牛津書蟲系列 傲慢與偏見 1 The Bennets'new neighbour

1 The Bennets'new neighbour

1 班納特家的新鄰居

It is a truth well known to all the world that an unmarried man in possession of a large fortune must be in need of a wife. And when such a man moves into a neighbourhood， even if nothing is known about his feelings or opinions， this truth is so clear to the surrounding families，that they think of him immediately as the future husband of one or other of their daughters.

家產(chǎn)萬貫而又尚未婚配的男人一定需要一個賢內(nèi)助，這是一條世界上盡人皆知的真理。當這樣一位男人搬到了附近時，這條真理在鄰居們心中就顯得更加清楚，他們哪怕對他的感情或意見一無所知，也會馬上把他當作他們哪個女兒未來的丈夫。

‘My dear Mr Bennet，’said Mrs Bennet to her husband one day，‘have you heard that someone is going to rent Netherfield Park at last?’

“親愛的班納特先生，”一天，班納特夫人對她丈夫說，“你聽說了嗎?尼日斐莊園到底還是租出去了。”

‘No，Mrs Bennet，I haven't，’said her husband.

“我還沒聽說，班納特太太，”她丈夫說。

‘Don't you want to know who is renting it?’cried Mrs Bennet impatiently.

“難道你不想知道是誰要租嗎?”班納特太太不耐煩地嚷了起來。

‘You want to tell me，and I don't mind listening.’

“你要想告訴我，我也不妨聽聽。”

Mrs Bennet needed no further encouragement.‘Well，my dear， I hear that he's a very rich young man from the north of England.It seems he came to see Netherfield on Monday and was so delighted with it that he arranged to rent it at once.Of course，it is the finest house in the area，with the largest gar- dens. His servants will be here by the end of the week， and he will be arriving soon afterwards!’

班納特夫人不需要更多的鼓勵就開腔了。“啊，親愛的，我聽說他是個闊少爺，英格蘭北部人。好像是星期一來看了看尼日斐，十分喜歡，馬上安排把它租了下來。當然，連宅子的花園都那么大，那確實是這一片最好的莊園。他的仆人周末到，他本人隨后就到!”

‘What is his name?’asked Mr Bennet.

“他叫什么名字?”班納特先生問道。

‘Bingley.’

“彬格萊。”

‘Is he married or single?’

“結(jié)婚了還是單身?”

‘Oh， single， my dear，of course!A single man of large for- tune—he has an income of four or five thousand pounds a year.How wonderdul for our girls!’

“啊，親愛的，當然是單身!家產(chǎn)萬貫的單身漢——他每年收入四五千鎊呢。對咱家姑娘們來說真是再好不過了!”

‘Why? How can it affect them?’Mr Bennet asked.

“為什么?這跟姑娘們有什么關(guān)系?”班納特先生問道。

‘My dear Mr Bennet，’she replied，‘how can you be so an- noying!You must realize I'm thinking of his marrying one of our daughters.’

“我親愛的班納特先生，”她回答道，“你怎么那么討厭!你應該想到，我是在考慮他跟我們哪個姑娘結(jié)婚。”

‘Is that his purpose in coming to the area?’

“他搬到這兒住就是為了這個嗎?”

‘His purpose?No， of course not. But it's very likely that he’ll fall in love with one of them.And I want him to see the girls as soon as possible，before our other neighbours introduce themselves. So you must visit him as soon as he arrives.’

“為這個?當然不是?？墒钦嬲f不準他會愛上我們哪個姑娘。我想盡早讓他見見姑娘們，要趕在其他鄰居自我介紹之前。所以，他一來你就得去拜訪他一下。”

‘I really don't see why I should，’said Mr Bennet.‘You and the girls can visit him， or perhaps you should send them by themselves.Yes， that might be better， as you're as attractive as any of them， and Mr Bingley might like you best.’

“我真是不明白為什么要去拜訪他，”班納特先生說，“你可以和姑娘們?nèi)?，或者你讓她們自己去。對，還是讓她們自己去好，你長得那么迷人，比她們哪個都不遜色，說不定彬格萊先生會看上你呢。”

‘My dear， you flatter me，’replied his wife，‘I certainly have been called beautiful in the past， but I think a woman with five adult daughters should stop thinking of her own beauty.Mr Bennet，I beg you to visit him.You know it's cor- rect for the gentleman of the family to visit new neighbours first.I simply cannot take the girls to see him unless you have already met him.’

