Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 4
The two ships becalmed on a torpid sea, I believed to be marine phantoms.
Les deux navires immobilisés sur une mer torpide, je les croyais être des fantômes marins.
The fiend pinning down the thief's pack behind him, I passed over quickly: it was an object of terror.
Le démon clouant au sol le ballot du voleur derrière lui, je le parcourus rapidement : c'était un objet de terreur.
So was the black horned thing seated aloof on a rock, surveying a distant crowd surrounding a gallows.
Il en était de même pour la chose noire et cornue assise à l'écart sur un rocher, observant une foule lointaine entourant une potence.
Each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting: as interesting as the tales Bessie sometimes narrated on winter evenings, when she chanced to be in good humour; and when, having brought her ironing-table to the nursery hearth, she allowed us to sit about it, and while she got up Mrs. Reed's lace frills, and crimped her nightcap borders, fed our eager attention with passages of love and adventure taken from old fairy tales and other ballads; or (as at a later period I discovered) from the pages of Pamela, and Henry, Earl of Moreland.
Chaque image racontait une histoire ; souvent mystérieuse pour mon entendement peu développé et mes sentiments imparfaits, mais toujours profondément intéressante : aussi intéressante que les récits que Bessie narrait parfois les soirs d'hiver, lorsqu'il lui arrivait d'être de bonne humeur ; et quand, ayant apporté sa table à repasser au coin du feu de la nurserie, elle nous permettait de nous asseoir autour d'elle, et tandis qu'elle apprêtait les jabots de dentelle de Mme Reed et frisait les bords de ses bonnets de nuit, elle nourrissait notre attention avide de passages d'amour et d'aventure tirés de vieux contes de fées et d'autres ballades ; ou (comme je le découvris plus tard) des pages de Pamela et de Henri, comte de Moreland.
With Bewick on my knee, I was then happy: happy at least in my way.
Avec Bewick sur mes genoux, j'étais alors heureuse : heureuse du moins à ma façon.
I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon.
Je ne craignais rien sinon d'être interrompue, et cela arriva trop tôt.
The breakfast-room door opened.
La porte de la salle du petit-déjeuner s'ouvrit.
"Boh! Madam Mope!" cried the voice of John Reed; then he paused: he found the room apparently empty.
« Oh ! Madame Boudeuse ! » s'écria la voix de John Reed ; puis il s'arrêta : il trouva la pièce apparemment vide.
"Where the dickens is she!" he continued.
« Où diable est-elle ! » continua-t-il.
"Lizzy! Georgy! (calling to his sisters) Joan is not here: tell mama she is run out into the rain—bad animal!
« Lizzy ! Georgy ! (appelant ses sœurs) Joan n'est pas ici : dites à maman qu'elle est sortie sous la pluie — mauvaise bête !
Vocabulary
- navires
- nah-veer — Ships or large vessels sailing on water.
- immobilisés
- ee-moh-bee-lee-zay — Held still, unable to move.
- torpide
- tor-peed — Sluggish, dull, lacking energy or motion.
- croyais
- krwah-yeh — Imperfect tense of 'croire': believed or thought.
- fantômes
- fahn-tohm — Ghosts or phantoms, supernatural apparitions.
- marins
- mah-raN — Relating to the sea; sailors or marine things.
- démon
- day-moN — A demon or devil, an evil supernatural being.
- clouant
- kloo-ahn — Nailing down, pinning firmly to a surface.
- ballot
- bah-loh — A bundle or bale of tied goods.
- voleur
- voh-lur — A thief or robber who steals things.
- parcourus
- par-koo-rü — Passed through or scanned quickly with eyes.
- terreur
- teh-rur — Terror or extreme fear.
- cornue
- kor-nü — Horned, having horn-like protrusions.
- assise
- ah-seez — Seated, in a sitting position.
- écart
- ay-kar — A distance apart; 'à l'écart' means set apart.
- rocher
- roh-shay — A rock or large stone formation.
- observant
- ob-zair-vahN — Watching or observing attentively.
- foule
- fool — A crowd or large group of people.
- lointaine
- lwaN-ten — Distant or far away in space.
- entourant
- ahN-too-rahN — Surrounding or encircling something or someone.
- potence
- poh-tahNs — A gallows used for hanging condemned persons.
- racontait
- rah-koN-teh — Imperfect of 'raconter': was telling or narrating.
- mystérieuse
- mees-tay-ryuz — Mysterious, full of mystery or obscurity.
- entendement
- ahN-tahNd-mahN — Understanding or intellectual comprehension.
- développé
- day-vuh-loh-pay — Developed, grown, or matured.
- sentiments
- sahN-tee-mahN — Feelings or emotional sentiments.
- imparfaits
- aN-par-feh — Imperfect or incomplete in development.
- profondément
- proh-foNd-mahN — Deeply, in a profound manner.
- récits
- ray-see — Stories, accounts, or narratives.
- narrait
- nah-reh — Imperfect of 'narrer': was narrating or recounting.
- lorsqu'
- lor-sk — Conjunction meaning 'when' at a specific time.
- humeur
- ü-mur — Mood or humor, one's emotional state.
- ayant
- ay-yahN — Present participle of 'avoir': having.
- apporté
- ah-por-tay — Brought something to a place.
- repasser
- ruh-pah-say — To iron clothes; also to pass again.
- coin
- kwaN — A corner or a nook of a room.
- nurserie
- nür-suh-ree — A nursery, room for young children.
- permettait
- pair-meh-teh — Imperfect of 'permettre': allowed or permitted.
- asseoir
- ah-swahr — To sit down or seat oneself.
- tandis
- tahN-dee — Used in 'tandis que': while or whereas.
- apprêtait
- ah-preh-teh — Imperfect of 's'apprêter': was preparing or getting ready.
- jabots
- zhah-boh — Frilled or ruffled shirt-front decorations.
- dentelle
- dahN-tel — Lace, delicate decorative fabric with open patterns.
- frisait
- free-zeh — Imperfect of 'friser': was curling or crimping.
- bords
- bor — Edges, borders, or brims of an object.
- bonnets
- boh-neh — Bonnets or caps worn on the head.
- nourrissait
- noo-ree-seh — Imperfect of 'nourrir': was nourishing or feeding.
- avide
- ah-veed — Eager or avid, intensely desirous.
- passages
- pah-sahzh — Passages or excerpts from a text.
- tirés
- tee-ray — Drawn or taken from a source.
- contes
- koNt — Tales or short stories, often fairy tales.
- fées
- fay — Fairies, magical supernatural beings.
- ballades
- bah-lahd — Ballads, narrative poems or songs.
- découvris
- day-koo-vree — Simple past of 'découvrir': discovered or found out.
- comte
- koNt — A count or earl, a nobleman's title.
- genoux
- zhuh-noo — Knees; 'sur les genoux' means on one's knees.
- façon
- fah-soN — Way, manner, or style of doing something.
- craignais
- kreh-nyeh — Imperfect of 'craindre': feared or was afraid of.
- sinon
- see-noN — Otherwise, except, or if not.
- interrompue
- aN-teh-roN-pü — Interrupted, broken off mid-course (feminine form).
- ouvrit
- oo-vree — Simple past of 'ouvrir': opened.
- Boudeuse
- boo-duz — Sulky or pouting one, feminine form of 'boudeur'.
- écria
- ay-kree-ah — Simple past of 's'écrier': exclaimed or cried out.
- apparemment
- ah-pah-rahm-mahN — Apparently, seemingly, it seems.
- vide
- veed — Empty, containing nothing.
- diable
- dyahbl — Devil; used in 'où diable' as an intensifier.
- appelant
- ah-puh-lahN — Present participle of 'appeler': calling out to.
- sortie
- sor-tee — Gone out; also an exit or outing.
- bête
- bet — Beast or animal; also stupid or foolish.
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