Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 8
Night was far advanced when I came to the halfway resting-place and seated myself beside the fountain.
La noche estaba muy avanzada cuando llegué al lugar de descanso a mitad de camino y me senté junto a la fuente.
The stars shone at intervals as the clouds passed from over them; the dark pines rose before me, and every here and there a broken tree lay on the ground; it was a scene of wonderful solemnity and stirred strange thoughts within me.
Las estrellas brillaban a intervalos mientras las nubes pasaban sobre ellas; los oscuros pinos se alzaban ante mí, y aquí y allá un árbol roto yacía en el suelo; era una escena de maravillosa solemnidad que despertaba extraños pensamientos en mí.
I wept bitterly, and clasping my hands in agony, I exclaimed, "Oh! stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity me, crush sensation and memory; let me become as nought; but if not, depart, depart, and leave me in darkness."
Lloré amargamente, y apretando mis manos en agonía, exclamé: «¡Oh! estrellas, nubes y vientos, todos estáis a punto de burlaros de mí; si de verdad os compadecéis de mí, destruid la sensación y la memoria; dejadme convertirme en nada; pero si no, marchaos, marchaos, y dejadme en la oscuridad».
These were wild and miserable thoughts, but I cannot describe to you how the eternal twinkling of the stars weighed upon me and how I listened to every blast of wind as if it were a dull ugly siroc on its way to consume me.
Estos eran pensamientos salvajes y miserables, pero no puedo describiros cómo el eterno parpadeo de las estrellas pesaba sobre mí y cómo escuchaba cada ráfaga de viento como si fuera un seco y horrible siroco en su camino para consumirme.
Morning dawned before I arrived at the village of Chamounix; I took no rest, but returned immediately to Geneva.
El amanecer llegó antes de que llegara al pueblo de Chamounix; no descansé, sino que regresé inmediatamente a Ginebra.
Even in my own heart I could give no expression to my sensations—they weighed on me with a mountain's weight and their excess destroyed my agony beneath them.
Ni siquiera en mi propio corazón podía dar expresión a mis sensaciones: pesaban sobre mí con el peso de una montaña y su exceso destruía mi agonía bajo ellas.
Thus I returned home, and entering the house, presented myself to the family.
Así regresé a casa, y al entrar en ella, me presenté ante la familia.
My haggard and wild appearance awoke intense alarm, but I answered no question, scarcely did I speak.
Mi aspecto demacrado y salvaje despertó una intensa alarma, pero no respondí ninguna pregunta, apenas hablé.
Vocabulary
- noche
- Night; the period of darkness after sunset
- estaba
- Was; past imperfect form of 'estar'
- muy
- Very; used to intensify adjectives or adverbs
- avanzada
- Advanced; late or far along in time
- cuando
- When; conjunction linking time-related clauses
- llegué
- I arrived; first-person past tense of 'llegar'
- al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'el', meaning 'to the'
- lugar
- Place; a specific location or spot
- descanso
- Rest; a pause or break from activity
- mitad
- Halfway; the middle point of something
- camino
- Road or path; a route traveled on foot
- senté
- I sat down; past tense of reflexive 'sentarse'
- junto
- Next to; beside or close to something
- fuente
- Fountain or spring; a source of flowing water
- estrellas
- Stars; luminous celestial bodies visible at night
- brillaban
- Were shining; past imperfect of 'brillar'
- intervalos
- Intervals; spaces or pauses between occurrences
- mientras
- While; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- nubes
- Clouds; masses of water vapor in the sky
- pasaban
- Were passing; past imperfect of 'pasar'
- sobre
- Over or above; preposition indicating position
- oscuros
- Dark; lacking light, gloomy in appearance
- pinos
- Pine trees; tall evergreen coniferous trees
- alzaban
- Were rising; past imperfect of 'alzarse', to rise
- ante
- Before or in front of; preposition of position
- aquí
- Here; indicating a nearby location
- allá
- Over there; indicating a distant location
- árbol
- Tree; a large woody plant with a trunk
- roto
- Broken; damaged or snapped apart
- yacía
- Was lying; past imperfect of 'yacer', to lie
- suelo
- Ground or floor; the surface underfoot
- era
- Was; past imperfect third-person form of 'ser'
- escena
- Scene; a visual setting or dramatic moment
- maravillosa
- Marvelous; wonderfully impressive or beautiful
- solemnidad
- Solemnity; a serious, formal, or grave quality
- despertaba
- Was awakening; past imperfect of 'despertar'
- extraños
- Strange or foreign; unusual or unfamiliar
- pensamientos
- Thoughts; ideas or reflections in the mind
