Great Expectations — Page 1
My sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery, was more than twenty years older than I, and had established a great reputation with herself and the neighbours because she had brought me up "by hand."
Ma sœur, Mme Joe Gargery, avait plus de vingt ans de plus que moi, et s'était bâti une grande réputation auprès d'elle-même et des voisins parce qu'elle m'avait élevé « à la main ».
Having at that time to find out for myself what the expression meant, and knowing her to have a hard and heavy hand, and to be much in the habit of laying it upon her husband as well as upon me, I supposed that Joe Gargery and I were both brought up by hand.
Devant alors découvrir par moi-même ce que cette expression signifiait, et sachant qu'elle avait la main dure et lourde, et qu'elle avait bien l'habitude de la lever sur son mari aussi bien que sur moi, je supposais que Joe Gargery et moi avions tous deux été élevés à la main.
She was not a good-looking woman, my sister; and I had a general impression that she must have made Joe Gargery marry her by hand.
Ce n'était pas une belle femme, ma sœur ; et j'avais l'impression générale qu'elle avait dû contraindre Joe Gargery à l'épouser par la force.
Joe was a fair man, with curls of flaxen hair on each side of his smooth face, and with eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.
Joe était un homme blond, avec des boucles de cheveux couleur paille de chaque côté de son visage lisse, et avec des yeux d'un bleu si indécis qu'ils semblaient s'être en quelque sorte mélangés avec leur propre blanc.
He was a mild, good-natured, sweet-tempered, easy-going, foolish, dear fellow,—a sort of Hercules in strength, and also in weakness.
C'était un homme doux, bon, d'humeur agréable, accommodant, naïf et cher à mon cœur — une sorte d'Hercule par la force, et aussi par la faiblesse.
My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin that I sometimes used to wonder whether it was possible she washed herself with a nutmeg-grater instead of soap.
Ma sœur, Mme Joe, aux cheveux et aux yeux noirs, avait une rougeur de peau si persistante que je me demandais parfois s'il était possible qu'elle se lavât avec une râpe à muscade plutôt qu'avec du savon.
She was tall and bony, and almost always wore a coarse apron, fastened over her figure behind with two loops, and having a square impregnable bib in front, that was stuck full of pins and needles.
Elle était grande et osseuse, et portait presque toujours un tablier grossier, attaché dans son dos par deux boucles, et muni à l'avant d'un carré de bavette imprenable, tout hérissé d'épingles et d'aiguilles.
Vocabulary
- Ma
- My (feminine possessive adjective)
- sœur
- Sister; female sibling
- Mme
- Abbreviation for Madame, title for a woman
- avait
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avoir
- plus
- More; used in comparisons or negations
- de
- Of, from; common preposition with many uses
- vingt
- Twenty; the number 20
- ans
- Years; used when stating someone's age
- que
- Than, that, which; versatile conjunction or pronoun
- moi
- Me; stressed first person singular pronoun
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun se before a vowel
- était
- Was; third person singular imperfect of être
- bâti
- Built, established; past participle of bâtir
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- grande
- Great, large; feminine adjective indicating size or importance
- réputation
- Reputation; the opinion others hold of someone
- auprès
- Among, with; preposition meaning close to or in the opinion of
- d'
- Of, from; elided form of de before vowel
- elle-même
- Herself; emphatic reflexive third person feminine pronoun
- des
- Some, of the; plural indefinite or partitive article
- voisins
- Neighbors; people living nearby
- parce
- Because (used in parce que); causal conjunction part
- qu'
- That, because; elided form of que before vowel
- elle
- She, her; third person feminine singular pronoun
- m'
- Me; elided first person singular object pronoun
- élevé
- Raised, brought up; past participle of élever
- à
- To, at, with; very common French preposition
- la
- The; feminine definite article
- main
- Hand; the part of the body at the end of the arm
- Devant
- Before, in front of; preposition indicating position or necessity
- alors
- Then, so; adverb indicating time or consequence
- découvrir
- To discover, to find out; to uncover something unknown
- par
- By, through; preposition indicating means or agent
- moi-même
- Myself; emphatic first person reflexive pronoun
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- cette
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- expression
- Expression; a phrase or way of saying something
- signifiait
- Meant; third person singular imperfect of signifier
- sachant
- Knowing; present participle of savoir
- dure
- Hard, harsh; feminine adjective describing toughness
- lourde
- Heavy; feminine adjective describing great weight
- bien
- Well, very; common adverb of manner or degree
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- habitude
- Habit, custom; a regularly repeated behavior or practice
- lever
- To raise, to lift; to move something upward
- sur
- On, upon, over; common French preposition of position
- son
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive adjective
- mari
- Husband; a woman's male spouse
- aussi
- Also, too, so; adverb indicating addition or comparison
- je
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- supposais
- Supposed, assumed; first person singular imperfect of supposer
- avions
