美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Unforgivable Love' Resets Steamy 'Dangerous Liaisons' In 1940s Harlem

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In the new book "Unforgivable Love," you will find a lot of hot, steamy and dangerous liaisons¹. And it is, indeed, a retelling of the 1782 French novel "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." This version has just as much betrayal and bed-hopping as the original. But it's set in a glamorous² 1940s Harlem. Author Sophfronia Scott joins us now. Welcome to the program.

SOPHFRONIA SCOTT: Thank you, Lulu. I am happy to be here.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There are so many versions of this book over the centuries. And I must say I've loved them all. This is the first time, though, this story of aristocrats³ behaving badly has been set in Harlem. Tell me about the world that these characters inhabit.

SCOTT: You know, I wanted to create a world that - where money wasn't an issue and to tell a story about the Harlem elite⁴ that you don't really hear much about. You know, I first learned about this particular society in Harlem through the story of Madam C.J. Walker, you know, who's one of the first black women millionaires, from her hair-care products and all. And I just thought, well, what if this decadent⁵, beautiful story played out among the elite of Harlem, you know, people who went to the fabulous⁶ nightclubs and listened to all the wonderful jazz that was going on there?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And wore Christian⁷ Dior, yeah.

SCOTT: Exactly. Wore the styles of Paris. I kept thinking about people like Lena Horne, you know, and the beautiful gowns that she wore in those movies. I thought, let's tell that story that way.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I want to get to the physicality of this book in a minute. But I - you know, you are talking about how familiar this tale is. But in your version, lots of assumptions about the story are subverted⁸. Let's start with the main character of the countess, who, in your book, is Mae Malveaux, and what sets her on a path of vengeance⁹ is the loss of her first love, who is a woman.

SCOTT: Yes. You know, I went into this rebuilding these characters because I was curious about them. And in the original novel and also in the Christopher Hampton play on Broadway, there's a moment where - you know, the whole thing is, you know, she wants to get this young girl seduced¹¹. But there's a moment in the play and in the book where she says, you know, if I were willing to cross that line, I would do it myself. And I just - whenever I see that moment in the play or read that, it was like, whoa, what is that about?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right. Right. So the Valmont character in your book is Valiant¹² Jackson. And he's such an archetype in books but also in our dating lives. We all...

(LAUGHTER)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: There's this idea - the playboy who finds love and can be rehabilitated¹³, which, by the way, I think, is a complete myth. But your Valiant has a rich character development. Who was this character for you?

SCOTT: I have to admit I kept seeing Denzel Washington in my head as I was writing this.

(LAUGHTER)

SCOTT: Someone with such a blinding smile. And - but, you know, the thing that fascinates me about Denzel Washington's character is that there is a vulnerability about so many of the characters that he plays.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Right.

SCOTT: And I felt that at the heart of the Valmont character - that there was something about him that made him vulnerable to falling in love. And I never saw that in any of these versions. I felt no other version got to the heart of why this is. And that's why the Jackie Robinson event is key in this book - that he sees Jackie Robinson cross the color line. He's present the day that happens in baseball. And he starts to see, well, maybe there is a reason to be a better person. And that's sort of swimming around in his brain. But then when he's in the process of trying to seduce¹⁰ Elizabeth Townsend, he unexpectedly finds out that there is good in the world. This woman affirms it for him, confirms it for him. And she lets him see that there's not only good in the world. There's good for him. And it brings out something in him that he just does not expect.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: How does race function in the book for you?

SCOTT: You know, on a certain level, I wanted to write a book where that question wasn't there. And yet it still bubbles up, even when that, you know, wasn't my intention. Here's a man who has all the money in the world, and yet he knows that there is a limit to who he can be and what he can be. So why be good? But Jackie Robinson touches his humanity in a certain way. You know, people are throwing stuff at Robinson and calling him all sorts of names. But he tips his hat to the crowd, and he behaves in a very gentleman-like way. And that touches Val. You know, so he realizes you have to live above this ugliness in the world. And so even though I didn't intend to go that route, it came up anyway because that's what it is. It's here. It's all around us.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Sex - we have to talk about it...

(LAUGHTER)

SCOTT: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: ...Because, obviously, it's such a huge part of this story in all of its incarnations and yours in particular. I'm curious - how do you write good sex scenes? Because yours are good. I mean, how do you do that without sort of devolving into just sort of something a little bit pureaux (ph)?

SCOTT: Yeah, and cartoonish, right?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah.

SCOTT: I think, sometimes, writers approach sex scenes as something that they're trying to describe. But it's really about expressing what is actually happening to a person. Not just the physical aspect but, you know, how it captures your spirit when you really connect with someone physically¹⁴. So I don't know. I can't describe it other than to say I was just trying to be real.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The women in the book really own their own sexuality. And they are somewhere on a voyage of discovery. Others are simply claiming their ground on this. Was that important to have the woman really own their sexuality in this?

SCOTT: Yes. I loved being able to show that journey from all of these different angles, from a woman who is so skilled and seductive as Mae is. And then you have someone like Elizabeth, who is a grown woman and beautiful, and yet does not know who she is sexually. But then you have this young woman Cecily, who is totally naive¹⁵. You know, she's a teenager when we meet her. And yet it's all one. It's like this - the same road, and all of these women are on different parts of it. And to see where it can take them, you know, where they choose to take this road when they're on it - is huge for them. You know, they change?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Was there something personal that inspired you to take that journey?

SCOTT: I suppose I'm fearless in a certain way, in terms of my physical being. And I've been told that I can be intimidating¹⁶. And it's only an intimidation¹⁷ that comes of just being confident in the way I move through a room. But to me, it's like, well, that's not just me. Anybody can be like that. And I've been on a journey to come to this point. So if I can show how this journey can turn out for other people, you know, maybe that can help. I don't know.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Or inspire.

SCOTT: Inspire, yeah.

 

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Sophfronia Scott is the author of "Unforgivable Love." Thank you so much. You're welcome, Lulu.

1 liaisons   

n.联络( liaison的名词复数 )；联络人；（尤指一方或双方已婚的）私通；组织单位间的交流与合作

参考例句：

• She embarked on a series of sexual liaisons with society figures. 她开始接二连三地与社会名流有染。 来自辞典例句
• One of Wentworth's favorite movies is Dangerous Liaisons. went最喜欢的电影之一是《危险关系》。 来自互联网

2 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

3 aristocrats   

n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 decadent   

adj.颓废的，衰落的，堕落的

参考例句：

• Don't let decadent ideas eat into yourselves.别让颓废的思想侵蚀你们。
• This song was once banned, because it was regarded as decadent.这首歌曾经被认定为是靡靡之音而被禁止播放。

6 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 subverted   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Their wills could be subverted only by death. 只有死神才能使他们放弃他们的意志。 来自教父部分
• Indiana State laws deliberately subverted the intent of the constitutions 14th Amendment. 印第安纳州的法律有意歪曲联邦宪法第十四条修正案的愿意。 来自辞典例句

9 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

10 seduce   

vt.勾引，诱奸，诱惑，引诱

参考例句：

• She has set out to seduce Stephen.她已经开始勾引斯蒂芬了。
• Clever advertising would seduce more people into smoking.巧妙策划的广告会引诱更多的人吸烟。

11 seduced   

诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money. 高额利润的许诺诱使他把钱出了手。
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。

12 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

13 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

14 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

15 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

16 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

17 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。