美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Orchid And The Wasp,' An Unapologetic Heroine Who's No Gentle Flower

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

There is a type of orchid¹ that resembles a female wasp². And in rare occasions, this trick of nature will attract a male wasp to pollinate the flower. This is portrayed³ on the cover of Caoilinn Hughes' new book "Orchid And The Wasp," though the symbiotic⁴ relationship represents something else in Hughes' debut⁵ novel.

CAOILINN HUGHES: So I was using this as a way to explore the relationship between the exploited and the exploiter and ask the question, is it really exploitation if the loser isn't aware of what they're losing?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The exploiter in "Orchid And The Wasp" is the book's heroine, Gael Foess, a young Irish woman who will do anything to get what she wants. Reviewers have called Gael despicable, three times smarter than everyone around her and ruthless.

HUGHES: There are all these sorts of novels about men out in the world. And I wanted to write a novel about a woman out in the world. She's quite a macho character. I was really baffled and concerned by the fact that there don't seem to be many novels and even films or stories about women who aren't given kind of an element of trauma⁶, who are unlikeable or ostensibly unlikable and who you see kind of succeed. Normally, if you have kind of unlikable female characters, they're given this measure of - this and this trauma is revealed in their past - and kind of apologizes for their unlikability or their bad behavior. So I really wanted to avoid going down that route.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Something that Gael doesn't apologize for? Her sexuality. The only person who pierces Gael's tough exterior⁷ is Harper, her college roommate. Gael falls in love with Harper, but Hughes doesn't label her or the relationship.

HUGHES: Gael's sexuality - I wanted to avoid having to address that directly in the sense that it's part of the privilege of straight people not to have to address their sexuality. On the other hand, it is also a little bit tragic⁸ that you get this feeling when you read the book that because Gael understands the world quite cynically⁹, she's aware of the fact that being in a relationship with a woman will take away some of her clout¹⁰.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Despite Gael's cynicism, Hughes says this complex heroine does have a conscience.

HUGHES: Her moral compass is kind of a plaything in her hand that, occasionally, she puts away and forgets where she left it.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Caoilinn Hughes's new book is "Orchid And The Wasp."

1 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

2 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

3 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 symbiotic   

adj.共栖的，共生的

参考例句：

• Racing has always had a symbiotic relationship with betting.赛马总是与赌博相挂钩。
• Engineering completely new symbiotic relationship is obviously not an imminent possibility.筹划完全新的共生关系显然是可能性不大。

5 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

6 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

7 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

9 cynically   

adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地

参考例句：

• "Holding down the receiver,'said Daisy cynically. “挂上话筒在讲。”黛西冷嘲热讽地说。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• The Democrats sensibly (if cynically) set about closing the God gap. 民主党在明智（有些讽刺）的减少宗教引起的问题。 来自互联网

10 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。