03-01-01-弗兰肯斯坦 [5]
,身子一动也不动。我能看出他脖子上的手指印——是凶手勒死了他。
伊丽莎白曾让他把她的一根金链子戴在脖子上。链子上有一张非常小的、你妈妈的照片。我们都认为是有人为了偷取那条金链子而杀死了威廉。可怜的伊丽莎白对威廉的死非常伤心。她认为他的死是因为她让他戴了那条链子。赶快回家吧,我亲爱的维克多。只有你能帮助伊丽莎白,并且我们都需要你。
我们都爱你!
你的父亲
亨利帮我上了火车。旅途似乎非常漫长;火车到达日内瓦之前已经是深夜了。我决定在城外的一个村子里过夜,然后清晨再回家。我想看看威廉死去的地方。
在我开始步行时,暴发了一场暴风雨,闪电划亮了天空。警察已在威廉被凶手勒死的地方围上了木桩,这样我很容易地找到了那儿。我站在那儿伤心地哭泣着。我可怜的弟弟一向是个善良而快乐的孩子,并且我们都很爱他。
闪电又一次照亮了天空,我看见雨中站着一个巨大的人。当我看见时,我立马就知道那是谁了。那是我创造的那个家伙。
他在那儿干什么?尽管我在问自己这个问题,却已知道了答案。是他杀死了我的弟弟。我敢肯定我是对的。
我决心要抓住他。但在我走动时,他朝山上跑去了。他比任何人都跑得快。他轻松地爬着山,到了山顶并且消失不见了。
我在黑暗中站着并淋着雨,知道自己创造了一个怪物。是他杀死了我的弟弟。
■ 6
At first I decided to tell the police my story. But would they believe me? I had been very ill. When the police learnt about my illness, they would think the monster was just one of my bad dreams. I decided that I could not tell anybody.
I went home to my family and they were very pleased to see me. Then they told me that the police had found the murderer. Perhaps you will think that this was good news,but I have not told you who the police had arrested.
As I went into the house,I noticed that one person did not come to meet me. It was Justine,the young woman who looked after the children and who was like a sister to us. And it was Justine that the police had arrested.
A few days after the murder, the police had searched the house and had found the gold chain in Justine's coat pocket.Everyone in the family knew that Justine had not murdered William. I knew who the murderer was, but I could not tell anyone. We were sure that Justine would be free after the trial, because nobody could believe that she was a murderer.But we were wrong.
The trial did not go well for Justine. There were a number of strange facts that were difficult to explain, and the judge decided that she was the murderer. The punishment for murder was death. We argued and cried. We said she could not murder anyone. But nothing could change the judge's order.
So I got up early and went to the judge's house and told him about the monster. He did not believe me. He thought I was lying in order to save Justine's life.
In the prison Justine waited quietly for death. We spent many hours with her, and she spoke calmly and kindly to us.She was happy because we believed that she had not killed William. And she was almost looking forward to death, be-cause then she would be with William and our dear mother in a place of peace.
Her love and gentleness added to my great unhappiness. I knew she was going to die because of me. I knew my brother had died because of me. I had brought nothing but sadness and misery to my family.
I took a boat and went out on Lake Geneva. Why didn't I end my life then? Two things stopped me. My father was old and another death would probably kill him. And I had to stay alive—to keep my family safe from the monster.
Fear for my family and hate for my monster were with me day and night. I became ill again, and Elizabeth's love could not help me. I needed o escape for a while—to leave my unhappiness behind me.So I went to walk alone in the Alps. I hoped the wild beauty of the mountains would help me.
Slowly I became calmer among the beautiful mountains. I learnt to sleep again, and for days I did not see anybody. Then one morning I saw a figure coming towards me faster than any man could go. It jumped easily over the rocks and I saw with horror the monster that I had created. On his face was a look of deep sadness, but also of evil. At first I could not speak be-cause I hated him so much. But at last I said:
‘You are an evil creature. I shall kill you if I can, because you have killed two people that I love.’
The monster's yellow eyes looked at me.‘I am the unhappiest creature in the world, but I shall fight for my life,’ he said.‘I am bigger and stronger than you, but I will not start the fight. I shall always be gentle to you because you are my king and creator. You made me, and you should love me and be kind to me, like a father. William and Justine died because you did not love me. Why did you create me if you were not ready to love me?’
