The Mysterious Miss Austen谜一样的奥斯汀

2017-06-28ByMeredithHindley

新东方英语 2017年7期

By+Meredith+Hindley

簡.奥斯汀，一位来自英国汉普郡小村庄的、未接受多少学校教育的普通女子，是如何写出英语文学中最受读者喜爱的六部经典小说的呢？这至今是一个谜。简.奥斯汀将自己的创作比作“方寸大小的象牙微雕”，描写的通常是“乡间村庄的三四户人家”，然而她却具有将寻常琐事和普通人物描写得栩栩如生的天赋，被评论家们称为能与莎士比亚等文学巨匠齐名的伟大语言艺术家。在她逝世两百周年之际，让我们再次走近她，了解谜一样的奥斯汀。

For the past two centuries， historians and literary scholars have attempted to solve the mystery that is Jane Austens life. How did a woman from a small village in Hampshire come to write six of the most beloved novels in the English language？ Their search for answers has been complicated by the fact that Austen lived a quiet life.

Scholars have used Austens letters， along with family diaries， correspondence by friends and family， and county records to reconstruct much of Austens life. When everything is assembled， it reveals a woman at the mercy of1） her familys finances for her very existence， yet nurtured and supported by her relatives when they recognized an uncommon talent in their midst.

The Surety of Steventon

Austen was born on December 16， 1775， which was a month later than her parents， George and Cassandra， reckoned she should arrive. With six other children—James， George， Edward， Henry， Cassandra， and Francis—the Austens might have been more adept at counting the weeks. They were happy for the arrival of another daughter. Another brother， Charles， followed four years later， marking an end to the familys expansion. The Austens were continually strapped2） for money， even though the parsonage3） at Steventon， a small village in Hampshire， provided a living. Three years before Janes birth， the Austens opened a school for boys as a way to earn extra income. From an early age， Austens world was full of boyish antics4）， bawdy5） humor， and outdoor exploration.

Leaving that rough-and-tumble6） world behind， seven-year-old Jane was sent， along with her sister Cassandra， to a girls school in Oxford. The Austen girls stayed only a year， returning home after both became ill from typhoid7）. Jane and Cassandra passed a year at Steventon before being enrolled in Mrs. La Tournelles Ladies Boarding School in Reading， where they again stayed only a year.

Austens departure from Mrs. La Tournelles School put an end to her formal education at age ten. However， Austen was far from “unlearned”—indeed， it would have been difficult for her to escape getting an education. George Austen kept a sizable library—one bookcase reportedly covered sixty-four square feet of wall—which his children were encouraged to explore. There were ongoing science experiments and constant engagement with the natural world. Dinner table conversations， which included Georges pupils， ran on philosophy， literature， and science， along with dashes8） of racing， horses， and neighborhood gossip.

When young Jane showed a spark of talent for writing， her father encouraged his budding author， buying her journals and writing paper， both expensive commodities. Austen wasnt afraid to experiment， trying her hand at playwriting， as well as a novel with a morally suspect9） heroine. When she was nineteen， Austen began working on “Elinor and Marianne，” the precursor10） to Sense and Sensibility， which chronicles how the Dashwood11） sisters reconciled their hearts to the brutal realities of the marriage market for women without means12）. Austen understood their predicament well， as neither she nor Cassandra had a dowry13）， because of their fathers ongoing financial problems.

Austen received a lesson in the cruel incompatibility of love and money when she fell hard for Tom Lefroy， a twenty-year-old Irishman. She met the “very gentlemanlike， good-looking， pleasant young man” during the Christmas season of 1795～1796. Lefroy fell for Austen as well， but the match was impossible. As the oldest son of a retired soldier of limited means， he was expected to make a good marriage in order to provide for his five sisters.

Austen began “First Impressions，” which would become Pride and Prejudice， in the fall of 1796， working on it for the next year. She had already begun exploring the implications of a woman professing14） her feelings—or keeping them closely guarded—in “Elinor and Marianne.” That theme again appeared in “First Impressions.”

Betwixt and Between15）

Between 1795 and 1799， Austen wrote early versions of Sense and Sensibility， Pride and Prejudice， and Northanger Abbey. Its an extraordinary period of productivity， particularly given that she was still in her early twenties. That makes the dearth16） of writing over the next decade a bit of a puzzle. The letters that survive dont hint at writers block or a lack of interest in writing. Instead， they reveal a life in a constant state of upheaval17）.

