MASARYK UNIVERSITY. Kate Chopin's Short Stories: Translation and Analysis with Special regard to Style

MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature

Kate Chopin's Short Stories: Translation and Analysis with Special regard to Style

Diploma Thesis

Brno 2014

Supervisor: Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D.

Author: Bc. Alena Matyášová

Bibliografický záznam MATYÁŠOVÁ, Alena. Kate Chopin's Short Stories: Translation and Analysis with Special regard to Style: Diploma thesis. Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Education, Department of English Language and Literature, 2014. Vedoucí diplomové práce Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D.

Anotace Tato diplomová práce s názvem Povídky Kate Chopin: překlad a analýza s důrazem na styl, se zaměřuje na překlad šesti vybraných povídek do češtiny. Práce je rozdělena do dvou částí – praktické a teoretické, přičemž první, praktická část je překlad samotný a v teoretické části je podána analýza překladu vybraných jazykových struktur. Zvláštní pozornost je věnována překladu afro-americké angličtiny, cizímu jazyku v textu a překladu kulturních jevů. Také se zabývá různými problémy, které se při překládání vyskytují.

Annotation The diploma thesis Kate Chopin's Short Stories: Translation and Analysis with Special regard to Style focuses on the translation of six selected short stories into Czech. The work is divided into two parts – practical and theoretical where the first part is the translation itself and the second part analyses the translation of particular language structures. Special attention is paid to the translation of the African-American English, foreign words in the text and cultural words. It also considers various problems which appear during translation.

Klíčová slova Kate Chopin, překlad, afro-americká angličtina, Cajun, kultura, vlastní jména

Keywords Kate Chopin, translation, African-American English, Cajun, culture, proper names

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Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, s využitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. ………………………………… Bc. Alena Matyášová

Declaration I hereby declare that this diploma thesis is my own work and that the information I used has been fully acknowledged in the text and included in the reference list. I agree with putting the thesis on public display at Masaryk University for study purposes.

………………………………… Bc. Alena Matyášová

Brno, 23. 10. 2014

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Poděkování Na tomto místě bych chtěla poděkovat Mgr. Martinu Adamovi, Ph.D. za jeho vlídné vedení mé diplomové práce a za jeho užitečné rady.

Acknowledgements I would like to gratefully acknowledge the kind supervision and helpful advice of Mgr. Martin Adam, Ph.D.

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Table of contents: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 6 KATE CHOPIN..................................................................................................................... 7 KATE CHOPIN'S SHORT STORIES .............................................................................. 7 PRACTICAL PART .............................................................................................................. 9 ABOUT TRANSLATION .................................................................................................. 55 AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH ................................................................................... 58 TRANSLATION AND CULTURE, FRENCH EXPRESSIONS IN THE TEXT .............. 65 CAJUN COUNTRY ........................................................................................................ 67 LIST OF NAMES ............................................................................................................ 76 T–V DISTINCTION IN TRANSLATION ......................................................................... 77 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 82

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INTRODUCTION The diploma thesis deals with the translation of six selected short stories by Kate Chopin from the book Complete Novels and Stories and the analysis of the translation with special regards to style. The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part is practical, covering the translation itself and the text is organized in two columns – the original text on the left side of a page and the translation on the right. The second part is theoretical and deals with translation theory and comments on the translation process itself. My decision for translation as the topic for my thesis was mainly because I felt it would help my professional development and a chance to put linguistic theoretic knowledge into practice. Throughout the studies I had not pursued any translation courses apart from an optional online course so writing the thesis was an ideal opportunity to enhance my skills and examine a different aspect of English language – its translation. I found the journey rewarding, demanding and frustrating at the same time as a perfect translation does not exist, there are, in my opinion, no right or wrong ways and there are usually more questions than answers. When I searched for a suitable text to translate, my intention was to find a work which had not been translated before. It proved quite hard but finally I was able to choose an author who was studied in literature classes. Kate Chopin's stort stories are an interesting subject for translation for a number of reasons. Her style is special as a combination of realism, romanticism and local colour writing. Local colour writing is reflected in the author's use of regional dialects including French expressions, Afro-American English and others. Moreover, the flow of the author's short stories is remarkable. The beginnings are generally lengthy – as far as a short story allows – descriptive, with great emphasis to details and a precise portrayal of characters. The story unfolds gradually and it concludes with a masterful climax, unexpected and astonishing. Therefore, inevitably, there were various difficulties encountered in the process of translation which are commented on in the theoretical part. Undoubtedly, these difficulties are the reason that make translating an attractive subject of study.

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KATE CHOPIN Catherine O'Flaherty was born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, on February 8, 1850. Her father was an Irish immigrant and her mother was of French origin, therefore Kate grew up bilingual in English and French. Her knowledge and experience of different cultures is reflected in her writing. During the Civil War she stayed in St. Louis, her family owned slaves, her father had died in 1855. She married Oscar Chopin, ''the right man'' in her own words, in 1870. They settled in New Orleans, culturally rich city but troubled at the time with racial and economic issues. Later, in 1879 they had to move to a small French village Cloutierville with their six children as Oscar was forced to close New Orleans business because of financial difficulties. Oscar died in 1882 of malaria, leaving Kate behind with 6 children to raise. Kate moved to St. Louis as she felt it provided better education for her children and more culturally stimulating environment for herself. Her first short story was published in 1889 in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. A year later, her first novel, At Fault, was published privately. She was active in literary and cultural circles and published about a hundred short stories in the following decade. Her short stories, which were published in prestigious magazines such as Vogue, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Young People, Youth Companion and the Century, received a great deal of success. Also, two collections of her short stories – Bayou Folk (published in 1894) and A Night in Acadie ( 1897) were acknowledged by favourable reviews from critics. Kate Chopin also wrote children's stories, about a third of all her stories, published in children's magazines. She was well established a writer for readers of magazine fiction. However, her novel The Awakening (1899) received very bad reviews, being called ''morbid'', ''unhealthy'', ''sordid'', ''poison''. In 1902 her third collection of short stories A Vocation and a Voice was published. Kate died on August 22, 1904. (Koloski ''Biography'').

KATE CHOPIN'S SHORT STORIES

Most of the stories are set in Louisiana in the late nineteenth century. The central characters are local people of that time – Creoles, Acadians and ''Americans'' (outsiders from Creoles and Acadians point of view), African Americans, Native Americans and mixed races. (Koloski ''Short Stories'') The short stories reflect the period shortly after the Civil War with all its downfalls and effects on community and people.

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The popular themes of her short stories are women trying to find themselves and their true identity, their fights against conventional womanhood and social restrictions imposed on women but also about women's sexuality and maternity. Moreover, the subject of race and regional dialects are to be found throughout her works. (ibid)

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A Gentleman of Bayou Têche

Vážený pán od řeky Têche

IT was no wonder Mr. Sublet, who was Nebylo divu, že pan Sublet, který pobýval staying at the Hallet plantation, wanted to na plantáži Halletových, chtěl nakreslit make a picture of Evariste. The 'Cadian was obrázek rather a picturesque subject in his way, and malebnou

Evarista.

Tenhle

předlohou

Akad

svým

byl

vlastním

a tempting one to an artist looking for bits způsobem a poutavou pro umělce, který of "local color" along the Têche.

hledal útržky „místní atmosféry“ podél Têche.

Mr. Sublet had seen the man on the back gallery just as he came out of the swamp, trying to sell a wild turkey to the Pan Sublet viděl toho muže na zadní terase, housekeeper. He spoke to him at once, and zrovna když přišel z bažiny a snažil se in the course of conversation engaged him prodat divokého krocana paní domácí. Hned to return to the house the following morning s ním promluvil a během hovoru ho zavázal and have his picture drawn. He handed k tomu, že se vrátí příští dopoledne a nechá Evariste a couple of silver dollars to show se nakreslit. Everistovi předal dva stříbrné that his intentions were fair, and that he dolary, aby ukázal, že má čestné úmysly a že očekával, že Akad dodrží své slovo.

expected the 'Cadian to keep faith with him.

"He tell' me he want' put my picture in one „Řek mi, že chce dát muj vobrázek do fine ' Mag 'zine,' " said Evariste to his jednoho fajnovýho žurnálu.“ řekl Evariste daughter, Martinette, when the two were své dceři Martinette, když spolu o té talking the matter over in the afternoon. záležitosti mluvili odpoledne.

„Na co

"W'at fo' you reckon he want' do dat?" They myslíš, že to chce?“ Seděli uvnitř nízké, sat within the low, homely cabin of two prosté boudy čítající dvě místnosti, která rooms, that was not quite so comfortable as nebyla tak docela útulná, jako byly ty pro černochy pana Halleta.

Mr. Hallet's negro quarters.

Martinette pursed her red lips that had little Mariette našpulila své červené, výrazně sensitive curves to them, and her black eyes lemované rty a její černé oči dostaly hloubavý výraz.

took on a reflective expression.

"Mebbe he yeard 'bout that big fish w'at you „Možný je, že zaslech vo tý velký rybě, jak ketch las' winta in Carancro lake. You know si chytil loni v zimě na jezeru Carancro. 9

it was all wrote about in the 'Suga Bowl.' " Dyť víš, psalo se vo tom v ,Suga Bowl’.“ Her father set aside the suggestion with a Otec odmítl tuto myšlenku nesouhlasným mávnutím ruky.

deprecatory wave of the hand.

"Well, anyway, you got to fix yo'se'f up," „Tak jako tak, musíš se vyfešákovat,“ declared

Martinette,

dismissing

further prohlásila

Martinette,

a

odmítla

další

speculation; "put on yo' otha pant'loon' an' spekulace, „voblíkneš si ty druhý kalhoty a yo' good coat; an' you betta ax Mr. Léonce ten pěknej kabát. A měl bys říct panu Léoncovi, aby ti trošku přistřihnul vlasy a

to cut yo' hair, an' yo' w'sker' a li'le bit."

kníra.“ "It 's w'at I say," chimed in Evariste. "I tell dat gent'man I 'm goin' make myse'f fine. He „Přesně to sem řikal,“ přitakával Evariste. say', 'No, no,' like he ent please'. He want' „Povidam tomu pánovi, že se nastrojim a me like I come out de swamp. So much von na to ,ne, to ne’ jako by nebyl rád. betta if my pant'loon' an' coat is tore, he say, Chce abych byl, tak jako sem přišel z bažiny. Bude daleko lepčí, dyž kalhoty i

an' color' like de mud" They could not

understand these eccentric wishes on the kabát budou rozdrbaný, řikal, a budou vod part of the strange gentleman, and made no bahna.“ Nebyli sto pochopit tato výstřední přání ze strany toho zvláštního pána, a ani

effort to do so.

se o to nesnažili. An hour later Martinette, who was quite puffed up over the affair, trotted across to O hodinu později, Martinette, protože se Aunt Dicey's cabin to communicate the cítila důležitě díky této události, přeběhla do news to her. The negress was ironing; her boudy tety Dicey, aby jí sdělila tu novinu. irons stood in a long row before the fire of Černoška zrovna žehlila, její žehlička ležela logs that burned on the hearth. Martinette před poleny hořícími v ohništi. Martinette seated herself in the chimney corner and se posadila do rohu u komína a pozvedla held her feet up to the blaze; it was damp nohy k ohni. Venku bylo vlhko a chladno. and a little chilly out of doors. The girl's Dívčiny boty byly značně prochozené a shoes were considerably worn and her oblečení moc tenké a nedostatečné pro garments were a little too thin and scant for zimní období. Otec jí dal dva dolary, které the winter season. Her father had given her dostal od umělce a Martinette byla na cestě the two dollars he had received from the do obchodu, aby je utratila jak nejuvážlivěji artist, and Martinette was on her way to the uměla.

10

store to invest them as judiciously as she knew how. "You know, Aunt Dicey," she began a little „Víš, teto Dicey,“ začala trochu samolibě, complacently after listening awhile to Aunt po chvíli, co vyslechla nekončící lamentace Dicey's unqualified abuse of her own son, na

Diceyna

syna,

Wilkinse,

který

Wilkins, who was dining-room boy at Mr. posluhoval v jídelně u pana Halleta, „víš ten Hallet's, "you know that stranger gentleman cizí pán u pana Halleta? Von chce up to Mr. Hallet's? he want' to make my namalovat obrázek taťky a řek, že pak ho dá popa's picture; an' he say' he goin' put it in do fajnovýho žurnálu tam u nich.“ one fine Mag 'zine yonda." Aunt Dicey spat upon her iron to test its Teta Dicey plivla na žehličku, aby zjistila, heat. Then she began to snicker. She kept on jak je nahřátá. Pak se začala pohihňávat, laughing inwardly, making her whole fat smála se vnitřně a tlumeně, že se třáslo celé body shake, and saying nothing.

její tlusté tělo a nic neříkala.

"W'at you laughin' 'bout, Aunt Dice?"

„Čemu se směješ, teto Dais?“ zeptala se

inquired Martinette mistrustfully.

Martinette podezíravě.

"I is n' laughin', chile!"

„Dyť se vubec nesměju, děvče.“

"Yas, you' laughin'."

„Ale jo, směješ se.“

"Oh, don't pay no 'tention to me. I jis „Ááá, vubec si mě nevšímej. Já si jenom tak studyin' how simple you an' yo' pa is. You is přemejšlim, jak ste ty a tvuj táta pitomý. Vy bof de simplest somebody I eva come ste voba ty nejpitomější stvoření, jaký sem 'crost."

kdy potkala.“

"You got to say plumb out w'at you mean, „Musíš vysvětlit, jak to myslíš, teto Dais,“ Aunt Dice," insisted the girl doggedly, požadovala suspicious and alert now.

dívka

zarputile,

teď

již

podezíravá a ostražitá.

"Well, dat w'y I say you is simple," „Proto řikam, že si pitomá,“ prohlásila žena, proclaimed the woman, slamming down her když práskla žehličku na obrácený otlučený iron on an inverted, battered pie pan, "jis plech na koláč, „tak jak povidáš, voni daj 11

like you says, dey gwine put yo' pa's picture ten

vobrázek

do

ňákejch

novin

s

yonda in de picture paper. An' you know vobrázkama. A víš jaký počtení tam daj pod w'at readin' dey gwine sot down on'neaf dat ten

vobrázek?

Martinette

pozorně

picture?" Martinette was intensely attentive. poslouchala. Voni tam zasadí: Tadle hlava "Dey gwine sot down on'neaf: 'Dis heah is je jednoho z těch ubohejch Cajunů vod řeky one dem low-down 'Cajuns o' Bayeh Têche!“ Têche!' " The blood flowed from Martinette's face, Martinette se odkrvil obličej, byla mrtvolně leaving it deathly pale; in another instant it bledá. V mžiku se jí krev vrátila zpátky jako came beating back in a quick flood, and her povodeň a oči jí pálily bolestí, jakoby slzy, eyes smarted with pain as if the tears that které je zaplnily, byly rozpálené ohněm. filled them had been fiery hot. "I knows dem kine o' folks," continued Aunt „Já je znám tydlety floutky,“ pokračovala Dicey, resuming her interrupted ironing. " teta Dicey, a zase začala žehlit, „ten Dat stranger he got a li'le boy w'at ain't none neznámej chlap má malýho syna, eště ani too big to spank. Dat li'le imp he come a nevodrost vejprasku na zadek. A tajtej hoppin' in heah yistiddy wid a kine o' box hajzlik sem přihopsal včéra s takovou on'neaf his arm. He say' 'Good mo'nin', krabičkou pod paží. A řiká mi: Dobré ráno, madam. Will you be so kine an' stan' jis like dámo. Budete vod tý vochoty a postojíte you is dah at yo' i'onin', an' lef me take yo' zrovna jak ste u toho žehlení a já si vás picture?' I 'lowed I gwine make a picture vyfotim? Zařvala sem na něj, že udělam outen him wid dis heah flati'on, ef he don' fotku z něho toudletou horkou žehličkou, cl'ar hisse'f quick. An' he say he baig my estli se hned votuď nevyklidí. A von na to, pardon fo' his intrudement. All dat kine o' že žádá vo prominutí za narušování. talk to a ole nigga 'oman! Dat plainly sho' Takovýdle řečičky ke starý černý megeře. he don' know his place."

To jasně dokazuje, že neví, kam patří.“

"W'at you want 'im to say, Aunt Dice?" „A cobys chtěla aby řek, teto Dais?“ zeptala asked Martinette, with an effort to conceal se her distress.

Martinette

se

snahou

zakrýt

své

rozrušení.

"I wants 'im to come in heah an' say: „Moch sem přijít a říc: Jak se vede, teto 'Howdy, Aunt Dicey! will you be so kine Dicey! Budeš tak hodná a voblečeš si ty 12

and go put on yo' noo calker dress an' yo' svoje nový šaty a klobouk, kerý nosíš na bonnit w'at you w'ars to meetin', an' stan' setkání a vodstup vod toho žehlení a já si tě 'side f'om dat i'onin'-boa'd w'ilse I gwine vyfotim. Takle má mluvit kluk, co je slušně take yo' photygraph.' Dat de way fo' a boy vychovanej.“ to talk w'at had good raisin'." Martinette had arisen, and began to take Martinette

mezitím

vstala

a

pomalu

slow leave of the woman. She turned at the odcházela. Otočila se u dveří boudy, aby cabin door to observe tentatively: "I reckon nesměle podotkla: „Počitam, že ti Wilkins it 's Wilkins tells you how the folks they řiká,

jak

tydle

floutkové

mluví

tam

u Halletových.“

talk, yonda up to Mr. Hallet's."

She did not go to the store as she had Martinette nešla do obchodu, jak původně intended, but walked with a dragging step zamýšlela, šouravou chůzí se vracela ke back to her home. The silver dollars clicked svému domovu. Stříbrné dolary jí cinkaly v in her pocket as she walked. She felt like kapse, jak kráčela. Měla chuť mrsknout s flinging them across the field; they seemed nimi do pole, zdálo se jí, že jsou útěchou za to her somehow the price of shame.

hanbu.

The sun had sunk, and twilight was settling Slunce zapadlo a soumrak si sedal jako like a silver beam upon the bayou and stříbrná zář nad řeku a zahaloval pole do enveloping the fields in a gray mist. šedavého oparu. Evariste, útlý a shrbený, Evariste, slim and slouchy, was waiting for čekal na svou dceru ve dveřích boudy. his daughter in the cabin door. He had Rozdělal oheň z klacíků a větví a postavil lighted a fire of sticks and branches, and před něj vařit vodu v konvici. Přivítal dívku placed the kettle before it to boil. He met svým

pomalým,

vážným

a

tázavým

the girl with his slow, serious, questioning pohledem, s údivem, že přišla s prázdnýma eyes, astonished to see her empty-handed.

rukama.

"How come you didn' bring nuttin' f'om de „Jak to, že nic neneseš z vobchodu, sto', Martinette?" She

entered

and

Martinette?“ flung

her

gingham Vešla dovnitř a mrskla svůj bavlněný

sunbonnet upon a chair. "No, I did n' go klobouček na židli. „Ne, nešla sem tam.“ A yonda;" and with sudden exasperation: náhle podrážděně dodala: „Musíš ty peníze 13

"You got to go take back that money; you vrátit, nemůžeš si nechat nakreslit žádnej vobrázek.“

mus' n' git no picture took." "But,

Martinette,"

her

father

mildly „Ale Martinette,“ klidně poznamenal její

interposed, "I promise' 'im; an' he 's goin' otec, „já sem mu to slíbil a von mi dá víc give me some mo' money w'en he finish."

peněž, až to dodělá.“

"If he give you a ba'el o' money, you mus'n' „I dyby ti dal celou hromadu peněz, nesmíš git no picture took. You know w'at he want si nechat nakresli žádnej vobrázek. Víš co to put un'neath that picture, fo' ev'body to chce dát pod ten vobrázek, co si tam každej read?" She could not tell him the whole počte?“ Nemohla mu říct celou ošklivou hideous truth as she had heard it distorted pravdu, jak jí slyšela rozrušeně z úst tety from Aunt Dicey's lips; she would not hurt Dicey, nechtěla ho tolik ranit. „Von tam him that much. "He 's goin' to write: 'This is napíše:

Takle vypadaj ty Cajunové vod

one ' Cajun o' the Bayou Têche.' " Evariste řeky Têche.“ Evariste sebou

trhnul.

winced. "How you know?" he asked.

„Jak to víš?“ zeptal se.

"I yeard so. I know it 's true."

„Zaslechla sem to. A vim, že to je pravda.“

The water in the kettle was boiling. He went Voda v konvici se vařila. Evariste šel a nalil and poured a small quantity upon the coffee malé množství na umletou kávu, kterou si which he had set there to drip. Then he said předtím připravil. „Myslim, že zrovnatak to her: "I reckon you jus' as well go care dat tam můžeš jít ty a vodnýst ty dva dolary. Já two dolla' back, tomo' mo'nin'; me, I 'll go rači pudu chytat ryby k večeři na jezero yonda ketch a mess o' fish in Carancro Carancro.“ lake." Mr. Hallet and a few masculine companions Pan Hallet a několik mužných společníků se were assembled at a rather late breakfast the sešli na poněkud pozdní snídani následující following morning. The dining-room was a dopoledne.

