Mabel梅贝尔

W.SomersetMaugham(1874-1965)毛姆BriefintroductionoftheauthorWilliamSomersetMaugham(1874–1965)wasanEnglishplaywright,novelistandshortstorywriter.Inallhislife,hehascreatedmorethan20novels,32playsandmorethan150shortstories.•HewasoneofthebestwritersofshortstoriesintheEnglishlanguageandthehighestpaidauthorduringthe1930s.•HeiscalledthemasterofshortstoriesandtheMaupassantofBritain.CommentsonMaugham•“agreatartisit”•“thebeststory-teller•“ItisMaughamwhomadetheaudienceinLondonlaughforaquarterofacentury.”•theMaupassantofBritainMaugham’searlyexperienceWilliamSomersetMaughamwasbornintheBritishembassyinParison25thJanuary,1874.Maugham'sfatherwasanEnglishlawyerwhohandledthelegalaffairsoftheBritishembassyinParis,France.Maugham’smotherdiedwhenhewaseight.ThedeathofhismotherleftMaughamhurtforlife;subsequentlyhekepthismother'sphotographbyhisbedsidefortherestofhislife.Twoyearsafterhismother’sdeath,Maugham'sfatherdiedofcancer.MaughamwassentbacktoEnglandtobecaredforbyhisunclewhoprovedcoldandemotionallycruel.•AfterMaughamwenttoKing'sSchool,Canterbury(坎特伯雷皇家公学),MaughamwasoftenteasedforhisbadEnglish(Frenchhadbeenhisfirstlanguage),stammerandshortstature.Thismadehimself-abased,sensitiveandisolated.Maugham’smarriage•Maugham’smarriagewasnotverysuccessfuleither.Inspiteofhishomosexualrelationshipwithotherman,hecombinedwithaladycalledSyriein1917.•Thismarriagewasbasedonpersonalinterestinsteadoflove.•Finallyin1928,theydivorcedeachother.Maugham’smainnovels•OfHumanBandage(1915)人性枷锁•TheMoonandtheSixpence(1919)月亮与六便士•TheRazor’sEdge(1944)刀锋•CakesandAle(1930)寻欢作乐•ThePaintedVeil(1925)面纱Maugham’swell-knownshortstories•Mr.Know-All•TheLuncheon•TheAntandtheGrasshopper•AFriendinNeed•TheVerger《教堂司事》•SirLowell《娄威尔先生》•Sanatorium《疗养院》NovelsPlaysOthersMaugham’swritingstyle•terseandplainlanguage•complicatedplotwithunexpectedbutreasonableending•humorousandsacarstictone•specialnarrativeskills•sharpandunromanticobservationFamoussentences•Itisanillusionthatyouthishappy,anillusionofthosewhohavelostit.一经打击就灰心泄气的人，永远是个失败者。•Toacquirethehabitofreadingistoconstructforyourselfarefugefromalmostallthemiseriesoflife.养成读书的习惯，等于建造一处避难所，为你抵御人生中几乎所有不幸。•Beautyisanecstasy;itisassimpleashunger.Thereisreallynothingtobesaidaboutit.Itisliketheperfumeofarose:youcansmellitandthatisall.•Wearenotthesamepersonsthisyearaslast;norarethosewelove.Itisahappychanceifwe,changing,continuetoloveachangedperson.SentencesfromTheMoonandSixpence•Forinmen,asarule,loveisbutanepisodewhichtakesitsplaceamongtheotheraffairsoftheday,andtheemphasislaidonitinnovelsgivesitanimportancewhichisuntruetolife.•一般来说，爱情在男人身上只不过是一个插曲，是日常生活中许多事务中的一件事，但是小说却把爱情夸大了，给予它一个违反生活真实性的重要的地位。•Womencandonothingexceptlove,they'vegivenitaridiculousimportance.Theywanttopersuadeusthatit'sthewholeoflife.It'saninsignificantpart.Iknowlust.That'snormalandhealthy.Loveisadisease.女人除了谈情说爱不会干别的，所以她们把爱情看得非常重要，简直到了可笑的地步。她们还想说服我们，叫我们也相信人的全部生活就是爱情。实际上爱情是生活中无足轻重的一部分。我只懂得情欲。这是正常的，健康的。爱情是一种疾病。•Aslovers,thedifferencebetweenmenandwomenisthatwomencanlovealldaylong,butmenonlyattimes.•作为坠入情网的人来说，男人同女人的区别是：女人能够整天整夜谈恋爱，而男人却只能有时有晌地干这种事。”•Whenawomanlovesyoushe'snotsatisfieduntilshepossessesyoursoul.Becauseshe'sweak,shehasaragefordomination,andnothinglesswillsatisfyher.要是一个女人爱上了你，除非连你的灵魂也叫她占有了，她是不会感到满足的。因为女人是软弱的，所以她们具有非常强烈的统治欲，不把你完全控制在手就不甘心。•Thesoulofmanwandersthroughtheuttermostregionsoftheuniverse,andsheseekstoimprisonitinthecircleofheraccount-book.男人的灵魂在宇宙最遥远的地方遨游，女人却想把它禁锢在家庭收支的账簿里。”SentencesfromTheRazor'sEdge•Loveisn'tagoodsailoranditlanguishesonaseavoyage.You'llbesurprisedwhenyouhavetheAtlanticbetweenyouandLarrytofindhowslightthepangisthatbeforeyousailedseemedintolerable.爱情是个很不行的水手，你坐一次船，它就憔悴了。当你和拉里之间隔开一座大西洋时，你会意想不到地发现，在启程以前，好像无法忍受的苦痛，也变得轻微了。•ThesatisfactionoftheworldaretransitoryandthatonlytheInfinitegivesenduringhappiness.Butendlessdurationmakesgoodnobetter,norwhiteanywhiter.Iftheroseatnoonhaslostthebeautyithadatdawn,thebeautyithadthenwasreal.尘世的满足都是暂时的，只有无限能提供持久的快乐和幸福。但是，时间的没完没了并不能使善更加善些，也不能使白更加白些。如果中午的蔷薇失去它在清晨时的娇美，它在清晨时的娇美仍然是真实的。Nothingintheworldispermanent,andwe'refoolishwhenweaskanythingtolast,butsurelywe'restillmorefoolishnottotakedelightinitwhilewehaveit.Ifchangeisoftheessenceofexistenceonewouldhavethoughtitonlysensibletomakeitthepremiseofourphilosophy.世间万事万物都有个完，我们除非是傻子才要求事物永久不变，但是，如果我们不抓着手里的东西及时享受它，肯定地说我们就更傻了。如果变易是事物的本性，我们会认为把这一条作为人生哲学的前提，是最合情合理了。Wecannoneofusstepintothesamerivertwice,buttheriverflowsonandtheotherriverwestepintoiscoolandrefreshingtoo.----TheRazor'sEdge我们谁也不能两次濯足于同一的河流，然而，河水流去，继之流来的水仍旧一样清凉沁人。Considerthefollowingquestions:1.WhydidGeorgefeelthathecouldn’tmarryMabelsevenyearslater?2.WhatdoyouthinkofMabel?Whatkindofwomandoyouthinksheis?3.Didtheyhaveahappymarriageaftergettingmarried?Whydoyouthinkso?4.Doesthisstoryhaveanymoralorisitjustahumorousstory?Isthestorytoldfromaman’spointofvieworawoman’s?5.Canlovebedecreasedbyalongperiodordistancebetweenlovers?6.Doyoubelieveinforeverlove?OthertopicsfordiscussionCanlovebedecreasedbyalongperiodordistancebetweenlovers?Doyoubelieveinforeverlove?