傲慢与偏见

精读《傲慢与偏见》44：同一个“才女”，两把尺子

宾利觉得年轻小姐个个都是才女，达西却说这个词被用得太廉价，真正称得上的不超过半打。同一个 accomplished，量出两种看人的尺度。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第八章。最值得看的地方，是同一个“才女（accomplished）”，在宾利嘴里几乎人人够格，在达西嘴里却稀有到不超过半打——奥斯汀让这个词自己贬值，写出两种看人的尺度。

English Text: What Counts as “Accomplished”?

Elizabeth was so much caught by what passed, as to leave her very little attention for her book; and, soon laying it wholly aside, she drew near the card-table, and stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister, to observe the game.

“Is Miss Darcy much grown since the spring?” said Miss Bingley: “will she be as tall as I am?”

“I think she will. She is now about Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s height, or rather taller.”

“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners, and so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.”

“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”

“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”

“Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this; and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”

“Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen; but I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen in the whole range of my acquaintance that are really accomplished.”

中文翻译：什么才算“多才多艺”？

伊丽莎白被刚才那一幕深深吸引，几乎无心再读手里的书；于是她很快把书完全搁下，走到牌桌旁，在宾利先生和他大姐之间站定，看他们打牌。

“达西小姐开春以来长高了不少吧？”宾利小姐问，“她将来会有我这么高吗？”

“我想会的。她现在大约有伊丽莎白·贝内特小姐那么高，或者还要高些。”

“我多想再见到她！我从没见过谁像她那样讨我喜欢。那样的容貌，那样的举止，年纪轻轻就这般多才多艺！她的钢琴弹得真是精妙极了。”

“真让我惊讶，”宾利说，“年轻小姐们哪来那么大的耐心，个个都练就这一身才艺。”

“个个都是才女！亲爱的查尔斯，你这话什么意思？”

“是的，我看个个都是。她们都会画桌案、装点屏风、编织钱袋。这些活儿，我几乎没见过谁不会；而且我敢说，每次头一回听人提起哪位年轻小姐，总会被告知她非常多才多艺。”

“你数的这些寻常才艺，”达西说，“倒是一点不假。许多女人不过会编个钱袋、装点个屏风，别无所长，却也被冠上这个字眼；但要说你对女士们的总体评价，我可完全不敢苟同。在我认识的所有人里，真正称得上多才多艺的，我敢说不超过半打。”

阅读提示：一个被说滥的词，量出两种看人的尺度

这一段最值得看的，是同一个“才女（accomplished）”，在宾利嘴里几乎人人够格，在达西嘴里却稀有到不超过半打。

留意 accomplished 这个词在短短几句里被反复抛来抛去。宾利用它时是宽厚的：会画桌案、装点屏风、编钱袋，就算多才多艺，所以“个个都是”；达西用它时是挑剔的：正因为这个词被随手安在只会编钱袋的女人身上，它才越来越不值钱，真正配得上的“不超过半打”。奥斯汀没有直接说谁宽厚、谁自负，她只是让两个人用同一个词，各自量出一把尺子。

也别忽略伊丽莎白：她先是被这一幕勾住、放下了书，又特意在宾利和他大姐之间“站定”——她一言不发，却把自己安排成了这场争论的旁观席。

重点词汇

accomplished /əˈkʌmplɪʃt/ adj. — 多才多艺的；才艺出众的
原文例句：I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.
这是全段的枢纽词。同一个词，宾利拿来夸“人人”，达西拿来挑“半打”，词义的松紧就成了两人性格的分水岭。

scarcely /ˈskeəsli/ adv. — 几乎不；简直不
原文例句：I scarcely know any one who cannot do all this.
宾利用 scarcely 把“不会这些手艺的人”说成极少数，等于反过来断定“会的人几乎是全部”。

exquisite /ɪkˈskwɪzɪt/ adj. — 精致的；细腻精美的
原文例句：Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.
这是宾利小姐奉承达西小姐的用词。正是这一串过头的夸赞点着了话题，才引出后面关于“才女”的争论。

station /ˈsteɪʃən/ v. — （把自己）安置在某处；站定
原文例句：She drew near the card-table, and stationed herself between Mr. Bingley and his eldest sister.
用 station 而不是随便 sat 或 stood，透出一点刻意：伊丽莎白是特意把自己摆到两人中间，做这场争论的旁观者。

长难句解析

1. Elizabeth was so much caught by what passed, as to leave her very little attention for her book.

说明：这是 “so ... as to ...” 结构，表示“如此……以至于……”。它一句话交代了伊丽莎白为什么会放下书凑到牌桌旁。

结构：主语(Elizabeth) + was + so + 过去分词短语(much caught by what passed) + as to + 不定式(leave her very little attention for her book)

2. I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.

说明：这是 “never ... without ...” 双重否定，用来表达强烈的“每一次都……”。宾利这句话本身就是证据：正因为这句夸奖成了张口就来的套话，accomplished 才被用得越来越廉价。

结构：主语(I) + never + 谓语(heard) + 宾语(a young lady) + 补语(spoken of ...) + without + 动名词(being informed that ...)

今日测验

Q1. How do Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy differ in their definition of an “accomplished” woman?

A. Bingley thinks only Miss Darcy is accomplished, while Darcy thinks many women are.
B. Bingley believes superficial crafts make a woman accomplished, while Darcy has much stricter standards.
C. They both agree that painting tables is a sign of high intelligence.
D. Darcy thinks all women are accomplished, but Bingley disagrees.