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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 Part 2

He snatched the book from me and replaced it hastily on its shelf, muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse.

“Who brought you?” he demanded. “Or did you just come? I was brought. Most people were brought.”

Jordan looked at him alertly, cheerfully, without answering.

“I was brought by a woman named Roosevelt,” he continued. “Mrs. Claud Roosevelt. Do you know her? I met her somewhere last night. I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.”

“Has it?”

“A little bit, I think. I can't tell yet. I've only been here an hour. Did I tell you about the books? They're real. They're—”

“You told us.”

We shook hands with him gravely and went back outdoors.

There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden; old men pushing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably, and keeping in the corners—and a great number of single girls dancing individually or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps. By midnight the hilarity had increased. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers people were doing “stunts” all over the garden, while happy, vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky. A pair of stage twins, who turned out to be the girls in yellow, did a baby act in costume, and champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger-bowls. The moon had risen higher, and floating in the Sound was a triangle of silver scales, trembling a little to the stiff, tinny drip of the banjoes on the lawn.

I was still with Jordan Baker. We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl, who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter. I was enjoying myself now. I had taken two finger-bowls of champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental, and profound.

At a lull in the entertainment the man looked at me and smiled.

“Your face is familiar,” he said politely. “Weren't you in the First Division during the war?”

“Why yes. I was in the Twenty-eighth Infantry.”

“I was in the Sixteenth until June nineteen-eighteen. I knew I'd seen you somewhere before.”

We talked for a moment about some wet, grey little villages in France. Evidently he lived in this vicinity, for he told me that he had just bought a hydroplane, and was going to try it out in the morning.

“Want to go with me, old sport? Just near the shore along the Sound.”

“What time?”

“Any time that suits you best.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask his name when Jordan looked around and smiled.

“Having a gay time now?” she inquired.

“Much better.” I turned again to my new acquaintance. “This is an unusual party for me. I haven't even seen the host. I live over there—” I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distance, “and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.”

For a moment he looked at me as if he failed to understand.

“I'm Gatsby,” he said suddenly.

“What!” I exclaimed. “Oh, I beg your pardon.”

“I thought you knew, old sport. I'm afraid I'm not a very good host.”

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished—and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I'd got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care.

Almost at the moment when Mr. Gatsby identified himself a butler hurried toward him with the information that Chicago was calling him on the wire. He excused himself with a small bow that included each of us in turn.

“If you want anything just ask for it, old sport,” he urged me. “Excuse me. I will rejoin you later.”

When he was gone I turned immediately to Jordan—constrained to assure her of my surprise. I had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person in his middle years.

“Who is he?” I demanded. “Do you know?”

“He's just a man named Gatsby.”

“Where is he from, I mean? And what does he do?”

“Now you're started on the subject,” she answered with a wan smile. “Well, he told me once he was an Oxford man.”

A dim background started to take shape behind him, but at her next remark it faded away.

“However, I don't believe it.”

“Why not?”

“I don't know,” she insisted, “I just don't think he went there.”

Something in her tone reminded me of the other girl's “I think he killed a man,” and had the effect of stimulating my curiosity. I would have accepted without question the information that Gatsby sprang from the swamps of Louisiana or from the lower East Side of New York. That was comprehensible. But young men didn't—at least in my provincial inexperience I believed they didn't—drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound.

“Anyhow, he gives large parties,” said Jordan, changing the subject with an urban distaste for the concrete. “And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy.”

There was the boom of a bass drum, and the voice of the orchestra leader rang out suddenly above the echolalia of the garden.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he cried. “At the request of Mr. Gatsby we are going to play for you Mr. Vladmir Tostoff's latest work, which attracted so much attention at Carnegie Hall last May. If you read the papers you know there was a big sensation.” He smiled with jovial condescension, and added: “Some sensation!” Whereupon everybody laughed.

“The piece is known,” he concluded lustily, “as ‘Vladmir Tostoff's Jazz History of the World!' ”

The nature of Mr. Tostoff's composition eluded me, because just as it began my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes. His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day. I could see nothing sinister about him. I wondered if the fact that he was not drinking helped to set him off from his guests, for it seemed to me that he grew more correct as the fraternal hilarity increased. When the “Jazz History of the World” was over, girls were putting their heads on men's shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, girls were swooning backward playfully into men's arms, even into groups, knowing that someone would arrest their falls—but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link.

“I beg your pardon.”

Gatsby's butler was suddenly standing beside us.

“Miss Baker?” he inquired. “I beg your pardon, but Mr. Gatsby would like to speak to you alone.”

“With me?” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, madame.”

She got up slowly, raising her eyebrows at me in astonishment, and followed the butler toward the house. I noticed that she wore her evening-dress, all her dresses, like sports clothes—there was a jauntiness about her movements as if she had first learned to walk upon golf courses on clean, crisp mornings.

I was alone and it was almost two. For some time confused and intriguing sounds had issued from a long, many-windowed room which overhung the terrace. Eluding Jordan's undergraduate, who was now engaged in an obstetrical conversation with two chorus girls, and who implored me to join him, I went inside.

