Joanne Harris

The Toymaker and his wife

Discussion questions:
1. What does the fact that the main character of the story is a toymaker symbolize? What kind of
toymaker is he?
Person of art. Symbol of idealistic views.
2. What was peculiar about the toys the toymaker was creating?
his works were very real, like alive
3. Why was not the toymaker satisfied with his wife?
4. What became the reason for the first improvement of the toymaker’s wife? One day the toymaker
noticed that his wife’s hair was going grey.
5. What were the other improvements done to the wife by the toymaker?
6. What was wrong with the almost perfect toymaker’s wife? . It was her heart – it was broken.
7. How did the toymaker cope with this last problem? And so he took the broken heart and threw it onto
the rubbish heap
8. This story is a parable. What is the hidden message of it?
Looking for perfection people sacrifice too much
Price of ideal is too high
It’s important to stop in time and take into consideration fillings of the people near you

Translate the whole story

There was a man who married for love, but lived Жив колись чоловік, який одружився по любові, але
to repent at leisure. He was a toymaker by trade, в якийсь момент почав про це жалкувати. Він
and his passion for precision work was known професійно виготовляв іграшки, і його пристрасть до
across the Nine Worlds. It was said that he’d досконалості в роботі була відома по всіх Дев’яти
made a mechanical bird that sang as sweetly as Світах. Говорили, що він створив механічного птаха,
a lark, and great battalions of clockwork що співав солодко, мов жайворонок, і великі
Hussars with sabres at the ready. His dolls батальйони механічних гусар(вершників) з шаблями
looked as if they might draw breath; his engines напоготові. Його ляльки виглядали так, ніби ось-ось
blew real steam from their stacks, and were fed почнуть дихати, його двигуни випускали справжню
with tiny coals by mechanical stokers wielding пару зі своїх труб, їх опалювали (заправляли)
tiny mechanical shovels. His dolls’ houses were дрібним вугіллям механічні кочегарі, що орудували
marvels in miniature; with tiny gilt mirrors on крихітними механічними лопатами. Його лялькові
bedroom walls reflecting tiny four-poster beds будиночки були шедеврами в мініатюрі; з
and tiny children playing with baby dolls no крихітними позолоченими дзеркалами на стінах
bigger than a grain of rice. Everything was спальні, що віддзеркалюють крихітні ліжка з
perfect in the toymaker’s world; down to the балдахіном, і крихітними дітьми, які граються з
smallest detail. Well – ляльками розміром не більше, ніж рисове зернятко. У
Everything but one thing. His wife. світі майстрів іграшок все було ідеально до
Of course, they’d been in love, once. But now, найдрібніших деталей. Майже -
some years later, the craftsman began to see that Все, крім одного. Його дружина.
his wife was no credit to him. She was no beauty; Звичайно, колись вони були закохані. Але тепер,
her judgement was weak; her housekeeping was через кілька років, ремісник почав бачити, що
slovenly. She loved her husband, to be sure, and дружина йому не пара (його не достойна). Вона не
he loved her too – in his way. But was it enough, була красунею, її судження було тривіальними, вона
he asked himself? Didn’t he owe himself more неохайно вела господарство. Вона, безперечно,
than this? любила свого чоловіка, і він її теж – по-своєму. Але
One day the toymaker noticed that his wife’s hair чи цього достатньо, запитав він себе? Хіба він не
was going grey. It displeased him to see it; and заслуговує на більше?
so he made her a new head of hair, spun from Одного разу лялькар помітив, що волосся його
skeins of gleaming gold, and stitched it into place дружини посивіло. Йому було неприємно це бачити і
on her scalp, as he had done so often when he тому він зробив їй нову шевелюру, сплету з
was making dolls. The wife said nothing, but блискучого золота, і пришив до її черепа. Він дуже
looked at herself in her dressing-room mirror, часто робив це з ляльками. Дружина нічого не
and touched the bright, stiff strands of her hair, сказала, але подивилася на себе в дзеркало у
and remembered a time when he had thought she гардеробній, торкнулась яскравих, жорстких пасм
was perfect in every way. свого волосся і згадала час, коли він вважав її
For a while, the toymaker was pleased. But then ідеальною в усіх відношеннях.
he started to notice that his wife often spoke Якийсь час лялькар був задоволений. Але згодом він
rashly or out of turn, or said things that he found почав помічати, що дружина часто говорить
unnecessary, or even downright stupid. And so, необдумано або перебиває його, або говорить речі,
as she slept, he cut out her tongue and replaced it які він вважав непотрібними або навіть зовсім
with a mechanical one, sleek as a silverfish, crisp дурними. І тому, коли вона спала, він відрізав їй язик
as a clock. After that, the toymaker’s wife was і замінив його механічним, гладким, як срібна рибка,
always perfectly precise in her speech, and never точним, як годинник. Після цього дружина лялькаря
said anything stupid, or dull, or bored him with завжди була ідеально витончена в своїй
her chatter. висловлюваннях, ніколи не говорила нічого дурного,
All was well for a time after that, until the нудного, не набридала йому своїми балачками.
toymaker noticed that his wife often looked at Деякий час після цього все було добре, доки він не
him with reproach, and sometimes wept for no помітив, що дружина часто дивиться на нього з
reason. It made him uneasy to look at her, and so докором, а іноді й плаче без причини. Йому було
he made her a new pair of blown-glass eyes that неприємно дивитися на неї, і тому він зробив нову
were bright and approving, and never shed tears, пару очей із дутого скла, які були яскравими й
or seemed to express anything but contentment. схвальними, ніколи не проливали сліз, та здавалося,
He was very proud of his handiwork, and for a виражали лише задоволення. Він дуже пишався
time, he was content. своєю роботою, і деякий час був задоволений.
But soon he noticed his wife’s hands; hands that Але незабаром він помітив руки своєї дружини; руки,
were often clumsy and slow, and so he made які часто були незграбними й повільними, і тому він
mechanical hands for her, and fixed them into зробив для неї механічні й закріпив їх на місце. Нові
place. His wife’s new hands were as white as руки його дружини були білі, як молоко, і спритні, як
milk, and as clever as any automaton’s, and so he у будь-якого автомата, тому він зробив до них пару
made a pair of feet, and then a pair of perfect ніг, а потім пару ідеальних грудей. Потроху, з часом,
breasts, so that little by little, over time, he had він замінив усі дефекти та зношені частини на
replaced every flawed and worn-out part with механізми та блискучу порцеляну.
clockwork and gleaming porcelain. «Нарешті вона ідеальна», — сказав він, дивлячись на
“At last, she is perfect,” he told himself, looking свою прекрасну дружину. Але все одно чогось не
at his beautiful wife. But still, there was вистачало. Вона все ще була не зовсім такою, як він
something missing. Still, she wasn’t quite as he’d сподівався. І ось лялькар розітнув її, щоб побачити,
hoped. And so the toymaker opened her up to see які з її внутрішніх органів він міг забути
what part of her inner workings he might have налаштувати чи виправити. Все було на місцях, за
neglected to tune or correct. He found everything винятком однієї речі, яку він не помітив. Одна
in place – except for one thing he had маленька, незначна річ, настільки глибоко вбудована
overlooked. One small, insignificant thing, so в тонкощі механізмів та схем, що він цього не
deeply embedded in the intricacies of clockwork помітив. Це було її серце – воно було розбите.
and circuitry that he hadn’t noticed it. It was her «Цікаво, як це могло статися?» — сказав він,
heart – it was broken. потягнувшись до своїх годинникових інструментів, з
 “I wonder how that could have happened?” he абсолютною рішучістю зробити для дружини нове
said, reaching for his watchmaker’s tools, fully серце, яке замінить розбите.
intending to make his wife a new heart to replace Але потім він подивився на неї, лежачу таку
the broken one. нерухому, гарну й бліду на верстаку, тиху та милу в
But then he looked at her, lying so still and усіх відношеннях, кожна частина тіла якої блискуча
beautiful and pale upon the workbench; quiet and та сяюча.
lovely in every way; every part shiny and - «Тобі ж серце зовсім не потрібне, моя люба?»-
gleaming. сказав він.
“Why, you don’t need a heart at all, do you, my
darling?” he told her. І ось він взяв розбите серце і викинув його на
And so he took the broken heart and threw it смітник. А потім повернувся до дружини і поцілував
onto the rubbish heap. And then he turned back її чудовий, мов срібляста рибка, ротик, подивився в її
 to his wife and kissed her lovely silverfish блискучі очі з дутого скла і сказав: «Нарешті. Ти
mouth, looked into her shining blown-glass eyes досконала.»
and said: “At last. You’re perfect.”

