查尔斯·狄更斯- 维多利亚时期的文学巨匠

查尔斯·狄更斯- 维多利亚时期的文学巨匠 查尔斯?狄更斯: 维多利亚时期的文学巨匠 Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812, in the English coastal town of Portsmouth. His father, John Dickens, was a clerk in the Navy[海军] pay office[偿付局]. When Charles was born, his father was 26 and was an excitable[易激动的], extravagant[浪费的] man who liked to entertain in style, a style that his salary as a clerk was unable to support. This led him into a succession of[一连串] financial crises[危机] throughout his life. The second of eight children, Charles was a sensitive child. Unable to join in the play of the other children, he withdrew[缩回] into books. Later in life, recalling his boyhood days, he wrote: “When I think of it, the picture always arises in my mind of a summer evening, the boys at play in the churchyard and I sitting on my bed, reading as if for life.” Among his favorite works were Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding注1, and Arabian Nights. This reading created for him a world of magic, wonder and adventure, a world that he himself could so vividly[生动地] create for others to enjoy in his own books. At the age of 12, the childhood of Dickens came to a sudden and dramatic end. His father, unable to pay his large debts, was imprisoned[监禁]. Within a few days, the rest of the family were to join him there, except Charles, whose education was cut short and who was made to earn his living, washing bottles at Warren’s Blacking[黑色鞋油] Factory. This experience proved so shocking and humiliating[羞辱性的] to the boy that it was to haunt[萦绕心头] him for the rest of his life. “No words can express the secret agony[苦恼] of my soul... I felt my early hopes of growing up to be a learned and distinguished[卓著的] man crushed[粉碎] in my breast.” Though soon reunited with his family, the previous easy life enjoyed by Charles was never the same. Two years later, at the age of 14, his irregular schooling ended and he began to work as a clerk in a lawyer’s office in Gray’s Inn, London. This experience, again not a happy one, gave him two things: a lifelong loathing[厌恶] of the legal profession and much raw material[原始材料] for many of his later novels. Charles then became a reporter on the Parliamentary[议会的] newspaper True Sun, where his natural talent for reporting and keen[敏锐的] observation was first recognized. He taught himself shorthand[速记] and, on the Mirror of Parliament, and then the Morning Chronicle, he was soon acknowledged[公认为] as the best Parliamentary reporter. In 1833, Charles Dickens wrote his first story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk, in the London periodical[期刊], Monthly Magazine. Asked by the Editor to contribute[投稿] more, under the pen name Boz, Dickens wrote a series of pieces that were collected and published in 1836 under the title Sketches[短篇作品集] by Boz. However, it was not until he serialized[连载] The Pickwick Papers over 1836-37 that he experienced true success. A publishing phenomenon[稀有现象], The Pickwick Papers was published in monthly installments[部分] and sold over 40,000 copies of each issue. Though not yet 30, Dickens was rich and famous. In 1836, Dickens married Catherine Hogarth, daughter of a fellow journalist. “She had not a fault,” he wrote of her at the time. But with time his view of her was to change, and in later years he was to admit, “She is amiable[和蔼可亲的] and complying[顺从的] but nothing on earth would make her understand me.” The couple had ten children before their separation in 1858. Throughout his life, Charles enjoyed traveling. In the 1840s, he journeyed to Scotland, America, France, Switzerland and Italy. And throughout this period, he poured out[连续不断地发 出] a succession of novels that exposed the cruelty, hypocrisy[伪善] and horrible poverty of early Victorian society, novels such as Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity[珍奇事物] Shop, A Christmas Carol, Martin Chuzzlewit and Dombey and Son. Even his novels (which continued to be published in