聶卉

簡·奧斯?。↗ane Austen， 1775～1817），英國女作家，生于英國漢普郡史蒂文頓的牧師家庭，奧斯汀從小接受了良好的文學熏陶，十三四歲開始文學創(chuàng)作，著有《理智與情感》（Sense and Sensibility， 1811）、《傲慢與偏見》（Pride and Prejudice， 1813）、《曼斯菲爾德莊園》（Mansfield Park， 1814）、《愛瑪》（Emma， 1815）、《諾桑覺寺》（Northanger Abbey， 1818）、《勸導》（Persuasion， 1818）等小說作品。奧斯汀的小說以英國鄉(xiāng)紳家庭中女性的婚姻和生活為主題，既對當時英國社會中普遍存在的逐利虛偽予以批判，同時以深邃的洞察力和犀利幽默的描寫對18世紀以來感傷小說和哥特小說熱引發(fā)的情感泛濫、行為造作等現(xiàn)象進行了巧妙的諷刺，兩個世紀以來在世界范圍內(nèi)擁有廣泛的讀者。1995年始，BBC相繼將奧斯汀的小說改編為電視劇，更掀起了新一輪的簡·奧斯汀熱。1817年奧斯汀于溫徹斯特去世，終生未婚。

Excerpts1）

“It was my fathers last request to me，” replied her husband， “that I should assist his widow and daughters.”

“He did not know what he was talking of， I dare say； ten to one but he was light-headed2） at the time. Had he been in his right senses， he could not have thought of such a thing as begging you to give away half your fortune from your own child.”

“He did not stipulate3） for any particular sum， my dear Fanny； he only requested me， in general terms， to assist them， and make their situation more comfortable than it was in his power to do. Perhaps it would have been as well if he had left it wholly to myself. He could hardly suppose I should neglect them. But as he required the promise， I could not do less than give it； at least I thought so at the time. The promise， therefore， was given， and must be performed. Something must be done for them whenever they leave Norland and settle in a new home.”

“Well， then， LET something be done for them； but THAT something need not be three thousand pounds. Consider，” she added， “that when the money is once parted with， it never can return. Your sisters will marry， and it will be gone for ever. If， indeed， it could be restored to our poor little boy—”

“Why， to be sure，” said her husband， very gravely4）， “that would make great difference. The time may come when Harry will regret that so large a sum was parted with. If he should have a numerous family， for instance， it would be a very convenient addition.”

“To be sure it would.”

“Perhaps， then， it would be better for all parties， if the sum were diminished one half.—Five hundred pounds would be a prodigious5） increase to their fortunes！”

“Oh！ beyond anything great！ What brother on earth would do half so much for his sisters， even if REALLY his sisters！ And as it is—only half blood！—But you have such a generous spirit！”

“I would not wish to do any thing mean，” he replied. “One had rather， on such occasions， do too much than too little. No one， at least， can think I have not done enough for them： even themselves， they can hardly expect more.”

“There is no knowing what THEY may expect，” said the lady， “but we are not to think of their expectations： the question is， what you can afford to do.”

“Certainly—and I think I may afford to give them five hundred pounds a-piece. As it is， without any addition of mine， they will each have about three thousand pounds on their mothers death—a very comfortable fortune for any young woman.”

“To be sure it is； and， indeed， it strikes me that they can want no addition at all. They will have ten thousand pounds divided amongst them. If they marry， they will be sure of doing well， and if they do not， they may all live very comfortably together on the interest of ten thousand pounds.”

“That is very true， and， therefore， I do not know whether， upon the whole， it would not be more advisable to do something for their mother while she lives， rather than for them—something of the annuity6） kind I mean. —My sisters would feel the good effects of it as well as herself. A hundred a year would make them all perfectly comfortable.”

His wife hesitated a little， however， in giving her consent to this plan.

“To be sure，” said she， “it is better than parting with fifteen hundred pounds at once. But， then， if Mrs. Dashwood should live fifteen years we shall be completely taken in.”

“Fifteen years！ my dear Fanny； her life cannot be worth half that purchase.”

“Certainly not； but if you observe， people always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them； and she is very stout and healthy， and hardly forty. An annuity is a very serious business； it comes over and over every year， and there is no getting rid of it. You are not aware of what you are doing. I have known a great deal of the trouble of annuities； for my mother was clogged with the payment of three to old superannuated7） servants by my fathers will， and it is amazing how disagreeable she found it. Twice every year these annuities were to be paid； and then there was the trouble of getting it to them； and then one of them was said to have died， and afterwards it turned out to be no such thing. My mother was quite sick of it. Her income was not her own， she said， with such perpetual claims on it； and it was the more unkind in my father， because， otherwise， the money would have been entirely at my mothers disposal， without any restriction whatever. It has given me such an abhorrence of annuities， that I am sure I would not pin myself down to the payment of one for all the world.”

