Recently, I watched the Oscar-nominated movie "Little Women" and was fascinated by this movie.
After finding this original novel by american female writer Alcott, I learned that the novel was published in 1868, and the story in the novel took place in about 1860.
Previously, there had been a lack of identification with American novels. For example, Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is not a children's novel? Compared with the compassion and emotion of Gorky's "Childhood", it feels tasteless and difficult to impress.
I once read this novel from beginning to end before the child went to bed, and there was really nothing that touched people's hearts except that the story was still fascinating. I have also seen his novel "The Gilded Age", which is almost difficult to read and boring.
The highly plucked "Moby Dick", half read, was also consumed by the novel's nagging narrative style, and could not read anymore.
Fitzgerald was the American writer I read the most, although the author's portrayal of human nature is amazing, but in his novel narrative, like the American novel, the description is stacked together, upside down, the content is mixed, and it is really a headache to read.
But Little Women is different. In terms of narrative, the novel also has some common characteristics of American novels, for example, its character feelings and objective descriptions are mixed together, and the omnipotent author's narrative perspective constantly jumps between the characters, giving people the feeling that the author constantly points out the east and west in the novel, and continuously explains the psychological activities of the characters, which can be said to be a common feature of the American novel, lack of subtlety and lack of deep psychological description, which is the reason why the American novel is prohibitive.
In contrast, Chinese readers prefer the melancholy, implicit, and blazing narrative of Russian literature, and rarely see a Chinese writer who enshrines American literature as a guideline. Of course, many of the contemporary Chinese writers who intend to be different in their writing style are able to emulate contemporary American writers, and this is not mentioned.
The shocking thing about "Little Women" is that it depicts the individual images of four daughters in an American family with a calm brushwork, and what is eye-opening is that the novel depicts the image of a courageous father and the figure of a mother who nourishes the child with love with a full of emotion.
In the past, I always felt that Hollywood movies were full of a kind of warm and shallow preaching, and I wondered where this kind of thing came from. After reading the original work of "Little Women", I realized that a large part of this spiritual source should exist in this novel.
The mother in the novel has been using her guidance to instill values on her four daughters. And she can be keenly aware of the vanity, comparison, and enjoyment psychology that inevitably appears in girls, and point them out to the children in a timely manner. Moreover, her teaching to children is not done through blunt methods, but lets children explore and experience on their own, feel from life, and then mothers summarize and improve their children. This method of education can be said to allow children to fully "trial and error", and then the mother sets the right course, even today, many of our parents may not be able to master this set of parental tactics.
For example, in the novel "Little Women", it is written that the mother did an experiment with her four daughters in order to improve the understanding of the meaning of work by four children. She asked the children to herd sheep en masse, pick up what they liked to do, don't do the work, and spend a week seeing how it turned out. In the beginning, the four daughters rejoiced, but eating and drinking all day long soon made them mentally weak, so the mother guided the children to realize the meaning of work and let them understand that only by working hard to create can people's lives be meaningful.
The mother concluded (see page 92 of the 2002 edition of the Shanghai Translation Publishing House, the same below):
"I want you to understand that the comfort of everyone depends on everyone doing his or her job faithfully. When Hannah and I work for you, you're not living well, but you're not necessarily happy and harmonious. So I want to teach you a little lesson about what happens when everyone thinks only of themselves. Do you think it's more enjoyable to help each other, to have daily responsibilities, to feel extra sweet when free time comes, and to have the courage to take responsibility and restraint, so that this home seems comfortable and lovely for each of us?
"Work is beneficial, everyone has many jobs, it keeps us from getting bored and boisterous, contributes to physical and mental health, and gives us a sense of strength and independence more than money and fashion."
"Just don't go to the other extreme, don't be buried in the work like a slave." Have a certain amount of time to work and play, make each day meaningful and enjoyable, and be good at using time to prove that you understand the value of time. In this way, you will be happy when you are young, and you will not have any regrets when you are old, and even if you are poor, life will be a great success. ”
This kind of praise for work appeared in a novel published in 1868, more than a hundred years away from today, and unfortunately, can we read this same kind of recognition of "work" in Chinese literature today? Even if we look at this passage of my mother today, we will feel that it is not outdated and not shallow.
A few years ago, a female guest on a TV blind date program threatened on TV: "I would rather sit on a BMW and cry than sit on a bicycle and laugh" caused an uproar, and this view of marriage and love can be seen that there is a considerable market.
