Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 12
You come to us now to share a misery which nothing can alleviate; yet your presence will, I hope, revive our father, who seems sinking under his misfortune; and your persuasions will induce poor Elizabeth to cease her vain and tormenting self-accusations.—Poor William! he was our darling and our pride!"
Vienes a nosotros ahora para compartir una desgracia que nada puede aliviar; sin embargo, tu presencia, espero, reanimará a nuestro padre, quien parece hundirse bajo su infortunio; y tus persuasiones inducirán a la pobre Elizabeth a cesar sus vanas y atormentadoras autoacusaciones. —¡Pobre William! ¡Era nuestro tesoro y nuestro orgullo!"
Tears, unrestrained, fell from my brother's eyes; a sense of mortal agony crept over my frame.
Las lágrimas, sin restricción, cayeron de los ojos de mi hermano; una sensación de agonía mortal se apoderó de mi cuerpo.
Before, I had only imagined the wretchedness of my desolated home; the reality came on me as a new, and a not less terrible, disaster.
Antes, solo había imaginado la miseria de mi hogar desolado; la realidad me llegó como un desastre nuevo, y no menos terrible.
I tried to calm Ernest; I enquired more minutely concerning my father, and here I named my cousin.
Intenté calmar a Ernest; pregunté con más detalle sobre mi padre, y aquí mencioné a mi prima.
"She most of all," said Ernest, "requires consolation; she accused herself of having caused the death of my brother, and that made her very wretched.
«Ella, más que nadie», dijo Ernest, «necesita consuelo; se acusó a sí misma de haber causado la muerte de mi hermano, y eso la hizo muy desgraciada.
But since the murderer has been discovered—"
Pero desde que el asesino ha sido descubierto—»
"The murderer discovered! Good God! how can that be? who could attempt to pursue him?
«¡El asesino descubierto! ¡Dios mío! ¿Cómo puede ser eso? ¿Quién podría intentar perseguirlo?
It is impossible; one might as well try to overtake the winds, or confine a mountain-stream with a straw.
Es imposible; lo mismo daría intentar alcanzar los vientos, o contener un torrente de montaña con una paja.
I saw him too; he was free last night!"
Yo también lo vi; ¡estaba libre anoche!»
"I do not know what you mean," replied my brother, in accents of wonder, "but to us the discovery we have made completes our misery.
«No sé a qué te refieres», respondió mi hermano, con tono de asombro, «pero para nosotros el descubrimiento que hemos hecho completa nuestra desgracia.
No one would believe it at first; and even now Elizabeth will not be convinced, notwithstanding all the evidence.
Nadie lo creyó al principio; e incluso ahora Elizabeth no se convence, a pesar de todas las pruebas.
Vocabulary
- Vienes
- You come; second person singular present of venir
- a
- To; preposition indicating direction or recipient
- nosotros
- We; first person plural subject pronoun
- ahora
- Now; at the present moment
- para
- For; preposition indicating purpose or destination
- compartir
- To share; to divide something among others
- una
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- desgracia
- Misfortune; a tragic or unfortunate event
- que
- That, which; conjunction or relative pronoun
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- puede
- Can, is able to; third person singular of poder
- aliviar
- To relieve, to alleviate; to ease pain or sorrow
- sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- embargo
- Embargo; used in sin embargo meaning nevertheless
- tu
- Your; second person singular possessive adjective
- presencia
- Presence; the state of being present somewhere
- espero
- I hope, I expect; first person singular of esperar
- reanimará
- Will revive; will restore energy or spirit to someone
- nuestro
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- padre
- Father; male parent
- quien
- Who; relative pronoun referring to a person
- parece
- Seems, appears; third person singular of parecer
- hundirse
- To sink, to collapse; to be overwhelmed by something
- bajo
- Under, beneath; preposition indicating position below
- su
- His, her, their, your; possessive adjective
- infortunio
- Misfortune; bad luck or an unfortunate circumstance
- y
- And; coordinating conjunction joining elements
- tus
- Your; second person singular plural possessive adjective
- persuasiones
- Persuasions; acts of convincing someone of something
- inducirán
- Will induce, will persuade; future tense of inducir
- la
- The; feminine definite article
- pobre
- Poor; lacking resources or deserving sympathy
- cesar
- To cease, to stop; to bring an action to an end
- sus
- His, her, their; third person plural possessive adjective
- vanas
- Vain, futile; useless or without real substance
- atormentadoras
- Tormenting; causing great mental or emotional distress
- autoacusaciones
- Self-accusations; blaming oneself for something wrong
- Pobre
- Poor; used to express sympathy for someone
- Era
- He/she/it was; imperfect tense of ser
- tesoro
- Treasure; something or someone greatly valued
- orgullo
- Pride; a feeling of deep satisfaction or self-respect
- Las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- lágrimas
- Tears; drops of water shed from the eyes when crying
- restricción
- Restraint, restriction; a limit placed on something
- cayeron
- Fell; third person plural preterite of caer
- de
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or possession
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight on a person's face
- mi
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- hermano
- Brother; male sibling
- sensación
- Sensation, feeling; a physical or emotional impression
- agonía
- Agony; extreme physical or mental suffering
- mortal
- Mortal, deadly; relating to death or causing death
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- apoderó
- Seized, took hold; preterite of apoderarse
- cuerpo
- Body; the physical structure of a person or animal
- Antes
