Kafka on Love and Patience
Kafka’s Beautiful and Heartbreaking Love Letters
原文链接：https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/05/kafka-love-letters/
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[第一段]
“Relationships are probably our greatest learning experiences,”a wise woman once said,echoing/'ekəuiŋ/Rilke’smemorable/'mɛmərəbl/proclamation/ˌprɑklə'meʃən/that love is“perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks… the work for which all other work is but preparation/ˌprɛpə'reʃən/.”When we fall in love, we are asked to rise to this task — a polarizing/'polə'raɪz/pull that stretches thepsyche/ˈsaɪki/in opposite directions as wecrave/krev/surrender/sə'rɛndɚ/and safety in equal measure.
echoing/‘ekəuiŋ/n. 呼应；回音；反照现象
memorable/‘mɛmərəbl/adj. 显著的，难忘的；值得纪念的
polarizing/‘polə'raɪz/vt. （使）极化；（使）偏振；（使）两极分化
psyche/ˈsaɪki/n. 灵魂；心智
crave/krev/vt. 渴望；恳求
surrender/sə’rɛndɚ/n. 投降；放弃；交出；屈服
[第二段]
Thediscomfortof thiswildlydisorientingbidirectionalpull is what 29-year-old Franz Kafkaarticulatedin a beautiful and heartbreaking letter to Felice Bauer, a marketingrepfor adictationmachine company whom the young author had met at the home of his friend and future biographer Max Brod in August of 1912. Young Franz and Felice immediately began acorrespondenceofescalatingintensity, with Kafka frequentlyexasperated— as was Vladimir Nabokov at the start of hislifelongromance with Véra — over hisbeloved’sinfrequentandinsufficientlyromantic response. Over the five-year course of theirturbulent, mostlyepistolaryrelationship, they were engaged twice, even though they met in person only a few times. During that period, Kafka produced his most significant work, including TheMetamorphosis. Five hundred of his letters survive and wereposthumously/ˈp ɑstʃəməslɪ/published in theintenselyrewarding andrevelatoryLetters to Felice (public library).
[第三段]
In November of 1912, three months after he met Felice, Kafka writes:
Fräulein Felice!
I am now going to ask you a favor which sounds quite crazy, and which I should regard as such, were I the one to receive the letter. It is also the very greatest test that even the kindest person could be put to. Well, this is it:
Write to me only once a week, so that your letter arrives on Sunday — for I cannotendureyour daily letters, I am incapable of enduring them. For instance, I answer one of your letters, then lie in bed in apparent calm, but my heart beats through my entire body and is conscious only of you. I belong to you; there is really no other way of expressing it, and that is not strong enough. But for this very reason I don’t want to know what you are wearing; it confuses me so much that I cannot deal with life; and that’s why I don’t want to know that you arefond ofme. If I did, how could I, fool that I am, go on sitting in my office, or here at home, instead ofleapingonto a train with my eyes shut and opening them only when I am with you?
[第四段]
Whetherout ofself-protective rationalization or mere/mɪr/pragmatism/'prægmə'tɪzəm/— the onset/'ɑnsɛt/of tuberculosis/tʊ'bɝkjə'losɪs/was, after all, what ended the relationship five years later — he plaintively/ˈplentɪvlɪ/points to a physiological/ˌfɪzɪə'lɑdʒɪkl/reason, almost as an excuse for the psychological/ˌsaɪkə'lɑdʒɪkl/:
Oh, there is a sad, sad reason for not doing so. To make it short: My health is only just good enough for myself alone, not good enough for marriage, let alone fatherhood. Yet when I read your letter, I feel I could overlook even what cannot possibly be overlooked.
out of由于；缺乏；自…离开；用…
rationalization/ˌræʃənəlɪˈzeʃən/n. 合理化
mere/mɪr/仅仅
pragmatism/‘prægmə'tɪzəm/n. 实用主义；独断
onset/‘ɑnsɛt/n. 开始，着手；发作；攻击，进攻
tuberculosis/tʊ'bɝkjə'losɪs/n. 肺结核；结核病
physiological/ˌfɪzɪə’lɑdʒɪkl/adj. 生理学的，生理的
psychological/ˌsaɪkə’lɑdʒɪkl/adj. 心理的；心理学的；精神上的
[第五段]
He resumes his plea/pli/, which seems directed more at himself than at her:
If only I had mailed Saturday’s letter, in which I implored/ɪm'plɔr/you never to write to me again, and in which I gave a similar promise. Oh God, what prevented/pri'vɛnt/me from sending that letter? All would be well. But is a peaceful solution possible now? Would it help if we wrote to each other only once a week? No, if my suffering/'sʌfərɪŋ/could be cured by such means it would not be serious. And already Iforesee/fɔr'si/that I shan’t be able to endure/ɛnˈdʊr/even the Sunday letters. And so, to compensate/'kɑmpɛnset/for Saturday’s lost opportunity, I ask you with what energy remains to me at the end of this letter…
implored/ɪm’plɔr/vt. 恳求或乞求
plea/pli/n. 恳求，请求；辩解，辩护；借口，托辞
suffering/‘sʌfərɪŋ/n. 受难；苦楚
endure/ɛnˈdʊr/vt. 忍耐；容忍
compensate/‘kɑmpɛnset/vi. 补偿，赔偿；抵消
[第六段]
He closes in true Kafkaesque/ˌkɑfkəˈɛsk/fashion:
If we value our lives, let us abandon it all… I am forever fettered/'fetəd/to myself, that’s what I am, and that’s what I must try to live with.
