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The Professor’s House《教授的房子》
作者：Willa Cather（薇拉·凯瑟）
美国首次出版：1925 年 9 月
纽约 Alfred A. Knopf，独立长篇小说，
初版首印 20000 册，此前曾在《Collier’s》杂志先行连载
收录说明：后世多单独刊行，
亦收录于薇拉·凯瑟全集，是其结构极具实验性的经典长篇
创作背景：
作品写于一战结束后的美国。
社会物质快速繁荣，功利风气盛行。
作者借此反思物质富足之下，理想精神的失落。
英文原文
The moving was over and done.
Professor St. Peter was alone
in the dismantled house
where he had lived ever since his marriage,
where he had worked out his career
and brought up his two daughters.
It was almost as ugly
as it is possible for a house to be;
square, three stories in height,
painted the colour of ashes—the front porch
just too narrow for comfort,
with a slanting floor and sagging steps.
As he walked slowly about the empty, echoing rooms
on that bright September morning,
the Professor regarded thoughtfully
the needless inconveniences he had put up with for so long;
the stairs that were too steep,
the halls that were too cramped,
the awkward oak mantles
with thick round posts
crowned by bumptious wooden balls,
over green-tiled fire-places.
Certain wobbly stair treads,
certain creaky boards in the upstairs hall,
had made him wince many times a day
for twenty-odd years—and they still creaked and wobbled.
He had a deft hand with tools,
he could easily have fixed them,
but there were always so many things to fix,
and there was not time enough to go round.
He went into the kitchen,
where he had carpentered under a succession of cooks,
went up to the bath-room on the second floor,
where there was only a painted tin tub;
the taps were so old
that no plumber could ever screw them tight enough to stop the drip,
the window could only be got up by main force,
and the zinc lining of the shower was rusted.
This old house had never been comfortable,
but it had been his.
Here his daughters had been born,
here his books had slowly multiplied along the walls,
here Tom Outland,
the brilliant student he had loved like a son,
had come to him,
hungry for knowledge and for a chance to tell his strange story
of the cliff dwellings hidden away on a remote New Mexican mesa.
Tom was dead now,
killed in the war,
and his discoveries, his treasures,
had passed into the hands of others,
become commercial things,
stripped of the quiet wonder
that had made them sacred to Tom and to the Professor.
St. Peter turned away from the bare bathroom
and wandered back down to the first floor.
He paused beside the window
that looked out on his garden.
Masses of green-brier grew in the corners,
the prickly stems interwoven and clipped
until they were like great bushes.
There was a bed for salad herbs.
Salmon-pink geraniums dripped over the wall.
The French marigolds and dahlias were just now at their best—
such dahlias as no one else in Hamilton could grow.
St. Peter had tended this bit of ground for over twenty years,
and had got the upper hand of it.
In the spring,
when home-sickness for other lands
and the fret of things unaccomplished awoke,
he worked off his discontent here.
In the long hot summers,
when he could not go abroad,
he stayed at home with his garden,
sending his wife and daughters to Colorado
to escape the humid prairie heat,
so nourishing to wheat and corn,
so exhausting to human beings.
And it was there he and Tom Outland
used to sit and talk half through the warm, soft nights.
On this September morning, however,
St. Peter knew that he could not evade the unpleasant effects of change
by tarrying among his autumn flowers.
He must plunge in like a man,
and get used to the feeling
that under his work-room there was a dead, empty house.
译文
搬家的事宜已经全部结束。
圣彼得教授独自一人
待在这已经搬空的房子里，
自结婚之后他便一直居住于此，
在这里打拼出自己的事业，
养育了两个女儿。
这栋房子可以说是十分简陋难看，
方方正正，一共三层，
刷着灰土一般的颜色——前门廊
窄得让人不舒服，
地板倾斜，台阶也已经下陷。
在这个晴朗的九月清晨，
他慢慢走在空旷、回声阵阵的房间里，
教授认真思索着
这么多年来他一直忍受的种种不便；
楼梯过于陡峭，
过道狭窄拥挤，
样式笨拙的橡木壁炉台
配着粗壮的圆立柱，
顶上是突兀的木圆球，
下方铺着绿色瓷砖的壁炉。
有些松动的楼梯踏板，
二楼走廊几块踩上去吱呀作响的木板，
二十多年来，
总让他心里不舒服，如今依旧晃动作响。
他擅长手工，
本可以轻松修好它们，
但总有处理不完的琐事，
时间永远不够用。
他走进厨房，
曾经在一任又一任厨娘的陪伴下在这里做木工，
又走上二楼的浴室，
里面只有一个刷漆铁皮浴盆；
水龙头早已老化，
水管工都无法拧紧止住滴水，
窗户只能用力才能推起，
淋浴间的锌皮衬里早已锈迹斑斑。
这栋老屋从来不算舒适，
但它属于他。
女儿们在这里降生，
书籍沿着墙壁慢慢增多，
他视作儿子的天才学生汤姆·奥特兰，
也曾来到这里，
满怀求知欲，向他诉说那段奇遇，
讲述新墨西哥偏远台地之上隐秘的崖居遗址。
汤姆已经不在人世，
战死在战场，
他的发现与珍藏，
落入旁人手中，
沦为可以交易的商品，
那份曾经让汤姆与教授心生敬畏的宁静美好，
早已不复存在。
教授离开空荡荡的浴室，
缓步走回一楼。
他停在窗前，
望向窗外的花园。
角落里丛生着荆棘，
带刺枝条交织修剪，
长成巨大灌木丛。
花圃里种着调味香草。
鲑鱼粉色的天竺葵顺着墙垂落。
法国万寿菊与大丽花正值盛放——
汉密尔顿城里没人能种出这样好看的大丽花。
圣彼得照料这片土地二十余年，
早已驯服了这片园子。
每到春天，
当对远方故土的思念、
未竟之事带来的烦闷涌上心头，
他便在这里消解愁绪。
漫长闷热的夏日，
无法远赴海外时，
他就守着花园，
送妻子女儿前往科罗拉多，
躲开潮湿闷热的平原暑气，
这份湿热滋养麦禾，
却让人疲惫不堪。
他和汤姆从前，
也常常坐在这片园子里，
在温柔的夜里长谈至深夜。
可在这个九月清晨，
圣彼得清楚，他无法逃避变迁带来的失落感，
不能一味流连在秋日花丛之间。
他必须直面现实，
慢慢习惯一种感受：
他书房下方，
只剩下一栋死寂空旷的老屋。
🔍长难句赏析与拆解
原句一
This old house had never been comfortable,
but it had been his.
