歸向桃花源

華盛頓·歐文(Washington Irving， 1783～1859)出生于美國(guó)紐約市一位富商之家。雖然父母希望他成為律師，讓他學(xué)習(xí)法律，他卻偏愛文學(xué)創(chuàng)作。1807年，歐文與他人合作創(chuàng)辦了《雜拌》(Salmagundi)雜志。1809年，他出版了《紐約外史》(A History of New York)，以幽默風(fēng)趣的語(yǔ)言贏得了紐約讀者的喜愛。1815年，歐文前往歐洲。1820年，他出版了文集《見聞札記》(The Sketch Book)。《見聞札記》中既有文筆典雅、反映人生感悟的散文，也有構(gòu)思精巧的虛構(gòu)故事，為歐文贏得了國(guó)際聲譽(yù)，使他成為第一位可以與歐洲作家比肩的美國(guó)作家。歐文的其他代表作還有《布雷斯布里奇田莊》(Bracebridge Hall)、《旅客談》(Tales of a Traveller)、《阿爾罕伯拉》(Tales of the Alhambra)等。短篇小說(shuō)《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》(The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)選自文集《見聞札記》，是一篇膾炙人口的經(jīng)典之作。該小說(shuō)自1912年首次被搬上銀幕以來(lái)，曾有多個(gè)電影版本相繼面世。1999年，好萊塢著名導(dǎo)演蒂姆·伯頓(Tim Burton)將《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》改編后重拍，片名為《斷頭谷》(Sleepy Hollow)，在戲劇化與幽默感兼顧的情況下將歐文的小說(shuō)原著提升到一個(gè)新的高度。

Excerpts1)

In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent2) the eastern shore of the Hudson， at that broad expansion of the river denominated3) by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee4)， and where they always prudently shortened sail5) and implored the protection of St. Nicholas6) when they crossed， there lies a small market town or rural port， which by some is called Greensburgh， but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town…. Not far from this village， perhaps about two miles， there is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills， which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it， with just murmur enough to lull7) one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail8) or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility.

I recollect that， when a stripling9)， my first exploit in squirrel-shooting was in a grove of tall walnut-trees that shades one side of the valley. I had wandered into it at noontime， when all nature is peculiarly quiet， and was startled by the roar of my own gun， as it broke the Sabbath10) stillness around and was prolonged and reverberated by the angry echoes. If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions， and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life， I know of none more promising than this little valley.

From the listless11) repose of the place， and the peculiar character of its inhabitants， who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers， this sequestered12) glen13) has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW， and its rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring country. A drowsy， dreamy influence seems to hang over the land， and to pervade the very atmosphere. Some say that the place was bewitched by a High German doctor， during the early days of the settlement; others， that an old Indian chief， the prophet or wizard of his tribe， held his powwows14) there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson15)…. The dominant spirit， however， that haunts this enchanted region， and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air， is the apparition16) of a figure on horseback， without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian17) trooper， whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball， in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War18)， and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom of night， as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley， but extend at times to the adjacent roads， and especially to the vicinity of a church at no great distance. Indeed， certain of the most authentic historians of those parts， who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre19)， allege that the body of the trooper having been buried in the churchyard， the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head， and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow， like a midnight blast， is owing to his being belated， and in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak.

Such is the general purport of this legendary superstition， which has furnished materials for many a wild story in that region of shadows; and the spectre is known at all the country firesides， by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

It is remarkable that the visionary propensity I have mentioned is not confined to the native inhabitants of the valley， but is unconsciously imbibed20) by every one who resides there for a time. However wide awake they may have been before they entered that sleepy region， they are sure， in a little time， to inhale the witching influence of the air， and begin to grow imaginative， to dream dreams， and see apparitions.