In December 1802， Austen received an unexpected marriage proposal. Her friends Alethea and Catherine Bigg decided to play matchmaker between Austen and their baby brother， Harris. The tall， strapping Harris was five years younger than Austen and had just completed his studies at Oxford. As the heir to a sizable estate， he could provide a comfortable life for a wife. Harris was a sweet boy but socially awkward. Austen agreed to the match， flattered by his regard and the security the marriage could provide for herself and her family， but after sleeping on18） it for a night， she reconsidered. “She esteemed him， she was honoured by his proposal， but on thinking it over she realized that esteem and respect were not enough， and that she would not be behaving fairly or rightly towards him if she accepted the offer of his hand，” writes biographer Claire Tomalin19）.

In the wake of20） the marriage proposal， Austen briefly returned to writing， revising the manuscript for Northanger Abbey. In early 1803， Henry arranged for the novel to be offered to Crosby and Co.， a London publisher， which paid ?10 for it. An advertisement soon followed， trumpeting21） that it was on press， but the novel never appeared.

Austen must have been disappointed， but she soldiered on22）， beginning work on “The Watsons，” the story of a group of unmarried sisters who are anxious to make matches before their clergyman father dies. This time， fiction would mimic life， when George Austen died in January 1805. Austen set aside “The Watsons” not long after. Her nephew， James Austen-Leigh， suggests in A Memoir of Jane Austen that plot problems， namely setting the family too far down the social scale， caused her to abandon the story. But Tomalin notes that Austen planned to kill off Mr. Watson， so it is easy to see what an emotional challenge it would have been for her to keep working on the novel given the parallels to her own life.

“The loss of such a Parent must be felt， or we should be Brutes23），” wrote Austen. George Austens death was both an emotional and financial blow to his wife and daughters. While Mother Austen and Cassandra both had small savings， Jane was penniless and entirely dependent on her family. It fell to her brothers to supplement24） their living and help settle them someplace comfortable. “Seven years I suppose are enough to change every pore of ones skin， & every feeling of ones mind，” Austen wrote Cassandra， reflecting back on the events that had led her to such a perilous25） position. The Austen women bounced between family and friends before settling in Southampton.

A Cottage of Ones Own

In July 1809， the Austen women left Southampton to take up residence in Chawton， a small village about fifty miles from London. At Chawton， Austens sole chore was to make nine oclock breakfast， which consisted of tea and toast， leaving her free to write the rest of the day. The cottage seems to have provided Austen with the conditions she needed to thrive as a writer once again， and she immediately began revising Sense and Sensibility.

In late 1810， Thomas Egerton of the Military Library agreed to publish Sense and Sensibility. Egerton agreed to take the three-volume novel on commission， which meant that Austen bore the financial risk. She paid for printing， advertising， and distribution， but kept the copyright. Of course， “she paid” meant Henry did because Austen had no money of her own. By the fall in 1811， the novel was fully typeset and a notice appeared in The Morning Chronicle on October 31， 1811， announcing “A New Novel by a Lady.” Austen would eventually make a profit of ?140， no small sum for a woman who had never had her own money.

When Sense and Sensibility proved a success—with both favorable reviews and chatter among the ton—Egerton was eager to publish another novel. Austen hadnt been idle， having turned her attention to revising “First Impressions.” When Pride and Prejudice was published in January 1813—three volumes for 18 shillings—Egerton advertised it as the work of the author of Sense and Sensibility. Austen chose to remain anonymous again.

The reviews were also favorable. Critical Review praised Elizabeth， noting that her “sense and conduct are of a superior order to those of the common heroines of novels. From her independence of character， which is kept within the proper line of decorum26）， and her well-timed sprightliness27）， she teaches the man of Family-Pride to know himself better.”