The large room was full of people. One of the girls in yellow was playing the piano, and beside her stood a tall, red-haired young lady from a famous chorus, engaged in song. She had drunk a quantity of champagne, and during the course of her song she had decided, ineptly, that everything was very, very sad—she was not only singing, she was weeping too. Whenever there was a pause in the song she filled it with gasping, broken sobs, and then took up the lyric again in a quavering soprano. The tears coursed down her cheeks—not freely, however, for when they came into contact with her heavily beaded eyelashes they assumed an inky colour, and pursued the rest of their way in slow black rivulets. A humorous suggestion was made that she sing the notes on her face, whereupon she threw up her hands, sank into a chair, and went off into a deep vinous sleep.

“She had a fight with a man who says he's her husband,” explained a girl at my elbow.

I looked around. Most of the remaining women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands. Even Jordan's party, the quartet from East Egg, were rent asunder by dissension. One of the men was talking with curious intensity to a young actress, and his wife, after attempting to laugh at the situation in a dignified and indifferent way, broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks—at intervals she appeared suddenly at his side like an angry diamond, and hissed: “You promised!” into his ear.

The reluctance to go home was not confined to wayward men. The hall was at present occupied by two deplorably sober men and their highly indignant wives. The wives were sympathizing with each other in slightly raised voices.

“Whenever he sees I'm having a good time he wants to go home.”

“Never heard anything so selfish in my life.”

“We're always the first ones to leave.”

“So are we.”

“Well, we're almost the last tonight,” said one of the men sheepishly. “The orchestra left half an hour ago.”

In spite of the wives' agreement that such malevolence was beyond credibility, the dispute ended in a short struggle, and both wives were lifted, kicking, into the night.

As I waited for my hat in the hall the door of the library opened and Jordan Baker and Gatsby came out together. He was saying some last word to her, but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as several people approached him to say goodbye.

Jordan's party were calling impatiently to her from the porch, but she lingered for a moment to shake hands.

“I've just heard the most amazing thing,” she whispered. “How long were we in there?”

“Why, about an hour.”

“It was… simply amazing,” she repeated abstractedly. “But I swore I wouldn't tell it and here I am tantalizing you.” She yawned gracefully in my face. “Please come and see me… Phone book… Under the name of Mrs. Sigourney Howard… My aunt…” She was hurrying off as she talked—her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door.

Rather ashamed that on my first appearance I had stayed so late, I joined the last of Gatsby's guests, who were clustered around him. I wanted to explain that I'd hunted for him early in the evening and to apologize for not having known him in the garden.

Chapter 3 Part 2 Kapitel 3 Teil 2 Capítulo 3 Parte 2 第3章パート2 Rozdział 3 Część 2 Capítulo 3 Parte 2 Глава 3 Часть 2 Bölüm 3 Kısım 2 Розділ 3, частина 2 第 3 章 第 2 部分

He snatched the book from me and replaced it hastily on its shelf, muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse. He snatched the book from me and replaced it hastily on its shelf, muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse. Mi strappò il libro e lo riposizionò frettolosamente sul suo scaffale, borbottando che se si fosse tolto un solo mattone l'intera biblioteca avrebbe rischiato di crollare. Он выхватил у меня книгу и поспешно поставил ее на полку, пробормотав, что если убрать один кирпич, то вся библиотека может рухнуть.

“Who brought you?” he demanded. "Chi ti ha portato?", chiese. "Кто вас привел?" - потребовал он. “Or did you just come? "O sei appena arrivato? I was brought. Most people were brought.”

Jordan looked at him alertly, cheerfully, without answering.

“I was brought by a woman named Roosevelt,” he continued. “Mrs. Claud Roosevelt. Do you know her? I met her somewhere last night. I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.” Sono ubriaco da circa una settimana e ho pensato che sedermi in una biblioteca mi avrebbe fatto passare la sbornia".

“Has it?”

“A little bit, I think. I can't tell yet. I've only been here an hour. Did I tell you about the books? They're real. They're—”

“You told us.”

We shook hands with him gravely and went back outdoors. Gli abbiamo stretto la mano e siamo tornati all'aperto.