I mention this peaceful spot with all possible laud， for it is in such little retired Dutch valleys， found here and there embosomed in the great State of New York， that population， manners， and customs remain fixed， while the great torrent of migration and improvement， which is making such incessant changes in other parts of this restless country， sweeps by them unobserved. They are like those little nooks of still water， which border a rapid stream， where we may see the straw and bubble riding quietly at anchor， or slowly revolving in their mimic harbor， undisturbed by the rush of the passing current. Though many years have elapsed since I trod the drowsy shades of Sleepy Hollow， yet I question whether I should not still find the same trees and the same families vegetating in its sheltered bosom.

In this by-place21) of nature there abode， in a remote period of American history， that is to say， some thirty years since， a worthy wight22) of the name of Ichabod Crane23)， who sojourned， or， as he expressed it， “tarried，” in Sleepy Hollow， for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. He was a native of Connecticut， a State which supplies the Union with pioneers for the mind as well as for the forest， and sends forth yearly its legions of frontier woodmen and country schoolmasters. The cognomen24) of Crane was not inapplicable to his person. He was tall， but exceedingly lank25)， with narrow shoulders， long arms and legs， hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves， feet that might have served for shovels， and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small， and flat at top， with huge ears， large green glassy eyes， and a long snipe26) nose， so that it looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle27) neck to tell which way the wind blew. To see him striding along the profile of a hill on a windy day， with his clothes bagging and fluttering about him， one might have mistaken him for the genius of famine descending upon the earth， or some scarecrow28) eloped from a cornfield.

1.英文節(jié)選摘自小說(shuō)的開頭部分，主要描述了“睡谷”的周圍環(huán)境，并介紹了男主人公伊卡博德·克蘭的個(gè)人情況。

2.indent [?n?dent] vt. 使凹進(jìn)，使凹入

3.denominate [d??n?m?ne?t] vt. 為??命名

4.Tappan Zee：塔潘齊，哈德遜河最寬的河段

5.sail [se?l] n. 帆

6.St. Nicholas：圣尼古拉斯，圣誕老人原型，土耳其歷史上真實(shí)存在的一位主教

7.lull [l?l] vt. 使平靜；使安靜

8.quail [kwe?l] n. 鵪鶉

9.stripling [?str?pl??] n. 年輕人，小伙子

10.Sabbath [?s?b?θ] n. [宗]安息日

11.listless [?l?stl?s] adj. 倦怠的

12.sequestered [s??kwest?(r)d] adj. 隱蔽的；僻靜的

13.glen [ɡlen] n. 峽谷；幽谷

14.powwow [?pa??wa?] n. (北美印第安人祈求神靈治病或保佑戰(zhàn)斗勝利等而舉行的)帕瓦儀式(通常伴有巫術(shù)、盛宴等)

15.Hendrick Hudson：即亨利·哈德遜(Henry Hudson， 1565?～1611?)，英國(guó)探險(xiǎn)家與航海家，哈德遜灣、哈德遜河等即是以其名字來(lái)命名的。

16.apparition [??p??r??(?)n] n. 妖怪，幽靈

17.Hessian [?hesi?n] n. (美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)時(shí)期英國(guó)招募的)黑森雇傭兵

18.Revolutionary War：美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)(1775～1783)，獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)結(jié)束了英國(guó)的殖民統(tǒng)治，實(shí)現(xiàn)了美國(guó)的國(guó)家獨(dú)立。

19.spectre [?spekt?(r)] n. 鬼怪，惡魔，幽靈

20.imbibe [?m?ba?b] vt. 吸收(知識(shí)、思想等)

21.by-place：偏僻的地方

22.wight [wa?t] n. [古語(yǔ)]人

23.Ichabod Crane：伊卡博德·克蘭，“睡谷”里的一位鄉(xiāng)村教師

24.cognomen [k?g?n??m?n] n. 姓氏；綽號(hào)

