精读《傲慢与偏见》46：嘴上说痛苦，饭后却唱起二重唱

宾利小姐说伊丽莎白靠贬低同性讨好男人，达西却把这话原样弹回；姐妹俩口口声声“痛苦万分”，饭后却唱起二重唱。第八章就在这组言行反差里收住。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第八章，也是第八章的收尾。看点有两处：达西那句“反将一军”，以及奥斯汀怎样用“说”与“做”的差距，把姐妹俩的虚情写得不着一字、尽得风流。

English Text: A Mean Art, and Duets after Supper

“Eliza Bennet,” said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, “is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I daresay, it succeeds; but, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.”

“Undoubtedly,” replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, “there is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.”

Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.

Elizabeth joined them again only to say that her sister was worse, and that she could not leave her. Bingley urged Mr. Jones’s being sent for immediately; while his sisters, convinced that no country advice could be of any service, recommended an express to town for one of the most eminent physicians. This she would not hear of; but she was not so unwilling to comply with their brother’s proposal; and it was settled that Mr. Jones should be sent for early in the morning, if Miss Bennet were not decidedly better. Bingley was quite uncomfortable; his sisters declared that they were miserable. They solaced their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper; while he could find no better relief to his feelings than by giving his housekeeper directions that every possible attention might be paid to the sick lady and her sister.

中文翻译：卑劣的伎俩，与晚饭后的二重唱

“伊莱莎·贝内特，”门刚在她身后关上，宾利小姐便说，“就是那种想靠贬低自己同性、来讨好异性的年轻小姐；我敢说，这一招对不少男人都管用；可在我看来，这不过是个卑劣的花招，一门十分下作的伎俩。”

“毫无疑问，”达西答道——这番话本就主要是说给他听的——“女士们有时为了迷住人而屈尊使出的种种手段，里头都带着几分卑劣。凡是沾着狡诈色彩的，都叫人不齿。”

宾利小姐对这个回答并不怎么满意，便没有再把话题接下去。

伊丽莎白再次回到他们中间，只为告诉大家姐姐的病更重了，她走不开。宾利先生极力主张立刻去请琼斯先生；他的两位姐妹却认定乡下郎中帮不上什么忙，主张派人快马进城，去请一位最有名望的内科医生。这个提议伊丽莎白不肯听；但对他们兄弟的主张，她倒没那么抵触；于是大家说定，如果贝内特小姐明早还不见明显好转，一早就去请琼斯先生。宾利先生心里很不好受；他的两位姐妹则声称自己痛苦万分。可即便如此，晚饭后她们还是靠唱二重唱抚慰了这份“凄苦”；而宾利先生要缓解心情，能做的也不过是吩咐管家，务必对生病的小姐和她妹妹给予无微不至的照料。

阅读提示：达西那声“毫无疑问”，其实是把话弹了回去

这一段最值得看的，是达西那句“反将一军”，以及全段真正的落点——那组“说”与“做”的言行反差。

先看达西怎么回话。宾利小姐把伊丽莎白说成“靠贬低同性来讨好男人”，这话“主要是说给他听的”（chiefly addressed to him），本意是等他附和。达西开口一声“Undoubtedly（毫无疑问）”，像是顺着她；可他紧接着把范围一扩——“女士们有时为了迷住人而屈尊使出的种种手段，里头都带着几分卑劣”。请注意 ladies、captivation 这两个词：正在费心讨好他的，恰恰是宾利小姐自己。他没点名，却把她也一并圈了进去。这是奥斯汀常用的手法：让人物用一句看似认同的话，顺手把说话人自己也刺一下。

再看结尾一段的对照。姐妹俩“声称自己痛苦万分（declared that they were miserable）”，紧跟着一句 however，笔锋一转——她们靠“晚饭后的二重唱（duets after supper）”自我抚慰。奥斯汀不下判语，只把“说的话”和“做的事”并排摆出来，虚伪就自己显了形。而同一句里，宾利先生的关切落在最实处：他吩咐管家好好照顾病人。第八章就在这组言行反差里收住。

重点词汇

paltry /ˈpɔːltri/ adj. — 卑劣的；微不足道的
原文例句：In my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art.
宾利小姐用 paltry device、mean art（卑劣的花招、下作的伎俩）来贬低伊丽莎白。可这顶帽子扣得太急，反而暴露了她自己看人的刻薄——这正是后面达西要“弹回”的靶子。

condescend /ˌkɒndɪˈsend/ v. — 屈尊；放下身段去做某事
原文例句：There is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation.
达西说女士们“屈尊”使出手段去迷人。用 condescend 而不是 use，暗含一点讥讽：为了讨好而放低身段，本身就不体面——而正在这么做的，恰是宾利小姐。

affinity /əˈfɪnəti/ n. — 类同；密切关系
原文例句：Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.
bears affinity to cunning，字面是“与狡诈沾亲带故”。达西把话说得很绝：凡是沾上一点狡诈的，都可鄙。这句概括性的评断，正好把宾利小姐刚才那点小心机也罩了进去。

solace /ˈsɒlɪs/ v. — 抚慰；排解（愁苦）
原文例句：They solaced their wretchedness, however, by duets after supper.
这是全段反讽的落点。刚说完“痛苦万分”，转头就靠二重唱来 solace（抚慰）自己——真正痛苦的人，不会这样轻易被一支曲子安慰。奥斯汀用一个词，戳破了那份“凄苦”的分量。

长难句解析

1. Eliza Bennet is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own.

说明：这句话的主干是 “Eliza Bennet is one of those young ladies”，后面跟一个由 who 引导的定语从句修饰 young ladies；从句里的 “by undervaluing their own” 是方式状语，说明“靠什么手段”。宾利小姐把伊丽莎白归进“那一类小姐”，一句话就完成了贴标签。

结构：主句(Eliza Bennet is one of those young ladies) + 定语从句(who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex) + 方式状语(by undervaluing their own)

2. Miss Bingley was not so entirely satisfied with this reply as to continue the subject.

说明：这是 “not so ... as to ...” 结构，意思是“没有……到足以做某事的地步”。达西的回答没让她满意到愿意把话题接下去——一句克制的叙述，其实点出她被将了一军、只好收声。

结构：主语(Miss Bingley) + was + not so + 形容词(entirely satisfied with this reply) + as to + 不定式(continue the subject)

今日测验

Q1. How did Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst demonstrate their “wretchedness” regarding Jane’s illness?

A. By crying all night.
B. By singing duets after supper.
C. By sending for an eminent physician.
D. By helping the housekeeper.

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