(单词翻译:单击)
名著阅读'And calculated on it,' she rejoined, 'and so pursued me. Grown too indifferent for any opposition but indifference, to the daily working of the hands that had moulded me to this; and knowing that my marriage would at least prevent their hawking of me up and down; I suffered myself to be sold, as infamously as any woman with a halter round her neck is sold in any market-place. You know that.'
'Yes,' he said, showing all his teeth 'I know that.'
'And calculated on it,' she rejoined once more, 'and so pursued me. From my marriage day, I found myself exposed to such new shame - to such solicitation and pursuit (expressed as clearly as if it had been written in the coarsest words, and thrust into my hand at every turn) from one mean villain, that I felt as if I had never known humiliation till that time. This shame my husband fixed upon me; hemmed me round with, himself; steeped me in, with his own hands, and of his own act, repeated hundreds of times. And thus - forced by the two from every point of rest I had - forced by the two to yield up the last retreat of love and gentleness within me, or to be a new misfortune on its innocent object - driven from each to each, and beset by one when I escaped the other - my anger rose almost to distraction against both I do not know against which it rose higher - the master or the man!'
He watched her closely, as she stood before him in the very triumph of her indignant beauty. She was resolute, he saw; undauntable; with no more fear of him than of a worm.
'What should I say of honour or of chastity to you!' she went on. 'What meaning would it have to you; what meaning would it have from me! But if I tell you that the lightest touch of your hand makes my blood cold with antipathy; that from the hour when I first saw and hated you, to now, when my instinctive repugnance is enhanced by every minute's knowledge of you I have since had, you have been a loathsome creature to me which has not its like on earth; how then?'
He answered with a faint laugh, 'Ay! How then, my queen?'
'On that night, when, emboldened by the scene you had assisted at, you dared come to my room and speak to me,' she said, 'what passed?'
He shrugged his shoulders, and laughed
'What passed?' she said.
'Your memory is so distinct,' he said, 'that I have no doubt you can recall it.'
'I can,' she said. 'Hear it! Proposing then, this flight - not this flight, but the flight you thought it - you told me that in the having given you that meeting, and leaving you to be discovered there, if you so thought fit; and in the having suffered you to be alone with me many times before, - and having made the opportunities, you said, - and in the having openly avowed to you that I had no feeling for my husband but aversion, and no care for myself - I was lost; I had given you the power to traduce my name; and I lived, in virtuous reputation, at the pleasure of your breath'
'All stratagems in love - ' he interrupted, smiling. 'The old adage - '
'On that night,' said Edith, 'and then, the struggle that I long had had with something that was not respect for my good fame - that was I know not what - perhaps the clinging to that last retreat- was ended. On that night, and then, I turned from everything but passion and resentment. I struck a blow that laid your lofty master in the dust, and set you there, before me, looking at me now, and knowing what I mean.'
He sprung up from his chair with a great oath. She put her hand into her bosom, and not a finger trembled, not a hair upon her head was stirred. He stood still: she too: the table and chair between them.~
'When I forget that this man put his lips to mine that night, and held me in his arms as he has done again to-night,' said Edith, pointing at him; 'when I forget the taint of his kiss upon my cheek - the cheek that Florence would have laid her guiltless face against - when I forget my meeting with her, while that taint was hot upon me, and in what a flood the knowledge rushed upon me when I saw her, that in releasing her from the persecution I had caused by my love, I brought a shame and degradation on her name through mine, and in all time to come should be the solitary figure representing in her mind her first avoidance of a guilty creature - then, Husband, from whom I stand divorced henceforth, I will forget these last two years, and undo what I have done, and undeceive you!'
Her flashing eyes, uplifted for a moment, lighted again on Carker, and she held some letters out in her left hand.
'See these!' she said, contemptuously. 'You have addressed these to me in the false name you go by; one here, some elsewhere on my road. The seals are unbroken. Take them back!'
She crunched them in her hand, and tossed them to his feet. And as she looked upon him now, a smile was on her face.
'We meet and part to-night,' she said. 'You have fallen on Sicilian days and sensual rest, too soon. You might have cajoled, and fawned, and played your traitor's part, a little longer, and grown richer. You purchase your voluptuous retirement dear!'
'Edith!' he retorted, menacing her with his hand. 'Sit down! Have done with this! What devil possesses you?'
