原文作者：陈榕

　　希拉里·曼特尔（hilary mantel）于1952年出生在英国的德比郡，大学时主修法律，毕业后曾经做过社工等工作。从20世纪70年代末期到80年代中期，她跟随从事地质研究的丈夫先后在非洲的博茨瓦纳、沙特阿拉伯的吉达定居，之后返回英国。曼特尔自1985年发表处女作《每天都是母亲节》（every day is mother’s day）开始，迄今已发表十多部长篇小说。她于1992年出版的反映法国大革命的历史小说《一个更安全的地方》（a place of greater safety）获得了《星期日快报》的年度图书奖。她于2009年和2012年分别出版了以历史人物托马斯·克伦威尔（thomas cromwell）为主角的历史小说《狼厅》（wolf hall）与《提堂》（bring up the bodies），两部小说均获得布克奖。本文我们为读者介绍的是《狼厅》。这部小说透过克伦威尔的眼睛，引人入胜地讲述了亨利八世统治下的都铎王朝的故事。[论文网]
 　　excerpts1）
　　“so now get up.”
　　felled， dazed， silent， he2） has fallen， knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. his head turns sideways， his eyes are turned towards the gate， as if someone might arrive to help him out. one blow， properly placed， could kill him now.
 　　blood from the gash3） on his head—which was his father’s first effort—is trickling4） across his face. add to this， his left eye is blinded； but if he squints5） sideways with his right eye he can see that the stitching6） of his father’s boot is unravelling7）. the twine8） has sprung clear of the leather， and a hard knot in it has caught his eyebrow and opened another cut.
 　　“so now get up！” walter9） is roaring down at him， working out where to kick him next. he lifts his head an inch or two and moves forward， on his belly， trying to do it without exposing his hands， on which walter enjoys stamping. “what are you， an eel10）？” his parent asks. he trots backwards， gathers pace， and aims another kick.
 　　it knocks the last breath out of him； he thinks it may be his last. his forehead returns to the ground； he lies waiting for walter to jump on him. the dog， bella， is barking， shut away in an outhouse. i’ll miss my dog， he thinks. the yard smells of beer and blood. someone is shouting， down on the river bank. nothing hurts， or perhaps it’s that everything hurts， because there is no separate pain that he can pick out. but the cold strikes him， just in one place： just through his cheekbone as it rests on the cobbles.
 　　“look now， look now，” walter bellows11）. he hops on one foot， as if he’s dancing. “look what i’ve done. burst my boot， kicking your head.”
 　　inch by inch. inch by inch forward. never mind if he calls you an eel or a worm or a snake. head down， don’t provoke him. his nose is clotted12） with blood and he has to open his mouth to breathe. his father’s momentary distraction at the loss of his good boot allows him the leisure to vomit. “that’s right，” walter yells. “spew everywhere.” spew everywhere， on my good cobbles. “come on， boy， get up. let’s see you get up. by the blood of creeping christ， stand on your feet.”

　　creeping christ？ he thinks. what a way to put it. his head turns sideways， his hair rests in his own vomit， the dog barks， walter roars， and bells peal13） out across the water. he feels a sensation of movement， as if the filthy ground has become the thames. it gives a

nd sways beneath him； he lets out his breath， one great final gasp. you’ve done it this time， the voice tells walter. but he closes his ears， or god closes them for him. he is pulled downstream， on a deep black tide.
 　　the next thing he knows， it is almost noon， and he is propped14） in the doorway of pegasus the flying horse15）. his sister kat is coming from the kitchen with a rack of hot pies in her hands. when she sees him she almost drops them. her mouth opens in astonishment. “look at you！”
 　　“kat， don’t shout. it hurts me.”
　　she bawls for her husband： “morgan williams！” she rotates16） on the spot， eyes wild， face flushed from the oven’s heat. “take this tray， body of god， where are you all？”
 　　he is shivering from head to foot， exactly like bella did when she fell off the boat that time.
 　　a girl runs in： “the master’s gone to town.”
　　“i know that， fool.” the sight of her brother had panicked17） the knowledge out of her. she thrusts the tray at the girl. “if you leave them where the cats can get at them， i’ll box your ears till you see stars.” her hands empty， she clasps them for a moment in violent prayer. “fighting again， or was it your father？”
 　　yes， he says， vigorously nodding， making his nose drop gouts18） of blood： yes， he indicates himself， as if to say， walter was here. kat calls for a basin， for water， for water in a basin， for a cloth， for the devil to rise up， right now， and take away walter his servant. “sit down before you fall down.” he tries to explain that he has just got up. out of the yard. it could be an hour ago， it could even be a day， and for all he knows， today might be tomorrow； except that if he had lain there for a day， surely either walter would have come and killed him， for being in the way， or his wounds would have clotted a bit， and by now he would be hurting all over and almost too stiff to move； from deep experience of walter’s fists and boots， he knows that the second day can be worse than the first. “sit. don’t talk，” kat says.
 　　when the basin comes， she stands over him and works away， dabbing19） at his closed eye， working in small circles round and round at his hairline. her breathing is ragged and her free hand rests on his shoulder. she swears under her breath， and sometimes she cries， and rubs the back of his neck， whispering， “there， hush， there，” as if it were him who were crying， though he isn’t. he feels as if he is floating， and she is weighting him to earth； he would like to put his arms around her and his face in her apron， and rest there listening to her heartbeat. but he doesn’t want to mess her up， get blood all down the front of her.