monthly installments) proved inadequate[不充分的] for his boundless[无限的] energy and restless spirit. In the 1840s, apart from all his major novels and work on David Copperfield (published in 1850), he started a daily newspaper, the Daily News, and a weekly magazine, Household Words, in addition to writing a travel book (American Notes) and a three-volume A Child’s History of England. In all that he wrote, Charles Dickens strove[力求] to draw people together and lead them to a better understanding of each other. As he himself believed, “In this world a great deal of bitterness among us arises from[由……而引起] an imperfect understanding of one another.” But as he grew older, his subjects grew bleaker[令人沮丧的] and the mood more grim[严 酷的]. Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend and his unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, all reflect a growing pessimism[悲观主义]. Despite a steady decline[下降] in health, Dickens continued to give dramatic public readings of his works in both Britain and the United States. Of these, a contemporary[同时代的人] witness reported,“He seemed to be physically transformed as he passed from one character to another; he had as many distinct voices as his books had characters; he held at command[掌握] the fountains of laughter and tears... When he sat down it was not mere applause[鼓掌] that followed, but a passionate outburst[爆发] of love for the man.” But the strain[过度的疲劳] proved too much. On June 8th, 1870, during a farewell series of talks in England, he suffered a stroke[中风], and the next day, Charles Dickens died at his house at the age of 58. Two days after his death, Queen Victoria wrote in her Diary, “Charles Dickens is a very great loss. He had a large loving mind and the strongest sympathy[同情心] with the poorer classes.” On June 14th, he was buried in the Poets’ Corner注2 of Westminster Abbey, close to the monuments of Chaucer注3 and Shakespeare. 查尔斯?约翰?赫法姆?狄更斯于1812年2月7日出生在英国的沿海城镇朴茨茅斯。 他的父亲约翰?狄更斯是海军偿付局的职员。查尔斯出生时，他那26岁的父亲是一个性情 冲动、铺张浪费、讲究排场的人，而那种排场并不是一个职员的薪水所能负担的。这导致其 一生总是捉襟见肘。 狄更斯在八个孩子中排行第二，是一个敏感的小孩。因为无法跟其他孩子打成一片， 他便埋首中。后来回忆起这段童年时，他写道:“回想当年，我心里总会浮现一幅这样的 画面――夏日的夜晚，男孩们都在墓地里玩耍，我则坐在床上看书，视之如同生命。” 狄更斯最喜欢的作品有米格尔?德?塞万提斯的《堂吉诃德》、亨利?菲尔丁的《汤 姆?琼斯》，还有《一千零一夜》。阅读这些作品为他创造了一个充满魔力、奇观和历险的世 界，一个他也能在自己的书中为别人创造的生动世界。 12岁时，狄更斯的童年突然戏剧化地结束了。他的父亲因为无力偿还巨额债务而锒铛 入狱。数日后，家里除了查尔斯以外的其他人也被收监。他被迫结束学业，去沃伦鞋油厂洗 瓶子以维持生计。事实证明，对于这个男孩来说，这段经历是如此震撼，让他的自尊心严重 受损，给他的余生留下了阴影。“没有语言能描述我灵魂深处那不为人知的痛苦……我觉得 自己早年希望长大以后成为一个学识渊博、出类拔萃的人的愿望已经在心中破灭了。” 尽管不久后狄更斯回到家人身边，但他先前所享受的舒适生活一去不复返了。两年后，14岁的狄更斯结束了断断续续的学业，开始在伦敦格雷酒店的律师事务所当职员。这段经历也很糟糕，它带给狄更斯两样东西:对法律行业的终生厌恶，以及后来写小说的丰富素材。 随后，狄更斯成了议会报纸《真太阳报》的记者。在那里，他报道新闻的天赋及敏锐的观察力首次得到认可。他自学了速记，在《议会之镜》和《纪事晨报》的工作令他很快成为公认的最杰出的议会记者。 1833年，查尔斯?狄更斯写了他的第一个故事《白杨道上的晚餐》，发 表在伦敦一本期刊――《月刊》上。应编辑要求，狄更斯用笔名“博兹”发表了一系列作品，这些作品被收录成册，并于1836年以《博兹札记》之名出版。 然而，直到1836到1837年《匹克威克外传》连载时，狄更斯才取得真正的成功。轰动出版界的《匹克威克外传》以分月连载的形式发表，每期售出超过四万册。还不到30岁的狄更斯已经名利双收。 1836年，狄更斯娶了记者同事的女儿凯瑟琳?霍格斯。“她完美无瑕，”当时他这样写道。但随着时间推移，他对她的看法也随之发生改变，他后来承认:“她亲切而顺从，但这世上没有任何东西能让她理解我。”这对夫妇育有10个孩子，于1858年分道扬镳。 查尔斯一生酷爱旅行。19世纪40年代，其足迹遍及苏格兰、美国、法国、瑞士和意大利。旅行期间，他陆续创作出多部小说，揭露早期维多利亚社会的残酷、伪善以及令人震惊的贫困。这些小说包括《雾都孤儿》、《尼古拉斯?尼克贝》、《老古玩店》、《圣诞颂歌》、《马丁?翟述伟》以及《董贝父子》等。 小说创作(继续以连载形式发表)也不足以消耗他无穷的精力与活力。19世纪40年代，除了主要小说以及《大卫?科波菲尔》(出版于1850年)的创作之外，他还创办了日报《每日新闻》和周刊《家常话》，此外他还写了一本游记(《旅美札记》)以及一书三册的《写给孩子看的英国历史》。 在其作品中，狄更斯一直致力拉近人们的距离，让人们能够更好地互相理解。正如他自己所相信的:“在这个世界上，我们的很多痛苦都是源于不能充分地互相理解。” 然而随着狄更斯年事渐高，他所写的主题也越发惨淡凄凉，情绪也愈加黯淡阴郁。《荒凉山庄》、《艰难时世》、《小杜丽》、《双城记》、《远大前程》、《我们共同的朋友》，以及未竞之作《艾德温?德鲁德之谜》等，无不反映他与日俱增的悲观态度。 虽然狄更斯的健康每况愈下，但他继续在英国和美国进行朗读表演，朗读自己的作品。当时的一位见证者说:”在不同的角色之间转换时，他看起来就好像真的成了另一个人;他的声音变换就像他的作品和角色一样丰富;他让我们时而欢笑，时而落泪……等他坐下来，响起的不只是掌声，还有人们对他的无限热爱。” 但事实证明狄更斯还是过度操劳了。1870年6月8日，狄更斯在英格兰进行一系列告别演讲时突发中风，第二天在家中去世，享年58岁。 在他过世两天后，维多利亚女王在日记中写道:“查尔斯?狄更斯的离世是一个巨大的损失。他怀有一颗宽广的爱心，以及对贫苦阶层最深切的同情。”6月14日，狄更斯在威斯敏斯特教堂的诗人角下葬，紧邻乔叟和莎士比亚的纪念碑。 注1:亨利?菲尔丁(1707-1754)，英国小说家，剧作家。其代表作品《汤姆?琼斯》对后世影响甚大。 注2:人们将威斯敏斯特教堂南走道的一段称为“诗人角”，因为那里埋葬着许多诗人、剧作家和作家。 注3:杰弗里?乔叟(Geoffrey Chaucer，1340-1400)，英国中世纪作家，也是第一位安葬在诗人角的名人，最为人熟知的作品是《坎特伯雷故事集》(The Canterbury Tales)。