反转的童话：《威尼斯商人》中的鲍细霞

The Reversed Fairytale:On Portia in The Merchant of Venice

在莎士比亚喜剧《威尼斯商人》中,威尼斯代表现实世界,贝尔蒙脱代表童话世界。从童话及其反转的角度看,贝尔蒙脱的女主角鲍细霞在“三匣选亲”的故事中表现为典型的童话公主,之后,特别是在威尼斯的法庭上,则颠覆了公主形象。童话反转的节点则是威尼斯的信使闯入贝尔蒙脱,带来了现实世界的消息。曾经柔顺的公主化身为英雄人物,不是被拯救,而是去拯救她的恋人及其朋友。在现实世界,童话故事里的爱情变得不堪一击。回到贝尔蒙脱,爱情才再次成为主题,虽已变了味道。公主不过是假面罢了,女扮男装的鲍细霞反而更接近真实。

In Shakespeare’s well-known comedy The Merchant of Venice,Venice represents the real world,while Belmont represents the world of fairytale.In light of fairytale and the reversed perspective,Portia,the leading female character in Belmont,embodied a typical fairytale princess in the story of caskets but later refused to identify her with that image,especially in Venetian court.The turning point of reversal took place when the messenger of Venice brought news of the real world to Belmont.The once docile princess turned into a heroine,saving her lover and his friend,instead of being saved by others.In the real world,however,fairytale love seems vulnerable.Only when the characters returned to Belmont did love become the main theme again,though it lost its original taste.Princess is only a mask and Portia donned in a man’s robe is much closer to reality.