克莱默夫妇对白

You swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?I do.Now, Mrs. Kramer, would you tell the court how long you were married?Eight years.And would you describe those years as happy?The first two, yes.But after that it became increasingly difficult.Mrs. Kramer, did you hold a job before you were married? Yes, I did. When I first got out of Smith......l worked in the art department of Mademoiselle magazine for years.Did you continue to work after you were married?No. I did not.Did you wish to?Yes, but every time I talked to Ted-- To my ex-husband about it, he wouldn't listen.He refused to discuss it in any serious way.He said that I probably couldn't get a job... that would pay enough to hire a babysitter.Tell me, are you employed at the present time?I'm a sportswear designer here in New York.And what is your present salary?I make $31 ,000 a year.Mrs. Kramer, do you love your child?Yes, I do, very much.And yet you choose to leave him.Yes.During the last five years of our marriage......l was becoming more and more unhappy.More and more troubled. And I really needed somebody to help me... .but when I turned to Ted, he just......wasn't there for me. So we became more isolated fromoneanother... ...more and more separate.He was very involved in his career.And because of his attitude towards my fears... ...and his inability to deal with my feelings... ...l had come to have almost no self-esteem.I was scared and I was very unhappy.In my mind I had no choice but to leave.At the time I left, I felt that there was something wrong with me......and that my son would be better off without me.And it was only after I got to California that I realized......after getting into therapy, that I wasn't a terrible person. And just because I needed some kind of creative or emotional outlet......other than my child, that didn't make me unfit.I would like to submit in evidence a report by Mrs. Kramer's therapist......Dr. Eleanor Freedman.Objection, Your Honour. The report is irrelevant and not binding on the respondent.Overruled.Can you tell the court why you are asking for custody? Because he's my child... and because I love him.I know I left my son.I know that that's a terrible thing to do.Believe me, I have to live with that every day of my life. But in order to leave him... l had to believe it was the only thing I could do... and that it was the best thing for him.I was incapable of functioning in that home.And I didn't knowwhat the alternative was... so I thought it was not best that I take him with me.However, I have since gotten some help... and I have worked very, very hard to become a whole human being.I don't think I should be punished for that.I don't think my little boy should be punished.Billy's only 7 years old. He needs me.I'm not saying he doesn't need his father... but I really believe he needs me more.I was his mommy for five and a half years...and Ted took over that role for 1 8 months.But I don't know how anybody can possibly believethat I have less of a stake in mothering that little boy... than Mr. Kramer does.I'm his mother.I'm his mother.Thank you, Mrs. Kramer.I have no further questions.Now then, Mrs. Kramer... .you say that you were married for eight years, is that correct?yesIn all that time did your husband ever strike you or physically abuse you?No.Did he ever strike or physically abuse his child in any way? NoWould you describe your husband as an alcoholic?NoA heavy drinker?NoWas he unfaithful?NoDid he ever fail to provide for you in any way?NoI can certainly see why you left him.Objection.How long do you plan to live in New York, Mrs. Kramer? Permanently.How many boyfriends have you had, permanently?Objection on grounds of vagueness.I'll allow it.I don't recall.More than three, less than 33, permanently?-Objection. -Overruled. The witness will answer, please. Somewhere in between.Do you have a lover now?Your Honour, I would request a direct answer to a direct question. Does she have a lover?I'll allow that. The witness will answer, please.Yes, I'm seeing someone now.Is that...permanent?I don't know.We don't know when you say permanently... ...if you plan to live in New York, or keep your child, for that matter...since you've never done anything that could be regarded as permanent.Objection. I request the counsel be prevented from harassing the witness.Sustained.I'll put it another way, counsellor.What was the longest personal relationship in your life... utside of parents or girlfriends?I suppose that would be my child.Whom you've seen twice in a year. Mrs. Kramer, yourex-husband....wasn't he the longest personal relationship in your life?点头Would you speak up? I couldn't hear you.How long was that?We were married a year before the baby... and seven years after. So you were a failure at the most important relationship in your life.-Objection. -Overruled. The witness's opinion on this is relevant.I was not a failure.What do you call it, a success? The marriage ended in divorce.I consider it less my failure than his.Congratulations. You've just rewritten matrimonial law. You were both divorced.Objection!Your Honour, I would like to ask what this model of stability... and respectability has ever succeeded at.Were you a failure at the one most important relationship in your life?It did not succeed.-Not it, Mrs. Kramer, you.Were you a failure at the one most important relationship in your life?Were you?!Is that a yes, Mrs. Kramer? 点头No further questions.。