Chapter 4 "All Cloud Authors Are Crazy"——Preface to Translation

Shi Dingle Dickens created 14 complete novels and many novels and short stories in his life, among which this book is the most well-known one.Even the contemporary American literary critic George H. Ford wrote: "Just like "Hamlet", because it (referring to) is the most well-known of the author's works, it has suffered losses"①.Mr. George H. Ford's explanation for this sentence is: Many of our readers think that they have absorbed the essence of the book because they read this book in their childhood. -------- ① See his paper The Introduction to David Copperfield.

Indeed, when many children read this book, they think that this book is written for children (I thought so too).Because Dickens took great care, in many places, he described characters and things from a child's point of view, so that children can understand and feel that this is written for them.However, when people go out of their childhood and reread this book, they will find that it is a book that is far heavier and more sad than what was left in our memory. Generally speaking, an author's first novel tends to leave a lot of his (her) self.However, if we want to find his "self" in Dickens's novels, we should undoubtedly open this book.In order to better understand the book written by Dickens with painstaking efforts, we first briefly review Dickens' childhood.

On a Friday, February 7, 1812 (a Friday, like David Copperfield's!), Charles Dickens was born in Landport.His parents had eight children (two of whom died young), Charles was the second.When Dickens recalled his childhood, he could recall things when he was two years old.He used to tell his friend John Foster that although he left the house in Landport when he was two years old, he remembered very well the small garden in front of the house.Foster recalls: "I went there with him when he was writing Nicola Nickleby. I distinctly remember him recognizing the same spot he saw thirty-five years ago. The exact form of the training queue that you have received.” It can be seen that he has been keenly observant and sensitized since he was a child.

His father had been transferred to London by work and lived in Norfolk Street, Middlesex Hospital.Soon, the family moved to Chatham because Dickens' father's job changed again.Here Charles lived until he was nine years old.Many of his vivid impressions of his childhood were carved here. Because Charles was thin and sick since he was a child, he couldn't participate in many boys' games, but he liked to lie on the window of his room and watch the children of his father's colleagues play, or read a book while listening to their laughter and noise when they played.He always believed that one of the great benefits brought to him by his childhood illness was that he developed the habit of loving reading.He often tells people that the person who inspired his thirst for knowledge and love of books was his mother.His mother, Elizabeth, taught him English regularly and daily for a long time, and a little Latin.He recalled that the scene when his mother taught him how to read was almost the same as what he said through David's mouth in the middle school-"I still vaguely remember the scene when she taught me how to read, now, every time I open the book to read In textbooks, when you see the chubby bold letters, their interesting shapes, the good nature of O and S, still jump on the page as they did back then."

Dickens' father, John Dickens, had a library, which collected many good books, as well as many popular books at that time.This study is connected to Charles' room, so he can come and go as he pleases.This can also be read from the protagonist's recollection in the novel, the only thing the author deleted were the titles of some cheap books that were popular at that time.Life at Chatham was the best part of his childhood, so much so that he recalled it often, and vivid accounts of it can be read in his short stories.When he was nine years old, John Dickens was transferred back to London, and his family moved with him, telling Charles that this was the beginning of his misfortune.

Due to John Dickens and his wife's poor financial management, the family was in a difficult situation, so they had to cut back on expenses and moved to Bayham Street, one of the poorest streets in London.Here, he had no boys he could barely keep company with, and his family ignored him at this time. He no longer went to school, but polished the family's shoes and sold things at the pawn shop. He suddenly fell into loneliness.He later said poignantly to a friend: "When I was in my little dark back attic on Bayham Street, thinking of all I had lost leaving Chatham, I wanted to sacrifice everything - if I had anything left to sacrifice." — as long as you can get into any school..."

In fact, he too was studying at a school - life here was teaching him about life.He began to understand poverty and hunger, which made the description of the life of the lower classes in his later works extremely vivid.But why did his parents ignore him?Charles once recalled his father this way: "I knew my father to be the kindest and most generous man in the world. He was admirable for what he did to his wife or children or friends when he was sick...any business, work, Responsibilities, as long as he undertakes them, he will always do them with enthusiasm, and finish them on time. , he seemed to forget that I should be educated, and it never occurred to him that he should have any responsibility for me in this regard."

Nevertheless, he was taught by the strictest teacher of life.His father finally reached the end of his rope, so he had to rely on his mother to save the situation.His mother found a house and put a big bronze plaque on the door saying "Mrs. Dickens' School".Little Charles also helped, and he went from door to door delivering notices of the establishment of the school, but no one came to school, and his parents were not really prepared to accept anyone to school.Finally, the father was arrested."I'll never see the light of day again in my life," the last words my father said to him before he was taken to Macassia Prison were. "I believed it," Charles told Foster, "and my heart was broken. Later, he wrote in detail about this section of facts and the fact that he had lunch with his parents after "borrowing tableware from the captain" after visiting the prison, but dressed his parents as the Micawbers.

