漫游狄更斯的故乡

When I woke up, I hit my head on the underside of a 1)thatch roof. It was June, and I was in a little Hampshire cottage, having come to England for the first time to visit family. The mornings were bright, damp, and smelled of warm toast and 2)clematis 3)vines.

After a breakfast of Twinings注1 tea, strawberries and 4)scones, I 5)embarked on an afternoon of exploring the countryside. The mission was simple. As an American writer, I was raised on a healthy diet of British literature, and this was my opportunity to find the England that I had known for years in Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and most importantly, the novels of Charles Dickens.

Reading Dickens developed my earliest ideas of English life as a high school student in Texas. In my imagination, England was a tiny country of 6)misty 7)marshes and scary storms that terrify the poor people sitting close to their fires and eating whatever simple food they could find.

I was expecting to see the 8)bleak 9)moors that appear in Dickens’ novels. What I discovered was farther from my 10)assumptions. Rather than the sickening pollution of Dickens’ factories, I found southern England fresh, 11)dewy and green. Everything is 12)picturesque, from the fragrant woodlands down to the white china teacups.

Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812, to Elizabeth and John Dickens, a couple fond of parties and dancing. Little Charles’ first few years were spent in Portsmouth, Hampshire. He was born at 393 Old Commercial Road, where the Dickens Birthplace Museum 13)resides today. The house is beautiful and historical, fully restored to the era of the Napoleonic Wars注2. It is easy to imagine the 14)lighthearted parties of John and Elizabeth, and the sweet 15)nursery of their children.

To visit the Dickens birthplace is to fall into a time of pleasures and happiness. As one can imagine, little Charles was actually so good at 16)nursery rhymes that when he was a mere baby boy, John would take him down to the local pub, where he would stand Charles up on the bar and let his son entertain guests with funny songs. Little could anyone know that the tiny boy making up songs would grow up to be a 17)literary rock star of the Victorian era, famous in both Europe and America.

As a novelist and journalist, Dickens 18)represented all of London. Of course I had to spend a few days in London during my English vacation. So from Hampshire I got on a train and arrived at Waterloo Station. The trip from 19)rural Hampshire to the heart of London is an exciting 20)transition, an effortless switch between country and 21)metropolis. After stepping out of Waterloo, the 22)magnificence of London is seen in every square, every bridge and every 23)steeple. The crowds are modern, but just as colorful as those described by Dickens. All at once, one is surrounded by businessmen, art students, street performers, tourists, policemen, delivery boys and 24)vendors. London is still as lively as it was over a hundred years ago in Dickens’ time, but the city has also changed significantly.

In the nineteenth century, London was one of the largest cities in the world. The city was not as beautiful as it is today. Buildings were blackened by 25)soot and the streets were covered with a thick layer of 26)manure, household waste, rotten food and garbage. The city was incredibly dirty, but it was this place and its people that inspired the timeless tales of Dickens, who would wander the streets of London for hours while developing plots and characters in his mind.

I wandered through London, trying to be adventurous without missing the famous attractions: St. Paul’s, the British Museum, Trafalgar Square, the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern. I kept an eye out for things that I could describe as Dickensian. There are chimney-pots and dark 27)cobblestone streets, but it is the crowds that remind me most of Dickens’ novels.

On the train back to Hampshire from London, I watched the green hills roll by and could imagine Dickens’ characters living in the lanes and gardens. While Dickens rarely left his London home to visit the country in both his personal life and his writing, it is fair to guess that Hampshire, like London, had some influence over Dickens’ characters and England’s national 28)identity in his novels.

Today, it is not London, but the English countryside that transports me into Dickens’ world. Of all Dickens’ novels, only a few―Nicholas Nickleby and Hard Times―take place in rural England. London today is a 29)multicultural urban center while Hampshire and other rural counties are closer to the time of Tiny Tim, Oliver Twist, and Little Dorrit注3.

London’s streets are no longer full of horses and carriages, but Hampshire’s New Forest, an ancient park 30)established by William the Conqueror注4, is populated by herds of wild 31)ponies. I took walks through the New Forest and paused to watch these peaceful herds. The ponies are shy, but they were not easily 32)spooked. Walking through the New Forest and imagining the countless amounts of English writers that have enjoyed these woodlands was a lovely experience.

To experience Hampshire’s best scenery, which was popularized by Queen Victoria herself, I took the 33)ferry from Lymington to the Isle of Wight. Victoria’s beautiful Osborne House, a summer holiday 34)retreat, is located here and is open to the public. This small island 35)demonstrates the rural beauty that Dickens 36)emphasized: misty marshes, rolling fields, and thick, dark fog from the sea. It is in this breathtaking British haven that I could think of no better way to spend an afternoon than by settling into a beach chair with a cup of tea and re-reading Great Expectations.

As I continued on journeys across England, Wales, and Scotland, I was able to compare Hampshire to its neighboring regions. The more I saw of Britain, the more I thought of Hampshire as a truly English region, the ideal 37)destination for travelers in search of charming villages and the natural beauty of wooded hills. The most powerful part of Hampshire’s landscape is its unchanged nature, and how the New Forest, the Winchester 38)Cathedral, and the village streets echo the voice of Charles Dickens and all of the English authors that came before and after him.

