雙語·聰明的消遣：毛姆談英國文學(xué) 艾米莉·勃朗特與《呼嘯山莊》 1
- 英文
- 中文
Emily Bront and Wuthering Heights 1
Hugh Prunty, a young peasant-farmer in County Down, in 1776 married Elinor McClory; and on St. Patrick's Day in the following year, the eldest of his ten children was born and given the name of Ireland's patron saint. It looks as though he could neither read nor write, for he seems to have been uncertain how his name was spelt. In the baptismal register it is given as Brunty and Bruntee. The small-holding he farmed was insufficient to provide for his large family, and he worked in a lime-kiln and, when things were slack, as a labourer on the estate of one of the neighbouring gentry. It may be supposed that Patrick, his eldest son, did odd jobs about his father's bit of land till he was old enough to earn a wage. Then he became a hand-loom weaver. But he was a clever lad, and ambitious; and, somehow or other, by the time he was sixteen he had got enough education to become a teacher at a village school near his birthplace. Two years later he got a similar job at the parish school at Drumballyroney, and held it for eight years. There are two accounts of what happened then: one states that Methodist ministers, impressed by his ability and expecting him to train himself for the Ministry, subscribed a few pounds which, added to the little he had saved, enabled him to go to Cambridge; another states that he left the parish school to become a tutor in a clergyman's family, and it was with his help that he entered St. John's College. He was then twenty-five, old to enter a university, a tall, very strong young man, handsome and vain of his good looks. He subsisted on a scholarship, two exhibitions and what he was able to earn by coaching. He took his B.A. at the age of twenty-nine, and was ordained in the Church of England. If the Methodist ministers really helped him to go to Cambridge, they must have felt that they had made a bad investment.
It was while he was at Cambridge that Patrick Branty, as his surname is spelt in the list of admissions, changed it to Bronte, but it was not till later that he adopted the di?resis, and signed himself Patrick Bront?. He was appointed to a curacy at Withersfield in Essex and there fell in love with a Miss Mary Burder. She was eighteen and, though not rich, well off. They became engaged. For some reason that has remained obscure, Mr. Bront? jilted her, and it has been supposed that, having a good opinion of his advantages, he thought that by waiting he could do better for himself. Mary Burder was bitterly hurt. It may be that the handsome curate's behaviour caused a good deal of acid comment in the parish, for he left Withersfield and took a curacy at Wellington in Shropshire and, after a few months, another at Hartshead in Yorkshire. There he met a plain little woman of thirty called Maria Branwell. She had fifty pounds a year of her own and belonged to a respectable middle-class family; Patrick Bront? was thirty-five and perhaps thought that by then, notwithstanding his good looks and agreeable brogue, this was about as well as he could expect to do for himself. He proposed, was accepted and in 1812 the couple were married. While still at Hartshead Mrs. Bront? had two children, and they were named Maria and Elizabeth. Then Mr. Bront? was appointed to still another curacy, this time near Bradford, and here Mrs. Bront? had four more children. They were named Charlotte, Patrick Branwell, Emily and Anne. A year before his marriage, Mr. Bront? had published at his own expense a volume of verse entitled Cottage Poems, and a year after that another, The Rural Minstrel. While living near Bradford he wrote a novel, called The Cottage in the Wood. People who have read these productions say that they are devoid of merit. In 1820 Mr. Bront? was appointed to the“perpetual curacy”of Haworth, a Yorkshire village, and there he remained, his ambitions, one may suppose, satisfied, till his death. He never went back to Ireland to see the parents, brothers and sisters he had left there, but as long as she lived he sent his mother twenty pounds a year.
In 1821, after nine years of marriage, Maria Bront? died of cancer. The widower persuaded his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Branwell, to leave Penzance, where she lived, to come and look after his six children; but he wanted to marry again, and after a decent interval he wrote to Mrs. Burder, mother of the girl he had treated so ill fourteen years before, to enquire whether she was still single. After some weeks he received a reply and forthwith wrote to Mary herself. The letter is smug, self-complacent, unctuous and, considering the facts, in execrable taste. He had the impudence to say that his ancient love was rekindled and that he had a longing desire to see her. It was in effect a proposal of marriage. Her reply was stinging, but, undeterred, he wrote again. With amazing tactlessness he told her: “You may think and write as you please, but I have not the least doubt that if you had been mine you would have been happier than you now are, or can be as one in single life.”(The italics are his.) Having failed with Mary Burder, he turned his thoughts in another direction. It does not seem to have occurred to him that a widower of forty-five, with six young children, was no great catch. He made an offer to Miss Elizabeth Frith, whom he had known when he was a curate near Bradford, but she also refused him; upon which he seems to have given it up as a bad job. It was, at all events, something to be thankful for that Elizabeth Branwell was there to look after the house and take care of the children.