More books followed： Mansfield Park （1814） and Emma （1815）. As Austen worked on the manuscript that would become Persuasion， her health started to decline and she struggled to keep her energy up. The nature of Austens illness remains a mystery and scholars have speculated28） that she suffered from everything from Addisons disease29） to tuberculosis30） to Hodgkins lymphoma31） to a recurrent form of typhus32）. Whatever wracked her body， by the spring of 1817， Austen was bedridden， and on July 18， 1817， she passed away. Six months after her death， in December 1817， two more novels were published： Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

While Austen was fashionable during her lifetime， she has become beloved in the two centuries since. Pride and Prejudice， in particular， holds a special place in modern readers hearts. In a poll done by BBC in 2003 to determine the UKs best-loved novel， Pride and Prejudice came in second behind J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. While marriage might be the central force of Pride and Prejudice， the novel has endured because of the other universals Austen captured： money woes33）， troublesome sisters， unwanted suitors34）， embarrassing mothers， meddlesome35） neighbors， snap36） judgments， the trauma of public humiliation， the agony of not knowing if your love is returned， and the desire for a happy-ever-after ending.

“Miss Austen had a talent for describing the involvements and feelings and characters of ordinary life which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-wow strain37） I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch， which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting， from the truth of the description and the sentiment， is denied to me. What a pity such a gifted creature died so early.” wrote Sir Walter Scott38） in March 1826.

在过去的两百年中，历史学家和文学学者都试图解开简·奥斯汀的一生这个谜团。一位来自汉普郡小村庄的女子到底是怎样写出了英语文学中最受读者喜爱的六部小说？要探求这个谜团的答案并不容易，因为奥斯汀的一生过得普通安静。

学者们根据奥斯汀写的信、她家人的日记、她朋友和家人写的信件以及县志的记载，重现了奥斯汀一生中的大部分境况。当所有这些材料拼在一起的时候，它呈现出了这样一位女性：她生活所需的钱全部来自家里，而当亲人们发现她身具非凡才华时，她得到了他们的培养和支持。

斯蒂文顿的安稳生活

奥斯汀生于1775年12月16日，比她的父母乔治和卡桑德拉推断的预产期迟了一个月。夫妇俩此前有六个孩子——詹姆斯、乔治、爱德华、亨利、卡桑德拉和弗朗西斯——所以这对夫妇在计算预产期方面本该更在行些才对。他们对于又迎来了一个女儿感到非常高兴。四年后，他们又生了一个男孩查尔斯，至此结束了家庭人口的增长。奥斯汀夫妇经常手头拮據，虽然在斯蒂文顿这个汉普郡的小村庄里，他们的牧师住宅所带来的收入使奥斯汀一家能勉强度日。在奥斯汀出生的三年前，奥斯汀夫妇开了一家男校，挣点外快贴补家用。从小，奥斯汀的世界就充满了男孩特有的搞怪、粗俗的幽默笑话和户外探险。

七岁时，简和她姐姐卡桑德拉一起离开了这个打闹嬉戏的世界，被送到了牛津的一所女子学校。奥斯汀姐妹在那儿只待了一年，后因两人患了伤寒而返回家中。简和卡桑德拉在斯蒂文顿待了一年，然后入读了位于雷丁的拉图尔内勒夫人主办的女子寄宿学校，在那里，她们又是只待了一年。

随着奥斯汀离开拉图尔内勒夫人的学校，她所接受的正规教育在十岁这年就结束了。不过，奥斯汀却远非“没有文化”——的确，对她而言，要摆脱教育是件很困难的事。乔治·奥斯汀有一间相当大的图书馆——据说其中的一个书柜就占满了64平方英尺的墙壁——而他的孩子被鼓励去其中探索。常常会有科学实验，与自然世界的接触也经常发生。餐桌上的对话有乔治的学生们参与，内容涵盖哲学、文学和科学，还涉及一些赛马、马匹和邻居们的家长里短。

当年轻的简展现出了写作才华的苗头时，她的父亲给这位初露才华的作者以鼓励，为她买笔记本和写作用纸，而这些可都是昂贵商品。奥斯汀不怕尝试，试着写了戏剧，还写了一个女主人公在道德方面并非无可挑剔的小说。19岁的时候，奥斯汀开始写《埃莉诺与玛丽安》，也就是《理智与情感》的前身，小说讲述了埃莉诺和玛丽安两姐妹如何将自己的内心和无收入的女性在婚姻市场上所面临的残酷现实相调和的故事。奥斯汀对她们的困境不可谓不熟悉，因为父亲一直经历着经济上的困难，她和卡桑德拉都没有嫁妆。

