Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 3
She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair.
Estaba allí, sin vida e inanimada, tendida sobre la cama, con la cabeza colgando y sus pálidas y desfiguradas facciones medio cubiertas por su cabello.
Everywhere I turn I see the same figure—her bloodless arms and relaxed form flung by the murderer on its bridal bier.
Dondequiera que me vuelvo veo la misma figura: sus brazos exangües y su cuerpo lánguido arrojado por el asesino sobre su lecho nupcial.
Could I behold this and live?
¿Podía contemplar esto y seguir viviendo?
Alas! Life is obstinate and clings closest where it is most hated.
¡Ay! La vida es obstinada y se aferra con más fuerza allí donde más se la aborrece.
For a moment only did I lose recollection; I fell senseless on the ground.
Solo por un momento perdí el conocimiento; caí sin sentido al suelo.
When I recovered I found myself surrounded by the people of the inn; their countenances expressed a breathless terror, but the horror of others appeared only as a mockery, a shadow of the feelings that oppressed me.
Cuando recobré el sentido me encontré rodeado por la gente de la posada; sus semblantes expresaban un terror sin aliento, pero el horror de los demás me parecía tan solo una burla, una sombra de los sentimientos que me oprimían.
I escaped from them to the room where lay the body of Elizabeth, my love, my wife, so lately living, so dear, so worthy.
Huí de ellos hacia la habitación donde yacía el cuerpo de Elizabeth, mi amor, mi esposa, tan recientemente viva, tan querida, tan digna.
She had been moved from the posture in which I had first beheld her, and now, as she lay, her head upon her arm and a handkerchief thrown across her face and neck, I might have supposed her asleep.
La habían movido de la postura en que la había visto por primera vez, y ahora, tal como yacía, con la cabeza sobre el brazo y un pañuelo extendido sobre su rostro y cuello, habría podido suponerla dormida.
I rushed towards her and embraced her with ardour, but the deadly languor and coldness of the limbs told me that what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and cherished.
Me lancé hacia ella y la abracé con ardor, pero el mortal languidez y la frialdad de sus miembros me dijeron que lo que ahora sostenía entre mis brazos había dejado de ser la Elizabeth a quien había amado y querido.
The murderous mark of the fiend's grasp was on her neck, and the breath had ceased to issue from her lips.
La marca asesina de las garras del demonio estaba en su cuello, y el aliento había dejado de brotar de sus labios.
Vocabulary
- Estaba
- Past tense of 'estar'; was (temporary state)
- allí
- There, in that place
- sin
- Without; lacking something
- vida
- Life; the state of being alive
- e
- And; variant of 'y' before i/hi sounds
- inanimada
- Inanimate, lifeless, without movement or life
- tendida
- Laid out, stretched out, lying flat
- sobre
- On top of, over, upon something
- cama
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping
- con
- With; together or accompanied by something
- cabeza
- Head; the uppermost part of the body
- colgando
- Hanging, dangling loosely downward
- sus
- His, her, their, your (possessive adjective)
- pálidas
- Pale, lacking color, wan in appearance
- desfiguradas
- Disfigured, distorted, altered from normal appearance
- facciones
- Facial features, the parts of the face
- medio
- Half, partially, in the middle
- cubiertas
- Covered, hidden beneath something else
- por
- By, through, for; common preposition
- su
- His, her, its, your (singular possessive)
- cabello
- Hair, especially of the head
- Dondequiera
- Wherever, in any place, no matter where
- que
- That, which, who; common conjunction
- me
- Me, myself; first-person object pronoun
- vuelvo
- I turn; first-person present of 'volver'
- veo
- I see; first-person present of 'ver'
- misma
- Same, identical; feminine form of 'mismo'
- figura
- Figure, shape, form of a person or thing
- brazos
- Arms; upper limbs of the human body
- cuerpo
- Body; the physical form of a person
- lánguido
- Languid, weak, lacking energy or vitality
- arrojado
- Thrown, cast, flung with force
- asesino
- Murderer, killer, assassin
- lecho
- Bed, especially a formal or literary term
- nupcial
- Nuptial, relating to a wedding or marriage
- Podía
- Could, was able to; imperfect of 'poder'
- contemplar
- To contemplate, gaze at, observe carefully
- esto
- This; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- seguir
- To continue, keep on, follow
- viviendo
- Living; gerund of 'vivir'
- Ay
- Alas, oh; exclamation of pain or sorrow
- es
- Is; third-person singular present of 'ser'
- obstinada
- Stubborn, obstinate, persistently unyielding
