<<月亮和六便士>>读后感：不内疚
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helenClaire
- Posts: 3159
- Joined: 2003-11-22 20:12
I'm currently reading Perfume and have a bit of new thoughts about Helen's critique of The Moon and Sixpence.
Recently I heard somewhere, but can't remember where, that Gaugin's life in Tahiti was far from idyllic, nor was he living in peace and happiness. His letters from this period to his friends were filled with complaints about the lack of money and shitty life and about his ambition to be recognized as a great artist. He was a human being and an asshole and there was no grand mystery.
And thus is the grand mystery. I don't believe he truly regretted abandoning his "normal" middle-class life for this shitty life of an artist. I do believe he felt he had no choice. Of course it would be nice to gain fame and fortune while alive, but he would not trade it for ...
Back to Maugham, since we should not assume the novel is a realistic depiction of Gaugin. Rather, the novel reveals more about the author than about the artist.
I don't think Strickland is wholy without conscience. He may seem to be a psychopath, but I don't think Maugham intends him to be. Perhaps it's because Maugham himself is a big softy inside. I think he meant to conceal the possibility that Strickland is able to love and indeed does love Ata. Ata does not devote herself to a psychopath. And possibly Maugham has this speculation from the way Gaugin painted his Tahitian women. It is love and lust that he put on the canvas, not dissociated indifference and coldness.
Nevertheless, I don't know if Maugham is right. I have said before that psychopaths may become CEOs and politicians, but never novelists. I don't know if they can be artists. Maybe they can, and have sympathy and tender feelings for only their art. Or maybe they cannot, like storytellers. I just don't know. But Maugham is not a psychopath, and he obviously wants to believe that Strickland is also not entirely without tenderness toward other humans. THus the tears. He doesn't believe Strickland is 100%, absolutely without feelings for people.
Recently I heard somewhere, but can't remember where, that Gaugin's life in Tahiti was far from idyllic, nor was he living in peace and happiness. His letters from this period to his friends were filled with complaints about the lack of money and shitty life and about his ambition to be recognized as a great artist. He was a human being and an asshole and there was no grand mystery.
And thus is the grand mystery. I don't believe he truly regretted abandoning his "normal" middle-class life for this shitty life of an artist. I do believe he felt he had no choice. Of course it would be nice to gain fame and fortune while alive, but he would not trade it for ...
Back to Maugham, since we should not assume the novel is a realistic depiction of Gaugin. Rather, the novel reveals more about the author than about the artist.
I don't think Strickland is wholy without conscience. He may seem to be a psychopath, but I don't think Maugham intends him to be. Perhaps it's because Maugham himself is a big softy inside. I think he meant to conceal the possibility that Strickland is able to love and indeed does love Ata. Ata does not devote herself to a psychopath. And possibly Maugham has this speculation from the way Gaugin painted his Tahitian women. It is love and lust that he put on the canvas, not dissociated indifference and coldness.
Nevertheless, I don't know if Maugham is right. I have said before that psychopaths may become CEOs and politicians, but never novelists. I don't know if they can be artists. Maybe they can, and have sympathy and tender feelings for only their art. Or maybe they cannot, like storytellers. I just don't know. But Maugham is not a psychopath, and he obviously wants to believe that Strickland is also not entirely without tenderness toward other humans. THus the tears. He doesn't believe Strickland is 100%, absolutely without feelings for people.
是不是止庵的blog？ 我在你那篇说娜拉的文章里跟过去看的，他还为高更的太太打了半天抱不平，看来他对女性的态度还是很consistant的。Jun wrote:I'm currently reading Perfume and have a bit of new thoughts about Helen's critique of The Moon and Sixpence.
Recently I heard somewhere, but can't remember where, that Gaugin's life in Tahiti was far from idyllic, nor was he living in peace and happiness. His letters from this period to his friends were filled with complaints about the lack of money and shitty life and about his ambition to be recognized as a great artist. He was a human being and an asshole and there was no grand mystery.
