William Makepeace Thackeray
是英国十九世纪小说家萨克雷的成名作品,也是他生平著作里最经得起时间考验的杰作。是英国较著名的讽刺性批判现实主义小说。故事取材于很热闹的英国十九世纪中上层社会。当时国家强盛,工商业发达,由榨压殖民地或剥削劳工而发财的富商大贾正主宰着这个社会,英法两国争权的战争也在这时响起了炮声。中上层社会各式各等人物,都忙着争权夺位,争名求利,所谓“天下攘攘,皆为利往,天下熙熙,皆为利来”,名利、权势、利禄,原是相连相通的。
故事主角是一个机灵乖巧的漂亮姑娘。她尝过贫穷的滋味,一心要掌握自己的命运,摆脱困境。她不择手段,凭谄媚奉承、走小道儿钻后门,飞上高枝。作为陪衬的人物是她同窗女友、一个富商的女儿。她懦弱温柔,驯顺地随命运播弄。从贫贱进入富裕的道路很不平稳!富家女的运途亦多坎坷,两人此起彼落的遭遇,构成一个引人关怀又动人情感的故事。穿插的人物形形色色,都神情毕肖。“如果我有5000英磅,我也会是一个好女人。”《名利场》里的贝姬·夏普如是说。 然而我要说,即使没有5000英镑,贝姬也是个好女人,胜过万千男子。
萨克雷是东印度公司收税员的儿子,受过高等教育,自己却没什么财产。他学法律、学画都不成功,一连串失败的经历,致使他熟悉了中上层社会的各个阶层。《名利场》的背景和人物,都是他所熟悉的。
萨克雷写小说力求客观,不以他本人的喜爱或愿望而对人物、对事实有所遮饰和歪曲。人情的好恶,他面面俱到,不遮掩善良人物的缺点,也不遗漏狡猾、鄙俗人的一节可取。全部故事里没有一个英雄人物,所以《名利场》的副题是《没有主角的小说》,就是现代所谓“非英雄”的小说。这一点,也是《名利场》的创新。
The story opens at Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies, where the principal protagonists Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley have just completed their studies and are preparing to depart for Amelia's house in Russell Square Becky is portrayed as a strong-willed and cunning young woman determined to make her way in society, and Amelia Sedley is a good natured, loveable though simple-minded young girl
At Russell Square, Miss Sharp is introduced to the dashing and self-obsessed Captain George Osborne (to whom Amelia has been betrothed from a very young age) and to Amelia's brother Joseph Sedley, a clumsy and vainglorious but rich civil-servant fresh from India Becky entices him and hopes to marry him, though eventually fails as a result of warnings from Captain Osborne and his own native shyness and embarrassment that Becky had witnessed his foolish behaviour at Vauxhall
With this Becky Sharp says farewell to Sedley's family and enters the service of the baronet Sir Pitt Crawley who has engaged her as a governess to his daughters Her behaviour at Sir Pitt's house gains the favour of Sir Pitt, who after the premature death of his second wife, proposes to her However, it soon transpires that she is already secretly married to his second son, Rawdon Crawley
Sir Pitt's half sister, the spinster Miss Crawley, is very rich having inherited her mother's fortune of £70,000 Where she will leave her great wealth is a source of constant conflict between the branches of the Crawley family who vie shamelessly for her affections; initially her favourite is Sir Pitt's younger son, Captain Rawdon Crawley For some time, Becky acts as Miss Crawley's companion, supplanting the loyal Briggs in an attempt to find favour before breaking the news of her elopement with her nephew The misalliance so enrages Miss Crawley, that she eventually disinherits her nephew in favour of his elder brother, who also bears the name Pitt Crawley The couple constantly attempt to reconcile with Miss Crawley and she relents a little However, she will only see her nephew and refuses to change her will
