Sons and Lovers - Chapter 1
儿子与情人 - 第一章
The Bottoms family lived in a small mining village in Nottinghamshire. Gertrude Coppard, a refined and educated young woman, had married Walter Morel, a coal miner. She had hoped for a better life, but the reality was disappointing.
博顿斯一家住在诺丁汉郡的一个小矿村。格特鲁德·科帕德,一个精致受过教育的年轻女性,嫁给了沃尔特·莫雷尔,一个煤矿工人。她希望更好的生活,但现实令人失望。
Their home was small and crowded. The miners and their families lived in similar houses, all connected by the narrow, dirty streets of the village. Gertrude tried to make the best of her situation, but she often felt lonely and misunderstood.
他们的家小而拥挤。矿工和他们的家庭住在类似的房子里,都通过村庄狭窄肮脏的街道连接。格特鲁德试图充分利用她的情况,但她经常感到孤独和被误解。
Walter was not a bad man, but he was rough and uneducated. He spent his evenings drinking with his friends at the local pub, returning late and often drunk. Gertrude stayed home with the children, feeling the weight of her unfulfilled dreams.
沃尔特不是坏人,但他粗糙未受教育。他和朋友在当地酒吧喝酒度过晚上,晚回而且经常醉。格特鲁德和孩子待在家里,感觉她未实现梦想的重量。
They had two sons, William and Paul, and a daughter, Annie. Gertrude loved her children dearly and gave them all her attention and care. She was particularly devoted to Paul, her youngest, who was sensitive and artistic like her.
他们有两个儿子威廉和保罗,一个女儿安妮。格特鲁德深爱她的孩子并给他们所有的注意和关心。她特别致力于保罗,她最小的,像她一样敏感和有艺术气质。
"Paul is special," she would say to herself. "He understands things the others do not."
"保罗特别,"她会对自己说,"他理解其他人不理解的事情。"
As the children grew older, the differences between their parents became more obvious. Gertrude wanted her sons to have better opportunities than their father. She encouraged them to study, to read, to think beyond the mining village.
当孩子长大,父母之间的差异变得更明显。格特鲁德希望她的儿子比父亲有更好的机会。她鼓励他们学习、读书,想超越矿村。
But Walter did not understand this. He saw no point in education. "Why do you fill their heads with ideas?" he would ask. "They will be miners like me."
但沃尔特不理解这个。他看不到教育的意义。"你为什么用想法填充他们的头脑?"他会问,"他们会像我一样成为矿工。"
The tension between them grew. Gertrude became more distant, more critical of Walter's behaviour. Walter became more defensive, spending even more time at the pub.
他们之间的紧张增长。格特鲁德变得更疏远,更批评沃尔特的行为。沃尔特变得更防御,在酒吧花更多时间。
Their marriage was not happy, but they stayed together for the children. And in the center of this unhappy family was Paul, caught between his mother's ambitions and his father's indifference.
他们的婚姻不快乐,但他们为了孩子待在一起。在这个不快乐家庭的中心是保罗,被夹在他母亲的野心和父亲的冷漠之间。