Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 6
Miles, the master, affirmed that he would do very well if he had fewer cakes and sweetmeats sent him from home; but the mother's heart turned from an opinion so harsh, and inclined rather to the more refined idea that John's sallowness was owing to over-application and, perhaps, to pining after home.
Miles, le maître, affirmait qu'il se porterait très bien s'il recevait moins de gâteaux et de sucreries envoyés de chez lui ; mais le cœur de la mère se détournait d'une opinion si sévère, et penchait plutôt vers l'idée plus raffinée que le teint jaunâtre de John était dû à un travail excessif et, peut-être, au mal du pays.
John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me.
John n'avait guère d'affection pour sa mère et ses sœurs, et éprouvait de l'antipathie envers moi.
He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh in my bones shrank when he came near.
Il me tyrannisait et me punissait ; non pas deux ou trois fois par semaine, ni une ou deux fois par jour, mais continuellement : chacun de mes nerfs le redoutait, et chaque parcelle de chair dans mes os se recroquevillait quand il s'approchait.
There were moments when I was bewildered by the terror he inspired, because I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions; the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me, though he did both now and then in her very presence, more frequently, however, behind her back.
Il y avait des moments où j'étais éperdue par la terreur qu'il m'inspirait, car je n'avais aucun recours contre ses menaces ni ses sévices ; les domestiques ne voulaient pas offenser leur jeune maître en prenant mon parti contre lui, et Mme Reed était aveugle et sourde à ce sujet : elle ne le voyait jamais me frapper ni ne l'entendait m'insulter, bien qu'il fît l'un et l'autre de temps à autre en sa présence même, et plus souvent encore dans son dos.
Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair: he spent some three minutes in thrusting out his tongue at me as far as he could without damaging the roots: I knew he would soon strike, and while dreading the blow, I mused on the disgusting and ugly appearance of him who would presently deal it.
Habituellement obéissante envers John, je m'approchai de son fauteuil : il passa environ trois minutes à me tirer la langue aussi loin qu'il le pouvait sans en abîmer la racine : je savais qu'il allait bientôt frapper, et tout en redoutant le coup, je méditais sur l'aspect dégoûtant et laid de celui qui s'apprêtait à me l'infliger.
Vocabulary
- maître
- Master, teacher, or person in authority
- affirmait
- Was affirming or asserting something as true
- porterait
- Would feel or fare (in terms of health)
- recevait
- Was receiving or getting something regularly
- gâteaux
- Cakes, pastries (plural noun)
- sucreries
- Sweets, candies, sugary treats
- envoyés
- Sent, dispatched (past participle, plural)
- chez
- At the home of, to someone's place
- cœur
- Heart (noun, literal or figurative)
- détournait
- Was turning away from, diverting attention from
- opinion
- Opinion, view, personal judgment
- sévère
- Severe, strict, harsh in judgment
- penchait
- Was leaning toward, inclined to believe
- plutôt
- Rather, instead, more precisely
- raffinée
- Refined, sophisticated, subtle in nature
- teint
- Complexion, skin tone, color of face
- jaunâtre
- Yellowish, having a sickly yellow hue
- dû
- Due to, caused by (past participle of devoir)
- excessif
- Excessive, extreme, beyond normal limits
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly
- mal
- Illness, pain, difficulty
- guère
- Hardly, scarcely, barely any
- affection
- Affection, fondness, warm feeling for someone
- sœurs
- Sisters (feminine plural noun)
- éprouvait
- Was feeling, experiencing an emotion
- antipathie
- Antipathy, strong dislike, aversion toward someone
- envers
- Toward, with regard to (preposition)
- tyrannisait
- Was tyrannizing, oppressing someone cruelly
- punissait
- Was punishing, inflicting punishment repeatedly
- ni
- Nor, neither (negative conjunction)
- continuellement
- Continually, without stopping, incessantly
- chacun
- Each one, every one (indefinite pronoun)
- nerfs
- Nerves (plural noun, physical or emotional)
- redoutait
- Was dreading, fearing greatly
- chaque
- Each, every (adjective)
- parcelle
- Particle, tiny piece, small portion
- chair
- Flesh, skin, body tissue
- os
- Bone or bones (masculine noun)
- recroquevillait
- Was curling up, shrinking inward with fear
- approchait
- Was approaching, coming near
- éperdue
- Frantic, overwhelmed, wild with emotion
- terreur
- Terror, intense fear, dread
- inspirait
- Was inspiring, instilling a feeling in someone
- car
- Because, for (causal conjunction)
- aucun
- No, none, not any (negative adjective)
- recours
- Recourse, means of help or appeal
- menaces
- Threats, menaces (feminine plural noun)
- sévices
- Abuse, ill-treatment, cruel acts
- domestiques
- Servants, household staff, domestic workers
- offenser
- To offend, to upset someone
- prenant
- Taking, adopting (present participle of prendre)
- parti
- Side, party; prendre mon parti: taking my side
- aveugle
- Blind (adjective), unable to see
- sourde
- Deaf (feminine adjective), unable to hear
- sujet
- Subject, topic, matter at hand
- jamais
- Never, ever (negative adverb)
- frapper
- To hit, to strike someone
- entendait
- Was hearing, could hear (imperfect of entendre)
- insulter
- To insult, to offend with words
- fît
- Did, made (imperfect subjunctive of faire)
- présence
- Presence, being present in a place
- même
- Even, same, itself (adverb or adjective)
- souvent
- Often, frequently (adverb)
- encore
- Still, yet, again (adverb)
- dos
- Back (of the body, masculine noun)
- Habituellement
- Usually, habitually, as a rule
- obéissante
- Obedient (feminine adjective), compliant
- approchai
- Approached, came near (simple past)
- fauteuil
- Armchair, comfortable upholstered seat
- environ
- About, approximately (adverb)
- tirer
- To pull, to draw, to stick out
- langue
- Tongue, language (feminine noun)
- loin
- Far, distant (adverb of place)
- abîmer
- To damage, to ruin, to spoil
- racine
- Root (feminine noun, of tooth or plant)
- bientôt
- Soon, shortly, before long
- redoutant
- Dreading, fearing greatly (present participle)
- coup
- Blow, hit, strike (masculine noun)
- méditais
- Was pondering, meditating, reflecting on
- aspect
- Appearance, look, aspect of something
- dégoûtant
- Disgusting, revolting, repulsive
- laid
- Ugly, unattractive in appearance
- celui
- The one, that one (demonstrative pronoun)
- apprêtait
- Was preparing, getting ready to do something
- infliger
- To inflict, to impose punishment on someone
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