简?奥斯汀的一天

By+Rebecca+Smith

1809年，簡·奥斯汀搬至查顿小镇，在这里她修订并完成了自己一生中最重要的作品。都说“艺术源于生活”，下面就来走近奥斯汀在查顿小镇的生活日常，也许我们会慢慢了解，究竟是什么造就了她别致的写作魔力，让她的作品两百年畅销不衰。

At Chawton1）， Jane Austen revised her first three novels and wrote Mansfield Park， Emma and Persuasion. She rose early， getting up to practice the piano without disturbing her mother， her sister and her best friend， Martha Lloyd， who lived with them. We can suppose that Jane also wanted time to herself before the days round of visits from friends， relatives and neighbours began.

Her piano would have had the soft tones of the 1810 Clementi one now housed in the Jane Austens House Museum. Jane， like her creations Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility and Jane Fairfax in Emma， was a very good pianist. Apart from piano practice， Janes other early morning duty was to make tea and coffee. Tea， coffee and chocolate are all mentioned in her novels. Miss Bates in Emma never drinks coffee， while greedy Arthur Parker in Sanditon2） loves hot chocolate and is proud of his toast-making skills.

Meals of the Day

Breakfast was eaten a few hours after a family had got up， so after quite a portion of the days work had been done. It wasnt the full English—heartier3） breakfasts were a Victorian4） innovation—but people sat down together， and at Chawton Cottage they could be spied through the window if you happened to be on a passing coach.

Lunch was also a simple affair. Samuel Johnsons Dictionary of the English Language defined it （around 20 years before Janes birth） as “as much food as ones hand can hold.” Dinner was the main meal of the day and served any time in the afternoon or early evening. In Pride and Prejudice the Bennets have their dinner at half past four， while the Bingleys at Netherfield eat it at half past six. In The Watsons， Tom Musgrave boasts of not eating dinner until 8 pm. The times given in Janes novels reflect the way particular families were influenced by society fashions.

Georgian5） dinners would consist of two courses or more， each of sweet and savoury6） dishes served at the same time. Supper was a light affair， often served to visitors such as those who come to play cards with Mr Woodhouse in Emma. Most people didnt want it to be quite as light as he did： “Miss Bates， let Emma help you to a little bit of tart7）—a very little bit. Ours are all apple tarts. You need not be afraid of unwholesome8） preserves9） here. I do not advise the custard. Mrs. Goddard， what say you to half a glass of wine？ A small half glass—put into a tumbler of water？” （Emma， Chapter 3）

Sewing and Socialising

Sewing occupied much of the Austen womens time. A quilt Jane made with Cassandra and their mother consists of more than 3，000 diamonds10） of 64 different dressmaking and furnishing fabrics. It is today on display at Jane Austens House Museum.

Janes most comfortable outfit of the day was worn first thing11）—a loose cambric12） morning gown that would only have been seen by family and close friends. Ladies changed to go out walking， shopping and visiting， and again for dinner.

An endless stream of visitors took a toll on13） Janes ability to work. Before the coming of the railways， travelling took such a long time that guests would often stay for several weeks. This is from a letter to Cassandra dated 8 September 1816 after some guests had just departed： “... I was not sorry when Friday came. It had been a busy week， and I wanted a few days quiet and exemption14） from the thought and contrivancy15） which any sort of company gives … Composition seems to me impossible with a head full of joints16） of mutton and doses of rhubarb17）.”

Jane liked to work by a window in the dining room. Her view was of the road through the village and she enjoyed a little distraction. On 23 June 1814 she wrote to Cassandra about some neighbours nearly missing the coach （Colliers） that left from the centre of the village： “Mrs. Driver， &c.， are off by Collier， but so near being too late that she had not time to call and leave the keys herself. I have them， however. I suppose one is the key of the linen-press18）， but I do not know what to guess the other. The coach was stopped at the blacksmiths， and they came running down with Triggs and Browning， and trunks， and birdcages. Quite amusing.”

