周末躲在空調房間里,兩個小時讀完這本書,亟不可待得打開電腦寫下點什么。
故事講述了一個寡婦在選擇愛人的時候剛好碰到兩難境地,Edgar Swift有地位有權勢,即將升任孟加拉省總督,有雄心有抱負,但Mary不愛他,青春易逝,年華易老,不乘年輕漂亮還有資本把自己嫁了,還能有其他選擇嗎?就在這時,發(fā)生了一件命案,改變了Mary的命運,也促成了Mary和Rowley的好事。一天月圓之夜,Mary為了救贖一個窮困小子,半夜帶他到自己家里,好酒好菜的招待,后面把自己也獻給了他,其實只是同情和憐憫,當小子知道后,接受不了,用Edgar給的手槍自殺了,就在Mary的房間。于是Mary求救于Rowley,終于人不知鬼不覺的埋了尸體。整個過程中,增進了彼此的了解,Mary也不再認為Rowley就是人們常認為的地痞流氓,好吃懶做。后來發(fā)現(xiàn)Rowley還喜歡看書。最后Mary放棄了Edgar,準備和Rowley結婚,開始全新的生活,畢竟Rowley是個有趣的人。
從整本書來看,Maugham很了解女人的心理,特別擅長對話,可惜目前還未讀過他的劇本。如果不事先知道作者,獨立看這本書的內(nèi)容可能會認為作者是女性。故事一開始仿佛在講一個異國公主的故事,住著豪華洋房,生活無憂,自己每天在高山別墅里欣賞美景,不時參加上流社會的晚宴,應付應付已婚未婚男人的打情罵俏就行了。這大概是很多女人向往的生活,被Maugham寫得很真實,畫面感很強,特別是那一輪月亮和滿路的月光。女人喜歡幽默風趣的男人,所以普通女人都抵擋不了Rowley的魅力: Of course he's bad lot, a thorogh wrong'un, but if I were thirty years younger and he asked me to run away with him I wouldn't hesitate for a moment even though I knew he'd chuck me in a week and I'd be wretched for the rest of my life.
一個放蕩不羈、風流倜儻的花花公子形象通過Princess的話非常直觀的畫了出來。
花花公子唯一不能給女人的是安全感。Mary是個聰明女人,她知道Rowley不是她的菜,是“最不愿意發(fā)生戀情的人”。而和Edgar的婚姻畢竟可以給她富足和穩(wěn)定。但刑事案件發(fā)生后,等Edgar出差回來,Mary好不容易像他坦白了整個事情發(fā)生的經(jīng)過時,Edgar的表現(xiàn)讓她失望了,他始終不讓她看出自己真實的想法,擺出君子模樣,且仿佛大義凌然的要放棄自己的官職,終究是害怕東窗事發(fā),另一方面不敢做出放棄Mary的決定,“他是自己正直人品的奴隸”。Mary看出他愛的不是現(xiàn)在的自己,而是她童年時候純潔無暇的小女孩。遇到困難的時候,Edgar并不那么強壯、堅毅、“如巨石般聳立”,作為無法給女人起碼的依賴和信任。
最后Mary主動放棄了這段老少配,就像Rwoley提出的問題那樣:"Do you think it would be much fun to live with a man you weren't lov with?""You are a fool, Mary my dear. Oh,I know yo've turned me down. That's all right. Thought I dare say I'd have made a better husband than you think. But you're a fool to marry aman twenty-fve-years older than youself. How old are you? Thirty at theouside. you're not a fish."
當然Rowley不是沒有缺點,他身上有所有花花公子都有的缺點,濫情、不專一、自私(只管自己快樂),傷害良家婦女無數(shù),連續(xù)離婚結婚三次,在大庭廣眾之下還從不遮掩自己的罪行。他對女人具有魔法般的吸引力:There was something that swpt you off you feet, a sort of gentleness behind theroughness of his manner, a thrilling warmthbehind his mockery, some insticive understanding of woman as a different creature from man, which was strangely flattering; and the sensualityof his mouth and the caress in his grey eyes.