Jídelna

byla

prostorná

a

big, bare one, enlivened by a cheerful fire of poloprázdná, oživoval ji jasný oheň, který logs that blazed in the wide chimney on plápolal v širokém krbu s masivními massive andirons. There were guns, fishing stojany. V místnosti se povalovaly zbraně,

14

tackle, and other implements of sport lying rybářské náčiní, a další sportovní nástroje. about. A couple of fine dogs strayed Dva ušlechtilí psi bloudili bez zábran sem a unceremoniously in and out behind Wilkins, tam za Wilkinsem, černým chlapcem, který the negro boy who waited upon the table. obsluhoval u stolu. Židle po straně pana The chair beside Mr. Sublet, usually Subleta, na které obvykle seděl jeho malý occupied by his little son, was vacant, as the syn, byla prázdná, protože chlapec odešel na child had gone for an early morning outing brzkou ranní vycházku a ještě se nevrátil. and had not yet returned. When breakfast was about half over, Mr. Když byla snídaně už ve své druhé Hallet noticed Martinette standing outside polovině, pan Hallet si všiml Martinette, upon the gallery. The dining-room door had která stála venku na terase. Dveře do jídelny byly totiž po celou tu dobu otevřené.

stood open more than half the time.

"Is n't that Martinette out there, Wilkins?" „Že

to

inquired the jovial-faced young planter. Wilkinsi?“

je

Martinette zeptal

tamhle

venku,

bodrý

mladý

se

"Dat 's who, suh," returned Wilkins. "She plantážník. “Je to vona, váženej pane,“ ben standin' dah sence mos' sun-up; look odvětil Wilkins. „Stojí tam už skoro vod rozbřesku. Vypadá, jak dyby chtěla na tý

like she studyin' to take root to de gall'ry."

verandě zakořenit.“ "What in the name of goodness does she want? Ask her what she wants. Tell her to „Co propána může chtít? Zeptej se jí, co potřebuje. Řekni jí, ať jde dovnitř k ohni.“

come in to the fire."

Martinette walked into the room with much Martinette vešla do místnosti velice váhavě. hesitancy. Her small, brown face could Její malý, hnědý obličej byl stěží vidět, jak hardly be seen in the depths of the gingham byl úkrytý v bavněném čepečku. Její sukně, sun-bonnet.

Her

blue

cottonade

skirt z hrubé bavlněné tkaniny, sotva dosahovala

scarcely reached the thin ankles that it k should have covered.

tenoučkým

kotníkům,

které

měla

zakrývat.

"Bonjou'," she murmured, with a little „Bonžúr,“ řekla potichoučku s poklonkem, comprehensive nod that took in the entire který patřil celé přítomné společnosti. company. Her eyes searched the table for Pohledem pátrala

kolem stolu po „cizím

the "stranger gentleman," and she knew pánovi“, kterého poznala hned, protože měl 15

him at once, because his hair was parted in pěšinku uprostřed a zašpičatělou bradku. Šla the middle and he wore a pointed beard. She k němu a položila dva stříbrné dolary vedle went and laid the two silver dollars beside jeho talíře a odebrala se k odchodu bez his plate and motioned to retire without a slůvka vysvětlení. word of explanation. "Hold on, Martinette!" called out the „Počkej, Martinette!“ zvolal plantážník. „Co planter, "what

's all

this pantomime má

business? Speak out, little one."

znamenat

tahle

němohra?

Mluv,

maličká.“

"My popa don't want any picture took," she „Můj taťka se nechce nechat nakreslit.“ offered, a little timorously. On her way to namítla, poněkud bázlivě. Cestou ke dveřím the door she had looked back to say this. In se ohlédla, aby jim to řekla. V tom that fleeting glance she detected a smile of kraťoučkém okamžiku si povšimla, jak se intelligence pass from one to the other of na sebe vědoucně

usmívají jeden po

the group. She turned quickly, facing them druhém. Rychle se otočila čelem k nim. all, and spoke out, excitement making her Rozčílení způsobilo, že její hlas byl voice bold and shrill: "My popa ent one odvážný a pronikavý a zvolala: „Muj tatik low-down 'Cajun. He ent goin' to stan' to neni žádnej ubohej Cajun. Nenechá si líbit, have that kine o' writin' put down un'neath aby měl něco takovýho napsanýho pod his picture!"

vobrázkem.“

She almost ran from the room, half blinded Martinette takřka vypálila z místnosti, napůl by the emotion that had helped her to make oslepená emocemi, které jí pomohly pronést so daring a speech.

tak odvážnout řeč.

Descending the gallery steps she ran full Když scházela schody z verandy, plnou against her father who was ascending, vahou narazila do svého otce, který stoupal bearing in his arms the little boy, Archie po schodech a v náruči nesl malého chlapce, Sublet. The child was most grotesquely Archieho Subleta. Dítko bylo groteskně attired in garments far too large for his oblečeno v oděvu, který byl přespříliš velký diminutive person - the rough jeans clothing na jeho drobounké postavě. Byl to oděv z of some negro boy. Evariste himself had hrubé

rifloviny

nějakého

černošského

evidently been taking a bath without the chlapce. Sám Evariste se zjevně koupal preliminary ceremony of removing his oblečený, jeho oděv byl jen napůl usušený 16

clothes, that were now half dried upon his větrem a sluncem. person by the wind and sun. "Yere you' li'le boy," he announced, „Taj máte kluka,“ oznámil, když klopýtal stumbling into the room. "You ought not lef do místnosti. „neměli byste nechávat tajto dat li'le chile go by hissed comme ça in de dítě samotný comme ça jezdit v kánoji.“ Pan pirogue." Mr. Sublet darted from his chair; Sublet vyskočil ze židle a ostatní taktéž, the others following suit almost as hastily. téměř stejně rychle. V mžiku, třesoucí se In an instant, quivering with apprehension, strachy, měl svého synka v náruči. Dítko he had his little son in his arms. The child bylo docela v pořádku, jen trochu bledé a was quite unharmed, only somewhat pale vystrašené, následkem nedávného tonutí. and nervous, as the consequence of a recent very serious ducking. Evariste related in his uncertain, broken English how he had been fishing for an hour or more in Carancro lake, when he noticed the boy paddling over the deep, black water in a shell-like pirogue. Nearing a clump of cypress-trees that rose from the lake, the pirogue became entangled in the heavy moss that hung from the tree limbs and trailed upon the water. The next thing he knew, the boat had overturned, he heard the child scream, and saw him disappear beneath the still, black surface of the lake.

Evariste vyprávěl svojí nejistou, lámanou angličtinou, jak asi hodinu či déle chytal ryby na jezeru Carancro, když si všiml chlapce,

který pádloval

v

hlubokých,

tmavých vodách ve skořepinové kánoji. Když se blížil shluku cypřišů, které se tyčily nad jezerem, kánoj se zamotala do hustého mechu, který visel na větvých stromů a táhl se až k hladině. V zápětí viděl, jak se loď převrhla, uslyšel křik toho chlapce a viděl, jak mizí pod nehybnou, tmavou hladinou jezera.

"W'en I done swim to de sho' wid 'im," „Dyž sem s nim doplaval na břeh,“ continued Evariste, "I hurry yonda to Jake pokračoval Evariste, „hned sem kvaltoval Baptiste's cabin, an' we rub 'im an' warm 'im do boudy k Jakeovi Baptistovi a tam sme ho up, an' dress 'im up dry like you see. He all vosušili a vohřáli a voblíkli do suchýho, jak right now, M'sieur; but you mus'n lef 'im go vidíte. Teď už je v cajku, pane, ale nesmíte no mo' by hisse'f in one pirogue."

ho už pouštět samotnýho na kánoji.“

Martinette had followed into the room Martinette šla do místnosti hned za svým 17

behind her father. She was feeling and otcem.

Starostlivě ohmatávala a ždímala

tapping his wet garments solicitously, and jeho mokré oblečení a prosila ho ve begging him in French to come home. Mr. francouzštině, aby šli domů. Pan Hallet Hallet at once ordered hot coffee and a hned objednal horkou kávu a teplou večeři warm breakfast for the two; and they sat pro oba. Usadili se v rohu stolu, bez down at the corner of the table, making no zbytečných zdvořilostí, v celé své prostotě. manner of objection in their perfect S očividnou nechutí a špatně skrývaným simplicity. It was with visible reluctance opovržením je Wilkins obsloužil. and ill-disguised contempt that Wilkins served them. When Mr. Sublet had arranged his son Když pan Sublet obstaral s láskyplnou péčí comfortably, with tender care, upon the synka, usadil ho na pohovku a přesvědčil se, sofa, and had satisfied himself that the child že se mu nic nestalo, snažil se najít slova, was quite uninjured, he attempted to find kterými by poděkoval Evaristovi za službu, words with which to thank Evariste for this za

kterou se žádným bohatstvím slov či

service which no treasure of words or gold zlata zaplatit nedalo. Z těchto vřelých a could pay for. These warm and heartfelt procítěných výrazů měl Evariste pocit, že expressions

seemed

to

Evariste

to zveličují význam jeho činu a zastrašovaly

exaggerate the importance of his action, and ho. Snažil se plaše zakrýt svoji tvář, jak to they intimidated him. He attempted shyly to jen šlo, do hrnku s kávou. hide his face as well as he could in the depths of his bowl of coffee. "You will let me make your picture now, I „Doufám, že mě teď necháš nakreslit tvůj hope, Evariste," begged Mr. Sublet, laying obrázek, Evariste,“ žadonil pan Sublet a his hand upon the 'Cadian's shoulder. "I položil ruku na rameno Akada. „Chci si ho want to place it among things I hold most dát mezi věci, které jsou pro mě nejdražší a dear, and shall call it 'A hero of Bayou nazvu ho Hrdina od řeky Têche.“ Zdálo se, Têche.' " This assurance seemed to distress že tento příslib Evaristeho velice rozrušil. Evariste greatly. "No, no," he protested, "it 's nuttin' hero' to „Ne, to ne,“ protestoval, „neni žádný take a li'le boy out de water. I jus' as easy do hrdinctví vytáhnout malýho kluka z vody.

18

dat like I stoop down an' pick up a li'le chile Je to zrovna tak jednoduchý, jako dybych se w'at fall down in de road. I ent goin' to 'low vohnul a zvednul malý dítě, co upadlo na dat, me. I don't git no picture took, va ! "

silnici, va!“

Mr. Hallet, who now discerned his friend's Pan Hallet, který vycítil dychtivost svého kamaráda v této záležitosti, mu přispěchal

eagerness in the matter, came to his aid.

na pomoc. "I tell you, Evariste, let Mr. Sublet draw your picture, and you yourself may call it „Říkám ti, Evariste, nech pana Subleta namalovat tvůj obrázek a ty sám si ho

whatever you want. I 'm sure he 'll let you."

nazveš, jak budeš chtít. Jsem si jistý, že ti to "Most willingly," agreed the artist.

dovolí.“

Evariste glanced up at him with shy and

„Bude mi potěšením.“ souhlasil umělec.

child-like pleasure. "It 's a bargain?" he Evariste na něj pohlédl se stydlivým a asked.

dětským potěšením. „Platí?“ zeptal se.

"A bargain," affirmed Mr. Sublet.

„Platí.“ potvrdil pan Sublet.

"Popa," whispered Martinette, "you betta

„Tatí,“ zašeptala Martinette, „měl bys jít

come home an' put on yo' otha pant'loon' an' domu a voblíct si ty druhý kalhoty a ten pěknej kabát.“

yo' good coat."

"And now, what shall we call the much „Nu, a jak nazveme ten tolikrát diskutovaný talked-of picture?" cheerily inquired the obrázek?“ ptal se radostně plantážník, zády planter, standing with his back to the blaze.

natočený k ohni.

Evariste in a business-like manner began Evariste carefully

to

trace

on

the

s

jakoby

tablecloth vystupováním začal

obchodnickým

po ubruse pečlivě

imaginary characters with an imaginary pen; vykreslovat pomyslná písmena pomyslným he could not have written the real characters perem. Nemohl napsat skutečná písmena with a real pen - he did not know how.

skutečným perem – neuměl psát.

"You will put on'neat' de picture," he said, „Dáte pod ten vobrázek,“ řekl rozvážně, deliberately, " 'Dis is one picture of Mista „Na vobrázku je pan Evariste Anatole Evariste Anatole Bonamour, a gent'-man of Bonamour, vážený pán od řeky Têche.“

19

de Bayou Têche.' " Dezirčino dítko

Desiree's Baby As

the

day

was

pleasant,

Madame Byl hezký den a tak madam Velmonde

Valmonde drove over to L'Abri to see odjela do L'Abri, aby viděla Dezirku a Desiree and the baby.

miminko.

It made her laugh to think of Desiree with a Myšlenka

na

Dezire

s

miminkem

jí

baby. Why, it seemed but yesterday that rozesmála. Jako by to bylo včera, kdy Desiree was little more than a baby herself; Dezire byla sama ještě téměř miminko, when Monsieur in riding through the když ji monsiér našel spát ve stínu gateway of Valmonde had found her lying kamenného kůlu, když projížděl bránou do asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.

Velmonde.

The little one awoke in his arms and began Maličká se probudila v jeho náruči a začala to cry for "Dada." That was as much as she křičet „tata“. To bylo všechno, co uměla. could do or say. Some people thought she Někteří si mysleli, že se tam sama zatoulala, might have strayed there of her own accord, protože v tu dobu již byla batole. Většinou for she was of the toddling age. The ale lidé věřili, že ji tam schválně zanechala prevailing belief was that she had been parta z Texasu, která ve voze

pokrytém

purposely left by a party of Texans, whose plachtou, projela pozdě v noci přívozem canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had kousek od plantáže. V té době madam crossed the ferry that Coton Mais kept, just Velmonde odmítla jakékoliv spekulace a below the plantation. In time Madame prohlásila, že Dezirku jí poslal dobrotivý Valmonde abandoned every speculation but Bůh, aby se stala její dcerou, protože ona the one that Desiree had been sent to her by sama vlastní dítě neměla. Když vyrostla, a beneficent Providence to be the child of stala se z ní krásná a něžná dívka, láskyplná her affection, seeing that she was without a upřímná – idol všech ve Valmonde. child of the flesh. For the girl grew to be beautiful and

gentle,

affectionate

and

sincere - the idol of Valmonde. It was no wonder, when she stood one Nebylo tedy překvapením, když jednoho day against the stone pillar in whose shadow dne stála ve stínu, opřená o stejný kůl, kde 20

she had lain asleep, eighteen years before, před osmnácti lety spala, když Armand that Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing Aubidny jel kolem a zamiloval se, hned jak her there, had fallen in love with her. That ji uviděl. Všichni Aubidnyovi to měli stejné, was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as zamilovali se, jako by je zasáhla kulka. Co if struck by a pistol shot. The wonder was však bylo překvapením, že se do ní that he had not loved her before; for he had nezamiloval už dříve. Znali se totiž již od known her since his father brought him doby, co se Armand s jeho otcem vrátili z home from Paris, a boy of eight, after his Paříže, po tom, co mu v osmi letech v Paříži mother died there. The passion that awoke zemřela maminka. Vášeň, která se v něm in him that day, when he saw her at the gate, ten den probudila, když ji uviděl u brány, ho swept along like an avalanche, or like a smetla jako lavina, jako požár v prérii, jako prairie fire, or like anything that drives cokoliv, co se řítí střemhlav přes překážky. headlong over all obstacles. Monsieur Valmonde grew practical and Monsiér Velmonde uvažoval racionálně a wanted things well considered: that is, the chtěl, aby vše bylo dobře uváženo, hlavně girl's obscure origin. Armand looked into tedy dívčin neznámý původ. Armand se jí her eyes and did not care. He was reminded podíval do očí a všechno ostatní mu bylo that she was nameless. What did it matter jedno. Připomínali mu, že je beze jména. A about a name when he could give her one of na co by mu bylo jméno, když on jí může the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? He dát jedno z nejstarších a nejváženějších ordered the corbeille from Paris, and jmen v Louisianě?

V Paříži objednal

contained himself with what patience he corbeille, obrnil se trpělivostí, než dorazí a could until it arrived; then they were pak byli oddáni. married. Madame Valmonde had not seen Desiree Madam

Valmonde

neviděla

Dezire

a

and the baby for four weeks. When she miminko čtyři týdny. Když dorazila do reached L'Abri she shuddered at the first L'Abri, otřásla se, když spatřila to místo, tak sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad jako pokaždé. Bylo to pochmurné místo, looking place, which for many years had not kde dlouhé roky chyběly něžné ruce ženy, known the gentle presence of a mistress, old od doby co se starý monsiér Aubigny oženil Monsieur Aubigny having married and ve Francii, kde pak také pohřbil svou ženu. buried his wife in France, and she having Jeho žena zase milovala svoji zem na tolik, 21

loved her own land too well ever to leave it. aby ji kdy opustila. Černá střecha se ostře The roof came down steep and black like a svažovala jako kutna a zakrývala široké cowl, reaching out beyond the wide ochozy kolem žlutě štukovaného domu. galleries that encircled the yellow stuccoed Veliké, majestátné duby rostly v blízkosti house. Big, solemn oaks grew close to it, domu a jejich bohaté, hustě porostlé větve and

their

thick-leaved,

far-reaching zastiňovaly dům jako víko rakve. Mladý

branches shadowed it like a pall. Young Aubigny razil přísný režim a jeho černoši Aubigny's rule was a strict one, too, and dávno zapomněli jaké to je, být veselý, jako under it his negroes had forgotten how to be tomu bývalo za časů starého pána s jeho gay, as they had been during the old pohodovým a shovívavým přístupem. master's easy-going and indulgent lifetime. The

young

mother

was

recovering Mladá maminka se pomalu zotavovala,

slowly, and lay full length, in her soft white ležela na pohovce v krásných šatech z muslins and laces, upon a couch. The baby mušelínu a krajek. Miminko leželo u ní v was beside her, upon her arm, where he had náruči, kde usnulo u prsu. Tmavá chůva fallen asleep, at her breast. The yellow nurse seděla u okna a ovívala se. woman sat beside a window fanning herself. Madame Valmonde bent her portly figure Korpulentní madam Valmonde se naklonila over Desiree and kissed her, holding her an k Dezire, aby jí políbila a na chviličku ji instant tenderly in her arms. Then she láskyplně objala. Potom se obrátila k turned to the child.

děťátku.

"This is not the baby!" she exclaimed, in „Tohle není on!“ vykřikla překvapeným startled tones. French was the language hlasem. Ve Valmonde se tou dobou mluvilo spoken at Valmonde in those days.

francouzsky.

"I knew you would be astonished," laughed „Věděla jsem, že budeš žasnout,“ smála se Desiree, "at the way he has grown. The little Dezire, „jak vyrostl. Maličký cochon de cochon de lait! Look at his legs, mamma, lait! Podívej na ty nožičky, mami, a ty and his hands and fingernails - real finger- ručičky

a

nehtíky,

skutečné

nehtíky.

nails. Zandrine had to cut them this Zandrine je musela ostříhat dneska ráno. Je morning. Isn't it true, Zandrine?"

to tak, Zandrine?“

22

The woman bowed her turbaned head Chůva s turbanem důležitě přikývla: „Ano, majestically, "Mais si, Madame."

madam.“

"And the way he cries," went on Desiree, "is „A jak pláče,“ pokračovala Dezire, „je k deafening. Armand heard him the other day ohluchnutí. Armand to nedávno slyšel až k as far away as La Blanche's cabin."

boudě, kde bydlí La Blanche.“

Madame Valmonde had never removed her Madam Valmonde nemohla od dítěte eyes from the child. She lifted it and walked odtrhnout oči. Zvedla ho a odkráčela s ním with it over to the window that was lightest. k nejsvětlejšímu oknu. Tam ho zkoumavě She scanned the baby narrowly, then looked prohlížela a potom se stejně pátravě as searchingly at Zandrine, whose face was podívala na Zandrine, která byla otočená a turned to gaze across the fields.

hleděla na pole.

"Yes, the child has grown, has changed," „Pravda,

dítko

vyrostlo,

změnilo

se.“

said Madame Valmonde, slowly, as she pravila madam Valmonde, pomalu, když ho replaced it beside its mother. "What does pokládala vedle jeho matky. „A co na to Armand say?"

