傲慢与偏见

精读《傲慢与偏见》19：一句“最漂亮”，让贝内特太太差点藏不住

第五章，贝内特太太听见宾利夸简最漂亮，却还要在夏洛特面前维持礼貌和克制。读懂 civil self-command。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第五章。它不只是补充背景，而是在舞会之后打开小镇社交圈，让人物通过评价别人暴露自己。

English Text: Mrs. Bennet Discusses Mr. Bingley's Preference

“You began the evening well, Charlotte,” said Mrs. Bennet, with civil self-command, to Miss Lucas. “You were Mr. Bingley’s first choice.”

“Yes; but he seemed to like his second better.”

“Oh, you mean Jane, I suppose, because he danced with her twice. To be sure that did seem as if he admired her--indeed, I rather believe he did--I heard something about it--but I hardly know what--something about Mr. Robinson.”

“Perhaps you mean what I overheard between him and Mr. Robinson: did not I mention it to you? Mr. Robinson’s asking him how he liked our Meryton assemblies, and whether he did not think there were a great many pretty women in the room, and which he thought the prettiest? and his answering immediately to the last question, ‘Oh, the eldest Miss Bennet, beyond a doubt: there cannot be two opinions on that point.’”

“Upon my word! Well, that was very decided, indeed--that does seem as if--but, however, it may all come to nothing, you know.”

中文翻译：贝内特太太谈论宾利先生的偏爱

“夏洛特，你今晚开头不错，”贝内特太太强作镇定地对卢卡斯小姐说，“你是宾利先生的第一位舞伴。”

“是的，但他似乎更喜欢第二位。”

“噢，我想你指的是简，因为他和她跳了两次。确实，那看起来像是他爱慕她——实际上，我倒真相信是这样——我听到了一些风声——但我不太清楚是什么——好像是关于罗宾逊先生的。”

“也许你说的是我无意中听到他和罗宾逊先生说的话：我没跟你提过吗？罗宾逊先生问他觉得我们梅里屯的舞会怎么样，是不是觉得在场有很多美女，还有他觉得谁最漂亮？他马上回答了最后一个问题：‘噢，毫无疑问是大贝内特小姐：这一点无可争议。’”

“天哪！好哇，这话说得确实很肯定——这看起来好像——不过，不管怎样，这也可能毫无结果，你知道的。”

阅读提示：一句“beyond a doubt”让贝内特太太的得意和克制同时暴露出来。

贝内特太太嘴上客气，心里已经把这句话当成婚事信号。

这一段的读法，是把“闲谈”当作人物描写来看。奥斯汀不是随便写邻居聊天，而是在展示小镇社交如何制造判断、传闻和婚姻期待。

如果只看情节，这些句子似乎只是补充说明；但如果看语气，就会发现每个人都在用自己的方式解释世界。

重点词汇

civil /ˈsɪvəl/ adj. — 彬彬有礼的，客气的（文中指勉强维持的礼貌）
原文例句：Despite her anger, she managed to give a civil answer.

self-command /ˌself kəˈmɑːnd/ n. — 自制力，克制
原文例句：It took all his self-command to remain silent during the argument.

assembly /əˈsembli/ n. — 集会，（旧时）社交舞会
原文例句：The town hall held a weekly assembly for the local gentry.

decided /dɪˈsaɪdɪd/ adj. — 明确的，无疑的，坚决的
原文例句：There was a decided improvement in the weather.

长难句解析

1. Mr. Robinson’s asking him how he liked our Meryton assemblies... and his answering immediately to the last question...

说明：这是一个省略了主谓部分的句子，实际上是Charlotte在补充说明“You mean...”的内容。句子由两个长的动名词短语组成（Mr. Robinson's asking... 和 his answering...），作为宾语。

结构：Genitive Noun (Mr. Robinson's) + Gerund (asking) + Clauses (how he liked..., whether he did not think..., and which he thought...) + and + Genitive Pronoun (his) + Gerund (answering)...

2. To be sure that did seem as if he admired her.

说明：这句话表达了推测。'To be sure' 是插入语，表示'诚然/确实'。'as if'引导表语从句，表示'看起来好像'。

结构：Adverbial Phrase (To be sure) + Subject (that) + Verb (did seem) + Conjunction (as if) + Subject (he) + Verb (admired) + Object (her)

今日测验

Q1. Why does Mrs. Bennet speak with 'civil self-command' at the beginning?

A. She is angry at Charlotte for dancing with Mr. Bingley first.
B. She is trying to hide her excitement about Jane while being polite to Charlotte.
C. She dislikes Mr. Bingley and is trying to be polite.
D. She is tired from the evening's events.

Q2. What did Mr. Bingley say about the eldest Miss Bennet (Jane)?

A. She dances well but is not very pretty.
B. She is the prettiest woman in the room beyond a doubt.
C. She is pleasant but too quiet.
D. She reminds him of someone from London.