Haworth Parsonage was a small brownstone house on the brow of the steep hill down which the village straggled. There was a tiny strip of garden in front of it and behind, and, on either side, the graveyard. Biographers of the Bront?s have thought this depressing, and to a doctor it might have been, but a clergyman may well have thought it an edifying and even consoling sight; anyhow, this particular clergyman's family must have grown so accustomed to it that in all probability they noticed it as little as the fisherman at Capri notices the view of Vesuvius or of Ischia in the setting sun. There was a parlour, a study for Mr. Bront?, a kitchen and a storeroom on the ground floor, and four bedrooms and a lobby on the floor above. There were no carpets, except in the parlour and the study, and no curtains to the windows because Mr. Bront? had the greatest dread of fire. The floors and the stairs were of stone, cold and damp in winter, and Miss Branwell, for fear of catching cold, always went about the house in pattens. A narrow pathway led from the house to the moor. With the idea, perhaps barely conscious, of making the story of the Bront?s more poignant, it has been customary for authors to write as though it were always bleak, bitter cold and dreary at Haworth. But of course, even in winter there were days of blue sky and brilliant sunshine, when the frosty air was invigorating, and meadows, moor and woods were painted in the tender colours of pastel. On such a day I went to Haworth. The countryside was bathed in a haze of silver-grey so that the distance, its outlines dim, was mysterious. The leafless trees had the elegance of trees in a wintry scene in a Japanese print, and the hawthorn hedges by the roadside glistened white with hoar frost. Emily's poems and Wuthering Heights tell you how thrilling the spring was on the moor, and how rich in beauty and how sensuous in summer.
Mr. Bront? walked long and far on the moor. In his old age he boasted that he had been able to walk forty miles a day. He was a man who shunned company—somewhat of a change, for as a curate he had been a social creature, fond of parties and flirtations; and, with the exception of the neighbouring parsons who sometimes came down the hills to drink a dish of tea, he saw no one but the church-wardens and his parishioners. If these sent for him he went to see them, and if they asked a service he was glad to do it, but he and his family“kept themselves very close.”He, the son of a poverty-stricken Irish peasant, would not let his children associate with the village children, and they were driven to sit in the cold little lobby on the first floor, which was their study, reading or whispering low in order not to disturb their father, who, when annoyed or displeased, maintained a sullen silence. He gave them their lessons in the morning, and Miss Branwell taught them sewing and housework.
Even before his wife's death, Mr. Bront? had taken to having his meals in his study by himself, and this habit he retained for the rest of his life. The reason given for this is that he suffered from indigestion. Emily wrote in a diary: “We are going to have for dinner boiled beef, turnips, potatoes and apple pudding.”And in 1846 Charlotte wrote from Manchester: “Papa requires nothing you know but plain beef and mutton, tea and bread and butter.”This does not seem a very good régime for someone who suffers from chronic dyspepsia. I am inclined to think that if Mr. Bront? took his meals by himself, it was because he did not much care for the company of his children and was irritable when they interrupted him. At eight o’clock at night he read family prayers, and at nine locked and barred the front door. As he passed the room in which his children were sitting, he told them not to sit up late and, halfway up the stairs, stopped to wind the clock.
Mrs. Gaskell knew Mr. Bront? for several years, and the conclusion she came to was that he was selfish, irascible and domineering; and Mary Taylor, one of Charlotte's intimate friends, wrote to another of her friends, Ellen Nussey: “I can never think without gloomy anger of Charlotte's sacrifices to the selfish old man.”Of late, attempts have been made to whitewash him. But no whitewashing can get over the letters he wrote to Mary Burder. They are published in full in Clement Shorter's The Bront?s and their Circle. Nor can whitewashing get over his behaviour when his curate, Mr. Nicholls, proposed to Charlotte. I will come to that later. Mrs. Gaskell writes as follows: “Mrs. Bront?'s nurse told me that one day when the children had been on the moors, and rain had come on, she thought they would be wet, and accordingly she rummaged out some coloured boots which had been given them by a friend. These little pairs she ranged round the kitchen fire to warm; but when the children came back, the boots were nowhere to be found; only a very strong odour of burnt leather was perceived. Mr. Bront? had come in and seen them; they were too gay and luxurious for his children; so he had put them into the fire. He spared nothing that offended his antique simplicity. Long before this, someone had given Mrs. Bront? a silk gown; either the make, the colour, or the material was not according to his notions of consistent propriety, and Mrs. Bront? in consequence had never worn it. But, for all that, she kept it treasured up in her drawers, which were generally locked. One day, however, while in the kitchen, she remembered that she had left the key in her drawer, and hearing Mr. Bront? upstairs, she augured some ill of her dress, and, running up in haste, she found it cut into shreds.”The story is circumstantial, but it is hard to see why the nurse should have invented it.“Once he got the hearthrug, and stuffing it up the grate, deliberately set it on fire, and remained in the room in spite of the stench, until it had smouldered and shrivelled away into uselessness. Another time he took some chairs, and sawed away at the backs till they were reduced to the condition of stools.”It is only fair to add that Mr. Bront? declared that these stories were untrue. But no one had doubted that he had a violent temper, nor that he was stern and peremptory. I have asked myself whether these unamiable traits of Mr. Bront?'s may not be ascribed to his disappointment with life. Like many another man of humble origins who has had a galling struggle to raise himself above the class in which he was born and to get an education, he may well have had an exaggerated opinion of his abilities. We know that he was vain of his good looks. His literary efforts had met with no success. It would not be strange if it embittered him to realize that the only reward he had got for his long tussle with adversity was a perpetual curacy in the wilds of Yorkshire.
