王守仁《英国文学选读》笔记和课后习题详解-A. S. 拜厄特【圣才出品】
第23单元 A.S.拜厄特
23.1复习笔记
Antonia Susan Byatt(1936-)(A.S.拜厄特)
1.Life(生平)
Antonia Susan Byatt,a prominent author,was born in Sheffield,north England, in1936.She studied at Newnham College,Cambridge and Somerville College, Oxford.After graduation,she taught in London University and the Central School of Art and Design.She became a full-time lecturer in English and American Literature at University College London,1972.In1983,she resigned and devoted herself to literary creation.She has served on the judging panels for a number of literary prizes,including the Booker Prize for Fiction,and is recognised as a distinguished critic,contributing regularly to journals and newspapers.Her most successful book, Possession:A Romance,won the Booker Prize for Fiction.A.S.Byatt was appointed CBE in1990and DBE in1999.In2002she was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation,Hamburg,in recognition of her contribution to British culture.
A.S.拜厄特于1936年出生于英格兰北部的谢菲尔德市，是英国当代杰出的女作家。她先后就读于剑桥大学纽纳姆学院和牛津大学萨默维尔学院。毕业后在伦敦大学和中央艺术设计学院任教。1972年成为伦敦大学学院的全职英美文学讲师。1983年辞去教师一职，专注于文学创作。她做过许多文学奖项的评委，包括布克奖，被认为是杰出批评家，经常在
期刊和杂志发表文章。她最成功的小说《占有》获得布克奖。1990年她被授予二等英帝国勋位爵士，1999年被授予英帝国高级女勋爵士。2002年位于汉堡的阿尔弗雷德特普费尔基金会授予其莎士比亚奖，以表彰她对英国文化的贡献。
2.Writing Style(写作风格)
Byatt is a very intelligent woman writer,whose complex and ambitious fictional works are intellectual and literary in both style and content.Her novels are full of intertextuality,literary allusions and references:to the discourse of fairytales and fantasy literature,to literary and linguistic theories,and to literary history,most notably the Victorian era,of which Byatt has extensive knowledge.Byatt is also a masterful storyteller,creating fascinating,complex characters and compelling plots that combine social realism with literariness and symbolism.
拜厄特是一位极具智慧的女作家。她复杂宏大的作品在风格和内容上都具有知识性和文学性。她的小说充满了互文性、文学典故和引文，涉及童话故事、奇幻文学，文学和语言学理论，文学史，尤其是维多利亚时代，拜厄特学识广博。她也是讲故事的大师，创造出了令人着迷的复杂的人物和引人入胜的情节，将社会现实主义和文学性、象征手法结合。
3.Major Works(主要作品)
Shadow of the Sun(1964)《太阳的影子》
The Game(1967)《游戏》
The Virgin in the Garden(1978)《花园里的处女》
Still Life:A Novel(1985)《寂寞的生活》
Sugar and Other Stories(1987)《糖与其他故事》
Possession:A Romance(1990)《占有》
Babel Tower(1996)《通天塔》
4.Selected Work(作品选读)
“Rose-coloured Teacups”《玫瑰色茶杯》
(1)Plot(情节)
It is selected from the short story collection Sugar and Other Stories.Veronica’s daughter,Jane,makes a sewing machine out of order.Veronica is very irritated about it,because Jane does not cherish this wedding present of her deceased mother.She is about to upbraid her daughter,when she recalls her own experience of breaking the rose-colored teacup,causing her mother’s rage and wail.So, Veronica suppresses her anger and reconsiders her relationship with her daughter. Jane represents the new woman,open-minded,despising tradition,and enjoying the convenience of modern technology.She leads a very busy social life and seldom has time to accompany her mother.They do not have enough mutual understanding.Veronica sees herself on her daughter,and gets new understanding of her mother.Veronica does not break the limits of family,spending her life in kitchen and by the sewing machine.
选篇出自短篇小说集《糖和其他故事》。女儿简将家里一台老缝纫机弄坏了，维罗妮卡感到十分心疼，因为缝纫机是已故母亲的结婚礼物，简却不懂得爱护。维罗妮卡正要发火，突然回想起当年自己打碎粉红色茶杯后母亲的责骂和怒号。维罗妮卡压抑怒火，进而重新审
视她与简的关系。简代表了新一代女性，思想开放，轻视传统，尽情享受现代科技的便利。简忙于社交生活，很少有时间陪伴母亲。两人之间没有足够的相互理解。维罗妮卡从女儿身上看到了当年自己的影子，对母亲的愤怒有了新的认识。她未能冲出家庭樊笼，在厨房和缝纫机旁度过一生。
(2)Narrative Method(叙事方式)
Its narrative method is very unique:the heroine Veronica’thought jumps back and forth between present and past,reality and imagination,breaking the traditional limits of time and space.
文章叙事方法独特，女主人公维罗妮卡的思维在现在与过去、现实与想象之间来回跳跃，打破了传统的时空界限。
(3)Theme(主题)
The story shows the gap between mother and daughter involving three generations,including the author’s reflection on women’s living conditions.By describing the surroundings,Byatt reveals characters’psychological activities and the sincere affection between mother and daughter.At last,Veronica shows her understanding to her daughter and an optimistic attitude towards life.
文章表现的是三代母女间的隔阂形成的代沟，但包含了作者对女性生存状况的反思。拜厄特通过外部环境的描写来展示人物的心理活动，母女情感写得真挚感人。故事最后，表明了母亲对女儿的理解和对生活的一种乐观态度。
23.2课后习题详解
1.Who are the three women in the story?Can you figure out their relationship? Key:The three women in the story refer to Veronica,Veronica’s mother and her grandmother.
2.What do you think of the personality of Jane?In what ways is she different from her mother?
Key:Jane is young and energetic.She is open-minded and neglects the conventional bounds.She enjoys the modern convenience brought about by science and technology.
Jane is different from her mother in many ways.Generally speaking,Veronica is a traditional woman and she obeys the conventions of her previous generations,while Jane is a modern woman who neglects the so-called traditions obeyed by her mother.Veronica spends her leisure time and enjoys herself at home,while Jane goes out for entertainment with her friends.Veronica can use the old-fashioned machine,but Jane can not use it.
3.Does the title of the story carry any symbolic meaning?What is the theme of the story?
Key:Yes,the title of the story carries some symbolic meanings.The rose-coloured teacup acts as a bridge between Veronica’s past and present and the three
generations as well.It encourages Veronica to get a better understanding of her own mother and her daughter.Just like the water shaped by the teacup,the people also have to adapt to the changes in society,material and most importantly psychological.
The themes of the story include that generation gaps need more understanding from both adults and children.It also reveals women’s living conditions and the changes along with time,indicating women’s self-awaking and their longing and struggling for freedom and self-realization.
23.3考研真题与典型题详解
I.Fill in the blanks.
1.Author_________Title_________(南京大学2008研)
Jane tugged at her multiple earrings,coils of gold wire and little glass beads.
I had a go at the tension,she said.I can’t get it to go back.Jane was forthright and attacking with many things Veronica had her generations’classic inadequacy about:machines,group living,authority.
【答案】Author:Antonia Susan Byatt；Title:“Rose-colored Teacups”
【解析】题目节选自拜厄特的“Rose-colored Teacups”(《玫瑰色茶杯》)。拜厄特小说《玫瑰色茶杯》通过女主人公穿越历史时间的心理活动，深刻反思了女性的生存状况和历史命运；并且运用象征和隐喻的手法，表达了女性打破传统生活的羁绊、寻求新的人生价值的执着追求。