「財迷」與「鬼迷」？－－談普希金的《黑桃皇后》

Greed and Obsession? -On Pushkin's 《The Queen of Spades》

一八三三年秋天普希金重回波爾金諾，《黑桃皇后》為其創作史上二度「波爾金諾之秋」的豐碩成果之一。普希金以簡練的筆法、緊湊的結構，描寫一則貪婪導致墮落的故事。主角赫爾曼，為達目的，不惜欺騙少女的感情、甚至願當垂暮老太太的情夫，以換取贏錢的秘密，卻意外嚇死年老的伯爵夫人。「伯仁因我而死」的愧疚令他心生恐懼，當他有生以來第一次下注，以為勝券在握時，卻發現自己押錯牌。赫爾曼懷疑已故的伯爵夫人前來報仇，不僅輸光家產，而且發瘋，永遠喪失心智。普希金筆下的賭徒並非真正的惡棍，卻在貪婪慾望的驅使下，不擇手段，終至與幸福絕緣。

《The Queen of Spades》, which was first published in 1834, is generally considered to be one of the most significant works of Pushkin’s ; it is also one of the most frequently written about. With brief narration and concise structure, Pushkin created the protagonist who has strong passions and vivid imagination－ Germann. Germann is a gambler at heart who dreams to win his fortune and attain happiness by playing cards. By hook or by crook he manages to finagle the secret of the cards form the old Countess, but scares her to death by threatening her with an unloaded pistol. His sense of guilt at the death of the old Countess is pushed into his subconscious. Thus, he makes the fatal mistake at the end of confusing the queen of spades with an ace. Starting out with a small capital, and risking everything, at last he loses everything. Overwhelmed by the insanity of greed, he loses his mind and never obtains the peace and independence for which he yearns. Though ironic, what happens to Germann is also commiserable.