“It is certainly an unpleasant thing，” replied Mr. Dashwood， “to have those kind of yearly drains on ones income. Ones fortune， as your mother justly says， is NOT ones own. To be tied down to the regular payment of such a sum， on every rent day， is by no means desirable： it takes away ones independence.”

“Undoubtedly； and after all you have no thanks for it. They think themselves secure， you do no more than what is expected， and it raises no gratitude at all. If I were you， whatever I did should be done at my own discretion8） entirely. I would not bind myself to allow them any thing yearly. It may be very inconvenient some years to spare a hundred， or even fifty pounds from our own expenses.”

作品賞析

19世紀40年代，英國的《少女娛樂手冊》中這樣教育待嫁的小姐們：“暈倒的方式應該做到盡可能每一次有所不同，還可以表現(xiàn)得十分具有娛樂性?！钡缭?9世紀初，一位女性作家就已經(jīng)對當時這種矯揉造作發(fā)出了幽默的諷刺，她深邃的洞察力和犀利的諷刺手法為眾多作家、評論家所贊賞，“哪一位小說家都沒有像她這樣充分利用了自己對于人的不同流品的明細的感覺。以自己一貫準確的心靈、萬無一失的好品味、近乎嚴苛的道德為鑒照，她揭發(fā)出那些背離了仁慈、誠實、真摯——這些英國文學中令人喜愛的主題——的種種偏向?！边@位女性作家就是簡·奧斯汀。她一生默默無聞，終生未婚，在女性仍被限定于社交舞會和家庭婚姻的時代中選擇了作家的職業(yè)，在便于被吸墨紙掩蓋的小紙片上創(chuàng)作出六部偉大的小說作品。在更久遠的時間里，女性的婚姻和生活從未被停止討論過，而她刻畫的愛情和婚姻的印象兩百年來為世人一再閱讀和講述。

《理智與情感》是簡·奧斯汀出版的第一部作品，作者僅署名為a Lady，小說主人公為埃莉諾和瑪麗安兩姐妹，一個理智隱忍，一個浪漫沖動，二人都在情感路途中經(jīng)歷坎坷，但最終獲得了美滿婚姻。小說的開頭并沒有如《傲慢與偏見》那樣一開始就拋出“有錢的單身漢總要娶位太太，這是一條舉世公認的真理”這樣為大家所熟記的金句，而是在好戲開場前認真地介紹了故事背景：諾蘭莊園的達什伍德先生去世后，達什伍德太太和三個女兒不得不搬離自己的家，因為遺囑將家產(chǎn)都留給了她們同父異母的哥哥約翰。富有的約翰和妻子芬妮迫不及待地趕來接收自己的房產(chǎn)，哥嫂二人關于資助妹妹的對話可謂是小說真正的華麗開場：資助從起初的3000英鎊，到500英鎊，再到50英鎊，直到最后決定“像鄰居似的幫幫忙也就足夠了，越此雷池一步，不說有失體統(tǒng)，也是絕對多余的”。伍爾夫曾贊賞簡·奧斯汀，說她筆下創(chuàng)造出了一個又一個蠢人、自命不凡者、世俗之徒，她用鞭笞一般的語言為這些人物勾勒出一幅幅剪影。約翰和芬妮這對自私虛偽的夫婦大概是簡·奧斯汀留于世人的第一幅剪影。

一時無處落腳的母女四人處于寄人籬下的境況，不得不忍受芬妮刻薄的冷言冷語。芬妮弟弟愛德華的到訪為她們帶來不少安慰，這位年輕人雖靦腆但品德高尚，謙和睿智，與她們相處甚為和睦，尤其與19歲的大女兒埃莉諾情投意合。達什伍德太太的親戚約翰爵士好意在巴頓為她們提供了一座便宜的鄉(xiāng)舍，于是母女四人在巴頓開始了新的生活，并與約翰爵士的老朋友布蘭登上校相識。約翰爵士的岳母詹寧斯太太是位富有清閑的寡婦，個性粗俗爽朗，以為年輕人牽紅線為己任，嗅覺靈敏的她一口認定布蘭登上校愛慕二女兒瑪麗安。但充滿浪漫理想主義的瑪麗安可對已經(jīng)35歲一本正經(jīng)的布蘭登上校絲毫不感興趣，她的意中人一定要風度翩翩、魅力不凡。一次散步途中突遇大雨，瑪麗安在下坡時扭傷了腳，英俊的威洛比就在這時及時出現(xiàn)并將她送回了家中，二人很快陷入了熱戀。但這段高調(diào)的戀愛時光因威洛比突返倫敦而中止，瑪麗安陷入深深的痛苦中。姐姐埃莉諾也遭遇傷心事：來約翰爵士家做客的露西告訴埃莉諾，她與愛德華已經(jīng)訂婚四年。隱忍的埃莉諾謹遵承諾，保守秘密，同時也不愿為家人再添煩惱，一人獨自忍受著這份痛楚。

