被美化的大丑角：尼格而貝夫人

尼格而貝夫人是主人翁尼古拉司的母親。在原著中，尼格而貝夫人的形象可 說是荒謬的丑角，而且是原文的諷刺重點，角色出場時往往會取得大量的戲份。

事實上，尼格而貝夫人的戲份並不影響主線劇情，但是由於出現頻率高、所佔篇 幅大，此角色的形象與諷刺效果亦不容小覷。就諷刺修辭所針對的個人缺陷而言，

尼格而貝夫人的問題可歸納成下列幾點：

1. 情緒化、不斷離題

2. 陷入個人幻想與現實脫節

3. 酷愛說教卻無法接受他人意見指教 4. 凡事以金錢、人際關係利益為優先

如前所述，原文針對尼格而貝夫人的描寫佔據故事相當大的篇幅，甚至是鉅細靡 遺，包括語氣、神態描述等方面，使得這個角色的諷刺性比其他角色強上許多。

譯文在處理長篇描寫時，選擇在不同段落保留或刪減原文細節，造成角色形象與 諷刺性改變。以下即由尼格而貝夫人各個類型的缺陷切入，進行原文與譯文之對 比分析。

一、情緒化、不斷離題

這是尼格而貝夫人所表現出最明顯的言行特徵，相較於其他角色較少的篇幅，

可以看出作者的刻意安排。此處舉的第一個段落，是覬覦加德的兩名紈袴子弟找 上門，而勢利眼的尼格而貝夫人有意湊合女兒與其中一位貴公子，因此不斷誇讚 加德過去的表現：

“I assure you she is, my lord,” returned Mrs. Nickleby.

“When she was at school in Devonshire, she was universally allowed to be beyond all exception the very cleverest girl there, and there were a great many very clever ones too, and that's the truth—twenty-five young ladies, fifty guineas a year without the et-ceteras, both the Miss Dowdles the most accomplished, elegant, fascinating creatures—Oh dear me!” said Mrs. Nickleby, “I never shall forget what pleasure she used to give me and her poor dear papa, when she was at that school, never—such a delightful letter every half-year, telling us that she was the first pupil in the whole establishment, and had made more progress than anybody else! […]

Nicholas Nickleby, Ch.26 第三冊第25 章，頁 44

從原文可看出，尼格而貝夫人是多話、情緒化的人。對她而言，平鋪直敘是不夠 拔萃一事，譯文亦將加德自述全班第一的立場（“she used to…telling us that…”）

轉為同學舉薦，與前段的 “be universally allowed” 混同，而學校收費則被略去。

除此之外，尼格而貝夫人各種驚呼、懷舊、自滿的情緒語氣，譯文也用較冷靜、

有條有理的敘事取代，譬如原文的 “Oh dear me!” 在譯文中未表現出來、親昵稱 呼 “papa” 被轉變成「先夫子」等，讓角色原本的誇張滑稽形象趨於莊重有禮的 夫人。

尼格而貝夫人接下來的發言，則是念念不忘加德寫信的過程，仍舊絮絮叨叨 講了與情境無關緊要的細節：

[…] The girls wrote all the letters themselves,” added Mrs. Nickleby, “and the writing-master touched them up afterwards with a magnifying glass and a silver pen; at least I think they wrote them, though Kate was never quite certain about that, because she didn't know the handwriting of hers again; but anyway, I know it was a circular which they all copied, and of course it was a very gratifying thing—very gratifying.”

今茲迴思往事，輒復心痛。密昔司行 次，歷歷自陳已事，雖瑣細必舉。

Nicholas Nickleby, Ch.26 第三冊第25 章，頁 44-45

我們可以發現，譯文直接跳過無關宏旨的描述，僅以「歷歷自陳已事，雖瑣細必 舉」快速帶過。在這裡，譯文讀者看見的是一名仔細道盡往事的婦人，無從得知 所謂的「瑣細」在是不著邊際地談加德寫信的工具和字跡；換言之，原文的荒謬 喜劇效果在譯文中消失，尼格而貝夫人的醜態自然也不為中文讀者所知，使明顯 的嘲諷效果轉為簡單的過場敘述。

第二個尼格而貝夫人情緒化又思緒跳躍的例子，則是尼古拉司引介從學園裡 帶來的學生司馬克時，尼格而貝夫人突然哭了起來，讓在場人士措手不及。當尼 古拉司詢問其母為何哭泣，尼格而貝夫人開始長篇大論，從「哭泣」牽扯出一段 家族歷史傳統，而且滔滔不絕，將尼古拉司原本介紹朋友的對話焦點越拉越偏。

以下先列出長篇絮叨的前半部：

“It's a weakness in our family,” said Mrs. Nickleby, 'so, of course, I can't be blamed for it. Your grandmama, Kate, was exactly the same—precisely.

