John Galsworthy

A Modern Comedy is part of the Forsyte Chronicles (1886---1926), in which Galsworthy pictures the life of a large, upper middle-class family against a carefully detailed background of English life. Solid and very readable, this novel is important as a social document aside from its value as literature. The volume is composed of three long sections --- The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon, and Swan Song---originally published as separate novels, and two interludes. Galsworthy's social history is valuable as a record of the various currents of British life in the 1920's.

Soames Forsyte was a member of the board of the Providential Premium Reassurance Society. Against his better judgment, the society had invested much of its holdings in foreign securities. Because the European exchange was so unstable, Soames insisted that the report to the stockholders be detailed. Not long afterward, Butterfield, a clerk in the P.P.R.S. office, overheard a conversation between Elderson, the manager, and a German. The German insisted that Elderson, who had received commissions on the society's investments in Germany, should see to it that the board made good any losses if the mark fell in value. Accused of bribery, Elderson denied the charge and dismissed Butterfield. When pressed, however, Elderson escaped to the continent. The stockholders were outraged that the board had permitted Elderson to get away. Although Soames explained that any early revelation of the manager's dishonesty would have been futile, he received very little support from his listeners. He resigned from the board.

Michael Mont, Soames’ son-in-law, was a publisher. When Butterfield lost his job with the P.P.R.S., Soames asked Michael to give the clerk employment. Butterfield prospered as a salesman of special editions.

Michael's wife, Fleur, had been spoiled by her father. She was restless, passionate, and not in love with her husband. Wilfred Desert, an artist, was deeply in love with her, but she knew that he could provide only adventure, not love. Wilfred finally left the country for Arabia. For a time the relationship of Michael and Fleur appeared happier, and Fleur gave birth to a son, whom they named Christopher.

Before she married Michael, Fleur had been in love with her cousin, Jon Forsyte, but because of a family feud she could not marry him. Jon had gone to America, where he fell in love with a Southern girl, Anne Wilmot, and married her.

A year or so after Christopher's birth, Michael entered Parliament. To help her husband and to provide herself with diversion, Fleur entertained many prominent people. One night Soames overheard one of Fleur's guests, Marjorie Ferrar, speak of her as a snob. He asked Marjorie to leave the house. Fleur was impatient with her father for interfering, but she criticized Marjorie for creating an unpleasant scene. Marjorie demanded an apology. After an offer of settlement from Soames, Marjorie still insisted on the apology and took her suit into court, Soames and his lawyer managed to prove that Marjorie was a woman of irresponsible morals. Fleur won the case, but the victory brought her so many snubs from former friends that she was more unhappy than ever.

Francis Wilmot, whose sister Anne had married Jon, arrived from America to see what England was like. He stayed for a time with Fleur and Michael but, having fallen in love with Marjorie Ferrar, he moved out after the unpleasantness between Marjorie and Fleur. Marjorie refused to marry him, however, and go to what she felt would be a dull life in America. Francis contracted pneumonia in a lonely hotel and would have died but for the kindliness of Fleur. He recovered and went back to America.

Fleur, discontented with her life in London, persuaded Soames to take her on a trip around the world. Michael could not leave until the current session of Parliament had adjourned. He was fostering Foggartism --- a plan for a return to the land and for populating the dominions with the children of the British poor---and he felt that he must remain in London. It was arranged that he would meet Fleur and Soames in Vancouver five months later. Meanwhile, little Christopher would be in the care of his grandmother, Soames' wife.

While in Washington, Fleur, Michael, and Soames stayed at the hotel where Jon Forsyte and his mother, Irene, were also staying. It was Soames' first sight of his divorced wife in many years. He kept discreetly in the background, however, and saw to it that Fleur did not encounter Jon.

Back in London, with the Marjorie Ferrar affair almost forgotten, Fleur was eager for activity. When the general strike of 1926 began, she opened a canteen for volunteer workers. One day she saw Jon there. He had come over from France to work during the strike. Jon's conscience would not let him fall in love again with Fleur, but she managed to be near him as often as she could. After a single night together, Jon wrote that he could not see her again.

Foggartism having met with high disfavor and unpopularity, Michael became interested in slum improvement. Fleur, still smarting from Jon's rebuff, established a country rest home for working girls. Michael's work had taught him that the poor would never have consented to part with their children, even though keeping them would always mean privation and suffering. He realized that he was well out of Foggartism.

Soames, unhappy in an environment of post-war confusion and family unrest, spent more and more time among his collection of great paintings. One night, awakened by the odor of smoke, he discovered that his picture gallery was on fire. With the aid of his chauffeur, he managed to save many of his pictures by tossing them out the window. At last, when they could stay in the house no longer, they went outside, where Soames directed the firemen as well as he could. Then he saw that one of his heavily framed pictures was about to fall from the window above. He also saw that Fleur was deliberately standing where the frame would fall on her. He ran to push her out of the way, and received the blow himself. He died from exhaustion and from the injury. Fleur was further desolated because she knew that her own desire for death had killed her father. The death of Soames brought her to her senses, however. Michael was assured that her affair with Jon was over forever. (来源：英语麦当劳－英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

现 代 喜 剧

〔英〕 约翰·高尔斯华绥 胡家峦 译

《现代喜剧》是福赛特家庭纪事史(1886—1926)的一部分；在这部纪事史中，高尔斯华绥以精雕细琢的英国生活为背景，生动地描绘了一个中上层阶级大家庭的生活。《现代喜剧》内容充实，十分易读，除了具有文学价值外，也是重要的社会文献。它包括原先作为单行本发表的《白猿》、《钥匙》和《天鹅之歌》等三部长篇小说，以及两个插曲。高尔斯华绥的社会历史记载了二十世纪二十年代英国的各种生活潮流，是很有价值的。

