傲慢与偏见

精读《傲慢与偏见》24：婚姻幸福真的靠运气吗？

伊丽莎白坚持简还不了解宾利，夏洛特却说婚姻幸福本来就是运气，知道越少越省心。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第六章。这一段的锋利之处，是伊丽莎白把婚姻看成了解后的选择，而夏洛特把婚姻看成无法完全计算的机会。

English Text: Debating the Nature of Happiness in Marriage

“Your plan is a good one,” replied Elizabeth, “where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it. But these are not Jane’s feelings; she is not acting by design. As yet she cannot even be certain of the degree of her own regard, nor of its reasonableness. She has known him only a fortnight. She danced four dances with him at Meryton; she saw him one morning at his own house, and has since dined in company with him four times. This is not quite enough to make her understand his character.”

“Not as you represent it. Had she merely dined with him, she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite; but you must remember that four evenings have been also spent together--and four evenings may do a great deal.”

“Yes: these four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce, but with respect to any other leading characteristic, I do not imagine that much has been unfolded.”

“Well,” said Charlotte, “I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.”

“You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself.”

中文翻译：关于婚姻幸福本质的辩论

“你的计划固然好，”伊丽莎白回答道，“前提是只求嫁个好人家。如果我下定决心要嫁个有钱人，或者随便嫁个什么人，我敢说我也许会照你的法子办。但简不是这样想的；她并不是刻意为之。到目前为止，她甚至不能确定自己的感情深浅，也不知道这感情是否理智。她认识他也才不过半个月。她在梅里屯跟他跳过四次舞；在一个早上拜访过他的住所，之后又跟他一起吃过四次饭。这点相处还不足以让她了解他的性格。”

“照你这么说确实不够。如果她只是跟他吃过饭，那她可能只看出来他胃口好不好；但你得记住，他们还在一起度过了四个晚上——四个晚上可以发生很多事。”

“是啊：这四个晚上确实让他们弄清楚了，他们俩都更喜欢玩‘二十一点’而不是‘商业’纸牌戏，但至于其他主要的性格特征，我看并没有显露多少。”

“好吧，”夏洛特说，“我衷心祝愿简成功；如果她明天就嫁给他，我觉得她获得幸福的几率，跟她花上一整年去研究他的性格是一样的。婚姻幸福完全是个几率问题。即便双方在婚前对彼此的性情了如指掌，或者性情再怎么相似，这都丝毫不能增加他们婚后的幸福。这之后，他们总会变得大相径庭，各有各的烦恼；既然你要和这个人过一辈子，对他身上的毛病知道得越少越好。”

“你把我逗乐了，夏洛特；但这没道理。你知道这没道理，而且你自己也绝不会这么做。”

阅读提示：一个谈了解，一个谈概率

这一段的锋利之处，是伊丽莎白把婚姻看成了解后的选择，而夏洛特把婚姻看成无法完全计算的机会。

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

fortnight /ˈfɔːtnaɪt/ noun — 两星期，十四天
原文例句：She has known him only a fortnight.

ascertain /ˌæsəˈteɪn/ verb — 弄清，确定，查明
原文例句：These four evenings have enabled them to ascertain that they both like Vingt-un better than Commerce.

felicity /fəˈlɪsəti/ noun — （极度的）幸福
原文例句：It does not advance their felicity in the least.

vexation /vekˈseɪʃn/ noun — 烦恼，苦恼
原文例句：They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation.

disposition /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃn/ noun — 性情，性格倾向
原文例句：If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other.

长难句解析

1. Had she merely dined with him, she might only have discovered whether he had a good appetite.

说明：这是一个省略了if的虚拟语气条件句（倒装结构）。

结构：Had she... (相当于 If she had...) 是虚拟语气过去完成时的倒装，表示对过去情况的假设；主句 she might only have discovered... 使用 might + have done 表示对过去可能结果的推测。

2. It is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.

说明：这是一个包含形式主语和定语从句的长句。

结构：It 是形式主语，真正的主语是后面的不定式短语 to know...；with whom 引导定语从句修饰 person，be to do (are to pass) 结构在此处表示注定或计划要发生的事情（和你共度余生的人）。

今日测验

Q1. According to Charlotte, why is knowing a partner's character beforehand unnecessary?

A. Because people change and grow different over time anyway.
B. Because love conquers all defects.
C. Because financial security is the only thing that matters.
D. Because it takes too long to study someone's character.

Q2. How does Elizabeth react to Charlotte's philosophy on marriage?

A. She agrees completely and decides to adopt it.
B. She gets angry and leaves the conversation.
C. She laughs it off as unsound and believes Charlotte wouldn't actually do it.
D. She thinks it is a brilliant plan for her sister Jane.