是“職業(yè)”更是“表白”——Mrs. Warren's Profession 中“Profession”的雙關(guān)性

宋文玲

(大連大學(xué) 英語(yǔ)學(xué)院，遼寧 大連116622)

蕭伯納(George Bernard Shaw，1856—1950)創(chuàng)作的《華倫夫人的職業(yè)》(Mrs. Warren＇s Profession)，被作家收錄在《不愉快的戲劇集》(Plays Unpleasant)中。這些戲劇被命名為“不愉快”是因?yàn)樗鼈儾幌駛鹘y(tǒng)戲劇只是為了搞笑、娛樂(lè)，而是探討一些現(xiàn)實(shí)而嚴(yán)肅的社會(huì)問(wèn)題，比如社會(huì)下層人的苦難生活、賣淫等等，引導(dǎo)讀者認(rèn)真嚴(yán)肅地思考社會(huì)的本質(zhì)問(wèn)題［1］。在《華倫夫人的職業(yè)》中，蕭伯納成功地刻畫了主人公華倫夫人(Mrs. Warren)及其女兒薇薇(Vivie)的形象。作品批判不講道德、貪婪、腐朽的資產(chǎn)階級(jí)生活，揭發(fā)上層社會(huì)中那些披著華貴外衣者的墮落，同時(shí)給予類似華倫夫人這些賣淫從業(yè)者以深切同情，因?yàn)樽髡哒J(rèn)為，逼良為娼在本質(zhì)上是社會(huì)的罪惡。Mrs. Warren＇s Profession 這部戲劇在被翻譯成漢語(yǔ)時(shí)，一直以來(lái)都是將profession 一詞翻譯成“職業(yè)”，然而如果細(xì)究該詞的含義及其在該戲劇標(biāo)題這個(gè)語(yǔ)境中的使用，完全可以大膽推測(cè)，profession 一詞不應(yīng)僅僅只是要表達(dá)“職業(yè)”的意思，應(yīng)該有其深層次含義。本文試圖通過(guò)分析華倫夫人在劇中的一些話語(yǔ)來(lái)闡釋這一詞匯的雙重含義。

一、Profession 一詞的雙關(guān)性

在Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 中，“profession”一詞的釋義為“1. paid occupation，esp one that requires advanced education and training，eg architecture，law of medicine;2. public statement or claim of sth，eg a profession of belief，faith，loyalty，etc”［2］。華倫夫人從事的妓女行業(yè)［3］，無(wú)論如何都不會(huì)是需要“高等教育或培訓(xùn)”的職業(yè)。那么，作家選用這個(gè)名詞，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)會(huì)有他自己獨(dú)特的考慮。我們來(lái)看看華倫夫人在整個(gè)四幕劇中，分別有怎樣的言辭表現(xiàn)，這些言辭又是怎樣表白了她的個(gè)人信仰及人生觀，以及華倫夫人是如何為自己進(jìn)入經(jīng)營(yíng)妓院這一行業(yè)辯護(hù)的。

