Yoko Ogawaの "Hotel Irish" を読み始めました。海岸近くにあるHotel Irishで騒動を起こした老人の客は、近くの小島に住んでいて毎週日曜日に買い物等で町にやって来ると言う。ホテルの所有者の娘で、そこで働いているMari(１７歳、多分主人公)は町の花時計のある広場にその老人に会いに行きました。（小説でしか考えられない設定ですが）
He brushed a blade of grass from the bench. When he notied a cabbage moth hovering around the flowerrs at his feet, he pulled back his legs to avoid disturbing it. There were age spots on his hands, and the knot of his tie sunk into the wrinkles on his neck. His face was ordinary, but his ears were remarkable.
"cabbage moth" は "moth" が付いているので蛾を連想しますが、花時計があるような場所なので蝶の一種の気がします。辞書には "cabbage moth" の項目は無かったので辞典を見ました。
Wikipedia: The cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae) is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, and crops in the genus Brassica (i.e. cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts).
Note: The small white butterfly is commonly called the "cabbage moth" in North America.
Wikipedia: Pieris brassicae, the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, Pieris rapae.
写真を見ると "cabbage moth" は本当は蛾ですね。しかし、注にあるように "white butterfly" を "cabbage moth" と誤って呼ぶ米国人が多いので、 "Hotel Irish" の "cabbage moth" はモンシロチョウを指していると推測します。 いつか日本語の原本で確認したいと思います。
追記（10/8/2022）： 小川洋子著『ホテル・アイリス』を借りて 'cabbage moth' が出て来た箇所だけを探して読みました。 該当の箇所は「足もとの花に寄って来る紋白蝶」となっていました。やはり「蛾」ではありませんでした。
He brushed a blade of grass from the bench. When he notied a cabbage moth hovering around the flowerrs at his feet, he pulled back his legs to avoid disturbing it. There were age spots on his hands, and the knot of his tie sunk into the wrinkles on his neck. His face was ordinary, but his ears were remarkable.
"cabbage moth" は "moth" が付いているので蛾を連想しますが、花時計があるような場所なので蝶の一種の気がします。辞書には "cabbage moth" の項目は無かったので辞典を見ました。
Wikipedia: The cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae) is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, and crops in the genus Brassica (i.e. cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts).
Note: The small white butterfly is commonly called the "cabbage moth" in North America.
Wikipedia: Pieris brassicae, the large white, also called cabbage butterfly, cabbage white, cabbage moth (erroneously), or in India the large cabbage white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is a close relative of the small white, Pieris rapae.
写真を見ると "cabbage moth" は本当は蛾ですね。しかし、注にあるように "white butterfly" を "cabbage moth" と誤って呼ぶ米国人が多いので、 "Hotel Irish" の "cabbage moth" はモンシロチョウを指していると推測します。 いつか日本語の原本で確認したいと思います。
追記（10/8/2022）： 小川洋子著『ホテル・アイリス』を借りて 'cabbage moth' が出て来た箇所だけを探して読みました。 該当の箇所は「足もとの花に寄って来る紋白蝶」となっていました。やはり「蛾」ではありませんでした。
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