Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 1
"I lay on my straw, but I could not sleep.
"Yacía sobre mi paja, pero no podía dormir.
I thought of the occurrences of the day.
Pensé en los sucesos del día.
What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people, and I longed to join them, but dared not.
Lo que más me llamó la atención fueron los modales suaves de estas personas, y anhelaba unirme a ellas, pero no me atreví.
I remembered too well the treatment I had suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever course of conduct I might hereafter think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching and endeavouring to discover the motives which influenced their actions.
Recordaba demasiado bien el trato que había sufrido la noche anterior por parte de los bárbaros aldeanos, y resolví, cualquiera que fuese la conducta que en adelante creyera conveniente seguir, que por el momento permanecería en silencio en mi cabaña, observando y procurando descubrir los motivos que influían en sus acciones.
"The cottagers arose the next morning before the sun.
"Los habitantes de la cabaña se levantaron a la mañana siguiente antes de que saliera el sol.
The young woman arranged the cottage and prepared the food, and the youth departed after the first meal.
La joven arregló la cabaña y preparó la comida, y el joven partió después de la primera comida.
"This day was passed in the same routine as that which preceded it.
"Este día transcurrió en la misma rutina que el anterior.
The young man was constantly employed out of doors, and the girl in various laborious occupations within.
El joven estaba constantemente ocupado fuera de la casa, y la chica en diversas tareas laboriosas dentro.
The old man, whom I soon perceived to be blind, employed his leisure hours on his instrument or in contemplation.
El anciano, a quien pronto percibí que era ciego, empleaba sus horas de ocio en su instrumento o en la contemplación.
Nothing could exceed the love and respect which the younger cottagers exhibited towards their venerable companion.
Nada podía superar el amor y el respeto que los más jóvenes habitantes de la cabaña mostraban hacia su venerable compañero.
They performed towards him every little office of affection and duty with gentleness, and he rewarded them by his benevolent smiles.
Le dispensaban cada pequeño gesto de afecto y deber con delicadeza, y él los recompensaba con sus benevolentes sonrisas.
"They were not entirely happy.
"No eran completamente felices.
The young man and his companion often went apart and appeared to weep.
El joven y su compañera se apartaban con frecuencia y parecían llorar.
I saw no cause for their unhappiness, but I was deeply affected by it.
No veía ninguna causa para su infelicidad, pero me afectaba profundamente.
Vocabulary
- Yacía
- He/she lay (reclined), past imperfect of yacer
- sobre
- On, over, or about something
- mi
- My, first-person singular possessive adjective
- paja
- Straw, dry plant stalks used for bedding
- pero
- But, conjunction indicating contrast
- no
- No, negation word in Spanish
- podía
- Could, was able to (past imperfect of poder)
- dormir
- To sleep, the act of sleeping
- Pensé
- I thought, past tense of pensar
- en
- In, on, at — common preposition of location
- los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- sucesos
- Events, occurrences, things that happened
- del
- Of the, contraction of de and el
- día
- Day, a 24-hour period
- Lo
- It, neutral pronoun referring to something abstract
- que
- That, which, what — common relative pronoun
- más
- More, most — comparative or superlative adverb
- me
- Me, first-person singular object pronoun
- llamó
- Called, attracted (past tense of llamar)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- atención
- Attention, the act of noticing something
- fueron
- Were/went, past tense of ser or ir
- modales
- Manners, ways of behaving socially
- suaves
- Soft, gentle, smooth in manner or texture
- de
- Of, from — very common Spanish preposition
- estas
- These (feminine plural demonstrative adjective)
- personas
- People, persons, individuals
- y
- And, basic coordinating conjunction
- anhelaba
- Yearned for, longed deeply (past imperfect of anhelar)
- unirme
- To join, to unite myself with others
- a
- To, at — common Spanish preposition
- ellas
- They/them (feminine plural subject pronoun)
- atreví
- I dared (past tense of atreverse, reflexive)
- Recordaba
- I remembered, recalled (past imperfect of recordar)
- demasiado
- Too much, excessively — adverb of degree
- bien
- Well, good — common adverb
- el
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- trato
- Treatment, the way someone is treated
- había
- Had (auxiliary verb, past perfect of haber)
- sufrido
- Suffered, endured hardship (past participle of sufrir)
- noche
- Night, the dark hours of the day
- anterior
- Previous, the one before the current
- por
- By, for, through — common preposition
- parte
- Part, side — por parte de means on behalf of
- bárbaros
- Barbaric, savage, uncivilized people
- aldeanos
- Villagers, people who live in a village
- resolví
- I resolved, decided firmly (past tense of resolver)
- cualquiera
- Whatever, whichever, any one at all
- fuese
- Were/was (past subjunctive of ser or ir)
- conducta
