2014年9月25日 星期四

【一生必讀的英文小說】-- 瓶中信 (下)


瓶中信 ()
Message in a Bottle (1998)

  愛是什麼?愛是如何產生的?愛的感覺為何?這些都是愛情
故事或電影中,讀者或觀眾在內心不斷追尋的問題。閱讀這類
的愛情故事,除了感受愛情的經驗,也不自覺地希望從中獲
取一些答案。作者往往提出自己的一些看法或複製傳統的說法
,然而面對這種複雜的人際關係,大都沒有標準答案,因此追
尋不斷延伸,愛情故事也不斷地創造。

精彩片段賞析:
《瓶中信》延續這種追尋,女主角Theresa追求愛情的永恆與理
想的愛人:
As a girl, / she had come to believe in the ideal man / -- the
prince or knight of her childhood stories. / In the real world,
however, / men like that simply didn’t exist. / Real people had
real agendas, / real demands, / real expectations / about how
other people should behave. / True, / there were good men
out there / -- men who loved with all their hearts / and
remained steadfast / in the face of great obstacles / --the type
man she’d wanted to meet  / since she and David divorced. /
But how to find such a man? (還是小女孩時,她相信有理想
的男人 / --孩童故事中的王子或騎士。然而,在現實世界,/
像那樣的男人就是不存在。現實的人有現實的行程,現實的
需求,現實的期望 / 別人如何舉止。沒錯,外面有好的男人 /
--那種全心全意的男人,自從她跟David離婚後。但是如何去找
到這樣的男人?)
理想中的愛人必須要能夠全心全意的付出愛(loved with all their
hearts),而且在面對困難或阻礙時,能夠堅持,不會退縮
(remained steadfast in the face of great obstacles)。這種理想
的男人一方面有感性的能力,一方面也具對抗挫折的勇氣與毅
力,情感與理性兼備的愛人正是童話故事的王子形象。然而,
現生活中,這種男人存在嗎?小說家為我們創造這種可能性
,吸引了眾多的女性讀者。Theresa閱讀了Garrett的幾封瓶中
信後,發現這樣的男人,,一刹那間,為這種理想男人所感
(obsessed)
Here and now, / she knew such a man existed / --a man who
was alone -- / and knowing that / made something inside her /
tighten. / It seemed obvious / that Catherine – whoever she
was -- / was probably dead, / or at least missing / without
explanation. / Yet / Garrett still loved her enough / to send love
letter to her / for at least three years. / …he had proven / that
he was capable of loving someone deeply / and, more
important, / remaining fully committed / -- even long after his
loved one was gone. / (此地此時,她知道這樣的男人存在─ /
一個孤獨的男人─知道這 / 使得她心中 / 一緊。很明顯地,/
Catherine-不管她是誰─ / 大概已經死亡,或至少失蹤 / 沒有
理由解釋。然而 / Garrett仍愛她,寄送情書給她 / 至少三年。
…他已經證明 / 他能夠深深地愛一個人,最重要的,保持完
整承諾─即使愛人已經消失很久了。)
這樣完美的男人:孤獨、深情、忠貞,是所有追求愛情的異性
所幻想的對象。濫情的愛情小說,總是創造這種完美形象
,不僅迷惑書中的女主角,也同時掌控了讀者內心對愛情的渴
望,不自覺地,作者利用第一人稱的呼喊,強化了這種情緒的
強度:
Where are you?
It kept ringing through her head, / like a song / she heard on
early morning radio / that kept repeating itself / the entire
afternoon. (不斷地在她腦中迴響,有如一首歌,她在早上的
電台聽到,不斷地重播,整個下午。)
Where are you?

  此處的Where are you?不僅是女主角的呼喊,也是讀者的呼
喊,作者透這種人稱轉換,為書中男主角,製造出場的高
潮。此外,利用英文常用的此喻說法(simile),描述這樣的呼喊
有如電台中強力推銷的歌曲,不斷地在腦中重播,意像簡單鮮
明。

  書中男主角的出場,完成了愛情的渴望與追尋,也為愛情的
遭遇,提供浪漫的場景:
Turning toward him, she saw that his hair had been blown
back by the wind. The coat he was wearing hung to midthigh,
unzipped. Worn and weathered, it looked as though he’d used
it for years. It made him seem larger than he really was, and it
would be image of him that she could imagine
remembering forever. (面對他,她看到他白頭髮被風往後吹
起。他穿的外套簺到大腿,未扣上。磨損; 風化,似乎已
經用了好幾年了。使得他看起來比實際大些。似乎是這種
形象,她可以想像永遠會記得。)

  這幅充滿風霜、成熟與專情的景象,以外套的意像來代替對
Garrett具體描寫,展現精緻的文學手法。Theresa愛上的是自
已對那個男人的想像(this image of him that she could imagine
remembering forever.) 而非真正的Garrett
  而男主角回應了這種深深的眼神,竟是誤認Theresa為其死
去的太太Catherine
They stared at each other for just a moment, as if wondering
what would come next, before Garrett finally motioned toward
the boat.
“Like I said earlier, I had a wonderful time tonight, ”she said
For a moment their eyes met, and for a moment he saw
Catherine in the darkness. (片刻間,他們的眼神相遇。一下子
,他看到Catherine,在黑暗中)

  兩人所愛上的其實都不是原始本人,而是對彼此的想像,這
就是戀愛的迷思嗎?作者問了一個問題:戀愛是否建立在自我
的想像?TheresaGarrett的戀情注定要在想像破滅後回歸到
本質,但是時間已經不等他們了!

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