The hardships and loneliness of life at the parsonage have been made too much of. The talented sisters seem to have been quite satisfied with it; and indeed, if they ever stopped to consider their father's origin, they may well have thought themselves far from unlucky. They were neither better nor worse off than hundreds of parsons’ daughters all over England, whose lives were as isolated and whose means as limited. The Bront?s had neighbours, clergymen within walking distance, gentry, mill-owners and manufacturers in a small way, with whom they might have consorted; and if they lived secluded lives it was by choice. They were not rich, but neither were they poor. Mr. Bront?'s benefice provided him with a house and two hundred pounds a year, his wife had fifty pounds a year which, on her death, he presumably inherited, and Elizabeth Branwell, when she came to live at Haworth, brought her fifty pounds a year with her. The household thus had three hundred pounds a year to dispose of, which at that time was worth at least twelve hundred pounds now. Many a clergyman to-day, even with income-tax as it is, would look upon such a sum as riches. Many a clergyman's wife to-day would be thankful to have one maid: the Bront?s generally had two, and whenever there was pressure of work, girls were brought in from the village to help.
In 1824 Mr. Bront? took his four elder daughters to a school at Cowan Bridge. It had been recently established to give an education to the daughters of poor clergymen. The place was unhealthy, the food bad and the administration incompetent. The two elder girls died, and Charlotte and Emily, whose health was affected, were, fortunately for themselves, after a like while, removed. Such schooling as they got, from then on, seems to have been given them by their aunt. Mr. Bront? thought more of his son than of the three girls and, indeed, Branwell was looked upon as the clever one of the family. Mr. Bront? would not send him to school, but undertook his education himself. The boy had a precocious talent, and his manners were engaging. His friend, F. H. Grundy, thus describes him: “He was insignificantly small—one of his life's trials. He had a mass of red hair, which he wore brushed high off his forehead—to help his height, I fancy—a great, bumpy, intellectual forehead, nearly half the size of the whole facial contour; small ferrety eyes, deep sunk and still further hidden by the never removed spectacles, prominent nose, but weak lower features. He had a downcast look, which never varied, save for a rapid momentary glance at long intervals. Small and thin of person, he was the reverse of attractive at first sight.”He had parts, and his sisters admired him and expected him to do great things. He was a brilliant, eager talker, and from some Irish ancestor, for his father was a morose, silent man, he had inherited a gift for social intercourse and an agreeable loquacity. When a traveller, putting up for the night at the Black Bull, seemed lonely, the landlord would ask him: “Do you want someone to help you with your bottle, sir? If so, I’ll send up for Patrick.”Branwell was always glad to be of service. I should add that when years later, Charlotte Bront? then being famous, the landlord was asked about this, he denied that he had ever done anything of the kind: “Branwell, ”he said, “never needed to be sent for.”You are still shown at Haworth the room at the Black Bull, with its windsor chairs, in which Branwell tippled with his friends.
When Charlotte was just under sixteen, she went to school once more, this time at Roe Head, and was happy there; but after a year she came home again to teach her two younger sisters. Though the family, as I have pointed out, were not so poor as has been made out, the girls had nothing to look forward to. Mr. Bront?'s stipend would naturally cease at his death, and Miss Branwell was leaving the little money she had to her amusing nephew; they decided, therefore, that the only way they could earn a living was by training themselves to be governesses or school-mistresses. At that time there was no other calling open to women who looked upon themselves as ladies. Branwell, by now, was eighteen and a decision had to be made on what trade or profession he was to adopt. He had some facility for drawing, as his sisters had too, and he was eager to become a painter. It was settled that he should go to London and study at the Royal Academy. He went, but nothing came of the project, and after a while, which he spent in sightseeing and presumably having as good a time as he could, he returned to Haworth. He tried writing, but with no success; then he persuaded his father to set him up in a studio in Bradford where he might earn a living by painting portraits of the local people; but this failed too, and Mr. Bront? called him home. Then he became tutor to a Mr. Postlethwaite at Barrow-in-Furness. He seems to have done well enough there, but, for reasons unknown, after six months Mr. Bront? brought him back to Haworth. Presently, a job was found for him as clerk-in-charge at the station of Sowerby Bridge on the Leeds and Manchester Railway, and later at Luddenden Foot. He was bored and lonely, he drank too much, and eventually was discharged for gross neglect of his duties. Meanwhile, in 1835, Charlotte had returned to Roe Head as a teacher, and taken Emily with her as a pupil. But Emily became so desperately homesick that she fell ill, and had to be sent home. Anne, who was of a calmer, more submissive temper, took her place. Charlotte held her job for three years, at the end of which, her health failing, she too went home.
