奧德麗·尼芬格(Audrey Niffenegger)1963年出生于美國密歇根州一個普通中產(chǎn)階級家庭，目前是芝加哥哥倫比亞學院書籍與紙藝中心的教授。2003年，她出版了長篇小說處女作《時間旅行者的妻子》(The Time Traveler’s Wife)。該部構(gòu)思精巧的小說一出版便登上了《紐約時報》暢銷書榜單，并受到了世界各地讀者的喜愛。目前，《時間旅行者的妻子》已經(jīng)被翻拍成了電影，于今年8月在美國上映。

Excerpts from Chapter Three

December 10， 2006

Dearest Clare，

As I write this， I am sitting at my desk in the back bedroom looking out at your studio across the backyard full of blue evening snow. Everything is slick and crusty1) with ice， and it is very still. It’s one of those winter evenings when the coldness of every single thing seems to slow down time， like the narrow center of an hourglass2) which time itself flows through， but slowly， slowly. I have the feeling， very familiar to me when I am out of time but almost never otherwise， of being buoyed3) up by time， floating effortlessly on its surface like a fat lady swimmer. I had a sudden urge， tonight， here in the house by myself (you are at Alicia4)’s recital at St. Lucy’s) to write you a letter. I suddenly wanted to leave something， for after. I think that time is short， now. I feel as though all my reserves， of energy， of pleasure， of duration5)， are thin， small. I don’t feel capable of continuing very much longer. I know you know.

If you are reading this， I am probably dead. (I say probably because you never know what circumstances may arise; it seems foolish and self-important to just declare one’s own death as an out-and-out6) fact.) About this death of mine—I hope it was simple and clean and unambiguous7). I hope it didn’t create too much fuss. I’m sorry. (This reads like a suicide note. Strange.) But you know: you know that if I could have stayed， if I could have gone on， that I would have clutched every second: whatever it was， this death， you know that it came and took me， like a child carried away by goblins8).

Clare， I want to tell you， again， I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth， the net under the high-wire walker， the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust. Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do， myself: as though it could linger on after me and surround you， keep you， hold you.

I hate to think of you waiting. I know that you have been waiting for me all your life， always uncertain of how long this patch of waiting would be. Ten minutes， ten days. A month. What an uncertain husband I have been， Clare， like a sailor， Odysseus9) alone and buffeted10) by tall waves， sometimes wily and sometimes just a plaything of the gods. Please， Clare. When I am dead， stop waiting and be free. Of me—put me deep inside you and then go out in the world and live. Love the world and yourself in it， move through it as though it offers no resistance， as though the world is your natural element. I have given you a life of suspended animation. I don’t mean to say that you have done nothing. You have created beauty， and meaning， in your art， and Alba11)， who is so amazing， and for me: for me you have been everything.

After my mom died she ate my father up12) completely. She would have hated it. Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence， every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against. And when I was young I didn’t understand， but now， I know， how absence can be present， like a damaged nerve， like a dark bird.

If I had to live on without you I know I could not do it. But I hope， I have this vision of you walking unencumbered13)， with your shining hair in the sun. I have not seen this with my eyes， but only with my imagination， that makes pictures， that always wanted to paint you， shining; but I hope that this vision will be true， anyway.

Clare， there is one last thing， and I have hesitated to tell you， because I’m superstitiously14) afraid that telling might cause it not to happen (I know: silly) and also because I have just been going on about not waiting and this might cause you to wait longer than you have ever waited before. But I will tell you in case you need something， after.

Last summer， I was sitting in Kendrick15)’s waiting room when I suddenly found myself in a dark hallway in a house I don’t know. I was sort of tangled up in a bunch of galoshes16)， and it smelled like rain. At the end of the hall I could see a rim of light around a door， and so I went very slowly and very quietly to the door and looked in. The room was white， and intensely lit with morning sun. At the window， with her back to me， sat a woman， wearing a coral-colored cardigan sweater17)， with long white hair all down her back. She had a cup of tea beside her， on a table. I must have made some little noise， or she sensed me behind her...she turned and saw me， and I saw her， and it was you， Clare， this was you as an old woman， in the future. It was sweet， Clare， it was sweet beyond telling， to come as though from death to hold you， and to see the years all present in your face. I won’t tell you any more， so you can imagine it， so you can have it unrehearsed when the time comes， as it will， as it does come. We will see each other again， Clare. Until then， live， fully， present in the world， which is so beautiful.

It’s dark， now， and I am very tired. I love you， always. Time is nothing.

Henry

作品賞析

荷馬史詩《奧德賽》(Odyssey)塑造了西方文學中最為著名的等待者的形象——古希臘英雄奧德修斯的妻子帕涅羅帕。奧德修斯參加特洛伊之戰(zhàn)，又歷經(jīng)海上冒險，被迫離鄉(xiāng)20年。在這20年的時間里，妻子帕涅羅帕日日眺望，夜夜等待。在《時間旅行者的妻子》中，女主人公克萊爾同樣是一位帕涅羅帕式的女子，她也在苦苦等待丈夫的歸來，不過，她的等待是由一次又一次重逢之間的長長短短的分離組成，因為她有一重特殊的身份——她是一名時間旅行者的妻子。

