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

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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.

…………………………………

Brno, 23. 10. 2014 Bc. Alena Matyášová

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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

IT was no wonder Mr. Sublet, who was

staying at the Hallet plantation, wanted to

make a picture of Evariste. The 'Cadian was

rather a picturesque subject in his way, and

a tempting one to an artist looking for bits

of "local color" along the 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

housekeeper. He spoke to him at once, and

in the course of conversation engaged him

to return to the house the following morning

and have his picture drawn. He handed

Evariste a couple of silver dollars to show

that his intentions were fair, and that he

expected the 'Cadian to keep faith with him.

"He tell' me he want' put my picture in one

fine ' Mag 'zine,' " said Evariste to his

daughter, Martinette, when the two were

talking the matter over in the afternoon.

"W'at fo' you reckon he want' do dat?" They

sat within the low, homely cabin of two

rooms, that was not quite so comfortable as

Mr. Hallet's negro quarters.

Martinette pursed her red lips that had little

sensitive curves to them, and her black eyes

took on a reflective expression.

"Mebbe he yeard 'bout that big fish w'at you

ketch las' winta in Carancro lake. You know

Vážený pán od řeky Têche

Nebylo divu, že pan Sublet, který pobýval

na plantáži Halletových, chtěl nakreslit

obrázek Evarista. Tenhle Akad byl

malebnou předlohou svým vlastním

způsobem a poutavou pro umělce, který

hledal útržky „místní atmosféry“ podél

Têche.

Pan Sublet viděl toho muže na zadní terase,

zrovna když přišel z bažiny a snažil se

prodat divokého krocana paní domácí. Hned

s ním promluvil a během hovoru ho zavázal

k tomu, že se vrátí příští dopoledne a nechá

se nakreslit. Everistovi předal dva stříbrné

dolary, aby ukázal, že má čestné úmysly a

že očekával, že Akad dodrží své slovo.

„Řek mi, že chce dát muj vobrázek do

jednoho fajnovýho žurnálu.“ řekl Evariste

své dceři Martinette, když spolu o té

záležitosti mluvili odpoledne. „Na co

myslíš, že to chce?“ Seděli uvnitř nízké,

prosté boudy čítající dvě místnosti, která

nebyla tak docela útulná, jako byly ty pro

černochy pana Halleta.

Mariette našpulila své červené, výrazně

lemované rty a její černé oči dostaly

hloubavý výraz.

„Možný je, že zaslech vo tý velký rybě, jak

si chytil loni v zimě na jezeru Carancro.

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it was all wrote about in the 'Suga Bowl.' "

Her father set aside the suggestion with a

deprecatory wave of the hand.

"Well, anyway, you got to fix yo'se'f up,"

declared Martinette, dismissing further

speculation; "put on yo' otha pant'loon' an'

yo' good coat; an' you betta ax Mr. Léonce

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

"It 's w'at I say," chimed in Evariste. "I tell

dat gent'man I 'm goin' make myse'f fine. He

say', 'No, no,' like he ent please'. He want'

me like I come out de swamp. So much

betta if my pant'loon' an' coat is tore, he say,

an' color' like de mud" They could not

understand these eccentric wishes on the

part of the strange gentleman, and made no

effort to do so.

An hour later Martinette, who was quite

puffed up over the affair, trotted across to

Aunt Dicey's cabin to communicate the

news to her. The negress was ironing; her

irons stood in a long row before the fire of

logs that burned on the hearth. Martinette

seated herself in the chimney corner and

held her feet up to the blaze; it was damp

and a little chilly out of doors. The girl's

shoes were considerably worn and her

garments were a little too thin and scant for

the winter season. Her father had given her

the two dollars he had received from the

artist, and Martinette was on her way to the

Dyť víš, psalo se vo tom v ,Suga Bowl’.“

Otec odmítl tuto myšlenku nesouhlasným

mávnutím ruky.

„Tak jako tak, musíš se vyfešákovat,“

prohlásila Martinette, a odmítla další

spekulace, „voblíkneš si ty druhý kalhoty a

ten pěknej kabát. A měl bys říct panu

Léoncovi, aby ti trošku přistřihnul vlasy a

kníra.“

„Přesně to sem řikal,“ přitakával Evariste.

„Povidam tomu pánovi, že se nastrojim a

von na to ,ne, to ne’ jako by nebyl rád.

Chce abych byl, tak jako sem přišel z

bažiny. Bude daleko lepčí, dyž kalhoty i

kabát budou rozdrbaný, řikal, a budou vod

bahna.“ Nebyli sto pochopit tato výstřední

přání ze strany toho zvláštního pána, a ani

se o to nesnažili.

O hodinu později, Martinette, protože se

cítila důležitě díky této události, přeběhla do

boudy tety Dicey, aby jí sdělila tu novinu.

Černoška zrovna žehlila, její žehlička ležela

před poleny hořícími v ohništi. Martinette

se posadila do rohu u komína a pozvedla

nohy k ohni. Venku bylo vlhko a chladno.

Dívčiny boty byly značně prochozené a

oblečení moc tenké a nedostatečné pro

zimní období. Otec jí dal dva dolary, které

dostal od umělce a Martinette byla na cestě

do obchodu, aby je utratila jak nejuvážlivěji

uměla.

11

store to invest them as judiciously as she

knew how.

"You know, Aunt Dicey," she began a little

complacently after listening awhile to Aunt

Dicey's unqualified abuse of her own son,

Wilkins, who was dining-room boy at Mr.

Hallet's, "you know that stranger gentleman

up to Mr. Hallet's? he want' to make my

popa's picture; an' he say' he goin' put it in

one fine Mag 'zine yonda."

Aunt Dicey spat upon her iron to test its

heat. Then she began to snicker. She kept on

laughing inwardly, making her whole fat

body shake, and saying nothing.

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

inquired Martinette mistrustfully.

"I is n' laughin', chile!"

"Yas, you' laughin'."

"Oh, don't pay no 'tention to me. I jis

studyin' how simple you an' yo' pa is. You is

bof de simplest somebody I eva come

'crost."

"You got to say plumb out w'at you mean,

Aunt Dice," insisted the girl doggedly,

suspicious and alert now.

"Well, dat w'y I say you is simple,"

proclaimed the woman, slamming down her

iron on an inverted, battered pie pan, "jis

„Víš, teto Dicey,“ začala trochu samolibě,

po chvíli, co vyslechla nekončící lamentace

na Diceyna syna, Wilkinse, který

posluhoval v jídelně u pana Halleta, „víš ten

cizí pán u pana Halleta? Von chce

namalovat obrázek taťky a řek, že pak ho dá

do fajnovýho žurnálu tam u nich.“

Teta Dicey plivla na žehličku, aby zjistila,

jak je nahřátá. Pak se začala pohihňávat,

smála se vnitřně a tlumeně, že se třáslo celé

její tlusté tělo a nic neříkala.

„Čemu se směješ, teto Dais?“ zeptala se

Martinette podezíravě.

„Dyť se vubec nesměju, děvče.“

„Ale jo, směješ se.“

„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.“

„Musíš vysvětlit, jak to myslíš, teto Dais,“

požadovala dívka zarputile, teď již

podezíravá a ostražitá.

„Proto řikam, že si pitomá,“ prohlásila žena,

když práskla žehličku na obrácený otlučený

plech na koláč, „tak jak povidáš, voni daj

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

yonda in de picture paper. An' you know

w'at readin' dey gwine sot down on'neaf dat

picture?" Martinette was intensely attentive.

"Dey gwine sot down on'neaf: 'Dis heah is

one dem low-down 'Cajuns o' Bayeh

Têche!' "

The blood flowed from Martinette's face,

leaving it deathly pale; in another instant it

came beating back in a quick flood, and her

eyes smarted with pain as if the tears that

filled them had been fiery hot.

"I knows dem kine o' folks," continued Aunt

Dicey, resuming her interrupted ironing. "

Dat stranger he got a li'le boy w'at ain't none

too big to spank. Dat li'le imp he come a

hoppin' in heah yistiddy wid a kine o' box

on'neaf his arm. 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?' I 'lowed I gwine make a picture

outen him wid dis heah flati'on, ef he don'

cl'ar hisse'f quick. An' he say he baig my

pardon fo' his intrudement. All dat kine o'

talk to a ole nigga 'oman! Dat plainly sho'

he don' know his place."

"W'at you want 'im to say, Aunt Dice?"

asked Martinette, with an effort to conceal

her distress.

"I wants 'im to come in heah an' say:

'Howdy, Aunt Dicey! will you be so kine

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 jednoho z těch ubohejch Cajunů vod řeky

Têche!“

Martinette se odkrvil obličej, byla mrtvolně

bledá. V mžiku se jí krev vrátila zpátky jako

povodeň a oči jí pálily bolestí, jakoby slzy,

které je zaplnily, byly rozpálené ohněm.

„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 toudletou 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.“

„A cobys chtěla aby řek, teto Dais?“ zeptala

se Martinette se snahou zakrýt své

rozrušení.

„Moch sem přijít a říc: Jak se vede, teto

Dicey! Budeš tak hodná a voblečeš si ty

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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.' Dat de way fo' a boy

to talk w'at had good raisin'."

Martinette had arisen, and began to take

slow leave of the woman. She turned at the

cabin door to observe tentatively: "I reckon

it 's Wilkins tells you how the folks they

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

She did not go to the store as she had

intended, but walked with a dragging step

back to her home. The silver dollars clicked

in her pocket as she walked. She felt like

flinging them across the field; they seemed

to her somehow the price of shame.

The sun had sunk, and twilight was settling

like a silver beam upon the bayou and

enveloping the fields in a gray mist.

Evariste, slim and slouchy, was waiting for

his daughter in the cabin door. He had

lighted a fire of sticks and branches, and

placed the kettle before it to boil. He met

the girl with his slow, serious, questioning

eyes, astonished to see her empty-handed.

"How come you didn' bring nuttin' f'om de

sto', Martinette?"

She entered and flung her gingham

sunbonnet upon a chair. "No, I did n' go

yonda;" and with sudden exasperation:

svoje nový šaty a klobouk, kerý nosíš na

setkání a vodstup vod toho žehlení a já si tě

vyfotim. Takle má mluvit kluk, co je slušně

vychovanej.“

Martinette mezitím vstala a pomalu

odcházela. Otočila se u dveří boudy, aby

nesměle podotkla: „Počitam, že ti Wilkins

řiká, jak tydle floutkové mluví tam

u Halletových.“

Martinette nešla do obchodu, jak původně

zamýšlela, šouravou chůzí se vracela ke

svému domovu. Stříbrné dolary jí cinkaly v

kapse, jak kráčela. Měla chuť mrsknout s

nimi do pole, zdálo se jí, že jsou útěchou za

hanbu.

Slunce zapadlo a soumrak si sedal jako

stříbrná zář nad řeku a zahaloval pole do

šedavého oparu. Evariste, útlý a shrbený,

čekal na svou dceru ve dveřích boudy.

Rozdělal oheň z klacíků a větví a postavil

před něj vařit vodu v konvici. Přivítal dívku

svým pomalým, vážným a tázavým

pohledem, s údivem, že přišla s prázdnýma

rukama.

„Jak to, že nic neneseš z vobchodu,

Martinette?“

Vešla dovnitř a mrskla svůj bavlněný

klobouček na židli. „Ne, nešla sem tam.“ A

náhle podrážděně dodala: „Musíš ty peníze

14

"You got to go take back that money; you

mus' n' git no picture took."

"But, Martinette," her father mildly

interposed, "I promise' 'im; an' he 's goin'

give me some mo' money w'en he finish."

"If he give you a ba'el o' money, you mus'n'

git no picture took. You know w'at he want

to put un'neath that picture, fo' ev'body to

read?" She could not tell him the whole

hideous truth as she had heard it distorted

from Aunt Dicey's lips; she would not hurt

him that much. "He 's goin' to write: 'This is

one ' Cajun o' the Bayou Têche.' " Evariste

winced.

"How you know?" he asked.

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

The water in the kettle was boiling. He went

and poured a small quantity upon the coffee

which he had set there to drip. Then he said

to her: "I reckon you jus' as well go care dat

two dolla' back, tomo' mo'nin'; me, I 'll go

yonda ketch a mess o' fish in Carancro

lake."

Mr. Hallet and a few masculine companions

were assembled at a rather late breakfast the

following morning. The dining-room was a

big, bare one, enlivened by a cheerful fire of

logs that blazed in the wide chimney on

massive andirons. There were guns, fishing

vrátit, nemůžeš si nechat nakreslit žádnej

vobrázek.“

„Ale Martinette,“ klidně poznamenal její

otec, „já sem mu to slíbil a von mi dá víc

peněž, až to dodělá.“

„I dyby ti dal celou hromadu peněz, nesmíš

si nechat nakresli žádnej vobrázek. Víš co

chce dát pod ten vobrázek, co si tam každej

počte?“ Nemohla mu říct celou ošklivou

pravdu, jak jí slyšela rozrušeně z úst tety

Dicey, nechtěla ho tolik ranit. „Von tam

napíše: Takle vypadaj ty Cajunové vod

řeky Têche.“ Evariste sebou trhnul.