At a young age, Charles had to share his worries.First, he sold the family things bit by bit. He told Foster about these details long before writing, and he reproduced them in the book.The businessman who bought used books, the owner and the clerk of the pawnshop are all inseparable figures from his childhood life. However, what hurt him the most and was rarely mentioned was his experience as a child laborer.He only told Foster about this old episode, and every time he did, he was so sad that it took him a long time to get back to normal.Here is a section of Dickens's autobiography about this experience:

"It was my misfortune, too, I often thought bitterly of myself. The relative who used to live in my house, James Lammert, became superintendent of the black shoe-polishing shop... and suggested that I should be sent to work in the black shoe-polish shop... I went there one Monday morning, and started an apprenticeship. I was surprised how easily I was forgotten at that age. I was also surprised that since we came to London, I was humiliated and kept doing drudgery that no one else would despise, and no one showed sympathy for me—for a child of my special talents, quickness, zeal, frailty, vulnerability of body and mind—no one sympathized with me. My parents suggested whether to try to send me to a normal school, which was still available to them.

"The shop is the last house on the left of the old Hungerford docks...its paneled rooms, rotting floors and stairs, big gray rats scurrying about in the basement, coming from downstairs The squealing and fighting of rats, the filth and corruption of that place came alive before my eyes, and I seemed to be back there again... and there were two or three kids doing the same jobs and earning the same wages... …Bob is an orphan who lives with his brother-in-law; Paul's father works in a theater and doubles as a fireman; one of Paul's little sisters plays the part of a leprechaun in pantomime. "I have descended into the company of these people, comparing these everyday co-workers with those of my happy childhood, and seeing my hopes of becoming a man of learning and renown die in my breast; the pain in my soul is that I cannot The feeling that I was totally forgotten and hopeless, the humiliation I felt in my position, oppressed me deeply, and I believed in what I had learned, thought, and loved in the past. Everything that arouses our desires and rivalries is leaving me little by little and never to return. The pain my young heart feels because of it cannot be put into words. My whole body and mind endured So great is the grief and humiliation, that even now, when I am famous, loved, and happy, in my sleep I often forget that I have a wife and daughter, and even that I am an adult, and I seem to be alone again. Back in those days." We can easily find a detailed description of the experience here, but the shoe polish shop is replaced by "Murdstone-Grinber & Company." When we read Little David When he found that he was going to be with Mick Walker, white powder, and potatoes, he was deeply painful, and tears fell into the water in which he washed the bottle. tears?I remember that when I translated this paragraph, I could hardly control myself to write it down, and the manuscript paper was wet with tears several times.I think I heard the groan from the bottom of the child's heart—different from screaming, this groan plucked the thin strings in the heart and made it tremble, just like seeing a weak sprout struggling powerlessly in the tyranny, but I was powerless It's heartbreaking to watch.The trauma of a young heart is more terrible than famine, disease, or even premature death. Dickens deeply realized this. Later, he made efforts to use his pen to create a beautiful interpersonal relationship and a warm family life, but the results were often not good. , and his own life was marked by tragedy after tragedy, all of which have been described by critics.An unfortunate childhood turned out to be an asset to Dickens, who not only learned about London's underworld, but also used his experience as the material to write this beloved novel—despite the opinions of many critics in one way or another. . As mentioned earlier, there are many Charles Dickens "selves" in this novel, so although Dickens objected to the book being described as his autobiography, scholars of Dickens still use it as the main source.After learning about Dickens' childhood, we also have a deeper understanding of the material of this book. This book reflects Dickens' childhood to a large extent, but there is one point that obviously does not match Dickens' life, that is, David lost his father when he was born, and lost his mother when he was nine years old.And when Dickens wrote this book (started in 1849 and completed in 1851), his parents were both alive.In Dickens's novels, there are occasionally complete families, but never normal family relations; in his novels, the protagonists are often orphans.Perhaps this is the deep aversion in his heart to his parents' dissatisfaction, and he borrowed books to resist.In this book, there are even more orphans—the protagonist, Rosa Dartle, Martha, Traddles, Emily, Steerforth, Uriah, Anne Strong, Love Nissie, Dora, even David's mother Clara Copperfield, and the loyal Ham, they either lost their parents or lost their father or mother when they were young, and they all grew up in incomplete families. Big. Under Dickens's pen, the normal family relationship in this world has become rare or even non-existent.What do orphans need in such a fickle world?Of course, the sense of security and being loved.In Dickens's works, it is not parents who give children a sense of security, love, and education, but people other than parents, such as Mr. Peggotty and aunts in the middle.There are always such characters who provide a refuge for the orphan, where the helpless orphan can shelter, be educated, and be cared for. Freud was very interested in, and because of this book, "felt admiration" for the author of the book, the main reason is that this book has done a good job of expressing the relationship between parents and children.Dickens himself may not be as conscious of his subconscious rebellion against his father and attachment to his mother as H. D. Lawrence, but reading this book, we can deeply feel that almost all living fathers are not good fathers. Unconsciously destroying the future of their