重讀狄更斯的《圣誕頌歌》

阿普里爾·奧斯汀

Each December I reread Charles Dickenss 1843 classic A Christmas Carol， and every time， for different reasons， it moves me deeply. I picked the book out of a remainder pile at one of the big chain bookstores in the 1990s， and it sat untouched on my shelf for years. I found it again about 10 years ago when searching for an antidote to the usual holiday frenzy of buying and doing.

A Christmas Carol， like Handels Messiah and Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker， is such a reliable holiday chestnut1 that its easy to take it for granted. Modern readers might find some parts of the book mawkish2 or too sentimental， but Dickens knew what he was doing. He understood how to wring sympathy from his Victorian audience， and how to influence public opinion toward the social reform that lies at the heart of his tale.

The emotions in A Christmas Carol are as outsize as any melodrama， but in Dickenss masterful hands， Im swept along， as eager as ever to witness Ebenezer Scrooges transformation from unfeeling miser to warmhearted benefactor. The three ghosts who haunt Scrooge on the night before Christmas are not only peddling cautionary tales， but also teaching him how to live more generously and with kindness toward his fellow beings.

Im in thrall to3 the words of the ghost of Scrooges old business partner， Jacob Marley， who comes to warn Scrooge of the arrival of the ghosts of Christmases past， present， and future. Scrooge asks Marley why he is shackled and receives the chilling reply： “I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link， and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will， and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you？”

Like Scrooge， I find myself looking around， metaphorically speaking， to see if I， too， am weighted down by fetters of my own design. Its a powerful moment early in the story， and it sets a tone of self-reflection that is clearly warranted in the case of Scrooge. Marleys ghost is tormented by the “incessant torture of remorse” for the fact that in life he never lifted a hand to help others， so focused was he， like Scrooge， on making money. Now， he wants to save his partner from a similar fate.

Dickens is not only commenting on one particular old skinflint; hes indicting an entire society for failing to look after the poorest and neediest， especially children. Originally， Dickens had wanted to write a pamphlet called An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Mans Child but wisely discarded this idea， reasoning that people were more likely to absorb his message if it came wrapped in an entertaining story. He wrote A Christmas Carol in less than six weeks， and it was an immediate success. The book helped sway public attitudes toward the poor.

As a writer， I stand in awe of4 Dickenss prose. I enjoy its circumlocutions and switchbacks， the comic and the sly asides， and the boisterous excesses. But more than any other reason， I reread A Christmas Carol to feel. I want to run through the gamut of emotions that Scrooge experiences as he cowers in fear， weeps with remorse， and finally laughs with joy.

I want to be reminded that we all have the power to “render [others] happy or unhappy，” as Scrooge observes to the Ghost of Christmas Past. And I long to see my world through transformed eyes as Scrooge does when he goes for a walk on Christmas Day and finds that “everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk—that anything—could give him so much happiness.” By the time Scrooge promises his long-suffering clerk， Bob Cratchit， a raise， and were apprised of5 the fact that Cratchits son Tiny Tim did not die as was foretold， theres not a dry eye in the house.

When I reread A Christmas Carol， Im transported miles away from to-do lists and shopping malls. I wont say that I escape the seasonal bustle for long， but when I return to it， I feel better for having spent time in pleasant company; Im more hopeful and perhaps a bit less jaded. As people said of the reformed Scrooge， “he knew how to keep Christmas well， if any man alive possessed the knowledge.”

每年12月，我都會(huì)重讀查爾斯·狄更斯創(chuàng)作于1843年的經(jīng)典作品《圣誕頌歌》，每次都因不同的緣由而深受觸動(dòng)。1990年代，我從一家大型連鎖書店的一堆打折書中淘到了這本書，它在我的書架上靜靜地待了好些年。大約10年前，在尋找良方應(yīng)對(duì)假日慣有的購(gòu)物狂熱和其他瘋狂之舉時(shí)，我再次發(fā)現(xiàn)了它。

像亨德?tīng)柕摹稄涃悂啞泛筒窨煞蛩够摹逗見(jiàn)A子》一樣，《圣誕頌歌》是一到圣誕節(jié)就會(huì)拿出來(lái)講的故事，人們?cè)绨堰@當(dāng)作理所當(dāng)然的?，F(xiàn)代讀者可能會(huì)覺(jué)得這本書的某些部分無(wú)病呻吟或過(guò)于感傷，但狄更斯知道他在做什么。他知道如何想方設(shè)法從維多利亞時(shí)代的讀者那里獲取同情，也知道如何影響有關(guān)社會(huì)改革的公共輿論，這一改革就是其小說(shuō)的核心。

