一个英文童话的读书笔记

今天读了王尔德一篇童话fisherman and his soul《打鱼人和他的灵魂》。它借用了《海的女儿》设定，不过是人类爱上人鱼的单相思。和海的女儿比起来，有更多一眼难忘的句子。

【he sat idle in his boat and listened, listening till the sea-mists crept round him, and the wandering moon stained his brown limbs with silver.】

试译: 他徒劳地坐在自家船上聆听，直到海上的雾色将他笼罩，那浪荡的月亮也用银光染上他褐色的手脚。

【‘Father, the Fauns live in the forest and are glad, and on the rocks sit the Mermen with their harps of red gold.  Let me be as they are, I beseech thee, for their days are as the days of flowers.  And as for my soul, what doth my soul profit me, if it stand between me and the thing that I love?’】

试译: 神父啊，那些牧神住在林子里，过得很快活; 岩石上坐的是那人鱼中的男子们，手持金红色的竖琴，过得也很快活。请您放我与他们同去吧，他们的日子就和花一样。至于灵魂，如果它隔开了我和我爱，灵魂又有什么好处呢？

【Love is better than wisdom, and more precious than riches, and fairer than the feet of the daughters of men.  The fires cannot destroy it, nor can the waters quench it.  I called on thee at dawn, and thou didst not come to my call.  The moon heard thy name, yet hadst thou no heed of me.  For evilly had I left thee, and to my own hurt had I wandered away.  Yet ever did thy love abide with me, and ever was it strong, nor did aught prevail against it, though I have looked upon evil and looked upon good.  】

爱比智慧更可嘉，爱比财宝更可贵，爱也比女儿家的双脚更美。爱，火中不会失色，水中不能冷却。我在黎明有约，你没来赴会。连月亮也听见了你的名字，你依然杳无音信。我真不该背弃你，我的背叛已经害了我自己。现在只有你给的爱还和我同在。爱，它永远那么强盛有力，恶曾与我相对，善也曾与我相对，即便如此，爱还是不可毁坏。

这篇童话大意是: 渔夫爱上了人鱼公主，为了去海中和她永远生活，放弃了自己的灵魂。灵魂在外漂流，先后用无上的智慧，财富，恶和善来诱惑渔夫上岸，最后打动渔夫的是旅馆舞女“小白鸽一样的双脚”。受引诱的渔夫允许灵魂重归身体，人鱼就离他而死(所以渔夫忏悔地说爱比女人的脚更美)。渔夫伤心而绝，与人鱼合葬海岸，坟墓上长出了天国的花朵。

和他一贯的风格一样，这篇童话行文唯美，而主题是“禁忌的爱”(快乐王子、莎乐美、西班牙公主的十二岁生日等等)。相传这篇是王尔德送给新婚妻子的礼物之一，不知道缘由何在，也许借渔夫宣示自己一样被爱征服吧。