紀(jì)念南?！だ锔阂欢伟讓m之戀的落幕

Nancy+Gibbs+王炤翔

2016年3月6日，94歲的南?！だ锔虿∪ナ馈＿@是一個生命的隕落，也是一段愛情童話的終結(jié)。在與里根總統(tǒng)相伴的半個世紀(jì)的歲月中，他們彼此依戀，相互扶持，在白宮上演了一場傳奇般的愛戀。作為第一夫人，她敢言敢為，在公益事業(yè)方面頗有成就，但也曾招致一些爭議。南?！だ锔鶎⑷绾伪粴v史銘記？也許這并不重要。正如曾任美國國會圖書館館長的丹尼爾·布爾斯廷所說：“我們從未有過像你們兩位一樣的總統(tǒng)夫婦，單單這一點就是一個重要的史實?！?/p>

“My life didnt really begin until I met Ronnie，” Nancy Reagan wrote in her memoirs. She was the Wife， the one with the Gaze1）， so devoted， so protective， that her own life and works， her needs and dreams， could be folded and fit into a tiny beaded handbag and tucked away as she focused every therm2） of energy on the American epic that was Ronald Reagan.

“Nancy came along，” Reagan once said， “and saved my soul.” Those who loved him should thank her， for never was a public man so faithfully served by a very private woman who read his needs， enabled his strengths， defused his weaknesses， and in the process displayed a love of country that refracted3） through her love of the man. Skeptical where he was trusting， meticulous4） where he was dreamy， equally stubborn but much more ruthless， she was able to grow in her role in a way that defied her many critics， and showed in twilight a grace and fortitude that cast her earlier course in a gentler light.

When she died on March 6 at the age of 94， it marked the end of a life and a love story the likes of which the modern White House had never seen.

Anne Frances Robbins Davis Reagan was born in New York City in 1921 to a car salesman and an actress and spent her first six years with little idea of what a normal family would feel like. Her father abandoned them when she was a baby； her mother Edith went back to work with a traveling theater company. She sent “Nancy” to live with an aunt and uncle in Maryland and for the next few years acted the role of mother from a distance.

But that all changed when Nancy was 8： Edith married a prominent neurosurgeon named Loyal Davis， who would eventually adopt Nancy as his own—though she always called him Dr. Loyal. The family moved to Chicago； suddenly hers was a life of field hockey and summer camp， nice clothes and high expectations. She majored in English and drama at Smith， worked for a while as a sales clerk at Marshall Fields5） and a nurses aid before following her mothers lead. A big break6） on Broadway opposite Yul Brynner7） got her an MGM8） screen test and a contract， and she was off to Hollywood in 1948.

Nancy Davis was not steamy or sultry9） enough to play the siren10）， though she did date Clark Gable11） briefly. She was typically cast as the loyal wife， in movies like The Next Voice You Hear. Her “childhood ambition，” she wrote on her MGM biographical questionnaire in 1949， was “to be an actress.” But her “greatest ambition” was “to have a successful， happy marriage.” That year she met Ronald Reagan， president of the Screen Actors guild， who was still recovering from his split with actress Jane Wyman； one newspaper account called it “a romance of a couple who have no vices12），” with Nancy knitting Ronnie argyle13） socks.

“I dont know if it was exactly love at first sight，” Nancy said， “but it was pretty close.” The two were married in March of 1952 in a secret ceremony at the Little Brown Church near Los Angeles； their daughter Patti was born that October and son Ron in 1958. Nancy would also be stepmother to Reagans children from his previous marriage， son Michael and daughter Maureen. She retired from movies in 1962 to be a full-time homemaker.

