(文末附有機器翻譯)
Although The Moon and the Sixpence is a fabled and famous novel, this was my first time reading it. It once again confirms my previous impressions of English novels and Somerset Maugham.
As with all the English novels I have read, and even the English movies I have seen, the beginning of The Moon and the Sixpence is rather monotonous and unappealing. I have to force myself not to give up on the book until the 8th chapter when it suddenly becomes attractive. You have to endure a long, boring introduction in order to enjoy the exciting part of the story, which is exactly the English character, the slow heat type.
This novel once again confirms what I think of author Maugham. He is a typical amoralist, trying to portray a character as realistically as possible, sometimes even cold-bloodedly, with no intention of wrapping anyone up in a perfect being. In fact, no one is perfectly good or completely evil. Everyone is a combination of merits and flaws. Humanity is inherently complicated. Everyone is both a sinner and a saint.
Take one of the main characters, Charles Strickland, for example. I hated him and then I loved him. I loved him and then loathed him. I loathed him and then felt sorry for him. I felt sorry for him and then I admired him... His absolute determination to pursue his dream is admirable and at the same time cruelly irresponsible. His complete indifference to the views of others is soul-inspiring and tragic. His natural charm is attractive and destructive. His artistic achievements are selfless on the one hand because he completely disregards the quality of his livelihood and focuses solely on art, and selfish on the other because so many people have suffered emotionally or physically and even lost their lives because he abandoned them. In the end, I have to give him credit for his iron will to not let anyone distract or stop him from fulfilling his vocation, painting.
In a word, depicting complicated human nature is one of Maugham's trademark features.
(To be continued)
閱讀《月亮與六便士》后的初步感受
雖然《月亮與六便士》是一部傳說中的名著，但這是我第一次讀它。再一次驗證了我對英國小說和對薩默塞特-毛姆慣有的印象。
就像我讀過的所有英國小說，甚至跟我看過的英國電影一樣，《月亮與六便士》的開頭相當乏味，一點也不吸引人。我必須強迫自己不要放棄，直到第8章，它才突然變得有趣有料。你必須忍受漫長的無聊前奏，才能抵達故事的精彩部分，這恰恰呼應(yīng)了英國人的性格，慢熱型。
這部小說再一次證實了我對作者毛姆的理解。他是一個典型的非道德主義者，旨在盡可能真實地描寫一個人物，有時甚至是冷血地描寫，并不打算把任何人包裝成一個完美的存在?，F(xiàn)實中沒有人是完全善或者徹底惡的化身。每個人都是優(yōu)點和缺陷的組合。人性的本質(zhì)是復(fù)雜的。每個人都既是罪人又是圣人。
以主要人物查爾斯-斯特里克蘭德為例。我恨他，然后我又愛他。我愛他，然后又厭惡他。我厭惡他，然后又同情他。我同情他，然后又佩服他.... 。他追求夢想的絕心令人欽佩，同時也是無比殘酷且毫無責任感。他對別人的觀點完全漠不關(guān)心，這既鼓舞人心，也是悲劇的根源。他的自然魅力勾魂攝魄，卻毀人不倦。他的藝術(shù)成就，一方面是無私的，因為他完全無視自己的生活質(zhì)量，只專注于藝術(shù)；另一方面是自私的，因為有那么多人因為他的放棄而在情感上或身體上受到傷害，甚至失去生命。最后，我不得不對他表示敬意，因為他有鋼鐵般的意志，不允許任何人分散他的注意力或阻止他完成他的使命--繪畫。
我認為描寫復(fù)雜的人性是毛姆的標志性特征之一。
(待續(xù))
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