是《董贝父子》,还是《董贝父女》?——狄更斯笔下的“进步”和异化

Dombey and Son, or Dombey and Daughter——The“Progress”and Alienation under the Pen of Dickens

选用《董贝父子》替代《董贝父女》来作为题目,这实在是狄更斯匠心独运的结果:它悖论式地突出了董贝父女关系的重要性,既彰显了和谐、正常的父女关系的缺席,又暗示了其中的原因,还召唤了这种关系的回归。小说的题目究竟是《董贝父子》,还是《董贝父女》,这并不太重要。重要的是这两个题目都必然会揭示同一种社会现实,即“进步”潮流中成人和儿童之间关系的异化。

The substitution of Dombey and Son for Dombey and Daughter as a title stems from Dickens's ingenuity. It paradoxically brings into sharp relief the importance of the relationship between Dombey and his daughter. In other words, it not only sheds light on the absence of a harmonious and normal father-daughter relationship, but also implies the underlying causes of that absence. Furthermore, it calls for the return of a wholesome father-daughter relationship. It does not matter whether the title of the novel is Dombey and Son or Dombey and Daughter. What matters is that both titles would inevitably bring into prominence a social reality, namely, the alienated relationship between adults and children in the trend of “progress”.