From this it is only a short step to the scene Jane paints of Highbury where Emma looks out from Fords， the shop at the centre of the village： “… Emma went to the door for amusement. Much could not be hoped from the traffic of even the busiest part of Highbury; Mr. Perry walking hastily by， Mr. William Cox letting himself in at the office door， Mr. Coles carriage horses returning from exercise， or a stray19） letter-boy on an obstinate20） mule， were the liveliest objects she could presume to expect …

“She looked down the Randalls road. The scene enlarged; two persons appeared; Mrs. Weston and her son-in-law [Frank Churchill]; they were walking into Highbury; to Hartfield21） of course. They were stopping， however， in the first place at Mrs. Batess; whose house was a little nearer Randalls than Fords; and had all but knocked， when Emma caught their eye …” （Emma， Chapter 27）

This scene was pioneering for its realism and use of point of view. We see the world through Emmas eyes and are led to believe that Frank Churchill， whom Emma spies coming down the road， is on the way to see her， not Jane Fairfax.

Jane' s Writing Kit

Jane wrote in small homemade booklets （quires） which could easily be tidied away or hidden under blotting paper22） if somebody disturbed her. She liked to give people the impression that she was writing letters.

Paper was expensive during the Napoleonic Wars23）， as the same raw materials were required for bandages. It was sold by the sheet and then cut to the required size. Watermarks24） of year of manufacture and the makers name help to date manuscripts; some of Janes paper was used a few years after it was made or bought. She produced her manuscripts economically， adding patches with pins where necessary. The watermarks of these patches show how time elapsed between composition and editing.

For hundreds of years， ink was made using oak apples. Jane Austen used this oak apple ink. It could be bought in powder form or made from scratch at home. It appears greyish when it is first used but dries much darker. It fades with time to the brown we associate with old letters， a return to the colour of oak apples in autumn.

Jane fitted writing around other activities， sometimes absenting herself from card games or suddenly getting up and hurrying to her desk， laughing out loud at what she had thought of. But we have very little primary material to help us understand her working methods. Family recollections and Janes letters shed some light onto her habits—that she rose early but worked at other times of day too， and also that she spent periods in London working on her proofs25）. Her writing box （the Georgian equivalent of a laptop） was bought by her father in Basingstoke in December 1794， so was probably a present for her 19th birthday. It seems to have gone with her everywhere.

Jane described herself and her friend Martha Lloyd as “desperate walkers，” and only the very worst weather could keep them indoors. Walks were likely a key part of Janes plotting and planning process. The little notebooks that she made could be carried in her pocket with a pencil.

These were Janes Chawton days. When she was in London her time was spent very differently： at the theatre， exhibitions and parties and working with her publishers. She wrote to Cassandra on 24 May 1813： “I had great amusement among the pictures; and the driving about， the carriage being open， was very pleasant. I liked my solitary elegance very much， and was ready to laugh all the time at my being where I was.”

在查顿小镇，简·奥斯汀修订了她最早写的三部小说，并创作了《曼斯菲尔德庄园》《爱玛》和《劝导》。她日常早起练习钢琴，但不会吵醒妈妈、姐姐以及和她们同住的好友玛莎·劳埃德。我们可以推测出，简想在朋友、亲戚和邻居当天轮番来访前拥有一些自己的时间。

她的钢琴应该会有现今收藏于奥斯汀故居博物馆的那架1810年产克莱门蒂牌钢琴的轻柔音质。像她在《理智与情感》中所塑造的玛丽安·达什伍德和在《爱玛》中所塑造的简·菲尔费克斯一样，简是一位非常出色的钢琴家。除了练习钢琴以外，简早起的另一项任务是煮茶和咖啡。茶、咖啡和巧克力在她的小说中都有所提及。《爱玛》中的贝茨小姐从来不喝咖啡，而《桑迪顿》中贪婪的亚瑟·帕克却钟爱热巧克力且对自己烤面包的手艺引以为豪。

一日三餐

早餐开饭时间在一家人起床的几小时之后，这样当天相当一部分工作都已经做完了。此时吃的不是全套英式早餐——更为丰盛的早餐要到维多利亚时代才出现——但是人们会坐在一起共享。你如果碰巧乘马车路过他们在查顿的房舍，可以通过窗户看到他们在屋里的情景。

