试译《乔治·波尔蒂的36种戏剧性情境》之十七：失手致命

情境十七：失手致命

具体描述

要素

鲁莽者

受害者

或者丢失的物品

概要

鲁莽的人丢失物品，或者由于无心、好奇或粗心伤害到他人。

变体

A

1. 鲁莽导致自身不幸

2. 鲁莽导致自身受辱

B

1. 好奇导致自身不幸

2. 好奇导致失去亲人

C

1. 好奇导致他人死亡或不幸

2. 鲁莽导致亲人死亡

3. 鲁莽导致爱人死亡

4. 轻信导致亲人死亡

5. 轻信导致不幸

进一步阐述

俗语说“好奇心害死猫”，当我们对某件事情感兴趣时，沉迷其中往往忘了可能的风险和危害。

无论现实生活还是故事，当看到他人鲁莽行事时，我们常常不屑一顾，或有莫名优越感。我们应该记得“重蹈覆辙”这句成语，看起来无害的行为，可能演变成使自己或他人受伤甚至死亡的事件。

Fatal imprudence

Description

Elements

The Imprudent

The Victim

or the Object Lost

Summary

The Imprudent person loses an Object or causes harm to the Victim through unthinking imprudence, curiosity and general carelessness.

Variants

A

1. Imprudence the cause of one's own misfortune

2. Imprudence the cause of one's own dishonor

B

1. Curiosity the cause of one's own misfortune

2. Loss of possession of a loved one through curiosity

C

1. Curiosity the cause of death or misfortune to others

2. Imprudence the cause of a relative's death

3. Imprudence the cause of a lover's death

4. Credulity the cause of kinsmen's deaths

5. Credulity the cause of misfortune

Discussion

'Curiosity killed the cat' is a common saying and reflects the way in which, when we become interested in something, we sometimes forget the risks and hazards that we may be taking when putting our noses in harm's way.

When we see others being imprudent, whether in real life or in stories, we tut-tut and feel a bit superior to them. We also may remember that 'there but for the Grace of God go I', in that it is easy for what may seem a harmless activity turn into something where we or others may get hurt or even killed.