Doris Lessing
Two Potters
Discussion exercises:
1. What do you know about the trade of pottery? What symbolic meaning does it have in different
religions and mythologies?
POTTERY - production of tableware and other products based on natural plastic raw materials (mainly from
clay).
The potter in the myths of many peoples is the image of a god or a cultural hero who creates people, or its
universe (or individual parts) from clay. In Indian mythology, the god Brahma was a Potter in one of his
previous births. The Egyptian god of fertility Khnum creates a man from clay on a potter's wheel. In a
variant of the Sumerian anthropogenic myth, the god of waters Enki calls for help from "good and noble
creators" who must thicken the clay taken by the goddess Nammu, after which the goddesses of birth must
help in sculpting a person and his fate. In this myth, as in the legends of the peoples of the Old and New
World about the creation of man from clay (up to the corresponding biblical story), ideas about the stages of
preparation and molding of clay in the process of pottery are reflected. In some archaic societies, potters
constituted a special sacred group with priestly functions and later became a separate caste (cf. hanibe in
Ancient Japan).
How is it shown in the story?
Process of creating sth alive or animated. Perhaps representation of the talent making not only the pots that
is practical side of the activity but also spiritual one (creativity, improvement of the skill = making a rabbit)
2. How would you interpret the increasing of the settlement from the narrator’s dream?
The narrator knows a potter, Mary Tawnish, who never dreams. The narrator begins to dream about another
potter in a village on a great plain of reddish earth “that looked as if it were hastily moulded by a great hand
out of wet clay, allowed to dry, and left there.” After she writes a letter to Mary about her dream, an
interactive relationship between the dreams and Mary’s work develops. In each successive dream, the
narrator sees the settlement and the potter’s work develop and change. Finally, Mary makes a clay animal
for the potter in the dream world.
3. Mary was surprised that the old potter created such a useless animal. What do you think about his
choice?
Creating an image of something alive, and not just a pot, which can be used practically, but not interpreted
symbolically
He sat motionless, looking at the sky, then at the rabbit, praying: "Lord, please, just once." But nothing happened. I
wrote to Mary that the old man was tired of centuries of making pots, whose life was so short: the rubbish from the
broken pots under the settlement had now risen twenty feet. He wanted God to breathe life into his clay rabbit. He
hoped to see him lift his long, red-veined ears, feel his furry paws, and see him jumping between huge clay pots,
sniffing them and twitching his ears - a living creature among all forms of clay.
Mary said, “Why a rabbit? What is the use of a rabbit? Do you understand that apart from goats (you say they have
milk) and these vultures overhead, they have no animals at all? Isn't a cow better than a rabbit? "I wrote: 'I can't do
anything about this place when I dream about it, but when I wake up, why not? At that moment, the rabbit jumped off
the old man's hand into the dust. He sat, twitching his nose. And throbbing everywhere, like rabbits. ”Then he slowly
jumped back and began to gnaw a straw, and the old man cried with happiness. Now what can you say? If I say it
was a rabbit, the rabbit was there.
4. At the ceremony of the Nobel Prize awarding Doris Lessing was called an “epicist of the female
experience”.
The British author Doris Lessing has won the 2007 Nobel prize for literature. Lessing, who is only the 11th
woman to win literature's most prestigious prize in its 106-year history, is best known for her postmodern
feminist masterpiece, The Golden Notebook.
Announcing the award, the Swedish Academy described Lessing as an "epicist of the female experience,
who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny"- "a
pioneering work" that "belongs to the handful of books that informed the 20th-century view of the male-
female relationship."
Comment the role of a woman in the story.
I think she is afraid to show her talent, her creation from which, in her opinion, there may be no benefit
(hides the rabbit on the shelf, afraid of what her husband will say about this animal)
but still her efforts were appreciated by the potter ебать какой я бред я сама не знаю шо пишу
5. What is the central massage of the story from your point of view?
Тупорылый вопрос, я на такой бред не хочу отвечать даже

