无可救药爱上你2002

    Possession: a romance is often considered as a complex suspense novel regarding history of literature and love. The story starts with a twentieth century dead-in-wood scholar Roland who spends all his time studying a poet Ash from the nineteenth century. It appears at the beginning of the novel that this book focuses on the position of males, particularly Roland and Ash, in different social background. However, new highlights are brought into the novel when Roland discovered the love letters between Ash and Christabel, another poet at that time. The author portrays Christabel and Maud Bailey, tow ladies from different times who change to fight for their freedom to discuss the roles of women through out the history, and how the talent and freedom of women was suppressed.

       Both Christabel and Maud are described in a somehow negative manner when they first appeared in the story. Roland describes the photo of Christabel as “no clear impression of anyone in particular; it was generic Victorian lady, specific shy poetess” (Byatt 44) Similarly, Maud is described as a very ordinary figure. “At first he did not identify Maud Bailey, and he himself was not in any way remarkable” (44). Thus, it can be clearly seen that both Christable and Maud were not considered stunning based on how they looked. Roland even has the impression that Maud “smelled of something ferny and sharp. Roland didn’t like her voice” (44). This shows that most people in the society didn’t appreciate women’s beauty at first sight.

     Byatt makes lots of hints and metaphor regarding the fact that people didn’t realize the talent and importance of women. Maud Bailey’s hair is blonde and metallic, a gold that might have existed before the discovery of precious metal: As she unbinds her mane "Roland saw the light rush towards it and glitter on it, the whirling mass, and Maud inside it saw a sea of gold lines, waving" (296). This represents Maud’s stunning beauty and talent; however, She wears it covered with a scarf, symbolic of repressed Victorian sexuality. Although Christabel’s hair color (like Maud’s hair and the scintillating waters of the fountain) is metamorphic in hue, we have seen that it contains pale loops of silver-gold (301). Gold – the color of charm, confidence, and power linked two women together in reflecting an essential element of their feminine nature—fertility, confident and attracting.
“Mine the bright earth
Mine the corn
Mine the gold throne
To which you’re born
Lie in my lap
Tumbled with flowers”
This is the song of the gold lady who wears a "queenly crown of gold, a filigree turret of lambent sunny gleams and glistering wires above crisping gold curls as heavy with riches as the golden fleece itself" (169). Based upon these parallels, we can conclude that in Possession, women’s wealth — their power and energy — lies in their hair. Even though Christabel’s and Maud’s beauty and power is not recognized, their natural female characters still exist and shine just like the sparkling gold lady.

The connection between Maud and Christabel serves also to connect the past to the present, the Victorian to the Post-modern. Feminism is an important aspect in each time period of the novel. Maud is a modern feminist, attempting to balance her identity as a woman with her identity as an academic scholar, and Christabel is trying to overcome her femininity by living as a recluse with another woman before she met R. H. Ash. Similarly, Maud is a withdrawn person, wary of men, and distrustful. Christabel is doing what many women of her time were doing, that is, struggling for masculine freedom in a world that was very limited for a woman. Maud is doing what many women today are attempting to do, that is, trying to reconcile and accept her femininity in an academic, typically male, environment. Byatt plays up this feminist view of literature and society by choosing to base Christabel's poetry on the strongly feminist poetry. She and Maud are living the liberated version – living on their own, being away from the secular society. These all indicate the ways that women fight against the social pressures and choose their own liberate styles to live.