While Becky Sharp is rising in the world, Amelia's father, John Sedley, is bankrupted The relationship between the two families, the Sedleys and Osbornes, who were once close allies disintegrates and the marriage of Amelia and George is forbidden George ultimately decides to marry Amelia against his father's will, primarily due to the pressure of his friend Dobbin, and George is consequently disinherited by his father
When all these personal incidents are going on, the Napoleonic Wars have been ramping up, and George Osborne and William Dobbin are suddenly deployed to Brussels, but not before an encounter with Becky and Captain Crawley at Brighton The holiday is interrupted with orders to march to Brussels Already, the newly wedded Osborne is growing tired of Amelia, and he becomes increasingly attracted to Becky
At a ball in Brussels(based on the Duchess of Richmond's famous ball on the eve of the battle of Waterloo) George gives Becky a note inviting her to run away with him He regrets this shortly afterwards, and reconciles with Amelia, who has been deeply hurt by his attentions towards her former friend The morning after, he is sent to Waterloo, with Captain Crawley and Dobbin, leaving Amelia distraught Becky, on the other hand, is virtually indifferent about her husband's departure She tries to console Amelia, but Amelia responds angrily, disgusted by Becky's flirtatious behavior with George and her lack of concern about Captain Crawley Becky resents this snub and a rift develops between the two women that lasts for years
Captain Crawley survives, but George dies in the battle Amelia bears him a posthumous son, who is also named George She returns to live in genteel poverty with her parents Meanwhile since the death of George, Dobbin, who is his son's godfather, gradually begins to express his love for the widowed Amelia by small gestures directed towards her and her son Most notably is the recovery of an old piano, which Dobbin picks up at an auction following the Sedley's ruin, which Amelia mistakes as a gesture from her late husband She is too much in love with George's memory to return Dobbin's affections Saddened, he goes to India for many years Dobbin's infatuation with Amelia is a theme which unifies the novel and one which many have compared to Thackeray's unrequited love for a friend's wife
Meanwhile, Becky also has a son, also named after his father, but unlike Amelia, who dotes on and even spoils her child, Becky is a cold, distant mother She continues her ascent first in post-war Paris and then in London where she is patronised by the great Marquess of Steyne who covertly subsidises her and introduces her to London society Her success is unstoppable despite her humble origins and she is eventually presented at court to the Prince Regent himself
