The Mysterious Recluse
Garbo—divine, mysterious, 1)reclusive. One of the most famous faces of the 20th century. On screen she was 2)raw sexuality, off screen her affairs with men and women 3)captivated the press. And her silence made her a legend. But it was a legend she tried to escape for fifty years. What was the secret of Greta Garbo? The truth lies in the face, the voice and our own appetite for mystery.
Greta Lovisa Gustafson was born on September 18, 1905 in the working class soda 4)mall merrier of Stockholm.
The 19-year-old Garbo said goodbye to her family in Stockholm, she was given visa number 396 and arrived in New York City on July 5, 1925. At the time MGM 5)publicity chief Howard Dietz said of 6)Garbo, “I hate that name, It reminds me of garbage.” America was unimpressed with Greta -- but a series of 7)amateur photos was about to launch Garbo’s career.
After three months, production chief Irving Thalberg assigned Garbo to The Torrent. Garbo’s natural manner distinguished her from more histrionic silent actors. MGM had found Garbo’s identity. Off screen, Garbo barely spoke English. When she tried to joke that she was an “imported star”, but accidentally said “important star” the crew laughed at her 8)vanity. On screen, MGM enhanced the 9)mystique of its new star by teaming her with the best photographers and designers. Clarence Sinclair Bull was assigned to do all her official photography. He would become known as “the man who shot Garbo.” He referred to her as the Mona Lisa of the 20th century.
Garbo created a new kind of 10)glamour. A combination of sexuality, fashion and mystery. Audiences wanted to know more about the woman behind the face, but Garbo refused to talk. The studio played along since her 11)reticence seemed to create more interest in the Swedish 12)sphinx. The 13)subtext of one of her next films was thinly 14)veiled. Queen Christina was the story of the legendary 17th century Swedish leader who 15)abdicated her throne rather than 16)subjugate herself to a man.
Greta Garbo (Lines from Queen Christina): I thought you would understand when you saw me again what had happened. Could it have been so enchanting to be a woman? Mother queen -- just a woman in a man’s arms.
Garbo inspired and yet 17)defied interpretation, on screen and off. For the final shot of Queen Christina, Mamoulian gave his 18)inscrutable leading lady her most brilliant direction. He asked her to think of nothing.
Garbo’s era had passed. She had outlived most of her lovers and costars. Greta Garbo’s screen legend had become Greta Garbo urban legend. In 1970’s New York, a Garbo sighting as she marched through the streets of Manhattan stopping only to browse through 19)junk shops and 20)antique stores was recorded the same status as a UFO. She became a 21)cult figure and showed up in unlikely places. On Friday April 28, 1990, she went for her regular 22)dialysis treatment but did not return. She died on Easter Sunday.
They say the only thing an actor owes the public is a performance. That much Garbo gave. Whether she had nothing to say or simply said nothing doesn’t matter. Hers was a perfect face. A blank screen on to which the world projected what it needed to see. Her silence told us what we wanted to hear.
1) reclusive a. 隱遁的，隱居的
2) raw sexuality: 性感撩人
3) captivate v. 迷住，迷惑
4) mall n. 商業街，林蔭路
5) publicity n. 宣傳，廣告
6) garbo 還有“垃圾工人”的意思。
7) amateur n. 業余愛好者
8) vanity n. 虛榮
9) mystique n. 神秘性，奧秘
10) glamour n. 魅力，魔力
11) reticence n. 沉默寡言
12) sphinx n. [希神]斯芬克斯（有翼的獅身女怪，傳說她常叫過路行人猜謎，猜不出者即遭殺害）
13) subtext n. 潛在意思
14) veil v. 戴面紗，隱藏
15) abdicate v. 退位，放棄
16) subjugate v. 屈服
17) defy v. 抵抗，抵觸
18) inscrutable a. 難以了解的，不能理解的
19) junk n. 垃圾
20) antique n. 古董，古物
21) cult n. 禮拜
22) dialysis n. [化] 透析，分離
翻譯：
冰雪美人——葛麗泰嘉寶
嘉寶，二十世紀最著名的人物之一，如仙女般的神秘，超凡脫俗。銀幕上她飄渺撩人，銀幕外她的愛情傳聞成為傳媒爭相報道的對象。沉默使她成為傳奇人物，五十年的遁世更是一個傳奇。嘉寶到底有何神秘之處？真相盡在她的臉龐上、聲音里和人們對神秘的好奇之中。
1905年9月18日，葛麗泰洛維薩格斯塔夫森出生于斯德哥爾摩市蘇打街的一個工人家庭。
十九歲的嘉寶告別斯德哥爾摩的家，拿著396號簽證，于1925年7月5日抵達紐約市。當時，米高梅的廣告總經理霍華德迪茲對嘉寶的評價是“我討厭嘉寶這個名字，它讓我想到垃圾。”美國人對葛麗泰也沒有絲毫印象，但有一群業余攝影師準備要推動嘉寶的事業前進。
經過三個月的演出之后，制片主任歐文撒爾伯格指定嘉寶參與《激流》的演出。嘉寶自然的氣質使她在眾多的無聲電影演員中脫穎而出。米高梅發現了嘉寶的獨特之處。銀幕外，嘉寶很少說英語。有次她想笑稱自己是一個“進口明星”時，卻不小心說成了“重要明星”，那令工作人員取笑她虛榮。銀幕上，米高梅通過給她配備最好的攝影師和造型師來增加這位新星的神秘感?？死瓊愃?辛克萊布爾被指派負責她所有正式場合的攝影工作。他因為給嘉寶拍攝而名聲鵲起。而他則把嘉寶比作是二十世紀的蒙娜麗莎。
嘉寶展現了一種全新的魅力，那就是集性感、時尚與神秘于一身。觀眾想知道更多關于她的幕后故事，但嘉寶拒絕透露。她的沉默似乎讓人們對這個瑞典女神越來越著迷，而電影公司也竭力給予配合。這樣她接下來的一部影片的潛臺詞就不言而喻了?！度鸬渑酢分v述的是十七世紀瑞典女王寧愿放棄王位而不愿屈服于一個男子的傳奇故事。
嘉寶（影片《瑞典女王》中的臺詞）：等我們再見時，我想你會明白這一切的。做一名女人就這么誘人嗎？皇太后——不過是在男人懷里的一個女人。嘉寶富有表現力，但她很反感旁人的指手劃腳，銀幕內外皆是如此。在《瑞典女王》的最后一個鏡頭中，馬蒙利亞給予他那難以捉摸的女主角無以倫比的`指導。他叫她什么都不要想。
現在，嘉寶的時代已經過去了。她比她的愛慕者和合作過的明星都要長壽。嘉寶的銀幕神話轉變成了嘉寶的都市童話。在二十世紀七十年代的紐約，一個拍攝嘉寶穿過曼哈頓街道，駐足瀏覽便宜店和古董店的錄像，其價值等同于發現不明飛行物的鏡頭。她是人們頂禮膜拜的人物，并且常出現在意想不到的地方。1990年4月28日星期五，她去進行常規的透析治療，但再也沒能回來。她于星期天復活節逝世了。
都說演員貢獻給公眾的只有表演。嘉寶盡力了。她究竟是無話可說或者只是不發一言，這些都不重要了。她那完美無缺的臉孔正如一塊白幕，投影了全世界想要看到的一切。她的不語恰恰道出了我們最想聆聽的聲音。
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