“你也正指望着这一点!”她回答道,”所以就来追求我。我已变得对一切太漠不关心,所以对那双把我塑造成现在这个样子的那双手的日常工作,我只是漠不关心而不会提出任何反对。我知道,我结了婚至少可以阻止他们把我到处兜售;我听凭自己被可耻地卖出去,就像脖子上套着绳圈、在任何市场上被卖出去的任何女人一样。你知道这一点。”
“是的,”他露出所有的牙齿,说道,”我知道这一点。”
“你也正指望着这一点!”她回答道,”所以就来追求我。从我结婚的那一天起,我发现我面临着一种新的羞辱--面临着一位卑鄙的恶棍的勾引与追求(那就仿佛是用最粗野的文字写在纸上一样清楚,这张纸又经常不断地被塞到我的手里);它使我感到,仿佛直到这时候我才开始明白屈辱是什么。这羞辱是我的丈夫给我安排好的,是他亲自把我关进羞辱的圈子中,是他亲自把我浸泡在羞辱的水中,而且自愿地重复做了几百次。就这样,这两个人迫使我失去了我的任何安宁,这两个人迫使我放弃了我内心最后剩余的一点爱与温情,或者给我的爱与温情的对象招致了新的不幸;就这样,我从一个人那里被赶到另一个人那里;当我避开了一个人的时候,我却被另一个人所困扰--,我对他们两人的愤怒几乎达到了发狂的地步。我不知道对谁更愤怒,是对主人呢还是对他的奴仆!”
当美丽的她以胜利者的姿态愤怒地站在他的面前时,他目不转睛地注视着她。他看到,她是坚决的,无畏的,对他就像对一个虫子一样,毫不害怕。
“关于荣誉或贞洁,我有什么可以对你说的呢!”她继续说下去,”这对你有什么意义呢,对我又有什么意义呢!可是如果我对你说,你的手稍稍碰到我一下,我的血就会由于厌恶而发冷;如果我对你说,从我第一次看到你和憎恨你的时候开始,直到现在,我对你愈益了解,我对你的本能的反感就愈益增强,因此,对我来说,你一直是一个我讨厌的东西,在世界上再也找不到它的同类了;可是如果我对你说这些,那么又将怎样呢?”
他轻轻地笑了一下,回答道,”是呀!那么又将怎样呢,我的皇后?”
“那天夜里,在那个你曾助了一臂之力的场面出现之后,你鼓起勇气,胆敢走进我的房间对我说话,”她说道,”那以后的事情是怎样的?”
他耸耸肩膀,又大笑着。
“那以后的事情是怎样的?”她又问道。
“你的记性很好,”他回答道,”我毫不怀疑,你能记得。”
“是的,我能,”她说道,”听着吧!那时你建议逃走--不是像这样的逃走,而是他你所想的那样逃走--;你对我说,因为我准许你进行那次会晤,让你可能在那里被找到(如果你认为那样是合适的话),因为我以前好多次允许你跟我单独在一起,并为这提供了机会(你是这样说的),还因为我直言不讳地向你承认,我对我的丈夫除了厌恶之外没有别的感情,而且我对我自己不关心,这样我就把我自己断送了;你还说,我给了你诽谤我名声的权力;我今后是否保住贞洁的声誉就全凭你怎么说了。”
“在爱情中的一切策略--”他笑嘻嘻地打断说,”古老的谚语--”
“在那天夜里,”伊迪丝说道,”我长久以来一直在进行的一个斗争终止了,那绝不是为关心我的美好名声而进行的斗争。我不知道是在跟什么进行斗争,--也许是在跟我内心剩余的那点爱与温情斗争吧。那天夜里,我除了愤怒与怨恨外,抛弃了其他一切感情。我打出一拳,它使你的傲慢的主人蒙受了奇耻大辱,并迫使你现在在这里站在我面前,望着我,并了解我的用意是什么。”
他大声地咀咒了一声,从椅子上跳了起来。她把手伸进怀里,没有一个手指发抖,没有一根头发动一动。他一动不动地站着,她也一动不动地站着,在他们中间隔着一张桌子和一把椅子。
“今后如果我已忘记这个人那天夜里就像他今天夜里又这样做的一样,把他的嘴唇压到我的嘴唇上,并把我搂在他的怀里的话,”伊迪丝指着他,说道,”今后如果我已忘记他的吻在我的脸颊(这是弗洛伦斯愿意将她天真无邪的小脸紧贴着的脸颊)上留下的污点的话,今后如果我已忘记当这污点还在我脸上发烧时,我曾经遇见她的话(当我看见她的时候,我突然思潮如涌地想起,我对她的爱会使她遭受迫害;我的逃走虽然可以使她免遭这种迫害,但我却由于自己不顾耻辱与堕落,给她的名声也蒙上了耻辱,造成了损害,因此在她的心中今后我将永远是一个她必须首先避开的罪人了),今后如果我把这一切都已忘记的话,那么,那时候,我的丈夫,从今以后我已与您离婚的丈夫,我将忘记最近的这两年,向您解释我所做的事情,使您醒悟过来!”
