福爾摩斯之父

Like the elusive1 Sherlock Holmes， his most famous creation， Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. Scientifically educated， he believed in séances2 and fairies. A humanist who identified with3 oppressed peoples， he strongly defended English colonialism at its most aggressive. He dreamed of being a serious historical novelist， yet he is best remembered for stories that he considered pot-boilers4. The product of a pragmatic， fiercely protective mother and a detached dreamer of a father， Conan Doyle became a man with astonishing self-confidence， a tireless selfpromoter who also retained some measure of childish innocence throughout his life.

It all started with an eccentric professor teaching Doyle when he was at medical school， the man he later acknowledged as his inspiration for Sherlock Holmes， Dr. Joseph Bell. By the end of Conan Doyles second year Dr. Joseph Bell had selected him to serve as an assistant in his ward. This gave Conan Doyle the opportunity to view Dr. Bells remarkable ability to quickly deduce a great deal about a patient.

Dr. Bell taught his students the importance of observation， using all the senses to obtain an accurate diagnosis. He enjoyed impressing students by guessing a persons profession from a few indications， through a combination of deductive and inductive reasoning， like Holmes. For instance， he observed the way a person moved. The walk of a sailor varied vastly from that of a solider. If he identified a person as a sailor he would look for any tattoos that might assist him in knowing where their travels had taken them. He trained himself to listen for small differences in his patients accents to help him identify where they were from. Bell studied the hands of his patients because calluses5 or other marks could help him determine their occupation.

“In teaching the treatment of disease and accident，”Dr. Bell stated， “all careful teachers have first to show the student how to recognize accurately the case. The recognition depends in great measure on the accurate and rapid appreciation6 of small points in which the diseased differs from the healthy state. In fact， the student must be taught to observe. To interest him in this kind of work we teachers find it useful to show the student how much a trained use of the observation can discover in ordinary matters such as the previous history， nationality and occupation of a patient.”

So while Conan Doyle went on to write about the brilliant Sherlock Holmes， he played Dr. Watson， at least for a while， to his professor. Although Bells methods fascinated Conan Doyle， his cold indifference towards his patients repelled7 the young medical student. Some of this coldness found its way into Sherlock Holmess character， especially in the early stories.

In 1886， Doyle finished the first Sherlock Holmes novella， A Study in Scarlet8. After several rejections， he was forced to sell it for ￡25 to Beetons Christmas Annual， a holiday collection that often sold out， but did not usually attract much attention in the national press. The work was reprinted in 1889 and many more times， but Conan Doyle never earned another penny from it. The Sign of the Four9， the second work to feature Holmes and Watson， also achieved a small， but by no means brilliant， success.

While writing the early Holmes stories， Doyle also began what he considered his most important work： chivalric， historical novels based on British history， primarily， Micah Clark， Sir Nigel， and The White Company. Although these novels were widely admired， none of them created the stir caused by the first series of short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes and John Watson that appeared in The Strand Magazine10. Despite their overwhelming success， Conan Doyle never suspected that these stories would be the foundation of his literary legacy.

After writing three series of twelve Holmes stories， receiving the unheard-of sum of ￡1，000 for the last dozen， Conan Doyle was sick to death of the popular detective and decided to kill him off in the 1893 story， The Final Problem. Conan Doyle considered the Holmes stories light fiction11， good for earning money， but destined to be quickly forgotten， the literary equivalent of junk food. “I couldnt revive him if I would， at least not for years，” he wrote to a friend who urged Holmess resurrection， “for I have had such an overdose of him that I feel towards him as I do towards paté de foie gras， of which I once ate too much， so that the name of it gives me a sickly feeling to this day.”12 The vehement public reaction to Holmess death must have shocked Conan Doyle. People wore black armbands and wrote him pleading or threatening letters. Still， it was nine years before he gave in to public opinion and brought Holmes back.

The third Holmes novel， The Hound of the Baskervilles13， appeared in nine parts in The Strand Magazine during 1901-2， but it was presented as an old case from Watsons records， completed before Holmess death. Conan Doyle did not make up his mind to resurrect Holmes until 1903， when he wrote The Empty House. He continued， reluctantly， to produce Holmes stories until 1927， three years before his own death.

Doctor and writer， Doyles personality encompassed all these traits that contributed to the Sherlock Holmes stories we love to read today. Conan Doyles fanciful imagination， combined with his scientific training， created ideas that have helped to shape the modern mystery and science fiction genres. His most long-lived idea， however， was Sherlock Holmes himself， who has continued to evolve in our time through the works of other writers and filmmakers， taking forms even his creator could never have imagined.