She was twenty-two. Branwell was not only a source of worry, but a source of expense; and Charlotte, as soon as she was well enough, felt herself obliged to take a situation as a nursery governess. It was not work she liked. Neither she nor her sisters liked children, any more than their father did.“Ifind it so hard to repel the rude familiarity of children, ”she wrote to Ellen Nussey. She hated to be in a dependent position, and was continually on the lookout for affronts. She was not an easy person to get on with, and so far as one can judge from her letters, seems to have expected to be asked to do as a favour what her employers quite naturally thought they could demand as a right. She left after three months and returned to the parsonage, but some two years later took another situation with a Mr. and Mrs. White at Rawdon, near Bradford. Charlotte did not think them refined.“Well can I believe that Mrs. W. has been an exciseman's daughter, and I am convinced also that Mr. W.'s extraction is very low.”She was, however, fairly happy in this place, but, as she wrote to the same intimate friend: “No one but myself can tell how hard a governess's life is to me—for no one but myself is aware how utterly averse my whole mind and nature are for the employment.”She had long been toying with the idea of keeping a school of her own, with her two sisters, and now she took it up again; the Whites, who seem to have been very kind, decent people, encouraged her, but suggested that before she could hope to be successful she must acquire certain qualifications. Though she could read French, she could not speak it, and knew no German, so she decided that she must go abroad to learn languages. Miss Branwell was persuaded to advance money for the cost of this; and then Charlotte and Emily, with Mr. Bront? to look after them on the journey, set out for Brussels. The two girls, Charlotte being then twenty-six, Emily twenty-two, became pupils at the Pensionnat Héger. After ten months they were recalled to England by the illness of Miss Branwell. She died, and having disinherited Branwell, owing to his bad behaviour, left the