.
谢谢JUN把这篇文章提上来，海伦这长长的一篇文字还有大家精彩的讨论，看起来很过瘾。《月亮和六便士〉也是我最喜欢的毛姆小说。Jun在前面说的很多话，都是我想说却不见得能表达清楚的，特别赞同这段：“Back to Maugham, since we should not assume the novel is a realistic depiction of Gaugin. Rather, the novel reveals more about the author than about the artist. “
毛姆自己也在法国学过画，他从争取到这样的机会，到后来认识到自己才能平平，放弃后回到英国，这中间的曲折也是刻骨铭心的吧？天才和庸才的区别，他比旁人的体会更深。他自己对绘画艺术求而不得的那份绝望和无力感，转而寄托在Strickland的故事里，让Strickland最后终于打通经脉，才华喷薄而出。Strickland临死前的那一段，医生对他最后作品的描述，我觉得特别震撼。这已经不是高更的故事了，而是毛姆理想中的艺术的力量。
艺术家的道德水准和作品的艺术成就并不成正比， 天赋这种东西是不讲道理的，就像电影< Amadues>里的刻画的莫扎特一样。高更对待凡高也是不比Strickland 待Dirk Strove好到哪里去，利用后就不搭理人家了。凡高最后的崩溃虽然是不可避免的，但高更的背离也是其中的一个因素。
回到海伦说的“抑扬”的话题上，毛姆对Strickland的前妻，表面上有点同情，实际上是处处嘲讽。比如说开始Mrs.Strickland 处心积虑地附庸风雅，定期招待艺术家们，却对自己丈夫这个真正的天才毫无察觉。 丈夫去了巴黎后，她还宁愿别人相信他是跟人私奔了。甚至后来Mrs.Strickland做生意成功，却依然以自己为生计工作为耻辱。Mrs.Strickland 最爱面子，永远用种种社会道德标准和行为准则来衡量自己和他人。就像Jun说的那样，毛姆“抑“的是Mrs.Strickland代表的这个英国社会。而Ata和孩子，则寄托了他自己的向往。
海伦原贴里说再过十年重读这本书，可能感受又会不同。不知道海伦现在的想法是不是又有变化了呢？
毛姆自己也在法国学过画，他从争取到这样的机会，到后来认识到自己才能平平，放弃后回到英国，这中间的曲折也是刻骨铭心的吧？天才和庸才的区别，他比旁人的体会更深。他自己对绘画艺术求而不得的那份绝望和无力感，转而寄托在Strickland的故事里，让Strickland最后终于打通经脉，才华喷薄而出。Strickland临死前的那一段，医生对他最后作品的描述，我觉得特别震撼。这已经不是高更的故事了，而是毛姆理想中的艺术的力量。
艺术家的道德水准和作品的艺术成就并不成正比， 天赋这种东西是不讲道理的，就像电影< Amadues>里的刻画的莫扎特一样。高更对待凡高也是不比Strickland 待Dirk Strove好到哪里去，利用后就不搭理人家了。凡高最后的崩溃虽然是不可避免的，但高更的背离也是其中的一个因素。
回到海伦说的“抑扬”的话题上，毛姆对Strickland的前妻，表面上有点同情，实际上是处处嘲讽。比如说开始Mrs.Strickland 处心积虑地附庸风雅，定期招待艺术家们，却对自己丈夫这个真正的天才毫无察觉。 丈夫去了巴黎后，她还宁愿别人相信他是跟人私奔了。甚至后来Mrs.Strickland做生意成功，却依然以自己为生计工作为耻辱。Mrs.Strickland 最爱面子，永远用种种社会道德标准和行为准则来衡量自己和他人。就像Jun说的那样，毛姆“抑“的是Mrs.Strickland代表的这个英国社会。而Ata和孩子，则寄托了他自己的向往。
海伦原贴里说再过十年重读这本书，可能感受又会不同。不知道海伦现在的想法是不是又有变化了呢？