Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 2
Justine, poor unhappy Justine, was as innocent as I, and she suffered the same charge; she died for it; and I am the cause of this—I murdered her.
Justine, la pobre e infeliz Justine, era tan inocente como yo, y sufrió la misma acusación; murió por ello; y yo soy la causa de esto: yo la asesiné.
William, Justine, and Henry—they all died by my hands."
William, Justine y Henry: todos murieron a manos mías."
My father had often, during my imprisonment, heard me make the same assertion; when I thus accused myself, he sometimes seemed to desire an explanation, and at others he appeared to consider it as the offspring of delirium, and that, during my illness, some idea of this kind had presented itself to my imagination, the remembrance of which I preserved in my convalescence.
Mi padre había escuchado con frecuencia, durante mi encarcelamiento, que yo hacía la misma afirmación; cuando me acusaba de este modo, él a veces parecía desear una explicación, y otras veces parecía considerarlo como el fruto del delirio, y que, durante mi enfermedad, alguna idea de esta clase se había presentado a mi imaginación, cuyo recuerdo yo conservé durante mi convalecencia.
I avoided explanation and maintained a continual silence concerning the wretch I had created.
Evité dar explicaciones y mantuve un silencio continuo acerca del miserable que había creado.
I had a persuasion that I should be supposed mad, and this in itself would for ever have chained my tongue.
Tenía el convencimiento de que me creerían loco, y esto por sí solo habría encadenado mi lengua para siempre.
But, besides, I could not bring myself to disclose a secret which would fill my hearer with consternation and make fear and unnatural horror the inmates of his breast.
Pero, además, no podía obligarme a revelar un secreto que llenaría de consternación a quien me escuchara y haría del miedo y del horror antinatural los huéspedes de su pecho.
I checked, therefore, my impatient thirst for sympathy and was silent when I would have given the world to have confided the fatal secret.
Reprimí, por tanto, mi impaciente sed de simpatía y guardé silencio cuando habría dado el mundo entero por confiar el fatal secreto.
Yet, still, words like those I have recorded would burst uncontrollably from me.
Sin embargo, palabras como las que he relatado brotaban de mí de manera incontrolable.
I could offer no explanation of them, but their truth in part relieved the burden of my mysterious woe.
No podía ofrecer ninguna explicación de ellas, pero su verdad aliviaba en parte el peso de mi misterioso sufrimiento.
Upon this occasion my father said, with an expression of unbounded wonder, "My dearest Victor, what infatuation is this?
En esta ocasión mi padre dijo, con una expresión de asombro ilimitado: «Mi querido Víctor, ¿qué ofuscación es esta?
Vocabulary
- la
- Definite article, feminine singular: the
- pobre
- Poor, unfortunate, or lacking resources
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and' before i/hi sounds
- infeliz
- Unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable person
- era
- Past tense of 'ser': was, used to be
- tan
- So, as; used in comparisons of equality
- inocente
- Innocent, not guilty of wrongdoing
- como
- Like, as; used for comparisons or manner
- yo
- First person singular pronoun: I
- y
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- sufrió
- He/she suffered; past tense of sufrir
- misma
- Same, herself; feminine form of mismo
- acusación
- Accusation, formal charge against someone
- murió
- He/she died; past tense of morir
- por
- For, because of, through; common preposition
- ello
- Neuter pronoun meaning 'it' or 'that'
- soy
- I am; first person singular of ser
- causa
- Cause, reason, or motive for something
- de
- Of, from; very common Spanish preposition
- esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- asesiné
- I murdered; past tense of asesinar
- todos
- All, everyone; masculine plural of todo
- murieron
- They died; past tense plural of morir
- a
- To, at; very common Spanish preposition
- manos
- Hands; plural of mano
- mías
- Mine; feminine plural possessive pronoun
- Mi
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- padre
- Father, dad; male parent
- había
- Had; imperfect of haber used in past perfect
- escuchado
- Listened, heard; past participle of escuchar
- con
- With; common Spanish preposition
- frecuencia
- Frequency; how often something occurs
- durante
- During, throughout a period of time
- mi
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- encarcelamiento
- Imprisonment, incarceration in a jail
- que
- That, which, who; very common conjunction
- hacía
- Made, did; imperfect past tense of hacer
- afirmación
- Affirmation, assertion, statement of truth
- cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- me
- Me, myself; first person reflexive/object pronoun
- acusaba
- Accused; imperfect past tense of acusar
- este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- modo
- Way, manner, mode of doing something
- él
- He; third person masculine singular pronoun
- veces
- Times, occasions; plural of vez
- parecía
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of parecer