“親愛的，你太夸獎我了，”他妻子答道，“過去人們當然說我漂亮，可是我覺得，一個女人家，五個女兒都長大成人了，不應該再老想自己漂亮不漂亮。班納特先生，我求求你，還是去拜訪他一下吧。你知道，來了新鄰居，家里的男人先去拜訪一下是應該的。你如果不先見見他，我怎么好帶著姑娘們?nèi)ツ?”

‘Surely you worry too much about the rules of polite society. I'm sure Mr Bingley will be delighted to see you all.And I’ll write him a few lines，which you can give him， agree- ing gladly to his marrying any of the girls， although I must es- pecially recommend my dear little Lizzy.’

“你對文明社會的條條框框真是考慮得太多了。我相信彬格萊先生會很高興見到你們幾個的。對了，我給他寫幾句話，你可以捎過去，就說他隨便娶哪個姑娘，我都很樂意。不過，我得特別推薦我的小麗萃。”

‘Oh no， Mr Bennet!’gasped Mrs Bennet， horrified.‘Please don't do that!And Lizzy is no better than the others，al- though I know she is your favourite.’

“哦，不，班納特先生!”班納特太太倒抽口氣，嚇壞了。“別那樣!再說，麗萃也不比其他幾個好，不過我知道你偏愛她。”

‘Our daughters are all very silly，ignorant girls， it's true.But at least Lizzy is a little more intelligent than her sisters.’

“我們幾個姑娘都很蠢，很無知，這是真的?？墒?，麗萃至少還比她幾個姐妹聰明點兒。”

‘Mr Bennet， how can you speak so unkindly of your own children? Oh dear，how ill I feel! Have you no pity for me?Don't you realize how I suffer?’

“班納特先生，你怎么能這樣無情地說自己的親生女兒?哦。親愛的，我難受極了!你一點兒也不心疼我嗎?你沒想到我多難受嗎?”

‘Indeed，my dear， I've suffered with you for the last twentythree years.But I think you will recover， and live to see many more rich young men come into the neighbourhood.’

“怎么沒想到，親愛的，我跟著你難受了23年了。不過我想你會恢復過來的，會在有生之年看到更多的闊少爺來和我們做鄰居。”

When he was young， Mr Bennet had made the mistake of falling in love with a pretty but foolish young woman.During the long years of their marriage， he had had time to regret his mistake.He soon realized that his wife had little intelligence or common sense， and was only interested in talking， shopping and finding husbands for her daughters.His experience had made him rather bitter， and he could not stop himself mocking his wife， who never understood her husband's sense of humour.

班納特先生年輕時犯了個錯誤，愛上了一個漂亮卻愚蠢的年輕女人。結(jié)婚這么多年，他有的是時間來追悔自己的錯誤。不久，他就認識到妻子沒有一點頭腦或是常識，只知道嘮叨、逛商店、給女兒找婆家。這種經(jīng)歷使得他有點兒尖刻，禁不住要嘲弄他妻子幾句，而這種幽默感他妻子卻從來都聽不出來。

So when， a week later， Mrs Bennet discovered that her hus- band had in fact visited Mr Bingley at Netherfield， she was surprised and very pleased.But she and her daughters tried in vain to persuade Mr Bennet to describe the wealthy stranger，and in the end they had to rely on another neighbour's description.

所以，一周之后，班納特太太得知丈夫?qū)嶋H上已到尼日斐拜訪過彬格萊先生，感到十分驚奇和喜出望外。可是，她和女兒們怎么求都白搭，班納特先生就是不肯向她們吐露這位闊少爺?shù)那闆r，最后，她們不得不從另一位鄰居那里探聽消息。

‘He sounds wonderful，Mama!’cried Lydia，the youngest and noisiest of the sisters.‘Charlotte Lucas's father has been to see him， and says he's quite young， very handsome， and ex- tremely charming!And even better，he loves dancing!Every- body knows that means he's very likely to fall in love!’

