精读《傲慢与偏见》22：简的爱意为什么不容易被看见？

第六章开篇，浪博恩和内瑟菲尔德开始往来。宾利的爱慕越来越明显，简的感情却被沉稳举止藏了起来。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第六章。这一段真正有意思的地方，是奥斯汀同时写两种眼光：别人看见的是礼貌往来，伊丽莎白看见的是傲慢和暗藏的爱意。

English Text: Social Visits and Hidden Affections

The ladies of Longbourn soon waited on those of Netherfield. The visit was returned in due form. Miss Bennet’s pleasing manners grew on the good-will of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley; and though the mother was found to be intolerable, and the younger sisters not worth speaking to, a wish of being better acquainted with them was expressed towards the two eldest. By Jane this attention was received with the greatest pleasure; but Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody, hardly excepting even her sister, and could not like them; though their kindness to Jane, such as it was, had a value, as arising, in all probability, from the influence of their brother’s admiration. It was generally evident, whenever they met, that he did admire her; and to her it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a way to be very much in love; but she considered with pleasure that it was not likely to be discovered by the world in general, since Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and an uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent. She mentioned this to her friend, Miss Lucas.

中文翻译：浪博恩与内瑟菲尔德的往来

浪博恩的女眷们不久便去拜访了内瑟菲尔德的女眷。对方也照礼数回访了。贝内特小姐讨喜的举止逐渐赢得了赫斯特太太和宾利小姐的好感；尽管她们觉得贝内特太太难以忍受，妹妹们也不值一谈，但对两位年长的姐姐，她们还是表达了希望能进一步结交的意愿。简对此受宠若惊，欣然接纳；但伊丽莎白依然看出她们待人处事中的傲慢，几乎连简也不放过，因此无法喜欢她们；不过她们对简的友善——聊胜于无——倒也有些价值，毕竟这多半是源于她们兄弟对简的爱慕。大家都能看出来，每逢见面，宾利先生确实倾慕简；而在伊丽莎白看来，同样明显的是，简也正陷于初见时便萌生的好感之中，眼看就要坠入情网了；但令伊丽莎白感到欣慰的是，世人大概不会察觉这一点，因为简虽然情感强烈，却性情沉稳，举止始终和气，这足以掩饰她的心事，免受好事之徒的猜疑。她跟好友卢卡斯小姐提到了这一点。

阅读提示：简的沉稳，反而让爱意更难被外界看见

这一段真正有意思的地方，是奥斯汀同时写两种眼光：别人看见的是礼貌往来，伊丽莎白看见的是傲慢和暗藏的爱意。

奥斯汀的厉害之处，是她常常用社交动作写人物心理。一次拜访、一句玩笑、一个拒绝，表面是礼节，里面却有判断、阶层意识、自尊和误会。

这一段也可以当作阅读训练：先看谁在说话，再看这句话想达成什么效果，最后再回到具体英文词句。

重点词汇

superciliousness /ˌsuːpəˈsɪliəsnəs/ noun — 傲慢，目空一切
原文例句：Elizabeth still saw superciliousness in their treatment of everybody.

impertinent /ɪmˈpɜːtɪnənt/ noun/adj — 鲁莽的人，爱管闲事的人（在此指好事之徒）
原文例句：Her composure would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent.

composure /kəmˈpəʊʒə/ noun — 镇静，沉着
原文例句：Jane possessed a composure of temper that hid her strong feelings.

intolerable /ɪnˈtɒlərəbl/ adj — 无法忍受的
原文例句：The mother was found to be intolerable by Bingley's sisters.

长难句解析

1. Jane united with great strength of feeling, a composure of temper and an uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinent.

说明：这是一个包含非限制性定语从句的复合句。主句描述了简性格中的矛盾统一：内心强烈的情感（strength of feeling）与外表的镇定（composure）及和气（cheerfulness）结合在一起。which引导的从句修饰这种外在的性格特质，说明其作用是保护她免受猜疑。

结构：主语(Jane) + 谓语(united) + 伴随状语(with great strength of feeling) + 宾语(a composure... and an uniform cheerfulness...) + 定语从句(which would guard her...)

今日测验

Q1. Why was Elizabeth pleased regarding Jane's feelings for Mr. Bingley?

A. Because Mr. Bingley's sisters approved of the match.
B. Because she knew Jane's composure would hide her love from the public.
C. Because Mrs. Bennet was unaware of the relationship.
D. Because Miss Lucas had predicted the outcome.

Q2. What prevents Elizabeth from liking Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley?

A. Their refusal to return the visit.
B. Their lack of attention to Jane.
C. Their supercilious treatment of almost everybody.
D. Their close friendship with Miss Lucas.

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我会继续把《傲慢与偏见》拆成一小段一小段来读：原文、翻译、词汇、长难句和自测都会发在公众号里。适合想读英文原著，但又不想被长句和生词劝退的读者。