The Heretics Daughter《异教徒女儿》.doc

The Heretic’s Daughter《异教徒女儿》 　　凯瑟琳Kathleen Kent， 1953～），美国畅销书作家，是赛伦女巫审判案中的受迫害者玛莎The Heretic’s Daughter）是她的第一部小说，出版后好评如潮。该小说以玛莎11岁的莎拉为第一视角，记述了17世纪莎拉一家面临种种困境和迫害所表现出的爱与牵绊。作为北美洲的早期移民，莎拉一家不仅面临大自然的挑战、瘟疫的威胁、印第安人的袭击，还遭受了来自同族的宗教迫害。莎拉的母亲玛莎施以绞刑。在此之前，莎拉与母亲之间竖立着难以逾越的隔阂。这场灾难中，两人逐渐相互理解，莎拉也尝遍苦难，深入认识了人性，以沉痛的方式实现了自我成长。 下文节选自小说第四章，讲述了莎拉与母亲矛盾激化后迈出的和解的第一步。 精彩片段 For a moment we looked at each other without speaking， but I knew for what she waited. She waited for me to reveal all of my angry thoughts， but I did not open my mouth to speak. I did not believe she had enough of Grandmother’s sympathies to be kind to my disappointments or painful losses. But there was something else as well， something deeper that I could not confess： my fervent1） prayers to be returned to Margaret2） and her family. As much rage as I had felt in my mother presence， I could not admit to her that I had wished her dead. So I continued to stare off into the waving grasses， making my back as rigid3） as my mother’s ever was. She sighed in a way that was both tired and accepting and she said， putting equal emphasis on each word， “You are so very hard.” “You have made me so，” I said bitterly. “No， Sarah. This hardness is native born.” She placed herself in front of me and said softly， “But I have done little to tender it.” I turned my back to her， unbalanced by her sudden gentleness， and the grasses swam4） like kelp5） through the tears I would not let fall. “Do you think I don’t know what it is that you want？” she said impatiently， and I expected the burn of her fingers on my arm， but she did not touch me. She kept her distance and then said tightly6）， “And so we are to keep our disharmony a while longer. Then you and I will talk of petty7） things.” She started to walk about， aimlessly， I thought， looking down at the ground， kicking away bits of scattered limbs or piles of fallen leaves. She knelt down and uncovered something white growing under a bit of bark. She called for me to come， and I walked