Unit-5-The-Tapestry-of-Friendship课文翻译综合教程四

Unit5TheTapestryofFriendshipEllenGoodmanItwas,inmanyways,aslightmovie.Nothingactuallyhappened.Therewasnobig-budgetchasescene,nobloodyshoot-out.Thestoryendedwithoutanycosmicconclusions.YetshefoundClaudiaWeill’sfilmGirlfriendgentleandaffecting.Slowly,itpannedacrossthetapestryoffriendship–showingitsfragility,itsresiliency,itsroleastheconnectingtissuebetweenthelivesoftwoyoungwomen.Whenitwasover,shethoughtaboutthemoviesshehadseenthisyear–Julia，TheTurningPointandnowGirlfriends.Itseemedthatthepeculiareye,thesociallensofthecinema,haddrasticallyshifteditsfocus.SuddenlytheMaleBuddymovieshadbeenreplacedbytheFemaleFriendshipflicks.Thiswasn’tjustanotherbingeoftrendiness,butakindofcinemavérité.Foroncethemovieswerereflectingashift,notjustfrommentowomenbutfromonedefinitionoffriendshiptoanother.Acrossmillionsofmilesofcelluloid,theidealoffriendshiphadalwaysbeenmale–aworldofsidekicksand“partners”ofButchCassidysandSundanceKids.Therehadbeensomethingalmostatavisticaboutthesevisionsofattachments–asifproducersculledtheirplotsfromsomepopanthropologybookonmalebonding.Moviesportrayedtheideathatonlymen,thosedirectdescendantsofhuntersandHemingways,inheritedaprimalcapacityforfriendship.Incontrast,theyportrayedwomenpickingoneachother,thewaytheyoncepickedberries.Well,thatdualitymusthavebeenmortallywoundedinsomeshootoutattheYou’reOK,I’mOKCorral.Now,onthescreen,theywereatleastawareofthesubtledistinctionbetweenmenandwomenasbuddiesandfriends.About150yearsago,Coleridgehadwritten,“Awoman’sfriendshipbordersmorecloselyonlovethanman’s.Menaffecteachotherinthereflectionofnobleorfriendlyacts,whilstwomenaskfewerproofsandmoresignsandexpressionsofattachment.”Well,shethought,onthewhole,menhadbuddies,whilewomenhadfriends.Buddiesbonded,butfriendsloved.Buddiesfacedadversitytogether,butfriendsfacedeachother.Therewassomethingpalpablydifferentinthewaytheyspenttheirtime.Buddiesseemedto“do”thingstogether;friendssimply“were”together.Buddiescamelinked,likeaccessories,tooneactivityoranother.Peoplehavegolfbuddiesandbusinessbuddies,collegebuddiesandclubbuddies.Menoftenkeeptheirbuddiesinthesecategories,whilewomenkeepaspecialcategoryforfriends.Amanoncetoldherthatmenweren’trealbuddiesuntiltheyhadbeen“throughthewars”together–corporateorathleticormilitary.Theyhadtosoldiertogether,hesaid.Women,ontheotherhand,didn’tcountthemselvesasfriendsuntiltheyhadsharedthreeloathsomeconfidences.Buddieshangtoughtogether;friendshangontoeachother.Itprobablyhadsomethingtodowithpride.Youdon’tshowofftoafriend;youshowneed.Buddiestrytokeeptheworstfromeachother;friendsconfessit.Afriendofhersoncetelephonedherlover,justtofindoutifhewashome.Shehungupwithoutahellowhenhepickedupthephone.Later,wretchedwithembarrassment,thefriendmoaned,“Canyoubelieveme?Athirty-five-year-oldlawyer,makingachickencall?”Togethertheylaughedandmadeitbetter.Buddiesseekapproval.Butfriendsseekacceptance.Sheknewsomanymenwhohadbeentrainedinrestraint,afraidofeachother’sjudgmentorawkwardwitheachother’saffection.Shewasn’tsurewhich.Likebuddiesinthemovies,theywoulddieforeachother,butneverhugeachother.ShehadrereadBabbittrecently,thatextraordinarycatalogueofmalegrievances.TheonlyrelationshipthatgavemeaningtotheclaustrophobiclifeofGeorgeBabbitthadbeenwithPaulRiesling.Butnotonceinthetragedyoftheirliveshadonebeenabletosaytotheother:Youmakeadifference.Evennowmenshockedherattimeswiththeirdescriptionoffriendship.Doesthisonehaveabestfriend?“Why,ofcourse,weseeeachothereveryFebruary.”Doesthatonecallhismostintimatepallongdistance?“Why,certainly,wheneverthere’sarealreason.”Dothosetwooldchumseverhavedinnertogether?“Youmeanalone?Withoutourwives?”Yet,thingswerechanging.Theidealofintimacywasn’tthisparallelplaymate,thisteammate,thistrenchmate.NoteveninHollywood.Inthedoublestandardoffriendship,foroncethefemaleversionwasbecomingacceptedasthegeneralideal.Afterall,abuddyisafinelife-companion.Butone’sfriends,asSantayanaoncewrote,“arethatpartoftheracewithwhichonecanbehuman.”事后，这个朋友觉得很尴尬，哀叹道：“你信吗？一个35岁的律师，打这种偷偷摸摸的电话？”她们一起哈哈大笑，这样感觉好一些了。14哥们追求相互认同，而闺蜜追求互相接受。15她认识许多男人，这些人在自我克制方面训练有素。他们害怕来自彼此的意见，若彼此喜爱也很不自在。她不清楚是哪种情况。就像电影中的哥们，他们愿意为对方献出生命，却从来不彼此拥抱。16最近她重读了《巴比特》，这是关于男人难处的非凡作品。乔治·巴比特过着幽闭恐惧症的生活，唯一令他这种生活有意义的人际关系来自保罗·里斯令。然而在他们悲剧性的生活中没有任何一个人对对方说过一次这样的话：有了你，我的生活与过去不一样。17即便现在她有时还是会对男人关于友谊的描述感到震