- desear
- To desire, wish, or want something
- una
- A, an; indefinite article feminine singular
- explicación
- Explanation, clarification of something unclear
- otras
- Other, others; feminine plural of otro
- considerarlo
- To consider it; infinitive with object pronoun
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- fruto
- Fruit, result, outcome of something
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- delirio
- Delirium, wild confusion or mental disorder
- enfermedad
- Illness, disease, sickness affecting someone
- alguna
- Some, any; feminine singular of alguno
- idea
- Idea, thought, concept in one's mind
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- clase
- Class, type, kind of something
- se
- Reflexive pronoun for third person subjects
- presentado
- Presented, appeared; past participle of presentar
- imaginación
- Imagination, creative mental faculty
- cuyo
- Whose; relative possessive pronoun
- recuerdo
- Memory, recollection, or souvenir of something
- conservé
- I preserved, kept; past tense of conservar
- convalecencia
- Convalescence, recovery period after illness
- Evité
- I avoided; past tense of evitar
- dar
- To give; common irregular Spanish verb
- mantuve
- I maintained, kept; past tense of mantener
- silencio
- Silence, absence of sound or speech
- continuo
- Continuous, uninterrupted, ongoing
- acerca
- About, regarding; used with 'de' preposition
- miserable
- Miserable, wretched, very unhappy creature
- creado
- Created; past participle of crear
- Tenía
- Had; imperfect past tense of tener
- convencimiento
- Conviction, firm belief in something
- creerían
- They would believe; conditional of creer
- loco
- Crazy, mad, insane person or behavior
- sí
- Yes; affirmative response or reflexive pronoun
- solo
- Alone, only, by oneself
- habría
- Would have; conditional of haber
- encadenado
- Chained, bound; past participle of encadenar
- lengua
- Tongue, language; body part or communication
- para
- For, in order to; common Spanish preposition
- siempre
- Always, forever; temporal adverb
- Pero
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- además
- Besides, furthermore, in addition to
- no
- No, not; basic negation word
- podía
- Could, was able; imperfect of poder
- obligarme
- To force me; infinitive with reflexive pronoun
- revelar
- To reveal, disclose hidden information
- secreto
- Secret, hidden information not widely known
- llenaría
- Would fill; conditional tense of llenar
- consternación
- Consternation, great dismay or shock
- quien
- Who, whoever; relative or interrogative pronoun
- escuchara
- Would listen; imperfect subjunctive of escuchar
- haría
- Would make; conditional tense of hacer
- miedo
- Fear, fright, dread of something
- horror
- Horror, intense fear or disgust
- antinatural
- Unnatural, contrary to nature or normal
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- huéspedes
- Guests, lodgers, or hosts in a home
- su
- His, her, its, their; possessive adjective
- pecho
- Chest, breast; front of the human torso
- Reprimí
- I repressed, suppressed; past of reprimir
- tanto
- So much, as much; quantity adverb
- impaciente
- Impatient, unable to wait calmly
- sed
- Thirst; strong desire or need for liquid
- simpatía
- Sympathy, warmth, friendly feeling toward others
- guardé
- I kept, guarded; past tense of guardar
- dado
- Given; past participle of dar
- mundo
- World; the entire earth or realm
- entero
- Entire, whole, complete
- confiar
- To trust, confide, rely on someone
- fatal
- Fatal, deadly, or disastrous in consequence
- Sin
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- embargo
- Embargo; in 'sin embargo' means however
- palabras
- Words; units of spoken or written language
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- he
- I have; present perfect auxiliary of haber
- relatado
- Related, recounted; past participle of relatar
- brotaban
- They sprouted, gushed; imperfect of brotar
- mí
- Me; first person singular prepositional pronoun
- manera
- Manner, way, method of doing something
- incontrolable
- Uncontrollable, impossible to control
- No
- No, not; basic negation word
- ofrecer
- To offer, provide something to someone
- ninguna
- None, not any; feminine singular of ninguno
- ellas
- They, them; third person feminine plural pronoun
- verdad
- Truth, reality, accurate statement of fact
- aliviaba
- Relieved, alleviated; imperfect of aliviar
- en
- In, at, on; very common Spanish preposition
- parte
- Part, portion, section of a whole
- peso
- Weight, burden, heaviness; also currency unit
- misterioso
- Mysterious, strange, difficult to explain
- sufrimiento
- Suffering, pain, anguish experienced by someone
- En
- In, at, on; common Spanish preposition
- ocasión
- Occasion, opportunity, specific moment in time
- dijo
- Said, told; past tense of decir
- expresión
- Expression, look on face or verbal phrase
- asombro
- Astonishment, amazement, great surprise
- ilimitado
- Unlimited, boundless, without limits
- querido
- Dear, beloved; term of affection
- qué
- What, which; interrogative pronoun
- ofuscación
- Confusion, mental obscurity, bewilderment
- es
- Is; third person singular present of ser
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