          Not surprisingly, the light that gold emits cannot be covered up. Eventually, the free soul broke out and the courage pursuing liberty and love beat the fear of being different from others. Christabel and Maud both changed, as they could not reserve their true feelings anymore. In Victorian tradition, it was the man who 'owned' the woman, his wife. Yet in this modern Victorian work, that becomes twisted. When Ash attempts to 'claim' Christabel on page 308 by holding her and making love to her, the act of possession is switched around. He is trying figuratively to grasp her, and 'she was liquid moving through his grasping fingers, as though she was waves of the sea rising all round him.' He tries to take her all in, to know her, and her womanhood eludes him, as personality always will. Byatt's message seems to be that a personality cannot be taken or possessed by someone else, that individuality always remains, even in Victorian situations of female oppression and domination by males. The same love story that defines Christabel and Ash in the 1860's also describes Roland and Maud in the 1980's. Roland gradually changed his impression about Maud and found her extremely charming as a serious scholar and a beautiful independent woman. As two hearts got closer and closer, Maud finally chose to be her true self. She told Roland about her relationship with Fergus, and the reason why she reserved beauty. Then she was convinced to uncover her hair. “The segments of the plaits were like streaked and polished oval stones, celandine yellow, straw-yellow, silvery yellow, glossy with constricted life. Roland was moved—not exactly with desire, but with an obscure emotion that was partly pity, for the rigorous constriction all that mass had undergone, to be so structured into repeating patterns. If he closed his eyes and squinted, the head against the sea was crowned with knobby horns.” (291) This was how Roland felt when he saw Maud’s hair. The incomparable stunning beauty shocked Roland. “Life is so short,” said Roland. “It has a right to breathe.”(291) The courage and desire for love and freedom made them decide to give their love the right to breathe.

          Through the two love stories, sexuality is also discussed. On page 6, there is a passage on R.H. Ash's poem representing Proserpina, an ideal Greek woman, as 'gold-skinned in the gloom..grain golden… bound with golden links.' This is an example of idealized fertility and sexuality in Victorian women. It represents sexuality as something that can be conquered and possessed, like gold or grain. The suppression of sexuality in the Victorian era is a theme throughout the book, in both time periods, as is the sexual freedom that both couples eventually reach. The sexuality in Victorian society can be traced in Possession.

        Byatt successfully displays the change of the roles of women through out the history by shifting from the 1860's to the present. The romances are so similar that it is often difficult to tell which couple Byatt is writing about in any given situation. The way this romantic narrative fits both couples and time periods seems to suggest that not so much has changed, and romance from one time to another is not so different as we thought. The characters mix the old and the new; Maud wears a brooch once belonging to Christabel, and another Ash scholar, Mortimer Cropper, carries Ash's pocket watch. In the end of the novel, the last love letter written by Christabel enables Maud to finally enjoy the value of love in the present, and give her trust to Roland. The cyclical time frame of the novel provides an interesting contrast to the normal, stifling, linear time frame of typical literature and everyday life.

         Possession, a novel with lots of feminism color, does a good job in portraying two female characters from different times to call for the respect and attention for women from the society. Christabel and Maud are two respectable females who set an example for women to be who they want to be and gain respect and love they deserve.

有时间的话读一下原著吧, Byatt模仿维多利亚时代诗人Robert Browning和美国女诗人Emily Dickenson写的那些戏剧独白和短诗着实精彩, 还有浸泡着浓浓的书卷气的无比含蓄却热烈的书信,读起来浑身鸡皮疙瘩...小拜模拟人物说话写作的水平是一流的.就像她形容男主角Randolph Ash的那样, 是一伟大的ventriloquist

我一直讨厌格温妮丝帕特洛，冲着Jennifer Ehle把她忍下来了，没想到还有Toby Stephens和Tom Hollander作为惊喜和囧....

Jennifer Ehle的眼睛真是太美了，当他们终于决定再次见面，穿着披风穿过人群的Christabelle如同从中世纪的油画里走出来一样，脸上神秘温柔甜蜜的笑容，害我一直质疑这个电影难道说的是中世纪的一对恋人，让我想起爱洛伊丝和阿拉贝尔，他两的相爱同样不能公开，同样“唯美”。

当然如果用天涯标准来衡量，这爱情绝不美好。伤害的人除了Christabelle的同性恋人，还有Ash的妻子。不过电影有个细节让我觉得很囧，那就是，MS Ash跟他老婆都没xx过？说什么physical 的，我搞晕了，英语太差劲了...

爱依然是美好的，我如果是Ash，也一定会一头栽死在jennifer Ehle的眼睛，和诗歌里.............

