Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 1
The being finished speaking and fixed his looks upon me in the expectation of a reply.
El ser terminó de hablar y fijó su mirada en mí a la espera de una respuesta.
But I was bewildered, perplexed, and unable to arrange my ideas sufficiently to understand the full extent of his proposition.
Pero estaba aturdido, perplejo, e incapaz de ordenar mis ideas lo suficiente como para comprender el alcance total de su proposición.
He continued,
Él continuó,
"You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being.
«Debes crearme una hembra con quien pueda vivir en el intercambio de esas simpatías necesarias para mi existencia.
This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede."
Solo tú puedes hacer esto, y te lo exijo como un derecho que no debes negarte a conceder.»
The latter part of his tale had kindled anew in me the anger that had died away while he narrated his peaceful life among the cottagers, and as he said this I could no longer suppress the rage that burned within me.
La última parte de su relato había encendido de nuevo en mí la ira que se había apagado mientras narraba su apacible vida entre los aldeanos, y cuando dijo esto ya no pude contener la rabia que ardía en mi interior.
"I do refuse it," I replied; "and no torture shall ever extort a consent from me.
«Me niego a ello», respondí; «y ningún tormento podrá jamás arrancarme un consentimiento.
You may render me the most miserable of men, but you shall never make me base in my own eyes.
Puedes convertirme en el más desdichado de los hombres, pero jamás lograrás que me envilezca a mis propios ojos.
Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint wickedness might desolate the world.
¿Acaso he de crear otro ser como tú, cuya maldad combinada podría asolar el mundo?
Begone! I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent."
¡Fuera de aquí! Te he dado mi respuesta; puedes torturarme, pero jamás consentiré.»
"You are in the wrong," replied the fiend; "and instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you.
«Estás equivocado», replicó el demonio; «y en lugar de amenazar, me conformo con razonar contigo.
I am malicious because I am miserable.
Soy malicioso porque soy desdichado.
Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?
¿Acaso no me rehúye y me odia toda la humanidad?
You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me?
Tú, mi creador, me despedazarías y triunfarías; recuerda eso, y dime por qué debería compadecer al hombre más de lo que él me compadece a mí.
Vocabulary
- ser
- To be; also used as a noun meaning 'being'
- terminó
- He/she finished or ended something
- hablar
- To speak or to talk
- fijó
- He/she fixed or set something firmly in place
- mirada
- A gaze or look directed at someone
- espera
- A wait or expectation of something upcoming
- respuesta
- An answer or response to a question
- aturdido
- Stunned, dazed, or mentally confused
- perplejo
- Perplexed or bewildered by a confusing situation
- incapaz
- Unable or incapable of doing something
- ordenar
- To order, arrange, or put in sequence
- suficiente
- Enough or sufficient to meet a need
- comprender
- To understand or comprehend something fully
- alcance
- Scope, reach, or extent of something
- total
- Total, complete, or entire in extent
- proposición
- A proposal or proposition put forward for consideration
- continuó
- He/she continued doing or saying something
- Debes
- You must or you should do something
- crearme
- To create for me; infinitive with indirect object pronoun
- hembra
- A female creature or companion
- pueda
- Subjunctive form of 'poder'; may be able to
- vivir
- To live or to be alive
- intercambio
- An exchange or interchange between parties
- simpatías
- Sympathies or feelings of mutual understanding and affection
- necesarias
- Necessary or required for a purpose (feminine plural)
- existencia
- Existence or the state of being alive
- exijo
- I demand or require something from someone
- derecho
- A right, entitlement, or legal claim
- debes
- You must or you owe; second-person present of 'deber'
- negarte
- To refuse or deny yourself from doing something
- conceder
- To grant, concede, or allow something to someone
- última
- Last or final in a sequence (feminine form)
- parte
- A part, portion, or section of something
- relato
- A story, account, or narrative of events
- encendido
- Ignited, lit up, or stirred up emotionally
- ira
- Anger, wrath, or intense fury
- apagado
- Extinguished, dimmed, or turned off
- mientras
- While or as long as something happens simultaneously
- narraba
- He/she was narrating or recounting a story
- apacible
- Peaceful, calm, or gentle in nature
- aldeanos
- Villagers or inhabitants of a small village
- ya
- Already, now, or no longer depending on context
- pude
- I was able to; preterite of 'poder'
- contener
- To contain, hold back, or restrain something
- rabia
- Rage, fury, or intense anger
- ardía
- It burned or blazed; imperfect of 'arder'
- interior
- Interior or inner; referring to inside or within
- niego
- I refuse or deny; first-person present of 'negar'
- ello
- Neuter pronoun referring to a thing or concept
- respondí
- I responded or answered; first-person preterite of 'responder'
- ningún
- No or not any; negative adjective before masculine nouns
- tormento
- Torment or intense suffering inflicted on someone
- podrá
- He/she/it will be able to; future of 'poder'
- jamás
- Never or ever; stronger negation than 'nunca'
- arrancarme
- To tear from me or extract forcibly
- consentimiento
- Consent or approval given to an action
- convertirme
- To turn me into or transform me into something
- desdichado
- Wretched, miserable, or deeply unhappy person
- lograrás
- You will achieve or manage to accomplish something
- envilezca
- To debase or degrade oneself morally (subjunctive)
- propios
- Own; belonging to oneself (masculine plural)
- Acaso
- Perhaps or by any chance; used in questions
- crear
- To create or bring something into existence
- cuya
- Relative possessive pronoun meaning 'whose' (feminine)
- maldad
- Evil, wickedness, or malicious nature
- combinada
- Combined or joined together (feminine past participle)
- podría
- Could or would be able to; conditional of 'poder'
- asolar
- To devastate, ravage, or lay waste to something
- Fuera
- Get out! Imperative form expressing expulsion
- dado
- Given; past participle of 'dar,' to give
- torturarme
- To torture me; infinitive with first-person pronoun
- consentiré
- I will consent or agree; future of 'consentir'
- equivocado
- Wrong or mistaken about something
- replicó
- He/she replied or retorted; preterite of 'replicar'
- demonio
- A demon or devil; evil supernatural being
- lugar
- Place or location; also means 'instead of'
- amenazar
- To threaten or menace someone
- conformo
- I agree or conform; first-person present of 'conformar'
- razonar
- To reason or argue logically with someone
- contigo
- With you; second-person prepositional pronoun
- malicioso
- Malicious or spiteful, intending harm to others
- rehúye
- He/she avoids or shuns something persistently
- odia
- He/she hates; third-person present of 'odiar'
- humanidad
- Humanity or all of humankind collectively
- creador
- Creator or maker of something
- despedazarías
- You would tear apart or shatter into pieces
- triunfarías
- You would triumph or succeed over something
- recuerda
- Remember! Imperative of 'recordar'; also 'he/she remembers'
- dime
- Tell me; imperative of 'decir' with pronoun attached
- debería
- Should or ought to; conditional of 'deber'
- compadecer
- To feel compassion for or pity someone
- compadece
- He/she has compassion or pities someone
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