“聽說他棒極了，媽媽!”姊妹幾個中年齡最孝最愛喧鬧的麗迪亞大聲說，“夏洛特·盧卡斯的父親去看過他，說他很年輕，很英俊，極有魅力!還有更棒的呢，他喜歡跳舞!大家都知道，喜歡跳舞就意味著他很可能墮入愛河!”

As politeness required， Mr Bingley came to visit Mr Bennet a few days later. He was not， however， fortunate enough to see the Bennet girls， who were hiding behind the curtains in an up- stairs room in order to catch sight of the handsome stranger.Mrs Bennet planned to invite him to dinner， but in fact they met him at another social event first.The Bennets lived in the small Hertfordshire village of Longbourn，and public dances were regularly held in the nearest town， Meryton.The girls were greatly looking forward to this particular dance， because they had heard that Mr Bingley would be attending， with a group of friends from London.

出于禮貌，彬格萊先生幾天以后來回訪班納特先生。可是，遺憾的是，他未能見到班納特家的幾位姑娘，因為當時幾個姑娘為了一睹這位英俊的陌生人的風采，正躲在樓上一間屋子的窗簾后面偷看呢。班納特夫人計劃邀請他吃飯，可是，事實上他們在另一次社交活動中提前見了面。班納特一家住在哈福德郡的小村子浪搏恩，公共舞會定期在最近的鎮(zhèn)子麥里屯舉辦。姑娘們在企盼著這次特別的舞會，因為她們聽說彬格萊先生要參加，還要帶些倫敦的朋友來。

On the night of the dance， all eyes were on Mr Bingley as he entered the room. He had brought his two sisters， with the husband of the elder， Mr Hurst， and another young man，Mr- Darcy.Mr Bingley was indeed good-looking and gentleman- like， and his sisters were fine， fashionable women.However， ev- erybody was soon talking about Mr Darcy， a tall， handsome man， who，it was said， had an income of ten thousand pounds a year.The ladies in the room gazed at him in admiration for about half the evening， until they became aware of his constant frown and his unwillingness to talk or dance. Then there was general agreement that he was proud and disagreeable， and considered himself superior to country people.Mr Bingley， on the other hand，made himself popular with the ladles by danc- ing every dance and talking to everybody.

舞會的那天晚上，彬格萊先生走進舞廳時，所有的眼睛都盯住了他。他把姐姐和妹妹都帶來了，還有姐夫赫斯特先生和另外一個年輕人達西先生。彬格萊先生確實儀表堂堂，風度翩翩。他的姐姐也是優(yōu)雅入時的女人?？墒牵瑳]過多久，人人都開始談論達西先生。他身材魁梧，英俊瀟灑，據(jù)說年收入一萬英鎊。舞廳里的女士們用愛慕的眼光盯了他半個晚上，直到后來她們感到他不住地皺眉，不愿說話也不愿跳舞。最后，大家一致認為這個人高傲自大，性情乖戾，覺得自己比鄉(xiāng)下人高一等。而彬格萊先生每支曲子都跳，跟誰都交談，博得了各位女士的喜歡。

As there were not as many gentlemen as ladies， Elizabeth Bennet did not have a partner for one of the dances， and was sitting watching the dancing.Mr Darcy was standing near her，and when Mr Bingley came up to speak to his friend，Elizabeth could not avoid hearing their conversation.

因為男士沒有女士多，所以伊麗莎白·班納特有一支曲子沒有舞伴，坐著看大家跳。達西先生就站在她旁邊。彬格萊先生過來跟朋友搭話時，伊麗莎白免不了聽到他們的對話。

‘Come， Darcy，’said Bingley，‘I hate to see you looking so cross!Why don't you dance with one of these lovely girls?’

“來呀，達西，”彬格萊說，“不要滿臉不高興的樣子，姑娘們多可愛，怎么不跟她們跳?”

‘Certainly not，’replied Darcy.‘You know how I hate dancing with a partner I don't know.I would particularly dis- like it at a village dance like this.Apart from your sisters，there isn't a woman in the room I would even consider dancing with. You are dancing with the only attractive girl here.’He was looking at Mrs Bennet's eldest daughter Jane， who was waiting for Bingley to join her for the next dance.