Translation tasks:
1. Translate these expressions:
baked red-dust bareness, запечена пильно-червона нагота/скудність
out of whack, не в порядку
torment of writhing self-consciousness, мучения извивающегося/корчущегося самосознания
to use one’s loaf, шевелити мізками
to come to one’s senses, прийти в себе
to be in keeping with sth, бути відповідним до чогось
in a whirlwind of quarrelling energy, у вихорі сварливої енергії
to be beside oneself, бути у нестямі
to heave with sobs, ридати, схлипувати
in a frenzy of sth. оскаженіти від чогось, збожеволіти (у сказі)
2. Translate the following sentences:
1) I saw how the water shaken from the old fingers on the whirling pot flew past it and spattered the
small intent poverty-shaped face with its narrowed watching eyes.
Я бачив, як вода, стряхнута старими пальцями на горщику, що вертівся (по колу), пролетіла
повз нього і забризкала маленьке пильне/уважне/повне рішучості бідне обличчя з
примруженими очима.
2) The settlements, looked at from the height of the mountain tops seemed like patches of slightly raised
surface on the plain.
Поселення, розглянуті з висоти гірських вершин, здавалися клаптиками трохи припіднятої
поверхні на рівнині.
3) A man passed me, with a low slinking movement of the hips, holding his sacklike garment in position
at his side with the pressure of an elbow, staring in front of him over the pink fruit which he pressed
against sharp yellow teeth.
Чоловік пройшов повз мене, слабо похитуючи стегнами, тримаючи на боці свій схожий на
мішок одяг, стискаючи лікоть, дивлячись перед собою на рожевий фрукт, який він притискав
до гострих жовтих зубів.
4) I wrote Mary that the old man was tired with long centuries of making pots whose life was so short:
the litter of broken pots under the settlement had raised its level twenty feet by now, and every pot
had come off his wheel.
Я написав Мері, що старий втомився від довгих віків виготовлення горщиків, життя яких було
таке коротке: сміття з розбитих горщиків під поселенням до цього часу піднялося на двадцять
футів, і кожен горщик зійшов з його гончарного кола.