配合今年莎士比亚逝世400周年,本栏每月会跟读者分享莎翁不同主题的名言和语录。莎翁是旷世大文豪,他留给世人的不只是一部部千古流传的剧作,其深刻洞悉人性,闪烁着智慧光芒的台词更被大量融入英文日常的对话与书写中,成为人们引经据典的谚语。


然而,重温莎翁剧本中有关于女人的台词,虽然要把400多年前的社会风气,以及台词反映的是剧中人物而未必是莎翁本人的价值观考虑在内,但某些台词放在男女平等的今日来看,仍难免让人觉得有点性别歧视。你又怎么看?


Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold. (As You Like It)


美貌比金银更容易引起歹心。(《皆大欢喜》)


Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing. (Othello)  不管是男人还是女人,名誉是最贴近他们灵魂的珍宝。如果有人偷走了我的钱袋,他偷走的不过是一袋废物,它们只是一些毫无价值的东西罢了。(《奥赛罗》)


O, curse of marriage, that we can call these delicate creatures ours, and not their appetites! (Othello)   啊!婚姻的烦恼!我们能将这些精致娇美的可人儿占为己有,就是无法满足她们无穷的欲望!(《奥赛罗》)


Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak. (As You Like It)  你难道不知道我们女人心里想什么,就说什么吗?(《皆大欢喜》)


A woman would run through fire and water for such a kind heart. (The Merry Wives of Windsor) 女人们都会赴汤蹈火获得像他这颗善良的心肠。(《温莎的风流娘子们》)


She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd, she is a woman, therefore to be won. (Henry VI)  窈窕淑女,君子好逑;女子芳心,男儿必俘。(《亨利六世》)


Frailty, thy name is woman! (Hamlet) 女人,你是脆弱的化身! (《哈姆雷特》)


A lady's "verily" is as potent as a lord's. (Winter's Tale)


女人认真起来,她的一句“真的”,跟君王说“真的”一样有力。(《冬天的故事》)


The venom clamours of a jealous woman poison more deadly than a mad dog's tooth. (The Comedy of Errors) 惨遭一名妒妇的毒爪要比被一只疯狗咬到还更致命。(《错中错》)


Though she be but little, she is fierce. (Midsummer Night's Dream) 别看她娇小,她其实很剽悍,招惹不得。(《仲夏夜之梦》)


Men's vows are women's traitor. (Cymbeline)


女人当心,男人的誓言说变就变。(《辛白林》)