It took the jaded14） natives of Hollywood and Sacramento15） and Washington some time to get used to a marriage so sentimental. They would always hold hands； he called her “Nancy Pants” and “mommy.” There would be notes scattered around the White House， especially on special occasions. “Whatever I treasure and enjoy，” Ronnie wrote， “this home， our ranch， the sight of the sea—all would be without meaning if I didnt have you. I live in a permanent Christmas because God gave me you.” Every marriage finds its own balance， she used to say. He was relentlessly upbeat16）： she did the worrying for both of them. She was obsessive about details where he seemed cavalier17）； he was all-forgiving， while she could hold a grudge. But they were equally solicitous18） and protective of each other. She recalls a dinner with presidential historians， where Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin observed that “We have never had a presidential couple like the two of you， and that alone is an important historical fact. The love and devotion you show each other isnt seen much around here these days.”

It is hard for anyone married to a public figure to bear the attacks aimed at the person they love. But Nancy Reagan had an even harder challenge： Her husband was so popular that attacks just skidded off his shiny image； but she was a different story， inscrutable19） where he seemed so transparent， cool and cautious where he was all warmth and tall tales and high hopes. It started from her first days as First Lady of California， after he won his race for governor in 1966. She discovered that the 1877 mansion was officially a “firetrap，” as the local authorities put it. She said it was concern for her familys safety that inspired their move into a fancy suburb； her critics called it snobbery， the hostility only partly allayed in the years that followed by her efforts to help returning Vietnam vets and promote the Foster Grandparents program20）.

Whatever scrutiny and skepticism she endured in California， however， was nothing compared to what was waiting for her in Washington， when she arrived in 1981 to begin what shed come to describe as “the most difficult years of my life.”

“The first year was a terrible year，” she said， made worse by the loss of her stepfather， a cancer scare and most crushing， the assassination21） attempt that left four men shot， Reagan and spokesman James Brady badly wounded. Years later， she said， she still woke up at night remembering the scene at the hospital； the blood and bandages and tubes， a blue pinstripe suit shredded， a husband pale and grey， and closer to dead than anyone knew at the time.

She had always been highly protective； but after the shooting， her monitoring of her husbands activities had a more desperate urgency， to the point， famously， of consulting an astrologer22） about when it was too dangerous for him to be making public appearances. “I cringe every time we step out of a car or leave a building，” she said， and she began running the Presidents schedule by her， a small balm23） on the general sense of helplessness she felt when it came to his safety.

She also protected him from threats closer at hand， particularly aides whom she suspected were more focused on their own agendas than his presidency. In his book about her years later， Michael Deaver24） said that if the President had a single great failing， it was that he had no good sixth sense about people， or an ability to see their darker side； the reluctance to discipline extended even to his children. “Nancy had to fill that role as well，” Deaver argued.

Reagans political gift involved being able to see the big picture and sell it， Nancys expertise was more intimate， analytic， with a shrewd sense of how an organism like the White House staff worked. She had studied both Nixon and Kissingers memoirs before arriving in Washington， and she was alert to its ways. “I think Im aware of people who are trying to take advantage of my husband—who are trying to end-run him lots of times—who are trying to use him—Im very aware of that，” she told reporter Chris Wallace in 1985. More aware， she added， than Reagan himself. “I try to stop them.”

Her most famous moment as First Lady came almost by accident： the Just Say No campaign against drug use at a time when abuse was running out of control. “I was in California and I was talking to， I think， fifth graders， and one little girl raised her hand and said， ‘Mrs. Reagan， what do you do if somebody offers you drugs？ And I said， ‘Well， you just say no. And there it was born. I think people thought that we had an advertising agency over who dreamed that up—not true.” Reagan called her “my secret weapon” in his fight against drug use. She hosted a 1985 White House conference on drug abuse， featuring wives of world leaders， and three years later became the first First Lady to address the U.N. General Assembly， speaking on drug-trafficking laws. Many aspects of the war on drugs may have been ill-conceived25） or entangled in politics； but the effort to change attitudes among kids was one aspect that showed results. A study in 1988 found that only 39% of high school seniors reported using illegal drugs in the last year， down from 53% when Reagan took office.

