Chapter 38

    Deeper and more painful than his belated concern for Denver or Sethe, scorching¹ his soul like asilver dollar in a fool's pocket, was the memory of Baby Suggs — the mountain to his sky. It wasthe memory of her and the honor that was her due that made him walk straight-necked into theyard of 124, although he heard its voices from the road.

　　He had stepped foot in this house only once after the Misery² (which is what he called Sethe's roughresponse to the Fugitive³ Bill) and that was to carry Baby Suggs, holy, out of it. When he pickedher up in his arms, she looked to him like a gift, and he took the pleasure she would have knowingshe didn't have to grind her hipbone anymore — that at last somebody carried bar. Had she waitedjust a little she would have seen the end of the War, its short, flashy results. They could havecelebrated together; gone to hear the great sermons preached on the occasion. As it was, he wentalone from house to joyous⁴ house drinking what was offered. But she hadn't waited and heattended her funeral more put out with her than bereaved⁶. Sethe and her daughter were dry-eyed onthat occasion. Sethe had no instructions except "Take her to the Clearing," which he tried to do,but was prevented by some rule the whites had invented about where the dead should rest. BabySuggs went down next to the baby with its throat cut — a neighborliness that Stamp wasn't surehad Baby Suggs' approval.

　　The setting-up was held in the yard because nobody besides himself would enter 124 — an injurySethe answered with another by refusing to attend the service Reverend Pike presided over. Shewent instead to the gravesite, whose silence she competed with as she stood there not joining in thehymns the others sang with all their hearts. That insult spawned⁷ another by the mourners: back inthe yard of 124, they ate the food they brought and did not touch Sethe's, who did not touch theirsand forbade Denver to. So Baby Suggs, holy, having devoted⁸ her freed life to harmony, was buriedamid a regular dance of pride, fear, condemnation⁹ and spite. Just about everybody in town waslonging for Sethe to come on difficult times. Her outrageous¹⁰ claims, her self-sufficiency seemed todemand it, and Stamp Paid, who had not felt a trickle¹¹ of meanness his whole adult life, wondered ifsome of the "pride goeth before a fall" expectations of the townsfolk had rubbed off on him anyhow — which would explain why he had not considered Sethe's feelings or Denver's needswhen he showed Paul D the clipping.

　　He hadn't the vaguest notion of what he would do or say when and if Sethe opened the door andturned her eyes on his. He was willing to offer her help, if she wanted any from him, or receive heranger, if she harbored any against him. Beyond that, he trusted his instincts to right what he mayhave done wrong to Baby Suggs' kin⁵, and to guide him in and through the stepped-up haunting 124was subject to, as evidenced by the voices he heard from the road. Other than that, he would relyon the power of Jesus Christ to deal with things older, but not stronger, than He Himself was. Whathe heard, as he moved toward the porch, he didn't understand. Out on Bluestone Road he thoughthe heard a conflagration¹² of hasty voices — loud, urgent, all speaking at once so he could not makeout what they were talking about or to whom. The speech wasn't nonsensical, exactly, nor was ittongues. But something was wrong with the order of the words and he couldn't describe or cipher¹³ itto save his life. All he could make out was the word mine. The rest of it stayed outside his mind'sreach. Yet he went on through. When he got to the steps, the voices drained suddenly to less than awhisper. It gave him pause. They had become an occasional mutter — like the interior sounds awoman makes when she believes she is alone and unobserved at her work: a sth when she missesthe needle's eye; a soft moan when she sees another chip in her one good platter; the low, friendlyargument with which she greets the hens. Nothing fierce or startling. Just that eternal, privateconversation that takes place between women and their tasks.

　　Stamp Paid raised his fist to knock on the door he had never knocked on (because it was alwaysopen to or for him) and could not do it. Dispensing¹⁴ with that formality was all the pay he expectedfrom Negroes in his debt. Once Stamp Paid brought you a coat, got the message to you, saved yourlife, or fixed¹⁵ the cistern¹⁶ he took the liberty of walking in your door as though it were his own.

　　Since all his visits were beneficial, his step or holler through a doorway¹⁷ got a bright welcome.

　　Rather than forfeit¹⁸ the one privilege he claimed for himself, he lowered his hand and left the porch.

　　Over and over again he tried it: made up his mind to visit Sethe; broke through the loud hastyvoices to the mumbling¹⁹ beyond it and stopped, trying to figure out what to do at the door. Sixtimes in as many days he abandoned his normal route and tried to knock at 124 . But the coldnessof the gesture — its sign that he was indeed a stranger at the gate — overwhelmed him. Retracinghis steps in the snow, he sighed. Spirit willing; flesh weak.

1 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

4 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

5 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

6 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

7 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

10 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

11 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

12 conflagration   

n.建筑物或森林大火

参考例句：

• A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。
• The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

13 cipher   

n.零；无影响力的人；密码

参考例句：

• All important plans were sent to the police in cipher.所有重要计划均以密码送往警方。
• He's a mere cipher in the company.他在公司里是个无足轻重的小人物。

14 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

16 cistern   

n.贮水池

参考例句：

• The cistern is empty but soon fills again.蓄水池里现在没水，但不久就会储满水的。
• The lavatory cistern overflowed.厕所水箱的水溢出来了

17 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

18 forfeit   

vt.丧失；n.罚金，罚款，没收物

参考例句：

• If you continue to tell lies,you will forfeit the good opinion of everyone.你如果继续撒谎，就会失掉大家对你的好感。
• Please pay for the forfeit before you borrow book.在你借书之前请先付清罚款。

19 mumbling   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I could hear him mumbling to himself. 我听到他在喃喃自语。
• He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party when he slipped on a piece of ice and broke his left leg. 宴会结束时，他仍在咕哝着医院里的事。说着说着，他在一块冰上滑倒，跌断了左腿。