傲慢与偏见

sensible不是“懂事”：贝内特先生这句反话怎么读？｜精读 32

sensible of 在这里表示“意识到”。贝内特太太替女儿辩护，却在谈红制服和有钱上校时一步步削弱自己的说法。

sensible不是“懂事”：贝内特先生这句反话怎么读？

sensible of 在这里表示“意识到”。贝内特太太替女儿辩护，却在谈红制服和有钱上校时一步步削弱自己的说法。

第七章这段夫妻争论的入口是一个容易误译的搭配。先把 sensible of 读对，后面的反话和自我暴露才会接上。

English Text: Silly Daughters and a Weakness for Red Coats

“I am astonished, my dear,” said Mrs. Bennet, “that you should be so ready to think your own children silly. If I wished to think slightingly of anybody’s children, it should not be of my own, however.”

“If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it.”

“Yes; but as it happens, they are all of them very clever.”

“This is the only point, I flatter myself, on which we do not agree. I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular, but I must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish.”

“My dear Mr. Bennet, you must not expect such girls to have the sense of their father and mother. When they get to our age, I dare say they will not think about officers any more than we do. I remember the time when I liked a red coat myself very well--and, indeed, so I do still at my heart; and if a smart young colonel, with five or six thousand a year, should want one of my girls, I shall not say nay to him; and I thought Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night at Sir William’s in his regimentals.”

“Mamma,” cried Lydia, “my aunt says that Colonel Forster and Captain Carter do not go so often to Miss Watson’s as they did when they first came; she sees them now very often standing in Clarke’s library.”

中文翻译：傻女儿，与太太的红制服心事

“亲爱的，我真惊讶，”贝内特太太说，“你怎么动不动就觉得自己的孩子傻。要是我想看轻谁家的孩子，那也绝不会是我自己家的。”

“要是我的孩子真傻，我倒希望自己能一直清楚地意识到这一点。”

“是啊；可偏偏，她们个个都很聪明。”

“我自以为，这是我们唯一意见相左的地方。我原本盼着咱俩事事看法一致，可在这一点上我不得不跟你相左：我觉得咱们最小的两个女儿蠢得出奇。”

“亲爱的贝内特先生，你可不能指望这样的姑娘有做父母的这份见识。等她们到了我们这个年纪，我敢说，她们就不会像现在这样成天惦记军官了。我还记得自己当年也很喜欢红制服——说真的，我心里如今依旧喜欢；要是有位年轻帅气的上校，一年有五六千英镑的进项，想娶我哪个女儿，我是不会跟他说不的；那天晚上在威廉爵士家，我就觉得福斯特上校穿着军装的样子真是精神极了。”

“妈妈，”莉迪亚嚷道，“舅妈说，福斯特上校和卡特上尉不像刚来时那样常去沃森小姐家了；她现在常看见他们站在克拉克图书馆里。”

sensible of 读对以后，反话才成立

这一段是一出微型喜剧，但奥斯汀几乎没出面点评，全靠人物自己说话拆台。

先看夫妻俩的对话节奏。贝内特太太抱怨丈夫"动不动就觉得孩子傻"，贝内特先生接了一句 “If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it.” 他的意思是：孩子若是愚蠢，我至少不愿装作看不见。

太太那段长辩护自己削弱了自己：她先说女儿长大便不会迷恋军官，随后承认如今心里仍喜欢红制服，又盘算有钱上校来求亲就答应。莉迪亚紧接着继续报告军官消息，对话到这里已经给出判断。

最后一击是位置安排。太太话音刚落，莉迪亚立刻插进来，一张口只有军官、军官去了谁家、又站在哪家图书馆——奥斯汀把这句紧贴在母亲的自白之后，等于让女儿当场坐实了父亲的判断。

重点词汇

sensible /ˈsensəbl/ adj. — （旧义）意识到的；察觉到的
原文例句：If my children are silly, I must hope to be always sensible of it.

slightingly /ˈslaɪtɪŋli/ adv. — 轻视地；瞧不起地
原文例句：If I wished to think slightingly of anybody’s children, it should not be of my own.

coincide /ˌkəʊɪnˈsaɪd/ v. — 一致；相符
原文例句：I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular.

regimentals /ˌredʒɪˈmentlz/ n. — 军服；军装
原文例句：Colonel Forster looked very becoming the other night ... in his regimentals.

长难句解析

1. I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular, but I must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish.

说明：前半用过去完成时 had hoped，表示"过去曾抱有、如今已落空"的期望，是贝内特先生反讽的口气。后半的关键结构是 so far ... as to ...，意为"程度到了……以至于……"，把"不同意"说得极其正式，反差之下更显讥诮。

结构：主句(I had hoped) + 宾语从句(that our sentiments coincided...) + 转折(but) + 主句(I must so far differ from you) + 结果状语(as to think... uncommonly foolish)

2. I am astonished that you should be so ready to think your own children silly.

说明：这里的 should 不表"应该"，而表惊讶、不以为然的语气；be ready to 也不是"准备好"，而是"动辄、张口就……"。合起来是太太在嗔怪："你怎么张口就说自己孩子傻。"

结构：主语(I) + 系动词(am) + 表语(astonished) + 宾语从句(that you should be so ready to think... silly)

今日测验

Q1. What is Mr. Bennet’s opinion regarding his two youngest daughters?

A. They are as clever as their mother.
B. They are exceptionally foolish.
C. They should marry officers immediately.
D. They act sensibly for their age.

Q2. How does Mrs. Bennet feel about officers (‘red coats’)?

A. She dislikes them and forbids her daughters from seeing them.
B. She thinks they are too poor to marry her daughters.
C. She still likes them and would welcome a wealthy one as a son-in-law.
D. She is indifferent to them.