Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 4
Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned and discovered to my sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt, its white steeple and clock, which indicated the sixth hour.
La mañana, lúgubre y lluviosa, despuntó al fin y reveló ante mis ojos insomnes y doloridos la iglesia de Ingolstadt, con su blanco campanario y su reloj, que marcaba las seis en punto.
The porter opened the gates of the court, which had that night been my asylum, and I issued into the streets, pacing them with quick steps, as if I sought to avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street would present to my view.
El portero abrió las puertas del patio, que había sido mi refugio aquella noche, y salí a las calles, recorriéndolas a pasos rápidos, como si tratara de evitar al miserable que temía encontrar a cada vuelta del camino.
I did not dare return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky.
No me atrevía a regresar al apartamento en que vivía, sino que me sentía impulsado a seguir adelante, aunque empapado por la lluvia que caía de un cielo negro y desolador.
I continued walking in this manner for some time, endeavouring by bodily exercise to ease the load that weighed upon my mind.
Continué caminando de ese modo durante algún tiempo, intentando aliviar mediante el ejercicio físico la carga que pesaba sobre mi mente.
I traversed the streets without any clear conception of where I was or what I was doing.
Recorrí las calles sin tener conciencia clara de dónde estaba ni de lo que hacía.
My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear, and I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me:
Mi corazón palpitaba presa del terror, y seguía adelante con pasos irregulares, sin atreverme a mirar a mi alrededor:
Like one who, on a lonely road, Doth walk in fear and dread, And, having once turned round, walks on, And turns no more his head; Because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread.
Como aquel que, por un camino solitario, camina con miedo y terror, y, habiendo vuelto la vista una vez, sigue adelante, y no gira más la cabeza; porque sabe que un espantoso demonio pisa de cerca sus talones.
[Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner."]
[«El viejo marinero», de Coleridge.]
Continuing thus, I came at length opposite to the inn at which the various diligences and carriages usually stopped.
Continuando así, llegué al fin frente a la posada en la que solían detenerse las distintas diligencias y carruajes.
Vocabulary
- mañana
- Morning; or tomorrow as an adverb
- lúgubre
- Gloomy, dark, and depressing in character
- lluviosa
- Rainy; characterized by or full of rain
- despuntó
- Dawned or began to appear; broke (of day)
- fin
- End; finally when used in 'al fin'
- reveló
- Revealed or disclosed something previously hidden
- ante
- Preposition meaning 'before' or 'in front of'
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight on a face
- insomnes
- Sleepless; unable to sleep, suffering insomnia
- doloridos
- Sore, aching, or painful; suffering physical discomfort
- iglesia
- Church; a building for Christian worship
- blanco
- White; the color white or blank space
- campanario
- Bell tower or steeple on a church building
- reloj
- Clock or watch used to tell time
- marcaba
- Was marking or indicating a time or position
- seis
- The number six
- punto
- Point; 'en punto' means exactly on the hour
- portero
- Doorman, gatekeeper, or concierge of a building
- abrió
- Opened; past tense of abrir, to open
- puertas
- Doors or gates; entryways into a space
- patio
- Courtyard or open inner yard of a building
- refugio
- Refuge or shelter from danger or hardship
- aquella
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (distant, feminine)
- noche
- Night; the dark period after sunset
- salí
- Left or went out; first person past of salir
- calles
- Streets; roads lined by buildings in a city
- recorriéndolas
- Traversing or wandering through them (the streets)
- pasos
- Steps or paces; footsteps while walking
- rápidos
- Fast, quick, or rapid in movement or action
- tratara
- Were trying; imperfect subjunctive of tratar
- evitar
- To avoid or prevent something from happening
- miserable
- Wretched, miserable, or pitiable person or thing
- temía
- Feared or was afraid; imperfect tense of temer
- encontrar
- To find or encounter someone or something
- cada
- Each or every; used before singular nouns
- vuelta
- Turn, return, or bend in a road or path
- camino
- Road, path, or way leading somewhere
- atrevía
- Dared; imperfect tense of atreverse, to dare
- regresar
- To return or go back to a previous place
