〈接續〉

　　“噢，我會的！我會的！”

　　“你肯定不會，女兒。只有性情一樣的人結婚，才會得到幸福。”

　　斯佳麗突然恨不得喊出來:“可你不是很幸福嗎?而你跟媽媽可不是一類人。”但是她憋著沒說，怕把這無理的話說出來會吃爸爸的耳光。

　　“咱家人和韋爾克斯家的人不一樣。”他說得很慢，搜尋著字眼，“韋爾克斯家的人和咱們這一帶的人都不一樣——和我認識的每一家都不一樣。他家人有點兒古怪，他們最好在表親之間通婚，把這種怪癖留在他們自己家族裡面。”

　　“瞧你，爸爸，阿希禮並不——”

　　“別急，閨女！我可沒說這年輕人不好，我還挺喜歡他呢。我說古怪可不是說瘋。他的古怪樣兒和別人都不一樣，不像卡爾弗特家的人那樣能把全部家當都賭在一匹馬身上，也不像塔爾頓家的人那樣經常喝得酩酊大醉，也不像方丹家的人那樣頭腦發熱、瘋狂粗野，動不動就想要人的命。那種怪是容易理解的，沒錯，要不是上帝慈悲，我傑拉爾德·奧哈拉也會有所有這些毛病的！我不是說你嫁了阿希禮以後，他會和別的女人私奔，或者是打罵你。要是那樣的話，你倒會覺得好受些呢，因為這些至少你都能理解。但是他古怪得不一般，你根本不可能理解他。我喜歡他，可他說的那些話真讓我摸不著頭腦。好了，閨女，跟我說真話，對書啦，詩啦，音樂啦，油畫啦，以及這一類沒用的玩意兒，他說的那些廢話，你能理解嗎?”

　　“噢，爸爸，要是我和他結了婚，我會改變這一切的。”

　　“噢，你會的，你現在能做到嗎?”傑拉爾德發火了，狠狠瞪了她一眼，“你對任何一個男人的了解都少得可憐，更不用說對阿希禮了。沒有哪個妻子能把丈夫改變一厘一毫，你可別忘了這一點。至於說改變韋爾克斯家的人——那你就更不用夢想了！他們一家子全都那樣，多少年來一直沒變過。很可能以後永遠都是那樣。我告你，那一家天生都是怪人。瞧瞧他們那德行，一會兒跑到紐約，一會兒跑到波士頓，為的就是去聽歌劇、看油畫。還從北佬那裡一木箱一木箱地訂購法國書和德國書！一家人整天就知道坐在那裡看書，不知道在做些什麽黃粱美夢，把大好的時光統統浪費掉了，本該去打獵，去玩牌，去幹那些正經男子漢該乾的事嘛。”

　　“Oh， I would！ I would！”

　　“That you would not， daughter. Only when like marries like can there be any happiness.”

　　Scarlett had a sudden treacherous desire to cry out，“But you’ve been happy， and you and Mother aren’t alike，” but she repressed it， fearing that he would box her ears for her impertinence.

　　“Our people and the Wilkes are different，” he went on slowly， fumbling for words.“The Wilkes are different from any of our neighbors—different from any family I ever knew. They are queer folk，

and it’s best that they marry their cousins and keep their queerness to themselves.”　　“Why， Pa， Ashley is not—”

　　“Hold your whist， Puss！ I said nothing against the lad， for I like him. And when I say queer， it’s not crazy I’m meaning. He’s not queer like the Calverts who’d gamble everything they have on a horse， or the Tarletons who turn out a drunkard or two in every litter， or the Fontaines who are hot-headed little brutes and after murdering a man for a fancied slight. That kind of queerness is easy to understand for sure， and but for the grace of God Gerald O’Hara would be having all those faults！ And I don’t mean that Ashley would run off with another woman， if you were his wife， or beat you. You’d be happier if he did， for at least you’d be understanding that. But he’s queer in other ways， and there’s no understanding him at all. I like him， but it’s neither heads nor tails I can make of most he says. Now， Puss， tell me true， do you understand his folderol about books and poetry and music and oil paintings and such foolishness?”

　　“Oh， Pa，” cried Scarlett impatiently，“if I married him， I’d change all that！”

　　“Oh， you would， would you now?” said Gerald testily， shooting a sharp look at her.“Then it’s little enough you are knowing of any man living， let alone Ashley. No wife has ever changed a husband one whit， and don’t you be that. And as for changing a Wilkes—God’s nightgown， daughter！ The whole family is that way， and they’ve always been that way. And probably always will. I tell you they’re born queer. Look at the way they go tearing up to New York and Boston to hear operas and see oil paintings. And ordering French and German books by the crate from the Yankees！ And there they sit reading and dreaming the dear God knows what， when they’d be better spending their time hunting and poker as proper men should.”

　　以上摘自美國小說《飄》

　　以上文字很有意思，特別是Scarlett的父親一句:……沒有哪個妻子能夠成功改變丈夫一厘一毫……，太有意思了，東西方文化雖不同，人之本性相同，本性天生而來，要改變本性是不能的，有的只是對於本性的約束***。

　　男人和女人結合，本質是本性的互相理解和接納，但不是互相改變。

　　〈待續〉