“當然不跳，”達西說，“你知道我多么討厭跟陌生人跳舞，尤其是在鄉(xiāng)下的舞會上。除了你的姐妹之外，跟這個屋子里別的女人跳舞我連想都不會想。只有一個迷人的女孩，還在跟你跳。”他看著班納特太太的長女簡，簡正在等彬格萊與她一起跳下一支曲子。

‘Oh yes!She's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen!But just behind you is one of her sisters.She's very pretty，and I'm sure she's very pleasant.My partner could introduce you.’

“哦，是的!她是我見過的女孩中最美的!可是，你后邊坐的是她妹妹。她很漂亮，我相信她會使你很愉快的。我的舞伴可以給你們作一下介紹。”

‘Who do you mean?’And Darcy turned to look at Elizabeth for a moment.‘No，’he said coldly，‘she's not attractive enough to tempt me.Go back to your partner， Bingley.’

“你說的是誰?”達西轉(zhuǎn)身打量了一下伊麗莎白。“不，”他冷冷地說，“她不夠迷人，吸引不了我?；厝ジ愕奈璋樘桑蚋袢R。”

This conversation did not endear Mr Darcy to Elizabeth， but she told the story very cheerfully and amusingly to her friends.

這番對話并沒有使伊麗莎白對達西先生產(chǎn)生好感，可是她卻十分快活而饒有興趣地把這段故事講給朋友聽。

The evening passed very happily for everybody else， and Mrs Bennet was delighted with the effect her eldest daughter had had on Mr Bingley.

除了達西，那天晚上大家過得都很愉快。班納特太太對于長女給彬格萊先生留下的印象感到歡欣不已。

‘He danced with Jane twice!’she told her husband later.‘He danced with all the others only once!And he really is so handsome!But his friend Mr Darcy was so rude to poor Eliza- beth! Luckily，she doesn't care!She wouldn't want to please him!Such a horrible，proud man!I simply hate him!’

“他和簡跳了兩次!”后來她告訴丈夫說。“他和其他人都只跳了一次!他長得多瀟灑呀!可是他的朋友達西對可憐的伊麗莎白多無理呀!還好，她并不在意!她是不會想去取悅他的!多么可憎，多么自大呀!我實在不喜歡他!”

When Jane and Elizabeth were alone，they discussed their dancing partners.

簡和伊麗莎白在一起時，各自談論各自的舞伴。

‘I was really very flattered when Mr Bingley asked me to dance a second time!’said Jane， blushing.‘I didn't expect it at all!’

“彬格萊請我跳第二次時，我真是受寵若驚!”簡說著，兩頰緋紅。“我一點兒都沒有想到!”

‘Didn't you?’said Elizabeth.‘I did.Dear Jane! You were five times prettier than any other woman in the room， but you're too modest ever to expect admiration.’

“你沒想到嗎?”伊麗莎白說，“我可是想到了，親愛的簡!你比那里任何一位女人都要漂亮五倍，可是你從來都太謙虛，想不到別人會愛慕你。”

‘I have to admit that I liked Mr Bingley，’continued Jane in her gentle voice.‘He's so good-mannered and agreeable!’

“我必須承認我喜歡彬格萊先生，”簡繼續(xù)用溫柔的聲音說，“他多有禮貌，多么隨和呀!”

‘He's also handsome，’added her sister，‘which makes his character quite perfect!But what did you think of his sisters?’

“他還很英俊，”妹妹補充說，“這使他的性格相當完美!可是，你覺得他的姐妹怎么樣?”

‘Very pleasant when you get to know them. The younger，Miss Caroline Bingley，will be living at Netherfield with her brother. I'm sure we’ll enjoy having her as a neighbour.’

“跟她們認識以后很容易相處。妹妹卡羅琳·彬格萊小姐要和哥哥一起住在尼日斐。我相信有她做鄰居我們會很愉快的。”

Elizabeth listened in silence.She was not convinced.‘Jane is so kind!’she thought.‘Always ready to see the good side of people's characters!I considered Mr Bingley's sisters too proud， almost rude， in fact.I'm sure they feel superior to most other people，like Mr Darcy.’But she did not say any more.