There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden; old men pushing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles, superior couples holding each other tortuously, fashionably, and keeping in the corners—and a great number of single girls dancing individually or relieving the orchestra for a moment of the burden of the banjo or the traps. Auf der Leinwand im Garten wurde jetzt getanzt; alte Männer, die junge Mädchen in ewigen, grazilen Kreisen nach hinten schoben, höhere Paare, die sich gewunden und modisch in den Ecken hielten, und eine große Anzahl einzelner Mädchen, die einzeln tanzten oder das Orchester für einen Moment von der Last des Banjos oder der Fallen befreiten. Ora si ballava sulla tela del giardino; vecchi che spingevano all'indietro giovani ragazze in eterni cerchi senza grazia, coppie superiori che si tenevano tortuosamente, alla moda, e si tenevano negli angoli - e un gran numero di ragazze sole che ballavano individualmente o che sollevavano per un momento l'orchestra dal peso del banjo o delle trappole. By midnight the hilarity had increased. Um Mitternacht hatte die Heiterkeit zugenommen. A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian, and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz, and between the numbers people were doing “stunts” all over the garden, while happy, vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky. Un celebre tenore aveva cantato in italiano e un noto contralto aveva cantato in jazz, e tra un numero e l'altro la gente faceva "acrobazie" in tutto il giardino, mentre allegri e vacui scoppi di risa si levavano verso il cielo estivo. Знаменитый тенор пел на итальянском, а известное контральто - на джазовом, и в перерывах между номерами люди выделывали "трюки" по всему саду, а счастливые, бессодержательные взрывы смеха поднимались к летнему небу. A pair of stage twins, who turned out to be the girls in yellow, did a baby act in costume, and champagne was served in glasses bigger than finger-bowls. Ein Bühnenzwillingspaar, das sich als die Mädchen in Gelb entpuppte, führte eine Babynummer im Kostüm auf, und Champagner wurde in Gläsern serviert, die größer als Fingerschalen waren. Una coppia di gemelle del palcoscenico, che si è rivelata essere le ragazze in giallo, ha fatto un numero da bambino in costume, e lo champagne è stato servito in bicchieri più grandi delle ciotole da dito. 一对舞台双胞胎,原来是黄衣女孩,穿着化装表演婴儿表演,香槟盛在比指碗还大的玻璃杯里。 The moon had risen higher, and floating in the Sound was a triangle of silver scales, trembling a little to the stiff, tinny drip of the banjoes on the lawn. Der Mond war höher gestiegen, und im Sund schwebte ein Dreieck aus silbernen Schuppen, das zum steifen, blechernen Tröpfeln der Banjos auf dem Rasen ein wenig zitterte. La luna era salita più in alto e nel Sound galleggiava un triangolo di scaglie d'argento, che tremava un po' al gocciolio rigido e metallico dei banjo sul prato. 月亮升得更高了,在海湾中漂浮着一个三角形的银色鳞片,随着班卓琴在草坪上僵硬、细细的滴落声而微微颤抖。

I was still with Jordan Baker. Ich war immer noch mit Jordan Baker zusammen. We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl, who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter. Wir saßen an einem Tisch mit einem Mann in meinem Alter und einem kleinen Mädchen, das bei der geringsten Provokation in unkontrolliertes Gelächter ausbrach. Eravamo seduti a un tavolo con un uomo della mia età e una ragazzina chiassosa, che alla minima provocazione si lasciava andare a risate incontrollate. Мы сидели за столом с мужчиной примерно моего возраста и маленькой шумной девочкой, которая при малейшей провокации разражалась неудержимым смехом. 我们坐在一张桌子旁,旁边坐着一个和我年龄相仿的男人,还有一个吵闹的小女孩,只要稍有挑衅,她就会忍不住大笑起来。 I was enjoying myself now. Ich habe mich jetzt amüsiert. Ora mi stavo divertendo. I had taken two finger-bowls of champagne, and the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant, elemental, and profound. Ich hatte zwei Finger voll Champagner getrunken, und die Szene hatte sich vor meinen Augen in etwas Bedeutendes, Elementares und Tiefgründiges verwandelt. Avevo bevuto due dita di champagne e la scena era cambiata davanti ai miei occhi in qualcosa di significativo, elementare e profondo. Я выпил два фужера шампанского, и сцена на моих глазах превратилась в нечто значительное, элементарное и глубокое.

At a lull in the entertainment the man looked at me and smiled. Bei einer Pause in der Unterhaltung sah mich der Mann an und lächelte. In una pausa dell'intrattenimento, l'uomo mi guardò e sorrise.

“Your face is familiar,” he said politely. "Ihr Gesicht kommt mir bekannt vor", sagte er höflich. “Weren't you in the First Division during the war?” "Waren Sie während des Krieges nicht in der ersten Division?"

“Why yes. "Perché sì. "Да. I was in the Twenty-eighth Infantry.” Ero nel Ventottesimo Fanteria".

“I was in the Sixteenth until June nineteen-eighteen. I knew I'd seen you somewhere before.” Sapevo di averti già visto da qualche parte".

We talked for a moment about some wet, grey little villages in France. Abbiamo parlato per un momento di alcuni piccoli villaggi umidi e grigi in Francia. Evidently he lived in this vicinity, for he told me that he had just bought a hydroplane, and was going to try it out in the morning. Offensichtlich wohnte er in dieser Gegend, denn er erzählte mir, dass er gerade ein Wasserflugzeug gekauft hatte und es morgen früh ausprobieren wollte. Evidentemente viveva nelle vicinanze, perché mi disse che aveva appena comprato un idrovolante e che l'avrebbe provato domattina.

“Want to go with me, old sport? "Willst du mit mir gehen, alter Knabe? "Хочешь пойти со мной, старина? Just near the shore along the Sound.” Proprio vicino alla riva, lungo il Sound".

“What time?”

“Any time that suits you best.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask his name when Jordan looked around and smiled. Stavo per chiedere il suo nome sulla punta della lingua, quando Jordan si guardò intorno e sorrise.

“Having a gay time now?” she inquired. "Amüsierst du dich jetzt?", erkundigte sie sich. "Ti stai divertendo?", chiese.

“Much better.” I turned again to my new acquaintance. "Molto meglio". Mi voltai di nuovo verso la mia nuova conoscenza. “This is an unusual party for me. I haven't even seen the host. I live over there—” I waved my hand at the invisible hedge in the distance, “and this man Gatsby sent over his chauffeur with an invitation.” Io abito laggiù", agitai la mano verso la siepe invisibile in lontananza, "e quest'uomo, Gatsby, ha mandato il suo autista con un invito".