fettered/‘fetəd/adj. 被拘束的；无自由的
[第七段]
It makes sense, of course, for a man who associated pleasure with pain — nowhere more vividly than in his famousproclamation/ˌprɑklə'meʃən/that“a book must be the axe/æks/for the frozen sea inside us”— to experience love as at onceelatingandanguishing/'æŋɡwɪʃ/. But the paradox of love is perhaps the same as that of art, which Jeanette/dʒə'net/Winterson so elegantly/ˈ ɛləɡəntlɪ/termed “the paradox of active surrender/sə'rɛndɚ/” — in order for either to transform us, we must let it turn us over and inside-out.That is what Rilke called love’s great exacting/ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/claim, and in that claim lies its ultimate reward.
proclamation/ˌprɑklə’meʃən/n. 公告；宣布；宣告；公布
elating/ɪˈlet/vt. 使…欢欣；使…兴高采烈 adj. 得意的
anguishing/‘æŋɡwɪʃ/n. 痛苦；苦恼
elegantly/ˈ ɛləɡəntlɪ/adv. 优美地
exacting/ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/adj. 严格的；苛求的；吃力的
Kafka on Love and Patience
原文链接：https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/10/22/conversations-with-kafka-love-patience/
“Patience is the master key to every situation. One must have sympathy for everything, surrender to everything, but at the same time remain patient and forbearing/fɔr'bɛrɪŋ/.”
forbearing/fɔr'bɛrɪŋ/.adj. 宽容的；忍耐的
[第一段]
One March morning in 1920, a Czech teenager named Gustav Janouch arrived at the Workman’s Accident Insurance Institution, where his father worked. The purpose of the visit was for the seventeen-year-oldaspiring/ə'spaɪərɪŋ/poet to meet his father’s famouscolleague,Metamorphosis/'mɛtə'mɔrfəsɪs/author Franz Kafka (July 3, 1883–June 3, 1924), who had been laboring at the insurance company for twelve years. The twostruckan unlikely friendship and for the remaining four years of Kafka’s life, they frequently shared long walks through the city, talking about literature and life.
aspiring/ə'spaɪərɪŋ/adj. 有抱负的；追求…的；高耸的
Metamorphosis/‘mɛtə'mɔrfəsɪs/变形记
[第二段]
In 1951, long after Kafka’s death, Janouch published hisrecollection/ˌrɛkə'lɛkʃən/of theseremarkably/rɪˈm ɑrkəblɪ/rich walking talks as Conversations with Kafka (public library).What makes these conversations so compelling is that much of what is said counters the familiar image of Kafka as a creature ofgrievance/'grivəns/andgloom/ɡlum/.Perhaps because we areconstantly/'kɑnstəntli/entraining/in'treiniŋ/each other through conversation and the young man’s openhearted/'opən,hɑrtɪd/optimism/'ɑptɪmɪzəm/awakeneddormant/'dɔrmənt/parts of Kafka’s spirit, there isradiance/'redɪəns/in a great deal of what they discuss — art (“Art like prayer is a handoutstretched/ˏautˈstretʃt/in the darkness, seeking for some touch ofgrace/ɡres/which will transform it into a hand thatbestows/bɪ'sto/gifts.”), poetry (“Goethe sayspractically/'præktɪkli/everything that matters to us human beings.”), and love.
recollection/ˌrɛkə'lɛkʃən/n. 回忆；回忆起的事物
remarkably/rɪˈm ɑrkəblɪ/adv. 显著地；非常地；引人注目地
grievance/‘grivəns/n. 不满，不平；委屈；冤情
gloom/ɡlum/n. 昏暗；阴暗
constantly/‘kɑnstəntli/adv. 不断地；时常地
entraining/in’treiniŋ/夹带,vi. 乘火车
openhearted/'opən,hɑrtɪd/adj. 不客气的，不隐瞒的
optimism/‘ɑptɪmɪzəm/n. 乐观；乐观主义
dormant/‘dɔrmənt/adj. 休眠的；静止的；睡眠状态的；隐匿的
radiance/‘redɪəns/n. 辐射；光辉；发光；容光焕发
outstretched/ˏautˈstretʃt/adj. 伸开的；扩张的
grace/ɡres/n. 优雅；恩惠；魅力；慈悲
bestows/bɪ’sto/vt. 使用；授予；放置；留宿
practically/‘præktɪkli/adv. 实际地；几乎；事实上
[第三段]
In reflecting on the anguish/'æŋɡwɪʃ/of ill-fated/ˈɪlˈfetɪd/love affairs, Kafka offers a magnificent definition of love and its hazards/'hæzɚd/, at once utterly/ˈʌtəli/elevating/'ɛlɪvetɪŋ/and utterly grounding:
What is love? After all, it is quite simple.Love is everything which enhances, widens, and enriches our life. In its heights and in its depths.Love has as few problems as a motor-car. The only problems are the driver, the passengers, and the road.
