相信很多人都聽說過《愛麗絲漫游奇境》這部小說，并被作者劉易斯·卡羅爾那些荒誕絕妙的想法折服。你知道嗎，劉易斯·卡羅爾是作者發(fā)表小說時用的筆名，他的真名是查爾斯·路特維奇·道奇森。他是牛津大學(xué)的講師、才華橫溢的數(shù)學(xué)家，還是當(dāng)時有名的攝影家，但他最大的名聲來自兩部小說——《愛麗絲漫游奇境》和《愛麗絲鏡中奇遇記》?！稅埯惤z》系列小說被多次改編成電影、音樂劇和動畫片，可見其影響之大。在蒂姆·波頓版的《愛麗絲》上映之際，我們一起來尋找真正的劉易斯·卡羅爾。

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson(1832-1898)， better known by the pseudonym1 Lewis Carroll， was an English author， mathematician and photographer， who authored the famous novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass， and What Alice Found There. His writing has enchanted2 readers of every age and class; his word play， logic and fantasy have overjoyed people ranging from children to the cream-of-the-crop3 of the literary world. This great artist has influenced many others with his exemplary4 work in modern art and culture.

Early Life and Education

Lewis Carroll was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson on January 27th， 1832， the eldest son and third of 11 children born to the Reverend5 Charles Dodgson and Frances Jane Lutwidge. Carroll had a happy childhood. His mother was patient and gentle. His father tutored all of his children and raised them to be good people. Carroll frequently made up games and wrote stories and poems， some of which were similar to his later published works， for his seven sisters and three brothers.

Although his years at Rugby School (1846-1849) were unhappy， he was recognized as a good student， and in 1850 he was admitted6 to further study at Christ Church， Oxford， England. He graduated in 1854， and in 1855 he became a mathematical lecturer at the college. This permanent7 appointment8， which not only recognized his academic skills but also paid him a decent9 sum， required Carroll to take holy orders10 in the Anglican Church11 and to remain unmarried. He agreed to these requirements and was made a deacon12 in 1861.

Photography and Early Publication

Among adults Carroll was reserved13， but he did not avoid their company14 as some reports have stated. He attended the theater frequently and was absorbed15 by photography and writing.

After taking up photography in 1856， he soon found that his favorite subjects were children and famous people. Though photography was mostly a hobby，

Carroll spent a great deal of time on it until 1880. He was considered one of the best photographers of his time， becoming a major influence for modern art photographers.

In the mid-1850s， Carroll also began writing both humorous and mathematical works. In 1856， he created the pseudonym “Lewis Carroll” by translating his first and middle names into Latin， reversing16 their order， then translating them back into English. His mathematical writing， however， appeared under his real name.

Alice Books

In 1856， Carroll met Alice Liddell， the four-year-old daughter of the Dean of Christ Church. During the next few years， Carroll often made up stories for Alice and her sisters. In July 1862， while on a picnic with the Liddell girls， Carroll recounted17 the adventures of a little girl who fell into a rabbit hole.

Alice asked him to write the story down for her. He did so， calling it Alice’s Adventures Under Ground. After some changes， this work was published in 1865 as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with illustrations18 by Sir John Tenniel.

Encouraged by the book’s success， Carroll wrote a second volume， Through the Looking-Glass， and What Alice Found There (1872). Based on the chess games Carroll played with the Liddell children， it included material he had written before he knew them. The first section of “Jabberwocky，” for example， was written in 1855.

Unlike most of the children’s books of the day， Alice and Through the Looking-Glass did not attempt to convey19 obvious moral20 lessons. Nor did they contain what critics have tried to insist are there—hidden meanings relating to religion or politics. They were delightful adventure stories in which a normal， healthy， clearheaded little girl reacts to the “reality” of the adult world. Their appeal21 to adults as well as to children lies in Alice’s intelligent response to ridiculous22 language and action.

Other Works

Although the Alice books were definitely Carroll’s best-known works， he also wrote a lot of poetry， stories and essays. Another of his less-remembered works is The Hunting of the Snark(1874)， a rather long epic tale of a ship which very loosely relates to the “Jabberwocky” poem.