Rowley對Mary的鐘情一開始也只是殷勤,Mary漂亮,雖然結果一次婚沒有子嗣,仍然顯得很年輕,多數(shù)男人都會鐘愛Mary.那天月圓之夜,聚會完,Mary送Rowley回家(不得已),路上跟他講了她前夫嗜酒如命,后死于車禍的痛苦經(jīng)歷,加之看到聚會中施舍于窮苦小子卡爾,了解到她有一顆如女神般善良的心,心動指數(shù)立刻上升。同時Mary也是因為信任他才將憑生苦訴說給他聽,而不是旁的什么人,你若問她為什么信任他,我想她會說女人的直覺啦~完全是Rowley的個人氣場和魅力。
不得不再補充一下書中最精彩的部分,Mary獻身于窮苦小子卡爾,后卡爾自殺的一段。Mary和Rowley在月圓夜真情面對面的時候就埋下了伏筆,Mary說:"I've sometimes thought that if I ever ran across someone who was poor, alone and unhappy, who'd never hadany pleasure in life, who'd never known any of the good things money can buy--and if I could give him a unique experience, an hour of absolute happiness, something that he'd never dreamt of and that would never be repeated, then I'd give him gladlyeverything I had to give." 她就是個女神。誰聽了這話都不得不為之動容。
機緣巧合,Mary真的實踐了她的想法,結局卻很可怕,遠遠超出了她的想象,卡爾自殺了,Mary恐懼到極點。太浪漫的想法實踐起來才知道一點都不浪漫,鮮血與雷鳴振醒了她,她選擇Rowley來幫助他收拾爛攤子,而不是Edgar.
不知從哪里聽到過這樣一句話:婚姻對女人來說是另外一次生命。希望毛姆這本書《佛羅倫斯月光下》能給未婚女子關于擇偶方面的指引。
《佛羅倫斯月光下》原名《Up at the Villa》(海邊山上的別墅),乍見封面,不由得讚嘆她真是個充滿美感的譯名,尚未進入正文之前,彷彿就先觸及小說的內(nèi)涵,薄薄的中篇很快能讀完,馬上發(fā)現(xiàn)這是很傳神的高明譯法,極詩意、極浪漫,還沒翻開書頁,已覺心兒顫慄、靈魂激動、肉體癱軟了。
這是瑪麗同四個男人的故事,其實瑪麗最終的歸宿羅利和她的前夫很像,都是有錢、瀟灑又游手好閑、沉溺玩樂的公子哥,瑪麗口口聲聲說受夠了愛情,但最終還是選擇了愛情,因為和羅利在一起,可以做自己。很難說,她是否又踏入了一段重復的失敗婚姻,但女人就是喜歡飛蛾撲火。
Karl和Edgar都是失敗的例子。Karl和Mary地位相差很多,剛到Mary家中時,他雖然嬉笑掩飾,但心中是相當自卑的,Mary一半出于憐憫,1/4出于刺激沖動,1/4出于對他俊朗外表的有一點動心,將他帶回家,并于荷爾蒙驅動下發(fā)生了關系,但沖動過后的理智告訴她,他們不可以再見面了。另一方面,Karl得到了Mary的身體,自以為得到了希望,可以展開一段愛情,但Mary的不再見面一下又將他打入谷底,年輕男人的自負,足以將自己摧毀,Mary的一句憐憫讓他受不了了,于是他在一吻之后自殺了,留下了“You asked me not to forget you. I shall forget, but you won't"這句話,可悲的是他又自負了,Mary在他死后就把他拋尸在外,并沒有因為悔恨而愛上他,只是出于良心不安而惦記著他,僅此而已。
Edgar和Karl完全相反,他擁有權力,地位,金錢,是個標準的鉆石王老五,但他愛的只是當年那個純潔的小女孩,他并不真正了解Mary,當他發(fā)現(xiàn)Mary做過的事后,仍然決定要娶她,這并非出于愛,而是為了履行過去的承諾,事實上,Mary不愿結婚反而使他松了口氣,他可以繼續(xù)去追求自己所熱愛的事業(yè)了。他道貌岸然,也很可悲,成為了自己正直的奴隸,不能說他不好,他其實已經(jīng)面面俱到了,但他太完美,正是他的缺點,并不完美的Mary無法成為他的另一半。
Rolando開始是因為Mary的美麗,后來可能是因為有趣,很難說他是否真的愛Mary,也許這一刻是愛的吧,至少此刻他們在一起很快樂,這可能又是他的另一段短暫的婚姻,但他并不吃虧,因為他沒有名譽需要維護。
“Darling,that is what life's for-to take risks" 這句話在這一頁的最后,當我翻過書頁時,咦,完了!結束了!這就是結局!這樣的不像結局的結局讓我意猶未盡!