říká Armand?“

Desiree's face became suffused with a glow Tvář Dezire se rozzářila štěstím. that was happiness itself. "Oh, Armand is the proudest father in the „Armand je nejpyšnějším otcem v celém parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy, kraji. Myslím, že to je hlavně proto, že to bear his name; though he says not - that máme kluka, který bude nositelem jeho he would have loved a girl as well. But I jména, i když říká, že tomu tak není a že know it isn't true. I know he says that to holčičku by miloval úplně stejně. Ale já please me. And mamma," she added, vím, že to není pravda. Říká to jen proto, drawing Madame Valmonde's head down to aby mě potěšil. A mami,“ dodala a přitáhla her, and speaking in a whisper, "he hasn't si hlavu madam Velmonde až k sobě a punished one of them - not one of them - zašeptala, „a žádného z nich nepotrestal, ani since baby is born. Even Negrillon, who jednoho, od té doby, co se narodil. Dokonce pretended to have burnt his leg that he ani Negrillona, když předstíral, že si spálil might rest from work - he only laughed, and nohu a že tedy nemůže pracovat – Armand said Negrillon was a great scamp. Oh, se jenom smál a prohlásil, že Negrillon je 23

děsný flákač. Mami, já jsem tak šťastná, až

mamma, I'm so happy; it frightens me."

mě to děsí.“ What Desiree said was true. Marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Dezire mluvila pravdu. Manželství a poté Armand Aubigny's imperious and exacting narození syna velmi zmírnilo Armandovu nature greatly. This was what made the panovačnou a komplikovanou povahu. A to gentle Desiree so happy, for she loved him bylo to, co něžnou Dezirku činilo šťasnou, desperately. When he frowned she trembled, protože ho až zoufale milovala. Když se but loved him. When he smiled, she asked mračil, tak se strachem zachvěla, ale pořád no greater blessing of God. But Armand's ho milovala. Když se usmíval, brala to jako dark, handsome face had not often been největší

boží

požehnání.

Ale

tmavá,

disfigured by frowns since the day he fell in pohledná tvář Armanda byla málokdy love with her.

zamračená ode dne, kdy se do ní zamiloval.

When the baby was about three months Když byly miminku asi tři měsíce, Dezire se old, Desiree awoke one day to the jednoho dne vzbudila s přesvědčením, že se conviction that there was something in the děje něco, co ohrožuje její pohodu. Nejprve air menacing her peace. It was at first too to byla jen zvláštní atmosféra. Byl to jen subtle to grasp. It had only been a znepokojující náznak, tajemný vánek mezi disquieting suggestion; an air of mystery černochy,

neočekávané

návštěvy

od

among the blacks; unexpected visits from dalekých sousedů, kteří jen těžko mohli far-off neighbors who could hardly account zdůvodnit, proč přišli. A poté podivná, for their coming. Then a strange, an awful děsivá změna v chování manžela, na kterou change in her husband's manner, which she se ani neodvážila zeptat. Když s ní mluvil, dared not ask him to explain. When he tak s odvráceným pohledem, očima, ze spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from kterých, jak se zdálo, vyhasl plamínek which the old love-light seemed to have lásky. Doma se nezdržoval a pokud ano, gone out. He absented himself from home; vyhýbal se její společnosti i společnosti and when there, avoided her presence and syna bez udání důvodu. A zdálo se, že se ho that of her child, without excuse. And the znenadání zmocnil samotný Satan, podle very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take toho, jak zacházel s otroky. Dezire byla hold of him in his dealings with the slaves. utrápená k smrti. Desiree was miserable enough to die.

24

She sat in her room, one hot afternoon, in Jednoho

horkého

odpoledne

seděla

v

her peignoir, listlessly drawing through her peignoir a netečně si prsty projížděla fingers the strands of her long, silky brown pramínky

svých

dlouhých,

hedvábně

hair that hung about her shoulders. The hnědých vlasů, které jí padaly na ramena. baby, half naked, lay asleep upon her own Dítko, zpola nahé, spalo na její krásné great mahogany bed, that was like a mahagonové

posteli

se

saténem

sumptuous throne, with its satin-lined half- lemovanými nebesy, která působila jako canopy. One of La Blanche's little quadroon honosný trůn. Jeden malý chlapec od La boys - half naked too - stood fanning the Blanche, který byl ze čtvrtiny černoch – child slowly with a fan of peacock feathers. také napůl nahý – stál u dítka a ovíval ho Desiree's eyes had been fixed absently and vějířem z pavích brk. Dezire se upřeně sadly upon the baby, while she was striving dívala na své dítě, bezmyšlenkovitě a to penetrate the threatening mist that she felt smutně, a snažila se proniknout skrz hrozivý closing about her. She looked from her child mlžný opar, jež cítila, že se kolem ní to the boy who stood beside him, and back uzavírá. Oči jí těkaly mezi svým chlapcem a again; over and over. "Ah!" It was a cry that druhým, který stál vedle něj, stále tam a she could not help; which she was not zpět. „Áááá!“

Byl to vzlyk kterému

conscious of having uttered. The blood nemohla pomoci, který si ani neuvědomila. turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy Krev jí tuhla v žilách a tvář jí polil studený moisture gathered upon her face.

pot.

She tried to speak to the little quadroon boy; Chtěla promluvit k malému míšenci, ale but no sound would come, at first. When he nejprve ze sebe nemohla vydat jedinou heard his name uttered, he looked up, and hlásku. Když potom uslyšel, jak říká jeho his mistress was pointing to the door. He jméno, vzhlédl k ní a jeho paní ukazovala laid aside the great, soft fan, and obediently směrem ke dveřím. Odložil tedy krásný stole away, over the polished floor, on his hebký vějíř a poslušně se odkradl pryč, po bare tiptoes.

špičkách, bosý po naleštěné podlaze.

She stayed motionless, with gaze riveted Zůstala stát bez hnutí a stále fascinovaně upon her child, and her face the picture of hleděla na svého chlapce, ve tváři zděšený fright.

výraz.

Presently her husband entered the room, and V tu chvíli přišel její manžel, který beze

25

without noticing her, went to a table and slov odešel ke stolu a začal se probírat began to search among some papers which papíry, které tam ležely. covered it. "Armand," she called to him, in a voice „Armande!“ zvolala hlasem, který ho musel which must have stabbed him, if he was bodnout,

byl

pokud

člověk.

Ale

on

human. But he did not notice. "Armand," nereagoval. „Armande!“ řekla znova. Poté she said again. Then she rose and tottered vstala a malátně se k němu ploužila. towards him. "Armand," she panted once „Armande,“ vzdechla znovu, když sevřela more, clutching his arm, "look at our child. jeho paži, „podívej se na naše dítě. Co to má znamenat? Pověz mi.“

What does it mean? Tell me."

He coldly but gently loosened her fingers Chladně, ale jemně povolil její sevření a from about his arm and thrust the hand odstrčil jí ruku od sebe. „Řekni mi, co to away from him. "Tell me what it means!" znamená!“

vzlykla

v

beznaději.

she cried despairingly. "It means," he answered lightly, "that the „To znamená,“ pronesl zlehka, „že naše dítě child is not white; it means that you are not není bílé, což znamená, že ty nejsi bílá.“ white." A quick conception of all that this Rychle si uvědomila, co takové obvinění accusation meant for her nerved her with pro ni znamená, a to ji vyprovokovalo k unwonted courage to deny it. "It is a lie; it is odvaze, jí nezvyklé, se bránit. „To je lež, to not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is není pravda, já jsem bílá! Podívej se na mé brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you vlasy, jsou hnědé, a oči mám šedé, know they are gray. And my skin is fair," Armande, ty víš, že jsou šedé. A pleť mám seizing his wrist. "Look at my hand; whiter světlou,“ chytla ho za zápěstí. „Podívej se than

yours,

hysterically.

Armand,"

she

laughed mi

na

ruku,

je

světlejší

než

tvoje,

Armande.“ smála se nepříčetně.

"As white as La Blanche's," he returned „Tak světlá, jako je ruka La Blanche.“ cruelly; and went away leaving her alone odvětil krutě a odkráčel pryč od ní a dítěte. with their child.

26

When she could hold a pen in her hand, she Když byla ve stavu, že udržela pero v ruce, sent

a

despairing

letter

Madame poslala zoufalý dopis madam Valmonde.

to

Valmonde. "My mother, they tell me I am not white. „Mami, říkají mi, že nejsem bílá. Armand Armand has told me I am not white. For mi řekl, že nejsem bílá. Proboha, řekni jim, God's sake tell them it is not true. You must že to není pravda. Ty víš, že to není pravda. know it is not true. I shall die. I must die. I Umřu. Musím zemřít. Nemůžu žít takhle cannot be so unhappy, and live."

nešťastná.“

The answer that came was brief:

Odpověď byla krátká:

"My

own

Desiree:

Come

home

to „Moje milá Dezirko, vrať se domů do

Valmonde; back to your mother who loves Valmonde, za mámou, která tě miluje. you. Come with your child."

Vezmi i miminko.“

When the letter reached Desiree she went Když Dezire přečetla dopis, odešla do with it to her husband's study, and laid it manželovy studovny a položila ho otevřený open upon the desk before which he sat. She na stůl, u kterého seděl. Vypadala jako was like a stone image: silent, white, socha: němá, bílá, bez hnutí, když tam dopis motionless after she placed it there.

položila.

In silence he ran his cold eyes over the Chladnýma očima, beze slov, přečetl dopis. written words. He said nothing. "Shall I go, Armand?" she Stále nic neříkal. „Mám odejít, Armande?“ asked

in

tones

sharp

with

agonized zeptala se bolestným napjatým tónem.

suspense. "Yes, go."

„Ano, jdi.“

"Do you want me to go?"

„Chceš, abych odešla?“

"Yes, I want you to go."

„Správně, chci, abys odešla.“

He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly Myslel si, že všemocný Bůh s ním jednal and unjustly with him; and felt, somehow, krutě a nespravedlivě a cítil, že je to jakási 27

that he was paying Him back in kind when jeho odplata Bohu, když

ranil duši své

he stabbed thus into his wife's soul. ženy. A navíc už ji nemiloval, protože, i Moreover he no longer loved her, because když neúmyslně, pošpinila jeho domov a of the unconscious injury she had brought jméno jeho rodiny. upon his home and his name. She turned away like one stunned by a Odvrátila se, jako kdyby dostala facku a blow, and walked slowly towards the door, pomalu odcházela ke dveřím s nadějí, že jí hoping he would call her back.

zastaví.

"Good-by, Armand," she moaned.

„Sbohem, Armande.“ zasténala.

He did not answer her. That was his last Neodpověděl a to bylo jeho poslední blow at fate.

odplatou osudu.

Desiree went in search of her child. Dezire odešla, aby našla dítě. Zandrine s Zandrine was pacing the sombre gallery ním v náruči

chodila po ponuré terase.

with it. She took the little one from the Beze slov vzala maličkého chůvě z náruče, nurse's arms with no word of explanation, sešla ze schodů a vzdalovala se pod větvemi and descending the steps, walked away, dubů. under the live-oak branches. It was an October afternoon; the sun was Bylo říjnové odpoledne a slunce v tu dobu just sinking. Out in the still fields the zvolna zapadalo. Černoši venku na polích negroes were picking cotton.

česali bavlnu.

Desiree had not changed the thin white Dezire odešla v pantoflích a ani si garment nor the slippers which she wore. nepřevlékla tenký bílý oděv, který měla na Her hair was uncovered and the sun's rays sobě. Vlasy měla odkryté a slunce se zlatavě brought a golden gleam from its brown odráželo v hnědých pramíncích. Rozhodla meshes. She did not take the broad, beaten se nejít širokou, vyšlapanou cestou, která road which led to the far-off plantation of vedla do vzdáleného Valmonde. Šla přes Valmonde. She walked across a deserted pusté pole a strniště jí poškrábalo jemná field, where the stubble bruised her tender chodidla, tak nalehko obuté a tenké šaty feet, so delicately shod, and tore her thin byly rozedrané na cáry.

28

gown to shreds. She disappeared among the reeds and Zmizela mezi rákosy a vrbami, kterými willows that grew thick along the banks of hustě porůstaly břehy hluboké, líné řeky a the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not už se nevrátila. come back again. Some weeks later there was a curious scene O

pár

týdnů

později

se

dělo

něco

enacted at L'Abri. In the centre of the nezvyklého na L’Abri. Uprostřed do čista smoothly swept back yard was a great zameteného zadního dvorku hořela velká bonfire. Armand Aubigny sat in the wide vatra. Armand Aubigny seděl uprostřed hallway that commanded a view of the široké chodby na dohled od ohně a podával spectacle; and it was he who dealt out to a půl tuctu černochů předměty, kterými half dozen negroes the material which kept udržoval oheň. this fire ablaze. A graceful cradle of willow, with all its Krásná

vrbová

kolébka

se

všemi

dainty furbishings, was laid upon the pyre, roztomilými krajkami a volánky, skončila v which had already been fed with the plamenech, které již předtím uchvátily richness of a priceless layette. Then there hojnou laytte k nezaplacení. Potom přišly na were silk gowns, and velvet and satin ones řadu hedvábné róby, a sametové a saténové added to these; laces, too, and embroideries; rychle následovaly, dále krajky a výšivky, bonnets and gloves; for the corbeille had klobouky a rukavice a corbeille výjimečné been of rare quality.

kvality.

The last thing to go was a tiny bundle of Jako poslední přišel na řadu tenký svazek letters; innocent little scribblings that dopisů, nevinné vzkazy, které mu Dezire Desiree had sent to him during the days of poslala v době jejich námluv. Vzadu v their espousal. There was the remnant of šuplíku byl ještě poslední dopis, tedy pouze one back in the drawer from which he took jeho část. Nebyl ale od Dezire, byla to část them. But it was not Desiree's; it was part of dopisu, který poslala jeho matka otci. Začal an old letter from his mother to his father. číst. Matka děkovala Bohu za dar lásky He read it. She was thanking God for the svého manžela. blessing of her husband's love:--

29

''But above all," she wrote, "night and day, I „Ale ze všeho nejvíce,“ stálo v dopisu, thank the good God for having so arranged „děkuji Bohu dnem i nocí, že zařídil naše our

lives

that

our

dear

Armand životy tak, že náš drahý Armand se nikdy

will never know that his mother, who nedozví, že jeho matka, která ho miluje, adores him, belongwill never know that his patří k rase, která je prokletá cejchem mother, who adores him, belongs to the race otroctví.“ that is cursed with the brand of slavery."

A Very Fine Fiddle

Housle k nezaplacení

WHEN the half dozen little ones were Pokaždé, když byl půl tucet mrňousů hungry, old Cléophas would take the fiddle hladový, starý Cléophas vyndal housle from its flannel bag and play a tune upon it. z flanelového

obalu

a

zahrál

k tomu

Perhaps it was to drown their cries, or their melodii. Možná to bylo proto, aby ulevil hunger, or his conscience, or all three. One jejich pláči, nebo jejich hladu, nebo svému day Fifine, in a rage, stamped her small foot svědomí, a nebo všechno dohromady. and clinched her little hands, and declared:

Jednou ale Fifi ve vzteku dupla nožkou a sevřela

ručky

aby

prohlásila:

"It 's no two way'! I 'm goin' smash it, dat „Vo tom žádná! Rozflákám je, jednoho dne fiddle, some day in a t'ousan' piece'!" ty housle rozbiju na tisíc kousků.“ "You mus' n' do dat, Fifine," expostulated „To nesmíš, Fifi.“ poučoval jí otec. „Tydle her father. "Dat fiddle been ol'er 'an you an' housle sou třikrát starší než ty a já me t'ree time' put togedder. You done yaird dohromady. Dyť kolikrát sem ti řikal vo me tell often 'nough 'bout dat Italien w'at tom Italovi, kerej mi je dal dyž umřel, give it to me w'en he die, 'long yonder befo' hodně dlouho před válkou. A von mi řek: de war. An' he say, 'Cléophas, dat fiddle - Cléophasi, tydle housle – tadle část mýho dat one part my life - w'at goin' live w'en I života bude žít i po mý smrti – Dieu merci! be dead - Dieu merci ! ' You talkin' too fas', Mluvíš bez přemejšlení, Fifi.“ Fifine." "Well, I 'm goin' do some'in' wid dat fiddle, „Hm, stejnak s nima něco provedu, va!“ va ! " returned the daughter, only half odpověděla jen trochu klidnější dcera. mollified. "Mine w'at I say."

„Pamatuj si, co řikam.“

30

So once when there were great carryings-on A tak jednou, když byl velký zmatek na up at the big plantation - no end of ladies hlavní plantáži – davy dam a pánů z města, and gentlemen from the city, riding, driving, kteří přijížděli, na koních i ve vozech, dancing, and making music upon all manner tancovali a hráli na všechny druhy nástrojů of instruments - Fifine, with the fiddle in its – Fifi se s houslemi ve flanelovém obalu flannel bag, stole away and up to the big obalu vykradla a zamířila k hlavní budově, house where these festivities were in kde se konala slavnost. progress. No one noticed at first the little barefoot girl Nikdo si nejprve nevšiml malé bosé dívky seated upon a step of the veranda and sedící na schodě na verandě, která s ostřížím watching, lynx-eyed, for her opportunity.

pohledem čekala na svoji příležitost.

"It 's one fiddle I got for sell," she „Mam tady jedny housle na prodej.“ announced, resolutely, to the first who oznámila odhodlaně prvnímu, kdo se zeptal. questioned her. It was very funny to have a shabby little girl Byl to zvláštní pohled vidět tam sedět sitting there wanting to sell a fiddle, and the otrhanou holčičku, která chce prodat housle child was soon surrounded.

a dítko bylo brzy v obležení.

The lustreless instrument was brought forth Omšelý nástroj si lidé prohlíželi nejprve jen and examined, first with amusement, but pro pobavení, ale záhy s vážností, zejména soon very seriously, especially by three tři páni: jeden s velmi dlouhými vlasy, které gentlelemen: one with very long hair that mu padaly do obličeje, druhý se stejně hung down, another with equally long hair dlouhými vlasy které trčely vzhůru a třetí that stood up, the third with no hair worth s vlasy,

které

nestojí

za

zmíňku.

mentioning. These three turned the fiddle upside down Tahle trojice převracela housle vzhůru and almost inside out. They thumped upon nohama it, and listened. They scraped upon it, and poklepali

a

téměř a

naruby.

poslouchali.

Na

housle

Zavrzali

a

listened. They walked into the house with it, poslouchali. Procházeli se s nimi do domu a and out of the house with it, and into remote ven z domu i do vzdálenějších míst. Tohle corners with it. All this with much putting všechno dělali s dlouhými konzultacemi a

31

of heads together, and talking together in mluvili spolu jazykem srozumitelným i familiar and unfamiliar languages. And, nesrozumitelným. A nakonec poslali Fifi finally, they sent Fifine away with a fiddle pryč s houslemi daleko hezčími než ty, které twice as beautiful as the one she had přinesla a štos peněz k tomu! brought, and a roll of money besides! The child was dumb with astonishment, and Holčička oněměla úžasem a letěla domů. away she flew. But when she stopped Když se ale zastavila pod vzrostlým cedrem beneath a big chinaberry-tree, to further aby prohlédla štos peněz, její údiv se scan the roll of money, her wonder was znásobil. Bylo tam mnohem víc než byla redoubled. There was far more than she schopná spočítat, víc než si kdy představila, could count, more than she had ever že by měla. Zajisté dost na to, aby pokryli dreamed of possessing. Certainly enough to starou chajdu novými šindeli, aby obuli top the old cabin with new shingles; to put všechny bosé nožky a nakrmili všechny shoes on all the little bare feet and food into hladové krky. Možná dost na to – a srdce the hungry mouths. Maybe enough - and Fifi poskočilo s tou vidinou – možná dost Fifine's heart fairly jumped into her throat at na to, aby koupili Blanchette and její telátko the vision

- maybe

enough to

buy které prodává strejda Siméon.

Blanchette and her tiny calf that Unc' Siméon wanted to sell! "It 's jis like you say, Fifine," murmured old „Uplně jak řikáš, Fifin“ zašeptal chraplavě Cléophas, huskily, when he had played starý Cléohas když hrál na nové housle upon the new fiddle that night. "It 's one téhož večera, „sou to krásný housle a jak fine fiddle; an' like you say, it shine' like řikáš, blejskaj se jak satén. Ale takjakotak, satin. But some way or udder, 't ain' de neni to vono. Pocem Fifi, vem je pryč a same. Yair, Fifine, take it - put it 'side. I někam je vodlož. Myslim, že já už sem na b'lieve, me, I ain' goin' play de fiddle no housle dohrál.“ mo'.

32

The Bênitous' Slave

Strýček Oswald

OLD Uncle Oswald believed he belonged to Starý strýček Oswald věřil, že patřil the Bênitous, and there was no getting the Bênitovým a nebylo možné mu tuhle notion out of his head. Monsieur tried every myšlenku vyhnat z hlavy. Pán to zkoušel way, for there was no sense in it. Why, it všemi způsoby, protože to nedávalo žádný must have been fifty years since the smysl. Vždyť už to muselo být 50 let od Bênitous owned him. He had belonged to doby, co ho rodina Bênitových vlastnila. A others since, and had later been freed. poté patřil i jiným a později byl z otroctví Beside, there was not a Bênitou left in the osvobozen. A navíc, nikdo se jménem Bênit parish now, except one rather delicate už teď v okolí

nebydlel, kromě jedné

woman, who lived with her little daughter in poněkud křehké ženy, která bydlela se svojí a

corner

of

Natchitoches

town,

and dcerkou na okraji města Natchitoches a

constructed "fashionable millinery." The založila „modní kloboučnictví“. Zbytek family had dispersed, and almost vanished, rodiny se rozutekl a vytratil a jejich plantáž and the plantation as well had lost its také chátrala. identity. But that made no difference to Uncle Ale

to

nikterak

nevadilo

stýčkovi

Oswald. He was always running away from Oswaldovi. Stále utíkal pryč od pána, který Monsieur - who kept him out of pure ho vydržoval jen díky své bezmezné kindness - and trying to get back to those dobrosrdečnosti, a snažil se dostat zpět k Bênitous.

těm svým Bênitovým.