For a moment he looked at me as if he failed to understand. Per un attimo mi guardò come se non capisse.

“I'm Gatsby,” he said suddenly.

“What!” I exclaimed. “Oh, I beg your pardon.”

“I thought you knew, old sport. "Ich dachte, du wüsstest es, alter Knabe. "Pensavo che lo sapessi, vecchio mio. I'm afraid I'm not a very good host.” Ich fürchte, ich bin kein sehr guter Gastgeber." Temo di non essere un buon padrone di casa".

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. Er lächelte verständnisvoll - viel mehr als verständnisvoll. Sorrise con comprensione, molto più che con comprensione. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. Era uno di quei rari sorrisi con una qualità di eterna rassicurazione, che si possono incontrare quattro o cinque volte nella vita. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on __you__ with an irresistible prejudice in your favour. Einen Augenblick lang stand es vor der ganzen ewigen Welt - oder schien es vor ihr zu stehen - und konzentrierte sich dann auf Sie mit einem unwiderstehlichen Vorurteil zu Ihren Gunsten. Ha affrontato, o sembrava affrontare, l'intero mondo eterno per un istante, per poi concentrarsi su di voi con un irresistibile pregiudizio a vostro favore. 它一瞬间面对——或者似乎面对——整个永恒的世界,然后带着无法抗拒的对你有利的偏见集中在你身上。 It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Es verstand Sie genau so, wie Sie verstanden werden wollten, glaubte an Sie, wie Sie an sich selbst glauben möchten, und versicherte Ihnen, dass es genau den Eindruck von Ihnen hatte, den Sie in Ihrem besten Fall zu vermitteln hofften. Vi ha capito nella misura in cui volevate essere capiti, ha creduto in voi come vorreste credere in voi stessi e vi ha assicurato di avere proprio l'impressione di voi che, al meglio, speravate di trasmettere. Он понимал вас ровно настолько, насколько вы хотели, чтобы его понимали, верил в вас так, как вы хотели бы верить в себя, и уверял, что у него сложилось именно то впечатление о вас, которое вы надеялись передать в лучшем виде. 它理解你,就像你想被理解一样,相信你,就像你愿意相信自己一样,并向你保证,它恰恰有你最好的印象,你希望传达给你。 Precisely at that point it vanished—and I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Genau an diesem Punkt verschwand sie, und ich sah einen eleganten jungen Raufbold vor mir, ein oder zwei Jahre über dreißig, dessen förmliche Sprache gerade noch so absurd war. Proprio in quel momento svanì e mi trovai di fronte a un elegante giovane rozzo, un anno o due sopra i trent'anni, la cui elaborata formalità di parola mancava appena di essere assurda. Именно в этот момент она исчезла, и передо мной предстал элегантный молодой грубиян, на год или два старше тридцати, чья тщательно продуманная формальность речи просто не могла не показаться абсурдной. Some time before he introduced himself I'd got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care. Schon einige Zeit bevor er sich vorstellte, hatte ich den starken Eindruck, dass er seine Worte mit Bedacht wählte. Qualche tempo prima che si presentasse, avevo avuto la forte impressione che scegliesse le parole con cura.

Almost at the moment when Mr. Gatsby identified himself a butler hurried toward him with the information that Chicago was calling him on the wire. Quasi nel momento in cui il signor Gatsby si identificò, un maggiordomo si precipitò verso di lui informandolo che Chicago lo stava chiamando al telefono. He excused himself with a small bow that included each of us in turn. Er entschuldigte sich mit einer kleinen Verbeugung, die jeden von uns einschloss. Si è congedato con un piccolo inchino che ha incluso ciascuno di noi a turno.

“If you want anything just ask for it, old sport,” he urged me. "Wenn du etwas willst, musst du nur danach fragen, alter Knabe", forderte er mich auf. "Se vuoi qualcosa chiedi pure, vecchio mio", mi esortò. “Excuse me. I will rejoin you later.” Vi raggiungerò più tardi".

When he was gone I turned immediately to Jordan—constrained to assure her of my surprise. Als er weg war, wandte ich mich sofort an Jordan - gefesselt, um ihr meine Überraschung zu versichern. Quando se ne andò, mi rivolsi immediatamente a Jordan, per assicurarle la mia sorpresa. Когда он ушел, я сразу же повернулся к Джордан, чтобы заверить ее в своем удивлении. I had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person in his middle years. Ich hatte erwartet, dass Mr. Gatsby in seinen mittleren Jahren ein fülliger und korpulenter Mensch sein würde.

“Who is he?” I demanded. "Chi è?" Chiesi. “Do you know?”

“He's just a man named Gatsby.”

“Where is he from, I mean? And what does he do?”

“Now __you__'re started on the subject,” she answered with a wan smile. "Jetzt hast du das Thema gefunden", antwortete sie mit einem schwachen Lächeln. "Ora hai cominciato a parlare", rispose lei con un sorriso malinconico. “Well, he told me once he was an Oxford man.” "Beh, una volta mi ha detto di essere un uomo di Oxford".