anguish/'æŋɡwɪʃ/n. 痛苦；苦恼
ill-fated/ˈɪlˈfetɪd/adj. 不幸的；恶运的
hazards/‘hæzɚd/n. 危害；[安全] 危险；障碍
utterly/ˈʌtəli/adv. 完全地；绝对地；全然地；彻底地，十足地
elevating/‘ɛlɪvetɪŋ/adj. 引人向上的
第四段]
Far more often than we like to imagine, those problems can steer/stɪr/the car toward a crash. Kafka himself wasintimatelyfamiliar with heartbreak, as evidenced by his beautiful andharrowinglove letters. But perhaps because “heartbreak is how we mature,” his own experience is what allowed the author to offer young Gustav such strangely assuring advice in comforting the Gustav’s distress over his parents’ divorce — aruptureof the heart that hadrenderedhim hopeless about the possibility of happiness in love. EchoingNietzsche’sbelief that a fulfilling life requires embracing difficulty, Kafka urges the young man to stay present with his difficult emotions:
Just be quiet and patient. Let evil and unpleasantness pass quietly over you. Do not try to avoid them. On the contrary, observe them carefully. Let active understanding take the place of reflexirritation/ˌɪrə'teʃən/, and you will grow out of your trouble. Men can achieve greatness only by surmounting/sɚ'maʊnt/their own littleness/'litlnis/.
irritation/ˌɪrə’teʃən/n. 刺激；激怒，恼怒，生气；兴奋；令人恼火的事
surmounting/sɚ’maʊnt/vt. 克服，越过；战胜
littleness/'litlnis/.渺小
[第五段]
On their following walk, he revisits/ri'vɪzɪt/the subject. In a sentiment/'sɛntɪmənt/thatcalls to mindJohn Steinbeck’s unforgettable advice on love —“If it is right, it happens,”hecounseled/'kaʊnsl/his lovestruck/'lʌvstrʌk/teenage son.“The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”— Kafka tells young Gustav:
Patience is the master key to every situation. One must have sympathy/ˈsɪmpəθi/for everything, surrender to everything, but at the same time remain patient and forbearing… There is no such thing as bending or breaking. It’s a question only of overcoming, which begins with overcoming oneself. That cannot be avoided. To abandon that path is always to break in pieces.One must patiently accept everything and let it grow within oneself. The barriers/'bærɪr/of thefear-riddenI can only be broken by love. One must, in the dead leaves that rustle/'rʌsl/around one, already see the young fresh green of spring,compose oneselfin patience, and wait.Patience is the only true foundation on which to make one’s dreams come true.
sentiment/‘sɛntɪmənt/n. 感情，情绪；情操；观点；多愁善感
calls to mind 想起
counseled/‘kaʊnsl/vt. 建议；劝告
lovestruck/‘lʌvstrʌk/adj. 热恋中的
fear-ridden 充满恐惧的
riddenadj. 充斥…的
rustle/‘rʌsl/vi. 发出沙沙声
compose oneself: 镇静
[第六段]
Conversations with Kafka is a trove/trov/of often dark, sometimes radiant, always profound/prə'faʊnd/insight from one of the most complex and compelling/kəm'pɛlɪŋ/minds humanity has produced. Complement/'kɑmplɪmɛnt/this particular portion with the great Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hahn on how to love and Milan Kundera on the central ambivalences/æm'bɪvələns/of life and love.
trove/trov/n. 被发现的东西；收藏的东西
compelling/kəm’pɛlɪŋ/adj. 引人注目的；强制的；激发兴趣的 v. 强迫；以强力获得（compel的ing形式）
Complement/'kɑmplɪmɛnt/n. 补语；余角；补足物 vt. 补足，补助
Zen/zɛn/teacher禅师
Zen/zɛn/n. 禅；禅宗；禅宗信徒（等于Zen Buddhism）
ambivalences/æm’bɪvələns/n. [心理] 矛盾情绪；正反感情并存
Quick Read
/'ɑnsɛt/
10:47 - 11:01 pm 14m
Slow Read
11:02 - 11:27 PM 25m
Slow Read
6:13 - 7:10am 57m
4:40 - 5:40am1h
Sentences:
Patience is the master key to every situation. One must have sympathy for everything, surrender to everything, but at the same time remain patient and forbearing
Love is everything which enhances, widens, and enriches our life. In its heights and in its depths
Just be quiet and patient. Let evil and unpleasantness pass quietly over you. Do not try to avoid them
One must patiently accept everything and let it grow within oneself.
Patience is the only true foundation on which to make one’s dreams come true.