然善哭是我祖風，非我一人啟之。加德 聽之，汝外祖母即如我，每遇驚駭即立 暈。祖母恆告我，年少未嫁時一日過沃

The least excitement, the slightest surprise—she fainted away directly. I have heard her say, often and often, that when she was a young lady, and before she was married, she was turning a corner into Oxford Street one day, when she ran against her own hairdresser, who, it seems, was escaping from a bear;—the mere suddenness of the encounter made her faint away directly.

克司福街轉處，遇彼整髮之女傭，彼此 相觸。女傭者，蓋遇熊而奔爾。外祖母 觸之，立暈。

Nicholas Nickleby, Ch.35 第四冊第34 章，頁 32-33

就前半部的刪減手段而言，最明顯的是拉長式停頓，原文中出現的拉長語氣破折 hairdresser who had escaped from a bear, or was it a bear who had escaped from her hairdresser's? I declare I can't remember just now, but the hairdresser was a very handsome man, I know, and quite a gentleman in his manners; so that it has nothing to do with the point of the story.”

復拊其額曰：汝須之。吾忽憶得一事。

Nicholas Nickleby, Ch.35 第四冊第34 章，頁 33

在這個部分當中，尼格而貝夫人最明顯的說話特色就是疑惑式問答停頓。她為了 回憶細節，不斷和自己對話，說出如底線所示的句子：“Wait, though” 、“Let me be sure I'm right”、“Was it her hairdresser who had escaped from a bear, or was it a

bear who had escaped from her hairdresser's? I declare I can't remember just now” 這 類句子。在譯文中，這些句子有時轉為沒有問答效果的直述句（「吾忽憶得一事」）， 有時略去尼格而貝夫人陷入疑惑的描述，減少了角色腦內的混沌樣貌（譯文中刪 去 “pausing to consider”）。譯文中唯二反映原文語氣的部分，是 was it 開頭的兩 個問句（「此熊從女傭出耶」、「此女傭從熊所出耶」）。較為特別的是問句後 的補述 “I declare I can't remember just now” ，在譯文中是以添筆的方式呈現。

原先的「不能記得」，在譯文中多了感嘆詞「噫」以及「腦力劣」、「萬」不能 記這些自貶與強調詞，讓角色多了自謙退讓感。

綜觀這部分的譯文，我們可發現譯者在前半部選擇將故事重點抽取出來，重 新鋪排成一氣呵成的回憶段落，使得尼格而貝夫人看起來像是「表達能力清晰」

的人。到了後半部，譯者則是稍微保留自問自答風格，也讓尼格而貝夫人稍稍自 嘲，不過句型細部依舊做了調整，再加上前半部刪減多，譯文中的尼格而貝夫人 較接近談吐有序、能自謙自嘲的優雅婦人。譯文後段的收尾「於是續續而言，均 無涉於重要」保留了原文概念，指出了尼格而貝夫人離題長篇大論的無稽，形成

「優雅談吐」與「話題失焦」的諷刺對照，相較於原文的諷刺效果，譯文較為內 斂。單就原文發話者敘事形象而言，其誇張程度本身足以形成年紀與言行舉止的 第一層諷刺，放進對話脈絡之後，又能形成個人與社會（對話）規範扞格的第二 層諷刺，第二層有了第一層的基礎，諷刺程度便加倍。在譯文裡，第一層諷刺的 脈絡被略去，第二層諷刺在形式上保留住，使整體的諷刺強度降低。總之，就丑 角的諷刺性而言，譯文較為內斂、複雜度低於原文。