A dim background started to take shape behind him, but at her next remark it faded away. Ein schemenhafter Hintergrund begann hinter ihm Gestalt anzunehmen, doch bei ihrer nächsten Bemerkung verblasste er. Alle sue spalle cominciò a delinearsi uno sfondo tenue, ma alla sua successiva osservazione svanì. За его спиной начал формироваться смутный фон, но при следующем ее замечании он исчез.

“However, I don't believe it.” "Aber ich glaube es nicht."

“Why not?”

“I don't know,” she insisted, “I just don't think he went there.”

Something in her tone reminded me of the other girl's “I think he killed a man,” and had the effect of stimulating my curiosity. Qualcosa nel suo tono mi ha ricordato il "Credo che abbia ucciso un uomo" dell'altra ragazza e ha avuto l'effetto di stimolare la mia curiosità. I would have accepted without question the information that Gatsby sprang from the swamps of Louisiana or from the lower East Side of New York. Die Information, dass Gatsby aus den Sümpfen von Louisiana oder der Lower East Side von New York stammt, hätte ich ohne zu fragen akzeptiert. Avrei accettato senza dubbi l'informazione che Gatsby provenisse dalle paludi della Louisiana o dal Lower East Side di New York. 我会毫无疑问地接受盖茨比来自路易斯安那州的沼泽地或纽约下东区的信息。 That was comprehensible. Das war nachvollziehbar. But young men didn't—at least in my provincial inexperience I believed they didn't—drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound. Aber junge Männer - zumindest glaubte ich das in meiner provinziellen Unerfahrenheit - tauchten nicht einfach aus dem Nichts auf und kauften einen Palast am Long Island Sound. Ma i giovani - almeno nella mia inesperienza di provincia credevo che non lo facessero - non si spiccavano dal nulla e non compravano un palazzo sul Long Island Sound. 但是年轻人并没有——至少在我缺乏外省经验的情况下,我相信他们没有——冷静地不知从哪里冒出来,在长岛海峡买下一座宫殿。

“Anyhow, he gives large parties,” said Jordan, changing the subject with an urban distaste for the concrete. "Jedenfalls gibt er große Partys", sagte Jordan und wechselte das Thema mit einer städtischen Abneigung gegen den Beton. "Как бы то ни было, он устраивает большие вечеринки", - сказал Джордан, меняя тему разговора с городским отвращением к бетону. “无论如何,他都会举办大型派对,”乔丹说,带着对混凝土的城市厌恶改变了话题。 “And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy.”

There was the boom of a bass drum, and the voice of the orchestra leader rang out suddenly above the echolalia of the garden. Eine große Trommel dröhnt, und die Stimme des Orchesterleiters ertönt plötzlich über den Echolalien des Gartens. Si udì il rimbombo di una grancassa e la voce del capo orchestra risuonò improvvisamente al di sopra dell'ecolalia del giardino. Раздался удар басового барабана, и над эхолалией сада неожиданно прозвучал голос руководителя оркестра. 大鼓的轰鸣声响起,管弦乐队指挥的声音突然在花园的回声中响起。

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he cried. "Signore e signori", gridò. “At the request of Mr. Gatsby we are going to play for you Mr. Vladmir Tostoff's latest work, which attracted so much attention at Carnegie Hall last May. "Auf Wunsch von Mr. Gatsby werden wir für Sie das neueste Werk von Vladmir Tostoff spielen, das im vergangenen Mai in der Carnegie Hall so viel Aufmerksamkeit erregte. If you read the papers you know there was a big sensation.” He smiled with jovial condescension, and added: “Some sensation!” Whereupon everybody laughed. Wenn Sie die Zeitungen gelesen haben, wissen Sie, dass es eine große Sensation gab". Er lächelte mit jovialer Herablassung und fügte hinzu: "Eine Sensation!" Woraufhin alle lachten. Se leggete i giornali sapete che c'è stato un grande scalpore". Sorrise con gioviale condiscendenza e aggiunse: "Una bella sensazione!". Al che tutti risero.

“The piece is known,” he concluded lustily, “as ‘Vladmir Tostoff's Jazz History of the World!' ” "Das Stück ist bekannt", schloss er lustvoll, "als 'Vladmir Tostoff's Jazz History of the World'! " L'opera è nota", ha concluso con entusiasmo, "come "La storia del mondo del jazz di Vladmir Tostoff"! "

