青春祭——The Apple Tree

約翰·高爾斯華綏（John Galsworthy， 1867～1933）出生于英國一個富裕的律師家庭，畢業于牛津大學法律系。雖然高爾斯華綏擁有律師資格證書，但他的主要興趣在于文學創作。從1897年發表第一部短篇小說集《四季的風》（From the Four Winds）開始，在二十多年的寫作生涯中，他出版了大量的小說、戲劇以及文學評論。其代表作是現實主義小說三部曲《福賽特世家》（The Forsyte Saga），包含三部長篇小說《有產業的人》（The Man of Property， 1906）、《進退兩難》（In Chancery， 1920）、《出租》（To Let， 1921）以及兩部插曲《小陽春》（Indian Summer of a Forsyte， 1918）和《覺醒》（Awakening， 1920）。1932年，高爾斯華綏獲得了諾貝爾文學獎。《蘋果樹》（The Apple Tree）是他發表于1916年的一部中篇小說，講述的是一個凄婉動人的愛情故事，語言優美感人。

Excerpts1）

It was on Sunday week in the evening， when he was lying in the orchard listening to a blackbird and composing a love poem， that he heard the gate swing to， and saw the girl come running among the trees， with the red—cheeked， stolid2） Joe3） in swift pursuit. About twenty yards away the chase ended， and the two stood fronting each other， not noticing the stranger in the grass—the boy pressing on， the girl fending him off. Ashurst4） could see her face， angry， disturbed； and the youth’s—who would have thought that red—faced yokel5） could look so distraught6）！ And painfully affected by that sight， he jumped up. They saw him then. Megan7） dropped her hands， and shrank behind a tree trunk； the boy gave an angry grunt， rushed at the bank， scrambled over and vanished. Ashurst went slowly up to her. She was standing quite still， biting her lip—very pretty， with her fine， dark hair blown loose about her face， and her eyes cast down.

“I beg your pardon，” he said.

She gave him one upward look， from eyes much dilated8）； then， catching her breath， turned away. Ashurst followed.

“Megan！”

But she went on； and taking hold of her arm， he turned her gently round to him.

“Stop and speak to me.”

“Why do you beg my pardon？ It is not to me you should do that.”

“Well， then， to Joe.”

“How dare he come after me？”

“In love with you， I suppose.”

She stamped her foot.

Ashurst uttered a short laugh. “Would you like me to punch his head？”

She cried with sudden passion：

“You laugh at me—you laugh at us！”

He caught hold of her hands， but she shrank back， till her passionate little face and loose dark hair were caught among the pink clusters of the apple blossom. Ashurst raised one of her imprisoned hands and put his lips to it. He felt how chivalrous9） he was， and superior to that clod10） Joe—just brushing that small， rough hand with his mouth！ Her shrinking ceased suddenly； she seemed to tremble towards him. A sweet warmth overtook Ashurst from top to toe. This slim maiden， so simple and fine and pretty， was pleased， then， at the touch of his lips！ And， yielding to a swift impulse， he put his arms round her， pressed her to him， and kissed her forehead. Then he was frightened—she went so pale， closing her eyes， so that the long， dark lashes lay on her pale cheeks； her hands， too， lay inert11） at her sides. The touch of her breast sent a shiver through him. “Megan！” he sighed out， and let her go. In the utter silence a blackbird shouted. Then the girl seized his hand， put it to her cheek， her heart， her lips， kissed it passionately， and fled away among the mossy trunks of the apple trees， till they hid her from him.

Ashurst sat down on a twisted old tree growing almost along the ground， and， all throbbing and bewildered， gazed vacantly at the blossom which had crowned her hair—those pink buds with one white open apple star. What had he done？ How had he let himself be thus stampeded by beauty—pity—or—just the spring！ He felt curiously happy， all the same； happy and triumphant， with shivers running through his limbs， and a vague alarm. This was the beginning of—what？ The midges12） bit him， the dancing gnats13） tried to fly into his mouth， and all the spring around him seemed to grow more lovely and alive； the songs of the cuckoos and the blackbirds， the laughter of the yaffles14）， the level—slanting sunlight， the apple blossom which had crowned her head—！ He got up from the old trunk and strode out of the orchard， wanting space， an open sky， to get on terms with these new sensations. He made for the moor， and from an ash tree in the hedge a magpie15） flew out to herald him.

Of man—at any age from five years on—who can say he has never been in love？ Ashurst had loved his partners at his dancing class； loved his nursery governess； girls in school—holidays； perhaps never been quite out of love， cherishing always some more or less remote admiration. But this was different， not remote at all. Quite a new sensation； terribly delightful， bringing a sense of completed manhood. To be holding in his fingers such a wild flower， to be able to put it to his lips， and feel it tremble with delight against them！ What intoxication16）， and—embarrassment！ What to do with it—how meet her next time？ His first caress had been cool， pitiful； but the next could not be， now that， by her burning little kiss on his hand， by her pressure of it to her heart， he knew that she loved him. Some natures are coarsened by love bestowed on them； others， like Ashurst’s， are swayed and drawn， warmed and softened， almost exalted， by what they feel to be a sort of miracle.