她闪闪发光的眼睛抬起一会儿,然后又停落在卡克身上;她把左手里拿着的几封信向他递过去。
“看这些信!”她轻蔑地说道,”你把这些信寄给我,信封上还用你杜撰的名义来称呼我:一封信交到这里,其他的几封留在我路途中停留的地方。这些信全都没有拆开。拿回去吧。”
她把它们揉成一团,投掷在他的脚边。当她重新看着他的时候,她脸上露出一丝微笑。
“我们今天夜里见面,今天夜里分离,”她说道。”你对西西里的日子和淫荡欢乐的休息想得太早了。你本可以继续哄骗,继续溜须拍马,把你那奸诈的角色扮演得稍许长久一些,钱挣得更多一些。你已为贪恋女色的退隐生活付出了昂贵的代价了!”
“伊迪丝,”他做了个威胁的手势,回答道,”坐下,把这一套收起来吧!什么魔鬼附着在你身上了!”
背景阅读
本书简介:
《董贝父子》是狄更斯最重要的作品之一,发表于1848年。小说描写了董贝父子公司的盛衰史。董贝是个贪得无厌的大资本家,妻子儿女都成了他追逐利润的工具和摆设。公司经理卡克尔是个奸诈小人,骗取了董贝的信任后又一手造成了他的破产。在现实的教训中,董贝的思想发生了转变。最后,虽然他已无法重整家业,却成全了真正的家庭幸福。
豆瓣热评:永恒的大团圆结局
来自: 阿壳
在读托尔金,C.S.刘易斯和狄更斯的小说前,我很少思想关于大团圆结局的事。而这三位作家是毫不掩饰自己热爱大团圆结局的,他们都是英国人。我不知道英国文学里是否有这一种传承,我读的很少;不过我相信,在信仰上他们确实是一脉相承。刘易斯的《纳尼亚传奇》和《裸颜》是基督教寓言小说,当他有更多更清晰直白的见解时,他就放下寓言,转而将它们变为论述或演讲。托尔金不太赞成他的好朋友那样赤裸裸地谈论信仰,他自己的魔戒系列和精灵宝钻是另一种类型的寓言体,不过依然深深渗透了基督教思想——只要把它们放在圣经面前,就会很容易识别出托尔金的信念是从哪里寻得依傍。他极其喜爱公式化的“从此以后他过着幸福的生活”,狄更斯也一样,甚至有过之而无不及。
在我所读过的《雾都孤儿》、《大卫?科波菲尔》、《圣诞颂歌》和《董贝父子》中,狄更斯不管形势有多严峻,某些人能过上幸福生活的可能性是多么微小——依然坚持到结尾时把他们全部聚拢在一起,使他们苦尽甘来,平平安安,欢欢乐乐,相亲相爱,永不分离。有时候我不由猜想,他是不是想要实现某种人间天国,但很快便打消了这念头。不如说大团圆在他笔下之所以成为可能、那样牢固,正是由他对这个世界以外有天国怀有真切的盼望。他随时描写那看不见的天国,随时使他的故事与人物浸透在那种光芒中。我没见过比他更天真的作家,天真到令人感动的地步,就像他钟爱自己笔下各种各样的“憨人”,不惜亲自出马保护他们,尽管他们傻气,不谙世事,偶尔会因自己的轻信挨近危险边缘——但他们绝不会有真正的危险,真正危险的是那种因聪明而自负的人。狄更斯以他叫人眼花缭乱的幽默手法描写这些傻乎乎的人,用上他最亲切的笔墨,仿佛是在叫喊:在这样的世界里做一个天真的人是可以的!你信上帝吗?上帝保佑你!——这句话的意思其实是“在人这是不能的,在神凡事都能。”(马太福音19:26)从同一个思路出发,因此他也毫不为自己的故事有一个美好结局而感到羞赧或犹疑。
我从娱乐作品中见过同样被称作“团圆”的结局,但它们不是同一种,和狄更斯的作品比起来,那不是真团圆。香港晚间黄金时段的电视剧几乎都有譬如真相大白,破镜重圆,有情人终成眷属,好有好报坏有坏报等等情节,也时常可见“从此以后他们过上幸福的生活”。类似的结尾也出现在给小学生改写的童话里。一本叫《屠猫记?法国文化史钩沉》的书谈到,《小红帽》的最初版本是极其血腥的,在几个世纪间,类似的民间传说大多是为了告诫年轻人这个世界的残酷,要想活下去(甚至不是为了能活得多么好)你就得留神。因此,真团圆首先要面对的问题是在一个残酷世界中得到幸福怎么可能。这其实是个严肃的问题,通常电视剧不负有探讨的责任,言情小说也没有,改写的童话同样不予理会。于是我们不得不遭遇断裂:小时候事情是一个版本,等到我们长大后——它们就无情地改变了。
真团圆必须得迎难而上,否则它就不过是娱乐,演和看的人同样不信。狄更斯信,而且似乎不需要论证。和他相比,雨果不但是个雄辩家,而且简直是个没多大信心的人,他在自己的小说里长篇累牍地辩论,甚至给我一种印象,如果他在每一章的开头不把事情为什么可以那样进行说清楚,事情就真的没法儿那样进行了。而且,即便它如期进行,却充满了暴力的痕迹。就像雨果本人对法国大革命十分推崇,认为人类要想有大团圆结局便无法绕道。他把暴力写得那样激昂,那样美。和他比起来狄更斯真是毫不进取,缺乏光荣,也一点都不浪漫。他只是温和却严肃地看着自己笔下的人物,也看着他的读者,仿佛是说:你应当舍己去爱。为什么?——你信上帝吗?愿上帝保佑你!
