尋找簡·奧斯汀

米大友

在英國南部鄉(xiāng)村伊斯特利小住數(shù)月，我經(jīng)常去附近古城溫切斯特轉悠。溫切斯特曾經(jīng)是英格蘭的首都，有著豐厚的歷史文化遺產(chǎn)。英國女作家簡·奧斯汀曾在這里生活多年，留下了許多供人緬懷的遺跡。

溫切斯特訪古尋幽

簡·奧斯汀是18世紀至19世紀以來英國文壇的泰斗級女作家。她1775年出生于英國南部鄉(xiāng)村小鎮(zhèn)斯蒂文頓（Steventon），父親是當?shù)啬翈?，精通詩詞，經(jīng)常和簡·奧斯汀一起賦詩談史。簡·奧斯汀因為天資聰慧，雖從小不曾上學接受正規(guī)教育，但在優(yōu)良的家庭氛圍熏陶下，養(yǎng)成了自學的習慣，喜歡讀書的她，在十三四歲便開始寫東西。簡·奧斯汀一生與文字為伴，不曾成婚。她所擅長的細膩文筆、優(yōu)美的情感描寫，令無數(shù)墜入愛河的青年男女競相效仿。她的作品在世界廣為流傳，令無數(shù)文字愛好者頂禮膜拜。她撰寫的《傲慢與偏見》、《艾瑪》等多部名著，頻繁被改編成劇本，搬上銀幕。

在溫切斯特城南，我走過一段斑駁的中世紀古城墻，順伊欽河清澈的水流往下游走，就在溫切斯特學院附近，找到了簡·奧斯汀生命最后時刻住過的房子。然而門上的牌子提示，這里是私人住宅，不對外開放。人們在這幢米黃色的房子對面，建了一個小小的紀念園地，墻面大理石碑上刻著簡·奧斯汀的一句話“Know your own happiness， Call it hope”，這仿佛是她留給世人的警句。

簡·奧斯汀埋葬于溫切斯特大教堂。我在教堂入口附近的北面?zhèn)壤日业搅怂陌蚕⒌?，金色的墓碑下，有人擺放著鮮花。

小村喬頓美麗奇妙

其實，我最想去找的，是位于溫切斯特以東29公里處的小村喬頓（Chawton）。那里有簡·奧斯汀的故居博物館，她在那里住過8年。

按照旅游指南，我從溫切斯特搭乘64路巴士前往喬頓。我上車買了當日來回票，并請司機到站時叫我一下。上了二層車廂，只有我和一位英國大叔。坐下后，我打開手機導航，找到喬頓村。導航的語音驚動了英國大叔，他問我去哪兒？我說喬頓。也許是我的發(fā)音不準，他問了好幾遍才確認。然后，他從后排座位坐到我的身邊對我說，去喬頓可能還要換另一路巴士吧？我嚇了一跳！他嘰里咕嚕說著，我聽不懂他的意思，也不知道該對他說什么。

大巴車穿過一座城鎮(zhèn)，七拐八彎的。導航不斷發(fā)出調(diào)整線路的提醒。我心里毛毛的。又上來一位英國大叔。前面的大叔坐過去向他咨詢了一會兒，然后又坐回來跟我說話，大概是搞清了狀況。

我說“我去找簡·奧斯汀的房子”，并翻出手機里在溫切斯特拍的奧斯汀臨終前住過的房子的照片給他看。哦！他看來明白了，笑著點點頭嘰里呱啦又說了一通，像是在說：我知道那兒。我問大約還要多久才到？他說，10分鐘左右！到了我會叫你。

車過一個大轉盤時，他指著對面一個山坡：就是那兒！他用手比劃著告訴我下車后怎么回頭繞過轉盤。我再三向他表示感謝并告別。車門開處，司機向我點點頭，確認就在此站下。

車走了，四下無人。我背上雙肩包用手機導航開始步行，繞過大轉盤，穿越兩條公路，走了約八九百米，終于看到了喬頓村口的牌子！

喬頓村是奧斯汀小說創(chuàng)作的靈感所在。據(jù)說，這里距簡·奧斯汀的出生地僅10英里左右。從1809年至1817年，奧斯汀和她守寡的母親、姐姐卡桑德拉（Cassandra）生活在這幢迷人的紅磚房內(nèi)。這幢兩層樓建筑，房舍一面臨路，三面花園環(huán)抱。房子主人是奧斯汀的三哥愛德華·奧斯汀（Edward Austen），喬頓村的大地主。他自己雖然沒有在這里住過，但在奧斯汀一家搬來之前，他把住宅布置了一番，更新了水管，把前窗移到了側面，既隔絕了外界干擾，又能使家人看見花園中的景色。簡·奧斯汀對住宅非常滿意，她在詩文中加以稱贊：

