Frankenstein; or, the modern prometheus — Page 14
Sometimes he commanded his countenance and tones and related the most horrible incidents with a tranquil voice, suppressing every mark of agitation; then, like a volcano bursting forth, his face would suddenly change to an expression of the wildest rage as he shrieked out imprecations on his persecutor.
A veces dominaba su semblante y sus tonos y relataba los incidentes más horribles con una voz tranquila, suprimiendo cualquier señal de agitación; luego, como un volcán en erupción, su rostro cambiaba de repente a una expresión de la más salvaje furia mientras lanzaba imprecaciones contra su perseguidor.
His tale is connected and told with an appearance of the simplest truth, yet I own to you that the letters of Felix and Safie, which he showed me, and the apparition of the monster seen from our ship, brought to me a greater conviction of the truth of his narrative than his asseverations, however earnest and connected.
Su relato es coherente y narrado con apariencia de la más simple verdad, sin embargo les confieso que las cartas de Félix y Safie, que me mostró, y la aparición del monstruo vista desde nuestro barco, me aportaron una mayor convicción de la veracidad de su narración que sus afirmaciones, por sinceras y coherentes que fueran.
Such a monster has, then, really existence!
¡Semejante monstruo existe, entonces, realmente!
I cannot doubt it, yet I am lost in surprise and admiration.
No puedo dudarlo, y sin embargo me pierdo en asombro y admiración.
Sometimes I endeavoured to gain from Frankenstein the particulars of his creature's formation, but on this point he was impenetrable.
En ocasiones intenté obtener de Frankenstein los detalles de la formación de su criatura, pero en este punto era impenetrable.
"Are you mad, my friend?" said he.
«¿Estás loco, amigo mío?», dijo él.
"Or whither does your senseless curiosity lead you?
«¿O adónde te conduce tu insensata curiosidad?
Would you also create for yourself and the world a demoniacal enemy?
¿Acaso desearías también crearte a ti mismo y al mundo un enemigo demoníaco?
Peace, peace! Learn my miseries and do not seek to increase your own."
¡Paz, paz! Aprende de mis desgracias y no busques aumentar las tuyas.»
Frankenstein discovered that I made notes concerning his history; he asked to see them and then himself corrected and augmented them in many places, but principally in giving the life and spirit to the conversations he held with his enemy.
Frankenstein descubrió que yo tomaba notas sobre su historia; pidió verlas y él mismo las corrigió y amplió en muchos lugares, pero principalmente dándoles vida y espíritu a las conversaciones que mantuvo con su enemigo.
"Since you have preserved my narration," said he, "I would not that a mutilated one should go down to posterity.
«Puesto que has conservado mi narración», dijo él, «no quisiera que una versión mutilada pasara a la posteridad.
Vocabulary
- veces
- Times; used in 'a veces' meaning sometimes
- dominaba
- He/she dominated or controlled something
- semblante
- Face or facial expression revealing inner emotions
- tonos
- Tones or qualities of voice or color
- relataba
- He/she was recounting or narrating events
- incidentes
- Incidents or events that occur during a story
- horribles
- Horrible or dreadful in nature
- voz
- Voice; sound produced when speaking or singing
- tranquila
- Calm, quiet, or peaceful (feminine adjective)
- suprimiendo
- Suppressing or holding back signs of emotion
- cualquier
- Any or whatever (indefinite adjective)
- señal
- Sign or signal indicating something
- agitación
- Agitation or state of emotional disturbance
- luego
- Then or later; indicating sequence in time
- volcán
- Volcano; mountain that erupts with lava
- erupción
- Eruption; sudden violent outburst of a volcano
- rostro
- Face or countenance of a person
- cambiaba
- Was changing or transforming in appearance
- repente
- Sudden; used in 'de repente' meaning suddenly
- expresión
- Expression; outward showing of feeling or thought
- salvaje
- Wild, savage, or untamed in character
- furia
- Fury or intense uncontrolled anger
- mientras
- While or whereas; conjunction of simultaneity
- lanzaba
- Was launching or hurling words or objects
- imprecaciones
- Imprecations; curses or angry verbal condemnations
- contra
- Preposition meaning against
- perseguidor
- Persecutor or pursuer who hunts another person
- relato
- Story, account, or narrative of events
- coherente
- Coherent; logically consistent and easy to follow
- narrado
- Narrated or told as a story
- apariencia
- Appearance or outward look of something
- simple
- Simple or straightforward without complexity
- verdad
- Truth; that which is real or factual
- sin
- Preposition meaning without
- embargo