- Conduct, behavior, way of acting
- adelante
- Forward, ahead, onwards in time or space
- creyera
- Believed, thought (past subjunctive of creer)
- conveniente
- Convenient, suitable, appropriate to a situation
- seguir
- To follow, continue, keep going
- momento
- Moment, a brief point in time
- permanecería
- Would remain, stay (conditional of permanecer)
- silencio
- Silence, absence of sound or speech
- cabaña
- Cabin, hut, small rustic shelter
- observando
- Observing, watching carefully (gerund of observar)
- procurando
- Trying, attempting, endeavoring (gerund of procurar)
- descubrir
- To discover, find out, uncover something hidden
- motivos
- Motives, reasons, causes behind actions
- influían
- Influenced, had influence (past imperfect of influir)
- sus
- Their/his/her/your possessive adjective (plural)
- acciones
- Actions, deeds, things people do
- Los
- The (masculine plural definite article)
- habitantes
- Inhabitants, residents of a place
- se
- Reflexive pronoun, themselves/himself/herself
- levantaron
- Got up, rose (past tense of levantarse)
- mañana
- Morning, or tomorrow — common Spanish word
- siguiente
- Following, next in sequence or time
- antes
- Before, earlier in time
- saliera
- Went out/rose (past subjunctive of salir)
- sol
- Sun, the star at the center of our solar system
- La
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- joven
- Young person, youth, someone of young age
- arregló
- Arranged, fixed, tidied up (past tense of arreglar)
- preparó
- Prepared, made ready (past tense of preparar)
- comida
- Food, meal, something to eat
- partió
- Departed, left (past tense of partir)
- después
- After, afterward, later in time
- primera
- First (feminine), the initial one in a series
- Este
- This (masculine), demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- transcurrió
- Passed, elapsed (past tense of transcurrir, of time)
- misma
- Same (feminine), identical, the very one
- rutina
- Routine, a regular repeated pattern of activity
- El
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- estaba
- Was (past imperfect of estar, temporary state)
- constantemente
- Constantly, all the time without interruption
- ocupado
- Busy, occupied with tasks or activities
- fuera
- Outside, or past subjunctive of ser/estar/ir
- casa
- House, home, a place where people live
- chica
- Girl, young woman, informal term
- diversas
- Various, diverse, several different kinds
- tareas
- Tasks, chores, assignments to be done
- laboriosas
- Laborious, demanding hard work and effort
- dentro
- Inside, within a space or area
- anciano
- Elderly man, old person
- quien
- Who, whom — relative pronoun for people
- pronto
- Soon, quickly, in a short time
- percibí
- I perceived, noticed (past tense of percibir)
- era
- Was (past imperfect of ser, permanent state)
- ciego
- Blind, unable to see
- empleaba
- Employed, spent, used (past imperfect of emplear)
- horas
- Hours, units of time equal to sixty minutes
- ocio
- Leisure, free time, idle hours
- su
- His/her/its/your possessive adjective (singular)
- instrumento
- Instrument, a musical or measuring device
- o
- Or, coordinating conjunction indicating alternatives
- contemplación
- Contemplation, deep thoughtful reflection
- Nada
- Nothing, not anything at all
- superar
- To surpass, exceed, overcome something
- amor
- Love, deep affection for someone
- respeto
- Respect, esteem shown toward another person
- jóvenes
- Young people, youths (plural of joven)
- mostraban
- Showed, displayed (past imperfect of mostrar)
- hacia
- Toward, in the direction of (preposition)
- venerable
- Venerable, worthy of deep respect and reverence
- compañero
- Companion, fellow, someone you spend time with
- Le
- To him/her/you — indirect object pronoun
- dispensaban
- Bestowed, gave, granted (past imperfect of dispensar)
- cada
- Each, every — distributive adjective
- pequeño
- Small, little, not big
- gesto
- Gesture, a movement or act expressing feeling
- afecto
- Affection, warm fondness toward another person
- deber
- Duty, obligation, or to owe/must
- con
- With, together or by means of
- delicadeza
- Delicacy, gentleness, sensitivity in behavior
- él
- He, third-person masculine singular subject pronoun
- recompensaba
- Rewarded, compensated (past imperfect of recompensar)
- benevolentes
- Benevolent, kind, showing goodwill toward others
- sonrisas
- Smiles, expressions of happiness on the face
- No
- No, not — basic negation word
- eran
- Were (past imperfect of ser, plural)
- completamente
- Completely, entirely, fully without exception
- felices
- Happy, joyful (plural form of feliz)
- compañera
- Female companion, partner, friend
- apartaban
- Moved away, withdrew (past imperfect of apartar)
- frecuencia
- Frequency, how often something occurs
- parecían
- Seemed, appeared (past imperfect of parecer)
- llorar
- To cry, to weep tears
- veía
- Saw, could see (past imperfect of ver)
- ninguna
- None, no (feminine), not any at all
- causa
- Cause, reason, the source of something
- para
- For, in order to — purpose preposition
- infelicidad
- Unhappiness, the state of being unhappy
- afectaba
- Affected, had an impact (past imperfect of afectar)
- profundamente
- Deeply, profoundly, in a deep manner
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