傲慢与偏见

信还没念，贝内特太太为什么先问“他说什么”？｜精读 33

内瑟菲尔德送来一封热络俏皮的邀请信；真正推动情节的却是贝内特太太——一听男士外出赴宴，她立刻借"看样子要下雨"让简骑马前往，把"留女儿过夜"的算计藏进关心的口吻里。

信还没念，贝内特太太为什么先问“他说什么”？

第七章这封信尚未念出，贝内特太太已经问了一句 What does he say?。一个提前出现的男性代词，先暴露了她希望寄信人是谁。

English Text: A Note from Netherfield, and a Mother's Scheme

Mrs. Bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the footman with a note for Miss Bennet; it came from Netherfield, and the servant waited for an answer. Mrs. Bennet’s eyes sparkled with pleasure, and she was eagerly calling out, while her daughter read,--

“Well, Jane, who is it from? What is it about? What does he say? Well, Jane, make haste and tell us; make haste, my love.”

“It is from Miss Bingley,” said Jane, and then read it aloud.

“My dear friend, “If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa and me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives; for a whole day’s tête-à-tête between two women can never end without a quarrel. Come as soon as you can on the receipt of this. My brother and the gentlemen are to dine with the officers. “Yours ever, “CAROLINE BINGLEY.”

“With the officers!” cried Lydia: “I wonder my aunt did not tell us of that.”

“Dining out,” said Mrs. Bennet; “that is very unlucky.”

“Can I have the carriage?” said Jane.

“No, my dear, you had better go on horseback, because it seems likely to rain; and then you must stay all night.”

中文翻译：一封来自内瑟菲尔德的信，与母亲的算计

贝内特太太正要开口，却被走进来的男仆打断了——他给贝内特小姐送来一封短笺；信来自内瑟菲尔德，仆人正等着回音。贝内特太太喜上眉梢，女儿读信时，她已经急切地大声追问起来——

“喂，简，是谁寄来的？说的是什么事？他说了些什么？哎呀，简，快告诉我们；快点呀，我的宝贝。”

“是宾利小姐寄来的，”简说着，就把信念出声来。

亲爱的朋友：要是你不发发慈悲，今天过来同路易莎和我一道吃饭，我们怕是要恨彼此一辈子了；因为两个女人整整一天的促膝长谈，绝不可能不闹到吵架收场。一收到这封信，就请尽快过来。我哥哥和几位男士都要去同军官们一道用饭。永远是你的，卡罗琳·宾利

“同军官们一道！”莉迪亚嚷道，“真奇怪，舅妈居然没跟我们提这事。”

“出门赴宴去了，”贝内特太太说，“这可真不凑巧。”

“我可以坐马车去吗？”简问。

“不行，亲爱的，你最好骑马去，因为看样子要下雨；那样你就非在那儿过夜不可了。”

信还没念，一个 he 先泄露了期待

这一段前半是宾利小姐的信，后半是贝内特太太的临场发挥，两种"声音"贴在一起，反差就出来了。

贝内特太太先问谁寄来的、什么事、他说什么。寄信人仍未知，她已经用 he 填好了答案。简随即纠正：信来自宾利小姐。听说男士们外出，她马上评价 that is very unlucky，随后才把一次午餐改造成骑马和留宿计划。

再看母亲怎么接。她先对"男士外出"表了个态："出门赴宴去了，那可真不凑巧。"——男主人不在，简就见不着宾利先生。紧接着简只问了一句极普通的"我可以坐马车去吗？"，母亲的算盘就顺势铺开了：不坐马车，改骑马；理由是"看样子要下雨"；下雨的结果是"你就非得在那儿过夜"。奥斯汀一个字的评点都没给，可"下雨→骑马→过夜"这条因果链一摆出来，读者自己就把那点心思拼齐了。

读这一段，不妨专门盯住母亲那句话的语气：明明是精心算计，说出口却全是"关心天气、担心女儿"的口吻。奥斯汀最拿手的，正是把盘算写成体贴。

重点词汇

make haste /meɪk heɪst/ phrase — 赶紧；快点
原文例句：Well, Jane, make haste and tell us; make haste, my love.
贝内特太太一句话里连用两次，把她那种坐不住的急切写得活灵活现——信还没读完，她已经等不及要知道内容了。这个短语比 hurry 更书面、更旧派，很贴合原著语气。

tête-à-tête /ˌteɪt ɑː ˈteɪt/ n. — （两人之间的）促膝长谈；私下交谈
原文例句：...for a whole day’s tête-à-tête between two women can never end without a quarrel.
这是个从法语借来的词，字面是"头碰头"。卡罗琳用它把"两个女人单独待一整天"说得亲密又俏皮，正是这封信闺蜜撒娇口吻的关键。

compassionate /kəmˈpæʃənət/ adj. — 有同情心的；发慈悲的
原文例句：If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa and me...
卡罗琳故意把"来吃个饭"抬高成"发发慈悲"，用夸张的委屈半开玩笑地绑架简。读出这份夸张，才读得出信的调门。

receipt /rɪˈsiːt/ n. — 收到，接到（此处指收到信件）
原文例句：Come as soon as you can on the receipt of this.
注意它在这里不是"收据"，而是"收到"这个动作。on the receipt of this 意为"一收到这封信就……"，是催促简立刻动身的正式说法。

长难句解析

1. Mrs. Bennet was prevented replying by the entrance of the footman with a note for Miss Bennet.

说明：这是一个被动句。was prevented 是被动结构，后面直接跟动名词 replying 作宾语（prevent sb. from doing / prevent doing）。by the entrance of the footman 是状语，交代"被什么打断了"。奥斯汀用一个被动句，把母亲话头被硬生生截断的那一下写得很利落。

结构：主语 (Mrs. Bennet) + 被动谓语 (was prevented) + 动名词 (replying) + 介词状语 (by the entrance of the footman...)

2. If you are not so compassionate as to dine to-day with Louisa and me, we shall be in danger of hating each other for the rest of our lives.

说明：核心是 so + 形容词 + as to + do 结构，意为"到了……的程度以至于……"。这里 not so compassionate as to dine 直译是"没有慈悲到愿意来吃饭"，卡罗琳用这个略显正式的句型开玩笑，再接一句夸张的后果（否则要恨一辈子），撒娇的味道全在这份"小题大做"里。

结构：条件从句 (If you are not so compassionate as to dine...) + 主句 (we shall be in danger of hating each other...)

今日测验

Q1. Why does Mrs. Bennet want Jane to go on horseback instead of using the carriage?

A. Because the carriage is broken.
B. Because she wants Jane to get some exercise.
C. Because she hopes it will rain so Jane must stay overnight.
D. Because the horses are needed for the farm work.