Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 1
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
Es war keine Möglichkeit vorhanden, an jenem Tag einen Spaziergang zu machen.
We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning;
Wir hatten uns zwar eine Stunde lang am Morgen in dem blätterlosen Gebüsch umhergetrieben;
but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question.
aber seit dem Mittagessen (Mrs. Reed speiste, wenn kein Besuch da war, früh zu Mittag) hatte der kalte Winterwind so düstere Wolken und einen so durchdringenden Regen mitgebracht, dass weiteres Bewegen im Freien nun ausgeschlossen war.
I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed.
Ich war froh darüber: Ich mochte lange Spaziergänge nie, besonders nicht an kühlen Nachmittagen: schrecklich war für mich die Heimkehr in der rauhen Dämmerung, mit erfrorenen Fingern und Zehen und einem Herzen, das durch Bessies Scheltworte, der Pflegerin, betrübt und durch das Bewusstsein meiner körperlichen Unterlegenheit gegenüber Eliza, John und Georgiana Reed gedemütigt war.
The said Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mama in the drawing-room: she lay reclined on a sofa by the fireside, and with her darlings about her (for the time neither quarrelling nor crying) looked perfectly happy.
Die besagte Eliza, John und Georgiana scharten sich nun um ihre Mama im Wohnzimmer: sie lag zurückgelehnt auf einem Sofa am Kamin, und mit ihren Lieblingen um sich (die sich für den Moment weder stritten noch weinten) sah sie vollkommen glücklich aus.
Me, she had dispensed from joining the group; saying, "She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance; but that until she heard from Bessie, and could discover by her own observation, that I was endeavouring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner—something lighter, franker, more natural, as it were—she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy, little children."
Mich hatte sie davon entbunden, mich der Gruppe anzuschließen; mit der Begründung: „Es tue ihr leid, mich auf Abstand halten zu müssen; aber solange sie nicht von Bessie gehört habe und durch eigene Beobachtung feststellen könne, dass ich ernsthaft bemüht sei, ein umgänglicheres und kindlicheres Wesen, ein anziehenderes und lebhafteres Benehmen anzunehmen – etwas Leichteres, Offeneres, Natürlicheres, sozusagen – müsse sie mich wirklich von Vergünstigungen ausschließen, die nur für zufriedene, glückliche kleine Kinder bestimmt seien."
"What does Bessie say I have done?" I asked.
„Was sagt Bessie, was ich getan habe?" fragte ich.
Vocabulary
- war
- Was; past tense of 'sein' (to be)
- keine
- No, not any; negating article
- Möglichkeit
- Possibility, opportunity, option
- vorhanden
- Available, present, existing
- an
- At, on; preposition indicating time or place
- jenem
- That; dative form of demonstrative 'jener'
- Tag
- Day; a 24-hour period
- Spaziergang
- Walk, stroll; leisurely outdoor walk
- machen
- To make, to do; general-purpose verb
- hatten
- Had; past tense plural of 'haben'
- zwar
- Indeed, it is true; concessive adverb
- Stunde
- Hour; unit of time equal to 60 minutes
- lang
- Long; describing duration or length
- Morgen
- Morning; the early part of the day
- blätterlosen
- Leafless; without leaves on branches
- Gebüsch
- Shrubbery, bushes; dense growth of shrubs
- umhergetrieben
- Roamed around, wandered about aimlessly
- aber
- But, however; coordinating conjunction
- seit
- Since, for; preposition indicating time elapsed
- Mittagessen
- Lunch; midday meal
- speiste
- Dined, ate; past tense of 'speisen'
- wenn
- When, if; subordinating conjunction
- kein
- No, not any; negating article
- Besuch
- Visit, visitor, guest
- da
- There, here; adverb of place or time
- früh
- Early; happening before the usual time
- Mittag
- Noon, midday; middle of the day
- hatte
- Had; past tense singular of 'haben'
- kalte
- Cold; low-temperature adjective inflected form
- Winterwind
- Winter wind; cold wind of the winter season
- düstere
- Gloomy, dark; adjective describing dark clouds
- Wolken
- Clouds; masses of water vapor in sky
- durchdringenden
- Penetrating, piercing; intense adjective inflected form
- Regen
- Rain; water falling from clouds
- mitgebracht
- Brought along; past participle of 'mitbringen'
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing clause
- weiteres
- Further, additional; adjective in neuter form
- Bewegen
- Moving, movement; going outdoors physically
- Freien
- Outdoors, open air; outside environment
- nun
- Now, at this point; temporal adverb
- ausgeschlossen
- Excluded, ruled out; past participle of 'ausschließen'
- froh
- Glad, happy; feeling pleased about something
- darüber
- About it, over it; pronominal adverb
- mochte
- Liked; past tense of modal verb 'mögen'
- lange
- Long; for a long time, lengthy