我醒过来，抬头就撞到了一片茅草屋顶。时值六月，我正在汉普郡的一间小屋里，这是我第一次到英国探亲。这里的早晨明亮而潮湿，弥漫着暖烘烘的烤面包和铁线莲的气味。

吃过由川宁茶、草莓和烤饼组成的早餐之后，下午我就要在这里的乡村走走看看。这项任务很简单。作为一名美国作家，我是在英国文学的精神食粮滋养之下成长的，正可以借此机会寻见从《简・爱》和《傲慢与偏见》――尤其是从查尔斯・狄更斯的小说之中熟知多年的英格兰。

阅读狄更斯的作品为当时还在德克萨斯州读高中的我带来关于英国生活最初的印象。在我的想象中，英格兰是一个沼地雾气湿重、暴雨肆虐的小国，受惊的穷苦大众瑟缩在火堆旁，以仅能找到的简单食物果腹。

我期待看到狄更斯小说里那些凄凉的荒野，我的发现却与我的预想大相径庭。我发现英格兰南部是新鲜、水灵、嫩绿的，而不是狄更斯笔下乌黑肮脏的工厂。从芬芳的林地到白瓷茶杯，一切都如诗如画。

查尔斯・狄更斯生于1812年2月7日，其父母约翰・狄更斯和伊丽莎白・狄更斯很喜欢派对和跳舞。小查尔斯在汉普郡的朴次茅斯度过幼年。他出生在旧商业路393号。今天，这里是狄更斯故居博物馆的所在地。这座极有历史意义的美丽房子完全修复到拿破仑战争时代的状态。在这里，你很容易想象得到约翰和 伊丽莎白夫妇举办的快乐宴会，以及孩子们在儿童室的甜蜜光景。

参观狄更斯的出生地能让人享受一段愉快幸福的时光。正如大家所想，事实上小查尔斯的童谣唱得非常好，因此在他还是一个小男孩的时候，约翰会把他带到当地的酒吧，让他站在吧台上唱起欢快的歌曲娱乐宾客。很少人会料到这个编唱着小曲儿的小男孩长大以后会成为维多利亚时代文学界的摇滚明星，声名远播欧美。

作为小说家和记者的狄更斯可谓当时整个伦敦的象征。在英国度假期间，我自然得花几天逛逛伦敦。所以我从汉普郡乘火车抵达滑铁卢车站。从地处乡村的汉普郡到伦敦的心脏地带，这段旅程是一个令人激动的变幻过程――从乡村一下子切换到了大都市。走出滑铁卢车站，每一个广场、每一座桥梁和每一个尖顶都体现着伦敦的宏伟。人群虽然摩登，但仍与狄更斯的描述一样多姿多彩。你的四周一下子就出现了商人、艺校学生、街头表演者、游客、警察、送报员和小贩。伦敦仍然像百余年前狄更斯的时代一样充满活力，然而这座城市也发生了显著的变化。

在19世纪，伦敦是世界上最大的城市之一。昔日这座城市不如今天美丽，建筑物被煤烟熏得发黑，街道上覆盖着一层厚厚的粪便、家居垃圾、腐烂的食物和垃圾。尽管这座城市异常肮脏，但正是这个地方和它的居民启发狄更斯写出一个个不朽的故事。他会在伦敦街头徘徊几个小时，心里一边构思着情节和角色。

我在伦敦漫步，试着大胆探索而又不错过著名的景点――圣保罗大教堂、大英博物馆、特拉法加广场、泰特英国美术馆和泰特现代美术馆。我还特别留意可以被形容为“狄更斯式”的东西。那里有烟囱顶管和黑色的鹅卵石街道，但是让我联想到狄更斯小说的始终是那些人群。

在从伦敦回汉普郡的火车上，我看着绿色的小山丘从旁掠过，想象着狄更斯笔下的人物生活在小巷和花园里的情景。无论是在现实生活还是在作品中，狄更斯都很少离开他在伦敦的家到乡村去，由此可以推测，像伦敦一样，汉普郡对狄更斯小说里的人物和英格兰的民族性有一定的影响。

今天，把我带入狄更斯世界的不是伦敦，而是英格兰的乡村。在狄更斯的所有小说里，只有少数――《尼古拉斯・尼克贝》和《艰难时世》――发生在英格兰乡村。今天的伦敦是一个多元文化的中心城市，而汉普郡和其他乡村则与小提姆、奥利弗・特威斯特和小杜丽的时代更为接近。

伦敦不再满街走着马和马车，但汉普郡的新森林国家公园――一个由征服者威廉 建造的古老公园――仍有成群的野马。我在“新森林”里散步，停下来看着这些宁静的马群。马儿都很害羞，但不易受惊。在“新森林”里散步，想象着无数英国作家都游览过这些林地，这真是一种愉快的体验。

为了体验汉普郡最美的风景（被维多利亚女王本人大加赞赏而广受欢迎），我乘渡轮从利明顿来到怀特岛。维多利亚女王那美丽的奥斯本楼――也是一个避暑胜地――就坐落在这里，向公众开放。这个小岛体现了狄更斯所强调的乡村美――云雾缭绕的沼泽、连绵起伏的田野，还有从海上飘来的重重浓雾。在这个景色让人叹为观止的英国港口，除了端上一杯茶，坐在沙滩椅上重读《远大前程》以外，我想不出更好的方式来度过一个下午了。

我继续英格兰、威尔士和苏格兰的旅程，总是可以拿汉普郡和邻近地区作比较。我在英国看过的地方越多，就越认为汉普郡是一个纯正的英格兰地区，是游客寻找迷人村庄和葱茏山丘等自然美景的理想目的地。汉普郡风景的魅力在于其不变的风貌，还有“新森林”、温彻斯特大教堂以及村庄的街道与查尔斯・狄更斯及其前后的所有英国作家的作品如何遥相呼应。

注1：一家以英国汉普郡安多佛为总部的著名茶品制造商。

注2：指拿破仑称帝统治法国期间（1804-1815）爆发的各场战事，这些战斗可说是1789年法国大革命所引发的战争的延续。