„Jak to víš?“ zeptal se.

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

Voda v konvici se vařila. Evariste šel a nalil

malé množství na umletou kávu, kterou si

předtím připravil. „Myslim, že zrovnatak

tam můžeš jít ty a vodnýst ty dva dolary. Já

rači pudu chytat ryby k večeři na jezero

Carancro.“

Pan Hallet a několik mužných společníků se

sešli na poněkud pozdní snídani následující

dopoledne. Jídelna byla prostorná a

poloprázdná, oživoval ji jasný oheň, který

plápolal v širokém krbu s masivními

stojany. V místnosti se povalovaly zbraně,

15

tackle, and other implements of sport lying

about. A couple of fine dogs strayed

unceremoniously in and out behind Wilkins,

the negro boy who waited upon the table.

The chair beside Mr. Sublet, usually

occupied by his little son, was vacant, as the

child had gone for an early morning outing

and had not yet returned.

When breakfast was about half over, Mr.

Hallet noticed Martinette standing outside

upon the gallery. The dining-room door had

stood open more than half the time.

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

inquired the jovial-faced young planter.

"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."

"What in the name of goodness does she

want? Ask her what she wants. Tell her to

come in to the fire."

Martinette walked into the room with much

hesitancy. Her small, brown face could

hardly be seen in the depths of the gingham

sun-bonnet. Her blue cottonade skirt

scarcely reached the thin ankles that it

should have covered.

"Bonjou'," she murmured, with a little

comprehensive nod that took in the entire

company. Her eyes searched the table for

the "stranger gentleman," and she knew

rybářské náčiní, a další sportovní nástroje.

Dva ušlechtilí psi bloudili bez zábran sem a

tam za Wilkinsem, černým chlapcem, který

obsluhoval u stolu. Židle po straně pana

Subleta, na které obvykle seděl jeho malý

syn, byla prázdná, protože chlapec odešel na

brzkou ranní vycházku a ještě se nevrátil.

Když byla snídaně už ve své druhé

polovině, pan Hallet si všiml Martinette,

která stála venku na terase. Dveře do jídelny

byly totiž po celou tu dobu otevřené.

„Že to je Martinette tamhle venku,

Wilkinsi?“ zeptal se bodrý mladý

plantážník. “Je to vona, váženej pane,“

odvětil Wilkins. „Stojí tam už skoro vod

rozbřesku. Vypadá, jak dyby chtěla na tý

verandě zakořenit.“

„Co propána může chtít? Zeptej se jí, co

potřebuje. Řekni jí, ať jde dovnitř k ohni.“

Martinette vešla do místnosti velice váhavě.

Její malý, hnědý obličej byl stěží vidět, jak

byl úkrytý v bavněném čepečku. Její sukně,

z hrubé bavlněné tkaniny, sotva dosahovala

k tenoučkým kotníkům, které měla

zakrývat.

„Bonžúr,“ řekla potichoučku s poklonkem,

který patřil celé přítomné společnosti.

Pohledem pátrala kolem stolu po „cizím

pánovi“, kterého poznala hned, protože měl

16

him at once, because his hair was parted in

the middle and he wore a pointed beard. She

went and laid the two silver dollars beside

his plate and motioned to retire without a

word of explanation.

"Hold on, Martinette!" called out the

planter, "what 's all this pantomime

business? Speak out, little one."

"My popa don't want any picture took," she

offered, a little timorously. On her way to

the door she had looked back to say this. In

that fleeting glance she detected a smile of

intelligence pass from one to the other of

the group. She turned quickly, facing them

all, and spoke out, excitement making her

voice bold and shrill: "My popa ent one

low-down 'Cajun. He ent goin' to stan' to

have that kine o' writin' put down un'neath

his picture!"

She almost ran from the room, half blinded

by the emotion that had helped her to make

so daring a speech.

Descending the gallery steps she ran full

against her father who was ascending,

bearing in his arms the little boy, Archie

Sublet. The child was most grotesquely

attired in garments far too large for his

diminutive person - the rough jeans clothing

of some negro boy. Evariste himself had

evidently been taking a bath without the

preliminary ceremony of removing his

pěšinku uprostřed a zašpičatělou bradku. Šla

k němu a položila dva stříbrné dolary vedle

jeho talíře a odebrala se k odchodu bez

slůvka vysvětlení.

„Počkej, Martinette!“ zvolal plantážník. „Co

má znamenat tahle němohra? Mluv,

maličká.“

„Můj taťka se nechce nechat nakreslit.“

namítla, poněkud bázlivě. Cestou ke dveřím

se ohlédla, aby jim to řekla. V tom

kraťoučkém okamžiku si povšimla, jak se

na sebe vědoucně usmívají jeden po

druhém. Rychle se otočila čelem k nim.

Rozčílení způsobilo, že její hlas byl

odvážný a pronikavý a zvolala: „Muj tatik

neni žádnej ubohej Cajun. Nenechá si líbit,

aby měl něco takovýho napsanýho pod

vobrázkem.“

Martinette takřka vypálila z místnosti, napůl

oslepená emocemi, které jí pomohly pronést

tak odvážnout řeč.

Když scházela schody z verandy, plnou

vahou narazila do svého otce, který stoupal

po schodech a v náruči nesl malého chlapce,

Archieho Subleta. Dítko bylo groteskně

oblečeno v oděvu, který byl přespříliš velký

na jeho drobounké postavě. Byl to oděv z

hrubé rifloviny nějakého černošského

chlapce. Sám Evariste se zjevně koupal

oblečený, jeho oděv byl jen napůl usušený

17

clothes, that were now half dried upon his

person by the wind and sun.

"Yere you' li'le boy," he announced,

stumbling into the room. "You ought not lef

dat li'le chile go by hissed comme ça in de

pirogue." Mr. Sublet darted from his chair;

the others following suit almost as hastily.

In an instant, quivering with apprehension,

he had his little son in his arms. The child

was quite unharmed, only somewhat pale

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.

"W'en I done swim to de sho' wid 'im,"

continued Evariste, "I hurry yonda to Jake

Baptiste's cabin, an' we rub 'im an' warm 'im

up, an' dress 'im up dry like you see. He all

right now, M'sieur; but you mus'n lef 'im go

no mo' by hisse'f in one pirogue."

Martinette had followed into the room

větrem a sluncem.

„Taj máte kluka,“ oznámil, když klopýtal

do místnosti. „neměli byste nechávat tajto

dítě samotný comme ça jezdit v kánoji.“ Pan

Sublet vyskočil ze židle a ostatní taktéž,

téměř stejně rychle. V mžiku, třesoucí se

strachy, měl svého synka v náruči. Dítko

bylo docela v pořádku, jen trochu bledé a

vystrašené, následkem nedávného tonutí.

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.

„Dyž sem s nim doplaval na břeh,“

pokračoval Evariste, „hned sem kvaltoval

do boudy k Jakeovi Baptistovi a tam sme ho

vosušili a vohřáli a voblíkli do suchýho, jak

vidíte. Teď už je v cajku, pane, ale nesmíte

ho už pouštět samotnýho na kánoji.“

Martinette šla do místnosti hned za svým

18

behind her father. She was feeling and

tapping his wet garments solicitously, and

begging him in French to come home. Mr.

Hallet at once ordered hot coffee and a

warm breakfast for the two; and they sat

down at the corner of the table, making no

manner of objection in their perfect

simplicity. It was with visible reluctance

and ill-disguised contempt that Wilkins

served them.

When Mr. Sublet had arranged his son

comfortably, with tender care, upon the

sofa, and had satisfied himself that the child

was quite uninjured, he attempted to find

words with which to thank Evariste for this

service which no treasure of words or gold

could pay for. These warm and heartfelt

expressions seemed to Evariste to

exaggerate the importance of his action, and

they intimidated him. He attempted shyly to

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

hope, Evariste," begged Mr. Sublet, laying

his hand upon the 'Cadian's shoulder. "I

want to place it among things I hold most

dear, and shall call it 'A hero of Bayou

Têche.' " This assurance seemed to distress

Evariste greatly.

"No, no," he protested, "it 's nuttin' hero' to

take a li'le boy out de water. I jus' as easy do

otcem. Starostlivě ohmatávala a ždímala

jeho mokré oblečení a prosila ho ve

francouzštině, aby šli domů. Pan Hallet

hned objednal horkou kávu a teplou večeři

pro oba. Usadili se v rohu stolu, bez

zbytečných zdvořilostí, v celé své prostotě.

S očividnou nechutí a špatně skrývaným

opovržením je Wilkins obsloužil.

Když pan Sublet obstaral s láskyplnou péčí

synka, usadil ho na pohovku a přesvědčil se,

že se mu nic nestalo, snažil se najít slova,

kterými by poděkoval Evaristovi za službu,

za kterou se žádným bohatstvím slov či

zlata zaplatit nedalo. Z těchto vřelých a

procítěných výrazů měl Evariste pocit, že

zveličují význam jeho činu a zastrašovaly

ho. Snažil se plaše zakrýt svoji tvář, jak to

jen šlo, do hrnku s kávou.

„Doufám, že mě teď necháš nakreslit tvůj

obrázek, Evariste,“ žadonil pan Sublet a

položil ruku na rameno Akada. „Chci si ho

dát mezi věci, které jsou pro mě nejdražší a

nazvu ho Hrdina od řeky Têche.“ Zdálo se,

že tento příslib Evaristeho velice rozrušil.

„Ne, to ne,“ protestoval, „neni žádný

hrdinctví vytáhnout malýho kluka z vody.

19

dat like I stoop down an' pick up a li'le chile

w'at fall down in de road. I ent goin' to 'low

dat, me. I don't git no picture took, va ! "

Mr. Hallet, who now discerned his friend's

eagerness in the matter, came to his aid.

"I tell you, Evariste, let Mr. Sublet draw

your picture, and you yourself may call it

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

"Most willingly," agreed the artist.

Evariste glanced up at him with shy and

child-like pleasure. "It 's a bargain?" he

asked.

"A bargain," affirmed Mr. Sublet.

"Popa," whispered Martinette, "you betta

come home an' put on yo' otha pant'loon' an'

yo' good coat."

"And now, what shall we call the much

talked-of picture?" cheerily inquired the

planter, standing with his back to the blaze.

Evariste in a business-like manner began

carefully to trace on the tablecloth

imaginary characters with an imaginary pen;

he could not have written the real characters

with a real pen - he did not know how.

"You will put on'neat' de picture," he said,

deliberately, " 'Dis is one picture of Mista

Evariste Anatole Bonamour, a gent'-man of

Je to zrovna tak jednoduchý, jako dybych se

vohnul a zvednul malý dítě, co upadlo na

silnici, va!“

Pan Hallet, který vycítil dychtivost svého

kamaráda v této záležitosti, mu přispěchal

na pomoc.

„Říkám ti, Evariste, nech pana Subleta

namalovat tvůj obrázek a ty sám si ho

nazveš, jak budeš chtít. Jsem si jistý, že ti to

dovolí.“

„Bude mi potěšením.“ souhlasil umělec.

Evariste na něj pohlédl se stydlivým a

dětským potěšením. „Platí?“ zeptal se.

„Platí.“ potvrdil pan Sublet.

„Tatí,“ zašeptala Martinette, „měl bys jít

domu a voblíct si ty druhý kalhoty a ten

pěknej kabát.“

„Nu, a jak nazveme ten tolikrát diskutovaný

obrázek?“ ptal se radostně plantážník, zády

natočený k ohni.

Evariste s jakoby obchodnickým

vystupováním začal po ubruse pečlivě

vykreslovat pomyslná písmena pomyslným

perem. Nemohl napsat skutečná písmena

skutečným perem – neuměl psát.

„Dáte pod ten vobrázek,“ řekl rozvážně,

„Na vobrázku je pan Evariste Anatole

Bonamour, vážený pán od řeky Têche.“

20

de Bayou Têche.' "

Desiree's Baby

As the day was pleasant, Madame

Valmonde drove over to L'Abri to see

Desiree and the baby.

It made her laugh to think of Desiree with a

baby. Why, it seemed but yesterday that

Desiree was little more than a baby herself;

when Monsieur in riding through the

gateway of Valmonde had found her lying

asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.

The little one awoke in his arms and began

to cry for "Dada." That was as much as she

could do or say. Some people thought she

might have strayed there of her own accord,

for she was of the toddling age. The

prevailing belief was that she had been

purposely left by a party of Texans, whose

canvas-covered wagon, late in the day, had

crossed the ferry that Coton Mais kept, just

below the plantation. In time Madame

Valmonde abandoned every speculation but

the one that Desiree had been sent to her by

a beneficent Providence to be the child of

her affection, seeing that she was without

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

day against the stone pillar in whose shadow

Dezirčino dítko

Byl hezký den a tak madam Velmonde

odjela do L'Abri, aby viděla Dezirku a

miminko.