伊麗莎白聽著，一聲不吭。她不信。“簡太善良了，”她想，“總是看到人們性格中好的一面!我覺得彬格萊先生的姐妹太高傲了，實際上有點粗魯。我相信她們認為自己比大多數(shù)人高一等，就像達西先生一樣。”可是，她不再言語。

After the dance the Bennet and Bingley families began to visit each other every few days.It became evident that Mr Bingley admired Jane very much， and Elizabeth knew that her sister was close to falling in love with him. She was discussing this with her good friend，Charlotte Lucas， one day Charlotte was a sensible， intelligent young woman of twenty-seven， the eldest daughter of Sir William and Lady Lucas， who were neighbours of the Bennet family.

舞會過后，班納特和彬格萊兩家每隔幾天就互訪一次。事情已經(jīng)很明顯，彬格萊十分愛慕簡，而且伊麗莎白知道她姐姐也差不多愛上了他。一天，伊麗莎白跟好朋友夏洛特·盧卡斯談起了這件事。夏洛特聰明而有才智，她27歲，是威廉爵士和盧卡斯夫人的長女，他們是班納特家的鄰居。

‘It's a good thing，’said Elizabeth，‘that if Jane is in love with Mr Bingley，nobody will know，because she always be- haves so cheerfully and normally.’

“如果簡確實愛上了彬格萊，誰都不會知道，”伊麗莎白說，“因為她表現(xiàn)得總是那么快活，那么正常。這是件好事。”

‘That's sometimes a mistake，’replied Charlotte， shaking her head wisely.‘If she doesn't show her feelings at all，even to the man she loves， she may lose the opportunity of catching him.Jane should use every moment she gets with Bingley to attract and encourage him.’

“有時候那是個錯誤，”夏洛特一邊明智地搖搖頭一邊回答說，“如果她一點不表現(xiàn)出自己的感情，甚至對自己所愛的人都如此，那么，她可能會喪失捉住他的機會。簡應當利用她和彬格萊相處的每個機會來吸引他，鼓勵他。”

‘But I consider a man should try to discover a woman's feelings，not wait for her encouragement! And Jane probably doesn't know what her real feelings for Bingley are yet—she has only seen him a few times，not often enough to understand his character， or be sure that she really loves him.’

“可是我認為男人應當努力去發(fā)現(xiàn)女人的感情，而不是等待她的鼓勵!而且簡也許還不知道自己對彬格萊的真正感情是什么——她只見過他幾次，還不足夠了解他的性格，或者還不敢肯定自己愛他。”

‘Well， I wish Jane success with all my heart，’said Char- lotte finally，‘but I think she'd have as much chance of happi- ness if she married him tomorrow， as if she studied his charac- ter for a whole year. Happiness in marriage is simply a question of chance. I think it's better to know as little as possible about the person you're going to spend your life with.’

“好吧，我真心希望簡獲得成功，”夏洛特最后說，“可是我認為，她明天和他結(jié)婚與研究他一年性格后再和他結(jié)婚同樣可能獲得幸福?；橐錾系男腋２贿^是個機遇問題。我想，對于和自己終生為伴的人還是了解得越少越好。”

Elizabeth laughed， sure that Charlotte did not mean what she was saying.

伊麗莎白大笑起來，心里肯定夏洛特想說的不是這個意思。

While observing Mr Bingley's interest in Jane，however，Elizabeth had not noticed Mr Darcy's interest in herself.Al- though at first he had not even considered her pretty， he now began to realize what a beautiful expression her dark eyes gave to her intelligent face， and what an attractive figure she had.‘Of course， she is only an unfashionable village girl，’he told himself， but her conversation is often quite amusing.’When- ever they met， he did not speak to her， but stood near her， lis- tening to her and watching her closely， conscious of a wish to know her better.