children; and the living mothers, although they are not good mothers, they are forgivable-because they are kind, although they are not so learned.David's marriage is a perfect proof.David loves Dora, just because the latter is a good-looking and mindless big baby like his mother. She has the same advantages and disadvantages as his mother, so she has become a substitute for David's mother in his mind.Later, Agnes appears, taking more of a rational, highly intellectual father's place.Because Dickens unconsciously incorporated his feelings about life into his writing, he always hoped to get more attention and caress from his mother, and also hoped that his father would be a serious and responsible parent. Therefore, from the perspective of character relationship handling, we can say that it also concentratedly expresses Charles Dickens' views and ideals on the family, all of which leave the imprint of a tragic childhood. Before writing this book, Dickens had already written seven novels and many short and medium stories, and became a writer with a high reputation (it is no wonder that David in the book seems to have become a well-known author as well).His artistic techniques have also become more proficient, which can be described as "perfect".Like the previous seven novels, this book is written and published chapter by chapter in a serial manner; so almost every chapter can form a story by itself.But it differs from the previous novels in that it has gone through a long gestation period.In 1847, after reading Dickens' autobiography, Forster thought it could be written as a novel and suggested that Dickens do so.Dickens agreed to consider the proposal, but waited two years before writing it.In the past two years, of course, he has deliberated on the plot and main line of the book, but judging from his style, this is not the main reason for his delay in picking up the pen (he always writes by hand, without detailed plans or fixed Instead, he let his own creative impulse dance wildly on the paper. In a word, he has the dominant idea, but no conception) I think the reason for his delay in writing is that he is afraid of the pain of memories.He wrote in his Autobiography: "I never had the courage to go back to the place where my servitude began. I never saw the place again. I couldn't bear to go near it. For so many years, whenever I came to this place, I took a detour , so as not to smell the smell of putty on the black shoe polish bottle stopper, it reminds me of my old experience... that is, after my eldest child can talk, I will walk home from the old road next to the district office. Weep." To reproduce this pain, like uncovering a scar, Dickens hesitated.But he finally wrote it, and he wanted to give David and many orphans a better or more beautiful ending because of his great sympathy for the little people.Many later critics often accused Dickens of ending his work with a happy ending in order to cater to the needs of Victorian readers, because they all saw how profound and astute Dickens exposed the corruption and darkness of that society, and thought he must also Will write with the same insight and penetrating power the inevitable tragedies of his protagonists, but they are often disappointed and blame him.I don't think the critics' accusation is exacting, but I always think it's a bit too forced for Dickens.The unhappiness of childhood, the ups and downs of youth, and the discord of middle-aged families all stimulated him too much. What's wrong with him wanting to create a beautiful world in the novel?And why deprive him of this happiness?Moreover, although his kind of happy reunion makes adults find it a bit awkward, don't his children's readers also have a beautiful yearning for this unknown world and are willing to work hard for it after reading it?In fact, aren't many of his novels that end with a happy ending listed as favorites when we were young?Reading his books, we can feel his enthusiasm, his love and hatred all the time, he seems to laugh, cry, and be angry with us all the time, we can't help but share his feelings.A writer can make readers share his joy and sorrow. Is there any achievement that he yearns for more than this? In reading, as in other Dickens novels, one feels that every character—from the hero to the prisoner who doesn't speak—comes to life.This is largely because Dickens was so good at exaggerating the atmosphere, and the method is to describe the details.For example, when he wrote that Mr. Murdstone gave David a class, he asked such a question: "If I go to the cheese shop to buy four thousand pieces of Gloucester double cheese..." Only he can write in detail that it is "Gloucester double cheese", but this just brings out Murdstone's character more vividly - rigid, deliberately embarrassing David.He described David's banquet, and every dish in it was described in the slightest, and this made people feel more real, as if they were in it.You can accuse him of paying too much attention to the description of red tape, but you have to admit that if you take away these detailed descriptions, how can you let go of Clara, Auntie, Hip, Micah, etc. after a few years or even decades? Uncle, and that old clothes dealer?Being able to describe the details in such an incisive way, it can be seen that Dickens is a person with strong observation and perception skills.With the help of his pen, he told readers his rich feelings, making readers feel ups and downs with him. After its publication, Dickens reached the apex of his career.This book was republished one after another, which brought Dickens a lot of money and brought him a higher reputation.Dickens finally vented the melancholy that had accumulated in his heart for many years. On that "self", he shaped his childhood dream - to be unyielding, to strive hard, to become a writer, and to have a warm home with a loving wife. But life is such an irony.Dickens's family was not happy, and Dickens's split personality should also bear the main responsibility.His unhappy marriage made him very sad and had a great negative impact on him.This is why later, except for the exception, Dickens's works run through a kind of melancholy, and even the ending is darker (such as "Hard Times", etc.). Finally, allow me to quote a sentence from Dickens' preface to the 1860 reprint: "In the bottom of my heart there is a child I love most, and his name is David Copperfield." October 30, 1995