Myšlenka na Dezire s miminkem jí

rozesmála. Jako by to bylo včera, kdy

Dezire byla sama ještě téměř miminko,

když ji monsiér našel spát ve stínu

kamenného kůlu, když projížděl bránou do

Velmonde.

Maličká se probudila v jeho náruči a začala

křičet „tata“. To bylo všechno, co uměla.

Někteří si mysleli, že se tam sama zatoulala,

protože v tu dobu již byla batole. Většinou

ale lidé věřili, že ji tam schválně zanechala

parta z Texasu, která ve voze pokrytém

plachtou, projela pozdě v noci přívozem

kousek od plantáže. V té době madam

Velmonde odmítla jakékoliv spekulace a

prohlásila, že Dezirku jí poslal dobrotivý

Bůh, aby se stala její dcerou, protože ona

sama vlastní dítě neměla. Když vyrostla,

stala se z ní krásná a něžná dívka, láskyplná

a upřímná – idol všech ve Valmonde.

Nebylo tedy překvapením, když jednoho

dne stála ve stínu, opřená o stejný kůl, kde

21

she had lain asleep, eighteen years before,

that Armand Aubigny riding by and seeing

her there, had fallen in love with her. That

was the way all the Aubignys fell in love, as

if struck by a pistol shot. The wonder was

that he had not loved her before; for he had

known her since his father brought him

home from Paris, a boy of eight, after his

mother died there. The passion that awoke

in him that day, when he saw her at the gate,

swept along like an avalanche, or like a

prairie fire, or like anything that drives

headlong over all obstacles.

Monsieur Valmonde grew practical and

wanted things well considered: that is, the

girl's obscure origin. Armand looked into

her eyes and did not care. He was reminded

that she was nameless. What did it matter

about a name when he could give her one of

the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? He

ordered the corbeille from Paris, and

contained himself with what patience he

could until it arrived; then they were

married.

Madame Valmonde had not seen Desiree

and the baby for four weeks. When she

reached L'Abri she shuddered at the first

sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad

looking place, which for many years had not

known the gentle presence of a mistress, old

Monsieur Aubigny having married and

buried his wife in France, and she having

před osmnácti lety spala, když Armand

Aubidny jel kolem a zamiloval se, hned jak

ji uviděl. Všichni Aubidnyovi to měli stejné,

zamilovali se, jako by je zasáhla kulka. Co

však bylo překvapením, že se do ní

nezamiloval už dříve. Znali se totiž již od

doby, co se Armand s jeho otcem vrátili z

Paříže, po tom, co mu v osmi letech v Paříži

zemřela maminka. Vášeň, která se v něm

ten den probudila, když ji uviděl u brány, ho

smetla jako lavina, jako požár v prérii, jako

cokoliv, co se řítí střemhlav přes překážky.

Monsiér Velmonde uvažoval racionálně a

chtěl, aby vše bylo dobře uváženo, hlavně

tedy dívčin neznámý původ. Armand se jí

podíval do očí a všechno ostatní mu bylo

jedno. Připomínali mu, že je beze jména. A

na co by mu bylo jméno, když on jí může

dát jedno z nejstarších a nejváženějších

jmen v Louisianě? V Paříži objednal

corbeille, obrnil se trpělivostí, než dorazí a

pak byli oddáni.

Madam Valmonde neviděla Dezire a

miminko čtyři týdny. Když dorazila do

L'Abri, otřásla se, když spatřila to místo, tak

jako pokaždé. Bylo to pochmurné místo,

kde dlouhé roky chyběly něžné ruce ženy,

od doby co se starý monsiér Aubigny oženil

ve Francii, kde pak také pohřbil svou ženu.

Jeho žena zase milovala svoji zem na tolik,

22

loved her own land too well ever to leave it.

The roof came down steep and black like a

cowl, reaching out beyond the wide

galleries that encircled the yellow stuccoed

house. Big, solemn oaks grew close to it,

and their thick-leaved, far-reaching

branches shadowed it like a pall. Young

Aubigny's rule was a strict one, too, and

under it his negroes had forgotten how to be

gay, as they had been during the old

master's easy-going and indulgent lifetime.

The young mother was recovering

slowly, and lay full length, in her soft white

muslins and laces, upon a couch. The baby

was beside her, upon her arm, where he had

fallen asleep, at her breast. The yellow nurse

woman sat beside a window fanning herself.

Madame Valmonde bent her portly figure

over Desiree and kissed her, holding her an

instant tenderly in her arms. Then she

turned to the child.

"This is not the baby!" she exclaimed, in

startled tones. French was the language

spoken at Valmonde in those days.

"I knew you would be astonished," laughed

Desiree, "at the way he has grown. The little

cochon de lait! Look at his legs, mamma,

and his hands and fingernails - real finger-

nails. Zandrine had to cut them this

morning. Isn't it true, Zandrine?"

aby ji kdy opustila. Černá střecha se ostře

svažovala jako kutna a zakrývala široké

ochozy kolem žlutě štukovaného domu.

Veliké, majestátné duby rostly v blízkosti

domu a jejich bohaté, hustě porostlé větve

zastiňovaly dům jako víko rakve. Mladý

Aubigny razil přísný režim a jeho černoši

dávno zapomněli jaké to je, být veselý, jako

tomu bývalo za časů starého pána s jeho

pohodovým a shovívavým přístupem.

Mladá maminka se pomalu zotavovala,

ležela na pohovce v krásných šatech z

mušelínu a krajek. Miminko leželo u ní v

náruči, kde usnulo u prsu. Tmavá chůva

seděla u okna a ovívala se.

Korpulentní madam Valmonde se naklonila

k Dezire, aby jí políbila a na chviličku ji

láskyplně objala. Potom se obrátila k

děťátku.

„Tohle není on!“ vykřikla překvapeným

hlasem. Ve Valmonde se tou dobou mluvilo

francouzsky.

„Věděla jsem, že budeš žasnout,“ smála se

Dezire, „jak vyrostl. Maličký cochon de

lait! Podívej na ty nožičky, mami, a ty

ručičky a nehtíky, skutečné nehtíky.

Zandrine je musela ostříhat dneska ráno. Je

to tak, Zandrine?“

23

The woman bowed her turbaned head

majestically, "Mais si, Madame."

"And the way he cries," went on Desiree, "is

deafening. Armand heard him the other day

as far away as La Blanche's cabin."

Madame Valmonde had never removed her

eyes from the child. She lifted it and walked

with it over to the window that was lightest.

She scanned the baby narrowly, then looked

as searchingly at Zandrine, whose face was

turned to gaze across the fields.

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

said Madame Valmonde, slowly, as she

replaced it beside its mother. "What does

Armand say?"

Desiree's face became suffused with a glow

that was happiness itself.

"Oh, Armand is the proudest father in the

parish, I believe, chiefly because it is a boy,

to bear his name; though he says not - that

he would have loved a girl as well. But I

know it isn't true. I know he says that to

please me. And mamma," she added,

drawing Madame Valmonde's head down to

her, and speaking in a whisper, "he hasn't

punished one of them - not one of them -

since baby is born. Even Negrillon, who

pretended to have burnt his leg that he

might rest from work - he only laughed, and

said Negrillon was a great scamp. Oh,

Chůva s turbanem důležitě přikývla: „Ano,

madam.“

„A jak pláče,“ pokračovala Dezire, „je k

ohluchnutí. Armand to nedávno slyšel až k

boudě, kde bydlí La Blanche.“

Madam Valmonde nemohla od dítěte

odtrhnout oči. Zvedla ho a odkráčela s ním

k nejsvětlejšímu oknu. Tam ho zkoumavě

prohlížela a potom se stejně pátravě

podívala na Zandrine, která byla otočená a

hleděla na pole.

„Pravda, dítko vyrostlo, změnilo se.“

pravila madam Valmonde, pomalu, když ho

pokládala vedle jeho matky. „A co na to

říká Armand?“

Tvář Dezire se rozzářila štěstím.

„Armand je nejpyšnějším otcem v celém

kraji. Myslím, že to je hlavně proto, že

máme kluka, který bude nositelem jeho

jména, i když říká, že tomu tak není a že

holčičku by miloval úplně stejně. Ale já

vím, že to není pravda. Říká to jen proto,

aby mě potěšil. A mami,“ dodala a přitáhla

si hlavu madam Velmonde až k sobě a

zašeptala, „a žádného z nich nepotrestal, ani

jednoho, od té doby, co se narodil. Dokonce

ani Negrillona, když předstíral, že si spálil

nohu a že tedy nemůže pracovat – Armand

se jenom smál a prohlásil, že Negrillon je

24

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

What Desiree said was true. Marriage, and

later the birth of his son had softened

Armand Aubigny's imperious and exacting

nature greatly. This was what made the

gentle Desiree so happy, for she loved him

desperately. When he frowned she trembled,

but loved him. When he smiled, she asked

no greater blessing of God. But Armand's

dark, handsome face had not often been

disfigured by frowns since the day he fell in

love with her.

When the baby was about three months

old, Desiree awoke one day to the

conviction that there was something in the

air menacing her peace. It was at first too

subtle to grasp. It had only been a

disquieting suggestion; an air of mystery

among the blacks; unexpected visits from

far-off neighbors who could hardly account

for their coming. Then a strange, an awful

change in her husband's manner, which she

dared not ask him to explain. When he

spoke to her, it was with averted eyes, from

which the old love-light seemed to have

gone out. He absented himself from home;

and when there, avoided her presence and

that of her child, without excuse. And the

very spirit of Satan seemed suddenly to take

hold of him in his dealings with the slaves.

Desiree was miserable enough to die.

děsný flákač. Mami, já jsem tak šťastná, až

mě to děsí.“

Dezire mluvila pravdu. Manželství a poté

narození syna velmi zmírnilo Armandovu

panovačnou a komplikovanou povahu. A to

bylo to, co něžnou Dezirku činilo šťasnou,

protože ho až zoufale milovala. Když se

mračil, tak se strachem zachvěla, ale pořád

ho milovala. Když se usmíval, brala to jako

největší boží požehnání. Ale tmavá,

pohledná tvář Armanda byla málokdy

zamračená ode dne, kdy se do ní zamiloval.

Když byly miminku asi tři měsíce, Dezire se

jednoho dne vzbudila s přesvědčením, že se

děje něco, co ohrožuje její pohodu. Nejprve

to byla jen zvláštní atmosféra. Byl to jen

znepokojující náznak, tajemný vánek mezi

černochy, neočekávané návštěvy od

dalekých sousedů, kteří jen těžko mohli

zdůvodnit, proč přišli. A poté podivná,

děsivá změna v chování manžela, na kterou

se ani neodvážila zeptat. Když s ní mluvil,

tak s odvráceným pohledem, očima, ze

kterých, jak se zdálo, vyhasl plamínek

lásky. Doma se nezdržoval a pokud ano,

vyhýbal se její společnosti i společnosti

syna bez udání důvodu. A zdálo se, že se ho

znenadání zmocnil samotný Satan, podle

toho, jak zacházel s otroky. Dezire byla

utrápená k smrti.

25

She sat in her room, one hot afternoon, in

her peignoir, listlessly drawing through her

fingers the strands of her long, silky brown

hair that hung about her shoulders. The

baby, half naked, lay asleep upon her own

great mahogany bed, that was like a

sumptuous throne, with its satin-lined half-

canopy. One of La Blanche's little quadroon

boys - half naked too - stood fanning the

child slowly with a fan of peacock feathers.

Desiree's eyes had been fixed absently and

sadly upon the baby, while she was striving

to penetrate the threatening mist that she felt

closing about her. She looked from her child

to the boy who stood beside him, and back

again; over and over. "Ah!" It was a cry that

she could not help; which she was not

conscious of having uttered. The blood

turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy

moisture gathered upon her face.

She tried to speak to the little quadroon boy;

but no sound would come, at first. When he

heard his name uttered, he looked up, and

his mistress was pointing to the door. He

laid aside the great, soft fan, and obediently

stole away, over the polished floor, on his

bare tiptoes.

She stayed motionless, with gaze riveted

upon her child, and her face the picture of

fright.

Presently her husband entered the room, and

Jednoho horkého odpoledne seděla v

peignoir a netečně si prsty projížděla

pramínky svých dlouhých, hedvábně

hnědých vlasů, které jí padaly na ramena.

Dítko, zpola nahé, spalo na její krásné

mahagonové posteli se saténem

lemovanými nebesy, která působila jako

honosný trůn. Jeden malý chlapec od La

Blanche, který byl ze čtvrtiny černoch –

také napůl nahý – stál u dítka a ovíval ho

vějířem z pavích brk. Dezire se upřeně

dívala na své dítě, bezmyšlenkovitě a

smutně, a snažila se proniknout skrz hrozivý

mlžný opar, jež cítila, že se kolem ní

uzavírá. Oči jí těkaly mezi svým chlapcem a

druhým, který stál vedle něj, stále tam a

zpět. „Áááá!“ Byl to vzlyk kterému

nemohla pomoci, který si ani neuvědomila.

