解密安妮·李斯特（2010）

There was once a woman
有这样一位女性
who lived the most extraordinary and improbable life.
她过着不同寻常 令人难以置信的生活
She was a beacon of independence
她像是独♥立♥自主精神的灯塔
who cut swathes across polite genteel Regency society
矗立在200多年前摄政时期的约克郡
here in Yorkshire, where she lived 200 years ago.
她的光芒冲破上流社会的束缚
Her name was Anne Lister.
她就是安妮·李斯特
Throughout her life, Anne kept a series of diaries,
安妮一生写下了大量的日记
which are some of the most important,
这些日记在英国文学史上意义非凡
but yet little known, in English literature.
但却鲜为人知
They run to an extraordinary four million words,
洋洋四百万字的日记
recording her life in minute detail.
详细记录了她生活的点点滴滴
But that’s not all.
不光如此
Part of her epic volumes
其中一部分
are written in a strange and cryptic code.
是用一种奇特的神秘代码写成的
What the coded sections conceal
这些密♥码♥写就的部分
is a more secret side to Anne Lister,
隐藏着安妮·李斯特不为人知的一面
so controversial
正是这些颇具争议的内容
that her diaries were suppressed for over 100 years.
使她的日记被封存了一百多年
In this code,
在这段密♥码♥文字里
she reveals the graphic details of her love affairs,
她细细描述了
amongst the many women of Yorkshire and beyond.
自己和约克郡及外省的女人们恋爱的经历
But in her diary she also lays bare a ruthless self-possession
但在日记中她也表现出无情冷酷的一面
which enabled her to become a shrewd landowner,
这种特质使她成为精明的地主
a pioneering industrialist,
开拓型实业家
an intrepid adventurer
无畏的探险家
and an ambitious social climber,
和一心攀龙附凤的人
no matter what betrayal and tragedy she left in her wake.
并由之发生了很多背叛和悲剧
Anne Lister was born into a world we think we all know.
安妮·李斯特出生在一个我们熟知的年代
It’s the Regency world of Jane Austen,
简·奥斯汀笔下的摄政时代
of delicate and refined women, bound by strict social codes,
优雅柔弱的女人被严格的社会规则所束缚
obediently waiting at various awkward tea parties
在各种无聊的茶会和舞会中
and dances to be matched with their own Mr Darcy.
顺从地等待属于自己的达西先生
But it’s a world turned upside down
但当你打开安妮·李斯特的日记
when you pick up the diaries of Anne Lister.
会发现一个被彻底颠覆了的世界
“With Miss Walker last night,
昨晚和沃克小姐在一起
“Three orgasms one after another without once separating.
高♥潮♥迭起 连续三次
“I was hot to washing to wetness before it was half over.
还没进行到一半的时候我已经情难自禁
“I love and only love the fairer sex
我深爱并且只爱♥女♥人♥
“And thus beloved by them in turn.
同时也被她们这样地爱着
“My heart revolts from any other love than theirs.”
我由衷地反感一切其他的爱
The first thing that strikes me about reading this is…
读到这些时 我很震撼
it’s made me mildly annoyed,
感到有些懊恼
because I hadn’t heard of her before.
因为之前我从未听说过她
I’m annoyed because I was so bored learning history as a kid,
在我的孩提时代 觉得学习历史非常无聊
I’d sit there with my eyes rolling in my head
我就坐在那
as I heard about these rather tedious women
想着那些沉闷无聊的妇人们
who wore ridiculous dresses and swooned
她们穿着可笑的衣服
and succumbed to consumption and
热爱并沉迷于消费
would endlessly support their moustached husbands
永远支持崇拜她们长着八字须的老公
as they ventured forth into the furthest reaches of the Empire.
只因为他们曾到过帝国的边缘
But none of these women really spoke to me.
但这些妇人没有一个能触动我
None of them I could relate to my own experience,
她们的经历和我完全没有重合
not only growing up in the suburbs,
不仅仅是因为我生长在郊区
but growing up as somebody gay,
而且我是个同性恋者
as somebody who wants to be different
我喜欢与众不同
and do various crazy things in my life.
总是会做些疯狂的事
You know, suddenly, there she is.
突然之间她出现了
She’s been there all along,
她一直在那儿
so why haven’t we heard about her?
为什么我们却从没有听说过她
I want to uncover the conspiracy of silence
我想揭开这个秘密
surrounding Anne’s coded diaries.
为什么人们对安妮的秘密日记保持缄默
I want to know how this woman secured her place
我想知道这个女人在摄政时期的上流社会
in Regency high society,
如何保护自己
took on men in the world of coal mining,
如何在采矿行业里管理男人
ran her own estate and ventured far abroad.