我喜欢那个结尾，Maya小朋友真太美了，英语说的那么好听，最后来一句我希望我能记得，结果真给忘了，弄的我都有点唏嘘..........

演女诗人的那个演员就是95的《傲慢与偏见》的女主角，她浪漫，优雅，自信，独立的气质真是让人印象深刻，先看的这个电影才然后才看的95的《傲慢与偏见》的，当时看见傲慢与偏见的时候就觉得这简直就是我心中的Elizabeth,两段感情都让人觉得浪漫而美好，是个不错的片子！

那一只中世纪流传下来的鹅毛笔
睡了那么久
尖锐变得圆滑
还是说不出 爱情

冰河期的冰凌还在心胸生长
等待无数的春天飘过
黄莺声声 大雁归来
依然侧影锋利
靠近就鲜血淋淋

采集象形文字堆砌深情
烧尽真挚的温柔 尝尽世间冷暖 闻过万种心酸
看不到清澈流转
只能用匹诺曹传达消息

我爱你

一千次的高呼
没有一次回首
衣袂飘飘 年代走远
找不到亲爱的水晶鞋
光着脚 诗句都破碎 光鲜夺目的脸庞飘荡在河畔
诗歌破碎成文字
看不到蚊子 只有苍蝇

为什么不给我一朵蔷薇一个城堡一个童话的故事
为什么就这样让我在凌晨入睡
抱紧我所有的文字我最好的自己 它们沉重 我可以携带它们沉湖
在湖中种下水草 种下永恒的陪伴
等不来一个诗人的问候 让我燃烧你然后燃烧我自己
看我 用文字眷念笔尖摇曳的深情
残缺 留给你 记下它们记下刻骨铭心

去年十月读的小说，中文译本。可以想见英文原版应该很不错，毕竟仅凭作者对维多利亚时期诗歌的摹写，就应该可以打个高分了。可惜中文译本只是差强人意而已。我觉得译本最有损原著的地方，在于用词上的不协调和不谨慎，尤其在诗歌翻译上，使得全书有情节，而无意境。我自己没有做这本书的翻译，所以也不好做太多批评。翻译中的艰难，有时是读者难以想象的。尤其在诗歌体裁上。

说起来，书还是一部好书。仅情节一条，就可以给个高分。当代小说着眼学术研究的，并不多。对学术研究，尤其是文学研究中的种种弊端，了解的人就并不多见，能如此隐晦、又如此辛辣地予以讽刺的文学作品，就更不多见。原书作者本人大约在此文学研究的圈子里浸濡良久，有些篇章文字可以见得其不吐不快的心情。在讽刺之外，作者以女性的角度，对感情和性别关系，无论是当下的、或是古典的，予以了深刻剖析。对比了古典世界的女性姐妹情谊（sisterhood）与现代女性的性向的多重选择，探讨了古典家庭伦理道德与现代情感选择的自由与受缚。从笔法上看，时空转换自然而不晦涩，人物关系复杂却很有条理。字里行间弥漫着十九世纪英式古典风范。难怪此书一出，便多有好评。

再来看这部电影，就连差强人意也算不上了。导演和编剧尽力保留了全书叙述的主干，却丢掉了全书的灵魂。比如，原著利用诗歌和信件做的叙述视角转换，可以在叙事的同时，强调情感上的古今大同。这一点其实完全可以以电影手法全面表现，然而实际的效果实在让人失望。让人不由觉得，导演自己本身并没有读透原著。原书的人文精神和对情感、性别关系的讨论在影片里荡然无存。甚至影片还设计了主人公对偷盗行为的津津乐道，而这正是原书作者想极力纠正的——罗兰在图书馆偷出了那封信的草稿并不假，然而之后，罗兰和莫德的每一步研究和探索，都是遵从学术规范的，作者设计的两组、甚至三组不同研究人群，正是对当下学术研究制度中不可避免的自私与肤浅的嘲笑与抨击，而到了影片这里，这反倒成了一种乐趣。实在让人不知可以说什么。另外，原书中所涉及的不同情形下，人与人之间的疏离与亲密之间的张力，在影片中也全无体会。一本深入浅出的好书，最终被拍成了两段几乎没有交集的、老套的爱情故事。