More than that, he was constantly getting Ale co víc, neustále přicházel k úrazům při injured in such attempts. Once he fell into svých pokusech o útěk. Jednou spadnul do the bayou and was nearly drowned. Again řeky a skoro se utopil. Jindy zase jen tak tak he barely escaped being run down by an uniknul tomu, aby ho srazil vlak. Když se engine. But another time, when he had been ale potom ztratil na dva dny a nakonec ho lost two days, and finally discovered in an našli v bezvědomí a napůl mrtvého v lese, unconscious and half-dead condition in the pán a doktor Bonfils se neradi shodli, že je woods, Monsieur and

Doctor Bonfils na čase s tím staříkem „něco udělat“.

reluctantly decided that it was time to "do something" with the old man.

33

So, one sunny spring morning, Monsieur A tak jednoho slunečného jarního dne took Uncle Oswald in the buggy, and drove naložil pán strýčka Oswalda do vozu a jel s over to Natchitoches with him, intending to ním do Natchitoches s úmyslem chytit take the evening train for the institution in večerní vlak a odvézt to nebohé stvoření do which the poor creature was to be cared for.

ústavu, kde o něj bude postaráno.

It was quite early in the afternoon when Když dojeli do města, bylo ještě dost brzy they reached town, and Monsieur found odpoledne a pán měl několik hodin do himself with several hours to dispose of odjezdu vlaku. Uvázal svého koně před before train-time. He tied his horses in front hotelem,

podivnou

starou

štukovanou

of the hotel - the quaintest old stuccoed budovou, která ani zdaleka nevypadala jako house, too absurdly unlike a "hotel" for hotel a vešel dovnitř. Strýčka Oswalda anything - and entered. But he left Uncle nechal

sedět

ve stínu na lavičce

v

Oswald seated upon a shaded bench just předzahrádce. within the yard. There were people occasionally coming in Lidé občas přicházeli i odcházeli, ale nikdo and going out; but no one took the smallest si

nevšímal

starého

černocha,

který

notice of the old negro drowsing over the podřimoval s holí mezi koleny. Takový cane that he held between his knees. The úkaz byl v Natchitoches běžný. sight was common in Natchitoches. One who passed in was a little girl about Potom vešla asi dvanáctiletá holčička, měla twelve, with dark, kind eyes, and daintily tmavé a přívětivé oči, a v rukách roztomile carrying a parcel. She was dressed in blue svírala balíček. Na sobě měla modré šatičky calico, and wore a stiff white sun-bonnet, a na hlavě naškrobený bílý čepec proti extinguisher

fashion,

over

her

brown slunci, podle poslední módy, nasazený na

curls.Just as she passed Uncle Oswald hnědé kudrliny. Když odcházela a znovu again, on her way out, the old man, half míjela strýčka Oswalda, napůl spící stařík asleep, let fall his cane. She picked it up and upustil svou hůlku. Zvedla a podala mu ji, handed it back to him, as any nice child tak jak se od hodného dítěte sluší. would have done. "Oh, thankee, thankee, missy," stammered „Áá, díky, díky, děvenko.“ zakoktal strýček Uncle Oswald, all confused at being waited Oswald, celý zmatený, že mu posloužila 34

upon by this little lady. "You is a putty li'le tahle mladá dáma. „Ty seš hezký děvče. Jakpak ti řikaj, kopretinko?“

gal. W'at 's yo' name, honey?"

"My name 's Susanne; Susanne Bênitou," „Jmenuji se Susanne, Susanne Bênitová.“ odpověděla dívka.

replied the girl.

Instantly the old negro stumbled to his feet. V tom okamžiku byl starý černoch na Without a moment's hesitancy he followed nohou. Bez jakéhokoliv váhání následoval the little one out through the gate, down the dívenku ven branou, po ulici a dále za roh. street, and around the corner. It was an hour later that Monsieur, after a O hodinu později, po roztržitém hledání, ho distracted search, found him standing upon pán našel, jak stál na verandě malinkého the gallery of the tiny house in which domku, kde madam Bênitová provozovala Madame

Bênitou

kept

"fashionable módní kloboučnictví.

millinery." Mother and daughter were sorely perplexed Matka s dcerou byly dočista vyvedeny z to comprehend the intentions of the míry,

nebyly

sto

pochopit

úmysly

venerable servitor, who stood, hat in hand, důstojného služebníka, který stál a s kloboukem v ruce vytrvale čekal na jejich

persistently awaiting their orders.

příkazy. Monsieur understood and appreciated the situation at once, and he has prevailed upon Pán to chápal, okamžitě porozuměl celé Madame Bênitou to accept the gratuitous situaci a přesvědčil madam Bênitovou, aby services of Uncle Oswald for the sake of the přijala bezúplatné služby strýčka Oswalda pro blaho a bezpečnost toho starého

old darky's own safety and happiness.

mouřenína. Uncle Oswald never tries to run away now. He chops wood and hauls water. He Teď už Strýček Oswald nikam neutíká. cheerfully and faithfully bears the parcels Seká dříví a nosí vodu. S radostí a oddaností that Susanne used to carry; and makes an nosí balíky, které dříve nosívala Susanne a excellent cup of black coffee.

také vaří vynikající černou kávu.

I met the old man the other day in Já

jsem

staříka

jednou

potkala

v

Natchitoches, contentedly stumbling down Natchitodes, když se spokojeně šoural ulicí 35

St. Denis street with a basket of figs that Svatého Denise s košíkem plným fíků, který some one was sending to his mistress. I někdo poslal jeho paní. Zeptala jsem se ho na jméno.

asked him his name.

"My name 's Oswal', Madam; Oswal' - dat 's „Sem Oswald, madam. Oswald se menuju. my name. I b'longs to de Bênitous," and Patřim rodině Bênitových.“ A poté mi some one told me his story then.

někdo vyprávěl jeho příběh.

In Sabine

V kraji Sabine

THE SIGHT of a human habitation, even if Pohled na lidské obydlí, i když to byl jen it was a rude log cabin with a mud chimney primitivní srub s komínem z bahna po at one end, was a very gratifying one to straně, byl pro Gregoryho ohromně hřejivý. Grégoire. He had come out of Natchitoches parish, Přejel z kraje Natchitoches a jel většinu dne and had been riding a great part of the day rozlehlým, osiřelým krajem Sabine. Nejel through the big lonesome parish of Sabine. obvyklou texaskou cestou, ale, pobízen He was not following the regular Texas tuláckými choutkami, mířil k řece Sabine road, but, led by his erratic fancy, was zdlouhavou klikatou cestou skrz zvlněné pushing toward the Sabine River by borové lesy. circuitous paths through the rolling pine forests. As he approached the cabin in the clearing, Když se přiblížil ke srubu na mýtině, všiml he discerned behind a palisade of pine si starého černocha, který sekal dříví za saplings an old negro man chopping wood.

palisádou z borových stromků.

"Howdy, Uncle," called out the young „Zdravim, strejci.“ zakřičel mladý muž a fellow, reining his horse. The negro looked pobídl svého koně. Černoch vzhédl v čistém up in blank amazement at so unexpected an úžasu z takového nečekaného zjevení a jen apparition, but he only answered: "How you odvětil: „Dobrej den, váženej pane“ a svůj do, suh," accompanying his speech by a pozdrav

doprovázel

series of polite nods.

pokyvováním hlavy.

"Who lives yere?"

„Kdo tu bydlí? “

36

zdvořilým

„Taj bydlí muj pán Bad Aiken, váženej

"Hit 's Mas' Bud Aiken w'at live' heah, suh."

pane.“ "Well, if Mr. Bud Aiken c'n affo'd to hire a man to chop his wood, I reckon he won't „Nu, když si pan Bad Aiken může dovolit grudge me a bite o' suppa an' a couple hours' najmout člověka na štípání dřeva, tak hádám, že mi neodepře něco k zakousnutí k

res' on his gall'ry. W'at you say, ole man?"

večeři a pár hodin odpočinku na verandě. "I say dit Mas' Bud Aiken don't hires me to

Co ty na to, staříku?“

chop 'ood. Ef I don't chop dis heah, his wife got it to do. Dat w'y I chops 'ood, suh. Go „A já na to, že mě pan Bad Aiken nenajímá right 'long in, suh; you g'ine fine Mas' Bud na štípání dřeva. Dyž todle nenaštípám, tak some'eres roun', ef he ain't drunk an' gone to to musí udělat jeho žena. To proto štípám dřevo, váženej pane. Děte hnedky dovnitř,

bed."

váženej pane. Pana Bada tam někde Grégoire,

glad

to

stretch

his

legs,

dismounted, and led his horse into the small

vobjevíte, teda estli už neni pod vobraz a nešel na kutě.“

inclosure which surrounded the cabin. An unkempt, vicious-looking little Texas pony Gregory byl rád, že si může protáhnout stopped nibbling the stubble there to look nohy, slezl z koně a zavedl ho do malé maliciously at him and his fine sleek horse, ohrady, která obklopovala srub. Malý as they passed by. Back of the hut, and texaský poník, zanedbaný a zle vzhlížející, running plumb up against the pine wood, přestal okusovat oschlé drny trávy, aby si was a small, ragged specimen of a cotton- zlomyslně

prohlédl

Gregoryho

i

jeho

krásného lesklého koně, když procházeli

field.

Grégoire was rather undersized, with a kolem. Vzadu za boudou, směrem k square, well-knit figure, upon which his borovému lesu, se rozkládalo neudržované clothes sat well and easily. His corduroy políčko s bavlnou. trousers were thrust into the legs of his

Gregory byl docela malého vzrůstu a na

boots; he wore a blue flannel shirt; his coat

jeho statném a urostlém těle sedělo oblečení

was thrown across the saddle. In his keen

jako ulité. Manšestráky měl zastrčené do

black eyes had come a puzzled expression,

vysokých bot, na sobě modrou flanelovou

and he tugged thoughtfully at the brown

košili, kabát přehozený přes sedlo. V jeho

moustache that lightly shaded his upper lip.

pronikavých černých očích se objevil nechápavý výraz, a zamyšleně si potahoval 37

hnědý knírek, který mu lehce zakrýval horní ret. He was trying to recall when and under Snažil se vzpomenout, kdy a za jakých what circumstances he had before heard the okolností slyšel jméno Bad Aiken předtím. name of Bud Aiken. But Bud Aiken himself Ale samotný Bad Aiken ho ušetřil nesnází a saved Grégoire the trouble of further dalších spekulací na to téma. Náhle se speculation on the subject. He appeared objevil v malých dveřích, které jeho suddenly in the small doorway, which his objemné tělo zcela vyplnilo, a poté si big body quite filled; and then Grégoire Gregory vzpomenul. Byl to ten takzvaný remembered. This was the disreputable so- „Texan“ s nevalnou pověstí, který si před called "Texan" who a year ago had run rokem vzal a odvlekl krásnou dceru away with and married Baptiste Choupic's Baptisty Choupica jménem Tite Reine tam pretty daughter, 'Tite Reine, yonder on na Bayou Pierre v kraji Natchitoches. Živě Bayou Pierre, in Natchitoches parish. A si vybavil obraz dívky, tak jak si ji vivid picture of the girl as he remembered pamatoval: štíhlá, oblá postava, přitažlivá her appeared to him: her trim rounded tvář, vyzývavé a svůdné černé oči, její figure; her piquant face with its saucy black trochu nesnadné a povýšené způsoby, za coquettish

eyes,

her

little

exacting, které si získala přezdívku Tite Reine,

imperious ways that had obtained for her the královnička. Grégoire ji znal z akadských nickname of 'Tite Reine, little queen. francouzských plesů, které někdy troufale Grégoire had known her at the 'Cadian balls navštěvoval. that he sometimes had the hardihood to attend. These pleasing recollections of 'Tite Reine Díky příjemným vzpomínkám na Tite lent a warmth that might otherwise have Reine, pozdravil Gregory jejího manžela s been lacking to Grégoire's manner, when he vřelostí, ktera by jinak chyběla. greeted her husband. "I hope I fine you well, Mr. Aiken," he „Doufám, že se Vám daří dobře, pane exclaimed cordially, as he approached and Aikene.“ zvolal srdečně, když mu podával extended his hand.

ruku.

"You find me damn' porely, suh; but you 've „Daří si mi sakra bídně, pane, ale chytnul 38

got the better o' me, ef I may so say." He ste mě zrovna v tom lepšim stavu, estli to was a big good-looking brute, with a straw- tak mám říct.“ Aiken byl veliký, švihácký colored

"horse-shoe"

moustache

quite hrubián, s knírkem v barvě slámy ve tvaru

concealing his mouth, and a several days' podkovy, který mu zakrýval ústa a drsnou growth of stubble on his rugged face. He tvář mu pokrývalo několikadenní strniště. was fond of reiterating that women's Rád

připomínal,

že

přízeň

žen

mu

admiration had wrecked his life, quite zruinovala život, ale zcela zapomínal zmínit forgetting

to

mention

the

early

and časný a nepřetržitý vliv whisky „Pike

sustained influence of "Pike's Magnolia" Magnolia“ i jiných značek a zcela ignoroval and other brands, and wholly ignoring jisté vrozené sklony, které sami o sobě jsou certain inborn propensities capable of schopné zničit život kohokoliv. Než přišel wrecking unaided any ordinary existence. návštěvník,

polehával,

a

tak

vypadal

He had been lying down, and looked frouzy neupraveně a nevyspale. and half asleep. "Ef I may so say, you 've got the better o' „Chytnul ste mě v lepšim stavu, estli to tak me, Mr. - er" -

mám říct, pane... eeee.“

"Santien, Grégoire Santien. I have the „Santien,

Gregory

Santien.

Je

mým

pleasure o' knowin' the lady you married, potěšením, že znám ženu, kterou jste si vzal, suh; an' I think I met you befo', - somew'ere pane. A myslím, že Vás už jsem také někde o' 'nother," Grégoire added vaguely.

potkal.“ dodal Gregory neurčitě.

"Oh," drawled Aiken, waking up, "one o' „A tak,“ zamumlal Aiken, „vy ste jeden z them Red River Sanchuns!" and his face těch Sanchunů vod Červený řeky!“ a jeho brightened at the prospect before him of tvář se rozzářila nad vyhlídkou, že si užije enjoying the society of one of the Santien společnosti jednoho ze Santienových hochů. boys. "Mortimer!" he called in ringing chest „Mortimere!“ zakřičel dunivě z plna hrdla tones worthy a commander at the head of jako velitel v čele svého vojska. Černoch his troop. The negro had rested his axe and odložil sekeru a zdálo se, že poslouchal appeared to be listening to their talk, though jejich rozhovor, ale byl moc daleko na to, he was too far to hear what they said.

aby slyšel, co říkali.

"Mortimer, come along here an' take my „Mortimere, pocem a vodveď koně pana frien' Mr. Sanchun's hoss. Git a move thar, Sanchuna. Koukej pohnout, dělej!“ Poté se 39

git a move!" Then turning toward the obrátil směrem ke vchodu srubu a skrz entrance of the cabin he called back through otevřené dveře zavolal: „Rein!“ takhle the open door: "Rain!" it was his way of vyslovoval jméno Tite Reine. „Rein!“ pronouncing 'Tite Reine's name. "Rain!" he zakřičel důrazně znovu, a otočil se k cried again peremptorily; and turning to Grégoirovi: „Dělá něco v domácnosti.“ Tite Grégoire: "she 's 'tendin' to some or other Reine byla vzadu na dvorku a krmila jejich housekeepin' truck." 'Tite Reine was back in jediné prase, které Aiken záhadně přivezl the yard feeding the solitary pig which they před pár dny a tvrdil, že ho koupil v Many. owned, and which Aiken had mysteriously driven up a few days before, saying he had bought it at Many. Grégoire could hear her calling out as she Když se blížila, Gregory už z dálky slyšel approached: "I 'm comin', Bud. Yere I její volání: „Už du, Bade. Už sem tu. Co come. W'at you want, Bud?" breathlessly, as potřebuješ, Bade?“ dořekla bez dechu, když she appeared in the door frame and looked se objevila ve dveřích a vykoukla na úzkou, out upon the narrow sloping gallery where nakloněnou verandu, kde stáli ti dva muži. stood the two men. She seemed to Grégoire Gregorymu připadalo, že se hodně změnila. to have changed a good deal. She was Byla hubenější, a její oči byly větší, s thinner, and her eyes were larger, with an ostražitým, neklidným pohledem. Líbil se alert, uneasy look in them; he fancied the mu její vyděšený výraz z toho, že ho tam startled expression came from seeing him nečekaně vidí. Na sobě měla čistý, prostý there unexpectedly. She wore cleanly oděv, ten samý, který si přinesla z Bayou homespun garments, the same she had Pierre, ale boty měla rozedrané. Vydala ze brought with her from Bayou Pierre; but her sebe jen tiché, přidušené zvolání, když shoes were in shreds. She uttered only a uviděla Gregoryho. low, smothered exclamation when she saw Grégoire. "Well, is that all you got to say to my frien' „To je všecko, co řekneš mému kamarádovi, Mr. Sanchun? That 's the way with them panu

Sanchunovi?

Takový

jsou

tihle

Cajuns," Aiken offered apologetically to his Cajunové,“ omlouval se Aiken svému guest; "ain't got sense enough to know a hostu, „nemaj dost rozumu na to, vážit si white man when they see one." Grégoire bělocha, když nějakého vidí.“ Gregory ji 40

took her hand.

vzal za ruku.

