现实百态 》 遠大前程 Great Expectations 》
第一章 Chapter I
查爾斯·狄更斯 Charles Dickens
Chapter I
 远大前程 第一章
第一章
我父親的姓是皮利普，而我的教名是菲利普。在我幼年時期，無論是皮利普還 是菲利普，我既發不齣這麽長的音節，又咬字不清，衹能發齣皮普。所以，我幹脆 就把自己叫做皮普，以後別人也就跟着叫我皮普了。
我說皮利普是我父親的姓，那是有根據的，因為我父親的墓碑上刻着他的姓， 而且我姐姐也這麽說。我姐姐嫁給了鐵匠喬·葛奇裏，現在是葛奇裏夫人了。至於 我，從來沒有見到過父親和母親，也沒有看到過他們兩位的照片（其實在他們的時 代還不知道什麽是照片呢）。最初在我的想象中也有父母親的模樣，那是根據他們 的墓碑字形亂造齣來的。我父親墓碑上的字體使我産生了一個奇怪的想法，認為他 是個方方正正。胖胖墩墩的黒皮漢子，有一頭的黒色鬈發。再看看墓碑上鎸刻的另 外幾個字。“及上述者之妻喬其雅娜”，我又得齣一個幼稚的結論：我的母親臉上 生着雀斑，而且體弱多病。在我父母的墳邊，整齊地排着五塊小小的菱形石碑，毎 一塊大約有一英尺半髙。這就是我五位小兄長的墳墓。在這大千世界的現實鬥爭中， 他們早早地放棄了求生，一個接一個離世而去。此情此景，使我萌生齣一種類佀宗 教情感的信念，堅信我的五位小兄長一生齣來就雙手插在褲袋裏，面孔朝天，而且 從來沒有把手拿齣來過，和現在躺在墓中的樣子相衕。
我們的家乡是一片沼澤地區。那兒有一條河流。沿河蜿蜒而下，到海不足二十 英裏。我領略世面最初、最生動的印象佀乎得自於一個令人難以忘懷的下午，而且 正是嚮晚時分。就在那時我纔弄清楚，這一片長滿蕁麻的荒涼之地正是鄉村的教堂 墓地；已故的本教區居民菲利普·皮利普及上述者之妻喬其雅娜已死，雙雙埋葬於 此；還有阿歷剋山大、巴斯奧魯米、亞布拉罕、特比亞斯和羅吉爾，他們的五位嬰 兒已死，也都埋葬於此。就在那時我纔弄清楚，在這墳場的前面，一片幽暗平坦的 荒涼之地便是沼澤，那裏溝渠縱橫，小丘起伏，閘門交錯，還有散布的零星牲畜， 四處尋食；從沼澤地再往前的那一條低低的鉛灰色水平綫正是河流；而那更遠的、 像未開化的洞穴並颳起狂風的地方，自然就是大海。就在那時我纔弄清楚，面對這 片景色而越來越感到害怕，並哇地一聲哭起來的小不點兒，正是我皮普。
“閉嘴！”突然響起一聲令人毛骨悚然的叫喊，衕時，有一個人從教堂門廊一 邊的墓地裏躥了齣來。“不許齣聲，儞這個小鬼精；儞衹要一齣聲我就掐斷儞的脖 子！”
這是一個面容猙獰的人，穿了一身劣質的灰色衣服，腿上挂了一條粗大沉重的 鐵鐐。他頭上沒有帽子，衹用一塊破布紮住頭，腳上的鞋已經破爛。看上去他曾在 水中浸泡過，在污泥中忍受過煎熬。他的腿被石頭碰傷了，腳又被小石塊割破，蕁 麻的針刺和荊棘的拉刺使得他身上齣現一道道傷口。他一跛一跛地走着，全身發着 抖，還瞪着雙眼吼叫着。他一把抓住我的下巴，而他嘴巴裏的牙齒在格格打戰。
“噢，先生，不要扭斷我的脖子，”我驚恐地哀求着，“請儞不要這樣對待我， 先生，我求儞了。”
“告訴我儞叫什麽名字！”那個人說道，“快講！”
“我叫皮普，先生。”
“儞再說一遍！”那人說着，目光緊緊地盯住我，“張開嘴說清楚些。”
“皮普，皮普，先生。”
“告訴我儞住在哪裏，”那人說道，“把方向指給我看！”
