With her keen eye for irony and the foibles of her age, Jane Austen would have appreciated how the new banknote featuring her likeness has drawn out modern Britain’s own insecurities.
凭着善于捕捉讽刺意味的敏锐眼光和她所处时代的小毛病,简?奥斯汀(Jane Austen,《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)作者——编者注)肯定能够理解印有她肖像的新版钞票是如何引出了现代英国自身的不安全感的。
The Bank of England unveiled the new £10 note at Winchester Cathedral on Tuesday, the 200th anniversary of Austen’s death. The note will be made out of plastic, like the new £5 note featuring Winston Churchill, and will be in circulation from September 14.本周二是奥斯汀逝世200周年纪念日,当天英国央行(BoE)在温彻斯特大教堂(Winchester Cathedral)公布了新版10英镑钞票。该版钞票和印有温斯顿?丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)肖像的新版5英镑钞票一样采用塑料材质,将从9月14日起开始流通。Jane Austen was chosen to replace Charles Darwin on the £10 note following a campaign from the feminist activist Caroline Criado-Perez after Churchill replaced the prison reform campaigner Elizabeth Fry, the only woman to be featured other than the Queen on notes currently in circulation.简?奥斯汀会被选中取代查尔斯?达尔文(Charles Darwin)登上10英镑钞票,是在英国央行决定把5英镑钞票上的监狱改革活动家伊丽莎白?弗莱(Elizabeth Fry)换成丘吉尔之后,女权活动家卡罗琳?克里亚多-佩雷斯(Caroline Criado-Perez)发起的一场运动的结果。英国目前流通的钞票所采用的人物肖像,除了英国女王之外,就只有弗莱是女性。Speaking at Winchester Cathedral, where Austen is buried, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank said: “Our banknotes serve as repositories of the country’s collective memory, promoting awareness of the United Kingdom’s glorious history and highlighting the contributions of its greatest citizens.”英国央行行长马克?卡尼(Mark Carney,见文首图)在葬有奥斯汀的温彻斯特大教堂发表讲话称:“我们所发行的钞票,充当了国家集体记忆的宝库,有利于促进人们对英国光荣历史的认识,彰显英国一些最伟大公民的贡献。”The decision to review women’s representation on banknotes was one of the first made by Mr Carney when he took over as governor from Mervyn King in 2013.对英国钞票上女性形象所占比例进行评估,是卡尼在2013年接替默文?金(Mervyn King)担任英国央行行长后最早做出的决定之一。Biologist Charles Darwin is on the £10 note, the economist Adam Smith is on the £20 note, and the £50 note features James Watt and Matthew Boulton, who popularised the use of the steam engine in textile manufacturing.现行的10英镑钞票上印的是生物学家查尔斯?达尔文,20英镑钞票上是经济学家亚当?斯密(Adam Smith),50英镑钞票上则是詹姆斯?瓦特(James Watt)和马修?博尔顿(Matthew Boulton),后者使蒸汽机被广泛应用于纺织业。A new polymer £20 note featuring the painter JMW Turner will be released in 2020, while the Bank is currently reviewing who will appear on a new £50 note, which will follow.印有画家J?M?W?特纳(JMW Turner)的新版20英镑聚合物钞票将于2020年发布。英国央行目前正在考虑新版50英镑钞票要采用的肖像。“The new £10 note celebrates Jane Austen’s work. Austen’s novels have a universal appeal and speak as powerfully today as they did when they were first published,” Mr Carney said.卡尼表示:“新版10英镑钞票是对简?奥斯汀著作的纪念。奥斯汀的小说具有广泛的吸引力,它们在今天仍像其首次出版时一样掷地有声。”But the new notes have been dogged by controversy. Ms Criado-Perez received near constant abuse on Twitter for her campaign, while the picture chosen of Austen for the note was accused of “prettifying” a woman who is renowned for her fierce intellect and talent.不过,新版钞票一直争议不断。克里亚多-佩雷斯女士在Twitter上受到了近乎持续不变的谩骂。同时,被选定用在该版钞票上的奥斯汀肖像,被指责“美化了”这位以极具才智和天分闻名的女土。Vegans have also complained that the new polymer that the notes are made out of includes trace amounts of tallow, an animal fat that is used as an industrial lubricant in the manufacturing process. The Bank is currently reviewing whether it can replace the tallow with palm oil or coconut oil.素食主义者也抱怨,制造新版10英镑钞票的新型聚合物包含微量牛脂,这种动物油脂在制造过程中被用做工业润滑剂。英国央行正在考虑是否能够用棕榈油或者椰子油代替牛脂。A quote from Austen’s Pride and Prejudice — “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” — also appears on the note. But the quote was said insincerely in the novel, by a character with no interest in reading who was just trying to woo the wealthy love interest, Fitzwilliam Darcy.新版钞票上还印着奥斯汀的《傲慢与偏见》中的一句话——“我说呀,什么娱乐也比不上阅读的乐趣”。但据称,在小说中,这句话是一个对阅读不感兴趣的人物的言不由衷之语,说这句话只是为了追求富有的爱慕对象菲茨威廉?达西(Fitzwilliam Darcy)。Critics have pointed to the irony of the Bank using a quote that was initially intended to satirise the shallowness of the money-driven nouveau riche on Britain’s modern cash.批评人士也指出英国央行在新版现钞上印上这样一句话的讽刺之处——这句话原本是为了挖苦被钱驱使的暴发户的浅薄。Asked by a reporter about the quote on Tuesday, Mr Carney said that he thought the irony captured the spirit of Austen, adding that it “worked on multiple levels, even for a wire service journalist”.当一位记者周二问及这句引语时,卡尼说,他认为这句讽刺抓住了奥斯汀的精神,并补充说这“适用于多个层面,甚至对一位通讯社新闻记者也适用”。Austen has been praised as one of the greatest social satirists of the British class system and the place of women within it. She has also been celebrated for her keen eye for all the varieties of human foolishness — her novels are stuffed full of bores, sycophants and snobs.
奥斯汀被誉为对英国阶级制度和女性在这种制度中的地位进行刻画的最伟大的社会讽刺作家之一。她也因为锐利地发现人类的各种愚蠢而受到赞誉——她的小说中刻画了许多无聊之徒、溜须拍马者和势利眼。The Bank of England has come under criticism in recent months for a lack of senior women in its ranks. After the resignation of Charlotte Hogg earlier this year and last month’s departure of Kristin Forbes, the Bank has no female deputy governors and just one female member of its Monetary Policy Committee.近几个月,英国央行还因为缺乏高级女性职员而受到批评。在夏洛特?霍格(Charlotte Hogg)今年早些时候辞职、克里斯廷?福布斯(Kristin Forbes)上月离职之后,目前英国央行没有女性副行长,其货币政策委员会(Monetary Policy Committee)中也只有一位女性。Mr Carney said that the BoE was working towards creating “a pipeline of female economists” who would be able to take up senior management roles in the future.卡尼说,英国央行正努力建立“女性经济学家的储备”,她们未来将能够担任高级管理职位。