名人认知系列 文人骚客9：Maupassant: The Secret of Writing 莫泊桑：写作的秘籍

Maupassant: The Secret of Writing



莫泊桑：写作的秘籍



He always longed to make literature his career. Many critics have called him the Allan Poe of France. Many cite him as one of the progenitors 1 of the modern short story. Much of his work is celebrated 2 for its ability to create time, place, and character in succinct 3 but rich detail. While he is best remembered for his interesting short fiction and clever novels, Maupassant also wrote a large number of poems as well as extensive travelogues 4. His travels throughout the continent affected 5 both his fiction and nonfiction writing, making him as a true Renaissance 6 man.



莫泊桑一直希望能从事文学创作，许多作家称他为 法国的艾伦·坡，他也被认为是现代短篇小说的先驱。 他以简明、丰富的细节创建时间、地点和人物，许多作 品因此闻名于世。它主要因有趣、巧妙的小说为人们铭 记，但他也写过大量的诗作和游记。他踏遍欧洲大陆, 对小说和散文的创作产生了深远的影响。这标志着他是 一位真正的文艺复兴式的人物。



Maupassant’s stories range from the short tale of few pages, one or two, to a full-length novel. They expose the realities in minute detail the pretenses 7 and vulgarity of the period’s middle class and traditional low-down of the peasants.



莫泊桑的故事篇幅长短不等，从一两页的短篇小说 到长篇小说都有涉猎。在其作品中，他细致入微地揭露 现实，揭露中产阶级的虚伪和粗俗，展现传统农民的生活真相。



His style is characterized by being simple and direct, sometimes comic and ironical 8. His work reflects his interest in the emotional problems of all classes and his passion for women. He excelled at revealing the hidden sides of people.



莫泊桑作品的特点是简洁凝练，有时带有喜剧色彩 和讽刺意味。从作品中可以看出，他对各阶层的情感问 题很感兴趣，以及他对女性的仰慕，他擅长揭示人物的 内心世界。



His first success, and one of his best short stories, Boule de suif (“Ball of Fat，”）express the hypocrisy 9 and ingratitude 10 of the bourgeois 11 in the face of a heroic gesture by a woman of the streets. It was published when he was 30. Over the next ten years, Maupassant produced many brilliant works. He published around 300 short stories, novels, travel books and poems.



羊脂球》是莫泊桑第一部成功之作，歌颂了一位 妓女的英雄壮举，对资产阶级的虚伪和忘恩负义进行了 批判，这部小说在他30岁时发表。接下来的10年中, 莫泊桑创作了许多杰作。共出版了大约300篇短篇小说、游记和诗作。



However his huge success had much to do with his mentor 12, Gustavo Flaubert. Flaubert counseled his disciple 13 in his philosophy of writing. He advised his student to write of the things that he knew about and he was to disregard any ideas of making money from his art.



然而，莫泊桑的巨大成功和他的文学导师福楼拜是 分不开的。福楼拜悉心指导莫泊桑的写作方法，建议他 写熟悉的事物，并告诫他写作是一种艺术，而不是谋生 的手段。



On language precision and conciseness 14 Flaubert remarked, “No matter what it is we’re going to depict 15， only one noun will do with its illustration, only one verb with the movement, and only one adjective tells it apart from others. We must keep honing and refining until we find that noun, verb or adjective. We cannot stop at being close. Neither should we refrain from difficulties and make do with similar second best words.” This is the renowned 16 “one-word theory” in the world literature.



在语言的准确和精练上，福楼拜教导莫泊桑说：“我 们无论描写什么事物，要说明它，只需一个名词；要赋 予它运动，只需一个动词；要区别它的性质，只需一个 形容词。我们必须不断地推敲，直到找到这个词为止。 不能满足于差不多，不能逃避困难而用类似的词语敷衍 了事。”这就是世界文学史上所谓“一语说”的来源。



Maupassant’s great achievement in his writing career proves that the secret of writing lies in lasting 17 resilience, perceptive 18 observation, careful refinement 19 and the exactness of language.



曰后莫泊桑在创作上取得的巨大成就证明：坚持不 懈、体察入微、精心提炼和准确使用语言确实是写作的 诀窍。