Krev jí tuhla v žilách a tvář jí polil studený

pot.

Chtěla promluvit k malému míšenci, ale

nejprve ze sebe nemohla vydat jedinou

hlásku. Když potom uslyšel, jak říká jeho

jméno, vzhlédl k ní a jeho paní ukazovala

směrem ke dveřím. Odložil tedy krásný

hebký vějíř a poslušně se odkradl pryč, po

špičkách, bosý po naleštěné podlaze.

Zůstala stát bez hnutí a stále fascinovaně

hleděla na svého chlapce, ve tváři zděšený

výraz.

V tu chvíli přišel její manžel, který beze

26

without noticing her, went to a table and

began to search among some papers which

covered it.

"Armand," she called to him, in a voice

which must have stabbed him, if he was

human. But he did not notice. "Armand,"

she said again. Then she rose and tottered

towards him. "Armand," she panted once

more, clutching his arm, "look at our child.

What does it mean? Tell me."

He coldly but gently loosened her fingers

from about his arm and thrust the hand

away from him. "Tell me what it means!"

she cried despairingly.

"It means," he answered lightly, "that the

child is not white; it means that you are not

white."

A quick conception of all that this

accusation meant for her nerved her with

unwonted courage to deny it. "It is a lie; it is

not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is

brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you

know they are gray. And my skin is fair,"

seizing his wrist. "Look at my hand; whiter

than yours, Armand," she laughed

hysterically.

"As white as La Blanche's," he returned

cruelly; and went away leaving her alone

with their child.

slov odešel ke stolu a začal se probírat

papíry, které tam ležely.

„Armande!“ zvolala hlasem, který ho musel

bodnout, pokud byl člověk. Ale on

nereagoval. „Armande!“ řekla znova. Poté

vstala a malátně se k němu ploužila.

„Armande,“ vzdechla znovu, když sevřela

jeho paži, „podívej se na naše dítě. Co to má

znamenat? Pověz mi.“

Chladně, ale jemně povolil její sevření a

odstrčil jí ruku od sebe. „Řekni mi, co to

znamená!“ vzlykla v beznaději.

„To znamená,“ pronesl zlehka, „že naše dítě

není bílé, což znamená, že ty nejsi bílá.“

Rychle si uvědomila, co takové obvinění

pro ni znamená, a to ji vyprovokovalo k

odvaze, jí nezvyklé, se bránit. „To je lež, to

není pravda, já jsem bílá! Podívej se na mé

vlasy, jsou hnědé, a oči mám šedé,

Armande, ty víš, že jsou šedé. A pleť mám

světlou,“ chytla ho za zápěstí. „Podívej se

mi na ruku, je světlejší než tvoje,

Armande.“ smála se nepříčetně.

„Tak světlá, jako je ruka La Blanche.“

odvětil krutě a odkráčel pryč od ní a dítěte.

27

When she could hold a pen in her hand, she

sent a despairing letter to Madame

Valmonde.

"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."

The answer that came was brief:

"My own Desiree: Come home to

Valmonde; back to your mother who loves

you. Come with your child."

When the letter reached Desiree she went

with it to her husband's study, and laid it

open upon the desk before which he sat. She

was like a stone image: silent, white,

motionless after she placed it there.

In silence he ran his cold eyes over the

written words.

He said nothing. "Shall I go, Armand?" she

asked in tones sharp with agonized

suspense.

"Yes, go."

"Do you want me to go?"

"Yes, I want you to go."

He thought Almighty God had dealt cruelly

and unjustly with him; and felt, somehow,

Když byla ve stavu, že udržela pero v ruce,

poslala zoufalý dopis madam Valmonde.

„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.“

Odpověď byla krátká:

„Moje milá Dezirko, vrať se domů do

Valmonde, za mámou, která tě miluje.

Vezmi i miminko.“

Když Dezire přečetla dopis, odešla do

manželovy studovny a položila ho otevřený

na stůl, u kterého seděl. Vypadala jako

socha: němá, bílá, bez hnutí, když tam dopis

položila.

Chladnýma očima, beze slov, přečetl dopis.

Stále nic neříkal. „Mám odejít, Armande?“

zeptala se bolestným napjatým tónem.

„Ano, jdi.“

„Chceš, abych odešla?“

„Správně, chci, abys odešla.“

Myslel si, že všemocný Bůh s ním jednal

krutě a nespravedlivě a cítil, že je to jakási

28

that he was paying Him back in kind when

he stabbed thus into his wife's soul.

Moreover he no longer loved her, because

of the unconscious injury she had brought

upon his home and his name.

She turned away like one stunned by a

blow, and walked slowly towards the door,

hoping he would call her back.

"Good-by, Armand," she moaned.

He did not answer her. That was his last

blow at fate.

Desiree went in search of her child.

Zandrine was pacing the sombre gallery

with it. She took the little one from the

nurse's arms with no word of explanation,

and descending the steps, walked away,

under the live-oak branches.

It was an October afternoon; the sun was

just sinking. Out in the still fields the

negroes were picking cotton.

Desiree had not changed the thin white

garment nor the slippers which she wore.

Her hair was uncovered and the sun's rays

brought a golden gleam from its brown

meshes. She did not take the broad, beaten

road which led to the far-off plantation of

Valmonde. She walked across a deserted

field, where the stubble bruised her tender

feet, so delicately shod, and tore her thin

jeho odplata Bohu, když ranil duši své

ženy. A navíc už ji nemiloval, protože, i

když neúmyslně, pošpinila jeho domov a

jméno jeho rodiny.

Odvrátila se, jako kdyby dostala facku a

pomalu odcházela ke dveřím s nadějí, že jí

zastaví.

„Sbohem, Armande.“ zasténala.

Neodpověděl a to bylo jeho poslední

odplatou osudu.

Dezire odešla, aby našla dítě. Zandrine s

ním v náruči chodila po ponuré terase.

Beze slov vzala maličkého chůvě z náruče,

sešla ze schodů a vzdalovala se pod větvemi

dubů.

Bylo říjnové odpoledne a slunce v tu dobu

zvolna zapadalo. Černoši venku na polích

česali bavlnu.

Dezire odešla v pantoflích a ani si

nepřevlékla tenký bílý oděv, který měla na

sobě. Vlasy měla odkryté a slunce se zlatavě

odráželo v hnědých pramíncích. Rozhodla

se nejít širokou, vyšlapanou cestou, která

vedla do vzdáleného Valmonde. Šla přes

pusté pole a strniště jí poškrábalo jemná

chodidla, tak nalehko obuté a tenké šaty

byly rozedrané na cáry.

29

gown to shreds.

She disappeared among the reeds and

willows that grew thick along the banks of

the deep, sluggish bayou; and she did not

come back again.

Some weeks later there was a curious scene

enacted at L'Abri. In the centre of the

smoothly swept back yard was a great

bonfire. Armand Aubigny sat in the wide

hallway that commanded a view of the

spectacle; and it was he who dealt out to a

half dozen negroes the material which kept

this fire ablaze.

A graceful cradle of willow, with all its

dainty furbishings, was laid upon the pyre,

which had already been fed with the

richness of a priceless layette. Then there

were silk gowns, and velvet and satin ones

added to these; laces, too, and embroideries;

bonnets and gloves; for the corbeille had

been of rare quality.

The last thing to go was a tiny bundle of

letters; innocent little scribblings that

Desiree had sent to him during the days of

their espousal. There was the remnant of

one back in the drawer from which he took

them. But it was not Desiree's; it was part of

an old letter from his mother to his father.

He read it. She was thanking God for the

blessing of her husband's love:--

Zmizela mezi rákosy a vrbami, kterými

hustě porůstaly břehy hluboké, líné řeky a

už se nevrátila.

O pár týdnů později se dělo něco

nezvyklého na L’Abri. Uprostřed do čista

zameteného zadního dvorku hořela velká

vatra. Armand Aubigny seděl uprostřed

široké chodby na dohled od ohně a podával

půl tuctu černochů předměty, kterými

udržoval oheň.

Krásná vrbová kolébka se všemi

roztomilými krajkami a volánky, skončila v

plamenech, které již předtím uchvátily

hojnou laytte k nezaplacení. Potom přišly na

řadu hedvábné róby, a sametové a saténové

rychle následovaly, dále krajky a výšivky,

klobouky a rukavice a corbeille výjimečné

kvality.

Jako poslední přišel na řadu tenký svazek

dopisů, nevinné vzkazy, které mu Dezire

poslala v době jejich námluv. Vzadu v

šuplíku byl ještě poslední dopis, tedy pouze

jeho část. Nebyl ale od Dezire, byla to část

dopisu, který poslala jeho matka otci. Začal

číst. Matka děkovala Bohu za dar lásky

svého manžela.

30

''But above all," she wrote, "night and day, I

thank the good God for having so arranged

our lives that our dear Armand

will never know that his mother, who

adores him, belongwill never know that his

mother, who adores him, belongs to the race

that is cursed with the brand of slavery."

A Very Fine Fiddle

WHEN the half dozen little ones were

hungry, old Cléophas would take the fiddle

from its flannel bag and play a tune upon it.

Perhaps it was to drown their cries, or their

hunger, or his conscience, or all three. One

day Fifine, in a rage, stamped her small foot

and clinched her little hands, and declared:

"It 's no two way'! I 'm goin' smash it, dat

fiddle, some day in a t'ousan' piece'!"

"You mus' n' do dat, Fifine," expostulated

her father. "Dat fiddle been ol'er 'an you an'

me t'ree time' put togedder. You done yaird

me tell often 'nough 'bout dat Italien w'at

give it to me w'en he die, 'long yonder befo'

de war. An' he say, 'Cléophas, dat fiddle -

dat one part my life - w'at goin' live w'en I

be dead - Dieu merci ! ' You talkin' too fas',

Fifine."

"Well, I 'm goin' do some'in' wid dat fiddle,

va ! " returned the daughter, only half

mollified. "Mine w'at I say."

„Ale ze všeho nejvíce,“ stálo v dopisu,

„děkuji Bohu dnem i nocí, že zařídil naše

životy tak, že náš drahý Armand se nikdy

nedozví, že jeho matka, která ho miluje,

patří k rase, která je prokletá cejchem

otroctví.“

Housle k nezaplacení

Pokaždé, když byl půl tucet mrňousů

hladový, starý Cléophas vyndal housle

z flanelového obalu a zahrál k tomu

melodii. Možná to bylo proto, aby ulevil

jejich pláči, nebo jejich hladu, nebo svému

svědomí, a nebo všechno dohromady.

Jednou ale Fifi ve vzteku dupla nožkou a

sevřela ručky aby prohlásila:

„Vo tom žádná! Rozflákám je, jednoho dne

ty housle rozbiju na tisíc kousků.“

„To nesmíš, Fifi.“ poučoval jí otec. „Tydle

housle sou třikrát starší než ty a já

dohromady. Dyť kolikrát sem ti řikal vo

tom Italovi, kerej mi je dal dyž umřel,

hodně dlouho před válkou. A von mi řek:

Cléophasi, tydle housle – tadle část mýho

života bude žít i po mý smrti – Dieu merci!

Mluvíš bez přemejšlení, Fifi.“

„Hm, stejnak s nima něco provedu, va!“

odpověděla jen trochu klidnější dcera.

„Pamatuj si, co řikam.“

31

So once when there were great carryings-on

up at the big plantation - no end of ladies

and gentlemen from the city, riding, driving,

dancing, and making music upon all manner

of instruments - Fifine, with the fiddle in its

flannel bag, stole away and up to the big

house where these festivities were in

progress.

No one noticed at first the little barefoot girl

seated upon a step of the veranda and

watching, lynx-eyed, for her opportunity.

"It 's one fiddle I got for sell," she

announced, resolutely, to the first who

questioned her.

It was very funny to have a shabby little girl

sitting there wanting to sell a fiddle, and the

child was soon surrounded.

The lustreless instrument was brought forth

and examined, first with amusement, but

soon very seriously, especially by three

gentlelemen: one with very long hair that

hung down, another with equally long hair

that stood up, the third with no hair worth

mentioning.

A tak jednou, když byl velký zmatek na

hlavní plantáži – davy dam a pánů z města,

kteří přijížděli, na koních i ve vozech,

tancovali a hráli na všechny druhy nástrojů

– Fifi se s houslemi ve flanelovém obalu

obalu vykradla a zamířila k hlavní budově,

kde se konala slavnost.

Nikdo si nejprve nevšiml malé bosé dívky

sedící na schodě na verandě, která s ostřížím

pohledem čekala na svoji příležitost.

„Mam tady jedny housle na prodej.“

oznámila odhodlaně prvnímu, kdo se zeptal.

