狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第42章Part12

'Yes; if you please to adopt that form of words,' said Mr Dombey, in his tone of state; 'and at present I do not conceive that Mrs Dombey does that credit to it, to which it is entitled. There is a principle of opposition in Mrs Dombey that must be eradicated; that must be overcome: Mrs Dombey does not appear to understand,' said Mr Dombey, forcibly, 'that the idea of opposition to Me is monstrous and absurd.'
'We, in the City, know you better,' replied Carker, with a smile from ear to ear.
'You know me better,' said Mr Dombey. 'I hope so. Though, indeed, I am bound to do Mrs Dombey the justice of saying, however inconsistent it may seem with her subsequent conduct (which remains unchanged), that on my expressing my disapprobation and determination to her, with some severity, on the occasion to which I have referred, my admonition appeared to produce a very powerful effect.' Mr Dombey delivered himself of those words with most portentous stateliness. 'I wish you to have the goodness, then, to inform Mrs Dombey, Carker, from me, that I must recall our former conversation to her remembrance, in some surprise that it has not yet had its effect. That I must insist upon her regulating her conduct by the injunctions laid upon her in that conversation. That I am not satisfied with her conduct. That I am greatly dissatisfied with it. And that I shall be under the very disagreeable necessity of making you the bearer of yet more unwelcome and explicit communications, if she has not the good sense and theproper feeling to adapt herself to my wishes, as the first Mrs Dombey did, and, I believe I may add, as any other lady in her place would.'
'The first Mrs Dombey lived very happily,' said Carker.
'The first Mrs Dombey had great good sense,' said Mr Dombey, in a gentlemanly toleration of the dead, 'and very correct feeling.'
'Is Miss Dombey like her mother, do you think?' said Carker.
Swiftly and darkly, Mr Dombey's face changed. His confidential agent eyed it keenly.

“是的，如果您喜歡採用這樣的詞句來表達的話，”董貝先生用莊嚴的語氣說道，”那麼現在我並不認爲董貝夫人的所作所爲是對這種選擇增添了光彩。董貝夫人具有一種對抗的脾氣，這是必須根除，必須克服的。董貝夫人好像還不懂得，”董貝先生有力地說道，”對抗我這種想法本身就是駭人聽聞和荒謬絕倫的。”
“我們在城裏的人對您瞭解得更清楚，”卡克先生咧着嘴，滿臉堆着笑容。
“您比較瞭解我，”董貝先生說道，”我希望這樣。不過我確實還是應當替董貝夫人說句公道話，不管她後來的行爲（跟以前沒有變化）可能跟這如何不相一致，但在我提到的那一次，我有些嚴厲地向她表示了我的不贊成和決心之後，我的勸告還是產生了強有力的效果。”董貝先生極爲高傲、莊嚴地說了這些話。”因此，卡克，我想勞駕您以我的名義通知董貝夫人，我必須提醒她記着我們以前的談話，因爲我有些驚奇，爲什麼它至今還沒有產生應有的效果。我必須堅持她按照我在這次談話中向她發出的命令來改正她的行爲。我對她的行爲不滿意。我對它很不滿意。如果她缺乏健全的思想和正當的感情，不能像第一位董貝夫人那樣按照我的願望行事的話（我想，我可以補充一句，任何女士處在她那種地位都會像第一位董貝夫人那樣做的），那麼我將會很不愉快地不得不通過您向她轉達使她更不愉快、更明顯無誤的指示了。”
“第一位董貝夫人過得很幸福，”卡克說道。
“第一位董貝夫人有極健全的思想和很正確的感情，”董貝先生抱着對死者高尚地表示寬容的態度說道。
“您認爲董貝小姐像她母親嗎？”卡克問道。
董貝先生的臉色迅速地、可怕地改變了。深得他信任的助手敏銳地注意到這一點。