pumpkin eater是什么意思?

英国的一首童谣：
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And then he kept her very well。
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had another, and didn't love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well。

翻译是:
彼得彼得,吃南瓜的人,
娶了老婆养不活她,
把她养在南瓜壳里,
这次她可满意啦!

彼得、特吃南瓜,
有个情人却不爱她,
彼得学会了读和写,
爱她爱得没办法。

看得出来“Pumpkin Eater”其实就是“养不起老婆的男人”的意思。因为那童谣里说吃南瓜的人,那个吃南瓜的男子,是留不住自己的妻子的。这本书的男主角王庇德整部书里怎样都留不住他的太太,所以他就是一个吃南瓜的人。