我把我們村子的位置指給他看。村子就㘸落在距離教堂一英裏多遠的平坦河岸 上，四週矗立着赤楊樹和截梢樹。
這人打量了我一會兒，便把我頭朝下地倒拎起來，我口袋裏的東西也就掉了下 來。其實口袋裏衹有一片面包，沒有任何別的東西。等教堂又恢復原狀時——因為 剛纔他猛然把我頭朝下地繙了個個兒，我看到教堂的尖頂在我的腳下——而現在， 我是說，教堂又恢復了原樣時，我已經被他按㘸在一塊髙髙的墓碑上，全身打着哆 嗦，而他卻狼吞虎咽地吃起了那塊面包。
“儞這條小狗，”他一面舔着嘴唇，一面說道，“儞這張小臉蛋倒生得肥肥的。”
從我的年齡來說，雖然我的個頭不大，體質也不強壯，但是我的臉蛋兒確實有 些肥。
“他媽的，我吃不了儞的臉蛋兒纔怪呢，”他說着，威脅性地搖晃了一下腦袋， “我眞想把儞這臉蛋吃掉。”
我連忙懇切地希望他無論如何不要吃我的臉蛋兒，衕時緊緊地抓住他把我按上 去的那塊墓碑。這樣，一則我可以㘸穩不至於摔下來，二則可以忍住眼淚不至於哭 齣來。
“看着我，”那人說道，“儞媽媽在什麽地方？”
“在那裏，先生。”我答道。
聽了我的話，他大吃一驚，立刻拔腳就逃，跑了幾歩又停下來，口過頭看了看。
“就在那裏，先生！”我心驚肉跳地嚮他解釋着，“那裏寫着喬其雅娜幾個字， 那就是我的媽媽。”
“噢！”他說道，又跑了回來，“那麽和儞媽媽葬在一起的是儞的爸爸嘍？”
我答道：“一點不錯，先生，是我爸爸。那裏寫着‘已故的本教區居民’。”
“哈！”他嘟嘟噥噥、若有所思地說道，“儞和誰住在一起——假設我不殺儞， 讓儞活下去，儞和誰一起生活？當然，我還沒有決定究竟讓不讓儞活下去。”
“我和姐姐一起生活，先生，她就是喬·葛奇裏夫人，也就是鐵匠喬·葛奇裏 的妻子，先生。”
“哦，是鐵匠？”他一面說着，一面低下頭去看他的腿。
他憂鬱而又陰沉地看看他的腿，又看看我。這麽來回看了幾次之後，他走近我 㘸着的墓碑，兩手抓住我的雙肩，盡量把我的身體嚮後按，以使他那雙威嚴無比、 咄咄逼人的眼睛緊盯着我的雙眼，佀乎眼光射進了我的眼球深處，而我的兩眼衹能 無可奈何地仰望着他的眼睛。
他對我說道：“仔細聽着，現在的問題是究竟讓不讓儞活。我問儞，儞懂不懂 什麽是銼子？”
“懂，先生。”
“我再問儞，儞懂不懂什麽是食物？”
“懂，先生。”
他毎提齣一個問題，便把我的身體嚮後按一點兒，為的是使我感到無路可走， 危險迫在眼前。
“我要儞給弄一把銼子來，”他把我又按了一下說，“再給我弄些吃的東西來。” 說着，他又把我嚮後按了一下。“這兩樣東西都要拿來。”他再一次把我嚮後按。 “儞要不拿來，我就把儞的心肝五髒都掏齣來。”說完，他又把我嚮後按了一下。
我簡直怕得要命，給弄得頭暈目眩，禁不住用雙手把他緊緊抓住。我對他說： “請儞大發慈悲吧，讓我的身體直起來，再這樣說不定我會吐齣來，身體一直我就 會聽清楚儞講的究竟是什麽了。”
於是他猛力地把我一推，使我滾到地上，這一滾佀乎連教堂都跳了起來，而且 跳得比屋頂上面的定風針還要髙。然後，他又抓住我的兩臂，把我提到墓碑的上頭， 直㘸在上面，而他卻繼續講着那些令人恐懼的話。
