《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter II》第16节
“The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out: ‘Oh, is that your suit?’ I said. ‘This is the first I ever heard about it.’ But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon.” “She really ought to get away from him,” resumed Catherine to me. “They’ve been living over that garage for eleven years. And Tom’s the first sweetie she ever had.” The bottle of whisky—a second one—was now in constant demand by all present, excepting Catherine, who “felt just as good on nothing at all.” Tom rang for the janitor and sent him for some celebrated sandwiches, which were a complete supper in themselves. I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through the soft twilight, but each time I tried to go I became entangled in some wild, strident argument which pulled me back, as if with ropes, into my chair. Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I saw him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.
注释摘要
默特尔对丈夫威尔逊的轻蔑在这里达到了一个痛苦的巅峰，而这段婚姻的悲剧性恰恰浓缩在那件借来的西装里。她说她以为威尔逊是个“绅士”，以为他懂“教养”，可婚后发现他连一套体面的结婚礼服都没有，还要去借别人的“最好的西装”，而且事后甚至不敢告诉她。这个细节一刀戳穿了威尔逊的社会阶层——他不仅穷，而且在穷的处境里还得打肿脸充胖子，而更致命的是他连圆谎的魄力与手腕都没…