登陆注册
5431200000001

第1章

The Princess de Montpensier by Mme. de Lafayette Introduction by Oliver C. ColtThis story was written by Madame de Lafayette and published anonymously in 1662. It is set in a period almost 100 years previously during the sanguinary wars of the counter-reformation, when the Catholic rulers of Europe, with the encouragement of the Papacy, were bent on extirpating the followers of the creeds of Luther and Calvin. I am not qualified to embark on a historical analysis, and shall do no more than say that many of the persons who are involved in the tale actually existed, and the events referred to actually took place. The weak and vicious King and his malign and unscrupulous mother are real enough, as is a Duc de Montpensier, a Prince of the Blood, who achieved some notoriety for the cruelty with which he treated any Huguenots who fell into his hands, and for the leadership he gave to the assassins during the atrocious massacre of St. Bartholomew's day.

He was married and had progeny, but the woman to whom he was married was not the heroine of this romance, who is a fictional character, as is the Comte de Chabannes.

The Duc de Guise of the period whose father had been killed fighting against the protestants, did marry the Princess de Portein, but this was for political reasons and not to satisfy the wishes of a Princess de Montpensier.

It will be noticed,I think, that women were traded in marriage with little or no regard to their personal emotions, and no doubt, as has been remarked by others, marriages without love encouraged love outside marriage. Whatever the reality, the literary conventions of the time seem to have dictated that we should be treated only to ardent glances, fervent declarations, swoonings and courtly gestures, we are not led even to the bedroom door, let alone the amorous couch. I wonder, however, if the reader might not think that this little tale written more than three hundred years ago contains the elements of many of the romantic novels and soap operas which have followed it.

At one level it is a cautionary tale about the consequences of marital infidelity; at another it is a story of a woman betrayed, treated as a pretty bauble for the gratification of men, and cast aside when she has served her purpose, or a butterfly trapped in a net woven by uncaring fate. Her end is rather too contrived for modern taste, but, even today, characters who are about to be written out of the plot in soap operas are sometimes smitten by mysterious and fatal disorders of the brain.

The unfortunate Comte de Chabannes is the archtypical "decent chap" The faithful but rejected swain who sacrifices himself for the welfare of his beloved without expectation of reward. In the hands of another writer, with some modification, he could have provided a happy ending in the "Mills and Boon" tradition.

This translation is not a schoolroom exercise, for although Ihave not altered the story, I have altered the exact way in which it is told in the original, with the aim of making it more acceptable to the modern reader. All translation must involve paraphrase, for what sounds well in one language may sound ridiculous if translated literally into another, and it is for the translator to decide how far this process may be carried.

Whether I have succeeded in my task, only the reader can say.

The Princess de Montpensier By Madame de Lafayette Translated by Oliver C. Colt It was while the civil war of religion was tearing France apart that the only daughter of the Marquis of Mezieres, a very considerable heiress, both because of her wealth and the illustrious house of Anjou from which she was descended, was promised in marriage to the Duc de Maine, the younger brother of the Duc de Guise.

The marriage was delayed because of the youth of this heiress, but the elder of the brothers, the Duc de Guise, who saw much of her, and who saw also the burgeoning of what was to become a great beauty, fell in love with her and was loved in return. They concealed their feelings with great care; the Duc de Guise, who had not yet become as ambitious as he was to become later, wanted desperately to marry her, but fear of angering his uncle, the Cardinal de Lorraine, who had taken the place of his dead father, prevented him from making any declaraton.

This was how the matter stood when the ruling house of Bourbon, who could not bear to see any benefit accruing to that of de Guise, decided to step in and reap the profit themselves by marrying this heiress to the Prince de Montpensier.

This project was pursued with such vigour that the parents of Mlle. de Mezieres, despite the promises given to the Cardinal de Lorraine, resolved to give her in marriage to the young Prince.

The house of de Guise was much displeased at this, but the Duc himself was overcome by grief, and regarded this as an insupportable affront. In spite of warnings from his uncles, the Cardinal and the Duc de Aumale--who did not wish to stand in the way of something which they could not prevent--he expressed himself with so much violence, even in the presence of the Prince de Montpensier, that a mutual enmity arose between them which lasted all their lives.

Mlle. de Mezieres, urged by her parents to marry the Prince, realised that it was impossible for her to marry the Duc de Guise, and that if she married his brother, the Duc de Maine, she would be in the dangerous position of having as a brother-in-law a man whom she wished was her husband; so she agreed finally to marry the Prince and begged the Duc de Guise not to continue to place any obstacle in the way.

The marriage having taken place, the Prince de Montpensier took her off to his estate of Champigny, which was where Princes of his family usually lived, in order to remove her from Paris, where it seemed that an outbreak of fighting was imminent: this great city being under threat of siege by a Huguenot army led by the Prince de Conde, who had once more declared war on the King.

