尤瑟纳尔,玛格丽特(Yourcenar, Marguerite,1903-1987),真名Marguerite de Crayencour,法国诗人、小说家、戏剧家和翻译家。出生于比利时布鲁塞尔,父亲为法国人,母亲为比利时人。她只受过很少的正规教育。1947年,成为美国公民,但她只用法语写作。她的第一本诗集 Le Jardin des chimères (1921)显示了她作为一个作家的高超技巧,她重新诠释了古希腊神话,使它们与现实世界发生联系。1922年,她出版了另一本诗集Les Dieux ne sont pas morts。她的第一部小说 Alexis, ou le traité du vain combat (1929;《亚历克西斯,或者一个徒劳挣扎的故事》,1984年出版英译本)是从一个艺术家的视角进行写作,这个艺术家想要献身于自己的事业,却遭到家庭的反对。她对意大利的访问促使她写下Denier du rêve (1934;《九只手中的一枚硬币》,1982年出版英译本),这是一本关于梦想和现实之间差别的小说。
1934年,尤瑟纳尔遇到了美国人Grace Frick,她们成为非常亲密的伙伴。1939年,第二次世界大战爆发,尤瑟纳尔移居美国。她在莎拉.劳伦斯学院(Sarah Lawrence College)教授比较文学。期间,她于1937年将弗吉尼亚.伍尔芙的《波浪》(The Waves)译成法文,1947年又出版了亨利.詹姆斯《梅齐知道什么》(What Maisie Knew)的法文译本。
她最著名的小说是Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951;《哈德里安回忆录》,1954年出版英译本),法美两国批评界一致对该书高度评价。 这本小说是一个虚构的罗马皇帝的自传,以一封写给他收养的孙子、未来的皇位继承人马克· 奥里略的书信形式出现。另一本历史题材的小说 L'Oeuvre au noir (1968;法文原书名为<苦炼>,英译本书名为<深渊>,1976年出版),则是关于一个文艺复兴时期的虚构人物,弗兰德斯的炼金术士 泽诺(Zeno)的生活,这本书为她赢得了1968年的费米纳文学奖。1971年,她的两卷戏剧集Théâtre出版。她还写了早年家庭生活的传记,以及关于三岛由纪夫的论文Mishima: ou la vision du vide (《Mishima[三岛由纪夫]: 或者空虚的视野》,1981),并将一系列关于她生活和作品的访谈结集,以Les Yeux ouverts: entretiens avec Matthieu Galey之名出版(《睁开眼睛:与Matthieu Galey的谈话》, 1980)。
尤瑟纳尔不断挑战自己作为作家的能力,她的文学风格多变。但她作品的主要特色是对古代文明和历史变迁的丰富知识,以及尝试理解人类行为的动机。1980年尤瑟纳尔成为被选入法兰西学院(Académie Française)的第一个妇女。1986年,她被授予法国第三级荣誉勋位(French award, Commander of the Legion of Honour)和美国艺术家俱乐部的文学奖章(the American Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature)。
(作者:Michelle Paull,伦敦大学英语文学讲师,东伦敦大学的媒体研究讲师)
附:原文
Yourcenar, Marguerite (1903-1987), real name, Marguerite de Crayencour, French poet, novelist, dramatist, and translator. Yourcenar was born in Brussels, Belgium, to a French father and Belgian mother. She had little formal education. In 1947 she became an American citizen, but she wrote only in French. Her first volume of poems, Le Jardin des chimères (1921), showed her sophistication as a writer by reinterpreting ancient Greek myths to make them relevant to the modern world. In 1922 she published another collection of poems, Les Dieux ne sont pas morts. Her first novel, Alexis, ou le traité du vain combat (1929; Alexis, or the Story of a Vain Struggle,1984), was written from the point of a view of an artist trying to remain dedicated to his work, but faced with opposition from his family. Her visit to Italy prompted her to write Denier du rêve (1934; A Coin in Nine Hands,1982), a novel about the difference between dream and reality.
In 1934 Yourcenar met the American Grace Frick; they became close companions, and when World War II broke out in 1939, Yourcenar moved to the United States. She taught comparative literature at Sarah Lawrence College, produced a French translation of The Waves by Virginia Woolf in 1937, and published a French translation of What Maisie Knew by Henry James in 1947.
Her most famous novel, bringing her French and American critical acclaim, was Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951; Memoirs of Hadrian,1954). This was a fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor, written as a series of letters to his nephew. Another historical novel, L'Oeuvre au noir (1968; The Abyss,1976), presented the life of an imaginary physician, Zeno of Bruges. This won her the Prix Femina in 1968. In 1971, Théâtre, two volumes of her plays, was published. She also wrote biographies of her early family life, Mishima: ou la vision du vide (Mishima: or the Vision of Emptiness, 1981), and gave a series of interviews about her life and work published as Les Yeux ouverts: entretiens avec Matthieu Galey (Open Eyes: Conversations with Matthieu Galey, 1980).
Yourcenar's literary style changed with each work as she sought to challenge her abilities as a writer. However, her work is characterized by knowledge of ancient civilizations and historical periods, and an attempt to understand human motivations. In 1980 Yourcenar became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française. In 1986 she was given the French award, Commander of the Legion of Honour, and the American Arts Club Medal of Honor for Literature. |