In 1994， when President Reagan revealed in a letter to the American people that he was afflicted with Alzheimers， he observed that “I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience.” Thus began what Nancy would come to call the “l(fā)ong goodbye，” a decade spent tending to the husband who in time could not recognize her any more. Anyone who imagined her post-White House would be one of glamour and travel and parties saw instead a kind of cocooning26）， as she stayed close to home， seldom entertaining， excusing herself even from luncheons to go and call and check on him.

In May 2004， a month before her husband died， Nancy appeared at a fundraiser for stem-cell research. “Ronnies long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him，” she said. “Because of this， Im determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain.” A month later， she was the tiny， pale figure bent over the dark casket27） as America mourned one of its giant Presidents. She had worked over every detail of the 300-page blueprint for the commemorations.

Sometimes， she told ABCs Dianne Sawyer a year later， she still talked to him， wandering around a house filled with pictures of him. “Hes very much with me，” Nancy said. “Everything still is all about him.”

“遇見羅尼后，我的人生才真正開始?！蹦舷！だ锔谒幕貞涗浿袑懙?。她曾是美國的第一夫人，總是深情地注視著丈夫，對他全心全意，倍加呵護；而她自己的生活和事業(yè)，需求和夢想，都可以折起來放進一個小小的串珠手提包中，藏到一邊，因為她把所有的精力都放在了羅納德·里根這位美國史詩般的人物身上。

里根曾說：“南希的出現(xiàn)拯救了我的靈魂?！睈鬯娜硕紤?yīng)該感謝南希，因為從未有哪位公眾人物能受到妻子如此盡心的照顧。她懂得丈夫的需求，幫助他發(fā)揮優(yōu)勢，緩和他的劣勢，并在這一過程中透過對丈夫的愛彰顯出對國家的愛。她在丈夫輕信時保持懷疑，在他飄飄然時保持謹慎，和他一樣固執(zhí)，但遠比他果斷。她無懼眾多的批評者，得以在自己扮演的角色中不斷成長，并在晚年顯示出一種優(yōu)雅和堅韌，為她早期的人生軌跡籠上一片更為柔和的光彩。

南希于3月6日去世，享年94歲。這標(biāo)志著一個生命的結(jié)束，也標(biāo)志著現(xiàn)代白宮從未有過的一段愛情故事就此落幕。

安妮·弗朗西絲·羅賓斯·戴維斯·里根于1921年出生在紐約市，父親是汽車銷售員，母親是一名演員。她在六歲前幾乎沒有體驗過正常家庭的生活。她尚在襁褓中時，父親就拋棄了她們母女；母親伊迪斯重返舞臺，在一個流動劇團工作。她把“南?！彼腿ヱR里蘭州，和姨父姨母一同生活。之后的幾年里，她仍履行著母親的職責(zé)，但卻不在孩子身邊。

但是，在南希八歲時，一切都有了好轉(zhuǎn)。伊迪斯嫁給了一位杰出的神經(jīng)外科醫(yī)生，名叫洛亞爾·戴維斯。他最終撫養(yǎng)了南希，視如己出，盡管她一直都叫他洛亞爾醫(yī)生。他們一家人搬去了芝加哥。南希的生活中突然出現(xiàn)了曲棍球、夏令營和漂亮的衣服，她身上還承載著父母很高的期望。她在史密斯學(xué)院主修英文和戲劇，在馬歇爾·菲爾德百貨公司做過一段時間的售貨員，還做過助理護士，后來跟隨母親當(dāng)上了演員。她和尤爾·伯連納在百老匯聯(lián)袂出演，由此時來運轉(zhuǎn)，獲得了在米高梅試鏡的機會，并與之簽約。1948年，她去了好萊塢。