我們的喬頓新家，多么令人贊嘆！/那里有多美好??！/還有如此的自信：等到新居萬事完滿，/定會讓世上的宅院全都失色黯然。

奧斯汀一家在喬頓村生活得心滿意足。姐姐和母親主要負責料理家務和打理花園，雇來的男傭負責干重活，另外還雇有一位臨時廚師。每天早晨大約9點，簡·奧斯汀會在餐廳準備好早餐。她還彈得一手好鋼琴，每天早晨在家人坐下來吃飯之前她都要練習鋼琴。

有家人支持和幫助，簡·奧斯汀可以自由地從事寫作。她經(jīng)常坐在餐廳里的那張小桌前，把它當作自己的寫字臺。在此居住期間，她的文學創(chuàng)作收獲頗豐。就是在這里，靠著窗戶，簡·奧斯汀在長篇小說《理智與情感》和《傲慢與偏見》發(fā)表前進行了修改。房前離簡·奧斯汀坐的地方幾英尺之外，便是穿梭在倫敦、溫切斯特、南安普敦和樸茨茅斯之間的馬車驛道。在喬頓村居住期間，簡·奧斯汀創(chuàng)作了被公認為其杰作的《曼斯菲爾德莊園》。后來又在此寫成了《艾瑪》。同是在喬頓村寫成的《勸導》發(fā)表于簡·奧斯汀去世之后。

閱讀和散步在簡·奧斯汀的生活中也占有重要位置。她把喬頓村稱為“美麗奇妙的村莊”。她喜歡在喬頓村周圍美麗的鄉(xiāng)村地帶尋幽覽勝，一探究竟。有時她徒步前往附近的小鎮(zhèn)阿爾頓，她和家人平時大多乘坐驢車去那里。

簡迷們熱情經(jīng)久不衰

簡·奧斯汀故居早在上世紀40年代就被改造成為一座博物館。1984年至1994年，在著名簡·奧斯汀研究學者指導下，喬頓村又對故居博物館進行了改造。

現(xiàn)在的簡·奧斯汀故居博物館重現(xiàn)了喬治時代一個典型的殷實家庭的景象，擁有大片花園和寬敞明亮的房間，以及許多優(yōu)雅的家具。展品中包括奧斯汀用于寫作的小桌、有著大理石紋紙的小說《艾瑪》第一版樣書、奧斯汀與家人的通信手稿和為她姐姐精心刺繡的手絹。

踏著嘎吱嘎吱作響的樓板，參觀者們小心翼翼地走動，細細體驗兩個世紀以前鄉(xiāng)村貴族的生活氛圍。視頻室里播放著奧斯汀的故事，音量調(diào)得低低的。花園里是大片的草坪，周圍點綴著低矮的灌木和各種盛開的鮮花，據(jù)說路旁的古櫟樹是奧斯汀當年親手栽的。屋旁一棵碩大的歐洲紅豆杉果實累累，深綠色的草坪上落紅點點。游客們徜徉其間，沉浸在那早已消逝的簡·奧斯汀的世界里，想象著這位文學大師外出散步或伏案寫作時的情景。

走出奧斯汀的房子，我到喬頓村中走了一圈。整潔的小道，蜿蜒的溪流，高大喬木下平整的草地，用巨厚的植物秸稈鋪設屋頂?shù)霓r(nóng)居和門前漂亮的花園等，都給我留下了深刻的印象。我回到簡·奧斯汀故居博物館對面的小咖啡館喝了杯熱咖啡暖暖身子，順便給手機充電。我發(fā)現(xiàn)，盡管地處偏僻，但從停車場的車和咖啡館的人流觀察，到簡·奧斯汀故居博物館參觀的人比我預想的要多得多。

