Anna Karenina — Page 4
Most unpleasant of all was the first minute when, on coming, happy and good-humored, from the theater, with a huge pear in his hand for his wife, he had not found his wife in the drawing-room, to his surprise had not found her in the study either, and saw her at last in her bedroom with the unlucky letter that revealed everything in her hand.
Le plus pénible de tout avait été la première minute où, revenant du théâtre, heureux et de bonne humeur, une grosse poire à la main pour sa femme, il ne l'avait pas trouvée au salon, et, à sa grande surprise, pas davantage dans le cabinet de travail, pour la découvrir enfin dans sa chambre à coucher, tenant à la main la fatale lettre qui révélait tout.
She, his Dolly, forever fussing and worrying over household details, and limited in her ideas, as he considered, was sitting perfectly still with the letter in her hand, looking at him with an expression of horror, despair, and indignation.
Elle, sa Dolly, toujours à s'agiter et à se tourmenter pour les détails du ménage, et bornée dans ses idées, comme il le pensait, était assise, parfaitement immobile, la lettre à la main, le regardant avec une expression d'horreur, de désespoir et d'indignation.
"What's this? this?" she asked, pointing to the letter.
« Qu'est-ce que c'est ? ceci ? » demanda-t-elle en montrant la lettre.
And at this recollection, Stepan Arkadyevitch, as is so often the case, was not so much annoyed at the fact itself as at the way in which he had met his wife's words.
Et à ce souvenir, Stépane Arkadiévitch, comme c'est si souvent le cas, n'était pas tant contrarié par le fait lui-même que par la façon dont il avait accueilli les paroles de sa femme.
There happened to him at that instant what does happen to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very disgraceful.
Il lui arriva en cet instant ce qui arrive aux gens lorsqu'ils sont pris à l'improviste dans quelque chose de très honteux.
He did not succeed in adapting his face to the position in which he was placed towards his wife by the discovery of his fault.
Il ne réussit pas à adapter son visage à la situation dans laquelle la découverte de sa faute le plaçait vis-à-vis de sa femme.
Instead of being hurt, denying, defending himself, begging forgiveness, instead of remaining indifferent even—anything would have been better than what he did do—his face utterly involuntarily (reflex spinal action, reflected Stepan Arkadyevitch, who was fond of physiology)—utterly involuntarily assumed its habitual, good-humored, and therefore idiotic smile.
Au lieu de paraître blessé, de nier, de se défendre, de demander pardon, au lieu de rester même indifférent — n'importe quoi eût valu mieux que ce qu'il fit — son visage, tout à fait involontairement (action réflexe spinale, songea Stépane Arkadiévitch, qui aimait la physiologie), tout à fait involontairement prit son sourire habituel, jovial, et par conséquent idiot.
This idiotic smile he could not forgive himself.
Ce sourire idiot, il ne pouvait se le pardonner.
Vocabulary
- plus
- Means 'more' or 'most'; used in comparisons.
- pénible
- Painful, difficult, or distressing to endure.
- tout
- Means 'all', 'everything', or 'every'.
- avait
- Past tense of 'avoir'; means 'had'.
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; means 'been'.
- première
- Feminine form of 'first'; the initial one.
- minute
- A unit of time equal to sixty seconds.
- où
- Relative pronoun meaning 'where' or 'when'.
- revenant
- Present participle of 'revenir'; meaning 'coming back'.
- théâtre
- A building or art form for dramatic performances.
- heureux
- Feeling or expressing happiness and contentment.
- bonne
- Feminine form of 'good'; pleasant or satisfactory.
- humeur
- Mood or temperament; one's emotional state.
- grosse
- Feminine form of 'big' or 'large'; substantial.
- poire
- A sweet fruit; pear; also slang for a foolish person.
- main
- The hand, the body part at the end of the arm.
- femme
- A woman; also means 'wife' in context.
- trouvée
- Feminine past participle of 'trouver'; meaning 'found'.
- salon
- A living room or formal reception room in a house.
- grande
- Feminine form of 'grand'; meaning large or great.
- surprise
- An unexpected event causing astonishment or shock.
- davantage
- Means 'more' or 'further'; to a greater extent.
- cabinet
- A small private room; a study or office.
- travail
- Work or labor; professional or physical effort.
- découvrir
- To discover or uncover something previously hidden.
- enfin
- Means 'finally', 'at last', or 'in short'.
- chambre
- A room, especially a bedroom in a dwelling.
- coucher
- To lie down or sleep; also refers to bedtime.
- tenant
- Present participle of 'tenir'; meaning 'holding'.
- fatale
- Feminine form of fatal; causing ruin or death.
- lettre
- A written message sent from one person to another.
- révélait
- Imperfect tense of 'révéler'; meaning 'was revealing'.
- toujours
- Means 'always' or 'still'; indicating continuity.
- agiter
- To agitate, stir up, or become restless and anxious.
- tourmenter
- To torment or trouble oneself with worry.
- détails
- Small individual facts or particulars of a matter.
- ménage
- A household; domestic life and its management.
- bornée
- Feminine adjective meaning narrow-minded or limited.