詹寧斯太太返回倫敦時熱情地邀請埃莉諾和瑪麗安一同前往，兩姐妹開始了充滿變數(shù)的倫敦之行。激動的瑪麗安一到倫敦就迫不及待地寫信通知了威洛比，誰料最終等來的卻是威洛比對舊情的否認以及他和別人訂婚的消息。緊接著，關于威洛比的另一件丑聞也很快被揭開，我們也終于得知布蘭登上校始終孤身一人的原因。原來，早年一位小姐與布蘭登上校青梅竹馬，后來卻被迫嫁給了他的哥哥，失意的布蘭登上校遠駐東印度群島，愛人后來卻走向了離婚和墮落。幾年后，布蘭登上校返回英國，竟在拘留所中尋見她，但此時曾經(jīng)熱情美好的佳人已病入膏肓。布蘭登上校陪伴她走完生命的最后一段歲月，并不顧流言蜚語，將她三歲的女兒伊莉莎照管長大。哪知小姑娘長到16歲時被威洛比欺騙，懷孕后又被無情地拋棄。布蘭登上校對純真的情感愈加珍惜，更不忍看到悲劇再次發(fā)生，因此在眾人都責備瑪麗安沖動無理時，唯有布蘭登上校從一開始就對瑪麗安給予了足夠的寬容，站在瑪麗安身后的他始終保持著深情的體貼和謹慎的沉默。

簡·奧斯汀的主人公都有幸得到完美的結局，埃莉諾和瑪麗安亦是如此。露西和愛德華已經(jīng)訂婚的消息公開之后，愛德華的母親大為憤怒，她早已為兒子選定了有三萬英鎊財產(chǎn)的莫頓小姐，威脅愛德華說，如果愛德華娶露西，她就將財產(chǎn)繼承權轉給他的弟弟羅伯特。愛德華卻始終堅守婚約。但沒想到的是，露西竟然轉而向獲得財產(chǎn)的羅伯特獻媚，她迅速和愛德華解除了婚約并嫁給了羅伯特。情投意合的愛德華和埃莉諾這才全無牽絆地走進了婚姻的殿堂，而瑪麗安最終也成為布蘭登夫人。所有人都各得其所，即使是花花公子威洛比，雖對失去瑪麗安懊悔不已，但在騎馬游獵的優(yōu)裕生活中也不會終日郁郁寡歡。這樣的結局似乎是對生活的寬容，抑或又是更深沉的諷刺？

但簡·奧斯汀并不熱衷講述浪漫愛情的童話，美國文學批評家哈羅德·布魯姆曾談到在奧斯汀的作品中男女間的“情意”，這種情意遠勝于愛，是一種更深沉、持久的情感。我們在埃莉諾對愛德華的欣賞與信任中窺見了這種靜水流深的情意，在布蘭登上校對瑪麗安的愛護中瞥見那尾深沉的目光。這種低沉的情意攜帶著古典主義的沉穩(wěn)，在當下已稀見的對道德秩序的描摹中為現(xiàn)代讀者保留了一份安寧。

這位成長于鄉(xiāng)紳家庭的女作家將自己的作品謙稱是“方寸大小的象牙微雕”。她的作品中幾乎不涉及上層社會或底層民眾，也沒有政治問題、社會革命，甚至很少描繪自然風景，但卻有最生動活潑的人。她對人最基本的情感和生活做出細致的觀察和描述，兩百年來每一時段的人們都可以從中清晰地指認出那些情感和生活的模樣。在這位偉大的女性作家離世兩百周年之際，讓我們再次走近她。

1. 英文節(jié)選自第一卷第二章，主要描述小說中達什伍德小姐們的哥哥約翰與妻子范尼商量如何接濟母親和他的妹妹們的場景，兩人的吝嗇和算計躍然紙上。

2. light-headed：神志不清的

3. stipulate [?st?pj?le?t] vi. 規(guī)定，講定，約定

4. gravely [ɡre?vli] adv. 認真地，嚴肅地

5. prodigious [pr??d?d??s] adj. 巨大的，龐大的

6. annuity [??nju??ti] n. 年金

7. superannuated [?su?p?r??nju?e?t?d] adj. 老弱的；老弱無能的

8. discretion [d??skre?（?）n] n. 斟酌決定（或處理）的自由；斟酌決定權