经济学人226:文坛巨匠查尔斯·狄更斯的一生

 　　Two welcome new biographies of Charles Dickens whose birth 200 years ago will be celebrated¹ next February

　　两本查尔斯·狄更斯新传记，喜迎明年二月狄更斯诞辰200周年。

　　Becoming Dickens: The Invention of a Novelist. By Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.

　　《成为狄更斯：一个小说家的创造力》作者 罗伯特·道格拉斯·菲赫斯特

　　Charles Dickens: A Life. By Claire Tomalin

　　《查尔斯·狄更斯：一生》克莱尔·托玛琳

　　THERE is an immediacy about Charles Dickens’s life, just as there is about his novels, a kind of bursting physicality. “If I couldn’t walk fast and far”, he once said, “I think I should explode and perish.” He exhilarated and exhausted² himself. Both these biographies, timed for the bicentenary of Dickens’s birth next February, bring out the mad energy of the man.

　　回顾查尔斯·狄更斯的一生跟阅读他小说一样，有一种实实在在的冲劲扑面而来。他曾经说，“如果步伐不再轻盈脚力不再充沛，我想我宁愿自爆死去。”他忘情宣泄，直到耗尽自我。在狄更斯200周年祭这个节点，这两本传记展示了这作家疯狂的精力。

　　Robert Douglas-Fairhurst sets out to counter what he sees as the literary man-of-destiny version of Dickens, to recover the uncertainty³, muddle⁴ and loose ends. He concentrates therefore on the early unsettled years, up to 1838 when, at 26, Dickens decided⁵ to sign himself “Charles Dickens”. Until then he had just been “Boz”, a sketch⁶ writer and the hugely popular author of “The Pickwick Papers”.

　　有人认为狄更斯命中注定成为作家，罗伯特·道格拉斯·菲赫斯特提出了异议，并还原了狄更斯摇摆不定、浑浑噩噩和信马由缰的一面。为此，他把目光放在狄更斯早年不安稳的日子上，1838年之前。那一年狄更斯26岁，最终选定以“查尔斯·狄更斯”作为笔名。此前，他还只是一个叫“博兹”的札记作家和写过一部热销小说《匹克威克外传》。

　　But writing was hardly a proper job. Since the age of 15, he had been racing⁷ through more plausible⁸ alternatives: from legal clerk, to courtroom and parliamentary shorthand reporter, then on to journalism⁹ and ambitions in the theatre. Mr Douglas-Fairhurst’s early cut-off date enables him to slow these years down, to listen for the echoes between the life and the writings and to draw on a broad range of contemporary references.

　　但是对狄更斯来说，作家几乎不算是正式工作。15岁起，他在其他更靠谱的职业中频频跳槽：从法务学徒到法院及议院速写记录员，后来又当过记者还跃跃欲试戏剧表演。道格拉斯·菲赫斯特截取狄更斯的早年时期，使得他能够从容分析，细听当时社会和狄更斯作品之间的回响，广泛参阅了当时的文献。

　　As he shows, the question of alternatives, of the road taken or not taken, fascinated Dickens. “See how near I may have been to another sort of life,” he wrote of himself at 20 when he had been on the point of auditioning¹⁰ as an actor. Or, more fearfully, he wrote of his 12-year-old self: “I might easily have been…a little robber or a little vagabond.” He came that close, he believed, when his father (the model for Mr Micawber in “David Copperfield”) was imprisoned¹¹ for debt and, as was customary, the family joined him—except for young Charles who took lodgings¹² and was set to work in a blacking factory.

　　他指出，狄更斯曾乐此不疲地从事待选行业，追问自己该走哪条路不该走哪条路。他在20岁作为演员在试镜前曾写道：“看，我极有可能就要过上另一种生活了”。又比如，他心有余悸地回忆12岁时，“我极有可能成为小流氓或者小游民。”他确信无疑，尤其在他父亲（《大卫科帕菲尔》中米考伯的原型）负债入狱，举家依惯例连坐时，这种可能性极即将成为现实。幸好当时政府把少年狄更斯遣送到鞋油厂寄宿，责为学徒。

　　It was the defining trauma¹³ of his life. It opened the crack in his imagination through which he saw, a hair’s breadth away, a whole world of other sorts of life: from the man next to him in the library, in his Boz sketch “Shabby-genteel People”, who blacked his clothes to hide the frays¹⁴, to the terrified criminal in the condemned¹⁵ cell in “A Visit to Newgate”, just feet away from a whistling passer-by.

　　这一创伤对他的人生起了决定性影响，狄更斯创作思路被它敲开了裂缝，从中看到了一线之外全然不同的人生百态：那其中有图书馆中坐他旁边的斯文人，把身上的衣服染成黑色，由此遮掩上面的屡屡破绽（《博兹札记》中《穷摆架子的高雅人》）；也有关在死牢中惶恐的死囚，与一名吹着口哨的路人仅咫尺之隔。（《参观纽盖特监狱》）。

　　Mr Douglas-Fairhurst covers much ground, but one of his central ideas is Dickens’s pervasive¹⁶ sense of what might have been. He sees it in the false trails and shadow plots (take “Great Expectations”, where Pip imagines himself in one story though is really in another), in his doublings among characters and in his jostling possibilities and competing outcomes (for instance in “A Christmas Carol”).