索姆斯·福赛特是天佑再保险会的董事。这家再保险会违反他明智的判断，用了大笔股金购买外国债券。由于欧洲汇兑行市极不稳定，索姆斯坚决要求对股东必须提出详细的报告。不久之后，天佑再保险会的办公室职员巴特菲尔德偷听到经理埃尔德森和一个德国人的谈话。由于埃尔德森已经得到再保险会购买德国债券的佣金，那个德国人硬要他保证，如果马克贬值，董事会必须赔偿他们的损失。埃尔德森被控受贿，但他拒不接受指控，而且还辞退了巴特菲尔德。可是，在追查逼问之下，他又慌忙逃往欧洲大陆。股东们对董事会居然让埃尔德森脱身感到愤慨。尽管索姆斯解释说，即使及早透露经理的欺骗行为也无济于事，但他得不到股东们的支持。于是他辞去董事职务。

索姆斯的女婿迈克尔·蒙特是出版商。在巴特菲尔德失去天佑再保险会的工作后，索姆斯就叫迈克尔雇用他。巴特菲尔德当上特制版本的推销员，十分成功。

迈克尔的妻子弗勒被她的父亲娇宠坏了。她坐立不定，性情暴躁，不爱自己的丈夫。艺术家威尔弗雷德·德塞特深深地钟情于她，但她知道他所能带给她的只是冒险，而不是爱情。威尔弗雷德最后离开了英国，前往阿拉伯。有一段时间，迈克尔和弗勒的关系似乎融洽一些。弗勒生了一个儿子，取名克里斯托弗。

弗勒在嫁给迈克尔之前，曾爱过她的堂兄乔恩·福赛特，但由于家庭之间的宿怨而不能和他结婚。乔恩到了美国，在那里爱上一位叫安妮·威尔莫特的南方姑娘，后来就娶她为妻。

克里斯托弗出生约一年之后，迈克尔进了国会。为了帮助丈夫，也为了自己消遣，弗勒招待大批知名人物。有一天晚上，索姆斯偷听到弗勒的一个客人马乔里·弗拉尔说弗勒是一个势利鬼。于是他就叫马乔里滚蛋。弗勒对父亲的好管闲事很不耐烦，但也批评马乔里无事生非。马乔里要求对方赔礼道歉。在索姆斯提出了解决办法之后，马乔里仍然坚持自己的要求，并向法庭提出诉讼。索姆斯和他的律师设法证明马乔里是一个毫无道德责任感的女人。弗勒打赢了官司，但这场胜利却招致朋友们对她的冷落，使她感到更加不快活。

弗朗西斯·威尔莫特是乔恩的内兄，他从美国前来想看看英国是什么样子。他在弗勒和迈克尔的家里住了一段时间，但由于爱上了马乔里，在马乔里和弗勒之间发生不愉快的事件之后，他就搬了出去。可是，马乔里却不肯和他结婚，她不愿去过她认为是索然无味的美国生活。弗朗西斯住在一家僻静的旅馆里，患了肺炎。如果没有弗勒善意的照顾，他是活不成的。病愈之后，他返回美国去了。

弗勒不满她在伦敦的生活。她说服索姆斯带她去周游世界。当时国会正在开会，迈克尔不能走开。他正在宣扬“福加特主义”，即一项号召人们回到田里去以及把英国穷人子女移居到海外属地去的计划。他认为自己必须留在伦敦。根据安排，他将在五个月后到温哥华与弗勒和索姆斯会合。在这期间，小克里斯托弗将由其外祖母——索姆斯的妻子——照看。

在华盛顿时，弗勒、迈克尔和索姆斯，与乔恩·福赛特和他的母亲艾琳住在同一家旅馆里。这是索姆斯多年来第一次看到他离了婚的前妻。但是，他一直谨慎地躲在幕后，设法使弗勒和乔恩不要相遇。

弗勒回到伦敦后，差不多已经忘记了马乔里·弗拉尔事件。她渴望着参加活动。当1926年总罢工开始时，她为志愿工人创办了食堂。有一天，她在那里见到了在罢工期间从法国回来工作的乔恩。乔恩的良心已不允许他再和弗勒相爱，但弗勒却设法尽可能地常接近他。他和弗勒共度一夜之后，便写信说再也不能同她见面了。

由于福加特主义不得民心，迈克尔转而又对改进贫民窟问题发生兴趣。遭到乔恩拒绝而仍感痛苦的弗勒，也为女工们设立了一个乡音休息所。迈克尔的工作使他意识到，穷人们是决不肯和子女分离的，即使赡养子女总使他们沦于贫困和痛苦。他认识到自己幸而摆脱了福加特主义。

在战后混乱和家庭不安的环境中，索姆斯郁郁寡欢，把时间越来越多地消磨在他所收藏的名画上。有一天夜里，他被浓烟熏醒，发现他的绘画陈列室起了火。他在司机的帮助下进行抢救，把许多幅画从窗口抛了出去。最后，他们在屋里再也呆不下去，便跑到外面来。索姆斯又在屋外全力指挥消防队员们灭火。他看见有一幅框架很沉的画快要从上面的窗口掉下来，同时也看见弗勒故意站在画框即将落下的地方。他跑过去推开了弗勒，画框便落在他的头上。他精疲力竭，伤重而死。弗勒心里更加难过，因为她知道她想自杀，却害死了父亲。可是，索姆斯之死使她醒悟了过来。迈克尔深信，她和乔恩之间的关系从此结束了。