- Had; first person plural imperfect of avoir
- tous
- All, both; masculine plural pronoun or adjective
- deux
- Two; the number 2
- été
- Been; past participle of être
- élevés
- Raised, brought up; masculine plural past participle of élever
- Ce
- This, it; demonstrative pronoun used as subject
- n'
- Not; elided negative particle ne before vowel
- pas
- Not; second part of French negation ne…pas
- belle
- Beautiful; feminine adjective denoting great beauty
- femme
- Woman, wife; adult female person or spouse
- ma
- My; feminine singular possessive adjective
- j'
- I; elided first person singular subject pronoun
- avais
- Had; first person singular imperfect of avoir
- impression
- Impression, feeling; a vague sense or perception
- générale
- General; feminine adjective meaning overall or widespread
- dû
- Had to, must have; past participle of devoir
- contraindre
- To compel, to force; to oblige someone to do something
- épouser
- To marry; to take someone as a spouse
- force
- Force, strength; power used to compel or move something
- un
- A, an, one; masculine indefinite article or number
- homme
- Man; adult male human being
- blond
- Blond; having fair or golden-colored hair
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- boucles
- Curls, locks; ringlets or loops of hair
- cheveux
- Hair; the hair growing on a person's head
- couleur
- Color; the visual property produced by light wavelengths
- paille
- Straw; dried plant stalks, also a pale yellow color
- chaque
- Each, every; distributive adjective referring to all individually
- côté
- Side; the lateral part or edge of something
- visage
- Face; the front part of a person's head
- lisse
- Smooth; having an even, flat surface without roughness
- yeux
- Eyes; the organs of sight (plural of œil)
- bleu
- Blue; the color of a clear sky
- si
- So, such, if; adverb of degree or conditional conjunction
- indécis
- Indecisive, uncertain; lacking clarity or firm resolution
- ils
- They; third person masculine plural subject pronoun
- semblaient
- Seemed; third person plural imperfect of sembler
- être
- To be; fundamental French verb of existence or identity
- en
- In, of it; preposition or pronoun with various uses
- quelque
- Some, a certain; adjective indicating an indefinite quantity
- sorte
- Sort, kind, way; a type or manner of something
- mélangés
- Mixed, blended; masculine plural past participle of mélanger
- leur
- Their, to them; possessive adjective or indirect pronoun
- propre
- Own, clean; adjective meaning belonging to or spotless
- blanc
- White; the color of snow or milk
- C'
- It is, this is; elided demonstrative pronoun c' (ce)
- doux
- Gentle, soft, sweet; having a mild and pleasant quality
- bon
- Good; adjective indicating quality, kindness, or correctness
- humeur
- Mood, humor; a person's emotional state at a given time
- agréable
- Pleasant, agreeable; causing pleasure or satisfaction
- accommodant
- Accommodating, easy-going; willing to adapt to others' needs
- naïf
- Naive, innocent; lacking worldly experience or sophistication
- cher
- Dear, beloved; expressing affection or high value
- mon
- My; masculine singular possessive adjective
- cœur
- Heart; the organ or symbol of love and emotion
- faiblesse
- Weakness; a lack of strength or a personal failing
- aux
- To the, at the; contraction of à and les
- noirs
- Black; masculine plural adjective for the color black
- rougeur
- Redness; a red coloring of the skin
- peau
- Skin; the outer covering of the human body
- persistante
- Persistent; continuing without stopping, lasting a long time
- me
- Me, myself; first person singular object or reflexive pronoun
- demandais
- Wondered, asked myself; first person singular imperfect of demander
- parfois
- Sometimes; occurring occasionally but not always
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular subject pronoun
- possible
- Possible; able to happen or be done
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive third person pronoun
- lavât
- Washed; third person singular imperfect subjunctive of laver
- râpe
- Grater, rasp; a rough tool used for grating or scraping
- muscade
- Nutmeg; a spice made from the seed of a tropical tree
- plutôt
- Rather, instead; preferring one thing over another
- du
- Of the, some; masculine singular contraction of de le
- savon
- Soap; a cleansing product used for washing
- Elle
- She; third person feminine singular subject pronoun
- osseuse
- Bony; having a lean frame with prominent bones
- portait
- Wore, carried; third person singular imperfect of porter
- presque
- Almost, nearly; close to but not quite
- toujours
- Always, still; at all times or continuing up to now
- tablier
- Apron; a protective garment worn over the front of clothes
- grossier
- Coarse, rough; of poor or crude quality or manner
- attaché
- Tied, fastened; past participle of attacher, secured in place
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location within something
- dos
- Back; the rear part of the human body
- muni
- Equipped, fitted; provided with something necessary
- avant
- Before, front; indicating position in time or space
- carré
- Square; having four equal sides or a square shape
- bavette
- Bib; the upper front part of an apron or a child's bib
- imprenable
- Impregnable; impossible to capture or penetrate
- tout
- All, entirely; adjective or adverb indicating completeness
- hérissé
- Bristling, studded; covered with sharp or protruding objects
- épingles
- Pins; small pointed fasteners used in sewing
- aiguilles
- Needles; thin pointed instruments used for sewing
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