　　道格拉斯·菲赫斯特用了不少篇幅讨论这一点，但是书中另一个主要观点是狄更斯时时刻刻感觉到事物本应如此却奈何那样。这一点可以在以下方面体现：一些错误的线索以及缥缈的剧情（以《远大前程》为例，皮普觉得自己知晓一段往事，岂料往事中还有故事，真相出人意表）；人物双面性格以及冲突的可能性和矛盾的大结局（例如《圣诞颂歌》）。

　　“Becoming Dickens” is an ingenious, playful and often brilliant analysis as much as it is a narrative¹⁷. In a sense, Claire Tomalin’s enormous task is more straightforward¹⁸. She tells a story. Clear-eyed, sympathetic and scholarly, she spreads the whole canvas, alive with incident and detail, with places and people. She writes of publishers, illustrators, collaborators and all Dickens’s intersecting circles of friends and family. It is wonderfully done.

　　《成为狄更斯》是原创性作品，作为一本传记依然不乏幽默与深刻的议论。在这个意义上，克莱尔·托玛琳的大作可谓更直接。她讲述狄更斯一生的故事。作为一个传记作家，她思维敏锐，富有同情心而且治学严谨。她利用鲜活的事件和细节，地方和人物，展示狄更斯的生活全景。她谈及了狄更斯的出版商、插图者，合作者以及所有与狄更斯有关的朋友和家族。故事讲得十分出色。

　　Mr Douglas-Fairhurst observes that almost nothing can be said of Dickens of which the opposite is not also true. Ms Tomalin richly bears that out. Here is the loyal friend and philanthropist, the champion of the poor—and also the bully¹⁹. Here too is the man who could light up a room, the clown, the mimic²⁰ and dancer of hornpipes—but also the obsessive²¹ who prowled the streets unable to “get rid of my spectres unless I can lose them in crowds”.

　　道格拉斯?菲赫斯特发现，几乎所有对狄更斯的评论，反过来说也同样成立。托玛琳的书充分地证实了这一点。狄更斯是忠实的朋友、慈善家、穷人的救星，但同样是名霸道者。他能扮小丑、口技者和角笛舞者，让观众开怀大乐，却也是偏执狂，逡巡于街道之间，“只有在人群中，我才能摆脱心中的恶灵”。

　　After his death, Dickens’s daughter Katey (shown above, with her sister Mamie, being read to by their father) said that she had loved him immeasurably, but that he was “a wicked man”. She was thinking of her mother Catherine, so passive, so overlooked and so constantly pregnant (they had ten children). Having decided she was the wrong wife for him, Dickens literally²² partitioned off her bed, then forced her into a separation while mocking her to their friends. Ms Tomalin takes care to notice Catherine and the other women in Dickens’s life. Power was vital to him, the power to make his public laugh and cry and love him for it—better still, to see them do it at his famous public readings. But a brutal²³ streak²⁴ went with it.

　　狄更斯死后，他的女儿凯特（上图，狄更斯给她和她姐妹梅蜜念书）说她虽然无比热爱父亲，但他却是“一个坏蛋”。她念及母亲卡洛琳，如此消极被动，如此备受冷落还饱遭生育之苦（她为狄更斯生了十个孩子）。狄更斯认为卡洛琳不适合做他妻子，居然马上在床上用隔板隔开她，逼她分居还不忘在共同朋友面前揶揄她。托玛琳特别为卡洛琳和另一个女人着墨。狄更斯醉心影响力，那种使大众发笑和哭泣并迷恋他的影响力，他更希望这种情况出现在他著名的公开朗诵中现场。但是这种影响力也让他多少有点冷酷无情。

　　Ms Tomalin ends with an exhausted Dickens splashing his head in a bucket of water, and writing on. After all, it is the writer she is interested in, his range, invention and universality. Everyone read him in his lifetime, high and low. Speaking of Pickwick, she remarks that Dickens seemed to feed his story “directly into the bloodstream of the nation…making his readers feel he was a personal friend to each of them.” When he died, among the flowers at his graveside in Westminster Abbey were small bunches tied with rags.

　　在托玛琳一书结尾，劳累的狄更斯将一桶水浇在自己身上，继续写作。毕竟她关心的是作为作家的狄更斯，他作品的范围、他创造人物的能力而且其雅俗共赏。在狄更斯的时代，有井水的地方就有他的作品。谈到匹克威克，托玛琳指出，狄更斯似乎将这个故事“融入大众血肉……让读者感到狄更斯是他们每个人的朋友”。当其逝世，一束束用旧布扎起的鲜花献在他西斯特敏斯特教堂墓地前。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

7 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

8 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

9 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

10 auditioning   

vi.试听（audition的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She was auditioning for the role of Lady Macbeth. 她试演了麦克佩斯夫人的角色。
• Which part are you auditioning for? 你试音什么角色？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

12 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

13 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

14 frays   

n.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的名词复数 )v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This material frays easily. 这种材料很容易磨损。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fabric is very fine or frays easily. 这种布料非常精细，或者说容易磨损。 来自辞典例句

15 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

16 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

17 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

18 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

19 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

20 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

21 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

22 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

23 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

24 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？