我是一個比較現(xiàn)實的人,讀小說,絕不單單是為了品位小說中華麗的辭藻、美妙的語句,我認為,更重要的是要讀懂小說的情節(jié),領悟主人公在那樣環(huán)境下的心態(tài),從而去豐富自己的閱歷,增長見識。一部小說就是一段生活經(jīng)歷。
《Up At the Villa》有四個主人公:Mary Paton, Eagar Swift, Roeley Flint, Karl Richter. Mary的一段生活經(jīng)歷把三個男主角順序般的引出了。故事中充滿了巧合,一段失敗的婚姻讓mary重新獲得了自由,同時也給了一個喜歡Mary20年左右的“癡情男”Eagar有了機會,然而意外的升遷又讓Eagar再次離去,不期而遇的宴會讓Mary認識了一個“流氓男”Roeley ,于是,Roeley開始了一段追求。正式宴會后的路上談話,我認為,導致了Mary和Karl的相遇、獻身(僅僅是同情,或者是寂寞)以及后來的死亡。而又是Karl的死去,成就了Mary和Roeley之間的愛情。
整個故事情節(jié)比較曲折,引人入勝。人物刻畫得比較細膩,尤其是Eagar 和Roeley在相貌、氣質及他人評價中的對比,讓讀者會產(chǎn)生一個錯覺,結果卻是出乎意料。
不錯的一本書,值得推薦!
我想起了《月亮與六便士》。
A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her, but she can never forgive the sacrifices he makes on her account.
女人無法原諒男人為了她所做的犧牲。
但是男人總是不明白這個道理,因為他們只是迷醉于為愛犧牲所帶來的崇高的感覺。
羅利
最后,女人總是愛上一個壞男人。
他明明有那么多缺點,但她在他面前卻可以很自在。
他慣用的是嘲諷的神情嘲諷的語氣。
有錢的公子哥身上的玩世不恭的態(tài)度,讓我想起王爾德戲劇中必不可少的妙語迭出憤世嫉俗的男主角。
對他們來說,life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it。
在他們眼中,世界上只有兩種人,有趣的人和無聊的人。
道德并不重要。在卡爾自殺事件后,他義無所顧地幫助她,甘為她冒險。
他并不在意她所犯下的愚蠢的帶來嚴重后果的錯誤,他不需要用一種寬大的胸懷才能包容她,他根本就不在意。
她向他交出自己的手。她明白這是一場冒險。但是,生活不就是為了冒險么。
跟他在一起,快樂而又自由,一切都是未知:“Darling,that's life's for --to take risks .”
What a simple story! Though different reaction to the accident, Maugham described two different people, one seemed erect, honest and was totally a gentleman; the other didn’t have a very good reputation, although he had some kind of character attractive to women.
Edgar maybe a reliable husband, and only when his wife was an innocent person who didn’t have shortcomings. So he fell in love with Mary, and always thought her as that innocent girl when he first met her. He just can’t accept the fact of Karl’s accident. Although he still insisted to marry Mary, most of it was responsibility but not really love, not that kind of love can be of tolerance to anything her did. Mary knew this, and knew that she can’t be happy in that marriage. That’s why she refused him firmly. She was a clever woman. And maybe she was just a little bit falling love with Rowley gradually, when she didn’t realize it.
Rowley was just opposite to Edgar, not a good spouse. He enjoyed taking risks and knew that women were thinking, which made him attractive. After Mary asked help for him, he did everything he can do to help her to deal with the accident, and to avoid the scandal. But that was not droved by love, but by the nature of enjoying adventure. That was also the root of asking Mary to marry him. Maybe this guy would never really love a woman, what he loved was only the happy moment to do something seemed really hard.
What’s odd in the book was that Mary totally can’t understand why Karl shot himself. Yes, in Mary’s eyes, the word was beautiful, although she had a miserable marriage. But to live can be a much happy than to die. She was a woman living in a fairy tale, which didn’t suffer from hunger, poverty, indignity, despair and all that kind of pain. In her first marriage, she was tortured by her husband’s alcohol abuse, but she loved him and there was a hope to support her to live on. However, to Karl, his country was ruined, his families were killed, he was painful, but Mary can’t understand this. I think this is what Maugham wanted to express, the pain experienced by those miserable person can be understood by those noble person, by those who lived in extravagant life.