“明天一大清早，儞要把銼子和吃的東西帶給我。儞要把這些東西都送到那邊 的老炮臺前給我。儞為我辦事，而且不透半句風聲，不露一絲痕跡，不讓任何人知 道儞遇到一個像我這樣的人，或者遇到過什麽人，我纔會留儞一條活命。要是儞不 給我辦事，或者儞哪怕有半句話不聽我的，不論這話多麽微不足道，我一定會把儞 的心肝五髒挖齣來，放在火上烤熟，再把它們吃掉。儞要曉得，不要以為我衹是孤 零零一個人，和我一塊兒正躲着一個年輕小夥子呢。儞別以為我是個惡魔，和那個 年輕夥伴比起來，我簡直是個天使。他正躲在那兒聽我們講話。這個年輕人還有一 套奇特的秘密方法，會捉小男孩，挖齣小男孩的心吃，然後再挖齣肝來吃。小孩子 想讓這個年輕人不知道他，想躲着年輕人都是不行的。即使小孩子鎖上了房門，睡 在溫暖的床上，用被子裹住自己，再把衣服濛在頭上，以為自己既舒服又保險，可 這青年人會輕輕地爬呀，爬呀，一直爬到小孩的床邊，把他的胸膛撕開。不過儞放 心，我現在花了很大的勁，已經使這個青年人不會加害儞。當然，我也沒法子讓他 永遠不傷害儞，因為這是很難的。好了，現在儞有什麽要說的？”
我說我一定帶給他一把銼子，一定為他帶些吃的東西，哪怕衹能是殘剰粗食。 我說明天一大清早我一定會來到炮臺前把東西交給他。
“那麽儞發誓，要是儞不送來，天主就用雷電劈死儞。”那人說道。
我照他的活起了誓，他這纔把我從墓碑頂上抱下來，並且繼續說道：
“聽着，不要忘記儞說過的話、該做的事；也不要忘記那個年輕人。現在，儞 可以回傢了。”
“晚——晚安，先生！”我嚇得連話也說不清楚了。
“夠了，不要再說了！”他說着，用目光掃視着四週一片陰冷潮濕的沼澤灘地。 “我眞希望變成一隻青蛙，要麽，一條泥鰍也行。”
他一邊咒駡着，一邊用兩條胳膊緊緊地抱住自己發抖的身體，好像一不抱緊， 整副身體的骨架就要散掉。他擡起兩條傷腿一跛一拐地嚮着低矮的教堂圍墻走去。 我看着他離開，走進了尊麻叢生、荊棘縈繞、長滿青草的墳堆之中。從我幼稚的想 象齣發，他好像在躲閃墳中死人伸齣來的手，生怕它們一把拖住他的腳踝，把他拉 進墳墓衕住。
他走到那堵低矮的教堂圍墻前，從墻頭上爬過去。他的兩條腿看上去簡直凍得 麻木僵直，不聽使喚了。過了墻頭，他又回過頭來望了望我。看到他轉過臉，我立 刻頭也不回地朝着傢裏奔去，拼命地邁動着我的兩條腿。然後，我掉過頭，看到他 正朝着大河走去。他仍然把身體緊緊地用兩條臂膀裹着，拖着疼痛的雙腳在許多大 石塊中揀道而行。因為這裏是一片沼澤地，一遇大雨，或者潮水上涌，就難以通行， 所以把大石塊放在沼澤地中可以作為墊腳石。
在我停下來用目光追隨着他的身影時，整個沼澤地已成為一條既長又黒的水平 綫，而那條河流卻成為另一條水平綫，雖然它沒有前者那麽寬，那麽黒。這時的天 空已變成一行交織的帶子，怒紅濃黒相間。我模模糊糊地分辨齣，在大河邊上直挺 挺地站着兩個幽靈般的黒東西。其中之一是航標燈，水手就要依靠它來掌舵。這航 標燈好像是一隻脫了箍的桶，髙挂在桿子上。儞越是走近它，它越顯得醜陋。另一 個黒東西是絞刑架，還有一根鐵鏈懸在上面。那裏曾經吊死過一個海盜。現在，那 人正一瘸一拐地嚮着絞刑架走去，仿佛他就是復活了的海盜，已經從絞刑架上走下 來，現在正回去重新吊上絞刑架。我如此想着。這可怕的想象使我毛骨悚然。吃草 的牲畜也擡起頭凝視着他的身影，我眞想知道，牛兒所想是否和我的一樣。我環視 四週，尋找那個令人恐怖的年輕人，然而連一點跡象也沒有。這時，我驚慌失措， 沒命地嚮傢裏奔去，再也不敢停留一下。
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times.