如何经营房♥地♥产♥ 去国外投资
I also want to find out how on earth she managed to weave her way
我也想知道她是如何
through the conventions of her day
冲破那个时代的风俗
in order to seduce some of Yorkshire’s finest ladies.
让约克郡那些最美好的女人迷上她
Perhaps the best place to start is here,
或许珍藏着她日记手稿的地方
with the original diaries themselves.
就是解密安妮最好的起点
Anne’s epic volumes are kept
安妮史诗般的日记
in a monitored storage facility,
被存放在一个受监控的仓库里
known as the strong room, deep in the bowels of the building.
这幢房♥子最深处的保险库
Although anyone can access them,
尽管任何人都可以浏览这些手稿
Anne’s code makes them almost entirely impenetrable.
但安妮的密♥码♥使得它们晦涩难懂
Helena Whitbread has spent the last 25 years of her life
海伦娜·惠特布雷德在过去的25年里
painstakingly deciphering Anne’s writing,
呕心沥血地解密这些日记
although she did stop for a tea break.
虽然偶尔也有间断
So, here are Anne Lister’s journals,
这就是安妮·李斯特的日记
or a tiny selection, I imagine.
或者只是一小部分
How many are there in total? There are 23…
一共有多少 23本
Of these big boys?
这么多
Yes, of the main journals.
是的 主要是日记
And a couple of small exercise books
还有些小练习本
with which she started her first attempts
她在这上面开始尝试构思
at constructing her journal.
她的日记
So I’ll put the magician’s gloves on
那我来戴上魔术师的手套
and we can actually have a look.
我们一起来看看吧
OK. This is exciting to see them in the flesh.
好的 亲眼看到它们真令人兴奋
The script is so immaculate.
很完美的手稿
Mm. It’s absolutely perfect. So tiny.
是的 非常完美
Especially when you think, you know, she’s a teenager.
尤其是当你知道她只是个十几岁的少女
Yes. 15 years old, writing by candlelight,
对 15岁 而且你要知道
I might add, when the daylight ceased.
太阳下山后她就在烛光下写作
I mean, look how tiny the writing is.
看这字多小
So, I can see here that the script degenerates
可以看到从这里开始
into a series of letters and symbols.
手稿变成了一堆字母和符号♥
The bits that are in code I’m assuming
我想用密♥码♥写成的这一部分
are the bits that are that most pertain to her private life.
就是关于她个人生活中最为私密的部分
Yes. And then surely that’s going to wet your appetite
对 这肯定会大吊你胃口
and you’re going to think, “Now, this is going to be filthy.”
你会想 哇 开始有点下流的了
She put, she’s taken the time…
她慢慢地…
No, I didn’t think it was going to be filthy! You did.
哦不 我没觉得这里有什么不堪的 是你
“Good, there’s a juicy bit coming up!”
“很好 有趣的部分来了!”
“Yeah, I went to doctor’s. Yes,
“对 我去看医生了
I bought some mutton… Ooh, hang on. Here we go.”
我买♥♥了些羊肉 哦等等 看这儿”
And then you’re into the code. I am.
然后你就破解了密♥码♥ 是啊
What I saw was I into the romance.
我所看到的是浪漫
“The romance.” The romance, not the filth.
“浪漫” 浪漫 不是下流的
Kiss is sex, orgasm… Right. OK.
亲吻是性 是高♥潮♥… 对
So if she, if Anne Lister asked you
那如果安妮·李斯特
for a peck on the cheek you’d be in trouble.
要轻吻一下你的脸颊 你可有麻烦了
That’s a different sort of kiss.
那是不一样的吻
And there’s a cross here. What’s the cross?
这里有个小十字 这是什么意思
Oh, the tiny cross there?
哦 这个小十字吗
That indicates autoerotic practices. OK. Right.
暗示”自体性♥欲♥的练习” 没错
That’s a very academic way of putting it.
这种解释非常学术化
I have great respect for
我对你这种
the demure way in which you’ve handled that.
十分敬佩
Right. That is the…
是的 这是…
She’s made do. Yes, yes, she’s…
她只能”聊以自♥慰♥” 是的
On those long Halifax winter nights. Yes.
在那些漫长的哈利法克斯的冬夜里 是的
It turns out that Anne used a combination of Greek letters
安妮用希腊字母和代数符号♥
and algebraic symbols to construct her code.
构建了她自己的密♥码♥
Show off.
真够卖♥♥弄的
At four million words,
四百万字
they’re twice the length of Samuel Pepys’s diaries.
是塞缪尔·佩皮斯日记长度的两倍
And what his writings do for the 17th century,
佩皮斯日记记录了17世纪发生的事
Anne’s very much do for the Regency period.
而安妮的日记更多是关于摄政时期的内容
Anne Lister was born here in Halifax in 1791.
安妮·李斯特1791年出生在哈利法克斯