowed her to talk without replying, enervated by the beauty of the scene and dumfounded by this storm of abuse.

“接着便是一场争吵，一场令人生厌又愚蠢至极的争吵，夹杂着出人意料的责怪、不合情理的抱怨，最后是眼泪。什么话都说尽了。他们回到了屋里。他任由她说个不停，自己一言不发，被眼前景色的美震得神情恍惚，又被这场辱骂的风暴弄得目瞪口呆。

“Three months later he strove wildly to free himself from those invincible and invisible bonds with which such a friendship chains our lives. She kept him under her influence, tyrannizing over him, making his life a burden to him. They quarreled continually, vituperating and finally fighting each other.

“三个月后，他拼命想挣脱这段友谊——不，这段感情——用来束缚我们生活的那种坚不可摧又无形无质的锁链。她始终把他牢牢控制在自己的影响之下，对他百般专横，把他的日子折磨得苦不堪言。他们不停地争吵，互相辱骂，最后甚至大打出手。

“He wanted to break with her at any cost. He sold all his canvases, borrowed money from his friends, realizing twenty thousand francs (he was not well known then), and left them for her one morning with a note of farewell.

“他不惜一切代价想和她一刀两断。他卖掉了自己所有的画作，向朋友们借了钱，凑了两万法郎（那时他还没什么名气），一天早晨留下一封告别信，就离开了她。

“He came and took refuge with me.

“他跑来投奔我。

“About three o'clock that afternoon there was a ring at the bell. I went to the door. A woman sprang toward me, pushed me aside, came in and went into my atelier. It was she!

“那天下午大约三点钟，门铃响了。我去开门。一个女人猛地朝我扑过来，把我推到一边，径直闯进了我的画室。正是她！

“He had risen when he saw her coming.'

“他见她走来时已经站起了身。

“She threw the envelope containing the banknotes at his feet with a truly noble gesture and said in a quick tone:

“她带着一个真正高贵的姿态，把装着钞票的信封扔到他脚下，急促地说道：

“'There's your money. I don't want it!'

“‘这是你的钱，我不要！’

“She was very pale, trembling and ready undoubtedly to commit any folly. As for him, I saw him grow pale also, pale with rage and exasperation, ready also perhaps to commit any violence.

“她脸色苍白，浑身颤抖，显然什么荒唐的事都可能做得出来。至于他，我看见他也脸色发白，那是又愤怒又恼火而发白，看样子他也随时可能做出什么过激的事来。

“He asked:

“他问道：

“'What do you want?'

“‘你想要什么？’

“She replied:

“她答道：

“'I do not choose to be treated like a common woman. You implored me to accept you. I asked you for nothing. Keep me with you!'

“‘我不愿被当作一个普通女人来对待。是你恳求我接受你的。我什么都没向你要求过。留我在你身边！’

“He stamped his foot.

“他跺了跺脚。

“'No, that's a little too much! If you think you are going—'

“‘不，这太过分了！你要是以为你能——’

“I had seized his arm.

“我一把抓住了他的胳膊。

“'Keep still, Jean… Let me settle it.'

“‘别说了，让……让我来处理这件事。’

“I went toward her and quietly, little by little, I began to reason with her, exhausting all the arguments that are used under similar circumstances. She listened to me, motionless, with a fixed gaze, obstinate and silent.

“我走到她面前，平静地，一点一点地，开始跟她讲道理，把这种场合下常用的一切说辞都用尽了。她一动不动地听着我说，目光凝滞不动，固执而沉默。

“Finally, not knowing what more to say, and seeing that there would be a scene, I thought of a last resort and said:

“最后，我实在不知道还能说什么，眼看一场争吵在所难免，便想出了最后一招，说道：

“'He loves you still, my dear, but his family want him to marry some one, and you understand—'

“‘他依然爱着你，亲爱的，可他的家人希望他娶别人，你明白的——’

“She gave a start and exclaimed:

“她猛地一惊，喊道：

“'Ah! Ah! Now I understand:

“‘啊！啊！这下我明白了！’

“And turning toward him, she said:

“说着，她转向他，说道：

“'You are—you are going to get married?'

“‘你——你是要结婚了？’

“He replied decidedly, 'Yes.'

“他斩钉截铁地回答：‘是的。’

“She took a step forward.

“她向前迈了一步。

“'If you marry, I will kill myself! Do you hear?'

“‘你要是结婚，我就自杀！你听见了吗？’

“He shrugged his shoulders and replied:

“他耸了耸肩，答道：

“'Well, then kill yourself!'

“‘那好，你就去自杀吧！’

“She stammered out, almost choking with her violent emotion:

“她结结巴巴地说，几乎被自己激烈的情绪呛住：

“'What do you say? What do you say? What do you say? Say it again!'

“‘你说什么？你说什么？你说什么？再说一遍！’

“He repeated:

“他又说了一遍：

“'Well, then kill yourself if you like!'

“‘好啊，你要是愿意，就去自杀吧！’

“With her face almost livid, she replied:

“她脸色几乎发青，答道：

“'Do not dare me! I will throw myself from the window!'

“‘别逼我！我会从窗口跳下去的！’

“He began to laugh, walked toward the window, opened it, and bowing with the gesture of one who desires to let some one else precede him, he said:

“他大笑起来，走到窗边，把窗户打开，然后做了个请人先行的姿势，鞠了一躬，说道：

“'This is the way. After you!'

“‘门在这儿。你先请！’

“She looked at him for a second with terrible, wild, staring eyes. Then, taking a run as if she were going to jump a hedge in the country, she rushed past me and past him, jumped over the sill and disappeared.

“她盯着他看了一秒钟，眼神可怕，狂乱，直勾勾的。接着，她像是要在乡间跳过一道树篱那样助跑几步，从我和他身边冲过，一跃跳过窗台，消失了。

“I shall never forget the impression made on me by that open window after I had seen that body pass through it to fall to the ground. It appeared to me in a second to be as large as the heavens and as hollow as space. And I drew back instinctively, not daring to look at it, as though I feared I might fall out myself.

“我永远也忘不了，在看见那具身体穿过窗口坠落到地面之后，那扇敞开的窗户给我留下的印象。刹那间，它在我眼中变得像天空一样辽阔，又像太空一样空洞。我本能地往后退，不敢去看下面，仿佛生怕自己也会掉下去似的。

“Jean, dumfounded, stood motionless.

“让呆若木鸡，一动不动地站着。

“They brought the poor girl in with both legs broken. She will never walk again.

“他们把那可怜的姑娘抬了进来，她双腿都摔断了。她再也无法行走了。

“Jean, wild with remorse and also possibly touched with gratitude, made up his mind to marry her.

“让悔恨交加，或许也夹杂着几分感激，便下定决心要娶她。

“There you have it, old man.”

“事情就是这样，老兄。”

It was growing dusk. The young woman felt chilly and wanted to go home, and the servant wheeled the invalid chair in the direction of the village. The painter walked beside his wife, neither of them having exchanged a word for an hour.

天色渐渐暗了下来。年轻的妇人觉得有些冷，想要回家，仆人便推着轮椅朝村子的方向走去。画家走在妻子身旁，两人已经有一个钟头没有说一句话了。

This story appeared in Le Gaulois, December 17, 1883.

这篇小说刊登于一八八三年十二月十七日的《高卢人报》。