chapter 20
Rochester:Well,then Jane,call to aid your fancy:suppose you were no longer a girl well reared and disciplined,but a wild boy indulged from childhood upwards;imagine yourself in a remote foreign land; conceive that you there commit a capital error,no matter of what nature or from what motives,but one whose consequences must follow you through life and taint all your existence.Mind,I don't say a CRIME;I am not speaking of shedding of blood or any other guilty act,which might make the perpetrator amenable to the law:my word is ERROR.The results of what you have done become in time to you utterly insupportable;you take measures to obtain relief:unusual measures,but neither unlawful nor culpable.Still you are miserable;for the hope has quitted you on the very confines of life:your sun at noon darkens in an eclipse,which you feel will not leave it till the time of setting.Bitter and base associations have become the sole food of your memory:you wander here and there,seeking rest in exile:happiness in pleasure-I mean in heartless,sensual pleasure-such as dulls intellect and blights feeling.Heart-weary and soul-withered,yu come home after years of voluntary banishment:you make a new acquaintance-how or where no matter:you find in this stranger much of the good and bright qualities which you have sought for twenty years,and never before encountered;and they are all fresh,healthy,without soil and without taint.Such society revives,regenerates; you feel better days come back-higher wishes,purer feelings; you desire to recommence your life,and to spend what remains to you of days in a way more worthy of an immortal being.To attain this end,are you justified in overleaping an obstacle of custom-a mere conventional impediment which neither your conscience sanctifies nor your judgement approves?
第20章
罗切斯特：“那么好吧，简，发挥你的想象力吧——设想你不再是受过精心培养和教导的姑娘，而是从幼年时代起就是一个放纵任性的男孩。想象你身处遥远的异国，假设你在那里铸成了大错，不管其性质如何，出于什么动机，它的后果殃及你一生，玷污你的生活。注意，我没有说‘犯罪’，不是说流血或是其他犯罪行为，那样的话肇事者会被绳之以法，我用的字是‘错误’。你行为的恶果，到头来使你绝对无法忍受。你采取措施以求获得解脱，非正常的措施，但既不是非法，也并非有罪。而你仍然感到不幸，因为希望在生活的边缘离你而去，你的太阳遇上日蚀，在正午就开始暗淡，你觉得不到日落不会有所改变，痛苦和卑贱的联想，成了你记忆的唯一食品。你到处游荡，在放逐中寻求安逸，在亨乐中寻觅幸福一—我的意思是沉缅于无情的肉欲——它消蚀才智，摧残情感。在几年的自愿放逐以后，你心力交瘁地回到了家里，结识了一位新知——何时结识，如何结识，都无关紧要。在这位陌生人身上，你看到了很多出类拔率的品质，为它们你已经寻寻觅觅二十来年，却终不可得。这些品质新鲜健康，没有污渍，没有斑点，这种交往使人复活，催人新生。你觉得好日子又回来了——志更高，情更真。你渴望重新开始生活，以一种更配得上不朽的灵魂的方式度过余生。为了达到这个目的，你是不是有理由越过习俗的藩篱——那种既没有得到你良心的认可，也不为你的识见所赞同的、纯粹因袭的障碍？”
chapter 23
Jane:Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you?Do you think I am an automaton?-a machine without feelings?and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips,and my drop of living water dashed from my cup?Do you think,because I am poor,obscure,plain,and littele,I am soulless and heartless?You think wrong!-I have as much soul as you-and full as much heart!And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth,I should have made it as hard for you to leave me,as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom,conventionalities,nor even of mortal flesh:it is my spirit that addresses your spirit;just as if both had passed through the grave,and we stood at God’s feet,equal-as we are!
第23章
简：“你难道认为，我会留下来甘愿做一个对你来说无足轻重的人？你以为我是一架机器？——一架没有感情的机器？能够容忍别人把一口面包从我嘴里抢走，把一滴生命之水从我杯子里泼掉？难道就因为我一贫如洗、默默无闻、长相平庸、个子瘦小，就没有灵魂，没有心肠了？——你不是想错了吗？——我的心灵跟你一样丰富，我的心胸跟你一样充实！要是上帝赐予我一点姿色和充足的财富，我会使你同我现在一样难分难舍，我不是根据习俗、常规，甚至也不是血肉之躯同你说话，而是我的灵魂同你的灵魂在对话，就仿佛我们两人穿过坟墓，站在上帝脚下，彼此平等——本来就如此！”