在第二幕劇中，華倫夫人試圖安排她女兒的人生，而這是薇薇不愿意接受的。當(dāng)薇薇對(duì)華倫夫人作為母親的權(quán)威表示異議時(shí)，她憤怒地喊道:“You boast of what you are to me—to me，who gave you a chance of being what you are. What chance had I?Shame on you for a bad daughter and a stuck－up prude!”［4］言辭中透露出她當(dāng)年無(wú)路可走的絕境。接下來(lái)華倫夫人又進(jìn)一步解釋自己當(dāng)年人生選擇的無(wú)奈:“Do you think I was brought up like you?able to pick and choose my own way of life?Do you think I did what I did because I liked it，or thought it right，or wouldn＇t rather have gone to college and been a lady if I＇d had the chance?”［4］當(dāng)薇薇聽到這兒的時(shí)候，很是不服氣，于是頂嘴道，“The poorest girl alive may not be able to choose between being Queen of England or Principal of Newnham;but she can choose between ragpicking and flowerselling，according to her taste. People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I don＇t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want，and，if they can＇t find them，make them.”［4］事實(shí)上，這樣的言辭可以算得上是受過(guò)良好高等教育的新時(shí)代女性的女權(quán)宣言。在薇薇話語(yǔ)的刺激下，華倫夫人終于下決心說(shuō)出往事。事實(shí)上，華倫夫人和她的姐姐莉茲當(dāng)時(shí)一同在一所教會(huì)學(xué)校上學(xué)，是華倫夫人的姐姐莉茲先行入了那個(gè)行當(dāng)?shù)?。?dāng)教會(huì)學(xué)校的牧師警告華倫夫人不要效仿莉茲，否則下場(chǎng)只能是跳河自盡時(shí)，華倫夫人說(shuō)道，“Poor fool:that was all he knew about it!But I was more afraid of the whitelead factory than I was of the river;and so would you have been in my place.”［4］在華倫夫人的概念里，妓院要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)好于讓她的姊妹中毒身亡的鉛廠，所以她才會(huì)選擇前者。這樣的價(jià)值觀無(wú)可厚非，因?yàn)槿说纳婵释亲罨镜谋灸?，?dāng)鉛廠惡劣的工作環(huán)境對(duì)人的生存造成嚴(yán)重威脅的時(shí)候，遠(yuǎn)離它自然成為首選:“The house in Brussels was real high class:a much better place for a woman to be in than the factory where Anne Jane got poisoned.”［4］后來(lái)華倫夫人一度被介紹到當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患医骑埖曜鱿赐牍ぁＨA倫夫人把這家禁酒飯店描述為“a temperance restaurant where they sent out for anything you liked”［4］，也即，這家酒店本身雖然出于政府監(jiān)管的原因不銷售酒類，但提供一種服務(wù)，那就是客戶想買什么(當(dāng)然包括酒類)，可以派服務(wù)生出去買回來(lái)。這從一個(gè)角度反映了當(dāng)時(shí)社會(huì)的虛偽。當(dāng)薇薇提出質(zhì)疑說(shuō)，“but why did you choose that business?Saving money and good management will succeed in any business.”華倫夫人的回答從商業(yè)的角度說(shuō)是完全站得住腳的，“Yes，saving money. But where can a woman get the money to save in any other business?Could you save out of four shillings a week and keep yourself dressed as well?Not you. Of course，if you’re a plain woman and can＇t earn anything more;or if you have a turn for music，or the stage，or newspaper － writing:that’s different. But neither Liz nor I had any turn for such things at all:all we had was our appearance and our turn for pleasing men. Do you think we were such fools as to let other people trade in our good looks by employing us as shop girls，or barmaids，or waitresses，when we could trade in them ourselves and get all the profits instead of starvation wages?Not likely.”［4］這個(gè)回答完整地道出了華倫夫人的世界觀與人生觀。不僅如此，華倫夫人還進(jìn)一步闡釋道，“What is any respectable girl brought up to do but to catch some rich man＇s fancy and get the benefit of his money by marrying him?—as if a marriage ceremony could make any difference in the right or wrong of the thing!Oh，the hypocrisy of theworld makes me sick!…I despise such people:they’ve no character;and if there’s a thing I hate in a woman，it＇s want of character.”［4］看吧，在華倫夫人的世界觀里，這個(gè)世界是顛倒的:妓女是有品格的女人，而通過(guò)正常婚姻出嫁的女人反倒成了沒有人格的人了。能夠做到從如此深刻的層面來(lái)揭露資本主義社會(huì)對(duì)人經(jīng)濟(jì)上的剝削和人性上的扭曲，這樣的作家屈指可數(shù)。在第四幕劇中，當(dāng)薇薇得知她母親依然在靠經(jīng)營(yíng)妓院謀取暴利時(shí)，她決意永遠(yuǎn)與華倫夫人斷絕關(guān)系。這時(shí)的華倫夫人依然不妥協(xié)，堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為薇薇的觀點(diǎn)是錯(cuò)的，接受的教育都是誤導(dǎo):“…you were taught wrong on purpose:you don＇t know what the world is really like…You think that people are what they pretend to be:that the way you were taught at school and college to think right and proper is the way things really are.But it＇s not:it＇s all only a pretence，to keep the cowardly slavish common run of people quiet….If I didn＇t do it somebody else would;so I don＇t do any real harm by it. And then it brings in money;and I like making money.”［4］就這樣，母女兩人終于分道揚(yáng)鑣了。

一部四幕的戲劇，幾乎絕大篇幅都是華倫夫人在用語(yǔ)言表白自己的人生觀、價(jià)值觀與世界觀，并為自己當(dāng)初的選擇辯護(hù)。由此看來(lái)，蕭伯納在題目措辭上選用了一個(gè)從語(yǔ)用學(xué)角度看來(lái)是個(gè)“大詞”的“profession”，可謂用心良苦，絕非通常的漢譯“職業(yè)”所能表達(dá)其深刻的內(nèi)涵:它不僅要表達(dá)華倫夫人的內(nèi)心思想的表白，更要傳達(dá)這樣一個(gè)信息，那就是，在華倫夫人看來(lái)，她所經(jīng)營(yíng)的連鎖妓院是“real high class”，等同于受尊敬的那些社會(huì)職業(yè)，比如律師、建筑師、教師等需要以良好教育為背景才可以從事的行業(yè)。華倫夫人從一個(gè)最下層的婦女搖身一變成為富有的“上層”名流，她的表白表面上看似乎是為了解釋一切的緣由，為了讓別人理解一個(gè)處于絕境中的女子的無(wú)奈的選擇，但深層次上作者更希望讀者或觀眾在她身上看到這個(gè)世界顛倒的價(jià)值觀和扭曲的人性。

二、結(jié) 語(yǔ)

華倫夫人這一人物形象是蕭伯納成功刻畫的若干人物之一，而這一形象的成功刻畫在很大程度上要?dú)w功于華倫夫人無(wú)時(shí)無(wú)刻不在女兒薇薇面前進(jìn)行的滔滔不絕的辯護(hù)。這種貌似為了個(gè)人的行為選擇進(jìn)行的大篇幅辯白，實(shí)則是對(duì)資本主義社會(huì)的虛偽、腐朽、墮落的深刻批判。Profession一詞在這個(gè)語(yǔ)境中使用，很顯然絕不是僅僅為了表達(dá)“職業(yè)”的意思，更有其深層次含義。華倫夫人的“表白”實(shí)則是滴血的控訴，而Profession 一詞在題目中被采用，讓這種控訴變得尤為深刻和意義深遠(yuǎn)。

［1］張伯香. 英美文學(xué)選讀［M］. 北京:外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社，1999:322.

［2］Hornby，A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary［M］. Oxford:Oxford University Press，1974:1179.

［3］吳偉仁. 英國(guó)文學(xué)史及選讀［M］. 北京:外語(yǔ)教學(xué)與研究出版社，1988:388.

［4］GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. The Complete Plays of Bernard Shaw ［M］. London:Constable ＆ Robinson Ltd.，1931:45 －89.