午餐也很简单。塞缪尔·约翰逊的《约翰逊字典》（大约在简出生前20年完成）将其定义为“差不多一只手能拿得住的食物”。晚餐是一天的正餐，开饭时间可以是下午或傍晚的任何时候。在《傲慢与偏见》中，贝纳特一家下午四点半用晚餐，而内瑟菲尔德庄园的宾利一家则在傍晚六点半吃晚餐。在《沃森一家》中，汤姆·马斯格雷夫吹嘘说自己要到晚上八点才吃晚饭。简的小说中提到的不同的晚餐时间反映了特定的家庭受到社会潮流影响的不同情况。

乔治王时代的晚餐会包括两道或两道以上的菜品，这些香甜可口的菜肴是同时端上饭桌的。夜宵则清淡，通常供应给像《爱玛》中来与伍德豪斯先生打牌这样的客人。大多数客人都不愿意夜宵像伍德豪斯先生吃得那样清淡：“贝茨小姐，让爱玛帮你夹一小块水果馅饼——很小的一块。我们家的馅饼都是苹果馅的。您不必担心，这里没有对身体不利的果酱。我不劝你吃蛋奶糕。戈尔德太太，来半杯葡萄酒怎么样？就小半杯——兑上一杯水吧？”（《爱玛》，第三章）

缝纫和社交

缝纫占用了奥斯汀家族女士们的大部分时间。简、卡桑德拉及她们的母亲一起缝制的被子由3000多块菱形布块拼接而成，有64种不同的制衣和装饰面料，现今陈列在简·奥斯汀故居博物馆。

一大早简就穿着非常舒适的衣服——这是一件只在家人和好友面前穿的麻纱面料的宽松晨衣。女士们出门散步、购物及访友前都会更衣，晚餐前再次更衣。

络绎不绝的访客影响了简的创作。没有铁路之前，旅途花费的时间非常长，因此客人们经常要待上几个星期。1816年9月8日，几位客人刚刚离开，简就在给卡桑德拉的信中这样写道：“……星期五到来的时候，我并不难过。这星期一直不得闲，我想安静几天，撇开种种陪伴所引发的想法和计划……倘若我满脑子都是大块大块的羊肉和大黄的用量之类的事情，我下笔写作似乎根本不可能的。”

简喜欢待在餐厅临窗创作。在那儿她能看到穿过村庄的那条大路，她喜欢写作时稍微分散一点注意力。1814年6月23日，她在给卡桑德拉的信中提及几个邻居差点错过从村庄中心出发的（科利尔的）马车：“德莱弗太太等人坐着科利尔的马车出发，但是因为快来不及了，她没时间亲自来访并留下钥匙。不管怎样，我还是拿到钥匙了。我想有一把是开布料柜的，但是另一把我就猜不出来是干什么用的了。有人在铁匠铺前拦住了马车，他们同特里格斯和布朗宁一起跑了过去，手里還拎着箱子和鸟笼。十分有趣。”

这与简描绘的海伯里的场景相差无几。在海伯里，爱玛从村庄中心的福德商店向外看去：“……爱玛走到门口想看看热闹。在海伯里，即便是最热闹的地段，也不要指望有什么可看的;她所能指望看到的最热闹的场面，无外乎是佩里先生匆匆走过去，威廉·考克斯先生走进事务所，科尔先生家拉车的马遛完了刚回来，信差骑着一头犟骡子在闲逛……”

“她朝通往兰多尔斯的路上望去。视线开阔了，只见出现两个人，是韦斯顿太太和她的继子[弗兰克·丘吉尔]。他们来到了海伯里，不用说肯定是去哈特菲尔德。不过，他们先走到贝茨太太家门口;贝茨太太家比福德商店离兰多尔斯稍近一些。两人刚要敲门，一眼瞧见了爱玛……”（《爱玛》，第27章）

该场景因其写实手法和视角的使用而具有开拓性意义。我们通过爱玛的视角看世界，并由此相信，爱玛看到沿路走来的弗兰克·丘吉尔正在来看望她的路上，而不是去看望简·菲尔费克斯。