南希·戴維斯不夠性感妖嬈，演不了勾人的角色，雖然她確實曾和克拉克·蓋博有過短暫的戀情。她常常扮演忠誠的妻子，出演了《你聽到的下一個聲音》等影片。1949年，她在米高梅的個人情況問卷中寫道，她“童年的志向”是“成為一名演員”，但她“最大的志向”是“擁有幸福美滿的婚姻”。那一年，她遇見了羅納德·里根，美國影視演員協(xié)會的主席。當(dāng)時里根還沒有從他與演員簡·惠曼的離婚中恢復(fù)過來。報紙上的一則報道稱兩人的結(jié)合是“一對完美戀人的愛情故事”，南希還給里根織過菱形圖案的短襪。

“我不知道這到底算不算一見鐘情，”南希說，“但應(yīng)該差不多?！?952年3月，兩人在洛杉磯附近的“棕色小教堂”舉行了秘密婚禮。他們的女兒帕蒂于同年10月出生，兒子羅恩于1958年出生。里根和前妻育有兒子邁克爾和女兒莫琳，南希也成為他們的繼母。1962年，她退出了電影圈，成為全職家庭主婦。

他們的婚姻如此濃情蜜意，這讓好萊塢、薩克拉門托和華盛頓麻木的市民們花了一段時間才適應(yīng)。他們總是手牽著手。里根稱呼妻子為“褲子南?！焙汀皨屵洹薄０讓m里四處都是便條，尤其是在特別的日子?！盁o論我珍視和喜愛什么，”里根寫道，“這個家，我們的牧場，大海的景色——如果沒有你，這一切都會失去意義。我每天都在過圣誕節(jié)，因為上帝把你贈與了我?！蹦舷＿^去常說，所有的婚姻都會找到自己的平衡點。里根總是無限樂觀，而她為他們兩人焦心勞思；在他看上去漫不經(jīng)心時，她會注重細枝末節(jié)；他總是不計前嫌，而她則會耿耿于懷。但是他們對彼此的掛念和護佑是一樣的。南希記得有一次和研究總統(tǒng)的歷史學(xué)家們共進晚餐，國會圖書館館長丹尼爾·布爾斯廷說道：“我們從未有過像你們兩位一樣的總統(tǒng)夫婦，單單這一點就是一個重要的史實。你們對彼此的愛與忠誠如今在這里已不多見了?！?/p>

任何與公眾人物結(jié)婚的人都難以承受愛人遭到的攻擊，而南?！だ锔媾R的挑戰(zhàn)則更為嚴峻。她的丈夫太受歡迎，針對他的攻擊無損于他耀眼的形象，但是她不一樣。他顯得胸?zé)o城府時，她卻讓人難以捉摸；他熱情洋溢唱高調(diào)時，她卻冷靜謹慎。這種情形從1966年里根當(dāng)選加州州長、她成為加州第一夫人最初的日子就開始了。她發(fā)現(xiàn)，那棟1877年修建的州長宅邸被當(dāng)?shù)卣Q作是一棟“容易失火的建筑”。她說正是出于對家人安全的考慮，他們才搬到了漂亮的郊區(qū)住宅。批評她的人說她勢利，在后來的歲月中，盡管她努力幫助回國的越戰(zhàn)老兵，并推動祖父母收養(yǎng)兒童計劃，這種敵意也沒有收斂多少。

然而，不管南希在加州受到怎樣的審視和懷疑，這與她之后在華盛頓的遭遇相比根本算不了什么。1981年她來到華盛頓，開始了她后來所稱的“一生中最艱難的日子”。

“第一年非常糟糕?！彼f。雪上加霜的是她的繼父去世，她自己又疑似患上癌癥，而最沉重的打擊是里根遇刺——四人遭到槍擊，其中里根和白宮新聞發(fā)言人詹姆斯·布雷迪傷勢嚴重。她說，許多年后，她仍會在夜里驚醒，想起那時在醫(yī)院的場景：鮮血、繃帶、管子、扯爛的藍色細條紋西裝、面如死灰的丈夫。那時誰也不知道他離死亡有多近。

