巴爾札克短篇小說選集

by Honoré de Balzac, 奧諾雷·德·巴爾札克, 邱瑞鑾 (Translator)

「法國社會就像個歷史學家，我的工作只是當它的祕書。」
－－巴爾札克

「巴爾札克是過去、現在、未來最偉大的寫實主義大師，《人間喜劇》驚奇地反映了法國社會的現實歷史。 」
－－恩格斯

◎法國文豪巴爾札克《人間喜劇》短篇精選

◎專文導讀
中央大學法文系副教授／甘佳平

◎涵蓋上百部作品的《人間喜劇》就像是一片明鏡，反映了歷史，也照出人性的光影，可說是寫實主義文學的最大成就。包含最著名的《高老頭》在內，整個《人間喜劇》有如一部龐大的浮世繪，既生動又深刻，彷彿眾多角色真的活在我們身邊。巴爾札克刻劃各階層人物，下刀精準，力求現實，就連馬克思和恩格斯也讀得愛不釋手。
◎本書收錄《人間喜劇》13 則短篇，以及諷刺股市炒作的中篇代表作〈紐辛根銀行〉。一篇一篇，一步一步，帶你領略「文學拿破崙」的魅力。

【關於人間喜劇】
巴爾札克將《人間喜劇》分成三大部分：風俗研究、哲理研究，與分析研究。不但主題互異，且場景、年代縱橫交錯；自巴黎到外省，從大革命時期到巴氏當代的金融炒作現象，涵蓋了法國人生百態，文筆犀利刻骨、時有嘲諷幽默之姿。
《人間喜劇》另一項最具開創性的特色在於，同樣的人物會在不同作品登場，他／她或許在某篇故事經歷悲劇，延續到另一篇故事後，便展現出截然不同的性格與行為。譬如，作品中的知名人物哈斯提涅，他在 1830 年的〈女性研究〉登場時，還是個滿腔理想的熱血青年；後來到了為人熟悉的長篇小說《高老頭》裡，他目睹慘劇，從此認清現實，不再追夢；最後在 1837 年的中篇〈紐辛根銀行〉裡，哈斯提涅已成了個道德淪喪的金融家。藉此，巴爾札克得以呈現人性的複雜與真實，也得以映照出大歷史、大環境之下，芸芸眾生隨波逐流的動態面貌。

【精彩選集】
〈劊子手〉
一名法國軍官，一位西班牙貴族之女，斬首台已經架好等著貴族一家，而軍官願意付出一切拯救愛人。
你以為這是一部愛情故事，讀了才曉得，殘酷的寫實之筆下不存在什麼浪漫……

〈長生藥〉
老父臨死前囑咐兒子，替他的屍身塗抹長生藥以求復活，兒子卻寧可留給自己……
巴爾札克版的唐璜史詩，刻劃出與《高老頭》截然不同的父情。

〈無神論者的彌撒〉
「我和許多信徒沒兩樣，他們表面上深深信仰上帝，實際上卻像您和我一樣是無神論者。」
信仰究竟是什麼？付出、犧牲、關愛，是信仰的基本條件嗎？本篇提出了深刻的提問。

【名言集錦】
「勇敢只是魯莽、謹慎只是怯懦，寬厚只是狡猾，公正只是罪行，文雅只是癡傻，正派只是蓄意而為。」
－－〈長生藥〉

「我們可以說擁有兩段青春，在第一段青春裡，我們相信；在第二段青春裡，我們行動。」
－－〈海邊慘劇〉

「我和許多信徒沒兩樣，他們表面上深深信仰上帝，實際上卻像您和我一樣是無神論者。」
－－〈無神論者的彌撒〉

「必須進入底層生活，才能發現其中有那麼多讓人可感可嘆的景象，或是悲劇，或是喜劇，都是在機緣巧合中產生的巨作。」
－－〈法西諾．坎納〉

「這世上總有一些傻子，他們只會愛，不會算計，也總有一些明智之士，他們在愛中不忘精打細算。」
－－〈紐辛根銀行〉

「蠢子的財產活該落到聰明人的手裡，這是天經地義的事。」
－－〈紐辛根銀行〉

「講求獨創，就等於是一點一點地邁向衰亡；抄襲，才是生存之道。」
－－〈皮耶．格拉蘇〉

432 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2018

About the author

French writer Honoré de Balzac (born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as La comédie humaine .

Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.

Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.

Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.