Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 1
Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.
Nada es más doloroso para la mente humana que, tras haber sido agitados los sentimientos por una rápida sucesión de acontecimientos, la calma muerta de la inacción y la certeza que sigue y priva al alma tanto de esperanza como de temor.
Justine died, she rested, and I was alive.
Justine murió, ella descansó, y yo estaba vivo.
The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart which nothing could remove.
La sangre fluía libremente por mis venas, pero un peso de desesperación y remordimiento oprimía mi corazón que nada podía aliviar.
Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible, and more, much more (I persuaded myself) was yet behind.
El sueño huía de mis ojos; vagaba como un espíritu maligno, pues había cometido actos de maldad horribles más allá de toda descripción, y más, mucho más (me persuadía a mí mismo) estaba aún por venir.
Yet my heart overflowed with kindness and the love of virtue.
Sin embargo, mi corazón rebosaba de bondad y amor a la virtud.
I had begun life with benevolent intentions and thirsted for the moment when I should put them in practice and make myself useful to my fellow beings.
Había comenzado la vida con intenciones benévolas y anhelaba el momento en que pudiera ponerlas en práctica y hacerme útil a mis semejantes.
Now all was blasted; instead of that serenity of conscience which allowed me to look back upon the past with self-satisfaction, and from thence to gather promise of new hopes, I was seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures such as no language can describe.
Ahora todo estaba arruinado; en lugar de aquella serenidad de conciencia que me permitía mirar al pasado con satisfacción propia, y de allí extraer promesa de nuevas esperanzas, me invadieron el remordimiento y el sentido de culpa, que me arrastraron a un infierno de intensos tormentos que ningún lenguaje puede describir.
This state of mind preyed upon my health, which had perhaps never entirely recovered from the first shock it had sustained.
Este estado de ánimo minaba mi salud, que quizás nunca se había recuperado del todo del primer golpe que había sufrido.
I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation—deep, dark, deathlike solitude.
Rehuía el rostro humano; todo sonido de alegría o complacencia era un tormento para mí; la soledad era mi único consuelo—una soledad profunda, oscura, semejante a la muerte.
Vocabulary
- Nada
- Nothing; used to express absence or negation
- es
- Is; third person singular of 'ser'
- más
- More; used for comparisons or additions
- doloroso
- Painful; causing physical or emotional pain
- para
- For; indicates purpose, destination, or recipient
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- mente
- Mind; the seat of thought and consciousness
- humana
- Human; relating to people or humanity
- que
- That/which; conjunction or relative pronoun
- tras
- After; following in time or sequence
- haber
- To have; auxiliary verb for perfect tenses
- sido
- Been; past participle of 'ser'
- agitados
- Agitated; stirred up or emotionally disturbed
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- sentimientos
- Feelings; emotional states or inner experiences
- por
- By/through; indicates cause, means, or duration
- una
- A/an; feminine singular indefinite article
- rápida
- Rapid; happening quickly or at high speed
- sucesión
- Succession; a series of events following one another
- de
- Of/from; indicates origin, possession, or relation
- acontecimientos
- Events; notable occurrences or happenings
- calma
- Calm; state of peace or absence of agitation
- muerta
- Dead; lifeless or completely inactive
- inacción
- Inaction; lack of activity or movement
- y
- And; conjunction connecting words or phrases
- certeza
- Certainty; state of being absolutely sure
- sigue
- Follows/continues; keeps going or persisting
- priva
- Deprives; takes away something from someone
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'el'
- alma
- Soul; the spiritual or inner essence of a person
- tanto
- As much/so much; indicates large quantity or degree
- esperanza
- Hope; feeling of expectation for something desired
- como
- As/like; used in comparisons or to mean 'how'
- temor
- Fear; strong feeling of dread or apprehension
- murió
- Died; past tense of 'morir', to die
- ella
- She; third person singular feminine pronoun
- descansó
- Rested; past tense of 'descansar', to rest
- yo
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- estaba
- Was; imperfect past tense of 'estar'
- vivo
- Alive; living, having life
- La
- The; feminine singular definite article
- sangre
- Blood; red fluid circulating in the body
- fluía
- Flowed; imperfect tense of 'fluir', to flow
- libremente
- Freely; in an unrestrained or unobstructed manner
- mis
- My; first person plural possessive adjective
- venas
- Veins; blood vessels carrying blood to the heart
- pero
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- un
- A/an; masculine singular indefinite article
- peso
- Weight/burden; heaviness or oppressive load
- desesperación
- Despair; complete loss of hope
- remordimiento
- Remorse; deep regret for wrongdoing
- oprimía
- Oppressed/weighed down; imperfect tense of 'oprimir'
- mi
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- corazón
- Heart; vital organ; seat of emotion
- nada
- Nothing; not anything at all
- podía
- Could; imperfect tense of 'poder', to be able
- aliviar
- To relieve; to ease pain or distress
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- sueño