At the summit of her success, Becky's pecuniary relationship with the rich and omnipotent Marquess of Steyne is discovered by Rawdon, after he is arrested for debt His brother's wife, Lady Jane, bails him out and he surprises the couple in a compromising position Rawdon leaves his wife and through the offices of Lord Steyne is made Governor of Coventry Island to get him out of the way, after Rawdon challenges the elderly marquess to a duel Mrs Crawley, having lost both husband and credibility, is warned by Steyne to quit England and wanders the continent Rawdon and Rebecca's son is left in the care of Pitt Crawley and Lady Jane However wherever Becky goes, she is stalked by the shadow of Lord Steyne No sooner has she established herself in polite society, than someone turns up who knows her disreputable history and spreads rumours; Steyne himself hounds her out of Rome
As Amelia's adored son George grows up, his grandfather relents and takes him from poor Amelia who knows the rich and bitter old man will give him a much better start in life materially than she or her family could ever manage After twelve years abroad both Joseph Sedley and William Dobbin return to England Dobbin professes his unchanged love to Amelia, but although Amelia is affectionate to Dobbin, she tells him she cannot forget the memory of her dead husband Dobbin also becomes close to George, and his kind firm manner with him proves a good influence on the spoilt child
While in England, Dobbin mediates a reconciliation between Amelia and her father-in-law The death of Amelia's mother prevents their meeting but following Osborne's death soon after, it is revealed that he had amended his will and bequeathed young George half his large fortune and Amelia a generous annuity The rest is divided between his daughters, Miss Osborne and Mrs Bullock who begrudges Amelia and her son for the decrease in her annuity
After the death of old Mr Osborne, Amelia, Joseph, George and Dobbin go on a trip to Germany, where they encounter the destitute Becky She meets the young George Osborne at a card table and then enchants Jos Sedley Following Jos' entreaties, Amelia agrees to a reconciliation (when she hears that Becky has had her ties with her son severed), much to Dobbin's disapproval Dobbin quarrels with Amelia, and finally realizes that he is wasting his love on a woman too shallow to return it
However, Becky, in a moment of conscience, shows Amelia the note that George (Amelia's dead husband) had given her, asking her to run away with him This breaks George's idealised image in Amelia's mind, but not before she has already sent a note to Dobbin professing her love
Becky resumes her seduction of Joseph Sedley and gains control over him He eventually dies of a suspicious ailment after signing a portion of his money to Becky as life insurance In the original illustrations, which were done by Thackeray, Becky is shown behind a curtain with a phial (presumably of poison) in her hand; the picture is labelled 'Becky's second appearance in the character of Clytemnestra' (She had played Clytemnestra during charades at a party earlier in the book) His death appears to have made her fortune
