Wayfarers (Translated by James MacFarlane 1980) by Knut Hamsun

Author:Knut Hamsun [Hamsun, Knut]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature
ISBN: 9780285641600
Publisher: Souvenir Press
Published: 1927-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

Part Two

1

ON THE STEAMER A FEW PASSENGERS WERE SCATTERED about below deck. It was cold; they sat huddled in corners. Some were occasionally seasick but tried to conceal it; others, who were better sailors, bragged about it to anybody who cared to listen. Edevart came down from on deck.

Three men were playing cards for small stakes. They laughed and talked and banged the table. They sat on sacks and packing cases and their table was an empty upturned cask. Now and then they would drink from a bottle.

A young woman with several woolen scarves wrapped around her head moaned with seasickness and lay there as though lifeless. “We’ll soon be in calm water,” Edevart said to comfort her. She looked up with dead eyes and did not answer. He sat down beside her, looked down at his boots, and pondered. The ship’s movement began to abate and the woman revived somewhat. They fell into conversation. She was on her way to Bodø to have an operation; there was something wrong with her throat. “Where are you heading for?” she asked. Edevart answered evasively that he hadn’t fully decided; perhaps he might be going some considerable way. The woman had enough of her own problems to think about and asked no more. Time passed.

The card players called over to him and asked whether he would like to join the game. No, he didn’t think so. Was he seasick then, perhaps? Edevart smiled and shook his head and said he was an old sailor. “Come and have a swig!” they said. He went over to them and took a gulp from the bottle. It was a mild kind of brandy, nothing to make you drunk. The men were from the south, discharged seamen from ships that had bought their fish in the Lofotens but which were now fully loaded and about to leave for the drying grounds. The men had their earnings in their pockets and were in good spirits. They were heading for home; they were happy. Where was Edevart heading for? For the second time he answered evasively.

Aye, where was he going?

He had left his oilskins hanging in the fishermen’s shelter as an indication that he didn’t really have any further use for such things; but within himself he felt very unsure. To depart thus, to travel far—but what road should he take? Certainly, he had thought of leaving; and he had even said he would. But when it came to the point he hesitated. Apart from anything else, where would he get the money for a long journey? Since everything was so indeterminate, it was natural that he hadn’t taken proper leave of his comrades.

What was the matter with Edevart? His hands were big and strong, his sinews in good trim; but his mind was split. Here he was, sailing away empty and homeless; he had gradually ceased to belong anywhere; wherever he went, he was dragging roots behind him.

The card players had nothing to show for their kindness toward him.

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