25.lank [l??k] adj. 瘦的

26.snipe [sna?p] n. [鳥]鷸

27.spindle [?sp?nd(?)l] adj. 細(xì)長(zhǎng)的

28.scarecrow [?ske?(r)?kr??] n. 稻草人

作品賞析

在當(dāng)代，人們提起紐約，往往會(huì)想到繁華的第五大道、高聳的帝國(guó)大廈、擁擠的華爾街，以及環(huán)繞著城市不斷蔓延擴(kuò)展中的一個(gè)個(gè)現(xiàn)代化的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)社區(qū)。不過(guò)，如果我們將時(shí)光撥轉(zhuǎn)回兩百年前，會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)18世紀(jì)末19世紀(jì)初的紐約是個(gè)剛剛興起的海港商貿(mào)城市，周邊一派世外桃源的鄉(xiāng)村美景。華盛頓·歐文發(fā)表于1820年的《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》所描繪的就是這樣一個(gè)已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)去的時(shí)代。

《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》中的“睡谷”坐落在紐約附近，居民都是荷蘭人的后裔。來(lái)自康涅狄格州的伊卡博德·克蘭應(yīng)聘來(lái)到“睡谷”，成了一名鄉(xiāng)村教師。他愛上了當(dāng)?shù)馗挥械霓r(nóng)場(chǎng)主的女兒卡特里娜，并和卡特里娜的另一名追求者布羅姆之間結(jié)下了仇怨?！八取绷鱾髦盁o(wú)頭騎士”的恐怖傳奇。據(jù)說(shuō)在美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，一名為英國(guó)效力的雇傭兵被加農(nóng)炮削掉了腦袋。每當(dāng)夜晚來(lái)臨，這位無(wú)頭幽靈就會(huì)騎著馬，到昔日的戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)逡巡。有一天，伊卡博德在林間穿行，正碰到“無(wú)頭騎士”。騎士把放在馬鞍上的“腦袋”向伊卡博德扔了過(guò)去，把伊卡博德嚇得魂飛魄散，連夜逃出了“睡谷”。但后來(lái)人們?cè)谑掳l(fā)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)并沒有找到頭顱，只看到了一只摔碎的南瓜。種種跡象表明，這是伊卡博德的情敵布羅姆利用當(dāng)?shù)貍髡f(shuō)對(duì)他所施的惡作劇。

《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》講述了一則幽默的“鬼故事”，而所謂的“無(wú)頭騎士”，只是個(gè)傳說(shuō)。不過(guò)，華盛頓·歐文寫下這則故事并不僅僅在于博讀者一笑。小說(shuō)別有深意，體現(xiàn)了荷蘭人后裔與伊卡博德這位“揚(yáng)基佬”的沖突，從而折射出浪漫主義與物質(zhì)主義兩種相對(duì)立的價(jià)值觀。

“睡谷”位于哈德遜河畔。當(dāng)?shù)赝恋胤饰?，氣候溫和，物產(chǎn)十分豐饒。河流里有各種肥美的魚類，樹林里隨處可見野雁和火雞。這一地區(qū)是乘坐“五月花號(hào)”的清教徒于1620年從英國(guó)的普利茅斯起航時(shí)，原定在新大陸落腳的目的地。陰差陽(yáng)錯(cuò)之間，他們偏離航線，到達(dá)了自然條件相對(duì)惡劣的科德角。越洋而來(lái)的荷蘭人則不失時(shí)機(jī)地從印第安人手中以低廉的價(jià)格購(gòu)得了哈德遜河口的土地所有權(quán)，建立了聚居區(qū)，并駐兵在曼哈頓。半個(gè)世紀(jì)之后，英國(guó)人攻打過(guò)來(lái)，荷蘭人投降，土地易主。之后曼哈頓被開發(fā)成港口，進(jìn)而成為新興的貿(mào)易中心。不過(guò)，在19世紀(jì)初，這一地區(qū)的鄉(xiāng)村依然保留著自給自足的農(nóng)耕文化的傳統(tǒng)。任美國(guó)革命風(fēng)潮涌動(dòng)，任近旁的紐約城日漸繁華，“睡谷”中的荷蘭后裔們依然過(guò)著桃花源式的“不知秦漢，無(wú)論魏晉”的閑適鄉(xiāng)居生活。正如小說(shuō)的敘述者所言：“人們的思想、行為和風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣仍舊保留在與世隔絕的荷蘭小山谷中，而大紐約卻在不斷地發(fā)生著變化?！取@樣的地方好比是急流邊上小池里的一汪靜水，沒有受到奔流江水的影響?！?/p>