　1. 本文节选部分选自小说的开篇，描写了15岁的克伦威尔因和别人打架而遭到父亲的毒打，后跑到姐姐家寻求庇护的故事。
　　2. he：即小说主人公克伦威尔
　　3. gash [ɡ??] n. 长而深的伤口
　　4. trickle [?tr?k（?）l] vi. 滴，淌
　　5. squint [skw?nt] vi. 眯着眼看，窥看
　　6. stitching [?st?t???] n. 缝线，针脚
　　7. unravel [?n?r?v（?）l] vi. 散开
　　8. twine [twa?n] n. 细绳

　　9. walter：沃尔特，小说中克伦威尔的父亲
　　10. eel [i：l] n. 鳗鱼
　　11. bellow [?bel??] vi. 怒吼，咆哮
　　12. clot [kl?t] vt. 使凝结成块
　　13. peal [pi?l] vi. （钟等）鸣，响
　　14. prop [pr?p] vt. 支撑，维持
　　15. pegasus the flying horse：飞马酒馆，克伦威尔的姐姐家经营的酒馆的名称
　　16. rotate [r???te?t] vi. 旋转
　　17. panic [?p?n?k] vt. 使恐慌
　　18. gout [ɡa?t] n. （液体、黏物等的）一滴
　　19. dab [d?b] vi. 轻擦，轻敷
　　小说《狼厅》的主人公托马斯·克伦威尔在英国历史上拥有举足轻重的地位。他1485年出生于一个平民之家；后依靠红衣主教托马斯·沃尔西的支持，于1529年当选议会议员；又经国王亨利八世（1509～1547在位）的提拔，于1531年进入枢密院，历任财政大臣、掌玺大臣等，成为亨利八世身边的第一权臣。然而，他的节节高升也引发了世袭贵族的仇视，在贵族们的构陷下，他于1540年被亨利八世判处死刑。
 　　克伦威尔辅佐亨利八世的十年是英国经历改革阵痛的十年。此前，英国虽然拥有领土和王权的独立，但是在宗教事务上需要听命于罗马天主教教廷。1534年，亨利八世发布了由克伦威尔主持草拟的《至尊法案》等一系列法令，宣布英王是英国宗教的最高领袖，使英国成为具有独立主权的新型君主制国家。同时，克伦威尔推动了宗教改革先驱威廉·廷代尔所翻译的英语版的《大圣经》在英国的合法出版，将阅读《圣经》的权利从懂拉丁文的教士与上层人士手中移交给了普通民众。此后，克伦威尔还主持解散了修道院，将修道院的土地拍卖，这样做的益处在于：一方面，拍卖资金充实了亨利八世的国库；另一方面，大批拍卖的土地落入新兴资产阶级士绅手中，为未来的资产阶级革命埋下了伏笔。
 　　克伦威尔在政治上的贡献毋庸置疑，但他的操守和道德却为历史学家留下了疑点。克伦威尔早年追随红衣主教沃尔西。沃尔西倒台后，克伦威尔效忠于沃尔西的敌人诺福克公爵和他的侄女安妮·博林。借助安妮·博林的推荐，克伦威尔成为亨利八世的宠臣，帮助亨利八世摆脱罗马教廷的干预，使英王与结发妻子凯瑟琳离婚，并让安妮·博林坐上了王后的宝座。不过，最终造就安妮·博林覆灭的同样也是克伦威尔。他通过严刑逼供挖出了安妮·博林背叛婚姻的证据，亨利八世为此将安妮·博林送上了断头台。