"I 'm mighty glad to see you, 'Tite Reine," „Moc rád Vás vidím, Tite Reine,“ pravil od he said from his heart. She had for some srdce. Z nějakého důvodu nebyla schopná reason been unable to speak; now she promluvit a začala hystericky sténat. panted somewhat hysterically: "You mus' escuse me, Mista Grégoire. It 's „Omluvte mě, pane Gregory. Upřímně, the truth I did n' know you firs', stan'in' up nepoznala sem Vás, jak ste tam tak stál.“ there." A deep flush had supplanted the Její předtím bledá tvář zčervenala, oči se jí former pallor of her face, and her eyes zaleskly shone

with

tears

and

slzami

a

špatně

skrývaným

ill-concealed vzrušením.

excitement. "I thought you all lived yonda in Grant," „Myslel jsem, že bydlíte tam v Grantu.“ remarked Grégoire carelessly, making talk podotknul Gregory zběžně, tlachal, aby for the purpose of diverting Aiken's odvedl pozornost Aikena od rozpaků jeho attention away from his wife's evident ženy, kterým on sám vůbec nerozuměl. embarrassment, which he himself was at a loss to understand. "Why, we did live a right smart while in „Nu, my sme si žili okázale v Grantu, ale Grant; but Grant ain't no parish to make a Grant neni ten správnej kraj, kde vydělat na livin' in. Then I tried Winn and Caddo a živobytí. Pak jsem na chvíli zkusil Winn a spell; they was n't no better. But I tell you, Caddo, tam to taky za nic nestálo. Ale pane, suh, Sabine 's a damn' sight worse than any řeknu Vám, Sabine je zdaleka nejhorší kraj of 'em. Why, a man can't git a drink o' z těch všech. Tady člověk ani nesežene whiskey here without going out of the whisky a musí jinam nebo až do Texasu. parish fer it, or across into Texas. I 'm fixin' Plánuju to tady rozprodat a zkusit Vernon.“ to sell out an' try Vernon." Bud Aiken's household belongings surely Ale vybavení domácnosti by zcela jistě za would

not

count

for

much

in

the moc nestálo v zamýšleném „rozprodeji“.

contemplated "selling out." The one room Jedna místnost, která představovala celý that constituted his home was extremely jeho domov, byla velice prostá, co se 41

bare of furnishing, - a cheap bed, a pine nábytku týče – levná postel, borový stůl, a table, and a few chairs, that was all. On a pár židlí, to bylo vše. Na nerovné polici rough shelf were some paper parcels byly nějaké krabice, které představovaly representing the larder. The mud daubing spižírnu. Bahnitá malta popadala z několika had fallen out here and there from between míst mezi kmeny srubu a v největší štěrbině the logs of the cabin; and into the largest of byla zastrčená otrhaná pytlovina a chomáč these apertures had been thrust pieces of bavlny. Jediné vybavení, kde se mohl ragged bagging and wisps of cotton. A tin člověk opláchnout, bylo plechové umyvadlo basin outside on the gallery offered the only venku na verandě. bathing

facilities

to

be

Navzdory všem

seen. nedostatkům, Gregory oznámil svůj úmysl

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Grégoire přespat jednu noc u Aikena. announced his intention of passing the night with Aiken. "I 'm jus' goin' to ask the privilege o' layin' „Chtěl bych Vás požádal o laskavost. Rád down yere on yo' gall'ry to-night, Mr. bych se vyspal tady na verandě přes noc, Aiken. My hoss ain't in firs'-class trim; an' a pane Aikene. Muj kůň neni zrovna v night's res' ain't goin' to hurt him o' me nejlepší kondici a jedna noc odpočinku either." He had begun by declaring his neúblíží ani jemu ani mě.“ Svoji řeč zahájil intention of pushing on across the Sabine, prohlášením, kterak plánuje pokračovat but an imploring look from 'Tite Reine's krajem Sabine, ale prosebný pohled očí Tite eyes had stayed the words upon his lips. Reine zadržel jeho slova. Nikdy předtím Never had he seen in a woman's eyes a look ještě neviděl v očích ženy tak zdrcený a of such heartbroken entreaty. He resolved žadonivý pohled. V ten moment si usmyslel, on the instant to know the meaning of it že zjistí, co to znamená, ještě než vkročí na before setting foot on Texas soil. Grégoire půdu Texasu. Gregory se nikdy nenaučil had never learned to steel his heart against a obrnit své srdce lhostejností vůči očím ženy, woman's eyes, no matter what language ať už mluvily jakýmkoliv jazykem. they spoke. An old patchwork quilt folded double and a Stará deka, pozašívaná z různých kusů, moss pillow which 'Tite Reine gave him out nadvakrát složená a polštář z mechu, které on the gallery made a bed that was, after all, mu

Tite

Reine

položila

na

verandu

not too uncomfortable for a young fellow of posloužily jako postel, která přeci jen 42

nebyla pro mladíka s drsnými návyky až tak

rugged habits.

nepohodlná. Grégoire slept quite soundly after he laid down upon his improvised bed at nine V děvet hodin si lehl na improvizovanou o'clock. He was awakened toward the postel a usnul poměrně tvrdě. Vzbudil se middle of the night by some one gently kolem půlnoci, když s ním někdo jemně shaking him. It was 'Tite Reine stooping zatřásl. Byla to Tite Reine. Skláněla se nad over him; he could see her plainly, for the ním a viděl ji zřetelně, protože svítil měsíc. moon was shining. She had not removed the Oblečení, které měla na sobě přes den, si clothing she had worn during the day; but nepřevlékla, ale měla bosé nohy, které her feet were bare and looked wonderfully vypadaly kouzelně malé a bílé. Opřel se o small and white. He arose on his elbow, loket a v tu chvíli byl docela probuzen. wide awake at once. "W'y, 'Tite Reine! w'at „Co je, Tite Reine! Co se k čertu děje? Kde the devil you mean? w'ere 's yo' husban'?"

je Váš manžel?“

"The house kin fall on 'im, 't en goin' wake „Na něj může klidně spadnout barák a Bada up Bud w'en he 's sleepin'; he drink' too to neprobudí. Hrozně pije.“ Teď, když už much." Now that she had aroused Grégoire, Gregoryho vzbudila, postavila se a s tváří she stood up, and sinking her face in her vnořenou do ohnuté paže, jako dítě, začala bended arm like a child, began to cry softly. tiše plakat. Gregory byl okamžitě na nohou. In an instant he was on his feet. "My God, 'Tite Reine! w'at 's the matta? you „Proboha, Tite Reine! Co se děje? Musíte got to tell me w'at 's the matta." He could no mi říct, co se stalo.“ Nepoznával tu bývalou longer recognize the imperious 'Tite Reine, povýšenou Tite Reine, jejíž vůle bývala whose will had been the law in her father's zákonem v otcově domácnosti. Odvedl ji na household. He led her to the edge of the low okraj nízké verandy a tam se spolu posadili. gallery and there they sat down. Grégoire loved women. He liked their Gregory miloval ženy. Měl rád jejich nearness, their atmosphere; the tones of blízkost, jejich prostředí, tón jejich hlasu, to, their voices and the things they said; their co říkaly, způsob, jakým se pohybovaly a ways of moving and turning about; the otáčely, těšilo ho, když si o něj otřely šaty, brushing of their garments when they když ho míjely. A nyní prchal od bolesti, passed him by pleased him. He was fleeing kterou mu jedna žena způsobila. Když 43

now from the pain that a woman had jakýkoliv

zdrcující

zármutek

dostihl

inflicted upon him. When any overpowering Gregoryho, cítil vyjímečnou touhu dostat se sorrow came to Grégoire he felt a singular na druhý břeh řeky Sabine a zmizet v longing to cross the Sabine River and lose Texasu. Předtím to již jednou učinil, když himself in Texas. He had done this once jeho domov, staré místo Santienů, přešlo do before when his home, the old Santien rukou věřitelů. Pohled na utrpení Tite Reine place, had gone into the hands of creditors. s ním bolestně pohnul. The sight of 'Tite Reine's distress now moved him painfully. "W'at is it, 'Tite Reine? tell me w'at it is," he „O co de, Tite Reine? Řekněte mi, o co de.“ kept asking her. She was attempting to dry ptal se jí pořád znovu. Snažila se utřít si slzy her eyes on her coarse sleeve. He drew a do hrubého rukávu. Vyndal kapesník ze handkerchief from his back pocket and zadní kapsy a usušil jí je. dried them for her. "They

all

well,

yonda?"

she

asked, „Všichni sou v pořádku, tam u nás?“ zeptala

haltingly, "my popa? my moma? the se nejistě, „tatík? mamka? děti?“ Gregory chil'en?" Grégoire knew no more of the nevěděl o nic víc o rodině Baptisty Baptiste Choupic family than the post Choupica, než o kůlu vedle něj. I přesto beside him. Nevertheless he answered: odpověděl: "They all right well, 'Tite Reine, but they „Všichni sou v pořádku, Tite Reine, ale moc mighty lonesome of you."

se jim po Vás stejská.“

"My popa, he got a putty good crop this „A co tatík, ouroda byla letos dobrá?“ yea'?" "He made right smart o' cotton fo' Bayou „Na to, že je to na Bayou Pierre, mu Pierre."

dopadla skvěle.“

"He done haul it to the relroad?"

„A už to vodlifroval na železnici?“

"No, he ain't quite finish pickin'."

„Ne, eště tak úplně neskončil s česáním.“

"I hope they all ent sole 'Putty Girl'?" she „Doufám, inquired solicitously.

že

neprodali

vyptávala se starostlivě. 44

Krasavici?“

"Well, I should say not! Yo' pa says they „Inu, to rozhodně ne! Váš tatík tvrdí, že v ain't anotha piece o' hossflesh in the pa'ish celym kraji neni takovej kůň, kterýho by he 'd want to swap fo' 'Putty Girl.' " She chtěl vyměnit za Krasavici.“ Otočila se na turned to him with vague but fleeting něj s váhavým, ale kratičkým úžasem, – Krasavice byla kráva!

amazement, - "Putty Girl" was a cow!

The autumn night was heavy about them. Byla pronikavá podzimní noc. Temný les The black forest seemed to have drawn jakoby se přiblížil a jeho tajemné hlubiny nearer; its shadowy depths were filled with byly plné děsivých zvuků, které obývají the gruesome noises that inhabit a southern jižanský les v době noci. forest at night time. "Ain't you 'fraid sometimes yere, 'Tite „Nebojíte se tu někdy, Tite Reine?“ zeptal Reine?" Grégoire asked, as he felt a light se Gregory, když pocítil lehké zamrazení z shiver run through him at the weirdness of podivnosti té končiny. the scene. "No," she answered promptly, "I ent 'fred o' „Ne,“ odpověděla okamžitě, „nebojim se nothin' 'cep' Bud."

ničeho, kromě Bada.“

"Then he treats you mean? I thought so!"

„Takže se k Vám chová surově? Já si to myslel!“

"Mista Grégoire," drawing close to him and whispering in his face, "Bud 's killin' me." „Pane Gregory,“ přiblížila se k němu a He clasped her arm, holding her near him, šeptala mu do tváře, „Bad mě trýzní.“ while an expression of profound pity Chytil ji za paži a přitáhl k sobě, výraz escaped him. "Nobody don' know, 'cep' Unc' hluboké lítosti se mu mihnul ve tváři. Mort'mer," she went on. "I tell you, he beats „Nikdo vo tom neví, kromě strejčka me; my back an' arms - you ought to see - it Mortimera,“ pokračovala. „Říkam Vám, 's all blue. He would 'a' choke' me to death von mě bije, koukněte se na moje záda a one day w'en he was drunk, if Unc' ruce – sou dočista modrý. Tenkrát by mě Mort'mer had n' make 'im lef go - with his udusil, dyž byl vopilej, nebejt strejčka axe ov' his head." Grégoire glanced back Mortimera, kerej mu dal sekeru k hlavě a over his shoulder toward the room where von mě nechal bejt.“ Gregory pohlédl přes

45

the man lay sleeping. He was wondering if rameno směrem k místnosti, kde její muž it would really be a criminal act to go then spal. Přemýšlel, zda-li by to byl skutečný and there and shoot the top of Bud Aiken's zločin, kdyby tam šel a ustřelil mu hlavu. head off. He himself would hardly have On sám by to stěží považoval za zločin, ale considered it a crime, but he was not sure of nebyl si jistý, jak by takový čin posoudili ostatní.

how others might regard the act.

"That 's w'y I wake you up, to tell you," she „Proto sem Vás vzbudila, abych Vám to continued. "Then sometime' he plague me řekla,“ pokračovala. „A někdy mě sužuje mos' crazy; he tell me 't ent no preacher, it 's úplně šíleným způsobem. Řiká, že to nebyl a Texas drummer w'at marry him an' me; an' kazatel, ale texaskej putovní prodejce, kerej w'en I don' know w'at way to turn no mo', nás voddával. A dyž už nevim, kam se he say no, it 's a Meth'dis' archbishop, an' vobrátit, řekne, ne, byl to metodistickej keep on laughin' 'bout me, an' I don' know arcibiskup a pořád se mi směje a já nevim, co je pravda.“

w'at the truth!"

Then again, she told how Bud had induced Dále mu pověděla, jak ji Bad přinutil her to mount the vicious little mustang nasednout

na

zlomyslného

malého

"Buckeye," knowing that the little brute mustanga „Buckeyeho“, když dobře věděl, would n't carry a woman; and how it had že ta malá bestie nesveze ženu, a jak ho to amused him to witness her distress and pobavilo, když ji schodil na zem a on mohl být svědkem jejího utrpení a zděšení.

terror when she was thrown to the ground.

"If I would know how to read an' write, an' „Dybych uměla číst a psát a měla tužku a had some pencil an' paper, it 's long 'go I papír, už dávno bych napsala tátovi. Ale would wrote to my popa. But it 's no pos'- neni tu pošta, železnice, nic tady v Sabine. office, it 's no relroad, - nothin' in Sabine. A víte, pane Gregory, Bad řiká, že mě An' you know, Mista Grégoire, Bud say he vodveze dál, do Vernonu a pak ještě dál a že 's goin' carry me yonda to Vernon, an' mě tam nechá a vopustí. Nenechte mě tady, fu'ther off yet, - 'way yonda, an' he 's goin' pane Gregory! Nevopouštějte mě!“ žadonila turn me loose. Oh, don' leave me yere, a začala znovu vzlykat. Mista Grégoire! don' leave me behine you!" she entreated, breaking once more into sobs. " 'Tite Reine," he answered, "do you think I „Tite Reine,“ odpověděl, „myslíte, že jsem 46

'm such a low-down scound'el as to leave takovej podlej mizera, že bych Vás tady you yere with that" - He finished the nechal s takovym...“ –

větu dokončil v

sentence mentally, not wishing to offend the duchu, protože nechtěl Tite Reine pohoršit. ears of 'Tite Reine. They talked on a good while after that. She Poté ještě docela dlouho povídali. Nevrátila would not return to the room where her se do místnosti, kde ležel její manžel, husband lay; the nearness of a friend had blízkost kamaráda jí dodala odvahy k already emboldened her to inward revolt. vnitřní vzpouře. Gregory ji přiměl k tomu, Grégoire induced her to lie down and rest aby si lehla a odpočinula na dece, kterou upon the quilt that she had given to him for pro něj předtím připravila. Položila se tedy a a bed. She did so, and broken down by vyčerpená únavou, brzy hluboce usnula. fatigue was soon fast asleep. He stayed seated on the edge of the gallery On zůstal sedět na okraji verandy a začal and began to smoke cigarettes which he kouřit cigarety, které si ubalil z tabáku rolled himself of périque tobacco. He might périque. Mohl jít dovnitř a podělit se o have gone in and shared Bud Aiken's bed, postel s Badem Aikenem, ale dal přednost but preferred to stay there near 'Tite Reine. tomu, že zůstat v blízkosti Tite Reine. He watched the two horses, tramping slowly Pozoroval

ty

dva

koně,

jak

pomalu

about the lot, cropping the dewy wet tufts of podupávají v ohradě a pasou se na orosených trsech trávy.

grass.

Grégoire smoked on. He only stopped when Gregory kouřil dál. Přestal teprve, když the moon sank down behind the pine-trees, měsíc sestoupil za borovice a vynořil se and the long deep shadow reached out and dlouhý hluboký stín, který ho obklopil. Poté enveloped him. Then he could no longer see již neviděl a nemohl sledovat tenoučký kouř and follow the filmy smoke from his z cigarety, a tak ji zahodil. Únavou už cigarette, and he threw it away. Sleep was nemohl udržet oči otevřené. Natáhl se na pressing heavily upon him. He stretched drsná holá prkna na verandě a spal až do himself full length upon the rough bare úsvitu. boards of the gallery and slept until daybreak. Bud Aiken's satisfaction was very genuine Bad Aiken byl upřímně potěšen, když se 47

when he learned that Grégoire proposed dozvěděl, že Gregory přišel s tím, že s ním spending the day and another night with stráví další den a noc. V mladém Kreolovi him. He had already recognized in the rozpoznal povahu, která nebyla neslučitelná young

creole

a

spirit

not

altogether s tou jeho.

uncongenial to his own. 'Tite Reine cooked breakfast for them. She Tite Reine jim uvařila snídani. Připravila made coffee; of course there was no milk to kávu, mléko samozřejmě žádné nebylo, ale add to it, but there was sugar. From a meal cukr ano. Z pytle mouky, který stál v rohu bag that stood in the corner of the room she místnosti,

odměřila

dávku

a

udělala

took a measure of meal, and with it made a kukuřičný chléb. Usmažila v soli naložené pone of corn bread. She fried slices of salt vepřové maso. Bad jí poté poslal česat pork. Then Bud sent her into the field to bavlnu na pole se strýčkem Mortimerem. pick cotton with old Uncle Mortimer. The Černochova bouda byla obdobou jejich negro's cabin was the counterpart of their srubu, ale stála poměrně daleko ukrytá v own, but stood quite a distance away hidden lese. On i Aiken se dělili o sklizeň. in the woods. He and Aiken worked the crop on shares. Early in the day Bud produced a grimy pack Na začátku dne vytáhl Bad, zpoza pytlíku of cards from behind a parcel of sugar on cukru na polici, ušmudlaný balíček karet. the shelf. Grégoire threw the cards into the Gregory hodil karty do ohně a nahradil je fire and replaced them with a spic and span zcela novým, čistým balíčkem karet, který new

"deck"

that

he

took

from

his vyndal z brašny sedla. Z téže brašny také

saddlebags. He also brought forth from the donesl láhev whisky, kterou předal svému same receptacle a bottle of whiskey, which hostiteli, s odůvodněním, že už pro ni nemá he presented to his host, saying that he užití, protože se zřekl alkoholu předevčírem, himself had no further use for it, as he had když ze sebe udělal hlupáka v Cloutierville. "sworn off" since day before yesterday, when he had made a fool of himself in Cloutierville. They sat at the pine table smoking and Celé dopoledne seděli u stolu, kouřili a hráli playing cards all the morning, only desisting karty, přestali pouze, když je Tite Reine

48

when 'Tite Reine came to serve them with přišla obsloužit s „gumbo-filé“ – hustou the gumbo-filé that she had come out of the polévkou typickou pro Lousianu. Mohla field to cook at noon. She could afford to hostu

dopřát

kuřecí

gumbo,

protože

treat a guest to chicken gumbo, for she vlastnila půl tuctu slepic, které jí strejček owned a half dozen chickens that Uncle Mortimer věnoval v průběhu času. Měli jen Mortimer had presented to her at various dvě lžíce a tak Tite Reine musela počkat, až times. There were only two spoons, and muži dojedí, než si mohla sníst svoji 'Tite Reine had to wait till the men had polévku. Počkala na lžíci od Gregoryho, i finished before eating her soup. She waited když její manžel dojedl první. Byl to for Grégoire's spoon, though her husband dětinský truc. was the first to get through. It was a very childish whim. In the afternoon she picked cotton again; Odpoledne opět česala bavlnu a muži hráli and the men played cards, smoked, and Bud harty, kouřili a Bad popíjel. drank. It was a very long time since Bud Aiken had Už dávno se Bad Aiken takhle královsky enjoyed himself so well, and since he had nebavil a nepotkal tak zúčastněného a encountered

so

sympathetic

and vděčného posluchače příběhů ze svého

appreciative a listener to the story of his rušného života. S velkým zápalem vyprávěl eventful career. The story of 'Tite Reine's historku, o tom, jak Tite Reine spadla z fall from the horse he told with much spirit, koně

a

celkem

dovedně

napodoboval

mimicking quite skillfully the way in which způsob, jakým si postěžovala, že si už nikdy she

had

permitted whereupon

complained "to he

teck had

of a

never

li'le

kindly

being nedopřeje „takovýdle radůstky“ kdykoliv

pleasure," poté

navrhnul

zajezdit

si

na

koni.

suggested Gregoryho ta historka ohromně pobavila,

horseback riding. Grégoire enjoyed the čímž povzbudil Aikena, aby vyprávěl další story amazingly, which encouraged Aiken a další, podobného rázu. Jak ubíhalo to relate many more of a similar character. odpoledne, vytratila se mezi nimi veškerá As the afternoon wore on, all formality of formálnost, potykali si a Gregory potěšil address between the two had disappeared: duši Aikena, když slíbil, že s ním stráví they were "Bud" and "Grégoire" to each týden.

Tite

Reine

byla

též

pohnutá

other, and Grégoire had delighted Aiken's bezstarostnou atmosférou, a tak usmažila 49

soul by promising to spend a week with dvě kuřata k večeři. Byla vítečně usmažená him. 'Tite Reine was also touched by the na sádle. Po večeři opět nachystala postel spirit of recklessness in the air; it moved her pro Gregoryho na verandě. to fry two chickens for supper. She fried them deliciously in bacon fat. After supper she again arranged Grégoire's bed out on the gallery. The night fell calm and beautiful, with the Nastala klidná a krásná noc, ve vzduchu se delicious odor of the pines floating upon the nesla libá vůně borovic. Ale ti tři nezůstali air. But the three did not sit up to enjoy it. vzhůru, aby si ji užili. Ještě než odbyla Before the stroke of nine, Aiken had already devátá hodina, Aiken padnul do postele a za fallen

upon

his

bed

unconscious

of chvíli o sobě nevěděl, na celou noc ho

everything about him in the heavy drunken přemohl hluboký opilecký spánek Zmocnil sleep that would hold him fast through the se ho vytrvaleji než obvykle, díky daru night. It even clutched him more relentlessly whisky od Gregoryho. than usual, thanks to Grégoire's free gift of whiskey. The sun was high when he awoke. He lifted Když se vzbubil, slunce bylo vysoko. his voice and called imperiously for 'Tite Vysokým a panovačným hlasem zavolal na Reine, wondering that the coffee-pot was Tite Reine, a divil se, že konvice na kávu not on the hearth, and marveling still more není na plotně, a s ještě větším úžasem, že that he did not hear her voice in quick neslyšel její rychlou reakci: „Už du Bade, response with its, "I 'm comin', Bud. Yere I taj sem.“ Volal znovu a znovu. come." He called again and again. Then he arose and looked out through the Potom vstal a podíval se skrz otevřené zadní back door to see if she were picking cotton devře, zda-li na poli nečeše bavlnu, ale in the field, but she was not there. He nebyla tam. Dovlekl se k předním dveřím. dragged himself to the front entrance. Gregoryho postel byla stále na verandě, ale Grégoire's bed was still on the gallery, but mladík nebyl nikde v dohledu. the young fellow was nowhere to be seen. Uncle Mortimer had come into the yard, not Strejček Mortimer stál před domem, ne aby 50

to cut wood this time, but to pick up the axe štípal dřevo, ale aby sebral sekeru, která which was his own property, and lift it to byla jeho vlastní a pozvedl ji na rameno. his shoulder. "Mortimer," called out Aiken, "whur 's my „Mortimere,“ zvolal Aiken, „kde mam wife?" at the same time advancing toward ženu?“ a blížil se k černochovi. Mortimer the negro. Mortimer stood still, waiting for zůstal stál bez hnutí a čekal na něj. „Kde je him. " Whur 's my wife an' that Frenchman? moje žena a ten Francouz? Řikam ti, mluv, Speak out, I say, before I send you to h - l."

než tě pošlu někam.“

Uncle Mortimer never had feared Bud Strejček Mortimer z Bada nikdy strach Aiken; and with the trusty axe upon his neměl, a se svojí spolehlivou sekerou na shoulder, he felt a double hardihood in the rameni se cítil dvakrát tak neohrožený v man's presence. The old fellow passed the jeho přítomnosti. Stařík si přejel svou back of his black, knotty hand unctuously černou,

vrásčitou

rukou

přes

ústa

s

over his lips, as though he relished in předstíranou upřímností, jako kdyby si advance the words that were about to pass vychutnával dopředu slova, která se chystal them. He spoke carefully and deliberately:

vyřknout. Mluvil obezřetně a rozvážně:

"Miss Reine," he said, "I reckon she mus' of „Pani Reine,“ říkal, „počitam, že musela done struck Natchitoches pa'ish sometime bejt blízko kraje Natchitodes někdy kolem to'ard de middle o' de night, on dat 'ar swif' půlnoci hoss o' Mr. Sanchun's."

na

tom

rychlym

koni

pana

Sanchuna.“

Aiken uttered a terrific oath. "Saddle up Aiken

hrůzostrašně

zaklel.