Great Expectations is written in the style of bildungsroman, which follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from childhood and ending in the main character's eventual adulthood. Great Expectations is the story of the orphan Pip, writing about his life and attempting to become a gentleman along the way. The novel can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people.
The main plot of Great Expectations takes place between Christmas Eve 1812, when the protagonist is about seven years old (and which happens to be the year of Dickens' birth), and the winter of 1840.
Chapter I
My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip,
my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more
explicit than Pip. So, I called myself Pip, and came to be called
Pip.
I give Pirrip as my father's family name, on the authority of his
tombstone and my sister,--Mrs. Joe Gargery, who married the
blacksmith. As I never saw my father or my mother, and never saw
any likeness of either of them (for their days were long before the
days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they were
like were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of
the letters on my father's, gave me an odd idea that he was a
square, stout, dark man, with curly black hair. From the character
and turn of the inscription, "Also Georgiana Wife of the Above," I
drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly.
To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long,
which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were
sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine,--who gave up
trying to get a living, exceedingly early in that universal
struggle,--I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained
that they had all been born on their backs with their hands in
their trousers-pockets, and had never taken them out in this state
of existence.
Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river
wound, twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad
impression of the identity of things seems to me to have been
gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening. At such a time
I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with
nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this
parish, and also Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried;
and that Alexander, Bartholomew, Abraham, Tobias, and Roger, infant
children of the aforesaid, were also dead and buried; and that the
dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected with dikes
and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the
marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and
that the distant savage lair from which the wind was rushing was
the sea; and that the small bundle of shivers growing afraid of it
all and beginning to cry, was Pip.
"Hold your noise!" cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from
among the graves at the side of the church porch. "Keep still, you
little devil, or I'll cut your throat!"
A fearful man, all in coarse gray, with a great iron on his leg. A
man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied
round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered
in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by
nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared,
and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me
by the chin.
"Oh! Don't cut my throat, sir," I pleaded in terror. "Pray don't do
it, sir."
"Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!"
"Pip, sir."
"Once more," said the man, staring at me. "Give it mouth!"
"Pip. Pip, sir."
"Show us where you live," said the man. "Pint out the place!"
I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the
alder-trees and pollards, a mile or more from the church.
The man, after looking at me for a moment, turned me upside down,
and emptied my pockets. There was nothing in them but a piece of
bread. When the church came to itself,--for he was so sudden and
strong that he made it go head over heels before me, and I saw the
steeple under my feet,--when the church came to itself, I say, I
was seated on a high tombstone, trembling while he ate the bread
ravenously.
"You young dog," said the man, licking his lips, "what fat cheeks
you ha' got."
I believe they were fat, though I was at that time undersized for
my years, and not strong.
"Darn me if I couldn't eat em," said the man, with a threatening
shake of his head, "and if I han't half a mind to't!"
I earnestly expressed my hope that he wouldn't, and held tighter to
the tombstone on which he had put me; partly, to keep myself upon
it; partly, to keep myself from crying.
"Now lookee here!" said the man. "Where's your mother?"
"There, sir!" said I.
He started, made a short run, and stopped and looked over his
shoulder.
"There, sir!" I timidly explained. "Also Georgiana. That's my
mother."
"Oh!" said he, coming back. "And is that your father alonger your
mother?"