By a twist of fate Rawdon Crawley dies weeks before his elder brother whose son has already died Thus the baronetcy descends to Rawdon's son Had he outlived his brother by even a day he would have become Sir Rawdon Crawley and Becky would have become Lady Crawley - the title she uses regardless in later life
《名利场》简介
作者主要塑造了19世纪初英国资本主义社会一个女冒险者的典型这个人物并不邪恶,也不善良,但非常富有人情味,完全是时代的产物小说中,作者频频与读者交流,叙述中夹杂着议论,时而冷嘲热讽,时而严肃说理,时而歪理歪推,喜剧效果强烈读者在参与思索的过程中,不但能理解作者的用心,也颇受教益
《名利场》的故事以两条线索展开,从同一个起点出发,相互交织,最后到达同一个终点其中一条线索讲述善良,笨拙,生活在富有家庭中的女子阿米莉亚塞德利;另一条线索讲述的是一个机灵,自私,放荡不羁恢穷的孤女丽贝卡夏普两人于1813年乘坐同一辆马车离开平克顿女子学校两人都在遭到家庭反对的情况下,于1815年结婚,分别嫁给即将参加滑铁卢战役的两名英国军官新婚不久,那场具有历史意义的战役打响了阿米莉亚的丈夫战死疆场;丽贝卡的丈夫战后生还接下来的十年中,而贝卡生活一帆风顺,在社会的阶梯上不断攀升,直至有幸觐见国王,而阿米莉亚却因父亲破产承受着极大的不幸到了1827年,命运发生了逆转,丽贝卡的生活落入毁灭的深渊,这其实是罪有应得;阿米莉亚却转而变得富裕幸福,可归因于善有善报但是,作者以灵活的讽刺手法,使两位女主角最后的命运归于平衡,仿佛在一个大的轮回之后,回到故事开始时两人命运的起点
故事中,滑铁卢战役是两人命运的重要分水岭战役之前,故事的焦点是两位女主角的婚事两人的婚事分别受到男方家庭的反对,也都因此得不到家庭的支持,两位丈夫的遗产继承权均被取消滑铁卢战役之后,故事的焦点是两个女主角的贞节问题两个三角关系分别展开丽贝卡对丈夫不忠,与放荡好色的贵族富豪斯泰思侯爵勾搭;阿米莉亚对自己去世的丈夫信守贞节,拒绝与十几年如一日忠实爱慕她的多宾结婚
2.在她还很小的时候,贝基就失去了自己穷困潦倒的父亲和法国舞蹈演员的母亲。当她还在平克顿学院的时候,她就十分渴望能够得到想像中的那写奢华的生活。但是对于19世纪初英国壁垒森严的等级制度来说,出身贫寒的她要获得这些几乎是不可能的,然后年幼的贝基却下定决心,要用自己的所有聪明才智,坚忍不拔,青春性感和那些不太光明的小手段征服整个英国上流社会。
同贝基从小一起长大的艾米莉娅•塞德利是一个心地善良的富家女,她的父母也是贝基的法定监护人。从小在呵护中长大的她对世事的险恶也浑然不知;和她不同,出身贫寒的贝基却意志坚强,她下定决心要用自己的方式晋升上流社会。
贝基的上升始于汉普郡乡村贵族彼特•克劳利一家家庭女教师的聘书,年轻开朗贝基很快获得孩子们的喜爱也赢得了长辈的信任,彼特对贝基渐生爱慕,但当他决定开口的时候才发现贝基已经和自己的儿子,沾染着纨绔子弟恶习的劳顿混在一起。此时孩子们单身富有的老姑妈玛蒂尔达也喜欢上了明朗快乐的贝基,并且邀请她到伦敦和自己同住,贝基深知如果不进入城市,进入上流社会根本就是妄想,于是她热切地答应了她的请求。
在伦敦,贝基与自己曾经最好的朋友艾米莉娅再度重逢,完全长大的艾米莉娅发现了从前密友内心膨胀的欲望和两面派的作风,她一面私下与克劳利家族继承人劳顿达成了婚约,一面却有在玛蒂尔达面前隐瞒两们之间的亲密关系。
正在此时,拿破伦开始了对整个欧罗巴大陆的战争,一腔热血的劳顿开赴前线加入战斗,而艾米莉娅新婚的丈夫,乔治•奥斯伯恩奔赴沙场,相近的生活境遇促使身怀六甲的贝基再度开始与艾米莉娅走近。贝基生下一名男婴,劳顿也从战场上归来,尽管如此一家人赢来了团聚,但沉闷安闲的家庭生活是贝基无法忍受的,难以遏制的欲望再一次激荡着贝基的心灵,她决定重新进入返回社交圈,这个充满迷幻的名利场……
《名利场》是英国十九世纪小说家萨克雷的成名作品,也是他生平著作里最经得起时间考验的杰作。故事取材于很热闹的英国十九世纪中上层社会。当时国家强盛,工商业发达,由榨压殖民地或剥削劳工而发财的富商大贾正主宰著这个社会,英法两国争权的战争也在这时响起了炮声。中上层社会各式各等人物,都忙著争权夺位,争名求利,所谓“天下攘攘,皆为利往,天下熙熙,皆为利来”,名位、权势、利禄,原是相连相通的。
故事主角是一个机灵乖巧的漂亮姑娘。她尝过贫穷的滋味,一心要掌握自己的命运,摆脱困境。她不择手段,凭谄媚奉承、走小道儿钻后门,飞上高枝。作为陪衬的人物是她同窗女友、一个富商的女儿。她懦弱温柔,驯顺地随命运播弄。从贫贱进入富裕的道路很不平稳!富家女的运途亦多坎坷,两人此起彼落的遭遇,构成一个引人关怀又动人情感的故事。穿插的人物形形色色,都神情毕肖。萨克雷富讥智,善讽刺,《名利场》是逗趣而又启人深思的小说。
vanity fair中文是《名利场》。
《名利场》是英国十九世纪小说家萨克雷的成名作品,也是他生平著作里最经得起时间考验的杰作。故事取材于很热闹的英国十九世纪中上层社会。当时国家强盛,工商业发达,由榨压殖民地或剥削劳工而发财的富商大贾正主宰着这个社会,英法两国争权的战争也在这时响起了炮声。中上层社会各式各等人物,都忙着争权夺位,争名求利,所谓“天下攘攘,皆为利往,天下熙熙,皆为利来”,名利、权势、利禄,原是相连相通的。
故事主角是一个机灵乖巧的漂亮姑娘。她尝过贫穷的滋味,一心要掌握自己的命运,摆脱困境。她不择手段,凭谄媚奉承、走小道儿钻后门,飞上高枝。作为陪衬的人物是她同窗女友、一个富商的女儿。她懦弱温柔,驯顺地随命运播弄。从贫贱进入富裕的道路很不平稳!富家女的运途亦多坎坷,两人此起彼落的遭遇,构成一个引人关怀又动人情感的故事。穿插的人物形形色色,都神情毕肖。萨克雷富讥智,善讽刺,《名利场》是逗趣而又启人深思的小说。
欢迎分享,转载请注明来源:浪漫分享网
评论列表(0条)