时代周刊:假如希拉里没有嫁给克林顿(4)

Three very different television series, but in each Hillary finds herself hamstrung by her husband's misdeeds.

三部电视剧彼此截然不同，但每一部里的希拉里最后都被丈夫拖累了。

Considering Hillary is Hillary and Bill is Bill,

就拿《希拉里是希拉里，比尔是比尔》来说，

I don't think it's giving too much away to say that after breaking up early in Rodham,

在我看来，要说二人在《罗德姆》中早早分手后，

the characters do not retreat into quiet lives of academia.

他们也未能重回校园时候的宁静生活，这么说应该不算剧透过多吧。

As they both run for office, Sittenfeld theorizes that when it came to their political ambitions,

就在二人双双竞选时，据西滕费尔德推测，就政治野心而言，

Bill always needed Hillary more than Hillary needed Bill.

通常都是比尔需要希拉里比希拉里需要比尔更多。

Sittenfeld, an admitted Hillary Clinton fan,

西滕菲尔德，她自己也承认自己是希拉里·克林顿的粉丝，

reflects on real-life Hillary's outsize role in Bill's capturing the presidency¹ through compelling vignettes.

着眼于现实生活中的希拉里在通过令人信服的小插曲帮助比尔夺得总统宝座过程中扮演的巨大作用。

In her reimagining of the infamous² 1992 60 Minutes interview—

在她对1992年轰动一时的《60分钟》采访——

the one in which a confident Hillary defended her husband amid allegations of infidelity, ultimately saving his candidacy—

就是在那次采访中，在丈夫面临不忠指控的情况下，一脸自信的希拉里毅然选择了为丈夫辩护，终于才保住了比尔的候选人资格——的重新想象中，

a different wife, meek³ and teary-eyed, sits beside Clinton and dooms⁴ his campaign.

希拉里变成了一位不一样的，温顺，眼里噙满泪水地坐在克林顿身边，眼看着他的竞选活动走向失败的妻子。

Meanwhile, in this fictional⁵ world, Hillary still faces sexism and defamatory rumors⁶, including one about a murder for hire.

此外，在西滕菲尔德）虚构的世界里，希拉里还是陷入了性别歧视和诽谤谣言之中，包括一起买凶杀人的谣言。

But without Bill's baggage, she's able to handle controversy⁷ more deftly⁸

不过，没有了比尔拖累的希拉里反而能够更灵巧地应对争议，

and answer questions more openly without worrying she may appear hypocritical.

更公开地回答问题，不必担心自己可能会显得比较虚伪。

And yet even as Sittenfeld grants Hillary the ability to finally do and say whatever she pleases, Rodham doesn't always satisfy.

然而，即便西滕菲尔德赋予了希拉里终于能够随心所欲的能力，《罗德姆》也算不上一本处处都称心如意的作品。

For one, Sittenfeld never pinpoints⁹ a clear motivation for her hero's desire to enter politics.

首先，西滕菲尔德一直没有明确指出其主人公想要进入政坛的明确动机。

Real-life Hillary notoriously switched her campaign slogans with abandon,

现实生活中的希拉里随意改变竞选口号一事已经闹得人尽皆知，

which some took as proof that she could not articulate her reasons for running.

一些人认为这恰好就是她不能说出自己为何参选的原因。

Where supporters saw a woman responding to the call to service, critics accused her of being power-hungry.

支持者在希拉里身上看到的是一位响应为人民服务这一号召的女性，批评人士却指责她不过是权欲熏心。

Sittenfeld, despite the freedom of her format¹⁰, lands on neither theory—nor does she offer a convincing alternative.

两种见解西滕菲尔德都没有指摘，尽管她在格式上走的是自由路线——但她也没有给出一个令人信服的第三种可能。

If her aim was to offer new insight into Hillary's mind, she doesn't succeed.

如果她该著作的目标是为希拉里的思想提供新的洞见，那么，她并未成功。

But who cares?

但谁在乎呢？

Even if the character isn't compelling, her mission to break the glass ceiling is.

即使她笔下的希拉里这个角色并不是十分令人信服，至少她打破玻璃天花板的使命是令人信服的。

For a certain reader, the chance to dwell in an alternate reality will be enough.

对于某些读者而言，有机会沉浸在另一种现实中就足够了。

For others, there's always the orgies.

对其他人而言，狂欢有的是，不缺这一场。

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

3 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

4 dooms   

v.注定( doom的第三人称单数 )；判定；使…的失败（或灭亡、毁灭、坏结局）成为必然；宣判

参考例句：

• The ill-advised conceit of the guardian angel dooms the film from the start. 对守护天使的蹩脚设计弄巧成拙，从一开始就注定这部电影要失败。
• The dooms of the two are closely linked. 一条线拴俩蚂蚱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 pinpoints   

准确地找出或描述( pinpoint的第三人称单数 )； 为…准确定位

参考例句：

• The bombs hit the pinpoints at which they were aimed. 炸弹精确地击中了目标。
• There's really no point in arguing about pinpoints. 为芝麻绿豆般的小事争论实在毫无意义。

10 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。