little she had to her nieces. It was enough for them to carry out the plan they had so long discussed of having a school of their own; but since their father was old and his sight failing, they made up their minds to set it up at the parsonage. Charlotte did not think she was sufficiently equipped, and so accepted Monsieur Héger's offer to go back to Brussels and teach English at his school. She spent a year there and on her return to Haworth the three sisters issued prospectuses, and Charlotte wrote to her friends asking them to recommend the school they intended to start. How they expected to house pupils in the parsonage which had only four bedrooms, all of which they occupied themselves, has never been explained, and as no pupils came it certainly never will be.
艾米莉·勃朗特與《呼嘯山莊》 1
一七七六年，北愛爾蘭唐郡的一個年輕農(nóng)民修·普朗蒂娶妻埃莉諾·麥克勞埃。次年的圣帕特里克節(jié)(1)，他們十個孩子中的長子出生了，取名帕特里克，與愛爾蘭的守護神同名。修·普朗蒂似乎既不會讀也不會寫，因為他連自己的名字怎么拼都不確定。施洗記錄中，他的名字被寫成了Brunty和Bruntee(2)。他耕種的那一小片土地根本不夠他養(yǎng)活他那個大家庭，因此他會去石灰窯打工，年景不好時，還會去鄰近的一個地主家打短工?？梢圆聹y，修的大兒子帕特里克就在父親的土地上干些雜活，直到長大能掙工錢的時候，他就當(dāng)了一個手搖紡織機的織工。可是他聰明、有野心，不管怎么說吧，到十六歲時，他就已經(jīng)受到了足夠的教育，當(dāng)起了教師，在他出生地附近的一間鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校教書。兩年后他在莊柏立洛尼的教區(qū)學(xué)校找到了一份類似的工作，干了八年。關(guān)于當(dāng)年的事有兩種說法：一說是衛(wèi)理公會(3)的牧師們很欣賞他的能力，希望他能深造當(dāng)牧師，于是捐了些錢，再加上他之前攢的錢，足夠他上劍橋?qū)W習(xí)了。另一說是他離開教區(qū)學(xué)校后，去了一個牧師家當(dāng)家教。正是在這位牧師的幫助下，他進了劍橋大學(xué)的圣約翰學(xué)院。他那時二十五歲，上大學(xué)有點老了。他高大健壯，長得不錯，他對自己的相貌也很得意。他靠一份助學(xué)金、兩份獎學(xué)金，還有他做家教獲得的報酬維持生活。二十九歲那年，他拿到了學(xué)士學(xué)位，在英國國教會領(lǐng)了圣職。如果真是衛(wèi)理公會的牧師們幫他上了劍橋大學(xué)的話，他們一定后悔這次投資投錯了。
正是在劍橋讀書期間，他又把自己的姓氏從入學(xué)登記簿上的勃蘭特（Branty）改成了勃朗特（Bronte），但是當(dāng)時他還沒有用分音符，即字母e上的那兩個點。他被任命為埃塞克斯郡的威澤斯菲爾德地區(qū)的副牧師，并在那里愛上了一位瑪麗·博德小姐。這位小姐年方十八，家境雖不富有，卻也算寬裕。他們訂了婚，但是不知為何，勃朗特甩了她，據(jù)推測大概是因為他對自己的長處感覺良好，認(rèn)為再等等的話他還能給自己找個更好的對象?，旣?middot;博德極受傷害。此舉大概在教區(qū)里給這位英俊的副牧師引來很多風(fēng)言風(fēng)語，因為他離開了威澤斯菲爾德，去了什羅普郡的威靈頓當(dāng)副牧師，幾個月后又去了約克郡的哈茨海德任職。他在此地遇到了一個個子小小、相貌平凡的三十歲女子，名叫瑪麗亞·布蘭威爾。她每年有五十鎊的收入，來自一個體面的中產(chǎn)家庭。帕特里克·勃朗特此時已經(jīng)三十五了，哪怕長得再帥，說話還帶點好聽的愛爾蘭口音，也找不著更好的伴侶了。于是他求了婚并被接受，在一八一二年結(jié)了婚。還在哈茨海德時，勃朗特夫婦就生了兩個女兒，瑪麗亞和伊麗莎白。后來勃朗特被任命到另一個地方當(dāng)副牧師，這個地方在布拉德福德附近，他們在這兒又生了四個孩子：夏洛特、帕特里克·布蘭威爾、艾米莉和安妮。結(jié)婚前一年，勃朗特自費出版了一本詩集，名為《農(nóng)舍詩歌》，一年后他又出了第二本詩集，名為《鄉(xiāng)村吟游詩人》。住在布拉德福德附近時，他還寫了本小說，叫《林中小屋》。讀過這些作品的人說它們毫無長處。一八二〇年，勃朗特被任命為約克郡一個名叫哈沃斯的村子的“永久副牧師”，他一直在這里做副牧師直到去世，他的野心大概得到了滿足。他從未回過愛爾蘭去看他留在那里的父母弟妹，但他每年會給母親寄二十鎊，直到母親去世。
