主题：Jane Eyer Notes 簡愛雜記

About Jane Eyre

簡愛簡介

Published to widespread success in 1847 under the androgynous pseudonym of "Currer Bell," Jane Eyre catapulted 31-year-old Charlotte Bronte into the upper echelon of Victorian writers. Though it presumably relates events from the first decade of the 19th century, contemporary Victorians, particularly women, identified with Bronte’s critique of Victorian class and gender mores.

《簡愛》在1847年出版﹐風行一時﹐洛陽紙貴。三十一歲的作者夏綠蒂‧白朗特( Charlotte Bronte ) 因此躍身維多利亞時代的作者名人榜。出版時用的是假名克羅･貝爾﹐克洛是個男女通用的名字。故事應是由19世紀第一年代的事情渲染而成﹐白朗特身處維多利亞時代﹐而書中對維多利亞時代的階級概念和男女規範﹐有所撻伐﹐但與她同時代的人﹐特別是女人﹐看了她的批評都心有戚戚焉。

The novel also utilizes two literary traditions, the Bildungsroman and the Gothic novel, to great effect. The Germanic Bildungsroman is a "novel of formation" or, less formally, a coming-of-age story which takes the reader through a character's young adulthood as she defines her identity against forces of opposition. Bronte used features of the Gothic novel, including the supernatural, mysteries, and unrequited romances, to temper Jane Eyre and give it a darker, more tragic bent.

書中善用兩種傳統的小說體﹕性格發展小說(the Bildungsroman) 和歌德式小說 (the Gothic novel) 。德國的性格發展小說敘述成長故事﹐帶領着讀者經歷主角的成長過程﹐看着她與惡勢力搏斗﹐尋求自我。為了鍛練簡愛﹐白朗特運用各種歌德式小說的特色﹐像超自然現象﹑神秘事件﹑不求回報的羅曼史﹐這也讓故事比較有神秘感﹐更添加悲劇氣氛。

The novel is modeled on Bronte's own life, particularly the Lowood section. Bronte wrote of the novel, "I will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself," and Jane is one of a string of Bronte heroines to break the mold by being considered unattractive. Like Jane, Bronte was a governess. She attended the harsh Evangelical Cowan Bridge school, on which she modeled Lowood, and two of her sisters died of tuberculosis there, as does Helen Burns at Lowood. John Reed's descent into gambling and alcoholism parallels the behavior of Jane's beloved brother, Branwell, who took to opium and alcohol (Branwell died the year after Jane Eyre was published).

小說本于白朗特自身的故事﹐尤其是樓戊孤兒院的那一段。後來她談到這小說﹐她曾寫說﹕“我讓你看到的女主角﹐相貌平庸﹐體型瘦小﹐有如我本人”。白朗特跳脫窠臼﹐她的的一連串女主角﹐相貌平庸無奇﹐而簡愛就是其中之一。和簡愛一樣﹐白朗特也是家庭女教師。她就讀的福音科恩橋學校﹐严厉苛刻﹐樓戊孤兒院就是本于此。和樓戊孤兒院裡的海輪･波恩一樣﹐她的兩個姊妹也死于肺病。約翰･瑞德好酒嗜賭﹐有如白朗特親愛的哥哥布嵐威﹐酗酒抽鴉片。(《簡愛》出版後﹐隔年布嵐威就去世了。)

The success of Jane Eyre allowed Bronte to reveal her true identity to her publisher, uncovering yet another connection to the novel, that of Jane's initial refusal to provide her real name to the Rivers siblings until she learns of her inheritance.

《簡愛》風行後﹐白朗特向她的出版商透露真實身份。這又添加了作者與小說的關聯﹕在她知道她繼承了遺產前﹐簡愛也不願向芮佛思兄妹透露真名。

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Jane Eyer Character List

《简爱》人物志

1

Jane Eyre: The protagonist and narrator of Jane Eyre, Jane develops from an angry, rebellious, 10-year-old orphan into a sensitive, artistic, maternal, and fiercely independent young woman. While Jane's social class‹continually poor in an atmosphere of wealth‹is one of her biggest barriers, it best serves to underscore Jane's need for independence, both financial and emotional. She rejects marriages to Rochester and St. John because she understands she will have to forfeit her independence in the unions, and marries Rochester only when she has attained the financial independence and self-esteem to maintain a marriage of equality. This self-esteem is gained through Jane's making her mark in various worlds‹Lowood, Thornfield, and particularly Moor House‹in which she is valued for her humanity and values. Paralleling Jane's desire for independence is her search for a proper set of religious values. She rejects the extremist models of Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John, eventually settling on a spirituality of love and connection.

簡愛﹕《简爱》的主角兼故事敘述者。簡愛從一個十歲的孤兒﹐憤怒反抗﹐成長到一個少婦﹐感性風雅, 獨立自主﹐更兼有母性的愛護心懷。出身貧窮寒而生活在富人圈裡﹐簡愛的社會階級一直是她最大障礙之一﹐但也凸顯出為什麼﹐在金錢上和情感上﹐簡愛要爭獨立自主。她不考慮和羅切斯和聖約翰結婚﹐因為她了解這樣的結合﹐她勢必得放棄獨立自主。只有在取得財務自主﹐贏得能維持婚姻平等的自尊心後﹐她才和羅切斯結婚。這自尊心是她在各處﹐包括樓戊﹑荊棘原﹑摩爾屋﹐表現出眾而贏來。在摩爾屋的經歷尤其重要﹐大家敬重她﹐是因為她的人性和價值觀。在她追求獨立自主的同時﹐她也尋求正确的宗教觀。她揚棄布拉赫﹑海輪･波恩思和聖約翰﹐不以他們為楷模﹐因為他們過於極端。最後她靜心接受的是愛和溝通的靈煉。

