时代周刊:假如希拉里没有嫁给克林顿(2)

Then on the eve of the 2016 election, Sittenfeld released a short story, "The Nominee,"

2016年大选前夕，西滕菲尔德又发表了一部短篇小说《候选人》，

told from the perspective of Hillary Clinton as she's interviewed by a combative¹ journalist.

小说从希拉里·克林顿的视角讲述了她被一名好事记者采访的故事。

But Rodham, her seventh book, gleefully abandons biographical analysis for thought experimentation³.

然而，她的第七部作品《罗德姆》却毅然抛弃了传记分析的写法，走向了思维实验。

Unlike American Wife, which delved⁴ into traumas⁵ the real Bush experienced early in her life to explain her psychology⁶,

不同于《美国夫人》——该作品为了梳理现实生活中的布什（夫人）的心理活动，对她早期经历的各种创伤进行了深入的探究——

Rodham introduces a Hillary almost fully² formed, at law school.

《罗德姆》介绍的则是一个在法学院就读时期就已完全定型的希拉里。

Sittenfeld does not detail the childhood moments that might have shaped her politics, her religiosity or her ego⁷.

西滕菲尔德没有详细挖掘童年可能对希拉里的政治路线、宗教信仰及其自我意识的影响。

The reader must divine the origins of her ambition from her pillow talk with Bill.

读者必须从她与比尔的枕边私语中猜测希拉里宏伟抱负的根源。

Certain early passages read like cringe-inducing fan fiction:

《罗德姆》开篇的个别段落读起来就像煽情的同人小说：

it would be one thing to encounter veiled approximations of Bill and Hillary getting hot and heavy in law school.

含蓄地模拟比尔和希拉里在法学院陷入热恋的情节是一码事。

It is quite another to read sex scenes that invoke⁸ the real names of one of America's most prominent couples.

描写性爱场面时引用美国最著名的夫妇的名字就要另当别论了。

Sittenfeld even goes so far as to imply that Bill is a sex addict⁹, crumpled¹⁰ under the weight of an unstoppable affliction.

西滕菲尔德甚至（在《罗德姆》中）暗示比尔有性瘾，深受难以抑制的性欲的折磨。

(No doubt the publisher has a great legal team.)

(毫无疑问，出版商肯定拥有一支非常强大的律师团队。)

While these carnal episodes will certainly serve to scandalize book clubs, they also are meant to solve this mystery:

尽管这些风流事件势必震惊各大读书俱乐部，作者设置这些情节也是为了解开一个谜团：

Why would a woman with such promise stay with a man torpedoing¹¹ toward scandal?

希拉里这么一个前途无限光明的女人，为什么会选择跟一个丑闻满天飞的人在一起？

Sittenfeld blends reported facts with imagined details.

为此，西滕菲尔德采用了事实报道与细节发挥合二为一的写作手法。

Fictional¹² Hillary, she asserts in Rodham, was often spurned¹³ by romantic interests for being too intellectual or too assertive¹⁴,

她在《罗德姆》中写道，这位虚构的希拉里经常会因为过于聪明或过于自信无缘浪漫，

and she felt flattered by charismatic Bill's attentions.

迷人的比尔的目光则会令她感受受宠若惊。

That's a theory likely born from comments real-life Hillary has made over the years about her husband being "more attractive" than she is.

现实生活中的希拉里就经常说丈夫比自己“更有魅力”，西滕菲尔德的假设依据可能就来源于此。

As journalist Amy Chozick observed in her book Chasing Hillary,

正如记者艾米·乔齐克在其作品《追踪希拉里》中所言，

Clinton's assessment¹⁵ of how her looks compare with those of her husband "isn't really true."

克林顿比较自己与丈夫的相貌的评定“并不真实”。

But, Chozick added, it "always told me a lot about Hillary that she thought it was."

不过，乔齐克也说，她的评定“总是能传达出很多有关希拉里的信息。”

Yet flirtation¹⁶ and flattery do not a power couple make.

然而，光打情骂俏和阿谀之词还不能造就一对超能夫妇。

In Rodham, as in real life, these two share an intense intellectual connection.

和现实生活一样，在《罗德姆》一书中，希拉里和比尔二人也擦出了大量的智慧火花。

But it's that very intellect that Sittenfeld argues would eventually drive Hillary away from Bill.

不过，在西滕菲尔德看来，正是这些火花让希拉里最终离开了比尔。

1 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

4 delved   

v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She delved in her handbag for a pen. 她在手提包里翻找钢笔。
• He delved into the family archives looking for the facts. 他深入查考这个家族的家谱以寻找事实根据。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

6 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

7 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

8 invoke   

v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求

参考例句：

• Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
• I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。

9 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

10 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

11 torpedoing   

用爆破筒爆破

参考例句：

• We all accused the union of torpedoing the negotiation. 我们都谴责工会破坏谈判。

12 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

13 spurned   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Eve spurned Mark's invitation. 伊夫一口回绝了马克的邀请。
• With Mrs. Reed, I remember my best was always spurned with scorn. 对里德太太呢，我记得我的最大努力总是遭到唾弃。 来自辞典例句

14 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

15 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

16 flirtation   

n.调情，调戏，挑逗

参考例句：

• a brief and unsuccessful flirtation with the property market 对房地产市场一时兴起、并不成功的介入
• At recess Tom continued his flirtation with Amy with jubilant self-satisfaction. 课间休息的时候，汤姆继续和艾美逗乐，一副得意洋洋、心满意足的样子。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险