若是不看原著，仅看电影。应该可以归到诸如《真爱至上》一类的爱情小品。如此看来，应该打个尚可的分数。影片色彩明快，节奏也并不拖沓。两位女演员的表演，尤其是饰演克里斯贝的Jennifer Ehle，十分可圈可点。格温妮丝一贯的英式风范和知性自然不必提，而詹妮弗简直是个奇迹，可以在这样的剧本中，准确地再现和表达了克里斯贝刚柔兼济的人物性格。可惜克里斯贝的矛盾与踌躇无法显现，这不是演员的错，是导演和编剧的过失。可惜了这两个好演员。给这部电影三颗星，完全在詹妮弗身上。

我不能让你将我点燃，
可是我也无力抗拒，
没有人能在这样的爱火中不被燃烧。
终于，我执起你的手，
把我的手放在你的手心。

一切开始于1859年的一次聚会。那是伦敦的春夜，风中仍有丝丝寒意，可是肌肤上的每一个毛孔，已经能感受到爱人般让人心醉神迷的呼吸，就像亚西看着克里斯贝的温柔的眼。他看见的是一张满月的脸庞，流溢着母性智慧包容的光辉，在橙色的灯光下，安全，优雅，如同一场突如其来的梦，亚西像个初生的婴儿，他的灵魂，连同此后的整个生命，就这样轻易地坠了进去。

一百多年后，当来自美国的年轻英国文学研究者米切尔在伦敦的图书馆里无意间发现亚西在那场晚会后写给克里斯贝的情书时，欣喜若狂，又不敢相信。亚西，这个19世纪的英国人，在后人眼里，从来是一个模范丈夫、天才诗人，与发妻相伴一生，无任何感情不谐的记载。现在，诗人另外一段感情突然露出了隐约的一角，那个时代的隐秘和克制使它像朵藏于深谷的幽兰，愈发引人遐思。米切尔一心要揭开这层面纱，他的眼前，不断幻化出诗人为克里斯贝写下这第一封情书的情景，小心，忐忑，像初恋少年般激动不安。经朋友介绍，他结识了年轻漂亮的莫德，一位研究克里斯贝的英国本土女学者，而且是克里斯贝家族的后裔。对自己的学术事业非常自负的莫德，起初根本不相信隐居于乡间深居简出，而且有同性恋迹向、一生未婚的女诗人的克里斯贝，会有这样一份不为人知的爱情。可她还是答应陪同米切尔去克里斯贝的故居试一试，看看能否找到别的证据。寻找的过程中，反而是她对环境的熟悉和女性的敏感，帮助他们发现了被女诗人秘密收藏了一百多年的一摞情书。循着情书中的线索，他们追随古人的脚步，重新体验诗人的爱情之旅，甜蜜而忧伤的离合。在一幕幕爱情的闪回中，莫德和米切尔彼此间的爱意也在潜滋暗长。

这个故事一定让很多人想起了20年前的一部经典爱情片《法国中尉的女人》，戏中戏，时空交错，荡气回肠的电影与缠绵缱绻的情书串连起古典与现代的英式爱情。珠玉在前，《法国中尉的女人》在对比之中爱情不再的喟叹以及结构、画面的完美都颇难逾越，但《迷梦情缘》显然不想超越什么，也不要那样沉重，它只想表现两段让人心动的爱情。虽然时空相联的电影技巧也无甚新奇之处，可对于喜欢小情小调的人来说，仍然那么精致可人，甚至是电影里渲染浪漫的最重要手段，在更为精巧的时间转换中，两场爱情跨越一百多年的时光，相互映照，美丽上演。

古堡的阁楼里，手电筒微弱的灯光照出一小片柔和的天地，就像当年静谧的书房里照着相恋的诗人们的那束橙色烛光，穿越时空，轻笼着莫德和米切尔，他们交替读着克里斯贝和亚西的情书，缠绵的情话和爱情的重现中，镜头不断切回到莫德和米切尔温柔的脸上，那段不朽的恋情已经在向他们的心里悄悄传递。