He also published another set of two novels， Sylvie and Bruno(1889) and Sylvie and Bruno Concluded (1893). These were never as popular as the Alice books， and received little critical approval23.

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson vs. Lewis Carroll

The Reverend C. L. Dodgson was a reserved， fussy24 bachelor25 who refused to get wrapped up in the political and religious storms that troubled England during his lifetime. Lewis Carroll， however， was a delightful， lovable companion to the children for whom he created his nonsense stories and poems. Biographers and historians have long been confused that one man could have two completely different sides.

One solution is that he had two personalities: “Lewis Carroll” and “the Reverend Mr. Dodgson，” with the problems that go along with having a split personality26. There were peculiar things about him he had stammered27 ever since he was a child， he was extremely fussy about his possessions28， and he walked as much as 20 miles a day. But another solution seems more nearly correct: “Dodgson” and “Carroll” were parts of one personality. This personality， because of happiness in childhood and unhappiness in the years thereafter， could blossom only in a world that resembled29 the happy one he knew while growing up.

查爾斯·路特維奇·道奇森(1832-1898)更為人所知的名字是其筆名——劉易斯·卡羅爾。這位集作家、數(shù)學(xué)家和攝影師于一身的英國人寫下了著名小說《愛麗絲漫游奇境》及其姐妹篇——《愛麗絲鏡中奇遇記》。他的作品讓各個年齡段和階層的人都為之陶醉。上至文學(xué)精英，下至童稚小孩，所有人都對他的文字游戲、邏輯推理和想象力非常著迷。這位偉大的藝術(shù)家以其具有楷模意義的作品影響了現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)和文化領(lǐng)域的后來人。

早期生活和教育

劉易斯·卡羅爾出生于1832年1月27日，真名是查爾斯·路特維奇·道奇森。他是查爾斯·道奇森牧師和弗朗西斯·簡·路特維奇的長子，在11個孩子中排行第三。卡羅爾的童年很快樂。他的母親溫柔耐心，父親則是孩子們的老師，教育他們要當(dāng)好人?？_爾經(jīng)常給他的七個姐妹和三個弟弟創(chuàng)造游戲，寫故事和詩歌，其中一些與其后來出版的作品很相似。

盡管他在拉格比公學(xué)的日子(1846年至1849年)不太好過，但他是公認(rèn)的好學(xué)生。1850年，他被英國牛津大學(xué)基督學(xué)院錄取，繼續(xù)深造。他于1854年畢業(yè)，1855年成為該學(xué)院的數(shù)學(xué)講師。這個長期任職不但是對卡羅爾的學(xué)術(shù)能力的肯定，還讓他得到了一筆可觀的收入。這個職位要求卡羅爾接受(英國)圣公會的圣職，并且終生不娶。他同意了這些要求，在1861年成為了一名執(zhí)事。

攝影及早期出版物

與成年人相處時，卡羅爾表現(xiàn)得沉默寡言，但他不像一些資料里寫到的那樣拒人于千里之外。他經(jīng)常出入劇院，熱衷于攝影和寫作。

1856年接觸攝影不久后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己最喜歡的題材是小孩和名人。雖然攝影只算是卡羅爾的愛好，但一直到1880年，他在這方面花費了大量時間。他被認(rèn)為是當(dāng)時最優(yōu)秀的攝影師之一，對現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)攝影師影響頗大。

19世紀(jì)50年代中期，卡羅爾開始撰寫幽默故事和數(shù)學(xué)著作。1856年，他把自己的前兩個名字翻譯成拉丁文，調(diào)換位置，然后再將它們翻譯成英語，最終創(chuàng)造出“劉易斯·卡羅爾”這個筆名。其數(shù)學(xué)著作則用真名發(fā)表。

《愛麗絲》系列

1856年，卡羅爾認(rèn)識了基督學(xué)院院長的女兒——4歲的愛麗絲·利德爾。在接下來的幾年里，卡羅爾經(jīng)常為愛麗絲和她的姐妹們創(chuàng)作故事。1862年7月，在與利德爾姐妹野餐的時候，卡羅爾講述了一個小女孩掉進(jìn)兔子洞的歷險故事。