Byl to zvláštní pohled vidět tam sedět

otrhanou holčičku, která chce prodat housle

a dítko bylo brzy v obležení.

Omšelý nástroj si lidé prohlíželi nejprve jen

pro pobavení, ale záhy s vážností, zejména

tři páni: jeden s velmi dlouhými vlasy, které

mu padaly do obličeje, druhý se stejně

dlouhými vlasy které trčely vzhůru a třetí

s vlasy, které nestojí za zmíňku.

These three turned the fiddle upside down

and almost inside out. They thumped upon

it, and listened. They scraped upon it, and

listened. They walked into the house with it,

and out of the house with it, and into remote

corners with it. All this with much putting

Tahle trojice převracela housle vzhůru

nohama a téměř naruby. Na housle

poklepali a poslouchali. Zavrzali a

poslouchali. Procházeli se s nimi do domu a

ven z domu i do vzdálenějších míst. Tohle

všechno dělali s dlouhými konzultacemi a

32

of heads together, and talking together in

familiar and unfamiliar languages. And,

finally, they sent Fifine away with a fiddle

twice as beautiful as the one she had

brought, and a roll of money besides!

The child was dumb with astonishment, and

away she flew. But when she stopped

beneath a big chinaberry-tree, to further

scan the roll of money, her wonder was

redoubled. There was far more than she

could count, more than she had ever

dreamed of possessing. Certainly enough to

top the old cabin with new shingles; to put

shoes on all the little bare feet and food into

the hungry mouths. Maybe enough - and

Fifine's heart fairly jumped into her throat at

the vision - maybe enough to buy

Blanchette and her tiny calf that Unc'

Siméon wanted to sell!

"It 's jis like you say, Fifine," murmured old

Cléophas, huskily, when he had played

upon the new fiddle that night. "It 's one

fine fiddle; an' like you say, it shine' like

satin. But some way or udder, 't ain' de

same. Yair, Fifine, take it - put it 'side. I

b'lieve, me, I ain' goin' play de fiddle no

mo'.

mluvili spolu jazykem srozumitelným i

nesrozumitelným. A nakonec poslali Fifi

pryč s houslemi daleko hezčími než ty, které

přinesla a štos peněz k tomu!

Holčička oněměla úžasem a letěla domů.

Když se ale zastavila pod vzrostlým cedrem

aby prohlédla štos peněz, její údiv se

znásobil. Bylo tam mnohem víc než byla

schopná spočítat, víc než si kdy představila,

že by měla. Zajisté dost na to, aby pokryli

starou chajdu novými šindeli, aby obuli

všechny bosé nožky a nakrmili všechny

hladové krky. Možná dost na to – a srdce

Fifi poskočilo s tou vidinou – možná dost

na to, aby koupili Blanchette and její telátko

které prodává strejda Siméon.

„Uplně jak řikáš, Fifin“ zašeptal chraplavě

starý Cléohas když hrál na nové housle

téhož večera, „sou to krásný housle a jak

řikáš, blejskaj se jak satén. Ale takjakotak,

neni to vono. Pocem Fifi, vem je pryč a

někam je vodlož. Myslim, že já už sem na

housle dohrál.“

33

The Bênitous' Slave

OLD Uncle Oswald believed he belonged to

the Bênitous, and there was no getting the

notion out of his head. Monsieur tried every

way, for there was no sense in it. Why, it

must have been fifty years since the

Bênitous owned him. He had belonged to

others since, and had later been freed.

Beside, there was not a Bênitou left in the

parish now, except one rather delicate

woman, who lived with her little daughter in

a corner of Natchitoches town, and

constructed "fashionable millinery." The

family had dispersed, and almost vanished,

and the plantation as well had lost its

identity.

But that made no difference to Uncle

Oswald. He was always running away from

Monsieur - who kept him out of pure

kindness - and trying to get back to those

Bênitous.

More than that, he was constantly getting

injured in such attempts. Once he fell into

the bayou and was nearly drowned. Again

he barely escaped being run down by an

engine. But another time, when he had been

lost two days, and finally discovered in an

unconscious and half-dead condition in the

woods, Monsieur and Doctor Bonfils

reluctantly decided that it was time to "do

something" with the old man.

Strýček Oswald

Starý strýček Oswald věřil, že patřil

Bênitovým a nebylo možné mu tuhle

myšlenku vyhnat z hlavy. Pán to zkoušel

všemi způsoby, protože to nedávalo žádný

smysl. Vždyť už to muselo být 50 let od

doby, co ho rodina Bênitových vlastnila. A

poté patřil i jiným a později byl z otroctví

osvobozen. A navíc, nikdo se jménem Bênit

už teď v okolí nebydlel, kromě jedné

poněkud křehké ženy, která bydlela se svojí

dcerkou na okraji města Natchitoches a

založila „modní kloboučnictví“. Zbytek

rodiny se rozutekl a vytratil a jejich plantáž

také chátrala.

Ale to nikterak nevadilo stýčkovi

Oswaldovi. Stále utíkal pryč od pána, který

ho vydržoval jen díky své bezmezné

dobrosrdečnosti, a snažil se dostat zpět k

těm svým Bênitovým.

Ale co víc, neustále přicházel k úrazům při

svých pokusech o útěk. Jednou spadnul do

řeky a skoro se utopil. Jindy zase jen tak tak

uniknul tomu, aby ho srazil vlak. Když se

ale potom ztratil na dva dny a nakonec ho

našli v bezvědomí a napůl mrtvého v lese,

pán a doktor Bonfils se neradi shodli, že je

na čase s tím staříkem „něco udělat“.

34

So, one sunny spring morning, Monsieur

took Uncle Oswald in the buggy, and drove

over to Natchitoches with him, intending to

take the evening train for the institution in

which the poor creature was to be cared for.

It was quite early in the afternoon when

they reached town, and Monsieur found

himself with several hours to dispose of

before train-time. He tied his horses in front

of the hotel - the quaintest old stuccoed

house, too absurdly unlike a "hotel" for

anything - and entered. But he left Uncle

Oswald seated upon a shaded bench just

within the yard.

There were people occasionally coming in

and going out; but no one took the smallest

notice of the old negro drowsing over the

cane that he held between his knees. The

sight was common in Natchitoches.

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.Just as she passed Uncle Oswald

again, on her way out, the old man, half

asleep, let fall his cane. She picked it up and

handed it back to him, as any nice child

would have done.

"Oh, thankee, thankee, missy," stammered

Uncle Oswald, all confused at being waited

A tak jednoho slunečného jarního dne

naložil pán strýčka Oswalda do vozu a jel s

ním do Natchitoches s úmyslem chytit

večerní vlak a odvézt to nebohé stvoření do

ústavu, kde o něj bude postaráno.

Když dojeli do města, bylo ještě dost brzy

odpoledne a pán měl několik hodin do

odjezdu vlaku. Uvázal svého koně před

hotelem, podivnou starou štukovanou

budovou, která ani zdaleka nevypadala jako

hotel a vešel dovnitř. Strýčka Oswalda

nechal sedět ve stínu na lavičce v

předzahrádce.

Lidé občas přicházeli i odcházeli, ale nikdo

si nevšímal starého černocha, který

podřimoval s holí mezi koleny. Takový

úkaz byl v Natchitoches běžný.

Potom vešla asi dvanáctiletá holčička, měla

tmavé a přívětivé oči, a v rukách roztomile

svírala balíček. Na sobě měla modré šatičky

a na hlavě naškrobený bílý čepec proti

slunci, podle poslední módy, nasazený na

hnědé kudrliny. Když odcházela a znovu

míjela strýčka Oswalda, napůl spící stařík

upustil svou hůlku. Zvedla a podala mu ji,

tak jak se od hodného dítěte sluší.

„Áá, díky, díky, děvenko.“ zakoktal strýček

Oswald, celý zmatený, že mu posloužila

35

upon by this little lady. "You is a putty li'le

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

"My name 's Susanne; Susanne Bênitou,"

replied the girl.

Instantly the old negro stumbled to his feet.

Without a moment's hesitancy he followed

the little one out through the gate, down the

street, and around the corner.

It was an hour later that Monsieur, after a

distracted search, found him standing upon

the gallery of the tiny house in which

Madame Bênitou kept "fashionable

millinery."

Mother and daughter were sorely perplexed

to comprehend the intentions of the

venerable servitor, who stood, hat in hand,

persistently awaiting their orders.

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.

Uncle Oswald never tries to run away now.

He chops wood and hauls water. He

cheerfully and faithfully bears the parcels

that Susanne used to carry; and makes an

excellent cup of black coffee.

I met the old man the other day in

Natchitoches, contentedly stumbling down

tahle mladá dáma. „Ty seš hezký děvče.

Jakpak ti řikaj, kopretinko?“

„Jmenuji se Susanne, Susanne Bênitová.“

odpověděla dívka.

V tom okamžiku byl starý černoch na

nohou. Bez jakéhokoliv váhání následoval

dívenku ven branou, po ulici a dále za roh.

O hodinu později, po roztržitém hledání, ho

pán našel, jak stál na verandě malinkého

domku, kde madam Bênitová provozovala

módní kloboučnictví.

Matka s dcerou byly dočista vyvedeny z

míry, nebyly sto pochopit úmysly

důstojného služebníka, který stál a s

kloboukem v ruce vytrvale čekal na jejich

příkazy.

Pán to chápal, okamžitě porozuměl celé

situaci a přesvědčil madam Bênitovou, aby

přijala bezúplatné služby strýčka Oswalda

pro blaho a bezpečnost toho starého

mouřenína.

Teď už Strýček Oswald nikam neutíká.

Seká dříví a nosí vodu. S radostí a oddaností

nosí balíky, které dříve nosívala Susanne a

také vaří vynikající černou kávu.

Já jsem staříka jednou potkala v

Natchitodes, když se spokojeně šoural ulicí

36

St. Denis street with a basket of figs that

some one was sending to his mistress. I

asked him his name.

"My name 's Oswal', Madam; Oswal' - dat 's

my name. I b'longs to de Bênitous," and

some one told me his story then.

In Sabine

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.

He had come out of Natchitoches parish,

and had been riding a great part of the day

through the big lonesome parish of Sabine.

He was not following the regular Texas

road, but, led by his erratic fancy, was

pushing toward the Sabine River by

circuitous paths through the rolling pine

forests.

As he approached the cabin in the clearing,

he discerned behind a palisade of pine

saplings an old negro man chopping wood.

"Howdy, Uncle," called out the young

fellow, reining his horse. The negro looked

up in blank amazement at so unexpected an

apparition, but he only answered: "How you

do, suh," accompanying his speech by a

series of polite nods.

"Who lives yere?"

Svatého Denise s košíkem plným fíků, který

někdo poslal jeho paní. Zeptala jsem se ho

na jméno.

„Sem Oswald, madam. Oswald se menuju.

Patřim rodině Bênitových.“ A poté mi

někdo vyprávěl jeho příběh.

V kraji Sabine

Pohled na lidské obydlí, i když to byl jen

primitivní srub s komínem z bahna po

straně, byl pro Gregoryho ohromně hřejivý.

Přejel z kraje Natchitoches a jel většinu dne

rozlehlým, osiřelým krajem Sabine. Nejel

obvyklou texaskou cestou, ale, pobízen

tuláckými choutkami, mířil k řece Sabine

zdlouhavou klikatou cestou skrz zvlněné

borové lesy.

Když se přiblížil ke srubu na mýtině, všiml

si starého černocha, který sekal dříví za

palisádou z borových stromků.

„Zdravim, strejci.“ zakřičel mladý muž a

pobídl svého koně. Černoch vzhédl v čistém

úžasu z takového nečekaného zjevení a jen

odvětil: „Dobrej den, váženej pane“ a svůj

pozdrav doprovázel zdvořilým

pokyvováním hlavy.

„Kdo tu bydlí? “

37

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

"Well, if Mr. Bud Aiken c'n affo'd to hire a

man to chop his wood, I reckon he won't

grudge me a bite o' suppa an' a couple hours'

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

"I say dit Mas' Bud Aiken don't hires me to

chop 'ood. Ef I don't chop dis heah, his wife

got it to do. Dat w'y I chops 'ood, suh. Go

right 'long in, suh; you g'ine fine Mas' Bud

some'eres roun', ef he ain't drunk an' gone to

bed."

Grégoire, glad to stretch his legs,

dismounted, and led his horse into the small

inclosure which surrounded the cabin. An

unkempt, vicious-looking little Texas pony

stopped nibbling the stubble there to look

maliciously at him and his fine sleek horse,

as they passed by. Back of the hut, and

running plumb up against the pine wood,

was a small, ragged specimen of a cotton-

field.

Grégoire was rather undersized, with a

square, well-knit figure, upon which his

clothes sat well and easily. His corduroy

trousers were thrust into the legs of his

boots; he wore a blue flannel shirt; his coat

was thrown across the saddle. In his keen

black eyes had come a puzzled expression,

and he tugged thoughtfully at the brown

moustache that lightly shaded his upper lip.