- Spaziergänge
- Walks, strolls; plural of 'Spaziergang'
- nie
- Never; at no time, not ever
- besonders
- Especially, particularly; adverb of emphasis
- kühlen
- Cool; adjective in dative/accusative inflected form
- Nachmittagen
- Afternoons; dative plural of 'Nachmittag'
- schrecklich
- Terrible, dreadful; causing fear or discomfort
- Heimkehr
- Return home; coming back to one's home
- rauhen
- Rough, harsh; adjective in inflected dative form
- Dämmerung
- Twilight, dusk; dim light of early evening
- erfrorenen
- Frostbitten, frozen; adjective describing numb extremities
- Fingern
- Fingers; dative plural of 'Finger'
- Zehen
- Toes; plural of 'Zehe'
- Herzen
- Heart; dative singular of 'Herz'
- durch
- Through, by means of; preposition
- Scheltworte
- Scolding words, reproaches; harsh verbal reprimands
- Pflegerin
- Nurse, caregiver; female person caring for another
- betrübt
- Saddened, grieved; made sorrowful or distressed
- Bewusstsein
- Consciousness, awareness; state of being aware
- körperlichen
- Physical, bodily; relating to the body
- Unterlegenheit
- Inferiority; state of being lesser than others
- gegenüber
- Opposite, towards, compared to; preposition
- gedemütigt
- Humiliated; past participle of 'demütigen'
- besagte
- Said, aforementioned; referring to previously mentioned persons
- scharten
- Gathered, huddled; past tense of 'scharen'
- Mama
- Mama, mother; affectionate word for one's mother
- Wohnzimmer
- Living room; main shared room in a home
- lag
- Lay, was lying; past tense of 'liegen'
- zurückgelehnt
- Leaning back, reclined; past participle of 'zurücklehnen'
- Sofa
- Sofa, couch; upholstered seating furniture
- Kamin
- Fireplace, chimney; hearth for warmth
- Lieblingen
- Favorites, darlings; dative plural of 'Liebling'
- Moment
- Moment; a very brief period of time
- weder
- Neither; used in 'weder…noch' construction
- stritten
- Argued, quarreled; past tense of 'streiten'
- noch
- Nor, still, yet; conjunction or adverb
- weinten
- Cried, wept; past tense plural of 'weinen'
- sah
- Looked, appeared; past tense of 'sehen'
- vollkommen
- Completely, perfectly; adverb of completeness
- glücklich
- Happy, fortunate; feeling or expressing happiness
- davon
- From it, of it; pronominal adverb
- entbunden
- Released, exempted; past participle of 'entbinden'
- Gruppe
- Group; a collection of people together
- anzuschließen
- To join, to attach oneself to a group
- Begründung
- Reason, justification; explanation given for a decision
- tue
- Do; first-person singular present of 'tun'
- leid
- Sorry; used in 'leidtun' meaning to be sorry
- Abstand
- Distance, space; keeping away from someone
- halten
- To hold, to keep; general-purpose verb
- müssen
- Must, to have to; modal verb of necessity
- solange
- As long as; conjunction of duration
- gehört
- Heard; past participle of 'hören'
- eigene
- Own; one's own, personal observation
- Beobachtung
- Observation; act of watching and noting something
- feststellen
- To determine, to establish, to find out
- könne
- Can, could; subjunctive form of 'können'
- ernsthaft
- Seriously, earnestly; done with genuine effort
- bemüht
- Endeavoring, trying hard; making a serious effort
- sei
- Be; subjunctive present form of 'sein'
- umgänglicheres
- More sociable, more agreeable; comparative adjective form
- kindlicheres
- More childlike; comparative adjective of 'kindlich'
- Wesen
- Nature, being, character; essential quality of a person
- anziehenderes
- More attractive, more appealing; comparative adjective
- lebhafteres
- More lively, more vivid; comparative adjective
- Benehmen
- Behavior, conduct, manners; how one acts socially
- anzunehmen
- To adopt, to assume; to take on a manner
- etwas
- Something, somewhat; indefinite pronoun or adverb
- Leichteres
- Something lighter, easier; comparative neuter adjective
- Offeneres
- Something more open, freer; comparative adjective form
- Natürlicheres
- Something more natural; comparative neuter adjective
- sozusagen
- So to speak, as it were; hedging adverb
- müsse
- Must; subjunctive form of modal verb 'müssen'
- wirklich
- Really, truly; adverb of emphasis or reality
- Vergünstigungen
- Privileges, benefits; special advantages granted to someone
- ausschließen
- To exclude, to rule out; to deny access
- nur
- Only, just; restrictive adverb
- zufriedene
- Contented, satisfied; adjective describing contentment
- glückliche
- Happy; adjective in inflected attributive form
- kleine
- Small, little; adjective in inflected form
- Kinder
- Children; plural of 'Kind'
- bestimmt
- Certainly, definitely; adverb of certainty
- seien
- Are, be; subjunctive plural form of 'sein'
- sagt
- Says, say; third-person singular present of 'sagen'
- getan
- Done; past participle of 'tun'
- fragte
- Asked; past tense of 'fragen'
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →