vanity fair

AsthemanagerofthePerformancesitsbefore

thecurtainontheboardsandlooksintothe

Fair,afeelingofprofoundmelancholycomes

overhiminhissurveyofthebustlingplace.

Thereisagreatquantityofeatingand

drinking,makingloveandjilting,laughing

andthecontrary,smoking,cheating,fighting,

dancingandfiddling;therearebullies

pushingabout,bucksoglingthewomen,

knavespickingpockets,policemenonthe

look-out,quacks(OTHERquacks,plaguetake

them!)bawlinginfrontoftheirbooths,and

yokelslookingupatthetinlleddancersand

pooroldrougedtumblers,whilethe

light-fingeredfolkareoperatingupontheir

,thisisVANITYFAIR;not

amoralplacecertainly;noramerryone,

thefacesofthe

actorsandbuffoonswhentheycomeofffrom

theirbusiness;andTomFoolwashingthe

paintoffhischeeksbeforehesitsdownto

dinnerwithhiswifeandthelittleJack

tainwill

beupprently,andhewillbeturningover

headandheels,andcrying,"Howareyou?"

Amanwithareflectiveturnofmind,walking

throughanexhibitionofthissort,willnotbe

oppresd,Itakeit,byhisownorother

people'odeofhumouror

kindnesstouchesandamushimhereand

there--aprettychildlookingatagingerbread

stall;aprettygirlblushingwhilstherlover

talkstoherandchoosherfairing;poorTom

Fool,yonderbehindthewaggon,mumbling

hisbonewiththehonestfamilywhichlivesby

histumbling;butthegeneralimpressionis

youcomehomeyousitdowninasober,

contemplative,notuncharitableframeof

mind,andapplyyourlftoyourbooksor

yourbusiness.

Ihavenoothermoralthanthistotagtothe

prentstoryof"VanityFair."Somepeople

considerFairsimmoralaltogether,and

eschewsuch,withtheirrvantsandfamilies:

sonswho

thinkotherwi,andareofalazy,ora

benevolent,orasarcasticmood,mayperhaps

liketostepinforhalfanhour,andlookatthe

rescenesofallsorts;

somedreadfulcombats,somegrandandlofty

hor-riding,somescenesofhighlife,and

someofverymiddlingindeed;some

love-makingforthentimental,andsome

lightcomicbusiness;thewholeaccompanied

byappropriatesceneryandbrilliantly

illuminatedwiththeAuthor'sowncandles.

WhatmorehastheManagerofthe

Performancetosay?--Toacknowledgethe

kindnesswithwhichithasbeenreceivedinall

theprincipaltownsofEnglandthroughwhich

theShowhaspasd,andwhereithasbeen

mostfavourablynoticedbytherespected

conductorsofthepublicPress,andbythe

oudtothinkthat

hisPuppetshavegivensatisfactiontothevery

ouslittle

BeckyPuppethasbeenpronouncedtobe

uncommonlyflexibleinthejoints,andlively

onthewire;theAmeliaDoll,thoughithas

hadasmallercircleofadmirers,hasyetbeen

carvedanddresdwiththegreatestcareby

theartist;theDobbinFigure,though

apparentlyclumsy,yetdancesinavery

amusingandnaturalmanner;theLittleBoys'

Dancehasbeenlikedbysome;andpleato

remarktherichlydresdfigureoftheWicked

Nobleman,onwhichnoexpenhasbeen

spared,andwhichOldNickwillfetchawayat

theendofthissingularperformance.

Andwiththis,andaprofoundbowtohis

patrons,theManagerretires,andthecurtain

ris.

LONDON,June28,1848

Everyyear,whenwinterdescends

onthecountry,oneofEnglish

literature’sgreatworksalwaysfinds

itlfpulleddownfrommy

bookshelf:namely,William

Thackeray’simmortalVanityFair.

Thereasonissimple:nodegreeof

chillinessintheaircanextinguish

thebook’sincrediblewarmthand

onic.

每年，随着冬季的降临，总有一部

英国文学的伟大作品从我的书架

上取下——威廉·萨克雷不朽的《名

利场》。原因很简单：空气中的寒

意无法驱散书中那不可思议的激*

情和幽默。它可是滋补品。

Beinganacceptedclassic,Vanity

Fairisnodoubtfamiliartomany

indeliblecharacters

andt-piecesstilldervemention.

Fromtheslyanti-heroineBecky

Sharptothegentle-mannered

Dobbin—andfromthe

mistreatmentofadictionarytothe

battlefielddeathofonecharacter(I

won’trevealwhom!)—thereisnot

onecomponentofthestorywhich

detractsfromthewhole.

作为一部公认的经典，《名利场》

无疑广为读者所熟知。然而书中不

朽的人物和场景设置仍值得一提。

从狡猾的反派女主人公贝姬·夏普

到举止文雅的道宾；从不当地对待

字典到一个人物战死沙场——没

有一个组成部分是不为整体服务

的。

Theplotandcharacterisationare

underpinnedbyThackeray’sacute

tting,of

cour,butneverslipsintocrude

ultisaportraitof

19th-centurysocietywhichfeels

ty

Fairsucceeds,itisbecauitis—

likemuchofDickens’soutput—a

greatworkofjournalism.

情节和人物塑造都要归功于萨克

雷对社会细节敏锐的捕捉。他的语

言是尖刻的，那毫无疑问，但是，

绝不沦为粗劣的歪曲的讽刺。而其

结果就是一幅描绘十九世纪的肖

像画，感觉如此真实，不虚夸。如

果说《名利场》是成功的，那么它

成功在于——如同很多狄更斯的

作品一样——它是一部伟大的新

闻学作品。

ToparaphraTheSpectator’sown

motto,VanityFairischampagnefor

t,Igiveitmy

highestrecommendation,andraia

glasstoMrWilliamMakepeace

Thackeray.

套用一下《旁观者》杂志自己的座

右铭——《名利场》是给灵魂享用

的香槟。为此，我给予它最高的推

荐，并举杯向威廉·萨克雷先生致

敬。

AmeliaSedley,ofgoodfamily,andRebeccaSharp,anorphan,leave

MissPinkerton'sacademyonChiswickMalltoliveouttheirlivesinVanity

Fair—doesnot

esteemthevaluesofVanityFair;a

firstattemptstoenterthesacreddomainofVanityFairbyinducingJoph

Sedley,Amelia'sbrother,Osborne,however,foilsthis

plan;heintendstomarryAmeliaanddoesnotwantagovernessfora

atakesapositionasgovernessatQueen'sCrawley,and

marriesRawdonCrawley,eofhis

marriage,Rawdon'ntroducedasafriendof

GeorgeOsborne,WilliamDobbinbecomestheinstrumentforgetting

GeorgetomarryAmelia,afterGeorge'sfatherhasforbiddenthemarriageon

accountoftheSedley'eofGeorge'smarriage,old

ungcouplendeavortolivewithout

wouldhave

starvedbutforWilliamDobbin'sanonymouscontributiontoherwelfare.

JophgoesbacktohispostinIndia,claimingsuchvaloratWaterloothat

heearnsthenickname"WaterlooSedley."Actuallyhefledatthesoundof

aclaims

shewillmakeRawdon'sfortune,butactuallyshehidesmuchofherloot,

ebecomesthefavoriteofthe

greatLordSteyne,

meantimeinnocentRawdondrawsclortoLadyJane,wifeofRawdon's

olderbrother,Pitt,wdon

discoversRebeccainhertreachery,heisconvincedthatmoneymeansmore

stoeher

againandtakesapostinCoventryIsland,wherehediesofyellowfever.

Becauherparentsarestarvingandshe

canneitherprovideforthemnorgivelittleGeorgywhatshethinkshe

needs,mDobbin

comesbackfromthervice,reconcilesoldOsbornetoAmelia,whereat

OsbornemakesawillleavingGeorgyhalfofhisfortuneandprovidingfor

a,havinglosttherespectabilityofahusband,wandersin

EuropeforacoupleofyearsandfinallymeetsJoph,Georgy,Amelia,and

atsabouttofinishwhatshestartedto

doatthefirstofthebook—thatis,snotmarry

him,butshetakesallhismoneyandhediesinterrorofher,theimplication

beingthatshehas,atleast,ndofthebook

RebeccahasthemoneynecessarytoliveinVanityFair;sheappearstobe

ahasbeentheonewhojolted

AmeliaintorecognitionthatGeorge,herfirstlove,wasn'

Rawdon,uponthedeathofhisunclePittandhiscousinPitt,becomesthe

heirofQueen'George,throughthekindnessofDobbin,has

losthisdistortedvaluesobtainedinVanityFair.

Ⅲ.Commentsonthebook

Inthisnovel,Ilikethenameofnovel"VanityFair"andthesubtitle"A

NovelwithoutaHero".WhenIethename,Iunderstandthemainideaof

torianegoistic,hypocritical,andmoney-grabbing

tonlyashowof

Thackeray'scynicalviewtowardlifebutalsoadeclarationofthattheepoch

tance,

AmeliaSedleyisafool;herhusbandhassleptwithBeckySharp,butshe

stillstickstoherloyaltytohimandkeepsDobbinwaitingforherhand.

Atthesametime,thewriteradoptsagreatnumberofrhetoricaldevices

todescribethetwomainfigures'words,

makesthentencesvividandarousthereaders'

images,plotandlanguageshowthehiddenparadoxofnsualityand

kgivesmeawholeviewofthenobility'slifewhichis

gbetweenthelines,IcanfindthatBeckyisa

beautiful,strong-willedandcunningyoungwomanwhoisdeterminedto

idofpoverty,Beckymakevery

possibleeffort,greatbelieverofBe

yourlfandonyourway!Giveninthemodernsociety,Beckyisan

r,becauofthelack

ofaperfectplan,

contrast,AmeliaSedleyisagood-natured,loveablethoughsimple-minded

snotruncounter

toherfate,

comesacrossaperfectmanDobbinandgetsmarriedtohimatlast.

WhenIreadtothepartwhereBeckyducedAmelia'shusband,Ifelta

comestothatAmeliawas

abandonedbyherhusband,inished

reading,nothelpaskingmylf:'Whatkindof

personamI?TheBeckyortheAmelia?'Fortunately,

JamesAllenputsit:'Dreamloftydreams,andasyoudream,soshallyou

sionisthepromiofwhatyoushallonedaybe;yourideal

istheprophecyofwhatyoushallatlastunveil.'Iwillbravelyekafterthe

happinesslikeBecky,butneverinherway.

AlthoughVanityFairwaswritteninthe19thcentury,thenovelisstillof

ociety,peopleareunabletoe

econfudbecautheirmindsarefullofwealth,

power,veislikeagame,'s

sa

r

mind,ngiveupallfor

ovel,toentertheupperclass,Beckyts

moralityasidetoduceAmelia'negativeexamplewhich

ontrary,Ameliastandsfortho

econventionalandtendtoacceptthe

therefore,it'sdifficultforthemtohaveaplaceintheworld.

However,asafemale,nelongsfor

,whatBeckyhasdoneare

eshecomesfromanignoble

family,onlyherlftorely

herstrong-mindedness,shenevergivesupwhendifficultiesari,though

sometimessheisinthewrongway.

Nowadays,uhave

ownedoneofthem,otherswillpaysocialattentiontoyou,whichmakesyou

arrogantandproudandforgetwhoyouare.

That'and,sheisfullofideasand

therhand,uethat

hould

teverwedo,weshouldn'tforget

thatloveandhumanityshouldremainthemostcherishableelementsinour

life.

Ameliaisakind,swellalong

ySharpcanownallthevirtuesshecanalsolivea

r,rpoor

familybackgroundthatmakesBeckybecomesoaudacious.

VanityFairisatrapthateveryoneislikelytostepintohowevercareful

rayhasdrawnalifeliketableauoftheVanityFairin

thereasonwhythenovelhasbeenpopularforso

manyyears.

Besides,thenovelremindsmeofonepopularAmericanTVries

Vries,italsodescribesthelifeoftheuppersociety.

Th