卡塔琳娜—— 一段羅曼史（英文原版）Catalina.A Romance

記得毛姆的《刀鋒》中有這樣一段話： “Father Ensheim was broad–minded; he thought that hell was the deprivation of God’s presence, but if that is such an intolerable punishment that it can justly be called hell, can one conceive that a good God can inflict it? After all, he created men, if he so created them that it was possible for them to sin, it was because he willed it. If I trained a dog to fly at the throat of any stranger who came into my back yard, it wouldn’t be fair to beat him when he did so.” Catalina這本書就好像圍繞這個觀點而生的一個故事。 什麼樣的行爲可謂虔誠？什麼樣的動機算是有罪？ 最平凡無奇的烘培師Martin被聖母瑪利亞選中並治好了Catalina的殘疾；高傲的Doña Beatriz斬斷情絲一心投入宗教之中，卻以上帝之名行不義之事，最終Catalina對Diego熱烈的愛喚醒了她沉睡多年的情愫，倍受感動的她終止了自己的計劃；位高權重的Blasco將一切歡聲笑語和舒適享受從自己生命中剔除，在對自己嚴酷的鞭策之中表達對上帝無盡的崇愛，卻也因此精疲力盡、困頓不前，然而最終是Catalina在戲劇中扮演Mary Magdalene的一段精彩表現深深觸動了他，使他第一次感到與上帝同在。 通過這些故事，毛姆或許只是想告訴讀者： “Laughter is not the least precious of the gifts that God has granted us. It lightens our burdens in this hard world and enables us to bear many of our troubles with fortitude. Why should we deny a sense of honour to God?” 這是毛姆發佈的最後一本書。看着書末的日期，感到很遺憾。 25th January, 1947. 對我影響深刻的這位作家與我生命的交集永遠僅在這些翻開的書頁之中。 但或許這樣也就足夠了吧。