伊丽莎白曾让他把她的一根金链子戴在脖子上。链子上有一张非常小的、你妈妈的照片。我们都认为是有人为了偷取那条金链子而杀死了威廉。可怜的伊丽莎白对威廉的死非常伤心。她认为他的死是因为她让他戴了那条链子。赶快回家吧,我亲爱的维克多。只有你能帮助伊丽莎白,并且我们都需要你。
我们都爱你!
你的父亲
亨利帮我上了火车。旅途似乎非常漫长;火车到达日内瓦之前已经是深夜了。我决定在城外的一个村子里过夜,然后清晨再回家。我想看看威廉死去的地方。
在我开始步行时,暴发了一场暴风雨,闪电划亮了天空。警察已在威廉被凶手勒死的地方围上了木桩,这样我很容易地找到了那儿。我站在那儿伤心地哭泣着。我可怜的弟弟一向是个善良而快乐的孩子,并且我们都很爱他。
闪电又一次照亮了天空,我看见雨中站着一个巨大的人。当我看见时,我立马就知道那是谁了。那是我创造的那个家伙。
他在那儿干什么?尽管我在问自己这个问题,却已知道了答案。是他杀死了我的弟弟。我敢肯定我是对的。
我决心要抓住他。但在我走动时,他朝山上跑去了。他比任何人都跑得快。他轻松地爬着山,到了山顶并且消失不见了。
我在黑暗中站着并淋着雨,知道自己创造了一个怪物。是他杀死了我的弟弟。
■ 6
At first I decided to tell the police my story. But would they believe me? I had been very ill. When the police learnt about my illness, they would think the monster was just one of my bad dreams. I decided that I could not tell anybody.
I went home to my family and they were very pleased to see me. Then they told me that the police had found the murderer. Perhaps you will think that this was good news,but I have not told you who the police had arrested.
As I went into the house,I noticed that one person did not come to meet me. It was Justine,the young woman who looked after the children and who was like a sister to us. And it was Justine that the police had arrested.
A few days after the murder, the police had searched the house and had found the gold chain in Justine's coat pocket.Everyone in the family knew that Justine had not murdered William. I knew who the murderer was, but I could not tell anyone. We were sure that Justine would be free after the trial, because nobody could believe that she was a murderer.But we were wrong.
The trial did not go well for Justine. There were a number of strange facts that were difficult to explain, and the judge decided that she was the murderer. The punishment for murder was death. We argued and cried. We said she could not murder anyone. But nothing could change the judge's order.
So I got up early and went to the judge's house and told him about the monster. He did not believe me. He thought I was lying in order to save Justine's life.
In the prison Justine waited quietly for death. We spent many hours with her, and she spoke calmly and kindly to us.She was happy because we believed that she had not killed William. And she was almost looking forward to death, be-cause then she would be with William and our dear mother in a place of peace.
Her love and gentleness added to my great unhappiness. I knew she was going to die because of me. I knew my brother had died because of me. I had brought nothing but sadness and misery to my family.
I took a boat and went out on Lake Geneva. Why didn't I end my life then? Two things stopped me. My father was old and another death would probably kill him. And I had to stay alive—to keep my family safe from the monster.
Fear for my family and hate for my monster were with me day and night. I became ill again, and Elizabeth's love could not help me. I needed o escape for a while—to leave my unhappiness behind me.So I went to walk alone in the Alps. I hoped the wild beauty of the mountains would help me.
Slowly I became calmer among the beautiful mountains. I learnt to sleep again, and for days I did not see anybody. Then one morning I saw a figure coming towards me faster than any man could go. It jumped easily over the rocks and I saw with horror the monster that I had created. On his face was a look of deep sadness, but also of evil. At first I could not speak be-cause I hated him so much. But at last I said:
‘You are an evil creature. I shall kill you if I can, because you have killed two people that I love.’
The monster's yellow eyes looked at me.‘I am the unhappiest creature in the world, but I shall fight for my life,’ he said.‘I am bigger and stronger than you, but I will not start the fight. I shall always be gentle to you because you are my king and creator. You made me, and you should love me and be kind to me, like a father. William and Justine died because you did not love me. Why did you create me if you were not ready to love me?’