„Taj bydlí muj pán Bad Aiken, váženej

pane.“

„Nu, když si pan Bad Aiken může dovolit

najmout člověka na štípání dřeva, tak

hádám, že mi neodepře něco k zakousnutí k

večeři a pár hodin odpočinku na verandě.

Co ty na to, staříku?“

„A já na to, že mě pan Bad Aiken nenajímá

na štípání dřeva. Dyž todle nenaštípám, tak

to musí udělat jeho žena. To proto štípám

dřevo, váženej pane. Děte hnedky dovnitř,

váženej pane. Pana Bada tam někde

vobjevíte, teda estli už neni pod vobraz a

nešel na kutě.“

Gregory byl rád, že si může protáhnout

nohy, slezl z koně a zavedl ho do malé

ohrady, která obklopovala srub. Malý

texaský poník, zanedbaný a zle vzhlížející,

přestal okusovat oschlé drny trávy, aby si

zlomyslně prohlédl Gregoryho i jeho

krásného lesklého koně, když procházeli

kolem. Vzadu za boudou, směrem k

borovému lesu, se rozkládalo neudržované

políčko s bavlnou.

Gregory byl docela malého vzrůstu a na

jeho statném a urostlém těle sedělo oblečení

jako ulité. Manšestráky měl zastrčené do

vysokých bot, na sobě modrou flanelovou

košili, kabát přehozený přes sedlo. V jeho

pronikavých černých očích se objevil

nechápavý výraz, a zamyšleně si potahoval

38

He was trying to recall when and under

what circumstances he had before heard the

name of Bud Aiken. But Bud Aiken himself

saved Grégoire the trouble of further

speculation on the subject. He appeared

suddenly in the small doorway, which his

big body quite filled; and then Grégoire

remembered. This was the disreputable so-

called "Texan" who a year ago had run

away with and married Baptiste Choupic's

pretty daughter, 'Tite Reine, yonder on

Bayou Pierre, in Natchitoches parish. 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.

Grégoire had known her at the 'Cadian balls

that he sometimes had the hardihood to

attend.

These pleasing recollections of 'Tite Reine

lent a warmth that might otherwise have

been lacking to Grégoire's manner, when he

greeted her husband.

"I hope I fine you well, Mr. Aiken," he

exclaimed cordially, as he approached and

extended his hand.

"You find me damn' porely, suh; but you 've

hnědý knírek, který mu lehce zakrýval horní

ret.

Snažil se vzpomenout, kdy a za jakých

okolností slyšel jméno Bad Aiken předtím.

Ale samotný Bad Aiken ho ušetřil nesnází a

dalších spekulací na to téma. Náhle se

objevil v malých dveřích, které jeho

objemné tělo zcela vyplnilo, a poté si

Gregory vzpomenul. Byl to ten takzvaný

„Texan“ s nevalnou pověstí, který si před

rokem vzal a odvlekl krásnou dceru

Baptisty Choupica jménem Tite Reine tam

na Bayou Pierre v kraji Natchitoches. 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. Grégoire ji znal z akadských

francouzských plesů, které někdy troufale

navštěvoval.

Díky příjemným vzpomínkám na Tite

Reine, pozdravil Gregory jejího manžela s

vřelostí, ktera by jinak chyběla.

„Doufám, že se Vám daří dobře, pane

Aikene.“ zvolal srdečně, když mu podával

ruku.

„Daří si mi sakra bídně, pane, ale chytnul

39

got the better o' me, ef I may so say." He

was a big good-looking brute, with a straw-

colored "horse-shoe" moustache quite

concealing his mouth, and a several days'

growth of stubble on his rugged face. 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.

He had been lying down, and looked frouzy

and half asleep.

"Ef I may so say, you 've got the better o'

me, Mr. - er" -

"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.

"Oh," drawled Aiken, waking up, "one o'

them Red River Sanchuns!" and his face

brightened at the prospect before him of

enjoying the society of one of the Santien

boys. "Mortimer!" he called in ringing chest

tones worthy a commander at the head of

his troop. The negro had rested his axe and

appeared to be listening to their talk, though

he was too far to hear what they said.

"Mortimer, come along here an' take my

frien' Mr. Sanchun's hoss. Git a move thar,

ste mě zrovna v tom lepšim stavu, estli to

tak mám říct.“ Aiken byl veliký, švihácký

hrubián, s knírkem v barvě slámy ve tvaru

podkovy, který mu zakrýval ústa a drsnou

tvář mu pokrývalo několikadenní strniště.

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. Než přišel

návštěvník, polehával, a tak vypadal

neupraveně a nevyspale.

„Chytnul ste mě v lepšim stavu, estli to tak

mám říct, pane... eeee.“

„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.

„A tak,“ zamumlal Aiken, „vy ste jeden z

těch Sanchunů vod Červený řeky!“ a jeho

tvář se rozzářila nad vyhlídkou, že si užije

společnosti jednoho ze Santienových hochů.

„Mortimere!“ zakřičel dunivě z plna hrdla

jako velitel v čele svého vojska. Černoch

odložil sekeru a zdálo se, že poslouchal

jejich rozhovor, ale byl moc daleko na to,

aby slyšel, co říkali.

„Mortimere, pocem a vodveď koně pana

Sanchuna. Koukej pohnout, dělej!“ Poté se

40

git a move!" 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. "Rain!" he

cried again peremptorily; and turning to

Grégoire: "she 's 'tendin' to some or other

housekeepin' truck." 'Tite Reine was back in

the yard feeding the solitary pig which they

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

approached: "I 'm comin', Bud. Yere I

come. W'at you want, Bud?" breathlessly, as

she appeared in the door frame and looked

out upon the narrow sloping gallery where

stood the two men. She seemed to Grégoire

to have changed a good deal. She was

thinner, and her eyes were larger, with an

alert, uneasy look in them; he fancied the

startled expression came from seeing him

there unexpectedly. She wore cleanly

homespun garments, the same she had

brought with her from Bayou Pierre; but her

shoes were in shreds. She uttered only a

low, smothered exclamation when she saw

Grégoire.

"Well, is that all you got to say to my frien'

Mr. Sanchun? That 's the way with them

Cajuns," Aiken offered apologetically to his

guest; "ain't got sense enough to know a

white man when they see one." Grégoire

obrátil směrem ke vchodu srubu a skrz

otevřené dveře zavolal: „Rein!“ takhle

vyslovoval jméno Tite Reine. „Rein!“

zakřičel důrazně znovu, a otočil se k

Grégoirovi: „Dělá něco v domácnosti.“ Tite

Reine byla vzadu na dvorku a krmila jejich

jediné prase, které Aiken záhadně přivezl

před pár dny a tvrdil, že ho koupil v Many.

Když se blížila, Gregory už z dálky slyšel

její volání: „Už du, Bade. Už sem tu. Co

potřebuješ, Bade?“ dořekla bez dechu, když

se objevila ve dveřích a vykoukla na úzkou,

nakloněnou verandu, kde stáli ti dva muži.

Gregorymu připadalo, že se hodně změnila.

Byla hubenější, a její oči byly větší, s

ostražitým, neklidným pohledem. Líbil se

mu její vyděšený výraz z toho, že ho tam

nečekaně vidí. Na sobě měla čistý, prostý

oděv, ten samý, který si přinesla z Bayou

Pierre, ale boty měla rozedrané. Vydala ze

sebe jen tiché, přidušené zvolání, když

uviděla Gregoryho.

„To je všecko, co řekneš mému kamarádovi,

panu Sanchunovi? Takový jsou tihle

Cajunové,“ omlouval se Aiken svému

hostu, „nemaj dost rozumu na to, vážit si

bělocha, když nějakého vidí.“ Gregory ji

41

took her hand.

"I 'm mighty glad to see you, 'Tite Reine,"

he said from his heart. She had for some

reason been unable to speak; now she

panted somewhat hysterically: -

"You mus' escuse me, Mista Grégoire. It 's

the truth I did n' know you firs', stan'in' up

there." A deep flush had supplanted the

former pallor of her face, and her eyes

shone with tears and ill-concealed

excitement.

"I thought you all lived yonda in Grant,"

remarked Grégoire carelessly, making talk

for the purpose of diverting Aiken's

attention away from his wife's evident

embarrassment, which he himself was at a

loss to understand.

"Why, we did live a right smart while in

Grant; but Grant ain't no parish to make a

livin' in. Then I tried Winn and Caddo a

spell; they was n't no better. But I tell you,

suh, Sabine 's a damn' sight worse than any

of 'em. Why, a man can't git a drink o'

whiskey here without going out of the

parish fer it, or across into Texas. I 'm fixin'

to sell out an' try Vernon."

Bud Aiken's household belongings surely

would not count for much in the

contemplated "selling out." The one room

that constituted his home was extremely

vzal za ruku.

„Moc rád Vás vidím, Tite Reine,“ pravil od

srdce. Z nějakého důvodu nebyla schopná

promluvit a začala hystericky sténat.

„Omluvte mě, pane Gregory. Upřímně,

nepoznala sem Vás, jak ste tam tak stál.“

Její předtím bledá tvář zčervenala, oči se jí

zaleskly slzami a špatně skrývaným

vzrušením.

„Myslel jsem, že bydlíte tam v Grantu.“

podotknul Gregory zběžně, tlachal, aby

odvedl pozornost Aikena od rozpaků jeho

ženy, kterým on sám vůbec nerozuměl.

„Nu, my sme si žili okázale v Grantu, ale

Grant neni ten správnej kraj, kde vydělat na

živobytí. Pak jsem na chvíli zkusil Winn a

Caddo, tam to taky za nic nestálo. Ale pane,

řeknu Vám, Sabine je zdaleka nejhorší kraj

z těch všech. Tady člověk ani nesežene

whisky a musí jinam nebo až do Texasu.

Plánuju to tady rozprodat a zkusit Vernon.“

Ale vybavení domácnosti by zcela jistě za

moc nestálo v zamýšleném „rozprodeji“.

Jedna místnost, která představovala celý

jeho domov, byla velice prostá, co se

42

bare of furnishing, - a cheap bed, a pine

table, and a few chairs, that was all. On a

rough shelf were some paper parcels

representing the larder. The mud daubing

had fallen out here and there from between

the logs of the cabin; and into the largest of

these apertures had been thrust pieces of

ragged bagging and wisps of cotton. A tin

basin outside on the gallery offered the only

bathing facilities to be seen.

Notwithstanding these drawbacks, Grégoire

announced his intention of passing the night

with Aiken.

"I 'm jus' goin' to ask the privilege o' layin'

down yere on yo' gall'ry to-night, Mr.

Aiken. My hoss ain't in firs'-class trim; an' a

night's res' ain't goin' to hurt him o' me

either." He had begun by declaring his

intention of pushing on across the Sabine,

but an imploring look from 'Tite Reine's

eyes had stayed the words upon his lips.

Never had he seen in a woman's eyes a look

of such heartbroken entreaty. He resolved

on the instant to know the meaning of it

before setting foot on Texas soil. Grégoire

had never learned to steel his heart against a

woman's eyes, no matter what language

they spoke.

An old patchwork quilt folded double and a

moss pillow which 'Tite Reine gave him out

on the gallery made a bed that was, after all,

not too uncomfortable for a young fellow of

nábytku týče – levná postel, borový stůl, a

pár židlí, to bylo vše. Na nerovné polici

byly nějaké krabice, které představovaly

spižírnu. Bahnitá malta popadala z několika

míst mezi kmeny srubu a v největší štěrbině

byla zastrčená otrhaná pytlovina a chomáč

bavlny. Jediné vybavení, kde se mohl

člověk opláchnout, bylo plechové umyvadlo

venku na verandě. Navzdory všem

nedostatkům, Gregory oznámil svůj úmysl

přespat jednu noc u Aikena.

„Chtěl bych Vás požádal o laskavost. Rád

bych se vyspal tady na verandě přes noc,

pane Aikene. Muj kůň neni zrovna v

nejlepší kondici a jedna noc odpočinku

neúblíží ani jemu ani mě.“ Svoji řeč zahájil

prohlášením, kterak plánuje pokračovat

krajem Sabine, ale prosebný pohled očí Tite

Reine zadržel jeho slova. Nikdy předtím

ještě neviděl v očích ženy tak zdrcený a

žadonivý pohled. V ten moment si usmyslel,

že zjistí, co to znamená, ještě než vkročí na

půdu Texasu. Gregory se nikdy nenaučil

obrnit své srdce lhostejností vůči očím ženy,

ať už mluvily jakýmkoliv jazykem.

Stará deka, pozašívaná z různých kusů,

nadvakrát složená a polštář z mechu, které

mu Tite Reine položila na verandu

posloužily jako postel, která přeci jen

43

rugged habits.