南希本就一直對丈夫呵護有加，而在遇刺事件之后，她更加不顧一切地迫切監(jiān)控丈夫的活動。眾所周知，她甚至到了咨詢占星師的地步，以了解何時對里根來說過于危險，不適合公開亮相。她說：“每次我們下車或者從一棟建筑里出來，我都會感到不安。”她開始過問里根的日程，這能稍稍慰藉她在丈夫的安全問題上常有的無助感。

她也會保護丈夫免受身邊人的威脅，尤其提防那些她懷疑對總統(tǒng)的事情不上心，反而更惦記他們自己的事情的助理們。多年后，邁克爾·迪弗在一本關(guān)于南希的書中寫道，如果要說里根總統(tǒng)有一個大的缺點，那就是他對于人沒有很好的第六感，或者說看不到人的陰暗面；他不喜管束別人，甚至對自己的孩子也是如此?！澳舷Ｒ膊坏貌怀洚?dāng)這方面的角色。”迪弗說。

里根的政治天賦在于他能夠看到全局，并能讓別人接受；南希的專長在于她更加平易近人，善于分析，能敏銳地洞察像白宮班子這樣的有機組織是怎樣運作的。她到華盛頓之前研究過尼克松和基辛格的回憶錄，對于其中的門道有所警覺。1985年她曾對記者克里斯·華萊士說：“我想我知道哪些人試圖算計我丈夫，哪些人總是試圖對他拐彎抹角，哪些人試圖利用他，這些我都了然于心?！彼€補充道，她比里根自己還清楚，“我會盡力阻止他們”。

南希作為第一夫人最著名的事跡幾乎是偶然發(fā)生的——在毒品濫用幾近失控之際出現(xiàn)的“向毒品說不”的毒品抵制運動?！爱?dāng)時我在加州，好像是在和五年級的孩子們講話。一個小女孩舉起手說：‘里根夫人，如果有人給你毒品，你會怎么做？我說：‘嗯，那你就說不。這句話就是這么來的。我想人們會以為我們請了一個廣告公司，讓他們憑空想出了這個口號，但事實并不是這樣?！崩锔涯舷７Q為他打擊毒品的“秘密武器”。1985年，她主持了一場關(guān)于濫用毒品的白宮會議，有世界各國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人的妻子出席。三年后，她成為第一位在聯(lián)合國大會上發(fā)言的第一夫人，發(fā)言主題為毒品走私的法律。打擊毒品的行動在許多方面也許都計劃不周，或是摻雜了政治斗爭，但是改變孩子對毒品的態(tài)度這方面的努力還是取得了成效：1988年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，此前一年只有39%的高中畢業(yè)班學(xué)生使用非法毒品，比起里根剛上臺時的53%有所下降。

1994年，里根總統(tǒng)在寫給美國人民的一封信中披露，他患上了阿爾茨海默癥。他說：“我只希望能有辦法讓南希不要受此病之苦?！弊源?，南希開始了她之后所說的“漫長的告別”，用了十年來照顧后來連她也不再認得的丈夫。人們原本想象她離開白宮后的生活會多姿多彩，四處旅行，派對不斷。但他們看到的卻是一種深居簡出的生活，她從不出遠門，很少在家待客，甚至?xí)谖缪缰型径Y貌地離席，打電話回家查看丈夫的情況。

2004年5月，在丈夫去世前一個月，南希出席了一場為干細胞研究籌款的活動。“羅尼病后的漫漫長路最終把他帶到了一個我再也夠不到他的遙遠的地方，”她說，“因此，我決心盡最大努力，讓其他家庭不必受此痛苦?！币粋€月后，美國舉國上下悼念這位偉大的總統(tǒng)，她彎腰站在漆黑的棺材前，身形瘦小，面色蒼白。相關(guān)紀(jì)念活動的方案長達300頁，每一個細節(jié)她都仔細檢查過。

一年后，她告訴美國廣播公司的黛安娜·索耶，有時她仍然會跟丈夫聊天，在一棟到處都是他的照片的房子里四處走動。“他就在我身邊，”南希說，“他仍然是我的一切?！?