Jane Eyer Character List

《简爱》人物志

2

Edward Rochester: The owner of Thornfield, Rochester's passionate affair with Jane constitutes the middle section of the novel and comments on Victorian gender and class relations. However, the romance is scuttled on two accounts. First, his higher social standing convinces Jane that their marriage could never be on equitable grounds. More pressing is Rochester's previous marriage to the insane, and still living, Bertha Mason. Rochester is an interesting twist on the tragic hero; though not handsome, he is a brooding, aloof, wealthy man with a dark past from which he cannot escape. Jane rejects his marriage proposal after she learns of Bertha, not only because she feels it would flout the law, but perhaps because Bertha's marriage is a cautionary symbol of Victorian marriage: despite Rochester's best intentions and Jane's equal intellectual standing, he may still end up imprisoning Jane in his own way through matrimony, just as he has imprisoned Bertha (his last recourse in the matter, though). Ironically, when Jane finally does agree to marry Rochester after having gained her independence, the fire Bertha set to Thornfield has blinded him. Thus, he grows dependent on Jane, tipping the balance in her favor. On a kinder note, Brontë closes the novel with Rochester's sight regained in one eye‹the marriage is restored to equality.

愛德華･羅切斯﹕荊棘原的主人。羅切斯和簡愛的熱烈的戀情構成小說的中段﹐對維多利亞時代男女地位和階級關係的評論也出現在這一段。有兩件事摧毀了這段羅曼史。第一﹐齊大非偶﹐簡愛深信他的社會階級較高﹐他們的婚姻永遠不可能平等。更迫切的是羅切斯先前的婚姻﹐原配菠莎･梅遜雖然發瘋﹐但仍在世間。羅切斯和大家心中所想的悲劇主角有些不同﹐添加故事的情趣。雖然不是英俊瀟灑﹐他滿腹心事﹐落落寡合﹔他腰纏萬貫﹐他的過去可以掩蓋﹐但無法逃脫。簡愛得知菠莎後﹐拒絕他的求婚﹐倒不是因為跟他在一起會置法律於不顧﹐而可能是因為菠莎的婚姻是維多利亞時代婚姻的一個警號﹕雖然羅切斯充滿善意﹐雖然簡愛在才智上可和他匹對﹐到頭來﹐透過他們的婚姻﹐他仍然可能禁錮簡愛﹐就有如他禁錮菠莎一樣。造化弄人﹐簡愛終得獨立自主﹐菠莎火燒荊棘地﹐羅切斯因之失明。事後﹐簡愛終於答應和羅切斯結婚。但如此一來﹐他越來越得依靠簡愛﹐簡愛終得佔上風。故事圓滿結局﹐·勃朗特讓羅切斯一眼復明﹐兩人的婚姻又回到平等關係。

Jane Eyer Character List

《简爱》人物志

3

St. John Rivers: The evangelist who takes Jane in at Moor House, brother to Diana and Mary and, it turns out, cousin to Jane, St. John is the last of the three major Christian models Jane observes. Stoical, cold, devoted to Christianity and nothing else, St. John's religion is far too detached for Jane; she observes that he still knows little about God's love. Jane shoots down his request for her to marry him to accompany him on missionary work in India. While she would gladly accompany him as his cousin (or adopted sister), marrying him under such circumstances would mean forfeiting her rights to a life of passion and love. Losing her autonomy in such a way is unacceptable to her, while accompanying him without marriage violates St. John's sense of propriety. Jane's rejection of St. John's advances seems to spur her return to Rochester, her one chance for more spiritual passion. Indeed, she has a mystical experience concerning Rochester while St. John talks to her.

聖約翰･瑞佛思﹕收容簡愛入摩爾居的傳道者﹐黛安娜和瑪莉的兄長﹐後來才知道也是簡愛的表哥。簡愛觀察了三個基督徒的行事﹐聖約翰是最後一個。他刻苦無慾﹐冷若嚴霜﹐心無旁鶩﹐专心致力于傳教工作。聖約翰的宗教觀﹐太不食人間煙火﹐簡愛不敢苟同﹐她曾說﹐聖約翰對上帝的愛仍是一無所知。聖約翰發願前往印度傳教﹐希望簡愛和他結婚﹐為的是添一幫手﹐有助于傳教工作。簡愛無意于此﹐如果是以表妹(或干妹) 身分隨同前往﹐簡愛會欣然同意。但如果結婚只是為傳播福音﹐她對生命的追求﹐熱情和愛﹐必得放棄。為此而失去她的獨立自主﹐簡愛無法接。沒婚姻關係而同往﹐聖約翰認為不合禮法。拒絕聖約翰的示意後﹐簡愛似乎更有意回到羅切斯身邊﹐而她在考量聖約翰的求婚時﹐不可思議地﹐她聽到了羅切斯對她的呼喚。

evangelist: 傳佈福音者
take someone in: 收容
Moor House﹕Rivers兄妹居住的地方。
stoical: 淡泊寡欲﹐冷靜的, 不以苦乐为意的seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
devote: 专心致力于
detached: 無牽無掛
shoot down ﹕拒絕

1. Ruin the aspirations of, disappoint, as in Bill was hoping Sharon would go out with him, but she shot him down.
2. Reject, defeat; also, expose as false. For example, It was the best idea I could come up with, but they unanimously shot it down, or It was inevitable that they would shoot down any claim made by the opposing candidate. This colloquial expression, which alludes to bringing down an aircraft or game bird by shooting, is sometimes intensified as shoot down in flames, originally (in World War I) referring to bringing down enemy aircraft but the late 1950s extended to decisively defeating anyone or anything.

missionary work﹕傳教工作
under certain circumstances﹕
forfeit﹕
autonomy:
violate
sense of propriety.
advances:
spur
mystical experience