Grégoire slept quite soundly after he laid

down upon his improvised bed at nine

o'clock. He was awakened toward the

middle of the night by some one gently

shaking him. It was 'Tite Reine stooping

over him; he could see her plainly, for the

moon was shining. She had not removed the

clothing she had worn during the day; but

her feet were bare and looked wonderfully

small and white. He arose on his elbow,

wide awake at once. "W'y, 'Tite Reine! w'at

the devil you mean? w'ere 's yo' husban'?"

"The house kin fall on 'im, 't en goin' wake

up Bud w'en he 's sleepin'; he drink' too

much." Now that she had aroused Grégoire,

she stood up, and sinking her face in her

bended arm like a child, began to cry softly.

In an instant he was on his feet.

"My God, 'Tite Reine! w'at 's the matta? you

got to tell me w'at 's the matta." He could no

longer recognize the imperious 'Tite Reine,

whose will had been the law in her father's

household. He led her to the edge of the low

gallery and there they sat down.

Grégoire loved women. He liked their

nearness, their atmosphere; the tones of

their voices and the things they said; their

ways of moving and turning about; the

brushing of their garments when they

passed him by pleased him. He was fleeing

nebyla pro mladíka s drsnými návyky až tak

nepohodlná.

V děvet hodin si lehl na improvizovanou

postel a usnul poměrně tvrdě. Vzbudil se

kolem půlnoci, když s ním někdo jemně

zatřásl. Byla to Tite Reine. Skláněla se nad

ním a viděl ji zřetelně, protože svítil měsíc.

Oblečení, které měla na sobě přes den, si

nepřevlékla, ale měla bosé nohy, které

vypadaly kouzelně malé a bílé. Opřel se o

loket a v tu chvíli byl docela probuzen.

„Co je, Tite Reine! Co se k čertu děje? Kde

je Váš manžel?“

„Na něj může klidně spadnout barák a Bada

to neprobudí. Hrozně pije.“ Teď, když už

Gregoryho vzbudila, postavila se a s tváří

vnořenou do ohnuté paže, jako dítě, začala

tiše plakat. Gregory byl okamžitě na nohou.

„Proboha, Tite Reine! Co se děje? Musíte

mi říct, co se stalo.“ Nepoznával tu bývalou

povýšenou Tite Reine, jejíž vůle bývala

zákonem v otcově domácnosti. Odvedl ji na

okraj nízké verandy a tam se spolu posadili.

Gregory miloval ženy. Měl rád jejich

blízkost, jejich prostředí, tón jejich hlasu, to,

co říkaly, způsob, jakým se pohybovaly a

otáčely, těšilo ho, když si o něj otřely šaty,

když ho míjely. A nyní prchal od bolesti,

kterou mu jedna žena způsobila. Když

44

now from the pain that a woman had

inflicted upon him. When any overpowering

sorrow came to Grégoire he felt a singular

longing to cross the Sabine River and lose

himself in Texas. He had done this once

before when his home, the old Santien

place, had gone into the hands of creditors.

The sight of 'Tite Reine's distress now

moved him painfully.

"W'at is it, 'Tite Reine? tell me w'at it is," he

kept asking her. She was attempting to dry

her eyes on her coarse sleeve. He drew a

handkerchief from his back pocket and

dried them for her.

"They all well, yonda?" she asked,

haltingly, "my popa? my moma? the

chil'en?" Grégoire knew no more of the

Baptiste Choupic family than the post

beside him. Nevertheless he answered:

"They all right well, 'Tite Reine, but they

mighty lonesome of you."

"My popa, he got a putty good crop this

yea'?"

"He made right smart o' cotton fo' Bayou

Pierre."

"He done haul it to the relroad?"

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

"I hope they all ent sole 'Putty Girl'?" she

inquired solicitously.

jakýkoliv zdrcující zármutek dostihl

Gregoryho, cítil vyjímečnou touhu dostat se

na druhý břeh řeky Sabine a zmizet v

Texasu. Předtím to již jednou učinil, když

jeho domov, staré místo Santienů, přešlo do

rukou věřitelů. Pohled na utrpení Tite Reine

s ním bolestně pohnul.

„O co de, Tite Reine? Řekněte mi, o co de.“

ptal se jí pořád znovu. Snažila se utřít si slzy

do hrubého rukávu. Vyndal kapesník ze

zadní kapsy a usušil jí je.

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

se nejistě, „tatík? mamka? děti?“ Gregory

nevěděl o nic víc o rodině Baptisty

Choupica, než o kůlu vedle něj. I přesto

odpověděl:

„Všichni sou v pořádku, Tite Reine, ale moc

se jim po Vás stejská.“

„A co tatík, ouroda byla letos dobrá?“

„Na to, že je to na Bayou Pierre, mu

dopadla skvěle.“

„A už to vodlifroval na železnici?“

„Ne, eště tak úplně neskončil s česáním.“

„Doufám, že neprodali Krasavici?“

vyptávala se starostlivě.

45

"Well, I should say not! Yo' pa says they

ain't anotha piece o' hossflesh in the pa'ish

he 'd want to swap fo' 'Putty Girl.' " She

turned to him with vague but fleeting

amazement, - "Putty Girl" was a cow!

The autumn night was heavy about them.

The black forest seemed to have drawn

nearer; its shadowy depths were filled with

the gruesome noises that inhabit a southern

forest at night time.

"Ain't you 'fraid sometimes yere, 'Tite

Reine?" Grégoire asked, as he felt a light

shiver run through him at the weirdness of

the scene.

"No," she answered promptly, "I ent 'fred o'

nothin' 'cep' Bud."

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

"Mista Grégoire," drawing close to him and

whispering in his face, "Bud 's killin' me."

He clasped her arm, holding her near him,

while an expression of profound pity

escaped him. "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." Grégoire glanced back

over his shoulder toward the room where

„Inu, to rozhodně ne! Váš tatík tvrdí, že v

celym kraji neni takovej kůň, kterýho by

chtěl vyměnit za Krasavici.“ Otočila se na

něj s váhavým, ale kratičkým úžasem, –

Krasavice byla kráva!

Byla pronikavá podzimní noc. Temný les

jakoby se přiblížil a jeho tajemné hlubiny

byly plné děsivých zvuků, které obývají

jižanský les v době noci.

„Nebojíte se tu někdy, Tite Reine?“ zeptal

se Gregory, když pocítil lehké zamrazení z

podivnosti té končiny.

„Ne,“ odpověděla okamžitě, „nebojim se

ničeho, kromě Bada.“

„Takže se k Vám chová surově? Já si to

myslel!“

„Pane Gregory,“ přiblížila se k němu a

šeptala mu do tváře, „Bad mě trýzní.“

Chytil ji za paži a přitáhl k sobě, výraz

hluboké lítosti se mu mihnul ve tváři.

„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.“ Gregory pohlédl přes

46

the man lay sleeping. He was wondering if

it would really be a criminal act to go then

and there and shoot the top of Bud Aiken's

head off. He himself would hardly have

considered it a crime, but he was not sure of

how others might regard the act.

"That 's w'y I wake you up, to tell you," she

continued. "Then sometime' he plague me

mos' crazy; he tell me 't ent no preacher, it 's

a Texas drummer w'at marry him an' me; an'

w'en I don' know w'at way to turn no mo',

he say no, it 's a Meth'dis' archbishop, an'

keep on laughin' 'bout me, an' I don' know

w'at the truth!"

Then again, she told how Bud had induced

her to mount the vicious little mustang

"Buckeye," knowing that the little brute

would n't carry a woman; and how it had

amused him to witness her distress and

terror when she was thrown to the ground.

"If I would know how to read an' write, an'

had some pencil an' paper, it 's long 'go I

would wrote to my popa. But it 's no pos'-

office, it 's no relroad, - nothin' in Sabine.

An' you know, Mista Grégoire, Bud say he

's goin' carry me yonda to Vernon, an'

fu'ther off yet, - 'way yonda, an' he 's goin'

turn me loose. Oh, don' leave me yere,

Mista Grégoire! don' leave me behine you!"

she entreated, breaking once more into sobs.

" 'Tite Reine," he answered, "do you think I

rameno směrem k místnosti, kde její muž

spal. Přemýšlel, zda-li by to byl skutečný

zločin, kdyby tam šel a ustřelil mu hlavu.

On sám by to stěží považoval za zločin, ale

nebyl si jistý, jak by takový čin posoudili

ostatní.

„Proto sem Vás vzbudila, abych Vám to

řekla,“ pokračovala. „A někdy mě sužuje

úplně šíleným způsobem. Řiká, že to nebyl

kazatel, ale texaskej putovní prodejce, kerej

nás voddával. A dyž už nevim, kam se

vobrátit, řekne, ne, byl to metodistickej

arcibiskup a pořád se mi směje a já nevim,

co je pravda.“

Dále mu pověděla, jak ji Bad přinutil

nasednout na zlomyslného malého

mustanga „Buckeyeho“, když dobře věděl,

že ta malá bestie nesveze ženu, a jak ho to

pobavilo, když ji schodil na zem a on mohl

být svědkem jejího utrpení a zděšení.

„Dybych uměla číst a psát a měla tužku a

papír, už dávno bych napsala tátovi. Ale

neni tu pošta, železnice, nic tady v Sabine.

A víte, pane Gregory, Bad řiká, že mě

vodveze dál, do Vernonu a pak ještě dál a že

mě tam nechá a vopustí. Nenechte mě tady,

pane Gregory! Nevopouštějte mě!“ žadonila

a začala znovu vzlykat.

„Tite Reine,“ odpověděl, „myslíte, že jsem

47

'm such a low-down scound'el as to leave

you yere with that" - He finished the

sentence mentally, not wishing to offend the

ears of 'Tite Reine.

They talked on a good while after that. She

would not return to the room where her

husband lay; the nearness of a friend had

already emboldened her to inward revolt.

Grégoire induced her to lie down and rest

upon the quilt that she had given to him for

a bed. She did so, and broken down by

fatigue was soon fast asleep.

He stayed seated on the edge of the gallery

and began to smoke cigarettes which he

rolled himself of périque tobacco. He might

have gone in and shared Bud Aiken's bed,

but preferred to stay there near 'Tite Reine.

He watched the two horses, tramping slowly

about the lot, cropping the dewy wet tufts of

grass.

Grégoire smoked on. He only stopped when

the moon sank down behind the pine-trees,

and the long deep shadow reached out and

enveloped him. Then he could no longer see

and follow the filmy smoke from his

cigarette, and he threw it away. Sleep was

pressing heavily upon him. He stretched

himself full length upon the rough bare

boards of the gallery and slept until day-

break.

Bud Aiken's satisfaction was very genuine

takovej podlej mizera, že bych Vás tady

nechal s takovym...“ – větu dokončil v

duchu, protože nechtěl Tite Reine pohoršit.

Poté ještě docela dlouho povídali. Nevrátila

se do místnosti, kde ležel její manžel,

blízkost kamaráda jí dodala odvahy k

vnitřní vzpouře. Gregory ji přiměl k tomu,

aby si lehla a odpočinula na dece, kterou

pro něj předtím připravila. Položila se tedy a

vyčerpená únavou, brzy hluboce usnula.

On zůstal sedět na okraji verandy a začal

kouřit cigarety, které si ubalil z tabáku

périque. Mohl jít dovnitř a podělit se o

postel s Badem Aikenem, ale dal přednost

tomu, že zůstat v blízkosti Tite Reine.

Pozoroval ty dva koně, jak pomalu

podupávají v ohradě a pasou se na

orosených trsech trávy.

Gregory kouřil dál. Přestal teprve, když

měsíc sestoupil za borovice a vynořil se

dlouhý hluboký stín, který ho obklopil. Poté

již neviděl a nemohl sledovat tenoučký kouř

z cigarety, a tak ji zahodil. Únavou už

nemohl udržet oči otevřené. Natáhl se na

drsná holá prkna na verandě a spal až do

úsvitu.

Bad Aiken byl upřímně potěšen, když se

48

when he learned that Grégoire proposed

spending the day and another night with

him. He had already recognized in the

young creole a spirit not altogether

uncongenial to his own.

'Tite Reine cooked breakfast for them. She

made coffee; of course there was no milk to

add to it, but there was sugar. From a meal

bag that stood in the corner of the room she

took a measure of meal, and with it made a

pone of corn bread. She fried slices of salt

pork. Then Bud sent her into the field to

pick cotton with old Uncle Mortimer. The

negro's cabin was the counterpart of their

own, but stood quite a distance away hidden

in the woods. He and Aiken worked the

crop on shares.

Early in the day Bud produced a grimy pack

of cards from behind a parcel of sugar on

the shelf. Grégoire threw the cards into the

fire and replaced them with a spic and span

new "deck" that he took from his

saddlebags. He also brought forth from the

same receptacle a bottle of whiskey, which

he presented to his host, saying that he

himself had no further use for it, as he had

"sworn off" since day before yesterday,

when he had made a fool of himself in

Cloutierville.