就像自己創(chuàng)造的最有名的角色——難以捉摸的夏洛克·福爾摩斯一樣，阿瑟·柯南道爾爵士是一個(gè)充滿矛盾的人。他接受過(guò)科學(xué)教育，卻相信降神和精靈。他是一位人道主義者，同情受壓迫的民族，卻強(qiáng)烈捍衛(wèi)英國(guó)最具侵略性的殖民主義政策。他夢(mèng)想成為一名嚴(yán)肅的歷史小說(shuō)家，卻因那些他自視為了賺稿費(fèi)而創(chuàng)作的故事被人們永遠(yuǎn)懷念。擁有一個(gè)現(xiàn)實(shí)的、保護(hù)欲極強(qiáng)的母親和一個(gè)對(duì)自己漠不關(guān)心、沉浸于幻想中的父親，柯南道爾成長(zhǎng)為一個(gè)自信心極強(qiáng)的人，永不疲倦地宣傳自己，一生都保持著幾分天真的孩子氣。

所有這一切都應(yīng)從一位古怪的教授開始講起，他是柯南道爾所在醫(yī)學(xué)院的教授，柯南道爾后來(lái)承認(rèn)他是自己創(chuàng)作夏洛克·福爾摩斯的靈感，他就是約瑟夫·貝爾醫(yī)生?？履系罓柕诙W(xué)年快結(jié)束之際，約瑟夫·貝爾醫(yī)生選中柯南道爾成為他病房的助理，這讓柯南道爾有機(jī)會(huì)觀察他那快速推斷出與病人有關(guān)的大量信息的出色能力。

貝爾醫(yī)生教導(dǎo)學(xué)生們觀察的重要性，調(diào)用所有的感官去進(jìn)行準(zhǔn)確的診斷。他像福爾摩斯一樣采用演繹和歸納的推理方法，從蛛絲馬跡中推測(cè)病人的職業(yè)，這使他的學(xué)生們印象深刻，而他也樂(lè)在其中。例如，他觀察人走路的方式，水手的走路方式肯定與士兵大相徑庭。如果確定一個(gè)人是水手之后，他就會(huì)觀察其身上是否有刺青，從而幫助他進(jìn)一步推測(cè)這個(gè)人曾經(jīng)去過(guò)哪里。他訓(xùn)練自己分辨病人口音的細(xì)小差別，這有助于確定他們來(lái)自哪里。貝爾醫(yī)生還研究病人的雙手，因?yàn)槭稚系睦侠O或其他印跡都可幫助他確定病人經(jīng)常做什么事情。

“在教學(xué)生們治療疾病和意外傷害時(shí)，”貝爾說(shuō)道，“所有細(xì)心的教師都應(yīng)該首先向?qū)W生們演示如何準(zhǔn)確地診斷病情，而診斷很大程度上取決于準(zhǔn)確快速地鑒別出病態(tài)和健康狀態(tài)的細(xì)微差別。事實(shí)上，我們應(yīng)該教會(huì)學(xué)生如何去觀察。教師應(yīng)向?qū)W生演示，經(jīng)過(guò)訓(xùn)練后，善于運(yùn)用觀察就能夠從普通事物中發(fā)現(xiàn)許多（有助于進(jìn)行診斷的）情況，例如病人的既往病史、國(guó)籍和職業(yè)，這有助于培養(yǎng)學(xué)生對(duì)觀察的興趣。”

由此看來(lái)，柯南道爾在撰寫才華橫溢的夏洛克·福爾摩斯的故事之前，至少有一段時(shí)間他曾在他的教授面前扮演了華生醫(yī)生的角色。盡管貝爾的方法讓柯南道爾深深著迷，但他對(duì)病人漠不關(guān)心的態(tài)度也讓這位年輕的醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)生很反感。貝爾的冷漠或多或少影響了他對(duì)福爾摩斯性格的塑造，尤其是在早期故事中。

1886年，柯南道爾完成了首部福爾摩斯中篇小說(shuō)《血字的研究》。在遭到出版社數(shù)次拒絕后，他被迫以25英鎊的價(jià)格賣出，發(fā)表在《比頓圣誕年刊》上?！侗阮D圣誕年刊》是一本節(jié)日刊物，雖然經(jīng)常售罄，但在全國(guó)范圍內(nèi)卻沒(méi)有什么影響力。1889年，這篇小說(shuō)進(jìn)行了重印，此后又重印了多次，但柯南道爾沒(méi)有額外得到過(guò)一分錢?！端暮灻肥堑诙恳愿柲λ购腿A生為主角的作品，這部作品只算能小有成就。

柯南道爾在撰寫這些早期福爾摩斯故事的同時(shí)，也在醞釀著他自視為最重要的作品：基于英國(guó)歷史之上的騎士歷史小說(shuō)，主要有《彌迦·克拉克》、《奈杰爾爵士》和《白衣縱隊(duì)》。盡管這些小說(shuō)廣受推崇，但都不能引起像刊登在《海濱雜志》上的以夏洛克·福爾摩斯和約翰·華生為主角的第一批短篇小說(shuō)所帶來(lái)的轟動(dòng)。盡管福爾摩斯的故事極為成功，但柯南道爾卻從未想到過(guò)這些故事會(huì)成為自己流傳后世的主要文學(xué)遺產(chǎn)。