一八二一年，結(jié)婚九年后，瑪麗亞·勃朗特死了，死于癌癥。成了鰥夫的副牧師說服了姨姐伊麗莎白·布蘭威爾離開她所居住的彭贊斯來哈沃斯照顧他的六個孩子。但他還想再婚，于是在等待了一段得體的時間后，他寫信去問博德太太，也就是十四年前他曾惡劣對待過的那個女孩的母親，問瑪麗·博德是否還單身。幾星期后，他收到了回信，之后立刻就寫信給瑪麗本人?？紤]到當(dāng)時的境況，他的信寫得自鳴得意、自以為是、油腔滑調(diào)、品味很壞。他居然厚顏無恥地說他的舊愛又一次被激發(fā)了，他非?？释姷剿?。這信實際等于求婚。她的回信很刺人，但他沒有被嚇倒，又寫了封信。他的不知分寸真是令人吃驚，他說：“隨便你怎么想，怎么寫，但我毫不懷疑，如果你是我的妻子，你會比現(xiàn)在更幸福，或者比你單身生活更幸福。”（下劃線部分為他的原文強調(diào)的部分。）在瑪麗·博德那兒失敗后，他把心思轉(zhuǎn)到了另一處，又向一位伊麗莎白·福里斯小姐求婚，他在布拉德福德附近當(dāng)副牧師時認(rèn)識了她，但她也拒絕了。他似乎沒想過一個四十五歲、帶著六個小孩的鰥夫?qū)嵲诓皇鞘裁粗档没榕涞膶ο蟆，F(xiàn)在，他好像認(rèn)識到了這是個白費力氣的事，于是放棄了再婚的想法。不管怎樣，有伊麗莎白·布蘭威爾給他管家和照顧孩子，他已經(jīng)很該感恩了。
哈沃斯的牧師住所是幢褐色的石頭小房子，坐落于陡峭的山崖上，山下就是布局零散的哈沃斯村。牧師住所的房前屋后都有一小片花園，兩側(cè)則是墓地。勃朗特姐妹的傳記作家們都認(rèn)為這種環(huán)境太壓抑。對醫(yī)生來說那種環(huán)境可能確實壓抑，但對牧師來說，卻有可能覺得身處其中能讓人陶冶情操，甚至安慰人心。無論如何，這位牧師的家人一定已經(jīng)逐漸習(xí)慣了這番景象，他們很可能已經(jīng)不再注意了，就像意大利南方卡普里島的漁夫很少會注意落日余暉里的維蘇威火山或伊斯基亞島一樣。房子的一樓有個客廳，有間勃朗特先生的書房，還有一間廚房和一間儲藏室，二樓則有四個臥室和一個廳。除客廳和書房外，全屋都沒鋪地毯，窗戶上也不掛窗簾，因為勃朗特先生最怕著火。地板和樓梯都是石頭的，一到冬天格外冰冷潮濕。布蘭威爾姨媽因為怕感冒，總是穿著套鞋在屋里走動。還有條小路從房子通向荒野。為使勃朗特姐妹的故事更具悲傷的色彩，作家們總愛把哈沃斯寫成永遠荒涼、苦寒和沉悶的樣子，盡管這種想法大概是無意識的。但是即使是在冬天，哈沃斯也有不少天空湛藍、陽光燦爛的日子。在這樣的日子里，冰冷的空氣令人精神振奮，草地、荒野和樹林都染上了一層柔和的色彩。我就是在這樣的一天去了哈沃斯。那天的鄉(xiāng)村籠罩在一層銀灰色的薄霧中，輪廓模糊，遠遠看去無比神秘。掉光了葉子的樹木有一種日本版畫里的那種樹木在冬日里的優(yōu)雅姿態(tài)，路邊的山楂樹叢掛著白霜，閃著銀光。艾米莉·勃朗特的詩和《呼嘯山莊》會告訴你沼澤上的春天多么令人激動，它的美多么豐富，它的夏天又是多么迷人。
勃朗特先生愛在荒野上長時間地散步，而且走得很遠。晚年時勃朗特先生夸口說他一天能走四十英里。他是個躲避人群的人——換換口味也好，因為作為副牧師，他是個社會動物，愛聚會，愛調(diào)情。附近的牧師們有時會下山來和他喝杯茶，此外他除了教會執(zhí)事和教區(qū)居民外，什么人都不見。如果這些人來請他，他會去見他們。如果他們要他去主持宗教儀式，他也會欣然從命。但是他和家人“關(guān)系非常緊密”。他自己雖然是個貧窮的愛爾蘭農(nóng)民的兒子，卻不讓自己的孩子和村里的孩子們接觸。孩子們?nèi)凰s到二樓寒冷的小廳里，那是他們的書房。他們在那里閱讀，小聲說話，生怕打擾了父親，因為父親被打擾或不高興的時候，會一直陰沉著臉保持沉默。上午他教他們功課，布蘭威爾姨媽則教女孩們針線活和家務(wù)。
即使是在妻子生前，勃朗特先生也習(xí)慣在書房里單獨用餐，這個習(xí)慣他保持了一生。他給出的理由是他消化不良。艾米莉在日記中寫道：“晚飯我們將要吃煮牛肉、蘿卜、土豆和蘋果布丁。”一八四六年夏洛特從曼徹斯特寫信說：“爸爸不要求別的，你知道，他就只吃清淡的牛肉和羊肉、茶、面包和黃油。”對于一個長期消化不良的人來說，這似乎不是個好的養(yǎng)生之法。我傾向于認(rèn)為，假如勃朗特先生單獨用餐，那是因為他不喜歡子女的陪伴，如果孩子們打擾到了他，他會很生氣。每晚八點鐘他會讀家庭祈禱詞，九點鐘閂門上鎖。經(jīng)過孩子們在那兒坐著的房間時，他會囑咐他們不要太晚睡。上到樓梯一半的拐角處時，他會停下來給鐘上發(fā)條。