当奥斯汀对20岁的爱尔兰人汤姆·勒夫罗倾心不已时，她领教了爱情与金钱之间不匹配的残酷教训。在1795～1796年的圣诞节期间，她遇到了“非常绅士、帅气、令人愉快的年轻人”。勒夫罗也对奥斯汀颇为心动，但是两人之间注定不会有结果。作为收入有限的退伍兵的长子，他被家人指望娶个有钱人家的姑娘，以便为他的五个姐妹提供生活保障。

从1796年秋天开始，奥斯汀着手创作《第一印象》，也就是后来的《傲慢与偏见》，这一创作一直持续到了第二年。在《埃莉诺与玛丽安》里，她已经探索过了一个女人表露自己的感情——或者将自己的情感深埋心底——所产生的后果。这个主题再次出现在了《第一印象》中。

反复搬迁的动荡岁月

在1795～1799年间，奥斯汀写下了《理智与情感》《傲慢与偏见》以及《诺桑觉寺》这三部小说的早期版本。这段高产期不同寻常，尤其是考虑到她还只是二十几岁的年纪。这使在接下来的十年中她为何作品稀少成了一个谜团。现存的信件中并没有文思枯竭或者对写作提不起兴趣的迹象。相反，它们展示了一段巨变频生的生活。

1802年12月，奥斯汀收到了一个意料之外的求婚。她的朋友阿丽西亚和凯瑟琳·比格决定为奥斯汀和她们的弟弟哈里斯牵线搭桥。哈里斯身材高大，比奥斯汀小五岁，刚完成牛津的学业。作为一笔钱数可观的遗产的继承人，他可以为妻子提供舒适的生活。哈里斯讨人喜欢，但是不擅长社会交际。奥斯汀一开始同意了对方的求婚，为他的爱慕之意和婚姻能够为她自己和家人所提供的保障感到很高兴。但是经过了一晚上的考虑之后，她改变了主意。“她尊重他，她对他的求婚心怀感激，但是经过一番考虑后，她意识到尊重和尊敬是不够的，如果接受了他的求婚，她的这种决定对他而言将会是不公平的，也是不恰当的。”传记作家克莱尔·托马林写道。

在拒绝了求婚之后，奥斯汀又开始了一小段时间的写作，修改了《诺桑觉寺》的稿子。1803年初，亨利将这部小说交给了伦敦的出版商考斯比公司那里，公司支付了十英镑。不久之后广告也出来了，宣称小说已经投入印刷，但是小说从未面市。

奥斯汀一定感到很失望，但是她继续坚持，开始着手写一部新小说《沃森一家》，这是一个要赶在当牧师的父亲过世前把自己嫁出去的姐妹们的故事。这一次，小说中的情形与生活中的实际情况很相近，因为乔治·奥斯汀在1805年1月去世了。奥斯汀不久之后就放弃了《沃森一家》的创作。她的侄子詹姆斯·奥斯汀-利在《简·奥斯汀传》中认为，使她最终放弃这个故事的原因在于小说的情节设定——故事中的家庭所处的社会阶层太低了。但是，托马林指出，奥斯汀原计划在小说中要写沃森先生的离世，所以很容易看出，由于小说情节与她自己的生活太相似，对她而言，继续创作这部小说在情感上一定非常具有挑战。

“这样一位家长的离世，只有铁石心肠的人才不会感怀伤心。”奥斯汀写道。乔治·奥斯汀的死对他的妻子和女儿们而言是情感和经济上的双重打击。虽然奥斯汀妈妈和卡桑德拉都有微薄的积蓄，但简却身无分文，全靠家里人养活。现在轮到她的兄弟们出钱接济她们的生活，帮她们安顿到一个舒适的住处。“七年的时间在我看来足够改变我肌肤的每一个毛孔和我心里的每一种感受。”当回忆起使她陷入如此窘迫境地的这些事件时，奥斯汀在给卡桑德拉的信中这样写道。奥斯汀家的女眷们在亲戚和朋友家之间多次辗转，最终搬到了南安普敦。

一间自己的小屋

1809年7月，奥斯汀家的女眷们离开南安普敦，在距离伦敦约50英里的一个名叫查顿的小村庄住了下来。在查顿，奥斯汀唯一的家务活是做九点钟的早餐，也就是泡茶和烤面包，而一天中其余的时间她都可以花在写作上。小屋似乎为奥斯汀提供了再一次成为作家所需的条件，她立即开始着手修改《理智与情感》。

