作者:

第43章 傲慢与偏见 (1)

  Pride and Prejudice

  傲慢与偏见

  小乡绅班纳特有五个待字闺中的千金,班纳特太

  太整天操心着为女儿物色称心如意的丈夫。 新来的邻

  居彬格莱在一次舞会上,对班纳特家的大女儿简一见

  钟情,班纳特太太为此欣喜若狂。彬格莱的好友达西

  对伊丽莎白产生了好感,在另一次舞会上主动请她同

  舞,却遭到伊丽莎白的拒绝,达西狼狈不堪。经过了

  一系列的变化后,伊丽莎白对达西的偏见转化成了真

  诚之爱。 一对曾因傲慢和偏见而延搁婚事的有情人终

  成了眷属。

  [ 英] 简·奥斯汀(Jane Austen)

  This was enough to prove that her approbation need not be

  doubted: and Elizabeth,rejoicing that such an effusion was heard

  only by herself,soon went away. But before she had been three

  minutes in her own room,her mother followed her.

  “My dearest child,”she cried,“I can think of nothing else!

  Ten thousand a year,and very likely more! Tis as good as a Lord!

  And a special licence. You must and shall be married by a special

  licence. But my dearest love,tell me what dish Mr. Darcy is

  particularly fond of,that I may have it tomorrow.”

  This was a sad omen of what her mother’s behaviour to the

  gentleman himself might be ;and Elizabeth found that,though

  in the certain possession of his warmest affection,and secure

  of her relations’consent,there was still something to be wished

  for. But the morrow passed off much better than she expected ;

  for Mrs. Bennet luckily stood in such awe of her intended sonin-

  law that she ventured not to speak to him,unless it was in her

  power to offer him any attention,or mark her deference for his

  opinion.

  Elizabeth had the satisfaction of seeing her father taking

  pains to get acquainted with him ;and Mr. Bennet soon assured

  her that he was rising every hour in his esteem.

  “I a dmi r e a l l my t h r e e s o n s - i n - l a w h i g h l y,”s a i d

  he.“Wickham,perhaps,is my favourite ;but I think I shall like

  your husband quite as well as Jane’s.”

  Elizabeth’s spirits soon rising to playfulness again,she

  wanted Mr. Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love with

  her.“How could you begin?”said she.“I can comprehend your

  going on charmingly,when you had once made a beginning ;but

  what could set you off in the first place?”

  “I cannot fix on the hour,or the spot,or the look,or the

  words,which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the

  middle before I knew that I had begun .”

  “My beauty you had early withstood,and as for my

  manners — my behaviour to you was at least always bordering

  on the uncivil,and I never spoke to you without rather wishing to

  give you pain than not. Now be sincere ;did you admire me for

  my impertinence?”

  “For the liveliness of your mind,I did.”

  “You may as well call it impertinence at once. It was very little

  less. The fact is,that you were sick of civility,of deference,of

  officious attention. You were disgusted with the women who were

  always speaking and looking,and thinking for your approbation

  alone. I roused,and interested you,because I was so unlike them.

  Had you not been really amiable,you would have hated me for

  it ;but in spite of the pains you took to disguise yourself,your

  feelings were always noble and just ;and in your heart,you

  thoroughly despised the persons who so assiduously courted you.

  There — I have saved you the trouble of accounting for it ;and really,

  all things considered,I begin to think it perfectly reasonable. To

  be sure,you knew no actual good of me — but nobody thinks of

  that when they fall in love.”

  “Was there no good in your affectionate behaviour to Jane,

  while she was ill at Netherfield?”

  “Dearest Jane! Who could have done less for her? But

  make a virtue of it by all means. My good qualities are under your

  protection,and you are to exaggerate them as much as possible ;

  and,in return,it belongs to me to find occasions for teasing and

  quarrelling with you as often as may be ;and I shall begin directly

  by asking you what made you so unwilling to come to the point

  at last.What made you so shy of me,when you first called,and

  afterwards dined here? Why,especially,when you called,did

  you look as if you did not care about me?”

  “Because you were grave and silent,and gave me no

  encouragement.”

  “But I was embarrassed.”

  “And so was I.”

  “You might have talked to me more when you came to

  dinner.”

  “A man who had felt less,might.”

  “How unlucky that you should have a reasonable answer

  to give,and that I should be so reasonable as to admit it! But I

  wonder how long you would have gone on,if you had been left

  to yourself. I wonder when you would have spoken,if I had not

  asked you! My resolution of thanking you for your kindness to

  Lydia had certainly great effect. Too much,I am afraid ;for what

  becomes of the moral,if our comfort springs from a breach of

  promise? for I ought not to have mentioned the subject. This will

  never do.”

wWW。xiaoshuotxt=nEtT.xt.小`说`天.堂

同类推荐 美人何处 当时只道是寻常 刘心武续红楼梦 诗三百:思无邪 人生若只如初见 于丹庄子心得 于丹论语心得 红楼梦魇