In Little Women, the mother of four daughters has her unique understanding of love and marriage, and she tells her daughters how to choose and identify true love. She said:
"Don't marry someone just because they have money or a luxurious mansion, because a mansion without love is not a home." Money is necessary and precious—or noble if used properly—but I don't want you to see it as the primary or only goal to strive for. I would rather you be wives of the poor, as long as you enjoy the love of your husband and feel happy and satisfied, rather than sit on the throne as a queen without self-esteem and peace. ”
The phrase "a mansion without love is not a home" can say the true meaning of love. To use this sentence to diagnose "I'd rather sit in a BMW and cry than sit on a bicycle and laugh", takashita.
In "Little Women", the mother knows the meaning of "love" in marriage, and inspires children to have a marriage with a kernel of love, because only such a marriage with a core can truly assemble a warm and fragrant "home".
In the novel, the eldest daughter of the March family, Meg, is the most beautiful, and in the 2019 version, the eldest daughter Meg is played by Hermione in the Harry Potter series, and she finally marries the neighbor's anonymous governess, has the most precious love, although there is no money, but life is very happy.
In "Little Women", the author also describes the advantages and disadvantages of the mother guiding her four daughters to correctly recognize the advantages and disadvantages of "money". There is a saying Chinese, "The daughter should be rich", which means that the girl must be immune to "money", and the girl cannot be obsessed with and intoxicated under the wings of money, so that the girl will become a prisoner of money and take the first tragic step. But the method Chinese adopted is actually a "poison attack" method, which is to improve the girl's immunity to the temptation of money by giving her sufficient monetary satisfaction.
However, the mother in "Little Women" leads by example, using the love she exudes, the affection she spreads, and her perception of life to transmit to the girls the correct characterization and positioning of money, and determine their attitude and perception of money.
Mother said (see page 165 of the translation above):
"Money is a useful good thing, Joe. I hope that my girls will never feel too tight and embarrassed when it comes to money, nor will they be tempted by it too much. ...... I don't have any luxury in terms of fame and status for my girls. If money and status come with love and morality, then I will accept them happily and rejoice in your good fortune. But I know from experience how much true happiness I can enjoy in an ordinary little family. There, the bread of the day is earned by oneself, and a little bit of constraint makes some of the few pleasures more flavorful. I was satisfied to see that Meg's starting point was low. Because, if I'm not wrong, she will be rich with the heart of a good man, which is much better than wealth. ”
The mother did not deny the meaning and value of money, but the mother emphasized that "there is a way to make money", money is a by-product derived from happiness, rather than letting happiness parasitize money.
In "Little Women", what is particularly touching is the image of the father. In the novel, the father of the March family is depicted, who participated in the Civil War that determined the direction of the United States at that time, contributed to the country (in the novel, he is written as a military priest), and later fell ill outside. Although the father is not at home, the four daughters have been looking forward to the most cherished time when their father returns. The father is outside, and the letters to the children have also become the spiritual pillar they are most looking forward to.
Beth's Christmas wishes in the 1994 version are very touching
The 2019 and 1994 editions of the Little Women movie recreate the happy times when the whole family sat together and read their father's letters.
Note that in the 2019 version of the movie "Little Women", the four daughters sit next to their mothers and pose in a very beautiful shape, as if this is the only way to truly and completely share the voices from their fathers.
Stills from the 2019 edition
Stills from the 1994 edition
In contrast, when this part of the novel is written, it is not as grand as the movie, but it also describes in detail the sitting posture of the four daughters in a white depiction:
"They all moved closer to the stove, with mother sitting in an easy chair, Beth sitting at her feet, Meg and Amy sitting on the two leaning hands of the chair, and Joe leaning against the back of the chair, so that if the letter touched her feelings, no one could see her feelings."
In this letter from the father, the father's love for his daughter is expressed. The novel reads: "Letters written in those difficult times were rarely untouched, especially letters from my father. The letter says little about the hardships endured, the dangers faced, or the nostalgia that has been suppressed. It was a joyful and hopeful letter, mostly a vivid description of barracks life, marching and military dynamics; only at the end of the letter was filled with the father's love and concern for the younger daughters of the family. ”
Look at this letter from the father written in the novel, simple and touching:
"Give all my greetings and kisses to my daughters, tell them that I think of them during the day, pray for them at night, and feel great satisfaction for their love all the time. I'll have to wait a year to see them, which seems like too long, but remind them that we can all work while we wait, so as not to waste these hard days. I know that they will remember everything I said to them yesterday, that they will be your good children, that they will faithfully do their duty, that they will fight bravely against their shortcomings, and that they will fight and win well, so that when I return I will be more fond of and proud of my little women. ”
And when Christmas came the following year, my father returned home from his illness, and the whole family fell into a sea of joy.
