Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 1
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
No había posibilidad de salir a caminar ese día.
We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning;
Habíamos estado vagando, en efecto, por los arbustos sin hojas durante una hora por la mañana;
but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early)
pero desde la cena (la señora Reed, cuando no había visitas, cenaba temprano)
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.
el frío viento invernal había traído consigo nubes tan sombrías y una lluvia tan penetrante, que cualquier ejercicio al aire libre quedaba ahora descartado.
I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons:
Me alegraba de ello: nunca me habían gustado los paseos largos, especialmente en las tardes frías:
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.
me resultaba terrible regresar a casa en el crudo crepúsculo, con los dedos de las manos y los pies entumecidos, y el corazón entristecido por las reprimendas de Bessie, la niñera, y humillado por la conciencia de mi inferioridad física respecto a Eliza, John y Georgiana Reed.
The said Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mama in the drawing-room:
La mencionada Eliza, John y Georgiana estaban ahora reunidos alrededor de su mamá en el salón:
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.
ella estaba recostada en un sofá junto a la chimenea, y con sus queridos hijos a su alrededor (que por el momento no se peleaban ni lloraban) parecía completamente feliz.
Me, she had dispensed from joining the group;
A mí me había dispensado de unirme al grupo;
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."
diciendo: «Lamentaba verse en la necesidad de mantenerme a distancia; pero que hasta que tuviese noticias de Bessie y pudiera comprobar por su propia observación que yo me esforzaba sinceramente por adquirir un carácter más sociable y propio de una niña, unos modales más agradables y animados —algo más ligero, más franco, más natural, por así decirlo— realmente debía excluirme de los privilegios destinados únicamente a los niños contentos y felices.»
"What does Bessie say I have done?" I asked.
«¿Qué dice Bessie que he hecho?», pregunté.
Vocabulary
- había
- Past tense of 'haber'; there was/had
- posibilidad
- Possibility; chance that something may happen
- salir
- To go out; to leave a place
- caminar
- To walk; to move on foot
- Habíamos
- Past perfect of 'haber'; we had
- vagando
- Wandering; roaming without fixed direction
- efecto
- Effect; result; in 'en efecto' means 'indeed'
- arbustos
- Shrubs; small woody plants with multiple stems
- hojas
- Leaves; flat green parts of a plant
- cena
- Dinner; the evening meal
- visitas
- Visits; guests; people who come to see you
- cenaba
- Past tense of 'cenar'; used to have dinner
- temprano
- Early; before the usual or expected time
- viento
- Wind; moving air caused by atmospheric pressure
- invernal
- Wintry; relating to or characteristic of winter
- traído
- Past participle of 'traer'; brought along
- consigo
- With itself/himself/herself; reflexive pronoun form
- nubes
- Clouds; visible masses of water vapor in sky
- sombrías
- Gloomy; dark and dismal in appearance or mood
- lluvia
- Rain; water falling from clouds in drops
- penetrante
- Penetrating; sharp and piercing, as cold or sound
- cualquier
- Any; whichever; used before a noun
- ejercicio
- Exercise; physical activity for health or training
- quedaba
- Remained; was left; past imperfect of 'quedar'
- descartado
- Ruled out; discarded; no longer being considered
- alegraba
- Past imperfect of 'alegrarse'; was glad about
- ello
- Neuter pronoun meaning 'it'; refers to a concept
- habían
- Third person plural past of 'haber'; they had
- paseos
- Walks; strolls taken for leisure or exercise
- especialmente
- Especially; particularly; above all others
- resultaba
- Turned out to be; resulted in; past imperfect
- regresar
- To return; to go back to a place
- crudo
- Raw; harsh; used here to describe bitter cold
- crepúsculo
- Twilight; dim light after sunset or before sunrise
- dedos
- Fingers or toes; digits on hands or feet
- entumecidos
- Numb; stiffened from cold or lack of circulation
- entristecido
- Saddened; made sorrowful; past participle of 'entristecer'
- reprimendas
- Reprimands; scoldings; formal expressions of disapproval
- niñera
- Nanny; babysitter; person who cares for children
- humillado
- Humiliated; made to feel ashamed or inferior
- conciencia
- Conscience; awareness of one's own moral state
- inferioridad
- Inferiority; being lower in status or ability
- física
- Physical; relating to the body rather than the mind
- respecto
- Regard; respect; 'con respecto a' means 'compared to'
- mencionada
- Aforementioned; previously mentioned person or thing
- reunidos
- Gathered; assembled together in one place
- alrededor
- Around; surrounding; on all sides of something
- salón
- Living room; parlor; a room for receiving guests
- recostada
- Reclined; leaning back; lying in a relaxed position
- sofá
- Sofa; couch; upholstered seat for multiple people
- chimenea
- Fireplace; chimney; structure for containing a fire
- queridos
- Dear; beloved; affectionate term for loved ones
- peleaban
- Were fighting; were arguing; past imperfect of 'pelear'
- lloraban
- Were crying; past imperfect of 'llorar'
- parecía
- Seemed; appeared to be; past imperfect of 'parecer'
- completamente
- Completely; totally; in an entire or full manner
- dispensado
- Excused; exempted; released from an obligation
- unirme
- To join; to unite myself with a group
- Lamentaba
- Regretted; was sorry about; past imperfect of 'lamentar'
- verse
- To find oneself; reflexive infinitive of 'ver'
- necesidad
- Necessity; need; something required or essential
- mantenerme
- To keep me; to maintain me at a distance
- distancia
- Distance; the space between two points or people
- tuviese
- Subjunctive past of 'tener'; had/might have
- noticias
- News; information about recent events
- pudiera
- Past subjunctive of 'poder'; could/might be able
- comprobar
- To verify; to check; to confirm something is true
- propia
- Own; one's own; belonging to oneself
- observación
- Observation; act of carefully watching and noting
- esforzaba
- Was trying hard; striving; past imperfect of 'esforzarse'
- sinceramente
- Sincerely; genuinely; in an honest and earnest way
- adquirir
- To acquire; to gain or obtain a quality or skill
- carácter
- Character; personality; distinctive nature of a person
- sociable
- Sociable; friendly; willing to mix with others
- propio
- Own; typical; appropriate to a person or thing
- modales
- Manners; polite social behaviors and customs
- agradables
- Pleasant; agreeable; causing a sense of enjoyment
- animados
- Lively; animated; full of energy and enthusiasm
- ligero
- Light; gentle; not heavy or serious
- franco
- Frank; open; candid and direct in expression
- debía
- Should; ought to; past imperfect of 'deber'
- excluirme
- To exclude me; to leave me out of a group
- privilegios
- Privileges; special rights or advantages granted to someone
- destinados
- Destined; intended; meant for a specific purpose
- únicamente
- Only; solely; exclusively and no one else
- contentos
- Content; happy; satisfied with one's situation
- pregunté
- I asked; first person singular preterite of 'preguntar'
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