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself, herself, itself, themselves
- aferra
- Clings, grasps tightly, holds on firmly
- más
- More; comparative adverb or adjective
- fuerza
- Force, strength, power
- donde
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- aborrece
- Abhors, detests, hates intensely
- Solo
- Only, just, alone
- momento
- Moment, instant, a brief period of time
- perdí
- I lost; first-person preterite of 'perder'
- conocimiento
- Consciousness; also knowledge or awareness
- caí
- I fell; first-person preterite of 'caer'
- sentido
- Sense, consciousness; also direction or meaning
- al
- To the; contraction of 'a' and 'el'
- suelo
- Floor, ground, soil
- Cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- recobré
- I recovered; first-person preterite of 'recobrar'
- encontré
- I found, I met; preterite of 'encontrar'
- rodeado
- Surrounded, encircled by people or things
- gente
- People, persons, folk
- posada
- Inn, lodging house, guesthouse
- semblantes
- Faces, countenances, expressions on faces
- expresaban
- They expressed; imperfect of 'expresar'
- terror
- Terror, extreme fear, dread
- aliento
- Breath; also encouragement or spirit
- pero
- But; adversative conjunction
- horror
- Horror, intense disgust or fear
- demás
- The others, the rest, everyone else
- parecía
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of 'parecer'
- tan
- So, such, as; intensifying adverb
- solo
- Only, alone, just, solely
- burla
- Mockery, joke, ridicule, scoff
- sombra
- Shadow, shade, darkness
- sentimientos
- Feelings, emotions, sentiments
- oprimían
- They oppressed, weighed down, overwhelmed emotionally
- Huí
- I fled, ran away; preterite of 'huir'
- ellos
- They, them; third-person plural pronoun
- hacia
- Toward, in the direction of
- habitación
- Room, bedroom, chamber in a building
- yacía
- Lay, was lying; imperfect of 'yacer'
- mi
- My; first-person singular possessive adjective
- amor
- Love; deep affection for someone
- esposa
- Wife, spouse, female partner in marriage
- recientemente
- Recently, lately, not long ago
- viva
- Alive, living; feminine form of 'vivo'
- querida
- Beloved, dear, cherished, loved one
- digna
- Worthy, dignified, deserving of respect
- habían
- They had; third-person plural pluperfect auxiliary
- movido
- Moved; past participle of 'mover'
- postura
- Posture, position, stance of the body
- en
- In, on, at; common preposition of place
- había
- There was/had; imperfect of 'haber'
- visto
- Seen; past participle of 'ver'
- primera
- First; feminine ordinal number adjective
- vez
- Time, instance, occasion
- ahora
- Now, at this moment
- tal
- Such, as, like; used for comparison
- como
- Like, as, how; comparison or manner
- brazo
- Arm; singular upper limb of the body
- pañuelo
- Handkerchief, scarf, small cloth
- extendido
- Extended, outstretched, spread out
- rostro
- Face, countenance; literary term for face
- cuello
- Neck; also collar of a garment
- habría
- Would have; conditional of 'haber'
- podido
- Been able to; past participle of 'poder'
- suponerla
- To suppose or assume her (combined pronoun)
- dormida
- Asleep, sleeping; feminine past participle of 'dormir'
- Me
- Me, myself; first-person reflexive/object pronoun
- lancé
- I threw myself, lunged; preterite of 'lanzar'
- ella
- She, her; third-person singular feminine pronoun
- abracé
- I embraced, hugged; preterite of 'abrazar'
- ardor
- Ardor, passion, intense warmth or fervor
- mortal
- Mortal, deadly, causing or relating to death
- languidez
- Languor, listlessness, physical weakness and limpness
- frialdad
- Coldness, coolness, lack of warmth
- miembros
- Limbs, members; body parts like arms and legs
- dijeron
- They told, said; preterite of 'decir'
- lo
- It, him; masculine/neuter direct object pronoun
- sostenía
- I held, sustained; imperfect of 'sostener'
- entre
- Between, among, in the middle of
- mis
- My; first-person plural possessive adjective
- dejado
- Left behind, abandoned; past participle of 'dejar'
- ser
- To be; fundamental Spanish verb of identity
- a
- To, at; common preposition
- quien
- Who, whom; relative or interrogative pronoun
- amado
- Loved, beloved; past participle of 'amar'
- querido
- Dear, beloved; past participle of 'querer'
- marca
- Mark, brand, trace left on a surface
- asesina
- Murderous, killer; feminine form of 'asesino'
- garras
- Claws, talons, gripping appendages of an animal
- del
- Of the; contraction of 'de' and 'el'
- demonio
- Demon, devil, evil supernatural being
- estaba
- Was; third-person imperfect of 'estar'
- brotar
- To sprout, gush, flow out suddenly
- labios
- Lips; the fleshy edges of the mouth
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