What Prince George’s Bathrobe Says About Modern Parents1 喬治王子的睡袍

By Faith Moore 文露/選 何遠遠/注

Arguably2 the best thing that happened during the Obamas visit to England in April was the meeting between the president and two-year-old Prince George. The tiny royal， who had been allowed to stay up past his bedtime in order to meet Mr. and Mrs. Obama， shook hands with the leader of the free world—in his nightclothes.3 Moments after the photos of their meeting appeared online， the bathrobe Prince George had been wearing sold out4 in stores. It cant be denied that the bathrobe was adorable. But what toddler5， in this day and age， wears a bathrobe？

I cant help but imagine those many bathrobes languishing in the closets and dresser drawers of children across the Western world in the weeks to come.6 So why did their parents buy them？ Was it just to take one adorable photo to post on social media with a jokey caption declaring that now their Johnny was also ready to meet the president？7 Or was it something else？ Something that had to do with seeing that little boy with his hair neatly combed and his pajamas neatly pressed that set off a yearning in the hearts of parents everywhere to return to the kind of lifestyle that Will and Kate represent？8

While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are refreshingly modern by royal standards， they are still quite old-fashioned by todays parenting standards.9 In fact， they are very publicly living a life more commonly associated with the 1950s， with all the wholesomeness and family values that entails.10 Kate is essentially a stay-at-home mom. She is always impeccably11 dressed. Her children are neat and well-behaved12. Their household runs like clockwork.13 And William is unequivocally14 the head of the family.

But does this really appeal to us？ Arent we supposed to want something else， to “have it all？” Women should be able to maintain their careers and their homes without giving anything up. Men should take on15 an equal share of the housework and childcare. This is what we should want. But that little bathrobe suggests otherwise.

When we see that little boy， looking like Michael Darling from Peter Pan， something pulls at our heartstrings.16 We want our children to look like that too. Not just to be adorable—although thats part of it—but to embody17 that lifestyle. Thats a little boy who knows how to shake hands. Hell look you in the eye and say “How do you do？” Hell go straight to bed when hes told and hell do it with a smile and a kiss.

Of course， Will and Kate （and little George and his sister Charlotte） are royalty. And that adds to their appeal. It makes the life they live glamorous and aspirational.18 It filters out impediments to the 1950s lifestyle， like the difficulties of raising a family on one income or the drudgery of housework.19 But what we are left with is a glittering nugget of truth； the essence of the thing，20 rather than the details.

That bathrobe is a whimsical nod to a lifestyle we women have said we dont want， one weve gleefully cast aside in order to pursue our careers， burn our bras， and order take-out instead of slaving away in the kitchen.21 But that bathrobe. We bought that bathrobe. And even though it will live in the back of the closet， we wont throw it out. Because， well tell ourselves， he might wear it one day. And， you never know， he just might.

1. Prince George： 喬治小王子，是英國威廉王子與凱特王妃的長子；bathrobe： 浴衣，浴袍。

2. arguably： 按理說，無疑地。

3. royal： 王室成員，皇族；stay up： 深夜不睡，熬夜；nightclothes： 睡衣。

4. sell out： 售空，賣光。

5. toddler： 學步的兒童。

6. 我不由得想象，接下來這幾周，西方各國孩子們那么多的睡衣都將漸受冷落，沉寂在衣帽間和梳妝臺的抽屜里。languish： 受苦，受折磨；closet： 壁櫥，儲藏間；dresser： 梳妝臺。

7. jokey： 逗樂的，舉止滑稽的；caption： （圖片、漫畫的）說明文字。

8. 也許是因為看到這個小男孩梳著服服帖帖的頭發，穿著平整的睡衣睡褲，各地家長的心中油然生出一種渴望，想回歸威廉王子夫婦所象征的那種老派的生活方式？pajama：（一套）睡衣褲；press： 熨平，壓平；set off： 引發，觸發；yearning： 渴望，向往。

9. Duke and Duchess of Cambridge： 劍橋公爵和公爵夫人，指威廉王子夫婦；refreshingly： 令人耳目一新地，別具一格地；old-fashioned： 過時的，老舊的。

10. wholesomeness： wholesome的名詞形式，健康，有益身心；entail： 牽涉，需要。

11. impeccably： 完美地，無瑕疵地。

12. well-behaved： 彬彬有禮的，規規矩矩的。

13. household： 家，家務；like clockwork： 準時地，很有規律地。

14. unequivocally： 毫不含糊地，清楚明白地。

15. take on： 承擔，接受。

16. Peter Pan：《彼得·潘》，是蘇格蘭小說家、劇作家詹姆斯·馬修·巴利創作的文學作品，原名為《彼得·潘與溫迪》（Peter Pan and Wendy）； heartstring： 心弦，內心最深處的情感。

17. embody： 體現，代表。

18. glamorous： 富有魅力的，迷人的；aspirational： 勵志的，激勵人心的。

19. 這也剔除了50年代生活方式中的重重阻礙，比如靠一個人的經濟收入來養家的困難，或者家務勞動的單調乏味。filter out： 過濾掉，篩除；impediment： 妨礙，阻礙；drudgery： 單調乏味的苦差事，無聊的工作。

20. glittering： 燦爛奪目的，閃閃發光的；nugget： 小塊東西，尤指小金塊；essence： 本質，實質。

21. whimsical： 異想天開的，想入非非的；nod： 點頭；gleefully： 欣喜地，激動地；cast aside： 拋棄，丟棄；take-out： 外賣；slave away： 拼命地工作，辛苦地干。