The nature of Mr. Tostoff's composition eluded me, because just as it began my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes. Суть композиции мистера Тостоффа ускользнула от меня, потому что в самом начале мой взгляд упал на Гэтсби, одиноко стоящего на мраморных ступенях и оглядывающего одну группу за другой одобрительным взглядом. His tanned skin was drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day. Seine sonnengebräunte Haut zeichnete sich attraktiv auf seinem Gesicht ab, und sein kurzes Haar sah aus, als würde es jeden Tag gestutzt werden. La sua pelle abbronzata era disegnata in modo attraente sul viso e i suoi capelli corti sembravano tagliati ogni giorno. I could see nothing sinister about him. I wondered if the fact that he was not drinking helped to set him off from his guests, for it seemed to me that he grew more correct as the fraternal hilarity increased. Ich fragte mich, ob die Tatsache, dass er nicht trank, dazu beitrug, dass er sich von seinen Gästen absetzte, denn es schien mir, dass er immer korrekter wurde, je mehr die brüderliche Heiterkeit zunahm. Mi chiedevo se il fatto che non bevesse contribuisse ad allontanarlo dai suoi ospiti, perché mi sembrava che diventasse più corretto man mano che aumentava l'ilarità fraterna. Я задавался вопросом, помогло ли то, что он не пил, выделить его среди гостей, поскольку мне казалось, что он становился более корректным по мере того, как братское веселье возрастало. When the “Jazz History of the World” was over, girls were putting their heads on men's shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, girls were swooning backward playfully into men's arms, even into groups, knowing that someone would arrest their falls—but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby's head for one link. Als die "Jazz History of the World" zu Ende war, legten Mädchen ihre Köpfe auf die Schultern von Männern in einer welpenhaften, geselligen Art und Weise, Mädchen fielen spielerisch rückwärts in die Arme von Männern, sogar in Gruppen, weil sie wussten, dass jemand ihre Stürze auffangen würde - aber niemand fiel rückwärts auf Gatsby, und kein französischer Bob berührte Gatsbys Schulter, und kein Gesangsquartett wurde mit Gatsbys Kopf für eine Verbindung gebildet. Quando la "Storia del mondo del jazz" finì, le ragazze mettevano la testa sulle spalle degli uomini in modo puccioso e conviviale, le ragazze si lanciavano all'indietro giocosamente tra le braccia degli uomini, anche in gruppo, sapendo che qualcuno avrebbe arrestato le loro cadute, ma nessuno si lanciava all'indietro su Gatsby, e nessun french bob toccava la spalla di Gatsby, e non si formavano quartetti di canto con la testa di Gatsby per un collegamento.

“I beg your pardon.”

Gatsby's butler was suddenly standing beside us.

“Miss Baker?” he inquired. "Miss Baker?", erkundigte er sich. “I beg your pardon, but Mr. Gatsby would like to speak to you alone.”

“With me?” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, madame.”

She got up slowly, raising her eyebrows at me in astonishment, and followed the butler toward the house. I noticed that she wore her evening-dress, all her dresses, like sports clothes—there was a jauntiness about her movements as if she had first learned to walk upon golf courses on clean, crisp mornings. Ich bemerkte, dass sie ihr Abendkleid, alle ihre Kleider, wie Sportkleidung trug - es lag eine Unbeschwertheit in ihren Bewegungen, als hätte sie zuerst gelernt, an einem klaren, frischen Morgen über Golfplätze zu laufen. Notai che indossava il suo abito da sera, tutti i suoi abiti, come abiti sportivi - c'era una disinvoltura nei suoi movimenti come se avesse imparato a camminare sui campi da golf nelle mattine pulite e frizzanti. Я заметил, что она носила свое вечернее платье, да и все свои платья, как спортивную одежду - в ее движениях была некая бойкость, как будто она впервые научилась ходить по полям для гольфа чистым, хрустящим утром.

I was alone and it was almost two. Ich war allein und es war fast zwei. Ero sola ed erano quasi le due. For some time confused and intriguing sounds had issued from a long, many-windowed room which overhung the terrace. Seit einiger Zeit drangen verwirrende und faszinierende Geräusche aus einem langen Raum mit vielen Fenstern, der die Terrasse überragte. Da tempo suoni confusi e intriganti provenivano da una lunga stanza dalle molte finestre che si affacciava sulla terrazza. Eluding Jordan's undergraduate, who was now engaged in an obstetrical conversation with two chorus girls, and who implored me to join him, I went inside. Ich wich Jordans Student aus, der sich gerade mit zwei Chormädchen über Geburtshilfe unterhielt und mich aufforderte, mich ihm anzuschließen, und ging hinein. Sfuggendo al laureato di Jordan, che ora era impegnato in una conversazione ostetrica con due ragazze del coro e che mi implorava di raggiungerlo, entrai. 避开乔丹的本科生,他现在正在和两个合唱团的女孩进行产科谈话,并恳求我加入他的行列,我进去了。

