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《红楼梦》中作者曾多次运用自由直接引语来表达人物话语。本文将探讨《红楼梦》英译本是否再现了原著中自由直接引语的运用，从而保留原著的叙事风格。我们所采用的《红楼梦》两个英译本分别是霍克思与闵弗德合译本（简称“霍译”）以及杨宪益与戴乃迭合译本（简称“杨译”）。同样的人物话语，由于采用不同的引语表达方式，会产生大相径庭的文体效果。在各种引语中，自由直接引语是使叙述者控制最小化的一种，能够使作者“自由地表现人物话语的内涵、风格和语气”。

例（1）黛玉亦常听见母亲说过，二舅母生的有个表兄，乃衔玉而诞，极恶读书，最喜在内帏厮混，外祖母又极溺爱，无人敢管。

霍译：Dai-yu had long ago been told by her mother that she had a boy cousin who was born with a piece of jade in his mouth and who was exceptionally wild and naughty.He hated study and liked to spend all his time in the women’s apartments with the girls,but because Grandmother Jia doted on him so much,no one ever dared to correct him.

杨译：Daiyu’s mother had often spoken of this nephew born with a piece of jade in his mouth,his wild ways, aversion to study and delight in playing about in the women’s apartments.Apparently he was so spoiled by his grandmother that no one could control him.

此句中的称谓，如“母亲”、“二舅母”、“表兄”、“外祖母”都以黛玉为中心，这就证明接下来的内容是黛玉内心话语的自由直接引语，是黛玉的主观回忆。相比之下，霍译和杨译都未能准确体现自由直接引语的运用。霍译把整句转换成了黛玉母亲话语的间接引语，杨译则应用了被遮覆的引语，句子的主语甚至转换成了“Daiyu’s mother”。两种译文都凸显了黛玉母亲的话语而抹煞了黛玉的内心思想，影响了大量意蕴的传达。

例（2）这里林黛玉体贴出手帕子的意思来，不觉神魂驰荡：宝玉这番苦心，能领会我这番苦意，又令我可喜；我这番苦意，不知将来如何，又令我可悲；霍译：Meanwhile the message that eluded Skybright had thrown Dai-yu into a turmoil of conflicting emotions.‘I feel so happy,’she thought,‘that in the midst of his own affliction he has been able to grasp the cause of all my trouble.’‘And yet at the same time I am sad,’she thought; ‘because how do I know that my trouble will end in the way I want it to?’

杨译：Meanwhile Daiyu,touched by the meaning of this gift,was lost in reverie.Pleased as she was by Baoyu's insight and sympathy, it was sad to think that all her concern for him might come to nothing.

黛玉接受旧帕后“神魂驰荡”，体会到了宝玉的深意，并赋诗以寄情。原著作者以大段自由直接引语的方式，让读者以最直接的途径触及到了黛玉的内心思想，详细展现了黛玉复杂的心理。在霍译中，自由直接引语被转换成了带引号的直接引语，添加了叙述者轻微干预的痕迹；而杨译则将此段处理成自由间接引语，即叙述者用自己的声音转述人物的内心思想，因而更拉大了读者与人物的距离。

《红楼梦》多次采用自由直接引语的方式表现人物话语，这是著者匠心独运的体现。自由直接引语使叙述者的声音最小化，让读者直接接触人物原话或内心思想，有利于“控制叙述角度、叙事距离和代写英语论文追求预期效果”。通过对《红楼梦》原著及两种全译本对比发现，译本中多以其他引语方式替换自由直接引语，而这种替换一定程度上改变了原著的叙事风格。典籍翻译要求译文能“传神达意”，因此译者须慎重对待原著引语方式。