蓋斯凱爾夫人認(rèn)識勃朗特先生幾年，得出的結(jié)論是他是個自私、易怒、專橫的人。而作為夏洛特好友之一的瑪麗·泰勒也給她的另一個朋友艾倫·紐西寫信說：“我一想起夏洛特為那個自私的老頭所做的犧牲就不由得又生氣又沮喪。”最近有人想要洗白他，可是再怎么洗白都無法粉飾他給瑪麗·博德寫的那些信中表現(xiàn)出的厚顏無恥，它們已經(jīng)全文發(fā)表在了克萊門特·肖特的《勃朗特一家及其圈子》的書中了。而且，再怎么洗白也不能讓人忘了他對他的助理牧師尼克斯向夏洛特求婚時的態(tài)度。我稍后還會再談到此事。蓋斯凱爾夫人寫道：“勃朗特太太的保姆告訴我，有一天孩子們都去荒野了，天開始下雨，她怕他們會淋濕，就把朋友給孩子們的彩色靴子找出來，一雙雙圍在廚房的火爐邊烘烤一下?？墒堑群⒆觽兓貋砗螅瑓s發(fā)現(xiàn)靴子不見了，只能聞到很強烈的皮子燒焦的氣味。原來勃朗特先生進來看見這些鞋，認(rèn)為它們太花哨奢侈，不適合他的孩子，就都給燒了。任何冒犯他古老的簡樸概念的東西他都不放過。很久以前，還有人送給過勃朗特太太一條絲綢裙子，不管是顏色、樣式還是材質(zhì)都不符合他對得體的看法，于是勃朗特太太一次都沒穿過。盡管如此，她把裙子放在抽屜里珍藏，而抽屜一般都是上鎖的。但是，有一天她在廚房，突然想起她把鑰匙落在抽屜上了，同時聽到勃朗特先生在樓上，她預(yù)感到裙子要出事，就連忙跑上樓，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)裙子已經(jīng)被剪成了碎片。”這故事雖是一面之詞，可是保姆沒理由編故事。“有一次，他把壁爐前的地毯塞到爐子里，故意放在火上，并且一直待在屋里，哪怕味道很臭也不怕，直到地毯悶燒到徹底不能用為止。還有一次，他拿了幾把椅子，硬是用鋸子把椅背鋸掉，直到最后把椅子弄成了凳子。”還必須加一句才公平，勃朗特先生自己說這些故事都是假的。但是沒人懷疑他脾氣暴烈，嚴(yán)厲專橫。我曾經(jīng)自問，勃朗特先生這些不可愛的性格是否源于他對生活的失望。正如其他很多出身卑微的人一樣，他為了提升自己，脫離自己所在的階層，接受教育，不得不痛苦掙扎，但他很可能高估了自己的能力。我們知道他對自己的相貌相當(dāng)?shù)靡?。他在文學(xué)上的努力沒有獲得成功。他這樣常年與逆境搏斗的唯一報償無非是在約克郡的荒野地區(qū)永遠當(dāng)個副牧師。如果這事使他怨恨，那也沒什么好奇怪的。
在牧師的那所宅子里，生活的艱苦與孤獨被過分夸大了，因為才華橫溢的幾姐妹似乎對這種生活相當(dāng)滿意。確實，如果她們停下來想想自己父親的出身，可能會覺得自己非常走運。比起全英國好幾百名牧師的女兒，她們的處境既不更好也不更壞，因為那些牧師之女的生活也像她們一樣與世隔絕，財產(chǎn)也像她們一樣有限。勃朗特家是有鄰居的，包括步行距離之內(nèi)的牧師、鄉(xiāng)紳、磨坊主、小業(yè)主，她們可能跟他們有過交往。如果她們過著隔絕的生活，那是她們有意為之。她們不富裕，但也不貧窮。勃朗特先生的圣祿給他提供了一個住所和一筆一年兩百鎊的收入，他妻子一年有五十鎊，妻子死后他應(yīng)該繼承了這筆錢。伊麗莎白·布蘭威爾來此居住時，也把她那一年五十鎊的收入帶來了。因此家里一年能支配的錢有三百鎊，至少等于今天的一千兩百鎊。如今的很多牧師，哪怕要交所得稅，也會把一年一千兩百鎊看成很大一筆錢。如今很多牧師的妻子要是有一個女仆都會謝天謝地，而勃朗特家平常就有兩個女仆，活兒多的時候還會從村里臨時招女孩們來幫忙。
一八二四年，勃朗特先生把四個大一點的女兒送到了考恩橋的一家學(xué)校。學(xué)校是剛建的，為的是給窮牧師的女兒提供教育。這個地方很不健康，食物很差，管理也很糟。兩個大女孩死了，夏洛特和艾米莉的健康也受到了影響。但是幸運的是，一段時間后她們被轉(zhuǎn)移走了。從此，她們的教育似乎就都由姨媽負(fù)責(zé)給予了。勃朗特先生對他獨生子的關(guān)心多過對三個女兒的關(guān)心。確實，兒子被認(rèn)為是家里最聰明的那個。勃朗特先生不肯送他去學(xué)校，他要親自教。這個兒子早慧，舉止也很吸引人。他的朋友F．H．格蘭蒂這樣描述他：“他個子太矮，這是他人生的一大考驗。他有一頭濃密的紅發(fā)，留著背頭，梳得很高，我想是為了增加身高吧。他額頭很大，很突出，幾乎占了整個臉輪廓的一半，顯得很聰明。小眼睛像雪貂一樣深陷，眼鏡從來不摘，把眼睛隱藏得更深了，鼻子很突出，但是臉的下半部分乏善可陳。他有一種沮喪的神情，從來沒有變過，除了在很長時間的間隔后抬眼快速瞥一下。他身材瘦小單薄，第一眼看上去實在不起眼。”他有才華，他的姐妹們都期待他做出一番事業(yè)來。他父親是個陰郁沉默的人，而他則是個有才華、熱情健談的人，他一定是從某個愛爾蘭祖先那里繼承了社交的天賦和令人愉快的健談的脾性。如果一個旅行者夜宿黑牛旅店，看來有些孤獨，店主會問：“你想有個人陪你喝酒嗎，先生？我可以叫帕特里克來。”布蘭威爾也總是很愿意幫忙。我應(yīng)該加一句，多年后夏洛特已經(jīng)成名，店主被問到此事，不承認(rèn)他曾這么做過。他說：“布蘭威爾永遠不用讓人叫。”今天你去哈沃斯，還會被指點看黑牛旅店的那個房間，那些溫莎式的靠椅，布蘭威爾當(dāng)年就是坐在這樣的椅子里和朋友們痛飲烈酒的。