„Nasedlej

Buckeye," he yelled, "before I count twenty, Buckeyho,“ zařval, „než napočitam do or I 'll rip the black hide off yer. Quick, dvaceti, nebo z tebe servu tu černou kůži. thar! Thur ain't nothin' fourfooted top o' this No dělej! Na celym světě neni nic earth that Buckeye can't run down." Uncle čtyřnohýho, co by Buckeye nedoběhnul.“ Mortimer scratched his head dubiously, as Strejček Mortimer se nejistě poškrábal na he answered: -

hlavě a odpověděl:-

"Yas, Mas' Bud, but you see, Mr. Sanchun, „To jistě, pane Bade, ale víte, pan Sanchun he done cross de Sabine befo' sun-up on projel Sabine na Buckeyem ještě před Buckeye."

úsvitem.“ 51

Old Aunt Peggy

Teta Peggy

When the war was over, old Aunt Peggy Když bylo po válce, stará teta Peggy šla za pánem a řekla mu:

went to Monsieur, and said: -

"Massa, I ain't never gwine to quit yer. I 'm „Pane, vás já nikdy nevopustim. Začínám gittin' ole an' feeble, an' my days is few in bejt stará a vochablá, a už mi zbejvá jenom dis heah lan' o' sorrow an' sin. All I axes is a málo času na tomdle smutnym a hříšnym li'le co'ner whar I kin set down an' wait světě. Jediný, vo co vás žádám je malej koutek, kde si můžu dřepnout a v klidu

peaceful fu de en'."

čekat na svuj konec.“ Monsieur and Madame were very much touched at this mark of affection and fidelity Takové vyjádření citů a věrnosti staré tety from Aunt Peggy. So, in the general Peggy hluboce pána a madam dojalo. A reconstruction of the plantation which proto, když začala rekonstrukce plantáže immediately followed the surrender, a nice hned po kapitulaci Jihu, byla staré ženě cabin, pleasantly appointed, was set apart přidělena

příjemná

chaloupka,

na

for the old woman. Madame did not even příhodném místě na plantáži. Madam forget the very comfortable rocking-chair in nezapomněla dokonce ani na pohodlné which Aunt Peggy might "set down," as she houpací křeslo, na které si může teta Peggy herself feelingly expressed it, "an' wait fu de „dřepnout“ jak sama procítěně vyjádřila a en'."

„čekat na svuj konec“.

She has been rocking ever since.

A od té doby se houpe v křesle.

At intervals of about two years Aunt Peggy Přibližne v dvouletých intervalech se teta hobbles up to the house, and delivers the Peggy dobelhá k pánovu domu a pronese stereotyped address which has become more proslov, který se stal již více než známým. than familiar: "Mist'ess, I 's come to take a las' look at you „Milostpani, sem tady, abych vás všecky all. Le' me look at you good. Le' me look at naposled viděla. Musim si vás dobře de chillun, - de big chillun an' de li'le prohlídnout. Musim vidět děcka – ty velký a chillun. Le' me look at de picters an' de i ty malý. Musim vidět vobrázky a fotky a photygraphts an' de pianny, an' eve'ything pijáno a všecko, než bude pozdě. Jedno 52

'fo' it 's too late. One eye is done gone, an' voko je už nadobro pryč a to druhý neni vo de udder' s a-gwine fas'. Any mo'nin' yo' po' moc lepčí. Může se stát každym dnem, že ole Aunt Peggy gwine wake up an' fin' chudák vaše teta Peggy bude slepá jak netopejr.“

herse'f stone-bline."

After such a visit Aunt Peggy invariably Po takové návštěvě se teta Peggy pokaždé returns to her cabin with a generously filled vrací do své chaloupky s bohatě naplněnou zástěrou.

apron.

The scruple which Monsieur one time felt in Již dávno se vytratily pánovy ohledy na supporting a woman for so many years in ženu, kterou po tolik let podporuje v idleness

has

entirely

disappeared.

Of nečinnosti. To, co cítí k tetě Peggy v

wonder at the surprising age which an old poslední době je jen hluboký údiv

–

black woman may attain when she sets her zázrak, že stará černoška je schopná dožít mind to it, for Aunt Peggy is a hundred and se tak neuvěřitelně vysokého věku, když si umane, protože tetě Peggy je sto dvacet pět

twenty-five, so she says.

let. Alespoň to říká. It may not be true, however. Possibly she is older.

Třeba to ale není pravda. Je možné, že je ještě starší.

53

Glossary comme ça

takhle

corbeille

košík darů od ženicha pro něvěstu

cochon de lait

prasátko

peignoir

župan

layette

výbavička novorozeněte

Dieu merci

Díky bohu

54

ABOUT TRANSLATION Newmark stresses that a translation is always a subject for discussion, there is nothing strictly objective or subjective in translation. The existing translation principles function as a guidance, as something that is commonly applicable, however, there are no absolutes. (21)

Similarly, Baker states that to label a translation good or bad is practically impossible, apart from few exceptions, as there are strong and weak points within all translations and therefore all translations can be subjected to improvements. (7) Historically, there have been different methods of translation and as Levý points out: “a translator is an author bound to his/her period and nation.” (33, translated by AM) Therefore, principles that have been applied to translations can be seen as a choice on a scale of opposing rules. To illustrate, here are some of them: “A translation has to reproduce the words of an original versus a translation has to reproduce the ideas of an original. A translation should be read as an original versus a translation shoul be read as a translation. A translation should be read as a text belonging to a time period of an original versus a translation should be read as a text belonging to a time period of a translator.” (34, translated by AM) Nowadays, however, a translation is expected to be read as an original and a successful translation meets the following criteria: the translated material is natural, has the same meaning as an original or as close as possible, has the same effect on a reader as an original had on its readers and finally, respects the dynamics of an original work, in other words, it causes the same reaction as intended by an original. (Knittlová 14, translated by AM)

The discipline that have been traditionally dealing with translation is literary aesthetics and only later, in the second half of the 20th century, translation became an interest of linguistics. Since then, these two approaches have been dealing with the subject either parallelly or contradictory. Currently, the integrated method is favoured and the attention has been drawn to the pragmatic aspect. The principal task of a translator is to overcome cultural barriers. (Knittlová 7, translated by AM)

55

Catford defines translation as “a process of substituting a text in one language for a text in another.” (1) and is primarily concerned with a general linguistic theory and its use in translation. He claims that regardless of the relationships of the two languages in question, their setting in time or place, translation equivalence can be established and consequently the translation carried out. (20) Catford’s idea that the units of translation do not need to be linguistically equivalent but can still function in the same situation provided the base for the

term

functional

equivalence.

(qtd.

in

Knittlová

7,

translated

by

AM)

Currently, functional approach is the key approach in translation. Language means are expected to have the same function in all aspects if possible – semantic, denotative, referential, connotative and pragmatic. (Knittlová 7, translated by AM)

Newmark suggests that a translator considers four levels while translating: first, the source language (SL) level which is regularly referred to, secondly, the referential level – the level of the story itself, real or fictional of which we have to create a mental picture, third, the cohesive level and forth, the level of naturalness. Also, a revision procedure follows these levels which amounts to a minimum of half of the complete process according to Newmark. (19) Newmark also distinguishes two approaches to translating – in a short stretch of a text (e.g. the opening paragraph) sentences are translated one by one and only then a translator reads the rest of the SL text; alternatively, a translator reads the whole text several times to define its characteristic properties such as intention, register, difficult words or passages and only then starts translating. The second method is usually favoured but both have their positives and negatives. The decision about the method more suitable depends on translator’s temperament, his/her preference for intuition or an analysis. Also, different texts can be more appropriate for one or the other type. (21)

There are three main aspects of a language that are closely interconnected and relevant to translation. The main aspect of a text is semantic, which is expresses by lexis and united with grammar. Another aspect is connotative – a language expression with its stylistic and expressive character. Thirdly, pragmatics based on a relationship between the users of a language and language expressions. Different translating principles have to be practiced to keep the connection of the three aspects. (Knittlová 7, translated by AM)

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Moving to a process of a translation, Levý divides it into three stages: understanding an original, interpretatation of an original and stylization based on an original. A skilful translator has to be a competent reader and in terms of understanding an original, there are 3 levels to consider. A philological level is connected with professional training and experience of a translator so that a translator is able to recognize the right meaning of polysemous words and their associations and therefore avoid mistakes. (50, translated by AM) Secondly, an ideologically aesthetical values of a work such as irony or tragic features are to be identified by a translator and passed onto a reader. The third level requires understanding of an integrity of artistic values such as characters and their relationships, a setting and author’s intentions. (51, translated by AM) This demands a large amount of imagination on a part of a translator. Translating is a creative process when a translator penetrates beyond the text to get a deeper understanding of a work. (52, translated by AM)

The thorough understanding of a text is a main condition for a

successful interpretation of an original. Because of the differences in languages there can never exist exactly the same meaning in translation. A common problem is that the target language (TL) does not have a word that would cover as broad scope of meaning as the SL and therefore a translator needs to specify the meaning and use a word available in the TL with the help of context of a SL word. (56, translated by AM) A reader often relates the reality of a literary work to the reality of his/her own life. It is crucial that a translator refrains from subjective perceptions so s/he can perceive and translate a work objectively. (57, translated by AM) A translator cannot transfer his/her own ideas or concepts into a translation by making a text shorter or longer as this is perceived as a modification that deforms an original. (62, translated by AM) Finally, stylization based on an original challenges a translator to make use of his/her talent and expertise in stylistics. The problematic areas are mainly the relationships of the two languages, an influence of the SL that is traceable in translation and “stylistic tension” meaning transferring ideas into TL when they originated in SL. (64, translated by AM)

A modern approach to translation emphasizes a process of translation rather than the final product, the translated work, which used to be the primary concern in the past. Nowadays, the “macro approach“ is regarded as the starting point for theories of translation, dealing primarily with the cultural, historical and local background of an original, the topic, the intended readership, the function and the type of a text. Only after the so called “strategic decision“ of placing an original into the previously listed categories, “the micro approach“ 57

can be applied which explores individual structures and their grammar and lexis. The main task is therefore to determine the genre of a text, its distinctive features, function and the readership and respect these factors in translation. (Knittlová 27, translated by AM) Newmark states that: “The heart of translation theory is translation problems . . . and [translation theory] can be defined as a large number of generalizations of translation problems.” (21) Similarly to Knittlová, Newmark identifies the starting point of translation at the textual level. He rightly claims that while the text is your foundation for translating, a translator always has to consider various problems at once, all the four levels that he suggests are inseparable. From the textual level you progress onto the referential level where the constant visualization and reasoning help with any ambiguity that may arise. (22) “[A translator’s] job is to achieve the greatest possible correspondence, referentially and pragmatically, with the words and sentences of the SL text.” (Newmark 23) The cohesive level connects the textual and referential level and it handles the structure and the mood of the text, the structure being concerned with connective words, linking and other cohesive devices that make the text logical and orderly. The mood of the text requires a translator to distinguish differences in moods, whether the text and its parts are positive, negative, emotive or neutral. This task is not always easy as the differences between individual words that can be near synonyms are often very small. (24) Talking about the level of naturalness, Newmark advices translators to ensure: “(a) that your translation makes sense; (b) that it reads naturally, that it is written in ordinary language, the common grammar, idioms and words that meet that kind of situation.” (24) and he recommends doing it by detaching from the SL text and reading the translation as if it was the original itself. (24) Naturalness involves both grammar as well as lexis. It is closely connected with the setting of a text, its topic and readership. Naturalness is necessary in communicative translation and the best way to achieve it is to reread the translated version in time periods. (ibid) To ensure naturalnes a translator has to be particularly aware of: word order, not using inappropriate one-to-one translation in common structures, cognate words and the use of gerunds, infinitives and verb – nouns. (Newmark 27)

AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH In the past, African American English (AAE) was considered a simplified type of English of somewhat uneducated speakers and a method that was usually used for translation of AAE into Czech was rather basic – using infinitives in place of various verb forms. 58

Nowadays, AAE is recognized as a language variety that has its own system and it is not a deformed or archaic form of English as previously believed. (Knittlová 100, translated by AM) AAE is a variety that has set phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and lexical patterns. (Green 1). However, the Czech language is unable to reflect this factor in translation. A translator is always limited by the language situation of TL and its stylistics. Czech does not provide a suitable solution to translate different patterns of AAE adequately (Knittlová 101, translated by AM). Green lists reasons for using language in literature: “(1) to connect the character with a particular region, (2) to identify the character as a particular type (e.g., belongs to certain class) (3) to make the character more authentic and more developed, (4) to evoke some feeling within the reader.” (164) Since the aim of communicative translation is to achieve the same effect, the above listed reasons should be evident in my translation. There have been different approaches to AAE translation into Czech. The variety that is most commonly used nowadays is colloquial Czech. (Knittlová 104, translated by AM) Colloquial Czech is also the variety that I have decided to use for my translation, however, I must admit that at times its possibilities proved quite limiting and a reader of the translated version is inevitably deprived of an intriguing part that AAE represents which Czech cannot compensate. Being aware of the fact that everything is translatable, the following analysis describes the difficulties I encountered and how I dealt with them. The specific patterns of AAE are well demonstrated in the short story Old Aunt Peggy: Massa, I ain't never gwine to quit yer. I 'm gittin' ole an' feeble, an' my days is few in dis heah lan' o' sorrow an' sin. All I axes is a li'le co'ner whar I kin set down an' wait peaceful fu de en'. (59) Comparing AAE with general (American) English, there are numerous differences in phonology: consonant cluster reductions

such as gittin', an', lan', an', different

pronunciation of th sound such as dis, de, liquid vocalization of co'ner and other differences such as massa, gwine, yer, gitting, axes. Gramatically, negative auxiliary ain't is used in place of am not, a disagreement between a plural noun and singular verb days is, using s inflection of a verb with a singular pronoun I axes, using adjective instead of an adverb wait peaceful, multiple negation ain't never.

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The Czech translated version is: Pane, vás já nikdy nevopustim. Začínám bejt stará a vochablá, a už mi zbejvá jenom málo času na tomdle smutnym a hříšnym světě. Jediný, vo co vás žádám je malej koutek, kde si můžu dřepnout a v klidu čekat na svuj konec. Generally, as it would be practically impossible to maintain the differences between AAE and general English on the same level and words in translation into Czech so phonological differences are used in different places as much as colloquial Czech allows. Phonological devices that I used are shortening of vowels such as nevopustim, svuj, prothetic v in words such as vo, nevopustim, vochablá, using -ej instead of -ý in bejt, zbejvá, malej, using -ý instead of -é in jediný, smutnym, hříšnym, using tomdle instead of tomhle. Obviously, grammar differences such as multiple negation in AAE cannot be transfered into Czech as it uses it as standard rule. Similarly, as Czech is an inflective language, there would be no use in breaking the rule of noun – verb agreement. If I had tried such an experiment it could have been translated as mejch dnů jsou pár which is unacceptable. Also, disrespecting the rules of Czech inflections of verbs would not make any sense in translation and would cause confusion for a reader. Therefore, grammatically, Czech does not offer a suitable solution and throughout my work, standard grammar is used. Lexically, Czech provides a range of devices that are missing in English – diminutives are an example so li'le co'ner becomes malej koutek which is more natural than malej kout as well as kouteček. I decided to use the colloquial word dřepnout instead of neutral sednout si even when the English original is set down. I feel that using lexical colloquial expression partly compensates for inability to transform grammar. Actually, altering or deforming grammar of Czech in translation would suggest that a character speaking with such a language lacks not only basic education but it would leave an impression that s/he is completely socially isolated that s/she has been unable to learn to speak or that the character is dumb. And that is certainly not the case of black characters in Kate Chopin’s stories. On the contrary, the characters are cunning and wise. That is well demonstrated when Aunt Peggy comes to the master’s house and makes an emotional speech knowing that she would be rewarded with food. Mist'ess, I 's come to take a las' look at you all. Le' me look at you good. Le' me look at de chillun, - de big chillun an' de li'le chillun. Le' me look at de picters an' de photygraphts an' de pianny, an' eve'ything 'fo' it 's too late. 60

One eye is done gone, an' de udder' s a-gwine fas'. Any mo'nin' yo' po' ole Aunt Peggy gwine wake up an' fin' herse'f stone-bline. (52) Again, the same approach was applied to the translation of the above mentioned qualities of AAE. The fact that the rest of the text, apart from the AAE English, is translated by standard Czech makes it, in my opinion, sufficiently equivalent to AAE English used in the original. An interesting problem is the translation of an adjective stone-bline where I opted for a simile slepá jak netopejr. A more common Czech simile would probably be slepá jak patrona or slepá jak krtek but that would not provide any possibility to use the colloquial ending. Also, the black slaves were thought as being superstitious and in close connection with nature and therefore the word netopejr (a bat) serves that purpose well. Another problem arises when two or more characters speak AAE English but there are differences in the spoken varieties. That is the case in the story A Gentleman of Bayou Têche. This short story was published in the collection of stories Bayou Folk in 1894, almost three decades after the Civil War. It describes a plantation life and its organization, in my opinion, after the abolishment of slavery, yet, there are still black people working on the plantation but with some degree of freedom. The black characters in the story differ in age and a rank on the plantation. Martinette is a young girl, possibly a teenager, who has presumably never had a status of a slave. Her AAE variety is closer to the standard English, she is able to use a more formal register when she visits a house of plantation owners. Her father, Evariste had most likely been a slave before and the language that he uses is described in the story as “uncertain, broken English” (17) Also, there is a character of Aunt Dicey in the story whose son Wilkins is a house servant. The AAE variety of Aunt Dicey appears the furthest away from the standard English, the most ungrammatical and colloquial, so to speak. Wilkins’s variety is only documented in two sentences in the whole story. As a house servant he spends a large amount of time with the owners of plantations and other whites so we would expect his English to be the closest to the standard variety. In the story, however, this is not the case: "Dat 's who, suh," returned Wilkins. "She ben standin' dah sence mos' sun-up; look like she studyin' to take root to de gall'ry." In the translated version „Je to vona, váženej pane,” odvětil Wilkins. „Stojí tam už skoro vod rozbřesku. Vypadá, jak dyby chtěla na tý verandě zakořenit.”(15) The Czech expression váženej pane suggests that Wilkins is aware of using formal register to address the owner, otherwise, it does not reflect the presumption that he speaks “better English” than the other black characters in the story because it is not evident in the original. However, the 61

differences in individual uses of AAE are noticable in the original and therefore these should also be transfered into translation. Martinette’s English is the closest to the standard English thus in translation, the aim was to use colloquial Czech that is close to standard. "W'at fo' you reckon he want' do dat?" / „Na co myslíš, že to chce?” (9) "Mebbe he yeard 'bout that big fish w'at you ketch las' winta in Carancro lake. You know it was all wrote about in the 'Suga Bowl.' " / „Možný je, že zaslech vo tý velký rybě, jak si chytil loni v zimě na jezeru Carancro. Dyť víš, psalo se vo tom v ,Suga Bowl’.” (9) "Well, anyway, you got to fix yo'se'f up," „Tak jako tak, musíš se vyfešákovat.” (10)"W'at you laughin' 'bout, Aunt Dice?" „Čemu se směješ, teto Dais?” (11) Here, the deviations from standard Czech are intentionally only in few places such as vo, tý, dyť and by using the word vyfešákovat which is more expressive than the English original fix yo'se'f up. In case of Aunt Dicey’s language variety, the aim was that she sounds the most colloquial in translation in comparison with other characters. At the same time, her language has to correspond with the style within the whole story. „Ááá, vubec si mě nevšímej. Já si jenom tak přemejšlim, jak ste ty a tvuj táta pitomý. Vy ste voba ty nejpitomější stvoření, jaký sem kdy potkala.”(11) „Proto řikam, že seš pitomá,“ prohlásila žena, když práskla žehličku na obrácený otlučený plech na koláč. „Tak jak povidáš, voni daj ten vobrázek do ňákejch novin s vobrázkama. A víš, jaký počtení tam daj pod ten vobrázek? Martinette pozorně poslouchala. „Voni tam zasadí: Tadle hlava je jedna z těch ubohejch Cajunů vod řeky Têche!“ (11) „Já je znám tydlety floutky,“ pokračovala teta Dicey, a zase začala žehlit. „Ten neznámej chlap má malýho syna, eště ani nevodrost vejprasku na zadek. A tajtej hajzlik sem přihopsal včéra s takovou krabičkou pod paží. A řiká mi: Dobré ráno, dámo. Budete vod tý vochoty a postojíte zrovna jak ste u toho žehlení a já si vás vyfotim? Zařvala sem na něj, že udělam fotku z něho toudle horkou žehličkou, estli se hned votuď nevyklidí. A von na to, že žádá vo prominutí za narušování. Takovýdle řečičky ke starý černý megeře. To jasně dokazuje, že neví, kam patří.“ (12) Here, the objective was to adjust Czech words and expressions in order to use as many colloquial means as the overall style allows. I was deliberately searching for words that can