The large room was full of people. One of the girls in yellow was playing the piano, and beside her stood a tall, red-haired young lady from a famous chorus, engaged in song. Eines der Mädchen in Gelb spielte Klavier, und neben ihr stand eine große rothaarige junge Dame aus einem berühmten Chor und sang. Una delle ragazze in giallo stava suonando il pianoforte, e accanto a lei stava una giovane donna alta e dai capelli rossi, appartenente a un famoso coro, impegnata in una canzone. She had drunk a quantity of champagne, and during the course of her song she had decided, ineptly, that everything was very, very sad—she was not only singing, she was weeping too. Sie hatte eine Menge Champagner getrunken und im Laufe ihres Liedes ungeschickterweise festgestellt, dass alles sehr, sehr traurig war - sie sang nicht nur, sie weinte auch. Aveva bevuto una quantità di champagne e, nel corso della canzone, aveva deciso, in modo inopportuno, che tutto era molto, molto triste: non stava solo cantando, stava anche piangendo. Whenever there was a pause in the song she filled it with gasping, broken sobs, and then took up the lyric again in a quavering soprano. Ogni volta che c'era una pausa nella canzone, la riempiva con singhiozzi ansimanti e spezzati, per poi riprendere il testo in un soprano tremolante. The tears coursed down her cheeks—not freely, however, for when they came into contact with her heavily beaded eyelashes they assumed an inky colour, and pursued the rest of their way in slow black rivulets. Die Tränen liefen ihr die Wangen hinunter - allerdings nicht ungehindert, denn als sie mit ihren stark gebördelten Wimpern in Berührung kamen, nahmen sie eine tintenfarbene Farbe an und setzten ihren Weg in langsamen schwarzen Rinnsalen fort. Le lacrime le scesero lungo le guance, ma non liberamente, perché quando vennero a contatto con le ciglia pesantemente imperlate assunsero una colorazione inchiostro e proseguirono il loro percorso in lenti rivoli neri. 泪水顺着她的脸颊流下——但不是随意流下的,因为当它们接触到她密密麻麻的珠状睫毛时,它们呈现出墨色,然后沿着缓慢的黑色小溪流下。 A humorous suggestion was made that she sing the notes on her face, whereupon she threw up her hands, sank into a chair, and went off into a deep vinous sleep. Man schlug ihr auf humorvolle Weise vor, die Noten auf ihrem Gesicht zu singen, woraufhin sie die Hände hochwarf, in einen Stuhl sank und in einen tiefen weinigen Schlaf fiel. Le fu suggerito con umorismo di cantare le note sul viso, al che lei alzò le mani, sprofondò in una sedia e si addormentò in un profondo sonno vinoso. Шутливо предложили ей петь ноты на лице, после чего она вскинула руки, опустилась в кресло и погрузилась в глубокий винный сон. 一个幽默的建议是她在脸上唱出这些音符,于是她举起双手,倒在椅子上,然后进入了沉醉的梦乡。

“She had a fight with a man who says he's her husband,” explained a girl at my elbow. "Sie hat sich mit einem Mann gestritten, der behauptet, ihr Ehemann zu sein", erklärte ein Mädchen an meinem Ellbogen.

I looked around. Most of the remaining women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands. Большинство оставшихся женщин теперь дрались с мужчинами, которых считали своими мужьями. Even Jordan's party, the quartet from East Egg, were rent asunder by dissension. Sogar Jordans Partei, das Quartett aus East Egg, wurde durch Meinungsverschiedenheiten auseinandergerissen. Anche il partito di Jordan, il quartetto di East Egg, era diviso da dissensi. 甚至乔丹的派对,来自 East Egg 的四重奏,也因分歧而四分五裂。 One of the men was talking with curious intensity to a young actress, and his wife, after attempting to laugh at the situation in a dignified and indifferent way, broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks—at intervals she appeared suddenly at his side like an angry diamond, and hissed: “You promised!” into his ear. Einer der Männer unterhielt sich mit merkwürdiger Intensität mit einer jungen Schauspielerin, und seine Frau, nachdem sie versucht hatte, würdevoll und gleichgültig über die Situation zu lachen, brach völlig zusammen und griff zu Flankenangriffen - in Abständen tauchte sie plötzlich wie ein wütender Diamant an seiner Seite auf und zischte: "Du hast es versprochen!" in sein Ohr. Uno degli uomini stava parlando con curiosa intensità con una giovane attrice, e la moglie, dopo aver tentato di ridere della situazione in modo dignitoso e indifferente, crollava del tutto e ricorreva ad attacchi laterali - a intervalli appariva improvvisamente al suo fianco come un diamante arrabbiato, e sibilava: "Hai promesso!", gli sibilava all'orecchio. Один из мужчин с любопытством беседовал с молодой актрисой, а его жена, попытавшись достойно и равнодушно посмеяться над ситуацией, полностью сломалась и прибегла к фланговым атакам - в перерывах она внезапно появлялась рядом с ним, как разъяренный бриллиант, и шипела: "Ты обещал!" ему в ухо. 其中一个男人正好奇地和一位年轻女演员交谈,他的妻子在试图以一种端庄而冷漠的方式嘲笑这种情况后,完全崩溃了,采取了侧翼攻击——每隔一段时间,她突然出现在他身边,就像一颗愤怒的钻石,发出嘶嘶声:“你答应过的!”进入他的耳朵。

The reluctance to go home was not confined to wayward men. Die Abneigung, nach Hause zu gehen, beschränkte sich nicht nur auf abtrünnige Männer. La riluttanza a tornare a casa non era limitata agli uomini ribelli. Eve dönme konusundaki isteksizlik sadece asi erkeklerle sınırlı değildi. The hall was at present occupied by two deplorably sober men and their highly indignant wives. La sala era al momento occupata da due uomini deplorevolmente sobri e dalle loro mogli molto indignate. The wives were sympathizing with each other in slightly raised voices. Die Ehefrauen sprachen sich mit leicht erhobener Stimme gegenseitig an.

“Whenever he sees I'm having a good time he wants to go home.” "Immer wenn er sieht, dass ich mich amüsiere, will er nach Hause gehen. "Ogni volta che vede che mi sto divertendo vuole tornare a casa".

“Never heard anything so selfish in my life.” "So etwas Egoistisches habe ich noch nie gehört." "Non ho mai sentito nulla di così egoistico in vita mia".

“We're always the first ones to leave.” "Siamo sempre i primi ad andarcene".

“So are we.” "Anche noi".