夏洛特不滿十六歲時，又一次進了學(xué)校，這次去的是羅海德，而且過得很愉快。但是一年后她就回了家，為的是教兩個妹妹。雖然正如我已經(jīng)指出的那樣，她們家不像一般以為的那么窮，但是女兒們也沒什么指望。勃朗特一死，他的薪俸自然就沒了，布蘭威爾姨媽會把自己那點錢留給她那個有趣的外甥。于是姐妹幾個覺得她們唯一能掙錢養(yǎng)活自己的辦法就是訓(xùn)練自己當(dāng)家庭教師或?qū)W校教師，這是當(dāng)時對那些自視為淑女的女人開放的唯一職業(yè)。布蘭威爾那時也有十八了，他必須決定自己到底要從事何種職業(yè)或是經(jīng)營何種商業(yè)。就像他的姐妹們都能畫一樣，他也有點畫畫的才能，他于是想當(dāng)畫家。事情決定了，他要去倫敦的皇家藝術(shù)學(xué)院學(xué)畫。他去了，但是什么也沒學(xué)成。他只是觀光，一定也還趁機玩樂了一番，這樣過了一段時間后，他又回到了哈沃斯。他嘗試過寫作，但是沒成功。之后他說服他父親給他在布拉德福德開了一間畫室，想給當(dāng)?shù)厝水嬒駫赍X，但是這次也失敗了，勃朗特先生把他叫回了家。再后來，他去給巴羅因弗內(nèi)斯一位名叫波索斯韋特的先生當(dāng)家庭教師。他似乎在那兒干得不錯，但是六個月后，勃朗特先生又把他叫回了家，原因未明。很快，家里給他在利茲和曼徹斯特那趟線上的索爾比橋火車站找了個管理員的工作，他后來又去了萊頓頓腳站當(dāng)管理員。他感到寂寞無聊，于是狂喝濫飲，終于因為嚴(yán)重的玩忽職守被開除回了家。同時，一八三五年，夏洛特回到羅海德當(dāng)老師，并把艾米莉帶去當(dāng)學(xué)生。但是艾米莉太想家，想得都生了病，又被送了回來。性情更為安靜順從的安妮取代了她的位置。夏洛特在這個職位上干了三年，三年后，她的健康變差，她也回到了家中。
夏洛特二十二歲了。布蘭威爾不但讓家人發(fā)愁，還花了家里好多錢。夏洛特一旦健康好轉(zhuǎn)，立刻就覺得她有義務(wù)去找一個保姆兼家庭教師的職位。這不是她喜歡的工作。她和她妹妹都不喜歡小孩，就像她們的父親不喜歡小孩那樣。“我發(fā)現(xiàn)想要擋住孩子那種粗魯?shù)挠H密太難了。”她在信中告訴艾倫·紐西。她很不喜歡寄人籬下，時時留心有沒有人冒犯她，她不是個容易相處的人。從她的信中可以判斷，她的雇主認(rèn)為自然該她做的事，她卻認(rèn)為不在她分內(nèi)，須得求她，她才會做。三個月后她離開了，回到了牧師住所，可是兩年后她又在布拉德福德附近的羅登給懷特夫婦家做了家庭教師。夏洛特認(rèn)為他們沒有良好的教養(yǎng)。“我能相信嗎？W太太是個收稅官的女兒，我還肯定W先生的出身也很低。”但她在這個職位上干得挺高興，不過正如她給自己那位密友艾倫·紐西的信中說的那樣：“除了我自己，沒人知道家庭教師的生活對我來說多么艱難，因為只有我自己知道，我整個的頭腦和天性是多么徹底地厭惡這個職業(yè)。”一直以來她都有過想和兩個妹妹開一間自己的學(xué)校的念頭，現(xiàn)在她又打起了這個主意。懷特夫婦鼓勵了她，他們似乎是對善良體面的人，但是他們建議她應(yīng)該先取得一定的資質(zhì)，這樣才能成功。她能讀法語，但是不會說，也不懂德語，于是她決定出國學(xué)語言。布蘭威爾姨媽答應(yīng)墊付這筆費用，于是勃朗特先生親自送夏洛特和艾米莉去了布魯塞爾，以便路上照顧她們。兩個女孩——夏洛特二十六歲，艾米莉二十二歲——成了埃熱寄宿學(xué)校的學(xué)生。十個月后，她們被召回了英國，因為布蘭威爾姨媽病重。姨媽死了，因為外甥的行為太惡劣，她剝奪了他的繼承權(quán)，把所有那點錢都留給了外甥女。這筆錢足夠她們實現(xiàn)長久以來談?wù)摰霓k學(xué)的想法，但是她們的父親老了，視力不行了，于是她們決定就在牧師居所辦這個學(xué)校。夏洛特認(rèn)為她還沒有完全準(zhǔn)備好，就接受了埃熱先生的邀請，又回到布魯塞爾埃熱先生的學(xué)校教英語。她在布魯塞爾待了一年，之后再次回到哈沃斯。再然后，三姐妹發(fā)了入學(xué)簡介，夏洛特還寫信給朋友，請朋友們代為推薦她們即將開辦的這所學(xué)校。她們從沒解釋過如何能在牧師住所里給學(xué)生提供住宿，因為這里只有四間臥室，而她們自己就都占滿了。不過既然一個學(xué)生都沒招來，這事也就不用解釋了。
- 用戶搜索
瘋狂英語 英語語法 新概念英語 走遍美國 四級聽力 英語音標(biāo) 英語入門 發(fā)音 美語 四級 新東方 七年級 賴世雄 zero是什么意思深圳市長圳新村英語學(xué)習(xí)交流群