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take prothetic v and words that can change the quality of vowels – přemejšlim, řikam, udělam, včéra. An interesting problem in this part is the verb phrase: sot down in An' you know w'at readin' dey gwine sot down on'neaf dat picture? The standard English expression would most likely be put down but it also could be jot down. I followed the first option and tried to transfer its literal meaning and therefore used the word zasadí. Similarly, I was unable to find the word intrudement, or more precisely, the noun formed from the verb intrude appears to be non-existent. That was the reason why I used the word narušování when the more likely option would be vyrušování or narušování soukromí. Again, the Czech words such as floutkové – folks, hajzlik – imp, vejprasku – spank are more expressive than the corresponding English words and this fact again compensates for the inability to change grammar. Also, in this story, I opted for translating the expression ole nigga 'oman as starý černý megeře. When Aunt Decey is talking about herself, she uses this expression to support the argument that she found the talk of a boy that visited her inappropriate and false and that the politeness in his speech does not match her reality. The Czech word megera is a lot more expressive than the neutral word woman, on the other hand, the translation of the word nigger is problematic as it is strongly pejorative especially in present-day English and I avoided translating it literally. Therefore the word megera fits well in this context. The word nigger appears on numerous occasions in other stories. At the time when the author wrote these short stories, the word was not as taboo as in today’s English but since the translation is aimed at present readers this fact has to be considered. In the selected stories, the word negro is most commonly translated as černoch and the word niggress translated as černoška. The negro boy becomes černý chlapec or černošský chlapec. A different expression referring to the color of skin is old darky in: Monsieur understood and appreciated the situation at once, and he has prevailed upon Madame Bênitou to accept the gratuitous services of Uncle Oswald for the sake of the old darky's own safety and happiness. (45) After some hesitation I decided for a Czech translation starý mouřenín.Here, the English expression is playful and in the context monsieur shows his compassion about the future of his former slave and the same time denotes the colour of his skin. I was searching for a Czech word that would have these characteristics and the closest word is, in my opinion, mouřenín. The word in Czech is archaic but it has a playful sound compared to neutral černoch and is not derogatory. Similarly to A Gentleman of Bayou Têche, the characters in In Sabine speak non-standard English and only one of them is black. Grégoire is an Acadian traveller who is presumably 63

familiar with a number of dialects from the South, Bud Aiken is “a brute” and “disreputable 'Texan' ”, Tite Reine is also Acadian but isolated and limited to conversations with her husband and Uncle Mortimer and she is illiterate: “If I would know how to read an' write . . .” (46) Also, she gives the impression of being rather naive. The only black character is Uncle Mortimer. Considering the characters, I actually established Uncle Mortimer’s language variety only second on the scale of colloquialness after Tite Reine: "How you do, suh,” / „Dobrej den, váženej pane”(36) "Hit 's Mas' Bud Aiken w'at live' heah, suh."/ „Taj bydlí muj pán Bad Aiken, váženej pane“(37) "Miss Reine," he said, "I reckon she mus' of done struck Natchitoches pa'ish sometime to'ard de middle o' de night, on dat 'ar swif' hoss o' Mr. Sanchun's." / „Pani Reine,“ říkal, „počitam, že musela bejt blízko kraje Natchitodes někdy kolem půlnoci na tom rychlym koni pana Sanchuna.“ (51) "Yas, Mas' Bud, but you see, Mr. Sanchun, he done cross de Sabine befo' sun-up on Buckeye." / „Nu ano, pane Bade, ale víte, pan Sanchun projel Sabine na Buckeyem ještě před úsvitem.“ (51) Here are examples of Tite Reine’s speech: "I 'm comin', Bud. Yere I come. W'at you want, Bud?" / „Už du, Bade. Už sem tu. Co potřebuješ, Bade?“ (40) "The house kin fall on 'im, 't en goin' wake up Bud w'en he 's sleepin'; he drink' too much."/ „Na něj může klidně spadnout barák a Bada to neprobudí. Hrozně pije.“(43) "My popa, he got a putty good crop this yea'?" / „A co tatík, ouroda byla letos dobrá?“(44)" He done haul it to the relroad?" / „A už to vodlifroval na železnici?“(44) "Nobody don' know, 'cep' Unc' Mort'mer," she went on. "I tell you, he beats me; my back an' arms - you ought to see - it 's all blue. He would 'a' choke' me to death one day w'en he was drunk, if Unc' Mort'mer had n' make 'im lef go - with his axe ov' his head." „Nikdo vo tom neví, kromě strejčka Mortimera,“ pokračovala. / „Říkam Vám, von mě bije, koukněte se na moje záda a ruce – sou dočista modrý. Tenkrát by mě udusil, dyž byl vopilej, nebejt strejčka Mortimera, kerej mu dal sekeru k hlavě a von mě nechal bejt.“ (45) The examples above prove that Czech misses suitable language means to distinguish between AAE and colloquial English. The fact that uncle Mortimer speaks AAE is evident in the phonology of de (the) dat (that) hoss (horse). However, in Czech translation we would not be able to establish such a fact if it was not for the context and explicit statement that he is black. Tite Reine’s English does not include phonological d in place of th but there are other differences in phonology such as kin (can), 'cep' (except) putty (pretty).

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Interestingly, the ungrammatical structure of using done and infinitive in He done haul it to the relroad? Instead of Has he hauled it to the railroad? is a typical feature used in AAE. Presumably, Tite Reine uses a mix of Englishes to which she has been accustomed. Czech cannot reflect that so my approach was to alter the scope of colloquialness for individual characters.

TRANSLATION AND CULTURE, FRENCH EXPRESSIONS IN THE TEXT Newmark does not regard language as a property of culture for the translation purposes because such a notion would make translation impossible. However, he admits that language comprises of various cultural material in terms of grammar, lexis, or a way of addressing people and that causes translation problems. (95) Newmark’s definition of culture is: “the way of life and its manifestation that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression.” (94) Baker uses the term “culturespecific” for notions that are unfamiliar in the target culture. This term covers both specific and abstract concepts such as customs, religion or meals. (21) She distinguishes different categories for such concepts: (1) SL word does not have a corresponding TL word but the concept that it expresses is understood and known in TL culture. (2) SL word is semantically rich and expresses numerous notions (3) SL and TL do not correspond in differentiating a meaning of a certain word (4) TL misses a superordinate (5) TL misses a specific word. (6) Variations in physical or social position. (7) Variations in expressiveness (8) Variations in form covering mainly English suffixes and prefixes (9) Variations in occurrence and function of a specific form, in other words, even if a specific form in SL has an equivalent in TL, there can be differences based on the frequency of using such a form and simply using the equivalent in TL would make the TL text unnatural. (10) Loan words (23-25) Levý does not apply the term culture in his theory, he discusses specific national and period qualities of an original. It is connected with historical and local background of an original. This requires transference in terms of not only the meaning but also the spirit. Translators need to be aware of social, psychological and period features in TL. Since these features are inseparable part of a text influencing the language material, its style and theme, they are bound to produce problems in translation. (109, translated by AM) Naturally, all specific features of an original cannot be transferred in all aspects. The

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relationship of an original and a translation is that of a work of art and its interpretation in a different language material. The focal point of a translator is the final effect, the final reader’s impression. Translation should preserve the meaning and aesthetic values of an original. In terms of specific national and period qualities, the objective is not transferring all components in translation, but achieving the illusion of a specific period in readers’ minds. This provides the basis for some translation principles. (Levý 111, translated by AM) Newmark lists different cultural categories and methods of translating them. Generally, the question of a cultural significance in SL text is raised again and two opposing translation procedures are suggested. The first procedure – transference – preserves the spirit and the local colour of an original but restricts comprehension. It serves the culture but limits the message. On the other side, there is componential analysis, which serves the message but blocks the culture. The intended readers of a translation determine the translator’s approach to cultural words. (96) Baker recommends establishing the significance and implications of all non-equivalent words as a starting point. It is impossible to transfer all qualities of every word in translation. She suggests concentrating on key words that play the main role in a text since it is not a translator’s job to provide a complete linguistic account of every single word. (26) Baker offers different strategies to address non-equivalence. Among these are: translation by a more general word, changing the expressiveness of a word, using a cultural substitution, using a loan word either with or without explanation, paraphrasing or omission. (26 – 40) Similarly, Levý advises concentrating on culturally specific expression that a reader of a TL texts identifies as typical for the SL culture. Those that a reader cannot perceive as cultural images lose their value. (111, translated by AM) Levý offers concrete examples such as cultural differences in addressing people. The French Monsieur, Madame or English Sir cannot be always translated into Czech as pan. If overused, it is distractive in TL text and does not evoke the SL setting and atmosphere. The practice appropriate for Czech culture is to either omit such address or replace it with different address.(112, translated by AM) Levý also discusses a problem of a foreign language used in SL text which would be understood by the original readership. For a Czech reader, the foreign language would be incomprehensible and therefore must be altered. However, if French in English SL text was translated by Czech in Czech TL, the TL text would loose 66

SL characteristics. The best solution, according to Newmark, is to translate the sentences that carry meaning into Czech and use the foreign (French) expressions for addressing or short answers that are retrievable from the context. (116, translated by AM) According to Knittlová, if a foreign language in SL is used to mark the atmosphere, in addressing or in common phrases in social situations, the foreign language remains unchanged in TL. The same approach is applied if the meaning can be understood from the context. However, if the semantic meaning is not clear from the context, the foreign expression is followed by the Czech translation. Another possibility of dealing with a foreign language is to add a note explaining it. (107 – 108, translated by AM) CAJUN COUNTRY

Kate Chopin’s short stories are set in Louisiana, a state that was originally colonised by France and afterwards Louisina had a very colourful and varied past. Even today, people of Louisiana have diverse ancestors such as original Indians and past settlers such as French, Spanish, English, German, Acadains. (“About Louisiana”) Acadia was a French colony in today’s Nova Scotia in Canada. The French colonist settled in the area in the 17th century. As a war between France and Britain was approaching, in the middle of the 18th century, Acadians were forced to leave the land and therefore they migrated to predominantly French territory of Louisiana. There they started setting up farms along the Mississippi River and other streams. The term Cajun originated from the French pronunciation of Acadian – A-ca-jan. The Cajun Country, known as Acadiana, contains 22 parishes (counties) and the unofficial capital is Lafayette. (“About Louisiana”) Cajun culture comprises of specific music, cooking and naturally, the language. “Along with its food and music, the major trademarks of Cajun Country are pirogues (canoes made from a single cypress log), Spanish moss, alligators, swamps, bayous and "Cajun Cabins".” (ibid) Regarding the language, French was the main language of Cajuns until the 20th century. “The basics of the language is their Acadian French, or the language of 17th century France. As the other cultures of south Louisiana intermingled with the Acadians, certain words from other languages were incorporated.” (Hebert) The Cajun culture is well reflected in Kate Chopin’s writing. Not only the words Cajun and Acadian frequently appear, but also the original French expressions are used throughout the short stories. Regarding the translation of words Cajun and Acadian, I 67

opted for transference with a change in spelling in Czech Akad, akadský, Cajun is transferred unchanged. I am aware of the fact that an average reader would have to search for the exact explanation of the terms, however, I believe that keeping the local colour of the author’s writing is the key element. Also, the history and the concept of the terms are too complicated to be dealt with in a different way. The two words are too lengthy to be explained or paraphrased in the translated text and cultural equivalents in Czech are not available. Moreover, the fact that French expressions are kept in the translation provides a hint into the Acadian culture. In the English original, the author used italics for the French words in the text. If I were to consider the original readership at the time and the effect the short stories had on them, I would assume that the French expressions were incomprehensible for some of them. Since the short stories were published in national magazines, readers outside Louisiana would experience difficulties in understanding them. The today’s readers of the English original also ask about the reason of the French expressions in Kate Chopin’s writing. The question is well answered on Kate Chopin Society’s website: Most of the characters in Kate Chopin's short stories . . . speak French, Spanish, Creole, or all three, in addition to English. Many people with French and Spanish roots lived in Louisiana, where most of Chopin's works are set, and some of them spoke more than one language. . . . Chopin was determined to be accurate in the way she recorded the speech of the people she focused on in her fiction. Some editions of her works include translations of French expressions, and Chopin usually subtly glosses such expressions in the text. Missing the meaning of a French expression is not likely to lead to a mistake in understanding a story or novel. (Koloski, "Short Stories") This brings me to the reasoning behind leaving the French expressions in my translation. The edition I used for translation is Complete Novels and Stories. (Chopin) The French expressions that are in italics are paraphrased and/or translated into English at the end of a book in a separate chapter Notes. Here, it is stated that: “No note is made for material included in standard desk-reference books. . . . Foreign words and phrases are translated only if meaning is not evident in context. . . . Notes in the text are Chopin’s own.” (Chopin 1060) Since the author was herself aware that the French expression would be incomprehensible for some readers and yet she used them in the text, I am convinced that it is my obligation to maintain the same form in the Czech translation. Therefore, I used French expressions in 68

italics exactly as in the original and included a glossary at the end of the practical part for readers to find the exact meaning. I understand that it is a disruptive process to search for any type of information while reading fiction, however, this solution, in my opinion, remains the best as it reflects author’s intention and provides readers with the cultural background.

A different problem arises with cultural words/expression such as French addressing Monsieur, Madame. Both forms of address are in their original meaning closest to the Czech word pán, paní/madam or English mister, mistress (originally a woman who owns a slave – the free dictionary). However, the connotation of Czech words pán, paní is different – Czech does not provide such a broad range of words for addressing in certain contexts, such as in slavery in the short stories. Obviously the word pán is different from pan since it includes the connotation of servitude but the female form paní connotates any married woman, is semantically weaker and therefore not equivalent. Considering the word master, it is less common in the text than the French expression Monsieur and it was translated either as pán or pan. Interestingly, in the short story In Sabine when Bud Aiken is introduced for the first time in: "Hit 's Mas' Bud Aiken w'at live' heah, suh." (37) I opted for translation of pán but in one of the following paragraphs: I say dit Mas' Bud Aiken don't hires me to chop 'ood.(37) I chose pan as a nearer equivalent, therefore: „Taj bydlí muj pán Bad Aiken, váženej pane.“ and A já na to, že mě pan Bad Aiken nenajímá na štípání dřeva.The difference in translation is that the combination of personal pronoun muj and the word pán provide the readers with the fact, that the property is owned by Bud Aiken and it also provides a hint that he hires Mortimer to work there as it is believed in the following paragraph. When it is clatified that it is Mortimer’s free will to stay and work there, it is more suitable to use the word pan in the latter example especially in combination with the full name pan Bud Aiken. The word mistress occurs only once and it was translated as milostpani. Regarding the word Monsieur, it was translated in different ways depending on the context. When the word was combined with a name, I used transference without the capitalization of the first letter such as monsieur Aubigny. When the word was used independently with the meaning of master I usually opted for pán. On other occasions, where the word is used as a polite title meaning Mister (Mr.), I used either pan or transferred monsiér. Since the French exprsessions and the culture are present in many other aspects, it is not intrusive to use this French form of address in this particular context. Keeping the local color writing has a stronger objective than translating foreign 69

forms of address for TL readers. The title Madame, was transferred in accordance with Czech written norm madam in all places, regardless of a combination with a name or without.

The

translation

madam

is

equivalent

to

Madame

in

the

original.

Other cultural words in the original text include parish, gumbo-filé, Pike's Magnolia, cabin, calico and others. In case of gumbo-filé, a meal typical for the Cajun culture, the best way to translate it was its transference together with an explanation, therefore in translation: Celé dopoledne seděli u stolu, kouřili a hráli karty, přestali pouze, když je Tite Reine přišla obsloužit s “gumbo-filé” – hustou polévkou typickou pro Louisianu. (48) This way, both local culture and the meaning of the word is transferred. Similarly, Pike's Magnolia is a brand name for whiskey. In the context, it is easy for a general reader to identify it as an alcoholic beverage but not specifically whiskey. He was fond of reiterating that women's admiration had wrecked his life, quite forgetting to mention the early and sustained influence of "Pike's Magnolia" and other brands, and wholly ignoring certain inborn propensities capable of wrecking unaided any ordinary existence. (39) Later in the short story, there are indications that the character Bud Aiken is fond of whiskey such in: Why, a man can't git a drink o' whiskey here without going out of the parish fer it, or across into Texas. (41) It is difficult to recognize whether the brand name of whiskey was generally recognized by the original readership or whether it was an intention of the author to uncover the type of the drink later in the story. In any case, in translation, the same approach as with gumbo-filé was applied – explanation with a transference: Rád připomínal, že přízeň žen mu zruinovala život, ale zcela zapomínal zmínit časný a nepřetržitý vliv whisky “Pike Magnolia” i jiných značek a zcela ignoroval jisté vrozené sklony, které sami o sobě jsou schopné zničit život kohokoliv. Cabin does not have an equivalent in Czech, the closest equivalent would probably be srub or chata but not in the context of the short stories translated. Throughout the text it was translated in a number of possibilities depending on the context. Quite often it was translated as bouda when the context suggested it was a plain and uncomfortable type of dwelling such in: They sat within the low, homely cabin of two rooms, that was not quite so comfortable as Mr. Hallet's negro quarters. / Seděli uvnitř nízké, prosté boudy čítající dvě 70

místnosti, která nebyla tak docela útulná, jako byly ty pro černochy pana Halleta.(9) In combination with the word log – log cabin, the correct translation is srub such in: The sight of a human habitation, even if it was a rude log cabin with a mud chimney at one end, was a very gratifying one to Grégoire./ Pohled na lidské obydlí, i když to byl jen primitivní srub s komínem z bahna po straně, byl pro Gregoryho ohromně hřejivý.(36) Therefore in the rest of short story In Sabine, the cabin is translated as srub since that was established in the opening paragraph. However, the hut is used as a synonym for the cabin in the same story which does not fit well in Czech translation srub – bouda as being synonyms but were used nevertheless. On the other hand, cabin in Old Aunt Peggy connotates pleasant and comfortable place: So, in the general reconstruction of the plantation which immediately followed the surrender, a nice cabin, pleasantly appointed, was set apart for the old woman. Therefore in this particular occurance, it was translated as chaloupka: A proto, když začala rekonstrukce plantáže hned po kapitulaci Jihu, byla staré ženě přidělena příjemná

chaloupka,

na

příhodném

místě

na

plantáži.