- Before, previously; referring to an earlier time
- solo
- Only, alone; without others or merely
- había
- Had; imperfect tense auxiliary verb haber
- imaginado
- Imagined; past participle of imaginar, to picture mentally
- miseria
- Misery; extreme unhappiness or poverty
- hogar
- Home; a place where one lives and belongs
- desolado
- Desolate; empty, bleak, and abandoned or grief-stricken
- realidad
- Reality; the state of things as they actually exist
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- llegó
- Arrived, came; third person singular preterite of llegar
- como
- Like, as; conjunction or preposition of comparison
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- desastre
- Disaster; a sudden catastrophic or tragic event
- nuevo
- New; recently made, discovered, or experienced
- no
- No, not; negation word in Spanish
- menos
- Less; to a smaller degree or extent
- terrible
- Terrible; extremely bad, frightening, or distressing
- Intenté
- I tried; first person singular preterite of intentar
- calmar
- To calm, to soothe; to make someone feel less agitated
- pregunté
- I asked; first person singular preterite of preguntar
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- más
- More; to a greater degree or quantity
- detalle
- Detail; a small particular piece of information
- sobre
- About, over, on; preposition indicating topic or position
- aquí
- Here; in or at this place
- mencioné
- I mentioned; first person singular preterite of mencionar
- prima
- Female cousin; a daughter of one's aunt or uncle
- Ella
- She; third person singular feminine subject pronoun
- nadie
- Nobody, no one; not a single person
- dijo
- Said, told; third person singular preterite of decir
- necesita
- Needs, requires; third person singular of necesitar
- consuelo
- Consolation, comfort; relief from grief or distress
- acusó
- Accused; third person singular preterite of acusar
- sí
- Herself, himself; reflexive pronoun or yes
- misma
- Herself, same; used for emphasis or identity
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb used to form compound tenses
- causado
- Caused; past participle of causar, to bring about
- muerte
- Death; the end of life
- eso
- That; neutral demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- hizo
- Made, did; third person singular preterite of hacer
- muy
- Very; to a high degree or extent
- desgraciada
- Unfortunate, wretched; deeply unhappy or miserable
- Pero
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- desde
- Since, from; preposition indicating a starting point
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- asesino
- Murderer, assassin; one who kills another person
- ha
- Has; third person singular present of haber
- sido
- Been; past participle of ser, used in perfect tenses
- descubierto
- Discovered; past participle of descubrir, to uncover
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- Dios
- God; the supreme deity or divine being
- mío
- Mine; first person singular possessive pronoun
- Cómo
- How; interrogative adverb asking about manner
- ser
- To be; infinitive indicating permanent states or identity
- Quién
- Who; interrogative pronoun asking about a person
- podría
- Could, would be able to; conditional form of poder
- intentar
- To try, to attempt; to make an effort to do something
- perseguirlo
- To pursue him; to chase or follow someone closely
- Es
- Is; third person singular present of ser
- imposible
- Impossible; not able to occur or be done
- lo
- Him, it; masculine singular direct object pronoun
- mismo
- Same, itself; used for emphasis or comparison
- daría
- Would give; conditional tense of dar
- alcanzar
- To reach, to catch up with; to attain something distant
- vientos
- Winds; moving currents of air
- o
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative
- contener
- To contain, to hold back; to restrain or stop something
- torrente
- Torrent; a fast-flowing and powerful stream of water
- montaña
- Mountain; a large natural elevation of earth
- paja
- Straw; dried stalks of grain used as fodder
- Yo
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- también
- Also, too; in addition to something already mentioned
- vi
- I saw; first person singular preterite of ver
- estaba
- Was; imperfect tense of estar indicating a state
- libre
- Free; not confined, restricted, or under control
- anoche
- Last night; during the night that just passed
- No
- No, not; word expressing negation or refusal
- sé
- I know; first person singular present of saber
- qué
- What; interrogative pronoun or exclamatory word
- te
- You; second person singular indirect or direct object pronoun
- refieres
- You refer; second person singular of referirse
- respondió
- Responded, replied; third person singular preterite of responder
- tono
- Tone; the quality or manner of a voice or expression
- asombro
- Astonishment, amazement; a feeling of great surprise
- pero
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- descubrimiento
- Discovery; the act of finding something previously unknown
- hemos
- We have; first person plural present of haber
- hecho
- Done, made; past participle of hacer
- completa
- Complete; whole, total, with nothing missing
- nuestra
- Our; first person plural feminine possessive adjective
- Nadie
- Nobody; not a single person, no one at all
- creyó
- Believed; third person singular preterite of creer
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- principio
- Beginning, principle; the start or a fundamental truth
- e
- And; variant of y used before words starting with i
- incluso
- Even, including; used to emphasize an extreme example
- convence
- Convinces; third person singular present of convencer
- pesar
- Despite; used in a pesar de meaning in spite of
- todas
- All; feminine plural form of todo, every one
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- pruebas
- Proofs, evidence; facts that confirm something is true
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