Here his daughters had been born,
here his books had slowly multiplied along the walls,
here Tom Outland,
the brilliant student he had loved like a son,
had come to him,
hungry for knowledge and for a chance to tell his strange story
of the cliff dwellings hidden away on a remote New Mexican mesa.
句式解读
本句由三个 here 引导的地点状语分句构成排比结构，
the brilliant student he had loved like a son 是同位语，
用来补充说明 Tom Outland。
hidden away on a remote New Mexican mesa
是过去分词后置定语，修饰 cliff dwellings。
三组排比层层铺陈老屋承载的回忆，
将家庭、学术、精神知己全部浓缩在这一间旧屋之中。
简单的文字之下，藏着教授精神世界的根基。
新屋代表世俗成功，老屋才是他精神的家园。
句式舒缓绵长，和回忆的氛围契合，
是全文情感核心句。
句子主干
This old house had never been comfortable, but it had been his.
His daughters had been born here,
his books had multiplied here, and Tom Outland had come here.
原句二
On this September morning, however,
St. Peter knew that he could not evade the unpleasant effects of change
by tarrying among his autumn flowers.
He must plunge in like a man,
and get used to the feeling
that under his work-room there was a dead, empty house.
句式解读
本句包含 that 引导的宾语从句与同位语从句。
the feeling 后面的从句解释这种感受的具体内容。
evade, tarry 两个动词精准刻画教授的逃避心态：
他想躲进花园、躲进回忆，拒绝接受物是人非。
dead 一词用来形容房子，不是房屋实体死去，
而是属于他的那段精神时光已经消逝。
这句话收束选段，留下淡淡的怅惘，
暗示教授后续持续的精神困境。
句子主干
St. Peter knew that he could not evade the effects of change.
He must get used to the feeling.
📖全篇句式特点
选段多用长句铺陈环境与心理感受，
穿插短句制造停顿、留白。
大量使用分词后置定语、同位语、地点排比句。
文字克制内敛，没有激烈的抒情。
薇拉·凯瑟用冷静克制的笔触，
从房屋、花园这些具象事物入手，
慢慢向内挖掘人物隐秘的精神孤独。
景物描写不只是写景，全部带有象征意义：
破败老屋代表纯粹精神回忆，精致新房代表世俗物质欲望。
文字平静舒缓，但是内在冲突暗流涌动，
是典型的薇拉·凯瑟式内敛文风。
核心词汇
1. dismantled
/dɪsˈmæntld/
搬空的，拆除家具的
形容词（adj.）
2. sagging
/ˈsæɡɪŋ/
下陷的，下垂的
形容词（adj.）
3. cramp
/kræmp/
狭窄拥挤
动词（v.）
4. deft
/deft/
灵巧的，熟练的
形容词（adj.）
5. drip
/drɪp/
滴水
动词（v.）
6. mesa
/ˈmeɪsə/
台地，方山
名词（n.）
7. cliff dwelling
/klɪf ˈdwelɪŋ/
崖居
名词短语
8. commercial
/kəˈmɜːʃl/
商业化的
形容词（adj.）
9. evade
/ɪˈveɪd/
逃避，规避
动词（v.）
10. tarry
/ˈtæri/
逗留，徘徊
动词（v.）
📜文学赏析
《教授的房子》是薇拉·凯瑟中期代表作。
小说分为三部分，老屋场景属于开篇。
圣彼得教授事业有成，著作获奖，
全家搬进条件更好的新房子。
可他依旧留恋简陋陈旧的老屋。
老屋承载着他的青春、家庭记忆，
还有他最珍视的学生汤姆的理想。
汤姆热爱崖居文明，不带任何功利目的，
这份纯粹是教授精神世界的光。
汤姆战死之后，他的考古收藏被家人拿去牟利，
理想被金钱商品化。
凯瑟没有激烈批判时代，
只是借着教授在空屋里徘徊的画面，
写出现代社会里理想主义者的格格不入。
新旧两栋房子形成一组对照意象：
新房光鲜舒适，却和他的精神格格不入；
老屋处处不便，却是他心灵的归宿。
在人人追逐财富与舒适的年代，
教授的眷恋，是一场无声的坚守。
💡主旨品读
小说选段借教授独自徘徊在搬空老屋的一幕，
探讨物质富足与精神追求之间永恒的矛盾。
物质可以不断更新、变得精致舒适，
但承载真挚回忆与纯粹理想的精神空间无法复制。
世俗世界总在用财富、名望、舒适居所定义成功，
却常常忽略人内心的精神寄托。
汤姆纯粹的理想最终被世俗交易消解，
也预示着理想在功利时代的脆弱。
薇拉·凯瑟借教授的挣扎提醒读者：
人真正的归属感，
从来不是来自华丽崭新的居所，
而是来自那些无法标价、不能买卖的记忆与热爱。
这也是这部小说历经百年，依旧打动读者的原因。
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