2014 年と2015 年、学研の「10 歳までに読みたい世界名作」『若草物語』『あしながおじさん』の編訳をする機会に恵まれた。それに際し完訳版および原書を読むなかで気づいたこと、この2作品を初めて読んだ子ども時代から心に留めていた、あるいは疑問に思っていたことをここで整理してみたい。今回は脇役ながら物語中で重要な役割を果たしている脇役たち---『若草物語』のハンナ、『あしながおじさん』の視察委員プリチャード---に関しての考察をまとめる。
In 2014 and 2015, I was given the opportunities by Gakken Co. to edit and translate big two pieces of American literature in the 19th century, “Little Women,” written by Louisa May Alcott and “Daddy-Long-Legs”, by Jean Webster. Through the job I thought about some supporting characters in novels, who are playing very important roles but not coming under the spotlight: Hannah, a servant in “Little Women” and Pritchard, a visiting committee in “Daddy-Long Legs”. I would like to make myself clear about the issue of what I have been wondering about since I was a child, when I read these books for the first time in my life.