(52)

Other interesting problems arose in translating clothes and materials worn at that time. In the short story The Bênitous Slave there is an expression extinguisher fashion in: One who passed in was a little girl about twelve, with dark, kind eyes, and daintily carrying a parcel. She was dressed in blue calico, and wore a stiff white sun-bonnet, extinguisher fashion, over her brown curls. (34) I was unable to find the expression in any dictionary or encyclopedia and after a few consultations with native speakers I disappointedly abandoned any further search for the meaning of the phrase. I decided to adopt Newmark’s approach: The translator can never ‘abandon’ an unfindable word, must never assume, because it appears to be nonsensical (a non-existent word, or an existing word clearly out of place) that nothing was intended, that it can be ignored. On the contrary, he must finally make some kind of guess at the word he cannot find, some compromise between the most likely contextual meaning of the word . . . Needless to say, he has to append a note saying ‘Not found’, and giving reason for his interpretation of the unfindable word, showing the extremes of the most likely contextual gap and the apparent extra-contextual meaning of the word build up by its component morphemes. (183) My translation of the phrase is podle poslední módy and the reasoning behind it was that the mother of the little girl owned “fashionable millinery” and therefore the little girl 71

would wear hats of the latest fashion. However, I was still curious about the exact meaning of the phrase so I decided to contact The Kate Chopin International Society and ask them about the meaning. I received the answer that the bonnet in the extinguisher fashion is a style of hat that women wore at the late 19th/early 20th century. I also received a picture attached and the hat is in the shape of an extinguisher. After some hesitation, I decided to keep my original translation podle poslední módy in the text since it covers the fact that she wore a hat that was fashionable at that time. The more precise meaning, which considers the shape of the hat, ve tvaru hasícího přístroje, would be inappropriate in the translated story and the fact that the hat is of a certain shape does not carry a cultural value for a reader. Similarly, the word calico in the same paragraph is undertranslated as šatičky which does not include any information about the material of the dress as in the original. Another culture specific word is pirogue which was undertranslated as kánoj without any further specification. TRANSLATING PROPER NAMES Newmark states that the traditional approach to people’s names in translation is their transference as to keep their nationality, provided that the name does not carry any connotation in the original. The names that are usually translated are for instance some prominent personalities from history as well as living. Names that are used in imaginative literature require different approach depending on whether the nationality is important or whether the names carry any connotations. They are either transferred or translated respectively. It can also happen that both the nationality and the connotation of a name are significant. (214 – 215) In that case, Newmark recommends: “first to translate the word that underlies the SL proper name into the TL, and then to naturalise the translated word back into a new SL proper name . . . ” (214 – 215) Similarly to Newmark, Levý claims that a proper name can be translated only if it carries a meaning that is a restricted to specific genres. Generally, substitution or transcription is applied when a name is dependent on a national standard of writing names as each language has its own norm. (106, translated by AM) However, Levý also urges translators to consider all factors that are relevant in each situation when dealing with a proper name. (107, translated by AM) 72

Pour in her article How to Translate Personal Names refers to a number of academics and rightly declares that translating proper names presents one of the translating challenges. A translator needs to carefully consider selecting an appropriate procedure in proper names translation. Albert Peter Vermes proposes that translating proper names requires more consideration than merely transferring them since their translation is connected with their meaning. A translator needs to be aware of the fact that personal names are culture specific and can connotate specific characteristics. Failing to identify connotations of a proper name may result in incorrect translation. (qtd. in Pour) Farahzad present an interesting point of view when she argues that transcription of a proper name is inferior to transliteration and lists the reasons for such a claim. According to her, no set rules for transcription exist, transcription is determined by various accents of the same language (such as British and American English), it can be mistakenly influenced by the pronunciation of a translator, different languages do not have the same sounds available which makes exact transcription difficult to achieve and trancription of personal names is difficult to pronounce. For the listed reasons, she recommends translators to use transliteration. (qtd. in Pour) In my translation, I had to consider other difficulties based on the specific differences between Czech and English. Firstly, Czech is a synthetic language as opposed to analytic English. Therefore, proper names that need to be declined in translation can become lengthy or difficult to work with in translation. Secondly, numerous names in SL text are of the French origin and therefore they carry cultural properties. Furthermore, some names are used as nicknames. The majority of names were kept in their original unchanged form keeping their English spelling such as pan Sublet, Evariste Anatole Bonamour, Martinette, pan Hallet, Wilkins and others. My priority was keeping the reference to the foreign nationality in translation provided that declination of such names is possible. In the short story Desiree’s Baby I decided to use transcription so the name of the story in Czech is Dezirčino dítko. I believe that diminutive of the name in the title is appropriate considering the character in the story. Desiree is a young innocent woman who had to reconcile herself with great injustice from her husband. The diminutive Dezirka is used again when her adoptive mother explains her origin and therefore demonstrates mother’s love to her daughter. The same applies also later in the story when her mother sends her a letter to ask Desiree to come home: "My own 73

Desiree: Come home to Valmonde; back to your mother who loves you. Come with your child." „Moje milá Dezirko, vrať se domů do Valmonde, za mámou, která tě miluje. Vezmi i miminko.” (27) It is also used on page 24: This was what made the gentle Desiree so happy, for she loved him desperately. A to bylo to, co něžnou Dezirku činilo šťasnou, protože ho až zoufale milovala. Here, simple Dezire could be used but the diminutive in my opinion reflects the fact that she is a good character in the story, genuine and even slightly naive. It also intesifies the powerful climax of the story when the readers learn that she was blameless. In other parts of the story the transcription Dezire is used. This way it keeps its foreign connotation but is not distractive for Czech readers. The name of her husband Armand Aubidny remained unchanged even when the surname in the plural to mark the family in Czech Aubignyovi is somewhat clumsy. For the same reason, I decided to omit the surname in: Marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Armand Aubigny's imperious and exacting nature greatly. / Manželství a poté narození syna velmi zmírnilo Armanda panovačnou a komplikovanou povahu. (24) Here, it is unnecessary to include the declined surname and more natural to use the first name only. In the short story A Very Fine Fiddle I found it difficult to select the best approach to names in translation. I considered substituting Cléophas with Czech Kleofáš since the name exists in Czech and is the equivalent name but finally I decided against it and kept the original form and spelling Cléophas in translation. The main reason is the connotation of the name Kleofáš in Czech. One of the connotations is a biblical character which would not prevent me from using it in translation. However, I also associate the name with a silly devil in a Czech fairy tale and therefore I eliminated Kleofáš as unsuitable. Another name in the story Fifine has a playful touch to it corresponding with a character of a little girl in the story. Here, I decided for shortening it – Fifi in the Czech version. It is easier for the Czech readers to identify with this particular character and it fits in the context well yet it follows the original form of the name. In the story The Bênitous’ Slave I would have no reason to change the surname Bênitous semantically since the objective is to keep the French origin of the surname, however, it is problematic grammatically - using it in plural or declined. For grammatical purposes, I decided to use transliteration Bênit. In the part "My name's Susanne; Susanne Bênitou," replied the girl. I had to consider whether I would include the female inflection -ová in the translation. Since I did not alter the name Susanne in any way in the TL text it is apparent that the name is foreign and the Czech rules allow foreign names to be used without the inflection. Using or avoiding -ová can be a matter of a passionate discussion and most people have their own preferences. Personally, I am not 74

strictly for or against using –ová in combination with foreign surnames. Generally, I am more inclined to omit it nevertheless I used it in this case „Jmenuji se Susanne, Susanne Bênitová,” odpověděla dívka. (35) In my opinion, it sounds more natural than Susanne Bênit. In the short story In Sabine there is a character Tite Reine whose name, or rather a nickname, carries a meaning. However, since the meaning that it carries is in French it is explained for the readers of the original English text. A vivid picture of the girl as he remembered her appeared to him: her trim rounded figure; her piquant face with its saucy black coquettish eyes, her little exacting, imperious ways that had obtained for her the nickname of 'Tite Reine, little queen. (38) I decided to deal with the matter similarly, transferring the original nickname into TL text with its meaning explained. Živě si vybavil obraz dívky, tak jak si ji pamatoval: štíhlá, oblá postava, přitažlivá tvář, vyzývavé a svůdné černé oči, její trochu nesnadné a povýšené způsoby, za které si získala přezdívku Tite Reine, královnička. However, the translation of the name of the same character becomes problematic when the nickname is used in its shortened and altered form. Then turning toward the entrance of the cabin he called back through the open door: "Rain!" it was his way of pronouncing 'Tite Reine's name. (40) I am uncertain of the pronunciation of ‘Tite Reine and even more so of Rain. I assume that the pronunciation follows the rules of English but it is not unlikely that it is pronounced according to French rules. Furthermore, since I decided to transfer the name unchanged, it is hard to think of an equivalent that would reflect the changed pronunciation in Czech based on its English/French pronunciation. For these reasons, I kept the altered nickname unchanged even though I am aware that this solution is not the most suitable and a professional translator would probably deal with this problem more creatively. Unfortunately, I was unable to solve this with a more appropriate equivalent. Therefore the translation is in this matter inferior to the original: Poté se obrátil směrem ke vchodu srubu a skrz otevřené dveře zavolal: „Rain!” takhle vyslovoval jméno Tite Reine. The translation of the name Aunt Dicey in A Gentleman of Bayou Têche presents a similar problem. The name of Aunt Dicey is in SL text used also in a shortened form Aunt Dice when Martinette addresses her in a friendlier, more familiar manner. Here, I expect the pronunciation to follow the English rules Dicey [ˈdaɪsɪ] and the shortened Dice [daɪs]. Compared to the translation of Rain, I selected a different approach with Dice. Since the 75

difference of using the more familiar form of a name in English is based on pronunciation but the written form transferred unchanged would not provide such information for Czech readers, I decided to use the familiar form Dice transcribed so Dais in TL text. "W'at you laughin' 'bout, Aunt Dice?" inquired Martinette mistrustfully. „Čemu se směješ, teto Dais?” zeptala se Martinette podezíravě. (11) As for the full form Aunt Dicey I did not use transcription in TL text but its unchanged original form since my objective was to avoid transcription of names as a rule. The reason for the transcription of Aunt Dais was to adequately differentiate the familiar – unfamiliar form of the name but keeping its foreign origin. Saying that, there is another name that I transcribed and so Bud Aiken in SL text becomes Bad Aiken in TL text in In Sabine. My argument is that when the name is declined as in the addressing or possessive case, the name unchanged in Czech would be Bude, Budova and I feel that such a name is unnatural to be used in Czech since it evokes different associations. The one name which I decided to translate was the name of a cow Putty Girl in In Sabine. "I hope they all ent sole 'Putty Girl'?" she inquired solicitously. “Doufám, že neprodali Krasavici?” vyptávala se starostlivě. (44) In this case, the name carries a meaning, can be easily translated into Czech and since it is a cow’s name, the foreign nationality of the names is irrelevant. LIST OF NAMES

Monsieur Valmonde – monsiér Mr Sublet – pan Sublet

Valmonde

Evariste – Evariste

Zandrine – Zandrine

Martinette – Martinette

La Blanche – La Blanche

Mr. Léonce – pan Léonc

Negrillon – Negrillon

Aunt Dicey – teta Dicey

Cléophas – Cléophas

Aunt Dice – teta Dais

Fifine – Fifi

Wilkins – Wilkins

Blanchette – Blanchette

Mr Hallet – pan Hallet

Unc' Siméon – strejda Siméon

Archie Sublet – Archie Sublet

Uncle Oswald – strýček Oswald

Jake Baptiste – Jake Baptiste

the Bênitous – rodina Bênitových

Evariste Anatole Bonamour – Evariste

Bênitou – Bênit

Anatole Bonamour

Doctor Bonfils – doktor Bonfils

Desiree – Dezire, Dezirka

Susanne Bênitou – Susanne Bênitová

Madame Valmonde – madam Valmonde

Madame Bênitou – madam Bênitová

Armand Aubigny – Armand Aubigny 76

Grégoire – Gregory

Rain – Rein

Bud Aiken – Bad Aiken

'Putty Girl – Krasavice

Baptiste Choupic – Baptiste Choupic

Buckeye – Buckeye

Tite Reine – Tite Reine

Aunt Peggy – teta Peggy

Mortimer – Mortimer T–V DISTINCTION IN TRANSLATION The Czech language, among many other languages, distinguishes formality in its person system, using second person plural vy for a polite form of address, the so called V distinction – vykání. The familiar form of address – T distinction, uses the second person singular ty – tykání. English does not use this distinction and therefore this inevitably is a source of translation problems. Regrettably, there is very little theory written about this topic. Especilly the Czech authors of books on translation theory seem to avoid any further explanation or advise.

One of the English writers, Mona Baker, dedicates a short chapter to this problem. She describes various languages and their person system which can be in some cases very elaborate. Since English does not rely on the person system to express different levels of familiarity, it has to use other means such as lexical or grammatical – such as the difference between you, mate, dear, darling and Mr. Smith, Sir, Professor Brown, Mrs Jones, Madam. (96) “The difference between modes of address and pronouns is that the use of pronouns is unavoidable, particularly since pronominal reference is coded in the inflection of verbs in many languages, whereas one can often avoid addressing a person directly.” (Brown and Gilman, qtd. in Baker 96) A translator has to make decisions about using T or V form, based on the relationships of characters and their social position. Baker also claims that T – V distinction “is among the most fascinating aspects of grammar and the most problematic in translation.” (98) Newmark only briefly considers the forms of address in general, the fact that they are the key element to dialogue cohesion. The factors that influence the form of address are “kinship and intimacy, class, sex and age.” (57) Regarding my work, in many cases the decision between T and V form was easy when the relationships of characters clearly determined the choice. For instance, In Sabine, when 77

Diseree talk to her mother, the relationship of a mother and daughter is obviously familiar and so the rule is T form. "My mother, they tell me I am not white. Armand has told me I am not white. For God's sake tell them it is not true. You must know it is not true. I shall die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy, and live." (29) Although it was not uncommon in the past to address parents in V form, the text is translated for contemporary readers and therefore V form is used: „Mami, říkají mi, že nejsem bílá. Armand mi řekl, že nejsem bílá. Proboha, řekni jim, že to není pravda. Ty víš, že to není pravda. Umřu. Musím zemřít. Nemůžu žít takhle nešťastná.“

In other cases, the distinction was not as easy. In Sabine, for instance,the appropriateness to use T or V form is hard to establish. Grégoire and Tite Reine know each other, they met at a ball some time ago but probably do not have a close familiar relationship, yet Grégoire does not know her husband so when they meet for the first time, it is natural that they use V form: "Santien, Grégoire Santien. I have the pleasure o' knowin' the lady you married, suh; an' I think I met you befo', - somew'ere o' 'nother," Grégoire added vaguely. „Santien, Gregory Santien. Je mým potěšením, že znám ženu, kterou jste si vzal, pane. A myslím, že Vás už jsem také někde potkal.“ dodal Gregory neurčitě.(40) The lead to use V form in Tite Reine speech is her address Mister and relatively formal register in: "You mus' escuse me, Mista Grégoire. It 's the truth I did n' know you firs', stan'in' up there." „Omluvte mě, pane Gregory. Upřímně, nepoznala sem Vás, jak ste tam tak stál.“ However, when Tite Reine wakes Grégoire in the middle of a night to tell him about her troubled life with Bud, their dialogue is familiar and relationship closer: "W'y, 'Tite Reine! w'at the devil you mean? w'ere 's yo' husban'?" (44) "That 's w'y I wake you up, to tell you," she continued. (47) I must admit that while working on my first draft I opted for V form naturally, without any further thoughts. Only later, while checking the translation I realized that the work is incohesive in V – T form. Finally, I resorted to using V form in all dialogues between Tite Reine and Grégoire. There are two reasons behind it. First, I believe that formal address was used between a man and a woman at that time when they knew each other socially and there is no indication that they established a familiar relationship, in fact, Tite Reine addresses him Mister Grégoire even when she is telling him about her issues of a very personal nature. Secondly, the unexpected climax of the story directed me to provide very few hints and if T form was used it would provide readers with more clues than necessary. In the same story, Grégoire and Bud become seemingly friendly and familiar when Grégoire decides to stay longer than he originally planned and they start addressing each 78

other by first names: As the afternoon wore on, all formality of address between the two had disappeared: they were "Bud" and "Grégoire" to each other, and Grégoire had delighted Aiken's soul by promising to spend a week with him. (50) Although there are not any other dialogues between the two characters later in the story, this was the moment when the form of address changed and from then on, if there were such a dialogue, I would resort to using T form: Jak ubíhalo odpoledne, vytratila se mezi nimi veškerá formálnost, potykali si a Gregory potěšil duši Aikena, když slíbil, že s ním stráví týden. An interesting problem regarding T – V distinction occurred in A Gentleman of Bayou Têche, when a little boy came to ask Aunt Peggy to take her photograph. He uses a formal register to be polite: He say' 'Good mo'nin', madam. Will you be so kine an' stan' jis like you is dah at yo' i'onin', an' lef me take yo' picture?' (13) yet strangely Aunt Peggy regards it as highly impolite: All dat kine o' talk to a ole nigga 'oman! Dat plainly sho' he don' know his place. Here, the use of V form is unquestionable: A řiká mi: Dobré ráno, dámo. Budete vod tý vochoty a postojíte zrovna jak ste u toho žehlení a já si vás vyfotim? On the other hand, what would Aunt Dicey regard as a polite request: 'Howdy, Aunt Dicey! will you be so kine and go put on yo' noo calker dress an' yo' bonnit w'at you w'ars to meetin', an' stan' 'side f'om dat i'onin'-boa'd w'ilse I gwine take yo' photygraph.' (13) is less formal in register and address. Furthermore, the convention at that time was to address AfroAmericans in an informal, familiar register even when a child talked to an adult. Using the “wrong”, polite address is therefore seen as rude and a familiar register as polite in Aunt Dicey's eyes. The familiar request in translation uses V form: Jak se vede, teto Dicey! Budeš tak hodná a voblečeš si ty svoje nový šaty a klobouk, kerý nosíš na setkání a vodstup vod toho žehlení a já si tě vyfotim.

79

CONCLUSION The diploma thesis dealt with the translation of six selected short stories by Kate Chopin and the analysis of certain stylistic aspects of the translation. I intentionally chose to translate the work that had not been translated before. At the same time, the text was stylistically stimulating and I found its translation challenging. Since this was my first time working formally on translation, I learnt a large amount of information and acquired valuable knowledge regarding the theory as well as practice in translation.

I see translation as a combination of a creative game and logical puzzle. There are principles to follow but also large space for one own's creativity. The whole process is time consuming and even though I found it enjoyable, I would not like to do it as a profession. Also, since perfect translation does not exist, it is frustrating to return to the same parts again and again, only to change what was already changed before, trying to think about better versions and solutions. In my opinion, translation is work that is never finished and that is what makes it both luring and discouraging.

I particularly enjoyed learning about the limitations of languages, about the concept of non-equivalence. Translation makes a person appreciate both the complexity of languages and their limits when studied parallelly and thoroughly for the purpose of translation. A specific example of such limits in my work was translating African-American English into Czech. Using colloquial Czech, as the most common approach nowadays, I felt that readers of a translated work are inevitably “cheated”. They are deprived of the distinctive, specific qualities that this variant of English carry and that are largely lost in translation. Another problematic feature, which I did not discuss in the theoretical part was functional sentence perspective, which although understandable in theory, was often my downfall in practice. That is one large part that makes Czech, as a flexive language different from English. It is also the part that I would need to develop further if I were to continue with translating.

The fact that a translator may encounter a word or phrase that seem out of place, unfindable or untranslatable is another joy of translating. Since I am convinced by the theory that everything is translatable and serves its function, translating is often a matter of comprise. 80

I am surprised that there is a relative shortage of theoretical work about the theory of translation written in Czech. Often, I felt that there is no guidance available in books to solve specific problems. I like Newmark’s quote: “Translation is for discussion.” (21) It summarizes one of my greatest personal outcomes of the thesis. Translating is a lonely job but if it becomes a subject of a discussion in a lively classroom environment, it can be beneficial to language learners. As a teacher, I prefer communicative approach in my own teaching but translation, in my opinion, has its place in modern methodology. Many learners, particularly advanced learners, can gain a lot of

insights from including

translation into their learning. Also, translation demonstrates the differences between two languages in the best way possible. Therefore, as a result of my own experience, I incorporated translating into my teaching approach.

To sum up, I am pleased that I had the opportunity to write my diploma thesis on translation. I can now better understand what translation involves and appreciate all the hard work that is required during the process and consequently I broadened my horizons in the fascinating world of languages.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY PRIMARY Chopin, Kate. Complete Novels and Stories. New York: Library of America, 2002. Print. SECONDARY Baker, Mona. In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation. London: Routledge, 1992. Print. Catford, John Cunnison. A Linguistic Theory of Translation an Essay in Applied Linguistics. London: Oxford UP, 1965. Print. Green, Lisa J. African American English: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. Knittlová, Dagmar, Bronislava Grygová, and Jitka Zehnalová. Překlad a Překládání. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci, Filozofická Fakulta, 2010. Print. Levý, Jiří, and Zuzana Jettmarová. Umění Překladu. Praha: Apostrof, 2012. Print. Newmark, Peter. A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice-Hall International, 1988. Print. INTERNET SOURCES "About Louisiana." Louisiana.gov. State of Louisiana, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014. Hebert, Tim. "History of the Cajuns." ACADIAN - CAJUN Genealogy, History, & Culture. Tim Hebert, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. Koloski, Bernard. "Short Stories." KateChopin.org. Kate Chopin International Society, 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. Koloski, Bernard. "Desiree's Baby." KateChopin.org. Kate Chopin International Society, 8 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. Koloski, Bernard. "Biography." KateChopin.org. Kate Chopin International Society, 08 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. Pour, Behnaz Sanaty. "How to Translate Proper Names." How to Translate Proper Names. Translation Journal, 20 May 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014. The Free Dictionary. Farlex, 2014. Web. Nov. 2014.

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