傲慢与偏见

精读《傲慢与偏见》20：达西为什么被说傲慢得要命？

第五章，众人围绕达西是否傲慢展开闲聊：少说话、冷淡、马车差异，都被解释成阶层傲慢。

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: Gossiping About Mr. Darcy's Pride

“My overhearings were more to the purpose than yours, Eliza,” said Charlotte. “Mr. Darcy is not so well worth listening to as his friend, is he? Poor Eliza! to be only just tolerable.”

“I beg you will not put it into Lizzy’s head to be vexed by his ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him. Mrs. Long told me last night that he sat close to her for half an hour without once opening his lips.”

“Are you quite sure, ma’am? Is not there a little mistake?” said Jane. “I certainly saw Mr. Darcy speaking to her.”

“Ay, because she asked him at last how he liked Netherfield, and he could not help answering her; but she said he seemed very angry at being spoke to.”

“Miss Bingley told me,” said Jane, “that he never speaks much unless among his intimate acquaintance. With them he is remarkably agreeable.”

“I do not believe a word of it, my dear. If he had been so very agreeable, he would have talked to Mrs. Long. But I can guess how it was; everybody says that he is eat up with pride, and I dare say he had heard somehow that Mrs. Long does not keep a carriage, and had to come to the ball in a hack chaise.”

中文翻译：关于达西先生傲慢的闲聊

“我听来的那些话可比你的更中肯，伊莱莎，”夏洛特说。“达西先生可不像他的朋友那样值得一听，对吧？可怜的伊莱莎！竟然只是‘勉强过得去’。”

“我求你别让丽萃把他的无礼放在心上而自寻烦恼，他是个如此讨厌的人，被他喜欢反而是种不幸。朗太太昨晚告诉我，他坐在她旁边半个小时，竟没开过一次口。”

“您确定吗，妈妈？是不是有点误会？”简说。“我明明看见达西先生和她说话了。”

“哎，那是因为她最后问他觉得内瑟菲尔德怎么样，他不得不回答；但她说，他似乎对被人搭话感到很生气。”

“宾利小姐告诉我，”简说，“除非在亲密熟人中间，否则他从不多话。在熟人面前，他可是非常随和的。”

“我才不信这一套呢，亲爱的。如果他真那么随和，就会和朗太太说话了。但我猜得到是怎么回事；大家都说他傲慢得要命，我敢说他肯定是听到了什么风声，知道朗太太没有自家马车，是雇了辆出租马车来参加舞会的。”

阅读提示：这一段写的不是达西有没有错，而是小镇怎样把沉默加工成八卦。

达西只是沉默，但在小镇社交里，沉默很快会被翻译成傲慢。

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

tolerable /ˈtɒlərəbl/ adj. — 尚可的，勉强过得去的（此处略带贬义）
原文例句：The food was tolerable, but not excellent.

vexed /vekst/ adj. — 恼火的，烦恼的
原文例句：She was vexed by the constant delays.

disagreeable /ˌdɪsəˈɡriːəbl/ adj. — 难相处的，令人讨厌的
原文例句：He is a disagreeable man who complains about everything.

intimate /ˈɪntɪmət/ adj. — 亲密的，密切的
原文例句：They remained intimate friends throughout their lives.

hack chaise /hæk ʃeɪz/ n. phrase — 出租马车（指非私家拥有，地位较低）
原文例句：They could not afford a carriage, so they traveled in a hack chaise.

长难句解析

1. If he had been so very agreeable, he would have talked to Mrs. Long.

说明：这是一个典型的虚拟语气（Subjunctive Mood）句子，表示与过去事实相反的假设（Third Conditional）。

结构：If + 主语 + had + 过去分词 (从句), 主语 + would + have + 过去分词 (主句)

2. I beg you will not put it into Lizzy’s head to be vexed by his ill-treatment, for he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him.

说明：这是一个长难句。'put it into head' 是习惯用语，意为让某人产生某种想法；'for' 引导原因状语从句；从句中包含了 'such... that...' 结构，表示'如此...以至于...'。

结构：主句 (I beg...) + 原因状语从句 (for he is such a... that...)

今日测验

Q1. According to Mrs. Bennet, why did Mr. Darcy avoid speaking to Mrs. Long?

A. He was too shy to speak to strangers.
B. He was angry about being at Netherfield.
C. He is proud and looked down on her for using a hack chaise.
D. He was busy speaking to Miss Bingley.