他们驱车去诗人共渡蜜月的乡间，汽车从桥下驶过，桥上，一百多年前的蒸汽火车载着诗人迎面而来，就在一个镜头里，完美地完成了时空的转换。诗人手拉手走出古老乡村旅馆的木门，门外进来的却是一百多年后他们的两个年轻的仰慕者，轻轻抚摸他们用过的物件，站在他们当年驻足的窗前，呼吸着从一百多年前英格兰田野吹过来的清风。

莫德和米切尔去户外散步，在林中发现了一小块湖水和一道瀑布，莫德凭女人的直觉知道，瀑布后面有个山洞，当年，一定是在这里，两个诗人小心压抑的爱情火苗终于尽情燃烧了。米切尔就像坠入情网的亚西，孩子气地跳入冰冷的水中去证明她的猜测，莫德静静倾听着从水的那端传来的喊声，脸上的表情细微而动人，恍惚，难以置信，不由自主的感动，镜头慢慢平摇，她的旁边，克里斯贝也在静静听着亚西孩子似的欢呼。

旅程的终点，诗人在车站等火车，克里斯贝撕碎了为这段爱情所写的那些诗歌，因为它们还不足以表达出她的爱，而这份爱只能永远藏在心里。克里斯贝的女友死了，孩子死了。我们到底还是知道了，分离和怨恨仍然将如期而至，克里斯贝继续她的隐居生活，亚西要回到深爱的妻子身边。在车站的转角处，泊着莫德的汽车，产生了分歧的年轻学者也在安静地道别。

很难想象，这个极具英国味的电影竟贴着美国出品的标签，类似一场以虚构的英国诗人为向导的古典英伦梦，优雅的男女，内敛的感情，美丽的英格兰田野，田野里浓得化不开的冷绿，而室内，永远是橙色光线下柔和的脸，温婉而安然的笑容。演诗人的两个演员杰里米•诺森和詹妮弗•艾莉，我们早已在很多英国古装片中见过他们了，对他们的演技丝毫不用怀疑。现代的恋人，则由格温尼丝•帕尔特洛和艾伦•艾克哈特扮演，格温尼丝的古典美人所公认，她的活泼灵动和艾克哈特微微的鲁莽直率又使他们的恋情带上了一些现代的色彩。

擅长美国主流温馨喜剧的导演尼尔•莱布特，当然不会让这部电影完全英国化。为了增强故事性，他在古典爱情里加入了同性恋，爱人的嫉妒，死亡，两个无辜女人的悲剧；现代的爱情，米切尔心底藏着一道爱情旧伤，时时发作，莫德又要面对同事的爱慕和知性的冷静，虽然一路相伴，却总不能一路欢歌。当然还有一点点美式的喜剧来调味，“邦妮和克莱德”，这是同事对他们的戏称，而他们也当之无愧，夜探古堡，心细如发，互相掩护偷取资料更是拿手好戏，到了最后，竟然还有窥探、掘墓、埋伏的准惊险片桥段，比一般的英国古装片要轻松得多。

莫德和米切尔从教授那里抢回了在地下长伴亚西的铁盒，里面封存有一束秀发、一张年轻女子的相片，和克里斯贝最后一封信，直到亚西长眠也没有看到的信。他不知道他的女儿还活着，不知道爱人根本就没有恨过他。

可是故事并没有完。结尾时，亚西来到郊外，在心底呼唤着爱人的名字，希望得到她的原谅。在一棵冠盖如荫的树下，他遇见了一个也叫克里斯贝的小女孩，看见她的第一眼，他就知道，那是他的女儿。他让孩子带给克里斯贝阿姨两页他的诗歌，告诉她：“一个诗人想见她，却见到了你。”而这两页诗和克里斯贝的那封信一样，最终也没有送达，它们落在田野上，在娇嫩的草地上轻轻颤抖片刻，然后随风而去，把甜蜜而忧伤的遗憾，和一场不朽的爱情，永远留在风里，等待相爱的心灵去发现。