“簡迷”們的熱情何以經(jīng)久不衰？

也許我們可以從英國學者阿伯特（Rob Abbott）的《簡·奧斯?。簩粝爰藿o文字》一書中找到答案。他在回答“為什么今天還要閱讀簡·奧斯汀”時說：因為現(xiàn)實意義而讀，因為幽默而讀，因為樂趣而讀。他認為，簡·奧斯汀是被譽為“地位可與莎士比亞平起平坐的作家”，所著的《傲慢與偏見》等6部小說，經(jīng)過近兩百年的檢驗，受到一代代讀者的交口稱贊，部部堪稱上乘之作。她的作品如“兩寸牙雕”，從一個小窗口中窺視到整個社會的形態(tài)和人情世故，在英國小說發(fā)展史上有承上啟下的意義。

A leading figure in the British literary world of the 18th-19th century， Jane Austen （1775-1817） was born in Steventon， a small town in Hampshire， on 16 December 1775. For much of Janes life， her father served as the rector of the Anglican parishes at Steventon. Life in the Austen home was lived in “an open， amused， easy intellectual atmosphere”， which widened Janes youthful horizon and influenced her later life and works. She was a fast learner and extensive reader. At the age of 12， she tried her hand at dramatic writing； she wrote three short plays during her teenage years. Jane Austen never got married， immersing most of her life in the joy of reading and writing. Her use of biting irony， along with her realism and social commentary， has earned her acclaim among critics and scholars， and has enchanted numerous love-sick men and women.

Jane Austen has inspired a large number of critical essays and literary anthologies. Her novels have inspired many films， from 1940s to more recent productions like （1995） and （2016）.

Austen died in a house in Winchester， where she was confined to bed and lived her last days， at the age of 41； and was buried in the north aisle of the nave of Winchester Cathedral. The epitaph composed by her brother James praises Austens personal qualities， expresses hope for her salvation and mentions the “extraordinary endowments of her mind”， but does not explicitly mention her achievements as a writer. The carvings on a marble wall in a memorial park across from the house reads： Know your own happiness. Call it hope.

The novelist spent eight years in Chawton， a lovely village about 29km from Winchester. Around early 1809 Austens brother Edward offered his widowed mother and sisters a more settled life – the use of a large cottage in Chawton that was part of Edwards nearby estate， Chawton House. Jane， Cassandra and their mother moved into the cottage with a charming brick fa?ade in the summer of 1809. Life was quieter in Chawton than it had been since the familys move to Bath in 1800. The Austens did not socialize with gentry and entertained only when family visited. Her niece Anna described the familys life in Chawton as “a very quiet life， according to our ideas， but they were great readers， and besides the housekeeping our aunts occupied themselves in working with the poor and in teaching some girl or boy to read or write.” The view in the sprawling garden inspired Jane Austen all the time. She loved the new residence so much that she wrote a poem for it. For her， the eight years in Chawton was content and perfect. Shed get the breakfast ready for everyone at around nine and play piano for her mother and sister before dinnertime. She spent most of her time writing in the dining room of this 17th century building. It was here that Janes genius flourished and where she wrote， revised and had published all her major works： ， ， ， ， ， and ， published posthumously in 1818.

Reading and strolling played an important role in the life of the writer. During her last eight years in her life， she explored the nook and cranny of Chawton which she called “a beautiful， marvelous village”. Sometimes shed walk all the way into the nearby small town.

The cottage is now Jane Austens House Museum， the only house where Jane lived and wrote that is open to the public. A double-decker bus took me to the village， where I felt closer to the writers soul.

The house was turned it into a museum dedicated to the life and works of Jane Austen， opening to the public in 1949. A Grade-I listed building and one of the most important literary sites in the world， the museum attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. The Museum holds an important collection of objects associated with Jane Austen， including letters written by Jane and personal effects belonging to her and her family. Particular highlights include her jewelry， first editions of her books， furniture， textiles and the table at which she wrote her much loved novels.

Visitors can freely explore Janes home and beautiful cottage garden whilst learning about her life through exhibitions and displays. Hands-on activities for all ages can be found alongside in-depth information panels and family objects， housed in the rooms that Jane would have known. Then， once visitors have had their fill of the enchanting atmosphere， the Museum shop with a large selection of souvenirs is well worth a browse. A dedicated Learning Officer is ready to inspire and transport classes back to early 19th century Hampshire.