1810年底，军事图书馆的托马斯·埃杰顿同意出版《理智与情感》。埃杰顿同意将这本三卷长的小说进行委托发行，这意味着奥斯汀要自负盈亏。她支付了印刷、广告和发行的费用，但保留了版权。当然，所谓的“她支付”，实际上是亨利付的钱，因为奥斯汀自己并没有钱。1811年秋天，小说完成排版，1811年10月31日的《纪事晨报》上也刊登了一则消息，宣称这是“一位女士创作的新小说”。奥斯汀最终赚得140英镑的利润，对于一个从来没有过属于自己的钱的女士而言，这不算个小数目。

《理智与情感》大获成功：书评给出的评价不错，在上流社会间的口碑也不错。埃杰顿因此迫切希望再出版一部小说。奥斯汀也没有闲着，忙于修改《第一印象》。1813年1月《傲慢与偏见》出版时——三卷售价18先令—— 埃杰顿用“《理智与情感》的作者新作”做了宣传。奥斯汀再次选择了匿名发表。

新书的评价也不错。《书评》杂志称赞了书中伊丽莎白这个人物，认为她的“理智和举止都比小说中常见的女主人公要高出一等。无论是她在端庄合宜尺度内的独立性格，还是她不失时机的活泼热情，都使那位被视为家族荣光的男主人公加深了对自己的了解”。

此后又有两本书得以出版：《曼斯菲尔德庄园》（1814）和《爱玛》（1815）。在奥斯汀创作后来成为《劝导》一书的手稿期间，她的健康状况开始变坏，而她勉强才能打起精神来。奥斯汀到底得了什么病至今是个谜，从爱迪生氏病到肺结核，从霍奇金氏淋巴瘤到复发性斑疹伤寒，学者们的猜测至今没有定论。无论是什么疾病损害着奥斯汀的身体，在1817年春天的时候，奥斯汀卧床不起，到了1817年7月18日这一天，她因病逝世。她死后六个月，也就是1817年12月，又有两部小说出版：《诺桑觉寺》和《劝导》。

如果说当奥斯汀在世时，她的作品算是流行读物的话，在此后的两百年中，她的小说已经成为挚爱经典。《傲慢与偏见》在现代读者心目中的地位尤其特殊。在英国广播公司于2003年进行的一项关于英国最受欢迎小说的民意调查中，《傲慢与偏见》位居第二，仅次于J. R. R. 托尔金的《指环王》。虽然婚姻可能是《傲慢与偏见》受欢迎的主要原因，但小说之所以经久不衰，是因为奥斯汀还捕捉了其他的普遍现象：金钱带来的困扰，麻烦的姐妹，不中意的追求者，令人尴尬的母亲，爱管闲事的邻居，匆忙得出的结论，受到公开羞辱的创伤，不知道你爱的人是否也爱你的痛苦，以及对从此以后过上幸福生活这一欢喜大结局的渴望。

“奥斯汀女士有一种描述日常生活中事件、感受和人物的天分，在我看来，这种天分是我所见过的天分中最美好的。喧哗吵闹的场面我也能像现如今的其他作家一样一挥而就;但是那种细腻的笔触，让平凡普通的事物和人物都变得妙趣横生并忠实于描述对象和情绪感受的笔触，我却没有。这样一位有才华的人英年早逝，令人叹息不已。”沃尔特·斯各特爵士在1826年3月写道。

18. sleep on：把（问题等）留到第二天再作

决定

19. Claire Tomalin：克莱尔·托马林（1933～），英国作家与记者，因为撰写查尔斯·狄更斯、托马斯·哈代、简·奥斯汀的传记而著名。

20. in the wake of：紧紧跟随……，在……之后

21. trumpet [?tr?mp?t] vt. 大声说出，大声宣告

22. soldier on：（不顾困难等）坚持下去

23. brute [bru?t] n. 残酷的人，粗野的人

24. supplement [?s?pl?ment] vt. 增补，补充

25. perilous [?per?l?s] adj. （充满）危险的，濒临毁灭的

26. decorum [d??k??r?m] n. 正派得体，端庄稳重

27. sprightliness [?spra?tlin?s] n. 生气勃勃，活泼

28. speculate [?spekj?le?t] vt. 推测，推断