愛麗絲請卡羅爾為她寫下這個故事。他把故事寫了出來，并取名為《愛麗絲地下歷險記》。經(jīng)過一些修改后，這部作品于1865年以《愛麗絲漫游奇境》的名字出版，約翰·坦尼爾爵士為其配插圖。

由于小說大受歡迎，受到鼓舞的卡羅爾寫了第二冊——《愛麗絲鏡中奇遇記》(1872年)。這本書以卡羅爾和利德爾家孩子玩國際象棋的經(jīng)歷為基礎(chǔ)，還加入了一些認(rèn)識他們之前所寫的材料。例如，(胡話詩)《炸脖渥》的第一節(jié)就寫于1855年。

與當(dāng)時大多數(shù)兒童作品不同，《愛麗絲漫游奇境》和《愛麗絲鏡中奇遇記》沒有試圖傳達(dá)顯而易見的道德教條，也不包含一些評論家曾經(jīng)堅稱存在的東西——與宗教或政治有關(guān)的隱藏含義。它們只是輕松愉快的冒險故事，講述了一個頭腦清醒、身體健康的普通小女孩如何應(yīng)對成人世界的“現(xiàn)實”。這些故事之所以讓大人小孩都為之著迷，是因為愛麗絲能對荒謬的語言和行為作出機(jī)智的反應(yīng)。

其他作品

《愛麗絲》系列無疑是卡羅爾最出名的作品，但其實他還寫了大量詩歌、故事和論文，比如其流傳不那么廣的作品《斯納克之獵》(1874年)。這是一個關(guān)于一條大船的史詩式故事，篇幅相當(dāng)長，和詩歌《炸脖渥》有那么一點聯(lián)系。

他還出版了一套兩本的系列小說——《西爾維和布魯諾》(1889年)以及《西爾維和布魯諾完結(jié)篇》(1893年)。但這兩部小說遠(yuǎn)不及《愛麗絲》系列受歡迎，也沒有得到評論家的認(rèn)可。

查爾斯·路特維奇·道奇森PK劉易斯·卡羅爾

C·L·道奇森牧師是一個沉默寡言、愛挑剔的單身漢。在他生活的年代，英國經(jīng)受了一系列政治和宗教風(fēng)波，但他完全置身事外。另一方面，劉易斯·卡羅爾卻是孩子們的好伙伴，為他們創(chuàng)作了許多荒誕故事和詩歌。長期以來，傳記作家和歷史學(xué)家都對此感到疑惑不解:一個人為何會有完全相反的兩面?

其中一種解釋是他有雙重性格：癥狀表現(xiàn)為“劉易斯·卡羅爾”和“道奇森牧師”這兩種分裂人格。他有一些古怪的地方——自孩童時代起，他一直有口吃；他對自己的東西極其挑剔；他每天要步行20英里(32千米)。但是另一種解釋似乎更為準(zhǔn)確：“道奇森”和“卡羅爾”是同一個人格的組成部分。由于經(jīng)歷了快樂的童年和之后的痛苦歲月，只有在與其成長中所認(rèn)識的那個幸福世界相似的環(huán)境下，這種人格才會綻放光芒。

注釋

1)pseudonym n. 筆名

2)enchant v.使心醉，使迷住

3)cream-of-the-crop 精華，最佳部分

4)exemplary a.值得模仿的

5)Reverend n.對牧師的尊稱，前面與the連用

6)admit v.獲準(zhǔn)（入學(xué)）

7)permanent a.永久的

8)appointment n.任命，職位

9)decent a.得體的，適合的

10)holy orders （天主教和英國圣公會教堂三個高級職位的）圣職

11)Anglican Church 圣公會（英國國教）

12)deacon n.（英國國教教會等的）執(zhí)事

13)reserved a.沉默的，話不多的

14)company n.陪伴

15)absorb v.吸引

16)reverse v.倒轉(zhuǎn)

17)recount v.描述，講述

18)illustration n.插圖

19)convey v.傳送

20)moral a.道德上的

21)appeal n.吸引力

22)ridiculous a.荒唐的

23)approval n.贊許

24)fussy a.過分注意細(xì)節(jié)的，挑剔的

25)bachelor n.未婚男子，單身漢

26)split personality 人格分裂

27)stammer v.口吃，結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說

28)possession n.（私人）財產(chǎn)

29)resemble v.像，類似