傲慢与偏见

精读《傲慢与偏见》52：莉迪亚当众逼问那场舞会

贝内特太太道谢告辞，最小的女儿莉迪亚却抢步上前，当众逼问宾利先生那场答应过的舞会。奥斯汀第一次为莉迪亚立传。

贝内特太太道谢告辞，最小的女儿莉迪亚却抢步上前，当众逼问宾利先生那场答应过的舞会。

这一段来自《傲慢与偏见》第九章。它真正的重心，是奥斯汀第一次给莉迪亚立传：她天生的自视（self-consequence）被母亲的宠爱和军官的殷勤一路喂成盲目自信（assurance），于是敢当众逼宾利兑现舞会承诺——日后闯祸的性格根子，就提前埋在这段人物速写里。

English Text: Lydia's Bold Demand for a Ball

Darcy only smiled; and the general pause which ensued made Elizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself again. She longed to speak, but could think of nothing to say; and after a short silence Mrs. Bennet began repeating her thanks to Mr. Bingley for his kindness to Jane, with an apology for troubling him also with Lizzy. Mr. Bingley was unaffectedly civil in his answer, and forced his younger sister to be civil also, and say what the occasion required. She performed her part, indeed, without much graciousness, but Mrs. Bennet was satisfied, and soon afterwards ordered her carriage. Upon this signal, the youngest of her daughters put herself forward. The two girls had been whispering to each other during the whole visit; and the result of it was, that the youngest should tax Mr. Bingley with having promised on his first coming into the country to give a ball at Netherfield.

Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence, which the attentions of the officers, to whom her uncle’s good dinners and her own easy manners recommended her, had increased into assurance. She was very equal, therefore, to address Mr. Bingley on the subject of the ball, and abruptly reminded him of his promise; adding, that it would be the most shameful thing in the world if he did not keep it. His answer to this sudden attack was delightful to her mother’s ear.

中文翻译：莉迪亚当众讨要舞会

达西只是笑了笑；接着而来的冷场让伊丽莎白心里发紧，生怕母亲又要当众出丑。她很想开口，却一时想不出话来；沉默片刻后，贝内特太太又开始一遍遍感谢宾利先生对简的照顾，还为丽萃也来叨扰他而连声道歉。宾利先生的回答真诚而客气，还硬拉着妹妹也讲几句客套，说些场面上该说的话。妹妹确实敷衍了两句，谈不上多少热情，但贝内特太太已经心满意足，随即吩咐备车。就在这个当口，最小的女儿抢步上前。整场拜访里，这姐妹俩一直凑在一处嘀嘀咕咕，商量的结果是：由最小的那个出面，去质问宾利先生——他初来乡下时曾答应在内瑟菲尔德办一场舞会，这话到底还算不算数。

莉迪亚十五岁，长得结实、发育得早，肤色红润，一张脸总是笑盈盈的；她是母亲的心头肉，正因这份偏爱，很小就被带出来交际。她天生精力旺盛，又有几分与生俱来的自命不凡；她姨父家丰盛的酒饭、她自己随和好说话的性子，招来了军官们的殷勤献媚，这份自视便被越捧越高，最后长成了一身盲目的自信。所以，要她开口向宾利先生提舞会的事，她一点也不怵；她冒冒失失地提醒他别忘了那个承诺，还添上一句：他要是说话不算数，那可就是天底下最丢脸的事。他对这突如其来的一击所作的回答，落进她母亲耳里，简直悦耳极了。

阅读提示：奥斯汀怎样用一段拜访，替莉迪亚立传

这一段真正的重心，不是舞会答不答应，而是奥斯汀第一次把镜头对准莉迪亚，为她画了一幅小传。

注意她画像的顺序：先是外形（结实、发育早、笑盈盈），再是处境（母亲的心头肉，很小就被带出来交际），最后才是性格的成因——天生的精力（animal spirits）和自视（self-consequence），被姨父家的酒饭、军官的殷勤一路喂养，最后“增值”成了盲目自信（assurance）。奥斯汀不直接下判语，而是给你一条因果链：宠爱在前，交际过早在中，殷勤助长在后，于是才有当众逼问宾利这一幕。等你读到后面莉迪亚闯下大祸，会发现她的性格根子，早在这段速写里就埋好了。

还有一个更细的对照值得留意：同一场面里，伊丽莎白“战战兢兢”生怕母亲出丑（tremble lest…），莉迪亚却毫无顾忌地站出来。姐妹俩对“体面”的感知，被奥斯汀放在同一个房间里同框呈现。读这一段，可以带着一个问题：奥斯汀是怎样让我们“看见”一个人物的性格，而不是被直接“告知”的？

重点词汇

ensue /ɪnˈsuː/ verb — （随之）接着发生
原文例句：The general pause which ensued made Elizabeth tremble.
这个词专门用来接“紧随其后的结果”。这里冷场不是凭空出现，而是紧跟着达西那一笑“随之而来”，一个词就把尴尬的因果连了起来。

countenance /ˈkaʊntənəns/ noun — 面容，神情
原文例句：Lydia had a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance.
写莉迪亚外形时，奥斯汀用 countenance（神情）而不只是 face（脸），点出她那副“总是笑盈盈”的招人喜欢的样子——这正是她讨人喜欢、也讨军官喜欢的本钱。

tax /tæks/ verb — （旧义）责问，质问，逼问
原文例句：The youngest should tax Mr. Bingley with having promised to give a ball.
别被“税”误导。tax 在这里是旧式用法：拿某事去“质问、逼问”某人（tax sb. with sth.）。奥斯汀用这个略带攻击性的词，正好写出莉迪亚不是“提醒”，而是当众“讨账”。

assurance /əˈʃʊərəns/ noun — （贬）盲目自信，自恃，厚脸皮
原文例句：Her natural self-consequence had increased into assurance.
这是全段的题眼。assurance 在褒义里是“把握、自信”，但奥斯汀这里用的是贬义：自视被外界一路助长，涨成了不知分寸的自恃。看懂这个词，就看懂了莉迪亚。

长难句解析

1. The general pause which ensued made Elizabeth tremble lest her mother should be exposing herself again.

说明：主干是 the pause made Elizabeth tremble（冷场让伊丽莎白发抖）。which ensued 是修饰 pause 的定语从句；lest 引导的从句表示“唯恐、生怕”，后面照旧式语法配 should，写出伊丽莎白提心吊胆、就怕母亲再出丑的心理。lest 是理解伊丽莎白这一刻处境的关键词。

结构：主语(The general pause [which ensued]) + 谓语(made) + 宾语(Elizabeth) + 宾补(tremble) + 状语从句(lest her mother should be exposing herself again)

2. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence, which the attentions of the officers... had increased into assurance.

说明：这是给莉迪亚“立传”的核心句。主干很短：She had A and B（她有旺盛的精力和天生的自视）。which 引导非限制性定语从句，回指 self-consequence，说明是军官们的殷勤（the attentions of the officers）把这份自视 increased into assurance（助长成了盲目自信）。一个 increase into，就把“性格如何被养大”写清楚了。

结构：主语(She) + 谓语(had) + 宾语(high animal spirits and a sort of natural self-consequence) + 非限制定语从句(which the attentions of the officers had increased into assurance)

今日测验

Q1. Why did Elizabeth tremble during the pause in conversation?

A. She was cold.
B. She was afraid Darcy would insult her.
C. She feared her mother would say something embarrassing.
D. She was excited about the ball.

Q2. Which of the following best describes Lydia's character based on the text?

A. Shy and reserved.
B. Bold and self-assured.
C. Intellectual and serious.
D. Gracious and polite.