- Used in 'sin embargo' meaning nevertheless or however
- confieso
- I confess or admit something openly
- cartas
- Letters; written messages sent to someone
- mostró
- Showed or displayed something to someone
- aparición
- Appearance or sudden emergence of something
- monstruo
- Monster; terrifying or grotesque creature
- vista
- View or sight; act of seeing something
- desde
- From or since; preposition of origin or time
- nuestro
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- barco
- Ship or boat used for water travel
- aportaron
- Contributed or provided evidence or support
- mayor
- Greater or larger; comparative adjective
- convicción
- Conviction; firm belief or certainty about something
- veracidad
- Truthfulness or accuracy of a statement or account
- narración
- Narration; the act of telling a story
- afirmaciones
- Affirmations or assertions stated as true
- sinceras
- Sincere or genuine (feminine plural adjective)
- coherentes
- Coherent or logically consistent (plural adjective)
- fueran
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of ser or ir
- Semejante
- Such a; used to indicate similarity or type
- existe
- Exists; is real or present in the world
- entonces
- Then or therefore; indicating consequence or time
- realmente
- Really or truly; adverb emphasizing reality
- puedo
- I can; first person singular of poder
- dudarlo
- To doubt it; infinitive with object pronoun attached
- pierdo
- I lose; first person singular of perder
- asombro
- Astonishment or amazement at something unexpected
- admiración
- Admiration; feeling of wonder and respect
- ocasiones
- Occasions or times when something happens
- intenté
- I tried or attempted to do something
- obtener
- To obtain or get information or objects
- detalles
- Details; specific pieces of information or facts
- formación
- Formation or creation of something or someone
- criatura
- Creature; a living being, often used for monsters
- pero
- But; conjunction showing contrast or exception
- punto
- Point or topic; specific subject under discussion
- impenetrable
- Impenetrable; impossible to enter or understand
- loco
- Crazy or mad; mentally unbalanced person
- amigo
- Friend; a person one knows and likes
- mío
- Mine; first person singular possessive pronoun
- dijo
- Said or told; preterite of decir
- adónde
- Where to; interrogative adverb of destination
- conduce
- Leads or drives toward a destination or outcome
- insensata
- Foolish or senseless (feminine adjective)
- curiosidad
- Curiosity; desire to know or learn about something
- Acaso
- Perhaps or maybe; expresses doubt or possibility
- desearías
- You would desire or wish for something
- también
- Also or too; additive adverb
- crearte
- To create for yourself; infinitive with reflexive pronoun
- mismo
- Himself, yourself, itself; reflexive intensifier
- mundo
- World; the earth or all people in it
- enemigo
- Enemy; a person who opposes or hates you
- demoníaco
- Demonic or fiendish in nature or appearance
- Paz
- Peace; state of calm, quiet, or tranquility
- Aprende
- Learn; imperative form of aprender
- desgracias
- Misfortunes or miseries suffered by someone
- busques
- You seek; present subjunctive of buscar
- aumentar
- To increase or make something greater in size
- tuyas
- Yours; second person possessive pronoun (feminine plural)
- descubrió
- Discovered or found out something previously unknown
- tomaba
- Was taking or recording notes about something
- notas
- Notes; written records of information or observations
- sobre
- About or on; preposition of topic or position
- historia
- Story or history; account of past events
- pidió
- Asked for or requested something from someone
- verlas
- To see them; infinitive with feminine object pronoun
- corrigió
- Corrected errors or mistakes in a text
- amplió
- Expanded or elaborated on a text or topic
- muchos
- Many; indicating a large number of things
- lugares
- Places or passages within a text or location
- principalmente
- Mainly or principally; most importantly above all
- dándoles
- Giving them; gerund with indirect object pronoun
- vida
- Life; the quality that distinguishes living things
- espíritu
- Spirit or soul; inner essence of a person
- conversaciones
- Conversations; spoken exchanges between people
- mantuvo
- Maintained or held; preterite of mantener
- Puesto
- Since or given that; conjunction introducing a reason
- conservado
- Preserved or kept safe over time
- quisiera
- I would like; imperfect subjunctive of querer
- versión
- Version; a particular form of a text or account
- mutilada
- Mutilated or incomplete; damaged and cut short
- pasara
- Would pass; imperfect subjunctive of pasar
- posteridad
- Posterity; future generations who will inherit history
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