同类推荐
  • 御制心经

    御制心经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 圣观自在菩萨功德赞

    圣观自在菩萨功德赞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 正源略集

    正源略集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • The Sleeping-Car - A Farce

    The Sleeping-Car - A Farce

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • A Question of Latitude

    A Question of Latitude

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 此生喜读纳兰文:我是人间惆怅客

    此生喜读纳兰文:我是人间惆怅客

    《纳兰性德全集》以康熙三十年刊刻的纳兰性德的文集《通志堂集》为基准,另有补遗。本书《此生只读纳兰文:我是人间惆怅客》收录了纳兰性德具有代表性的经解、文、序、记、书简等,并由专家对其做了精心注释,版式精美,是纳兰迷值得珍藏的精品。
  • 医学探谜

    医学探谜

    《中国学生探索发现奥秘:医学探谜》是《中国学生探索发现奥秘》系列之一,包括:体育探谜、文化探谜、文明探谜、文学探谜、文艺探谜等。
  • 将后天下

    将后天下

    惊才艳艳的冷兵器高手,数一数二的特工,为了查出父母真实的死因和叛徒同归于尽!本以为人生就此结束,谁知道老天开眼,给她重生的机会......可是?喂!剧本是不是拿错了???她堂堂一个特工组织的头脑人物,竟然变成了一个生活不能自理的奶娃娃!?
  • 我的营养师

    我的营养师

    她励志成为顶尖营养师,却潜伏进他的公司。他是人人惧羡的天之骄子,可一具病体,背负家族肮脏,背负心灵枷锁。他无意中发现了她的厨艺……她无意中发现了他的秘密……明争暗斗,阴谋阳谋之后,他丢了心,她上了心。而接踵而来的事实,她无力缠绵,他失魂失控,一场爱的追逐,是否变为情的葬礼?
  • 暗恋的人也暗恋着你

    暗恋的人也暗恋着你

    这是两个相互暗恋、互为初恋的人,通过相亲,相亲相爱的故事……(懒货存稿中……)
  • 毒妃在上:邪王请入局

    毒妃在上:邪王请入局

    她上辈子瞎了眼,跟了个24K纯金渣男,害死柳家满门,自己也落得个剖腹取子的下场。如今,重来一世,她决心致力于灭渣男踩绿茶,走上人生巅峰的伟大事业。可是……柳浅染一脚将每到半夜就莫名出现在自己床上的男人踹下床,“王爷,我可是下过地狱的恶鬼,你就不怕我弄死你!”某男迅速翻身上床,躺好,“娘子,求弄!”【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 平生最爱纳兰词:当时只道是寻常

    平生最爱纳兰词:当时只道是寻常

    《纳兰性德全集》以康熙三十年刊刻的纳兰性德的文集《通志堂集》为基准,另有补遗。本书《平生最爱纳兰词:当时只道是寻常》收录了纳兰性德具有代表性的词作,并由专家对其做了精心注释,版式精美,是纳兰迷值得珍藏的精品。
  • 奔跑者

    奔跑者

    本书是女作家塞壬历年散文选集。多年流浪生活赋予了她独特的人生与文字。而今在中年继续锻造与沉淀的作者以这本名为《奔跑者》的集子,讲述一个不甘的“我”向那个沉沦而麻木的“我”的警醒与痛击。她将再一次地无所畏惧,重新成为那个被文字信赖的奔跑者。
  • 闪婚老公是妖孽

    闪婚老公是妖孽

    米兰坐在星巴克咖啡厅里,手托着腮,望着对面打扮精致,漂亮的女人,有点茫然,应该说,是从接到她电话,预约她出来喝茶开始,米兰就一头雾水了。她可不记得,自己跟韩冰瑶什么时候认识过。不,确切的说,是米兰见过她,在电视上,海报上,而现实里,米兰真不知道,她什么时候跟这个明星认识了。韩冰瑶拨弄了下漂亮的手指甲,面无表情的看着米兰,随即,轻扯了下嘴角,似笑非笑道:“我想你知道我约你出来……
  • 追随本心:回荡世纪的剑桥哲思

    追随本心:回荡世纪的剑桥哲思

    本书是剑桥大学莫德林学院院长亚瑟·克里斯托弗·本森的代表作之一,都是经典的对人生进行思考的作品,在西方被誉为剑桥大学留给人间的精神瑰宝。本森教授本来就是个冷人生观的作家和学者,治学严谨,学术建树颇多,这本书是继其作品《仰望星空》和《丰富人生》后的又一部全新思考人生和内心自省类的深刻反思作品。