“Well, we're almost the last tonight,” said one of the men sheepishly. "Beh, siamo quasi gli ultimi stasera", disse uno dei due uomini con fare peccaminoso. “The orchestra left half an hour ago.” "L'orchestra è partita mezz'ora fa".

In spite of the wives' agreement that such malevolence was beyond credibility, the dispute ended in a short struggle, and both wives were lifted, kicking, into the night. Obwohl sich die Ehefrauen einig waren, dass eine solche Bösartigkeit nicht glaubwürdig war, endete der Streit in einem kurzen Handgemenge, und beide Frauen wurden mit Fußtritten in die Nacht befördert. Nonostante le mogli concordassero sul fatto che una tale cattiveria fosse poco credibile, la disputa si concluse con una breve lotta ed entrambe le mogli furono sollevate, scalciando, verso la notte. 尽管妻子们一致认为这种恶意行为是不可信的,但这场争执还是以短暂的搏斗而告终,两个妻子都被抬了起来,脚踢着,进入了夜色。

As I waited for my hat in the hall the door of the library opened and Jordan Baker and Gatsby came out together. 当我在大厅里等我的帽子时,图书馆的门开了,乔丹贝克和盖茨比一起走了出来。 He was saying some last word to her, but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as several people approached him to say goodbye. Er sagte noch ein paar letzte Worte zu ihr, aber die Euphorie in seinem Auftreten wurde abrupt zu einer Formalität, als mehrere Personen auf ihn zukamen, um sich von ihm zu verabschieden. Le stava dicendo un'ultima parola, ma la foga dei suoi modi si è trasformata bruscamente in formalità quando diverse persone si sono avvicinate per salutarlo. 他正对她说最后一句话,但当几个人走近他道别时,他的急切态度突然变得拘谨起来。

Jordan's party were calling impatiently to her from the porch, but she lingered for a moment to shake hands. Jordans Leute riefen ihr von der Veranda aus ungeduldig zu, aber sie verweilte noch einen Moment, um ihr die Hand zu geben. Il gruppo di Jordan la chiamava con impazienza dal portico, ma lei si attardò un attimo a stringere la mano. 乔丹一行人在门廊里不耐烦地向她喊话,但她为了握手而逗留了片刻。

“I've just heard the most amazing thing,” she whispered. "Ich habe gerade etwas ganz Erstaunliches gehört", flüsterte sie. “How long were we in there?” "Wie lange waren wir da drin?" "Per quanto tempo siamo rimasti lì dentro?".

“Why, about an hour.”

“It was… simply amazing,” she repeated abstractedly. "Es war... einfach unglaublich", wiederholte sie abstrakt. “真是……太棒了,”她心不在焉地重复道。 “But I swore I wouldn't tell it and here I am tantalizing you.” She yawned gracefully in my face. "Aber ich habe mir geschworen, es nicht zu verraten, und jetzt quäle ich dich damit." Sie gähnte mir anmutig ins Gesicht. "Ma avevo giurato di non raccontarlo ed eccomi qui a stuzzicarti". Mi sbadigliò graziosamente in faccia. "Но я поклялась, что не расскажу об этом, и вот я дразню тебя". Она изящно зевнула мне в лицо. “但我发誓我不会告诉它,我在这里挑逗你。”她在我面前优雅地打哈欠。 “Please come and see me… Phone book… Under the name of Mrs. Sigourney Howard… My aunt…” She was hurrying off as she talked—her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door. "Bitte kommen Sie zu mir ... Telefonbuch ... Unter dem Namen Mrs. Sigourney Howard ... Meine Tante ..." Sie eilte davon, während sie sprach - ihre braune Hand winkte mit einem flotten Gruß, als sie an der Tür mit ihrer Gruppe verschmolz. "La prego di venire a trovarmi... Elenco telefonico... A nome della signora Sigourney Howard... Mia zia...". Mentre parlava, si allontanava in fretta; la sua mano bruna sventolava un saluto sbarazzino mentre si confondeva con la sua comitiva sulla porta. “请来看我……电话簿……西格妮·霍华德夫人的名字……我姑姑……”她说着就匆匆离开了——她棕色的手挥舞着欢快的敬礼,融入了门口的派对。

Rather ashamed that on my first appearance I had stayed so late, I joined the last of Gatsby's guests, who were clustered around him. Beschämt darüber, dass ich bei meinem ersten Auftritt so lange geblieben war, gesellte ich mich zu den letzten von Gatsbys Gästen, die sich um ihn geschart hatten. Vergognandomi di essere rimasto così tardi alla mia prima apparizione, mi unii agli ultimi ospiti di Gatsby, che si stringevano intorno a lui. 第一次露面时我呆得太晚,我感到很惭愧,于是我加入了盖茨比的最后一位客人,他们簇拥在他周围。 I wanted to explain that I'd hunted for him early in the evening and to apologize for not having known him in the garden. Ich wollte erklären, dass ich ihn am frühen Abend gesucht hatte, und mich dafür entschuldigen, dass ich ihn im Garten nicht erkannt hatte. Volevo spiegargli che l'avevo cercato la sera presto e scusarmi per non averlo conosciuto in giardino. 我想解释一下,我是在傍晚早些时候去找他的,并为没有在花园里认识他而道歉。