- apartamento
- Apartment; a residential unit within a building
- vivía
- Lived; was living; imperfect tense of vivir
- sino
- But rather; used to contrast a negative with positive
- sentía
- Felt; was feeling; imperfect tense of sentir
- impulsado
- Driven or impelled forward by an internal force
- seguir
- To continue or keep going; to follow
- adelante
- Forward; ahead; onward in direction or progress
- aunque
- Although or even though; concessive conjunction
- empapado
- Soaked or drenched thoroughly with water or liquid
- lluvia
- Rain; water falling from clouds in drops
- caía
- Was falling; imperfect tense of caer, to fall
- cielo
- Sky; the heavens above; also means heaven
- negro
- Black; the darkest color, absence of light
- desolador
- Desolate, bleak, causing a feeling of despair
- Continué
- Continued; first person past of continuar, to continue
- caminando
- Walking; present participle of caminar, to walk
- ese
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (nearby, masculine)
- modo
- Way, manner, or mode of doing something
- durante
- During; throughout a period of time
- algún
- Some; an indefinite adjective meaning some or any
- tiempo
- Time; also weather in some contexts
- intentando
- Trying or attempting; present participle of intentar
- aliviar
- To relieve or alleviate pain, stress, or burden
- mediante
- By means of; through the use of something
- ejercicio
- Exercise; physical activity done for health or fitness
- físico
- Physical; relating to the body or material world
- carga
- Burden, load, or weight carried by someone
- pesaba
- Weighed heavily; imperfect tense of pesar, to weigh
- sobre
- On, over, or about; preposition of position
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thinking and reasoning
- Recorrí
- Traveled through or covered; first person past of recorrer
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- tener
- To have; infinitive of the verb to have
- conciencia
- Consciousness or awareness; conscience in moral sense
- clara
- Clear, bright, or obvious; feminine form of claro
- dónde
- Where; interrogative adverb asking about location
- ni
- Nor; negative conjunction connecting two negatives
- hacía
- Was doing; imperfect tense of hacer, to do
- corazón
- Heart; the organ; also used for emotions
- palpitaba
- Was pounding or throbbing; imperfect of palpitar
- presa
- Prey; gripped or seized by something like fear
- terror
- Terror; extreme fear or dread of something
- seguía
- Continued or kept going; imperfect of seguir
- irregulares
- Irregular, uneven, not following a regular pattern
- atreverme
- To dare myself; reflexive infinitive of atreverse
- mirar
- To look at or watch; to direct one's gaze
- alrededor
- Around; in the surrounding area or vicinity
- aquel
- That (distant); demonstrative adjective, masculine singular
- solitario
- Solitary, lonely, or isolated person or thing
- camina
- Walks; third person singular present of caminar
- miedo
- Fear; the feeling of being afraid or scared
- habiendo
- Having; present participle of haber used in compounds
- vuelto
- Turned; past participle of volver, to turn or return
- vista
- Sight or view; gaze; also past participle of ver
- vez
- Time or instance; 'una vez' means once
- sigue
- Continues or follows; third person present of seguir
- gira
- Turns or rotates; third person present of girar
- más
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- cabeza
- Head; the upper part of the human body
- porque
- Because; causal conjunction explaining a reason
- sabe
- Knows; third person singular present of saber
- espantoso
- Frightful, dreadful, or terrifying in nature
- demonio
- Demon or devil; an evil supernatural being
- pisa
- Steps on or treads; third person present of pisar
- cerca
- Close or near; in close proximity to something
- talones
- Heels; the back parts of the feet
- viejo
- Old; elderly person or something aged over time
- marinero
- Sailor or mariner; someone who works on ships
- Continuando
- Continuing; present participle of continuar, to continue
- así
- Thus, so, or in this way; adverb of manner
- llegué
- Arrived or reached; first person past of llegar
- frente
- Front; in front of; forehead in other contexts
- posada
- Inn or lodging house offering food and shelter
- solían
- Used to; imperfect of soler indicating habitual action
- detenerse
- To stop or halt; reflexive infinitive of detener
- distintas
- Different or various; feminine plural of distinto
- diligencias
- Stagecoaches; horse-drawn public transport carriages
- carruajes
- Carriages; horse-drawn vehicles for passenger transport
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