《圣誕頌歌》中所表達(dá)的諸般情感跟任何一部情節(jié)劇一樣強(qiáng)烈，但狄更斯嫻熟的敘事技巧令我不禁跟隨其筆觸深入故事，我像以往一樣渴望見(jiàn)證埃比尼澤·斯克魯奇從冷酷無(wú)情的守財(cái)奴轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)闃?lè)善好施的大善人。圣誕前夜，三個(gè)精靈游蕩在斯克魯奇身邊，他們不僅極力向他灌輸警示性的故事，還教他生活中如何更慷慨大方及善待自己的同胞。

斯克魯奇舊日的生意伙伴雅各布·馬利的鬼魂現(xiàn)身，提醒斯克魯奇三個(gè)圣誕精靈的到來(lái)，它們是過(guò)去之靈、現(xiàn)在之靈和未來(lái)之靈。馬利鬼魂的話深深影響了我。斯克魯奇問(wèn)馬利為什么戴著鐐銬，得到的回答令人不寒而栗：“我戴的鐐銬是生前我自己鍛造的。是我一環(huán)一環(huán)、一碼一碼地做出來(lái)的;我是自愿做的，也是自愿戴上的。你覺(jué)得它的樣子很奇怪嗎？”

像斯克魯奇一樣，我不由自主四下看了看，打個(gè)比方，想看看自己是否也被自己設(shè)計(jì)的鐐銬所束縛。這是故事之初的一個(gè)高光時(shí)刻，它設(shè)定了一種自我反省的基調(diào)，就斯克魯奇的情形來(lái)說(shuō)，這顯然是有必要的。馬利的鬼魂被“無(wú)休止的悔恨”折磨著，因?yàn)樗皬奈瓷焓謳椭^(guò)別人，就像斯克魯奇一樣，只專注于賺錢。現(xiàn)在，他想讓老伙伴擺脫類似的命運(yùn)。

狄更斯不僅是在評(píng)論某個(gè)老吝嗇鬼;他在譴責(zé)整個(gè)社會(huì)沒(méi)有照顧到最貧窮和最需要幫助的人，特別是孩子們。起初，狄更斯是想寫一本小冊(cè)子，名為《為窮人的孩子向英格蘭人民呼吁》，但他明智地放棄了這個(gè)想法，他覺(jué)得，如果把自己的理念用一個(gè)有趣的故事包裝起來(lái)，人們可能更容易接受。他不到六周就寫完了這部《圣誕頌歌》，一經(jīng)發(fā)表就大獲成功。這本書促使公眾改變了對(duì)窮人的態(tài)度。

作為一名作家，我對(duì)狄更斯的文字充滿敬畏。我喜歡它的婉轉(zhuǎn)曲折和跌宕起伏、它的滑稽有趣和詭秘旁白，還有它的喧鬧放縱。但最重要的是，我重讀《圣誕頌歌》是為了體悟。我想完整體驗(yàn)一回斯克魯奇所經(jīng)歷的各種情緒，包括他恐懼的畏縮、悔恨的哭泣和最后的歡笑。

我想提醒自己，所有人都有能力“使他人快樂(lè)或不快樂(lè)”，正如斯克魯奇對(duì)圣誕過(guò)去之靈所說(shuō)的。我渴望透過(guò)變化的視角來(lái)觀察我的世界，就像斯克魯奇在圣誕節(jié)散步時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)，“一切都能帶給他快樂(lè)。他做夢(mèng)也沒(méi)想到，隨便散散步——做做事——都能帶給他如此多的幸?！?。到最后斯克魯奇承諾給他長(zhǎng)期受苦的職員鮑勃·克拉奇特加薪，而當(dāng)我們得知克拉奇特的兒子小蒂姆沒(méi)有如預(yù)言般死去，所有人都熱淚盈眶。

重讀《圣誕頌歌》時(shí)，我暫時(shí)忘卻了待辦事項(xiàng)清單和購(gòu)物中心。我不想說(shuō)自己長(zhǎng)久擺脫了這種季節(jié)性忙碌，但當(dāng)我重新投入那種忙碌時(shí)，我很慶幸曾與良伴共度美好時(shí)光;我對(duì)未來(lái)更充滿希望，似乎也沒(méi)那么疲憊了。正如人們談到悔過(guò)自新的斯克魯奇時(shí)所說(shuō)的，“他比這世上任何人都更清楚該如何過(guò)好圣誕節(jié)”。