記得少年時看科幻電影，對影片里的時間旅行者艷羨不已，時時幻想著自己有一天能擁有這樣的異能，在不同的年代中馳騁:可以去看看未來的世界，與未來的自己相遇;也可以回到無憂的童年，重溫兒時純凈的快樂。然而，如果我們詢問《時間旅行者的妻子》中的男主人公亨利的話，或許他最希望的就是上天能夠收回他的異能，讓他做一個平凡的男人，扎根在庸常瑣碎的生活中，分分秒秒都陪伴在妻子克萊爾身邊?？上У氖呛嗬加小奥詴r間錯位癥”，注定無法像平凡人一樣走完一生。他的身體隨時會擺脫意志的控制，進入某個過去或者是未來的時空。他無法選擇自己時空旅行的目的地，更無法決定他能夠在那里逗留多久。他只能被動地在時間里漂泊，一次又一次與克萊爾相遇，卻一次又一次不得不與她分離。

由于亨利的異能，他和克萊爾初次相遇的時候，克萊爾才剛剛六歲。亨利以36歲的年紀時空旅行回到了22年前。對于克萊爾來說，這是一個陌生而危險的男人。誤入新空間的亨利衣不蔽體，形象狼狽。對于亨利，他卻早已知道，在未來，他們兩個人將會成為夫妻。這個穿著背心裙、用警惕的眼神打量著他的小女孩，將成為他生命中最為重要的一員。為此，亨利小心呵護著克萊爾的成長，并不敢直接袒露他的身份，只是在來來回回的時空旅行中，珍惜每次回到少女時代的克萊爾身邊的機會，慢慢地讓她接受他，在她心頭植下他的影子。

在時間主軸上，克萊爾在20歲時與28歲的亨利正式相遇，三年后，他們締結(jié)婚約。是亨利跳脫主線的時間旅行成就了這段奇緣，讓茫茫人海中兩個素昧平生的人以如此不平凡的方式邂逅。亨利是幸福的，他可以回到過去，為自己定下未來終生相攜的伴侶。亨利同時也是不幸的，無論他多么渴望與克萊爾長相廝守，卻只能眼睜睜看著自己在克萊爾生活的時空中一次又一次被帶走，伴隨著身體的劇痛而隱形、消失，醒來倒在陌生的街頭。相愛后，亨利的每一次時間旅行對克萊爾來說都是一次錐心的折磨?？巳R爾不知道亨利會何時歸來，又會何時離去。她的人生是周而復(fù)始的等待，等待他每一次旅行后的歸航。

幸好，亨利每次都會歸航，無論是在旅行途中碰到了暴力團伙，還是被人誤認為是小偷?；丶視r他可能會頭破血流，滿身傷痕。有一次，他甚至昏厥在雪地里，為此凍傷了雙腳，不得不截肢。然而每一次，他都信守承諾，像歸帆一般停靠到“家”這個由克萊爾守護的碼頭。不過，也正因為亨利擁有時間旅行的異能，他預(yù)先得知了等待著他們的悲劇——他將在43歲的一次時空旅行中被人誤傷，因此喪生，無法與克萊爾相攜走完人生旅程，也無法陪伴女兒，呵護她長大成人。

在感應(yīng)到自己即將離開這個世界的時候，亨利為克萊爾留下了一封信，即上文節(jié)選部分。在信中，亨利告訴克萊爾，他是如此地深愛著她:“克萊爾，我想再次告訴你，我愛你。這些年來，我們之間的愛，一直是汪洋的苦海中指航的明燈，是高空鋼索步行者身下的安全網(wǎng)，是我怪誕生活中唯一的真實，唯一的信任?！?Clare， I want to tell you， again， I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth， the net under the high-wire walker， the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust.)他也告訴了克萊爾時空旅行將留給他們意外的饋贈——他此前曾經(jīng)穿越時間的壁壘，進入2053年，43歲的他見到了已經(jīng)82歲的滿頭霜華的克萊爾。他在信中為克萊爾留下了希望，告訴她，在人生的盡頭，他們還有可能重逢。

《圣經(jīng)》的《哥多林前書》第13章有云:“愛是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈……凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐;愛是永不止息?！痹诤嗬涂巳R爾的愛情中，時空轉(zhuǎn)移所制造的分離并不能割斷他們由愛組成的心靈紐帶。誠如亨利所言:“我愛你，永永遠遠。時間沒有什么了不起?！?I love you， always. Time is nothing.)不必在意人世變遷，不必在意時間流轉(zhuǎn)，甚至不必在意死亡。盡管亨利離開了這個世界，克萊爾依然在等待，在堅定地守護著愛情，她知道在時間中流浪的他，會穿越過去，在未來的某個時間，呼應(yīng)她的思念，歸航來與她相逢。

1.crusty [5krQstI] adj. 有硬殼的，硬的

2.hourglass [5aJE^lB:s] n. 沙漏

3.buoy [bCI] vt. 使浮起，支撐

4.Alicia:愛麗西亞，克萊爾的妹妹

5.duration [djuE5reIFEn] n. 持續(xù)，持久

6.out-and-out [5autEnd5aut] adj. 完全的，徹底的

7.unambiguous [7QnAm5bI^juEs] adj. 不含糊的，明確的

8.goblin [5^CblIn] n. 小妖精

9.Odysseus:奧德修斯，古希臘荷馬所作史詩《奧德賽》中的主人公，伊塞卡國王，特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭領(lǐng)袖之一，曾獻木馬計，使希臘軍獲勝。

10.buffet [5bQfIt] vt. 打擊，沖擊

11.Alba:愛爾芭，克萊爾和亨利的女兒

12.eat up:吞噬;困擾

13.unencumbered [7QnIn5kQmbEd] adj. 沒有阻礙的，不受妨礙的

14.superstitiously [7sju:pE5stIFEslI] adv. 迷信地，受迷信思想支配地

15.Kendrick:肯德里克，亨利的醫(yī)生，他是遺傳學專家、哲學家。

16.galosh [^E5lCF] n. [常用復(fù)]橡膠套鞋

17.cardigan sweater:開襟羊毛衫