- idées
- Plural of 'idée'; thoughts, concepts, or notions.
- comme
- Means 'as', 'like', or 'how'; used for comparison.
- pensait
- Imperfect of 'penser'; meaning 'was thinking' or 'thought'.
- était
- Imperfect of 'être'; meaning 'was' or 'used to be'.
- assise
- Feminine past participle of 'asseoir'; meaning 'seated'.
- parfaitement
- Perfectly; in a complete and flawless manner.
- immobile
- Not moving; perfectly still and motionless.
- regardant
- Present participle of 'regarder'; meaning 'looking at'.
- expression
- A look on someone's face conveying a feeling.
- horreur
- Horror; an intense feeling of fear or disgust.
- désespoir
- Despair; a complete loss of hope.
- indignation
- Anger aroused by something perceived as unjust.
- ceci
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' pointing to something nearby.
- demanda
- Past tense of 'demander'; meaning 'asked' or 'requested'.
- montrant
- Present participle of 'montrer'; meaning 'showing'.
- souvenir
- A memory or keepsake; something remembered from the past.
- si
- Means 'if', 'so', or 'yes' in response to negation.
- souvent
- Means 'often'; happening frequently or repeatedly.
- cas
- A case, situation, or instance of something occurring.
- tant
- Means 'so much', 'so many', or 'as long as'.
- contrarié
- Annoyed or thwarted; feeling frustrated by opposition.
- fait
- A fact or deed; something done or accomplished.
- même
- Means 'same', 'even', or 'itself'; used for emphasis.
- façon
- A manner or way of doing something; style.
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which', 'whose', or 'from which'.
- accueilli
- Past participle of 'accueillir'; meaning 'received' or 'welcomed'.
- paroles
- Words or spoken statements; lyrics of a song.
- arriva
- Past tense of 'arriver'; meaning 'happened' or 'arrived'.
- instant
- A very brief moment in time; an instant.
- arrive
- Present tense of 'arriver'; means 'happens' or 'arrives'.
- gens
- People in general; persons considered as a group.
- lorsqu'
- Elided form of 'lorsque'; meaning 'when' at a moment.
- pris
- Past participle of 'prendre'; meaning 'taken' or 'caught'.
- improviste
- Used in 'à l'improviste'; meaning unexpectedly or by surprise.
- quelque
- Means 'some' or 'a few'; an indefinite quantity.
- chose
- A thing; an object, matter, or affair.
- honteux
- Shameful or ashamed; causing or feeling embarrassment.
- réussit
- Past tense of 'réussir'; meaning 'succeeded' or 'managed'.
- adapter
- To adapt or adjust something to fit a situation.
- visage
- The face; the front part of a person's head.
- situation
- A set of circumstances or a state of affairs.
- laquelle
- Feminine relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'in which'.
- découverte
- A discovery; something uncovered or found out.
- faute
- A fault, mistake, or wrongdoing committed by someone.
- plaçait
- Imperfect of 'placer'; meaning 'was placing' or 'put'.
- lieu
- A place; used in 'au lieu de' meaning 'instead of'.
- paraître
- To appear or seem; to look a certain way.
- blessé
- Past participle of 'blesser'; meaning 'hurt' or 'wounded'.
- nier
- To deny; to refuse to acknowledge a fact.
- défendre
- To defend or protect; also means to forbid.
- demander
- To ask for or request something from someone.
- pardon
- Forgiveness; an apology for a wrong committed.
- rester
- To stay or remain in a place or state.
- indifférent
- Showing no interest or concern; unmoved by events.
- importe
- From 'n'importe quoi'; means 'anything' or 'whatever'.
- quoi
- Pronoun meaning 'what'; used in questions or exclamations.
- eût
- Past subjunctive of 'avoir'; means 'had' in formal use.
- valu
- Past participle of 'valoir'; meaning 'been worth'.
- mieux
- Means 'better'; comparative of 'bien' meaning well.
- fit
- Past tense of 'faire'; meaning 'did' or 'made'.
- involontairement
- Involuntarily; done without intention or conscious control.
- action
- An act or deed; something done or performed.
- réflexe
- A reflex; an automatic involuntary response to stimulus.
- spinale
- Relating to the spine; spinal, as in spinal reflex.
- songea
- Past tense of 'songer'; meaning 'thought of' or 'mused'.
- aimait
- Imperfect of 'aimer'; meaning 'liked' or 'used to love'.
- physiologie
- Physiology; the science of how living bodies function.
- prit
- Past tense of 'prendre'; meaning 'took' or 'assumed'.
- sourire
- A smile; to smile; an expression of happiness.
- habituel
- Habitual or usual; done regularly as a habit.
- jovial
- Cheerful and friendly; good-humored and merry.
- conséquent
- Consequent; in 'par conséquent' meaning 'therefore'.
- idiot
- Foolish or stupid; a person lacking intelligence or sense.
- pouvait
- Imperfect of 'pouvoir'; meaning 'could' or 'was able to'.
- pardonner
- To forgive; to excuse someone for a fault or offense.
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