简的写作装备

简在自制的小册子（书页）上创作，如果有人打扰她，可以迅速收好或者藏到吸墨纸下面。她喜欢让人觉得她是在写信。

纸张在拿破仑战争期间很贵，因为同样的原材料需要用来做绷带。纸按张卖，然后再裁至所需要的尺寸。厂家的名字及出厂年份的水印有助于确认手稿的年代;简的有些纸在出厂或买入数年后才得以使用。她写手稿时用纸很节俭，必要的地方用别针别上纸片。这些纸片的水印足以说明从创作到修改之间隔了多长时间。

几百年来，人们用栎瘿做墨水。简·奥斯汀用的就是这种栎瘿墨水，可能是买的墨粉，也可能是在家从头做成的。这种墨水刚写出来时颜色有点发灰，但是干了之后颜色会变深很多，随着时间流逝，会慢慢褪成我们想到旧信件时脑海里出现的那种褐色，那是秋天时栎瘿的本色。

简把创作和其他活动结合起来，有时她会从玩牌中抽身去写作，或是突然起身冲到书桌前，因刚刚想到了什么而放声大笑。但是我们几乎没有原始素材能帮助我们了解她的创作方法。家人的回忆和简的信件使我们了解到一些她的习惯：她起得很早，但白天其余时间里也工作，另外，她有些时期待在伦敦校稿。她创作用的工具箱（在乔治王时代相当于笔记本电脑）是她父亲于1794年12月在贝辛斯托克买的，很可能是她19岁的生日礼物。似乎她走到哪儿都带着这个箱子。

简把她的朋友玛莎·劳埃德和自己称为“渴望走路的人”，只有极其恶劣的天气才能让她们待在家里。行走很可能是简在设计和编排小说情节过程中的关键。她做的小记事本可以和铅笔一起随身揣在口袋里。

这就是简在查顿小镇的日子。她在伦敦的时候，日子则过得截然不同：出入剧院、展览和聚会，并与她的出版商合作。她在1813年5月24日给卡桑德拉的信中写道：“置身于这些画作之中，我无比快乐;敞着马车四处转悠也非常愉快。我很喜欢自己隐居避世的雅致生活，总会为身在何处自嘲一番。”

1. Chawton：查顿小镇，简·奥斯汀于1809年投奔哥哥爱德华后居住的小镇，现其居住的房屋已成为简·奥斯汀故居博物馆。

New Oriental English .

奥斯汀故居博物馆的客厅

2. Sanditon：《桑迪顿》，奥斯汀一部未完成的小说，原名为《兄弟》（The Brothers），1925年出版時改为《桑迪顿》。

3. hearty [?hɑ?（r）ti] adj. 丰盛的，营养丰富的

4. Victorian：维多利亚时代，维多利亚女王的统治时期，时限常被定义为1837年～1901年，其前接乔治王时代，后启爱德华时代。

5. Georgian：乔治王时代，指英国乔治一世至乔治四世在位时间（1714～1830）。

6. savoury [?se?v?ri] adj. 开胃的;美味的，可口的

7. tart [tɑ?（r）t] n. 水果蛋糕

8. unwholesome [??n?h??ls（?）m] adj. 不卫生的，有害身心健康的

9. preserve [pr??z??（r）v] n. （用腌制等方法）加工成的食品（如蜜饯、果酱、罐头等）

10. diamond [?da??m?nd] n. 菱形

11. first thing：一大早

12. cambric [?k?mbr?k] n. 麻纱，细薄布

13. take a toll on：造成损失（或危害、伤亡等）

14. exemption [?ɡ?zemp?（?）n] n. 免除，解除;豁免

15. contrivancy [k?n?tra?v（?）nsi] n. 谋划，计划

. New Oriental English

16. joint [d???nt] n. 大块肉

17. rhubarb [?ru??bɑ?（r）b] n. [植]大黄

18. linen-press：布料柜，通常用于存放床单、桌布及其他布料。

19. stray [stre?] adj. 离群的，流浪的

20. obstinate [??bst?n?t] adj. 顽固的，固执的

21. Hartfield：哈特菲尔德，即爱玛家的庄园名字。

22. blotting paper：吸墨纸

23. Napoleonic Wars：拿破仑战争，指拿破仑称帝统治法国期间（1803～1815）爆发的各场战争。

24. watermark [?w??t?（r）?mɑ?（r）k] n. 水印

25. proof [pru?f] n. 校样，初印稿