And up there among the tors17） he was racked18） between the passionate desire to revel19） in this new sensation of spring fulfilled within him， and a vague but very real uneasiness. At one moment he gave himself up completely to his pride at having captured this pretty， trustful， dewy—eyed thing！ At the next he thought with factitious20） solemnity： “Yes， my boy！ But look out what you’re doing！ You know what comes of it！”

Dusk dropped down without his noticing—dusk on the carved， Assyrian21）—looking masses of the rocks. And the voice of Nature said： “This is a new world for you！” As when a man gets up at four o’clock and goes out into a summer morning， and beasts， birds， trees stare at him and he feels as if all had been made new.

1.節選部分描寫了小說的男女主人公（阿什赫斯特和梅甘）在蘋果園里初次相擁親吻的情景。

2.stolid [?st?l?d] adj. 感覺遲鈍的

3.Joe：喬，小說中的一位農夫，很喜歡女主人公

4.Ashurst：阿什赫斯特，小說的男主人公，來自倫敦，剛大學畢業，已取得律師資格。

5.yokel [?j??k（?）l] n. 莊稼漢，鄉下人

6.distraught [d??str??t] adj. 發狂的，發瘋的

7.Megan：梅甘，小說的女主人公，是一位漂亮的姑娘，在姑姑家的農場里幫忙。

8.dilated [da??le?t] adj. 擴大了的；經擴張的

9.chivalrous [???v?lr?s] adj. 騎士風度的

10.clod [kl?d] n. 鄉下佬

11.inert [??n??（r）t] adj. 不動的

12.midge [m?d?] n. 蠓；搖蚊；雙翅目小昆蟲

13.gnat [n?t] n. 小昆蟲

14.yaffle [?jaf（?）l] n. 綠色啄木鳥

15.magpie [?m?ɡpa?] n. 鵲

16.intoxication [?n?t?ks??ke??n] n. 陶醉

17.tor [t??（r）] n. 石山，突巖

18.rack [r?k] vt. 使（在肉體上或精神上）受劇烈痛苦，折磨

19.revel [?rev（?）l] vi. 狂歡

20.factitious [f?k?t???s] adj. 做作的，不自然的

21.Assyrian [??s?r??n] adj. 亞述的。亞述為古代西亞一個奴隸制國家。

作品賞析

高爾斯華綏的《蘋果樹》是一曲憑吊青春與愛情的挽歌。小說的開篇，年近五旬的阿什赫斯特和妻子斯特拉為了慶祝銀婚，開車前往初次相遇的托基小鎮，途中停靠在鄉間做短暫的休息。阿什赫斯特看到似曾相識的風景，發覺自己曾來過這里，由此想起了一段往事。26年前，阿什赫斯特和朋友一起徒步在這一帶旅行，因為腿部受傷，不得不在當地一家農場暫住。養傷期間，他和農家女孩梅甘相愛了，兩個人在蘋果園里訂下了愛情的誓言。阿什赫斯特承諾帶梅甘去倫敦，開始新的生活。可是當阿什赫斯特來到附近的托基鎮打算取些錢給梅甘買幾件衣服，為兩人的離開做準備時，卻邂逅了朋友哈利迪和他的三個妹妹。阿什赫斯特沒有向朋友一家提起梅甘，也沒有按照計劃馬上返回農場，而是陪著朋友一家在鎮上游玩，耽擱了兩三天。在這段時間里，他體會到了自己想法的變化，預見到了如果他和梅甘私奔，兩人并不可能長久相愛。因為梅甘只是個單純的農村姑娘，而自己受過高等教育，兩人的共同語言并不多，以后的婚姻多半不會幸福。與其未來痛苦，不如就此了斷。為此，他乘車離開小鎮，返回倫敦，并且在一年后迎娶了哈利迪的大妹妹斯特拉。斯特拉聰慧大方，夫妻相敬如賓。然而，在阿什赫斯特的內心，始終隱藏著對梅甘的懷戀。如今，故地重游，阿什赫斯特難免心懷牽動。他想知道梅甘這些年生活得究竟怎樣，卻從當地人口中得知，癡情的梅甘見他遲遲不歸，神思恍惚，早在他離開的當年，就溺水而亡，魂歸黃土，現在就長眠在他歇腳的路旁那個無名的墳塋里。

