The legacy -- after reading
When I finished reading this story first, I got confused and somehow only thought simply. When my teacher told us the true story, I was a little surprised and had a mixed felling.
The story tells a story of Gilbert Clandon, his wife and B.M. We can find that Gilbert Clandon is a prominent politician and he is proud to get married with Angela because she is beautiful. However, he just does not love her. In fact he enjoys having a beautiful wife only and feels proud. So Angela must feel lonely of course. She meets B.M. firstly and does not have a good impression on him. It does not mean their relationship will not change. B.M., although has his prejudice against the Lord, still gets along with others with honesty. As time goes by, he falls in love with Angela and asks for her to get a close relationship with him. Angela of course refuses because she is Gilbert Clandon’s wife and she can not betray him. It turns out to be a sad ending where B.M. and Angela both die.
Maybe there is a deep ending behind the cover. What ever it is, I can feel that Gilbert Clandon is the one who owe to blame. Firstly, he does not love his wife. Maybe he does when they get married. Maybe when they get married , he only cares what others think of his wife. What is his wife mean to him? A person he loves. Certainly not. A person can give him fame. Maybe. Maybe she is just a subject useful to him. When she is with him, he just dose not care about her. But if she has some feeling with others, he will feel angry. It can tell us that he just enjoys having her around him. He would betray her when she is not so ‘useful’ and he will never allow her betray him. The marriage itself turns out to be a trap. He not only has this trick to get along with his wife, he uses it everywhere. He cares what others think of him. And to deal with it, he just can not show his real feeling with others and give a seemly smiling face to everyone. What can this kind of poor people get?
When he looks her wife’s diary he just looks for fun. What it means to his wife? A treasure. What it means to him? Pieces of paper. How can this kind of person get the legacy? When Sissy Miller comes, he just regards her as common people and gives her a pretended smile. He regards her as nothing, maybe. He will surely not understand how Angela has a good relationship with the kind of people he ignores.
When he finds the secrets in the dairy, he just thinks in his own way. He thinks what he thinks is just the truth. He will always thinks what he does is right. The common people will never have a more right idea than him. What he reacts to these people is refuse. Then how can he receive the legacy? He reads the story and he just thinks he is the only victim. Then why he does not think of himself. Why he does not be with her when she needs? Why he does not ask what has happened when she is outside? He just does not care. He will let her go outside without worry, then why can’t she meet someone he does not know. He will not share the love with her. So it is just normal if she seeks love from others. In fact even she feels lonely, even she meets someone more softly, she is not going to betray him. However even if she betrays him, it is not all her fault. Maybe B.M. also thinks Angela is so poor that he even feels sympathy for her. So he decides to rescue her from the bad marriage. However she is still devoted to him even he feels in despair.
In the end, Angela has used her life to get rescue. She feels regretful for B.M. She also feels she can defend his husband’s fame. So her legacy maybe is the loyalty which his husband will never receive. Even if her husband receives, will he trust it? Will he feels some kind of regret for her? Will he forgive her? How about Angela’s death. Will he still be devoted to her death. Will he seek another lover? Will he give her more attention? Will he still be a poor man use every method to give him fame?
When the story is finished, the poor man lost everything. He thinks he once has all the things.However, in fact, in the very beginning, he does not have anything. It is he who just thinks that he has everything. If he cares more about his wife, even he still loves to seek fame, maybe the ending will be different.

【故事梗概】克兰顿（Clandon）先生风流倜傥，少年得志，年纪轻轻就成为议员候选人。然而，他是个大男子主义者，自我中心主义者。他以为女子无才便是德，对妻子安吉拉（Angela
Clandon）多方面的情感需求，毫无体察。在他的生活中，美丽的妻子就像一件玩偶、一种摆设，能否生育子女都无所谓。婚礼上，看到妻子的美丽打动了上司爱德华爵士，他的心里好不得意，心想，也许妻子将来会成为自己政治生涯中的一个筹码。他虚伪而趋炎附势，并不真正关心选区人民的疾苦，鄙视下层民众和思想激进的知识分子，整天盘算的就是如何在政治上不断攀升。到了50岁，仍然乐此不疲。由于忙于应酬，他很少在家陪妻子度过只属于两人的夜晚。妻子寂寞难耐，想为社会上需要帮助的人做点什么。尽管她的提议没有遭到丈夫的明确反对，但还是引来了他的一番奚落。在克兰顿看来，做妻子的职责就是关心好丈夫，照看好家庭。妻子每周三穿着简朴的衣服去怀特查普尔，积极认真地投入劳工社区的社会救助工作，走访家庭，帮人安排工作……，对这些，克兰顿全然不觉，也无心过问。妻子外出时穿着简朴，他左看右看不顺眼。妻子思想和情感上所发生的巨大变化，他更是也毫无了解。安吉拉从事社区工作期间，结识了自己的秘书西西·米勒（Sissy
Miller）的兄弟B.
M.。B.M.是个激进的社会主义者，认为英国普通民众正被上层阶级的政治家所愚弄，生活在一个愚人的天堂里，他呼唤革命的到来。在他的思想影响了，安吉拉对下层民众的艰难生活抱有极大的同情。她在日记中写道：“B.M.给我讲自己童年的故事，讲她母亲过去如何外出打零工……，每当我想到这些，我就几乎不能忍受再这样奢侈地活下去。买一顶帽子竟然要花三个几尼！”可能正是安吉拉对穷苦大众的同情，使B.M.对她产生了恋情。在数次遭到安吉拉拒绝后，B.M.自杀身亡。他的自杀当然还会有别的原因。比如，正如克兰顿夫妇一致认为的那样，B.M.可能思想过于偏狭，因而看不到社会改良的希望。B.M.死后，安吉拉在皮卡迪里大街撞车自杀，可能主要由于对B.M.的死感到过分自责和内疚，绝不会像其丈夫所想的那样，是为了殉情。克兰顿对妻子自杀原因的误解，是他自始至终不能真正理解妻子思想情感需要的必然结果。在这个意义上，那份遗产——妻子留给他的那几本日记——他是继承不了的。