 　　在历史书籍中，克伦威尔往往被描绘成一个为了向上攀登而不择手段的人。但曼特尔却认为史学家的笔触太冷，无法还原出立体的克伦威尔。她爬梳历史，经过几十年的素材积累和四年的写作，最终完成了历史小说《狼厅》。在小说中，曼特尔并不急于告诉读者克伦威尔的真面目，而是让我们直接以克伦威尔的视角去体验他的存在。小说一开始，我们便被克伦威尔的视角所牵引。当时，他只有15岁，被父亲踹倒在地。对于父亲疾风骤雨般的暴虐，他只能隐忍。隔着被鲜血模糊了的只能睁开一条缝的眼睛，他看着这个世界。
 　　透过克伦威尔的眼睛，我们看到的是一个充满重重暴力与死亡的世界。克伦威尔生活在亨利八世的时代，在那个时代，贵族的统治、宗教的迫害、迭起的战事、频发的瘟疫是绕在人们脖子上一道又一道的绞索。游走于宫廷的克伦威尔更是深陷“狼穴”：他服务的对象是英国历史上以反复无常而著称的君王亨利八世，他的周围是厌憎他一介平民居然能够身处庙堂的贵族重臣。对于贫苦出身、被人踩在脚下而顽强地活下来的克伦威尔来说，活着、保全自己几乎是生存的本能。意大利政治思想家和历史学家马基雅维利曾经在《君主论》中写道：“一个人如果在一切事情上都想发誓以善良自持，那么他厕身于许多不善良的人当中定会遭到毁灭。”这是一个“人对人是狼”的世界，权谋是生存的基本法则。《狼厅》没有掩饰克伦威尔身上的狼性，他的利爪和残酷是他面对这个冷漠世界时的防卫武器。
 　　然而，作者曼特尔并不满足于展示克伦威尔奸雄的一面，而是带领读者走进他的内心世界，让我们看到了他鲜活的人性：克伦威尔的妻子莉兹早亡，他始终保持着对妻子的忠诚与思念，终身未娶；妻女亡故后，克伦威尔接来了妻子家和克伦威尔家的众多兄妹甥侄，他们生活在同一个屋檐下；克伦威尔的地位日益显赫，普通人家将他们的孩子送到克伦威尔府上当听差，克伦威尔给予了这些孩子无私的提携，因为他从这些出身平凡的孩子身上看到了自己少年时代的影子。
 　　曼特尔的深刻在于，她对克伦威尔人性的展示并没有仅仅停留在对他私人事件的描写上，而是透过克伦威尔的信仰表现出他更深层次的人性关怀。克伦威尔九岁时，曾亲眼目睹异教徒被焚于火刑架，这促使他成了一名新教徒。他反对狭隘的宗教观，反对天主教打着爱上帝的名义剥夺拥有不同信仰的民众的生命。为此，他与英国的空想社会主义者托马斯·莫尔站在了对立的两极。人们往往喜欢把托马斯·莫尔看做伟大的人文主义者。莫尔在《乌托邦》中勾勒出一个没有战争、没有宗教迫害、充满公平正义的乌有之乡，让我们对彼岸的世界有了具象的想象。但在现实中，莫尔的行为却是对《乌托邦》所构筑的理想国的嘲讽。正是这位人文主义者亲自参与对新教徒的追捕和审讯，将新教徒烧死在火刑柱上。《狼厅》解构了历史上莫尔与克伦威尔之间的善恶对立：莫尔这位圣徒虽然外表完美，但内心冰冷；克伦威尔这位权臣虽然外表阴冷，但内心却充满了对弱者的同情与悲悯。
 　　历史小说是一种不易驾驭的文体：历史人物的命运已经由历史课本交代清楚，毫无悬念。《狼厅》结尾部分，克伦威尔还不到50岁，正沿着“光荣之路”大步迈进。可是我们都知道，1540年他将被送上断头台。难能可贵的是，阅读《狼厅》时，我们即便熟知主人公的人生走向，依然会被故事的叙述深深吸引。作者曼特尔用开阔处宏大、细微处敏感的笔触带我们进入克伦威尔的精神世界，让我们随着他从匍匐的泥地上挣扎爬起，一步步走向权力的巅峰，体会他在逼仄窘迫的环境中以狼的姿态奋力突围，也体会他内心涌动的人性力量。阅读《狼厅》是一种独特的体验，历史的羊皮卷在我们眼前徐徐展开，历史人物次第走来，我们作为读者仿佛也参与了整个事件，并有幸分享了历史所塑造的荣光。