【維多利亞女王的情史】-2

【維多利亞女王的情史】-2

Victoria and Abdul: 

The Friendship that Scandalized England-使英國蒙羞的女王與男僕之間的友誼關係

Near the end of her reign, Queen Victoria developed a friendship with an Indian servant, elevating him to trusted advisor and infuriating her court.

在她的統治接近尾聲時，維多利亞女王與其印度僕人，發展出友誼關係，提升他為被信賴的顧問，因此激怒了宮廷裡的人。

By Kristin Hunt (作者)

September 20, 2017 (日期)

                                    

                                              

                                                           2016年的電影劇照       

Eager to immerse herself further in Indian culture, Victoria asked Karim to teach her Urdu, or, as it was known at the time, Hindustani. Their lessons initially seemed somewhat relaxed. “Am learning a few words of Hindustani to speak to my servants,” Victoria wrote. “It is a great interest to me, for both the language and the people.” That interest soon turned to zeal. In an effort to improve communication between teacher and student, the queen doubled Karim’s English lessons, and he was a fast learner. Within two months, Victoria had ceased sending Karim instructions through her staff and begun writing him directly. Within a few more, she had bestowed upon him the title of Munshi Hafiz Abdul Karim, making him her official Indian clerk and relieving him of his menial duties.

渴望進一步沉淫於印度文化中，女王請卡裡姆教她烏爾都語(印度語之一)，或當時出名的，又稱印度斯坦語。開始時，他們的課程似乎有些輕鬆。維多利亞寫道「我正在學習印度斯坦語，以便跟我的僕人說話」。「對我來說，我對這種語言和這這些人感到極大興趣」。這種興趣很快就轉變成了熱情。為改善教師生之間溝通，女王加倍給卡裡姆學習英語課程的份量，而他也是一個學習速度很快的人。兩個月內，女王已經停止透過她的幕僚人員，發送指令给卡裡姆，而開始直接寫給他。又過幾個月内，她頒賜給他Munshi尊師的封號(按：Munshi(Urdu:مُنشی‎; Hindi: मुंशी; Bengali: মুন্সী)出自波斯文，意謂印度地方語言之教師)，使他成為她正式的印度籍臣子，並免除了他卑微的的職務。

This developing relationship alarmed members of the court, because it felt all too familiar. Prior to Karim, Victoria’s closest confidant had been her Scottish servant, John Brown. The queen had leaned heavily on Brown after her husband Albert’s death, so much so that several members of the court derisively referred to her as “Mrs. Brown.” (The movie adaptation of that story, Mrs. Brown, also starred Dench as Victoria.) But Brown had died in 1883, and no servant had taken his place in the queen’s inner circle. Karim, however, was increasingly stepping into that role. He was traveling constantly with Victoria and, as Michael Nelson notes in Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riveria, even occupying Brown’s old bedchambers.

這種逐步發展的關係驚動了宮廷人員，因為人們感覺他們太隨便了。在卡裡姆之前, 維多利亞女王的心腹密友，一直是她蘇格蘭籍的僕人，名叫約翰 · 布朗。她的丈夫阿爾伯特去世後，女王一直十分依賴布朗。因為關係如此親密以致宮廷的幾個成員。戲稱她為"布朗夫人"。（改成電影的那個故事，「布朗太太」，還是由丹奇主演維多利亞女王。）但布朗于 1883 年去世，從此在女王的核心圈中，没有僕人能取代他的地位。然而，卡裡姆卻逐漸步入這個替代的角色。他經常陪女王旅行，正如邁克爾 · 納爾遜在「女王和利維拉海濱的發現」的記載所指出，他甚至佔用了老僕人-布朗的舊寢室。

                                          

                                                     老僕人John生前服侍女王

Although Karim’s diaries suggest nothing romantic, his relationship with Queen Victoria was oddly intimate. The two turned heads when they spent the night at Glassat Shiel, a remote cottage in Scotland that the queen had previously shared with John Brown. (After his death, she had vowed never to return.) Basu notes that Victoria signed letters to Karim as “your closest friend” and “your loving mother.” He was also afforded perks few servants could fathom. The queen not only allowed the Munshi to bring his wife over to England, but hosted his father and other family members. Karim enjoyed his own personal carriage and the best seats at the opera.

儘管卡裡姆的日記中未提及使人聯想到，男女浪漫之事, 但他與維多利亞女王的關係是，令人感到奇怪的親密。當他們在 Glassat 小村莊這過夜時，兩人感到興奮，此村莊在蘇格蘭，乃女王先前與約翰 · 布朗共有的一座偏遠的山寨。（他死後，她曾發誓永遠不再回來。）巴蘇注意到，維多利亞女王簽署寫給卡裡姆的信末，竟如此簽上「你最親密的朋友」以及「你慈愛的母親」 的用詞。他還被女玉提供了，很少僕人能夠理解的一些特殊待遇。女王不僅允許把他的妻子帶到英國，而且款待他的父親和其他家庭成員。卡裡姆 · 享有他自己私人的馬車，和擁有在歌劇院中最好的座位。

                               

                        Royal Arms (in Scotland)                  Royal Arms (outside Scotland)

                          皇室武力徽章(在蘇格蘭内)             皇室武力徽章(在蘇格蘭外)

In their letters to one another, Victorian courtiers wished awful fates upon the Munshi. Basu shares several nasty excerpts in her book. Lady-in-waiting Marie Millet rued, “Why the plague did not carry him off I cannot think, it might have done one good deed!” Private secretary Arthur Bigge wished Karim and his father “a happy and lasting retreat in the Jail!”

維多利亞女王屬下的朝臣們，在彼此通信中，他們用惡言惡語詛咒這位Munshi名師。在她的書中，巴蘇也引用了幾個齷齪的節錄文。宮中女侍-瑪麗懊悔地說，「我想不通為何他沒有死在瘟疫中，果真如此，那才是好事一樁 ！」私人秘書亞瑟 · 比格，則希望卡裡姆和他父親「在監獄裡快樂而永久地度過」！

                        

《譯者評論》：兩人間關係開始密切，值得注意的是，不但打破『主、僕關係』，也衝垮20世紀初期十分敏感的種族藩籬(racial segregation) 。這種情愛是母子間的關愛(affection) ? 或情人關係? 若屬前者應不致導致宮廷上下的猜忌，甚至憎厭(abhorrence) 。若屬後者，更令人無法忍受。書中雖未明確指出卡裡姆的年齢，合理的懷疑應是『老少配』。但英國正史中未提及兩人之親密關係，而卡裡姆曾任宮廷私人教師一事，也僅一筆帶過。至於如何親密，讀者只有自行揣測。

待續

10/25/2017

Justin Lai 編譯