綜合以上兩例，我們可以發現譯文因為刪減、整理尼格而貝夫人的長篇或離 題發言，讓原本突梯荒謬的段落增添了內斂莊重。因此在角色形象、諷刺效果上，

譯文相較於原文溫柔而單純。

二、陷入與現實脫節的個人回憶

尼格而貝夫人的第二大缺陷，是容易脫離現實脈絡，沈溺在自己的回憶世界 中，無法自拔。在前一部份的第二個例子中，她離題長篇大論之時，正是進入回 憶世界的前奏，只是也回神得快。然而，一旦她進入全然忘我狀態，就再也沒有 人能攔得住，只能等尼格而貝夫人自行跳脫耽溺回憶世界。原文在這類行為上亦 不吝嗇以長段落描寫角色，充分展現人物荒謬的一面。以下即以尼格而貝夫人獨

處一室懷想已故丈夫之例，討論譯文的處理方式。

在此例中，尼格而貝夫人在女兒走進房裡時，將自己的耽溺一股腦說出口，

讓對方招架不住。她首先從艷陽天跳躍聯想至烤豬，即讓加德陷入疑惑，然而加 德要面對的難題還不僅止於此，而是母親一連串的紛亂回憶：

原文 譯文

“Upon my word, my dear, I don't know,” replied Mrs. Nickleby. “Roast pig; let me see. On the day five weeks after you were christened, we had a roast—no, that couldn't have been a pig, either, because I recollect there were a pair of them to carve, and your poor papa and I could never have thought of sitting down to two pigs—they must have been partridges. Roast pig! I hardly think we ever could have had one, now I come to remember, for your papa could never bear the sight of them in the shops, and used to say that they always put him in mind of very little babies, only the pigs had much fairer complexions; and he had a horror of little babies, too, because he couldn’t very well afford any increase to his family, and had a natural dislike to the subject.

It's very odd now, what can have put that in my head! I recollect dining once at Mrs. Bevan's, in that broad street round the corner by the coachmaker's, where the tipsy man fell through the cellar-flap of an empty house nearly a week before the quarter-day, and wasn't found till the new tenant went in—and we had roast pig there.

It must be that, I think, that reminds me of it,

that would keep on singing all the time of dinner—at least, not a little bird, for it was a parrot, and he didn't sing exactly, for he talked and swore dreadfully: but I think it must be that.

Indeed I am sure it must. Shouldn't you say so, my dear?”

Nicholas Nickleby, Ch.41 第四冊第40 章，頁 95

尼格而貝夫人由看似無關緊要的「烤豬」，帶出一段對已故伴侶過往的習性，一 路跳接至吃豬肉、聽鳥鳴、討厭鸚鵡的天馬行空敘述，與心理學上常談的自由聯 想十分相近。從以上幾個例子看下來，我們可以知道尼格而貝夫人非常不擅長整 理思緒，亦不懂得如何有效傳達概念重點，卻習於佔據發言權。當自己絮叨了半 天，旁人只能傻愣作壁上觀，等待她交出發言權。

此處譯文與前例策略類似之處在於，譯者處理了原文疑惑停頓、自問自答的 跳躍思緒，適度加上一些邏輯轉折詞，讓尼格而貝夫人呈現較為理性的形象。譬 如原文中的 “we had a roast—no, that couldn't have been a pig, because I recollect there were a pair of them to carve”，是尼格而貝夫人搞不清實際上的烤豬數量的自 我修正句型，譯文中則轉化為「憶庖人運刀時，楯上有二炙，似非一類，果為豚 也」的時序、因果推理順暢直述句；精確來說，尼格而貝夫人在譯文中已經十分

此處譯文與前例策略類似之處在於，譯者處理了原文疑惑停頓、自問自答的 跳躍思緒，適度加上一些邏輯轉折詞，讓尼格而貝夫人呈現較為理性的形象。譬 如原文中的 “we had a roast—no, that couldn't have been a pig, because I recollect there were a pair of them to carve”，是尼格而貝夫人搞不清實際上的烤豬數量的自 我修正句型，譯文中則轉化為「憶庖人運刀時，楯上有二炙，似非一類，果為豚 也」的時序、因果推理順暢直述句；精確來說，尼格而貝夫人在譯文中已經十分