- Lloré
- I cried; first-person past tense of 'llorar'
- amargamente
- Bitterly; in a painful, resentful manner
- apretando
- Squeezing or clenching; present participle of 'apretar'
- manos
- Hands; the body parts at the ends of arms
- agonía
- Agony; extreme physical or emotional suffering
- exclamé
- I exclaimed; past tense of 'exclamar'
- vientos
- Winds; moving currents of air
- todos
- All or everyone; indicating the entire group
- estáis
- You are; second-person plural of 'estar' (Spain)
- punto
- Point or moment; used in 'a punto de' meaning about to
- burlaros
- To mock you; infinitive 'burlar' with clitic 'os'
- si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a clause
- verdad
- Truth; reality or sincerity in statement
- os
- You; second-person plural object pronoun (Spain)
- compadecéis
- You feel pity; second-person plural of 'compadecer'
- destruid
- Destroy; imperative plural form of 'destruir'
- sensación
- Sensation; a feeling perceived by the senses
- memoria
- Memory; the ability to recall past experiences
- dejadme
- Let me; imperative 'dejad' with clitic 'me'
- convertirme
- To become; reflexive infinitive of 'convertir'
- nada
- Nothing; the absence of anything
- pero
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- marchaos
- Go away; imperative plural of 'marcharse'
- oscuridad
- Darkness; the absence of light
- Estos
- These; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- eran
- Were; past imperfect third-person plural of 'ser'
- salvajes
- Wild or savage; untamed, fierce, or primitive
- miserables
- Miserable; wretched, deeply unhappy, or pitiful
- puedo
- I can; first-person present tense of 'poder'
- describiros
- To describe to you; infinitive with clitic 'os'
- cómo
- How; interrogative or exclamatory adverb
- eterno
- Eternal; lasting forever without end
- parpadeo
- Flickering or blinking; rapid intermittent movement
- pesaba
- Was weighing; past imperfect of 'pesar'
- escuchaba
- Was listening; past imperfect of 'escuchar'
- cada
- Each or every; indicating individual items separately
- ráfaga
- Gust; a sudden strong burst of wind
- viento
- Wind; moving air current in the atmosphere
- como
- Like or as; conjunction of comparison
- fuera
- Were; past subjunctive of 'ser' or 'ir'
- seco
- Dry; lacking moisture or harsh in quality
- horrible
- Horrible; causing fear, disgust, or dread
- siroco
- Sirocco; a hot dry wind from North Africa
- para
- For or in order to; preposition of purpose
- consumirme
- To consume me; reflexive infinitive of 'consumir'
- amanecer
- Dawn; the moment daylight first appears
- llegó
- Arrived; third-person past tense of 'llegar'
- antes
- Before; indicating prior time or order
- llegara
- Arrived; past subjunctive of 'llegar'
- pueblo
- Town or village; a small populated settlement
- descansé
- I rested; first-person past tense of 'descansar'
- sino
- But rather; used to contrast a negation
- regresé
- I returned; first-person past tense of 'regresar'
- inmediatamente
- Immediately; without any delay or pause
- Ni
- Neither or not even; conjunction of negation
- siquiera
- Even; used with negation for emphasis
- propio
- Own; belonging to oneself, emphasizing possession
- corazón
- Heart; the organ or center of emotion
- podía
- Could; past imperfect of 'poder'
- dar
- To give; basic verb of transferring something
- expresión
- Expression; the act of conveying feelings or ideas
- sensaciones
- Sensations; feelings or perceptions experienced physically
- pesaban
- Were weighing; past imperfect plural of 'pesar'
- peso
- Weight; the heaviness of an object or burden
- montaña
- Mountain; a large natural elevation of the earth
- exceso
- Excess; an amount beyond what is normal
- destruía
- Was destroying; past imperfect of 'destruir'
- bajo
- Under or below; preposition indicating lower position
- Así
- Thus or so; in this way or manner
- casa
- House; a building where people live
- entrar
- To enter; to go or come inside a place
- presenté
- I presented; past tense of 'presentar'
- familia
- Family; a group of related people living together
- aspecto
- Appearance; the way someone or something looks
- demacrado
- Gaunt; looking thin and pale from suffering
- salvaje
- Wild or savage; fierce and uncivilized looking
- despertó
- Awakened; past tense of 'despertar'
- intensa
- Intense; extreme in degree or strength
- alarma
- Alarm; a feeling of sudden fear or concern
- respondí
- I responded; first-person past tense of 'responder'
- ninguna
- None or no; feminine form of negation 'ninguno'
- pregunta
- Question; a sentence asking for information
- apenas
- Hardly or barely; almost not at all
- hablé
- I spoke; first-person past tense of 'hablar'
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