柯南道爾編寫了三個(gè)系列共36個(gè)福爾摩斯故事，最后12個(gè)故事使他獲得了前所未聞的1，000英鎊稿費(fèi)，但他卻對(duì)這位廣受歡迎的偵探深感厭惡，并決定在1893年《最后一案》中把他“殺掉”?？履系罓枌⒏柲λ构适乱暈橥ㄋ仔≌f(shuō)，極好掙錢，但注定很快會(huì)被人遺忘，是文學(xué)中的“垃圾食品”。在給一位力勸他讓福爾摩斯復(fù)活的朋友的信中，他這樣寫道：“即使我想把他復(fù)活，我也無(wú)法這么做，至少好幾年內(nèi)不行。我寫他寫得太多了，現(xiàn)在我對(duì)他的感覺(jué)就好像我對(duì)鵝肝一樣，吃得太多以致現(xiàn)在我一想起這個(gè)名字就覺(jué)得惡心?！惫妼?duì)福爾摩斯死去的強(qiáng)烈反應(yīng)肯定讓柯南道爾大吃一驚，人們?cè)谑直凵洗骱诩喴允镜磕?，給他寫信懇求或是威脅他（復(fù)活福爾摩斯）。盡管如此，柯南道爾還是在九年之后才屈從于公眾的要求，讓福爾摩斯歸來(lái)。

第三部福爾摩斯小說(shuō)《巴斯克維爾的獵犬》分成九部分，在1901至1902年間的《海濱雜志》上連載，但卻是作為華生記錄下的福爾摩斯死前偵破的一個(gè)舊案件。直到1903年，柯南道爾創(chuàng)作《空屋》時(shí)，才下定決心讓福爾摩斯復(fù)活。之后他不太情愿地繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作福爾摩斯的故事，一直到1927年才停筆。三年之后，他自己過(guò)世了。

作為醫(yī)生和作家，柯南道爾的性格中包含了這兩者的特點(diǎn)，這些性格特征幫助他創(chuàng)作了我們至今仍讀得津津有味的福爾摩斯故事。柯南道爾富有天馬行空的想象力，加上受到過(guò)科學(xué)訓(xùn)練，為他帶來(lái)了各種創(chuàng)意，從而影響了現(xiàn)代懸疑推理小說(shuō)的寫作。然而，他最經(jīng)久不衰的創(chuàng)意，恐怕還是夏洛克·福爾摩斯，這個(gè)角色通過(guò)當(dāng)代其他作家和電影制片人的作品，以一些他的創(chuàng)作者從未想到過(guò)的形式，在我們這個(gè)時(shí)代繼續(xù)經(jīng)歷不同的演變過(guò)程。

1. elusive： 難以捉摸的，難找的。

2. séance：（招魂術(shù)士搞的）降神會(huì)。

3. identify with sb. ： 與某人產(chǎn)生共鳴，同情。

4. pot-boiler： 為賺錢而創(chuàng)作的書籍（或戲劇等作品）。

5. callus： 老繭，結(jié)痂。

6. appreciation： 鑒定，評(píng)價(jià)。

7. repel： 使厭惡，使反感。

8. A Study in Scarlet： 《血字的研究》，是柯南道爾第一部以福爾摩斯為主角的作品。講述了華生醫(yī)生在舊助手的介紹下結(jié)識(shí)福爾摩斯，和他一同租下位于貝克街的房屋，并隨后協(xié)助福爾摩斯解決了一起在犯罪現(xiàn)場(chǎng)留下血字“RACHE”（德語(yǔ)“復(fù)仇”之意）的謀殺案。

9. The Sign of the Four： 《四簽名》，講述了一個(gè)關(guān)于不列顛東印度公司、印度民族起義、被竊寶物以及由四位罪犯所擬定的秘密協(xié)定的復(fù)雜案件。華生醫(yī)生的未來(lái)妻子瑪麗·莫斯坦在這一案件中第一次登場(chǎng)。

10. The Strand Magazine： 《海濱雜志》，也譯作《斯特蘭德月刊》，是1891年至1950年間在英國(guó)較受歡迎的一本月刊，刊登小說(shuō)或知識(shí)性文章，創(chuàng)刊初始銷售量達(dá)到30萬(wàn)冊(cè)/月。

11. light fiction： 情節(jié)輕松的小說(shuō)，迎合大眾情趣的小說(shuō)。

12. resurrection： 復(fù)活。下文的resurrect是其動(dòng)詞形式；patéde foie gras： 鵝肝，一種著名法國(guó)料理。

13. The Hound of the Baskervilles： 《巴斯克維爾的獵犬》，講述的是在巴斯克維爾家庭中，三百年來(lái)一直流傳著的“魔鬼般的大獵狗”的神秘傳說(shuō)以及由這個(gè)傳說(shuō)引發(fā)的謀殺案。