在《蘋果樹》中，如果梅甘在那個春天沒有遇到來自倫敦的大學生阿什赫斯特，她的人生一定會是另外的格局。或許她會嫁給熱烈追求她的那個名叫喬的粗壯農夫，成為一名勤勉的家庭主婦，生養一群茁壯的孩子。但對阿什赫斯特的癡心改變了她的命運，使她的人生終止在最美好的年紀。

對于梅甘之死，阿什赫斯特的確負有責任。他是自私的逃兵，無法超越階級的差異，無法擺脫世俗的看法，放棄了對梅甘的愛。然而，應該由阿什赫斯特負擔全部的責任嗎？小說的答案是否定的。阿什赫斯特并不是一位花花公子，他對梅甘的情感是真誠的。月下相擁親吻的那一幕，只有近乎圣潔的美，沒有欺騙。他離開梅甘，并不是因為始亂終棄后的厭倦，而是因為他預見到在以后的生活中只有愛情是不夠的，他們兩人的情感一旦在現實中成型，必然會腐壞變質。為了兩人將來的幸福，阿什赫斯特選擇了離開，但是他沒有想到這場短暫的戀愛對雙方來說會是以悲劇告終。梅甘為之付出了生命的代價。而阿什赫斯特雖然找到了人生的良伴，和門當戶對的斯特拉生活在一起，但是他人生最美好的情感已經給了蘋果樹下相擁的梅甘。這使他和斯特拉的婚姻在庸常幸福之外有了不可彌補的缺憾。他的內心所向往的是梅甘那沒有沾染世事的純真。

兩個相愛的人演出了一場悲劇，除了該埋怨阿什赫斯特的懦弱，哀嘆梅甘的單純，或許應該承擔責任的還有愛情本身。在《蘋果樹》中，踏上懷舊之旅的阿什赫斯特正在閱讀詩劇《希波呂托斯》。這部作品出自古希臘悲劇大師歐里庇得斯之手。故事中的希波呂托斯是雅典王忒修斯的兒子，他不相信愛情，所崇拜的是貞潔的狩獵神阿耳忒彌斯。為此，愛神阿佛洛狄忒決定讓他見識見識自己的威力。在愛神的蠱惑下，后母淮德拉愛上了希波呂托斯，她向希波呂托斯求愛，卻被他堅決拒絕。淮德拉因此絕望自殺，并留言給丈夫忒修斯，謊稱希波呂托斯企圖玷污她。忒修斯聽到傳聞，勃然大怒，他祈求海神降罪于希波呂托斯。為此希波呂托斯遭遇奇禍，身受重傷。雖然在狩獵神阿耳忒彌斯的干預下，最終真相大白，父子和解，但希波呂托斯還是因傷勢過重，不治身亡。在這場愛神阿佛洛狄忒發動的戰爭中，所有的凡人都是輸家：淮德拉為愛而亡；忒修斯為愛是非不分；希波呂托斯雖然拒絕去愛，但他的命運卻因為淮德拉對他執著的愛而徹底改變。

《希波呂托斯》這部古希臘悲劇呼應了《蘋果樹》中的悲劇。在《蘋果樹》中，女主人公梅甘同樣因為無望的愛情而自殺；阿什赫斯特為了擺脫愛情選擇離開，然而梅甘卻為他而死，他將終身背負思念與愧疚。愛情的力量是凡人所無法抗拒的。難怪在古希臘和羅馬神話中，愛情源于神的操控。只有神的參與，才能解釋愛情的無邊魔法以及反復無常。愛神是蠻不講理的，她的賜予可以是最美的祝福，也可能是最深的創痛。在《蘋果樹》中，阿什赫斯特和梅甘相遇在青春年少最為飛揚的時光，兩個人的邂逅又恰逢萬物欣欣向榮的春季。人心的悸動呼應著天地萬物的生長。花朵開放，草木蓬勃生長，一切都充滿了希望。在心動的一剎那，沒有人會想到現實世界里的重重羈絆。在柔和的月光下，在蘋果樹的綠葉下，愛情受著春風的接引，像潔白的蘋果花一樣自然而然地盛放。

然而，青春固然美麗如花朵，愛情固然芬芳如花朵，但用鮮花比喻青春與愛情往往就預示著凋零。春風一年只來臨一季，蘋果花默默地開，又無奈地落。青春消散，愛過的女孩已經離開了這個世界。一次緬懷青春的紀念旅行卻成了黯然的憑吊。自此以后，每當阿什赫斯特回想起梅甘，除了惆悵，一定會多一重錐心的痛切追悔。果園中的吻成就了一生最美的一瞬，也是一生最大的罪愆。或許該怨那個春天的月色太美，怨那一樹蘋果花開得太溫柔，怨那份青春的愛如此濃烈，如此決絕，卻也如此脆弱不堪。