《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter V》第17节
I tried to go then, but they wouldn’t hear of it; perhaps my presence made them feel more satisfactorily alone. “I know what we’ll do,” said Gatsby, “we’ll have Klipspringer play the piano.” He went out of the room calling “Ewing!” and returned in a few minutes accompanied by an embarrassed, slightly worn young man, with shell-rimmed glasses and scanty blond hair. He was now decently clothed in a “sport shirt,” open at the neck, sneakers, and duck trousers of a nebulous hue. “Did we interrupt your exercise?” inquired Daisy politely. “I was asleep,” cried Mr. Klipspringer, in a spasm of embarrassment. “That is, I’d been asleep. Then I got up …” “Klipspringer plays the piano,” said Gatsby, cutting him off. “Don’t you, Ewing, old sport?” “I don’t play well. I don’t—hardly play at all. I’m all out of prac—” “We’ll go downstairs,” interrupted Gatsby. He flipped a switch. The grey windows disappeared as the house glowed full of light. In the music-room Gatsby turned on a solitary lamp beside the piano. He lit Daisy’s cigarette from a trembling match, and sat down with her on a couch far across the room, where there was no light save what the gleaming floor bounced in from the hall.
注释摘要
尼克想走，盖茨比和黛西不答应。紧接着他写了一句极妙的自嘲：也许是我的在场让他们觉得更满意的孤独。这话听着矛盾，但其实把三人此刻的关系点透了——一对旧情人重逢，需要第三个人在场充当缓冲，这样他们的亲密才不至于太赤裸、太紧张，但又可以假装这不过是一群朋友在聚会。尼克的在场恰恰让他们可以安全地沉浸在二人世界里。 盖茨比的反应是立刻要搞出点响动来。他想到的解决方案…