The above is a touching scene of the 1994 version of the father-daughter meeting
Both the 2019 and 1994 editions of the film use all the sensational means of the film to show the most beautiful joy of the father's reunion with his daughters after his return.
The above is a beautiful scene of the 2019 version of the father-daughter meeting
In contrast, the novel is quite restrained:
Then, of course, there was a panic riot, and for a few minutes everyone lost their minds because the strangest thing happened, and no one could say a word about it. Mr. March was embraced by four pairs of loving arms so invisible. Joe fainted almost disgracefully and had to be rescued by laurie by the porcelain cabinet. Mr. Brooke kissed Meg completely out of error, and then explained something incoherently. Amy, who has always attached great importance to grace, was tripped by a stool, and when she could not get up, she hugged her father's boots and cried movingly. Mrs. March looked back and raised her hand in warning, "Shhh, don't make a sound!" Don't forget Beth! ”
But it was too late, the door to the study was wide open, and the man in the little red dressing gown appeared at the door—joy had injected strength into her weak limbs—and Beth ran straight into her father's arms. Forget what happened next, because the heartbeat was full of joy, washing away the bitterness of the past, leaving only the sweetness in front of the eyes.
Does this passionate depiction of a father seeing his children and embracing each other exist in Chinese literature? Who can find one? Of course, there are also cultural differences between the East and the West, Chinese will not directly express their inner emotions like foreigners, but what literary work in China writes about the sacred status of fathers in the minds of children?
The only image of a father-son relationship that I searched and searched for was in the 1961 film Revolutionary Family. The three children of the family in the film are full of expectations for the return of their father, just like the girls of the March family in "Little Women", who hang on to their father's return all day long, thinking that that moment is the happiest moment for the whole family.
In "Revolutionary Family", when the father really returns, the children of the family pounce on them like birds, put their arms around their fathers, and pour out their affection, and the father also holds the children tightly in his arms, sharing the happiness of the whole family.
Personal experience is limited, in Chinese films, it is difficult to find a second film that can show the deep love between father and son like the film in "Revolutionary Family".
In the 1980s, the Japanese movie "Blood Doubt" entered the country and set off a frenzy in China to find a father.
At the same time, the father in "The Girl in Red", which was adapted from Tie Ning's original work "Red Shirt without Buttons", is a weak and incompetent, no status in the family.
In recent years, the Indian film "Wrestle, Daddy" has once again aroused the interest of Chinese in their fathers. Perhaps in the case of long-term expectations for Chinese fathers, Chinese films have finally shown a courageous father image in 2019's "Galaxy Tuition Class", but the mother in the film has become a snobbish and mediocre representative, and the positioning of fathers and mothers in various dimensions in "Little Women" can be compared to see where the gap is.
Little Women was published in 1868, what was chinese literature like at that time? In Mu Xin's "Literary Memoirs", the chapter immediately followed by "Nineteenth-Century American Literature" is "Nineteenth-Century Chinese Literature", which directly states: "Nineteenth century Chinese literature has no genius." The heyday of modern Chinese literature was in the eighteenth century. ”
The nineteenth-century Chinese novels mentioned by Mu Xin include "Pin Hua Bao Jian", "The Biography of The Children's Heroes", "The Tale of the Flowers on the Sea", "The Mirror Flower Edge", and "Three Heroes and Five Righteousness", among which only "The Mirror Flower Edge" still has a little normal human atmosphere, and the other novels are full of mildew ideology, which is simply embarrassed to mention today. Which of these novels depicts the social reality of rich family atmosphere, family feelings, and human pursuits around 1860 like "Little Women"?
Almost none. None of the Chinese novels of the same era can describe literary works that can enlighten and spiritually soothe the Chinese of the present, and the main idea of the ideas in "Little Women" can still be felt with us today.
"Little Women" was published in 1868, and Chinese literature did not appear truly conscious modern novels until 1918, which is Lu Xun's "Diary of a Madman". It is exactly fifty years, and from this, we can see that chinese literature is fifty years apart from American literature. Whether this is the case, the benevolent will see the benevolent, and the wise will see the wise.