然而，“睡谷”這片桃花源不能徹底阻隔外來(lái)者的闖入。在小說(shuō)中，伊卡博德便從康涅狄格州來(lái)到了這里。對(duì)于“睡谷”的荷蘭后裔來(lái)說(shuō)，伊卡博德是不折不扣的新英格蘭“揚(yáng)基佬”。他的價(jià)值標(biāo)準(zhǔn)與安于現(xiàn)狀的當(dāng)?shù)鼐用裼兄黠@的差異。對(duì)伊卡博德來(lái)說(shuō)，人生的意義在于發(fā)財(cái)致富。他所鐘愛的不是在明山秀水里悠閑度日，而是如何才能生財(cái)有道。他的“拜物本性”在他對(duì)卡特里娜的愛情中表露無(wú)遺。伊卡博德自詡對(duì)卡特里娜一往情深，但他拜訪心上人時(shí)，吸引他目光的卻不是心上人楚楚動(dòng)人的身影，而是墻上掛著的羊毛、玉米、干果以及桌子上熱騰騰的美食。歐文在小說(shuō)中寫道：“(伊卡博德)一對(duì)大綠眼珠，骨溜溜地望著凡·塔塞爾這座溫暖住宅周圍的那些肥沃的草原，豐饒的小麥田、裸麥田、蕎麥田和玉米田，以及殷紅的果實(shí)累累的果園，心里不由思慕著將要繼承這一切財(cái)產(chǎn)的姑娘?！彼蛑缫馑惚P：將卡特里娜娶到手后，便將這一切都變賣成現(xiàn)金，然后去西部購(gòu)買便宜的土地進(jìn)行開墾，以便賺取更多的財(cái)富。

伊卡博德是“睡谷”這片小天地里的不和諧音符。難怪他不僅沒有贏得美人的芳心，還被徹底趕出了荷蘭人的領(lǐng)地。然而，在創(chuàng)作《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》時(shí)，歐文已經(jīng)預(yù)見到了伊卡博德這一類“揚(yáng)基佬”在美國(guó)的最終勝利。在小說(shuō)的結(jié)尾，歐文借助敘述者交待了伊卡博德離開“睡谷”后的際遇。逃出“睡谷”的伊卡博德來(lái)到了一步之遙的紐約城，獲得了律師執(zhí)照，搖身一變，成了一名政客，奔走競(jìng)選，給報(bào)紙寫文章，成為一個(gè)具有影響力的人物，最后甚至當(dāng)上了法庭的法官。我們不難看到隱含在小說(shuō)字里行間的諷刺。

在《睡谷的傳說(shuō)》中，華盛頓·歐文借敘述者之口表達(dá)了對(duì)田園生活的向往：“要是有一天，我想退隱，逃避紛紜的俗世，在恬靜的夢(mèng)中度過(guò)煩惱的余生，我真不知道還有什么地方會(huì)比這個(gè)小小的山谷更使我滿意的了?！毕鄬?duì)于伊卡博德物質(zhì)至上的價(jià)值觀，“睡谷”中的荷蘭后裔更符合歐文所推崇的浪漫主義傳統(tǒng)：在和諧的自然田園之中安然生活，自給自足，怡然喜樂，不貪婪，不虛偽。歐文成名頗早，中年時(shí)便被贊譽(yù)為“美國(guó)文學(xué)之父”。他生在紐約，長(zhǎng)在紐約，曾遍游歐洲。然而，看盡繁華、享盡盛名的歐文晚年卻決定歸隱“睡谷”所在的塔里小鎮(zhèn)，死后亦不肯離去，長(zhǎng)眠在小鎮(zhèn)上名喚“睡谷”的墓園。當(dāng)伊卡博德們?cè)诖蠖际欣餆崃易分鹬?cái)富和聲名的時(shí)候，歐文的選擇為我們提供了返璞歸真的范例：“安得舍羅網(wǎng)，拂衣辭世喧。悠然策藜杖，歸向桃花源?！?/p>