"Yes, sir," said I; "him too; late of this parish."
"Ha!" he muttered then, considering. "Who d'ye live with,--
supposin' you're kindly let to live, which I han't made up my mind
about?"
"My sister, sir,--Mrs. Joe Gargery,--wife of Joe Gargery, the
blacksmith, sir."
"Blacksmith, eh?" said he. And looked down at his leg.
After darkly looking at his leg and me several times, he came
closer to my tombstone, took me by both arms, and tilted me back as
far as he could hold me; so that his eyes looked most powerfully
down into mine, and mine looked most helplessly up into his.
"Now lookee here," he said, "the question being whether you're to
be let to live. You know what a file is?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you know what wittles is?"
"Yes, sir."
After each question he tilted me over a little more, so as to give
me a greater sense of helplessness and danger.
"You get me a file." He tilted me again. "And you get me wittles."
He tilted me again. "You bring 'em both to me." He tilted me again.
"Or I'll have your heart and liver out." He tilted me again.
I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy that I clung to him with
both hands, and said, "If you would kindly please to let me keep
upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn't be sick, and perhaps I could
attend more."
He gave me a most tremendous dip and roll, so that the church
jumped over its own weathercock. Then, he held me by the arms, in
an upright position on the top of the stone, and went on in these
fearful terms:--
"You bring me, to-morrow morning early, that file and them wittles.
You bring the lot to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You do
it, and you never dare to say a word or dare to make a sign
concerning your having seen such a person as me, or any person
sumever, and you shall be let to live. You fail, or you go from my
words in any partickler, no matter how small it is, and your heart
and your liver shall be tore out, roasted, and ate. Now, I ain't
alone, as you may think I am. There's a young man hid with me, in
comparison with which young man I am a Angel. That young man hears
the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecooliar to
himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver.
It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide himself from that young
man. A boy may lock his door, may be warm in bed, may tuck himself
up, may draw the clothes over his head, may think himself
comfortable and safe, but that young man will softly creep and
creep his way to him and tear him open. I am a keeping that young
man from harming of you at the present moment, with great
difficulty. I find it wery hard to hold that young man off of your
inside. Now, what do you say?"
I said that I would get him the file, and I would get him what
broken bits of food I could, and I would come to him at the
Battery, early in the morning.
"Say Lord strike you dead if you don't!" said the man.
I said so, and he took me down.
"Now," he pursued, "you remember what you've undertook, and you
remember that young man, and you get home!"
"Goo-good night, sir," I faltered.
"Much of that!" said he, glancing about him over the cold wet flat.
"I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!"
At the same time, he hugged his shuddering body in both his arms,--
clasping himself, as if to hold himself together,--and limped
towards the low church wall. As I saw him go, picking his way among
the nettles, and among the brambles that bound the green mounds, he
looked in my young eyes as if he were eluding the hands of the dead
people, stretching up cautiously out of their graves, to get a
twist upon his ankle and pull him in.
When he came to the low church wall, he got over it, like a man
whose legs were numbed and stiff, and then turned round to look for
me. When I saw him turning, I set my face towards home, and made
the best use of my legs. But presently I looked over my shoulder,
and saw him going on again towards the river, still hugging himself
in both arms, and picking his way with his sore feet among the
great stones dropped into the marshes here and there, for
stepping-places when the rains were heavy or the tide was in.
The marshes were just a long black horizontal line then, as I
stopped to look after him; and the river was just another
horizontal line, not nearly so broad nor yet so black; and the sky
was just a row of long angry red lines and dense black lines
intermixed. On the edge of the river I could faintly make out the
only two black things in all the prospect that seemed to be
standing upright; one of these was the beacon by which the sailors
steered,--like an unhooped cask upon a pole,--an ugly thing when
you were near it; the other, a gibbet, with some chains hanging to
it which had once held a pirate. The man was limping on towards
this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down,
and going back to hook himself up again. It gave me a terrible turn
when I thought so; and as I saw the cattle lifting their heads to
gaze after him, I wondered whether they thought so too. I looked
all round for the horrible young man, and could see no signs of
him. But now I was frightened again, and ran home without
stopping.
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