可是，伊麗莎白在觀察彬格萊先生對簡的興趣時，沒有注意到達西先生對她本人的興趣。雖然達西先生剛開始甚至想都沒有想過伊麗莎白很漂亮，可是他現(xiàn)在開始認識到她那雙烏黑的眼睛給她那聰慧的面龐增添了多么美的表情。“當然，她不過是一位土里土氣的鄉(xiāng)村姑娘，”他心里想，“可是她的談話經(jīng)常很有意思。”無論何時，他們倆見面時，達西都不和伊麗莎白說話，而是站在她近旁，聽她說話，仔細地觀察她，心里意識到自己想更多地了解她。

One evening at a party at the Lucases’house， Darcy was standing alone， as usual， away from the other guests， watching the dancing. His host， Sir William，came to speak to him.

一天晚上，在盧卡斯家的舞會上，達西像往常一樣獨自站著，離別的客人遠遠的，看著人家跳舞。主人威廉爵士過來跟他說話。

‘Mr Darcy! Are you enjoying the dancing，sir? What a de- lightful entertainment it is!’

“達西先生!您在欣賞舞會嗎?多么輕松的娛樂呀!”

Darcy frowned.‘Yes，’he said with cool disdain，‘it's something that any uneducated person can be good at.’

達西皺了皺眉。“是的，”他冷冷地、不屑一顧地說，“跳舞嘛，連粗人都會學好。”

‘I'm sure you're good at dancing yourself， sir，’replied Sir William cheerfully.‘Look!Here's Miss Elizabeth Bennet.’She was crossing the room at that moment.‘Let me persuade you to dance with her.You cannot refuse to dance when so much beauty is in front of you.’

“我相信您本人也擅長跳舞，先生，”威廉爵士興高采烈地回答。“你看，伊麗莎白·班納特小姐來了。”她當時正在穿過房間。“讓我來說服你跟她跳舞。這樣的美貌就在眼前，怎么能謝絕不跳呢?”

‘Indeed， sir，’replied Elizabeth quickly， in some embarrass- ment， ‘I have no intention of dancing. You must excuse me.’

“真的，先生，”伊麗莎白迅速回答道，有點兒不好意思，“我不想跳舞，你務必原諒我。”

‘Miss Bennet，please allow me the pleasure of dancing with you，’said Mr Darcy politely，holding out his hand.

“班納特小姐，請允許我跟你跳一曲吧，”達西先生有禮貌地說，同時伸出了手。

But with equal politeness Elizabeth refused again，and turned away.Mr Darcy was watching her walk away，with a slight smile on his face， when Caroline Bingley came up to him.

但伊麗莎白同樣有禮貌地又拒絕了，并且轉(zhuǎn)身離去。達西先生臉上帶著一絲微笑，正在看著她走開，這時，卡羅琳·彬格萊朝他走來。

‘Mr Darcy，’she said，‘I'm sure I know what you're thinking—how boring all these silly little country people are!’

“達西先生，”她說，“我敢肯定你在想什么——這些愚蠢的小鄉(xiāng)巴佬多無聊啊!”

‘Not at all，Miss Bingley.In fact，I was just thinking what pleasure a pair of fine eyes can give.’

“根本不是這樣，彬格萊小姐。實際上我是在想一雙優(yōu)美的眼睛能給人多少樂趣埃”

‘Really!And who do these fine eyes belong to，may I ask?’

“真的嗎!這雙優(yōu)美的眼睛是誰的，我可以問一下嗎?”

‘Miss Elizabeth Bennet.’

“伊麗莎白·班納特小姐的。”

‘Well!Let me be the first to congratulate you，Mr Darcy!When will the wedding be?’

“好啊!讓我來第一個祝賀你，達西先生!婚禮什么時候舉行?”

‘Ah!That's what I expected you to say.A lady's imagina- tion jumps from admiration， to love， to marriage， in a moment.’

“啊!我知道你要這么說。女人的想象力是跳躍式的，從愛慕到相愛到結(jié)婚，一會兒的事。”

‘Well， of course， when you're married， you will often have her charming mother and sisters to stay. How delightful for you!’And Miss Bingley， seeing that Darcy remained calm，continued to mock the Bennet family as amusingly as she could.

“那當然啦，結(jié)婚以后，你可以經(jīng)常叫她那迷人的媽媽還有姐妹們?nèi)プ?，那簡直愉快極了!”彬格萊小姐看到達西還是那么平靜，就繼續(xù)竭力取笑班納特一家。