- Sleep/dream; state of rest or a dream
- huía
- Fled; imperfect tense of 'huir', to flee
- ojos
- Eyes; organs of sight
- vagaba
- Wandered; imperfect tense of 'vagar', to roam
- espíritu
- Spirit; soul or supernatural being
- maligno
- Malignant/evil; wicked or harmful in nature
- pues
- For/since/well; conjunction indicating cause or reason
- había
- Had; imperfect of 'haber', auxiliary for past perfect
- cometido
- Committed; past participle of 'cometer'
- actos
- Acts; actions or deeds performed
- maldad
- Evil/wickedness; morally bad behavior or quality
- horribles
- Horrible; causing horror or strong disgust
- allá
- Beyond/over there; at or to a distant place
- toda
- All/every; entire or complete amount
- descripción
- Description; a detailed account of something
- mucho
- Much/a lot; large amount or degree
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun
- persuadía
- Persuaded; imperfect tense of 'persuadir'
- a
- To/at; preposition indicating direction or object
- mí
- Me/myself; stressed first person singular pronoun
- mismo
- Myself/same; reflexive intensifier or identity marker
- aún
- Still/yet; indicates continuation or remaining action
- venir
- To come; movement toward a place or person
- Sin
- Without; lacking or in the absence of
- embargo
- Embargo; used in 'sin embargo' meaning 'however'
- rebosaba
- Overflowed/abounded; imperfect of 'rebosar'
- bondad
- Goodness/kindness; quality of being good or generous
- amor
- Love; deep affection or romantic feeling
- virtud
- Virtue; moral excellence or good quality
- Había
- Had; imperfect of 'haber', auxiliary verb
- comenzado
- Begun; past participle of 'comenzar', to begin
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- con
- With; indicates accompaniment or means
- intenciones
- Intentions; plans or aims one has in mind
- benévolas
- Benevolent; kind, charitable, and well-meaning
- anhelaba
- Longed for; imperfect of 'anhelar', to yearn
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- momento
- Moment; a brief or specific point in time
- en
- In/on/at; preposition of location or time
- pudiera
- Could; imperfect subjunctive of 'poder'
- ponerlas
- To put them; infinitive with third person pronoun
- práctica
- Practice; application of theory or skill
- hacerme
- To make myself; reflexive infinitive of 'hacer'
- útil
- Useful; serving a practical purpose
- semejantes
- Fellow beings; similar ones or fellow humans
- Ahora
- Now; at the present time or moment
- todo
- Everything/all; the whole or total amount
- arruinado
- Ruined; destroyed or brought to a bad state
- lugar
- Place; a location or position in space
- aquella
- That; feminine singular demonstrative adjective (distant)
- serenidad
- Serenity; calm and peaceful state of being
- conciencia
- Conscience; inner sense of right and wrong
- permitía
- Allowed; imperfect tense of 'permitir'
- mirar
- To look at; to direct one's gaze toward something
- pasado
- Past; time that has already occurred
- satisfacción
- Satisfaction; feeling of contentment or fulfillment
- propia
- Own/proper; belonging to oneself
- allí
- There; at or in that place
- extraer
- To extract; to draw out or obtain something
- promesa
- Promise; a commitment to do something
- nuevas
- New; recently appeared or not previously known
- esperanzas
- Hopes; feelings of expectation for desired outcomes
- invadieron
- Invaded; past tense of 'invadir', to invade
- sentido
- Sense/feeling; perception or awareness
- culpa
- Guilt/blame; responsibility for wrongdoing
- arrastraron
- Dragged; past tense of 'arrastrar', to drag
- infierno
- Hell; place of suffering or torment
- intensos
- Intense; extreme in strength or degree
- tormentos
- Torments; extreme pain or suffering
- ningún
- No/not any; negates the existence of something
- lenguaje
- Language; system of words used for communication
- puede
- Can; third person singular of 'poder'
- describir
- To describe; to give an account of something
- Este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- estado
- State/condition; situation or circumstance one is in
- ánimo
- Spirit/mood; one's emotional or mental state
- minaba
- Undermined; imperfect of 'minar', to erode
- salud
- Health; the condition of the body or mind
- quizás
- Perhaps/maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility
- nunca
- Never; at no time or not ever
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; indicates action on oneself
- recuperado
- Recovered; past participle of 'recuperar'
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'el'
- primer
- First; ordinal number preceding all others
- golpe
- Blow/shock; a sudden hit or emotional impact
- sufrido
- Suffered; past participle of 'sufrir'
- Rehuía
- Avoided; imperfect of 'rehuir', to shun
- rostro
- Face; the front part of the head
- humano
- Human; of or relating to people
- sonido
- Sound; vibrations perceived by the ear
- alegría
- Joy; feeling of great pleasure or happiness
- o
- Or; conjunction presenting an alternative choice
- complacencia
- Complacency/pleasure; self-satisfaction or contentment
- era
- Was; imperfect tense of 'ser'
- tormento
- Torment; severe pain or anguish
- soledad
- Solitude/loneliness; state of being alone
- único
- Only/unique; the sole one of its kind
- consuelo
- Comfort/consolation; relief from grief or distress
- profunda
- Deep/profound; having great depth or intensity
- oscura
- Dark/obscure; lacking light or clarity
- semejante
- Similar/like; resembling or comparable to something
- muerte
- Death; the end of life
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