They sat at the pine table smoking and

playing cards all the morning, only desisting

dozvěděl, že Gregory přišel s tím, že s ním

stráví další den a noc. V mladém Kreolovi

rozpoznal povahu, která nebyla neslučitelná

s tou jeho.

Tite Reine jim uvařila snídani. Připravila

kávu, mléko samozřejmě žádné nebylo, ale

cukr ano. Z pytle mouky, který stál v rohu

místnosti, odměřila dávku a udělala

kukuřičný chléb. Usmažila v soli naložené

vepřové maso. Bad jí poté poslal česat

bavlnu na pole se strýčkem Mortimerem.

Černochova bouda byla obdobou jejich

srubu, ale stála poměrně daleko ukrytá v

lese. On i Aiken se dělili o sklizeň.

Na začátku dne vytáhl Bad, zpoza pytlíku

cukru na polici, ušmudlaný balíček karet.

Gregory hodil karty do ohně a nahradil je

zcela novým, čistým balíčkem karet, který

vyndal z brašny sedla. Z téže brašny také

donesl láhev whisky, kterou předal svému

hostiteli, s odůvodněním, že už pro ni nemá

užití, protože se zřekl alkoholu předevčírem,

když ze sebe udělal hlupáka v Cloutierville.

Celé dopoledne seděli u stolu, kouřili a hráli

karty, přestali pouze, když je Tite Reine

49

when 'Tite Reine came to serve them with

the gumbo-filé that she had come out of the

field to cook at noon. She could afford to

treat a guest to chicken gumbo, for she

owned a half dozen chickens that Uncle

Mortimer had presented to her at various

times. There were only two spoons, and

'Tite Reine had to wait till the men had

finished before eating her soup. She waited

for Grégoire's spoon, though her husband

was the first to get through. It was a very

childish whim.

In the afternoon she picked cotton again;

and the men played cards, smoked, and Bud

drank.

It was a very long time since Bud Aiken had

enjoyed himself so well, and since he had

encountered so sympathetic and

appreciative a listener to the story of his

eventful career. The story of 'Tite Reine's

fall from the horse he told with much spirit,

mimicking quite skillfully the way in which

she had complained of never being

permitted "to teck a li'le pleasure,"

whereupon he had kindly suggested

horseback riding. Grégoire enjoyed the

story amazingly, which encouraged Aiken

to relate many more of a similar character.

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

přišla obsloužit s „gumbo-filé“ – hustou

polévkou typickou pro Lousianu. Mohla

hostu dopřát kuřecí gumbo, protože

vlastnila půl tuctu slepic, které jí strejček

Mortimer věnoval v průběhu času. Měli jen

dvě lžíce a tak Tite Reine musela počkat, až

muži dojedí, než si mohla sníst svoji

polévku. Počkala na lžíci od Gregoryho, i

když její manžel dojedl první. Byl to

dětinský truc.

Odpoledne opět česala bavlnu a muži hráli

harty, kouřili a Bad popíjel.

Už dávno se Bad Aiken takhle královsky

nebavil a nepotkal tak zúčastněného a

vděčného posluchače příběhů ze svého

rušného života. S velkým zápalem vyprávěl

historku, o tom, jak Tite Reine spadla z

koně a celkem dovedně napodoboval

způsob, jakým si postěžovala, že si už nikdy

nedopřeje „takovýdle radůstky“ kdykoliv

poté navrhnul zajezdit si na koni.

Gregoryho ta historka ohromně pobavila,

čímž povzbudil Aikena, aby vyprávěl další

a další, podobného rázu. Jak ubíhalo

odpoledne, vytratila se mezi nimi veškerá

formálnost, potykali si a Gregory potěšil

duši Aikena, když slíbil, že s ním stráví

týden. Tite Reine byla též pohnutá

bezstarostnou atmosférou, a tak usmažila

50

soul by promising to spend a week with

him. 'Tite Reine was also touched by the

spirit of recklessness in the air; it moved her

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

delicious odor of the pines floating upon the

air. But the three did not sit up to enjoy it.

Before the stroke of nine, Aiken had already

fallen upon his bed unconscious of

everything about him in the heavy drunken

sleep that would hold him fast through the

night. It even clutched him more relentlessly

than usual, thanks to Grégoire's free gift of

whiskey.

The sun was high when he awoke. He lifted

his voice and called imperiously for 'Tite

Reine, wondering that the coffee-pot was

not on the hearth, and marveling still more

that he did not hear her voice in quick

response with its, "I 'm comin', Bud. Yere I

come." He called again and again.

Then he arose and looked out through the

back door to see if she were picking cotton

in the field, but she was not there. He

dragged himself to the front entrance.

Grégoire's bed was still on the gallery, but

the young fellow was nowhere to be seen.

Uncle Mortimer had come into the yard, not

dvě kuřata k večeři. Byla vítečně usmažená

na sádle. Po večeři opět nachystala postel

pro Gregoryho na verandě.

Nastala klidná a krásná noc, ve vzduchu se

nesla libá vůně borovic. Ale ti tři nezůstali

vzhůru, aby si ji užili. Ještě než odbyla

devátá hodina, Aiken padnul do postele a za

chvíli o sobě nevěděl, na celou noc ho

přemohl hluboký opilecký spánek Zmocnil

se ho vytrvaleji než obvykle, díky daru

whisky od Gregoryho.

Když se vzbubil, slunce bylo vysoko.

Vysokým a panovačným hlasem zavolal na

Tite Reine, a divil se, že konvice na kávu

není na plotně, a s ještě větším úžasem, že

neslyšel její rychlou reakci: „Už du Bade,

taj sem.“ Volal znovu a znovu.

Potom vstal a podíval se skrz otevřené zadní

devře, zda-li na poli nečeše bavlnu, ale

nebyla tam. Dovlekl se k předním dveřím.

Gregoryho postel byla stále na verandě, ale

mladík nebyl nikde v dohledu.

Strejček Mortimer stál před domem, ne aby

51

to cut wood this time, but to pick up the axe

which was his own property, and lift it to

his shoulder.

"Mortimer," called out Aiken, "whur 's my

wife?" at the same time advancing toward

the negro. Mortimer stood still, waiting for

him. " Whur 's my wife an' that Frenchman?

Speak out, I say, before I send you to h - l."

Uncle Mortimer never had feared Bud

Aiken; and with the trusty axe upon his

shoulder, he felt a double hardihood in the

man's presence. The old fellow passed the

back of his black, knotty hand unctuously

over his lips, as though he relished in

advance the words that were about to pass

them. He spoke carefully and deliberately:

"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."

Aiken uttered a terrific oath. "Saddle up

Buckeye," he yelled, "before I count twenty,

or I 'll rip the black hide off yer. Quick,

thar! Thur ain't nothin' fourfooted top o' this

earth that Buckeye can't run down." Uncle

Mortimer scratched his head dubiously, as

he answered: -

"Yas, Mas' Bud, but you see, Mr. Sanchun,

he done cross de Sabine befo' sun-up on

Buckeye."

štípal dřevo, ale aby sebral sekeru, která

byla jeho vlastní a pozvedl ji na rameno.

„Mortimere,“ zvolal Aiken, „kde mam

ženu?“ a blížil se k černochovi. Mortimer

zůstal stál bez hnutí a čekal na něj. „Kde je

moje žena a ten Francouz? Řikam ti, mluv,

než tě pošlu někam.“

Strejček Mortimer z Bada nikdy strach

neměl, a se svojí spolehlivou sekerou na

rameni se cítil dvakrát tak neohrožený v

jeho přítomnosti. Stařík si přejel svou

černou, vrásčitou rukou přes ústa s

předstíranou upřímností, jako kdyby si

vychutnával dopředu slova, která se chystal

vyřknout. Mluvil obezřetně a rozvážně:

„Pani Reine,“ říkal, „počitam, že musela

bejt blízko kraje Natchitodes někdy kolem

půlnoci na tom rychlym koni pana

Sanchuna.“

Aiken hrůzostrašně zaklel. „Nasedlej

Buckeyho,“ zařval, „než napočitam do

dvaceti, nebo z tebe servu tu černou kůži.

No dělej! Na celym světě neni nic

čtyřnohýho, co by Buckeye nedoběhnul.“

Strejček Mortimer se nejistě poškrábal na

hlavě a odpověděl:-

„To jistě, pane Bade, ale víte, pan Sanchun

projel Sabine na Buckeyem ještě před

úsvitem.“

52

Old Aunt Peggy

When the war was over, old Aunt Peggy

went to Monsieur, and said: -

"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'."

Monsieur and Madame were very much

touched at this mark of affection and fidelity

from Aunt Peggy. 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. Madame did not even

forget the very comfortable rocking-chair in

which Aunt Peggy might "set down," as she

herself feelingly expressed it, "an' wait fu de

en'."

She has been rocking ever since.

At intervals of about two years Aunt Peggy

hobbles up to the house, and delivers the

stereotyped address which has become more

than familiar: -

"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

Teta Peggy

Když bylo po válce, stará teta Peggy šla za

pánem a řekla mu:

„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.“

Takové vyjádření citů a věrnosti staré tety

Peggy hluboce pána a madam dojalo. A

proto, když začala rekonstrukce plantáže

hned po kapitulaci Jihu, byla staré ženě

přidělena příjemná chaloupka, na

příhodném místě na plantáži. Madam

nezapomněla dokonce ani na pohodlné

houpací křeslo, na které si může teta Peggy

„dřepnout“ jak sama procítěně vyjádřila a

„čekat na svuj konec“.

A od té doby se houpe v křesle.

Přibližne v dvouletých intervalech se teta

Peggy dobelhá k pánovu domu a pronese

proslov, který se stal již více než známým.

„Milostpani, sem tady, abych vás všecky

naposled viděla. Musim si vás dobře

prohlídnout. Musim vidět děcka – ty velký a

i ty malý. Musim vidět vobrázky a fotky a

pijáno a všecko, než bude pozdě. Jedno

53

'fo' it 's too late. 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."

After such a visit Aunt Peggy invariably

returns to her cabin with a generously filled

apron.

The scruple which Monsieur one time felt in

supporting a woman for so many years in

idleness has entirely disappeared. Of

wonder at the surprising age which an old

black woman may attain when she sets her

mind to it, for Aunt Peggy is a hundred and

twenty-five, so she says.

It may not be true, however. Possibly she is

older.

voko je už nadobro pryč a to druhý neni vo

moc lepčí. Může se stát každym dnem, že

chudák vaše teta Peggy bude slepá jak

netopejr.“

Po takové návštěvě se teta Peggy pokaždé

vrací do své chaloupky s bohatě naplněnou

zástěrou.

Již dávno se vytratily pánovy ohledy na

ženu, kterou po tolik let podporuje v

nečinnosti. To, co cítí k tetě Peggy v

poslední době je jen hluboký údiv –

zázrak, že stará černoška je schopná dožít

se tak neuvěřitelně vysokého věku, když si

umane, protože tetě Peggy je sto dvacet pět

let. Alespoň to říká.

Třeba to ale není pravda. Je možné, že je

ještě starší.

54

Glossary

comme ça takhle

corbeille košík darů od ženicha pro něvěstu

cochon de lait prasátko

peignoir župan

layette výbavička novorozeněte

Dieu merci Díky bohu

55

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)

56

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)

57

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“

58

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.

59

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.

60

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.

61

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

62

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

64

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 “culture-

specific” 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

Mr Sublet – pan Sublet

Evariste – Evariste

Martinette – Martinette

Mr. Léonce – pan Léonc

Aunt Dicey – teta Dicey

Aunt Dice – teta Dais

Wilkins – Wilkins

Mr Hallet – pan Hallet

Archie Sublet – Archie Sublet

Jake Baptiste – Jake Baptiste

Evariste Anatole Bonamour – Evariste

Anatole Bonamour

Desiree – Dezire, Dezirka

Madame Valmonde – madam Valmonde

Armand Aubigny – Armand Aubigny

Monsieur Valmonde – monsiér

Valmonde

Zandrine – Zandrine

La Blanche – La Blanche

Negrillon – Negrillon

Cléophas – Cléophas

Fifine – Fifi

Blanchette – Blanchette

Unc' Siméon – strejda Siméon

Uncle Oswald – strýček Oswald

the Bênitous – rodina Bênitových

Bênitou – Bênit

Doctor Bonfils – doktor Bonfils

Susanne Bênitou – Susanne Bênitová

Madame Bênitou – madam Bênitová

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Grégoire – Gregory

Bud Aiken – Bad Aiken

Baptiste Choupic – Baptiste Choupic

Tite Reine – Tite Reine

Mortimer – Mortimer

Rain – Rein

'Putty Girl – Krasavice

Buckeye – Buckeye

Aunt Peggy – teta Peggy

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

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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

79

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 Afro-

Americans 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.

80

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.

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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.

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Koloski, Bernard. "Short Stories." KateChopin.org. Kate Chopin International Society, 8

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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

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