不过,即使对狄更斯而言,真团圆的难题也是不容易解决的,因为疑虑多半来自生活中确实没有那么多的幸福美满——果真如此吗?我想起那几本书的结尾,是否有人死亡或奄奄一息呢,是的,有,有两种情况。一种是误入歧途的人,无论他们之前多么坏,此时潘然悔悟,迎接他们的是“当一个忏悔的罪人夹在九十九个正直人中间进入天堂时,天使们的脸上可能出现的就是这种狂喜的神情”。他们离开这个绊倒人和叫人悲伤的世界,去往那真正使人安息的国度。这种结局,是从福音书耶稣基督的口里得来的。另一种情况是悲剧。作恶的人直到最后都不承认自己做了可怕的事,伤害了爱他的人和无辜的人,心里没有半点怜悯和恻隐,而只有无尽的骄傲、欲望和唯我独尊的念头——狄更斯描写这种人也是不遗余力。于是,最后他们被从“好人”中放逐出去,就像狼被从羊群中赶走,免得羊群的苦楚没有尽头。在《董贝父子》里,唯一的悲剧是那个人掉到火车的铁轨中央,狂乱中被火车撞死。然而,最可怕还不在于这种死,而是狄更斯相信有另一种永恒的死如同有永恒的活一样,两者同样出自福音书。狄更斯是节制的。小说里有不少糟糕的人物,只有这一个被“处以死刑”,不是由于他罪孽深重,而是由于他不肯回转。那个人心里有那么多肮脏的欲望和自私自利的念头,几乎等于是自己跳入到死亡之中。
狄更斯坦然书写这两种结局,对他来说那是确切无疑的,他就是那样相信的。通过他的故事,我对真团圆多了一层领悟。原来,疾病不能伤害真团圆,死也不能;贫穷和破产不能伤害真团圆,爱能填补它的空缺,它却不能填补爱的空缺;辛劳、付出得不到回报、爱一个人却眼看她与别人成婚、忍耐、默默承担,以及盼望非常遥远的事情——这一切都不能伤害真团圆,而这一切,不正是我们平常所害怕、以为一旦挨着就再也无能过上幸福生活的东西吗?那么狄更斯以为真团圆是什么呢?
“她念那永恒的书,那是给世上所有疲累的、心情沉重的人,和所有可怜的、堕落的、被忽视的人的书。她念那神圣的历史。失明的、跛腿的、瘫痪的乞丐、罪犯、蒙受耻辱的女人,我们所有正人君子避开的人,都在这历史中占一个部分。在这个世界继续存在的所有纪元里,没有任何人类的骄傲、冷淡或者诡辩能把这个部分除掉,或者减少千分之一格令。她念上帝的恩典,祂对整个人生,从出生到死亡,从婴儿到老年的一切希望和不幸都怀有亲切的同情,对人生中每一个场景、每一个阶段、每一个痛苦和悲哀,都很关心。”以及——
“海浪里的声音总是以它们那不停的喃喃声向弗洛伦斯悄悄谈论爱。那爱是永恒的,无限的,并不被今世和末日所局限,而是扩展开去,越过大海,越过天空,一直到远处那个看不见的地方!”(引自《董贝父子》)
于是,狄更斯在他的故事的结尾,把所有曾经痛苦、误入歧途和懊悔的人聚集在一起,使他们最远不会离开彼此一条街。我曾经疑惑,为什么这些人总是会相聚、相识,相爱,在现实生活中这可能吗?然而,是可能的!因为他们最后总会成为某种相像的人,总是随时乐于给予而将自己的益处置之度外。经过种种磨难后,他们终于在一起,因为信仰,盼望和爱而联合了。这就是作者所相信的大团圆,它们是如此沉甸甸,因为不是不付出代价的。如果疾病,患难,贫穷,痛苦,伤害——这个残酷世界所具有的一切武器——都不能使他们仇恨彼此,不信上帝的恩慈,那么还有什么能阻挡他们,使他们无法过上幸福美满的生活呢?
于是这永恒的大团圆结局仿佛是在说:选择过幸福的生活吧,亲爱的朋友!愿上帝祝福你!