Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 4
The two ships becalmed on a torpid sea, I believed to be marine phantoms.
Le due navi immobilizzate dalla bonaccia su un mare torpido, credevo fossero fantasmi marini.
The fiend pinning down the thief's pack behind him, I passed over quickly: it was an object of terror.
Il demonio che schiacciava il fardello del ladro dietro di lui, lo sorpassai rapidamente: era un oggetto di terrore.
So was the black horned thing seated aloof on a rock, surveying a distant crowd surrounding a gallows.
Lo era anche la nera creatura cornuta seduta in disparte su una roccia, che osservava una folla lontana che circondava una forca.
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.
Ogni immagine raccontava una storia; spesso misteriosa per la mia mente ancora acerba e i miei sentimenti imperfetti, eppure sempre profondamente interessante: tanto interessante quanto le storie che Bessie a volte narrava nelle sere d'inverno, quando per caso era di buon umore; e quando, avendo portato il suo tavolo da stiro al focolare della nursery, ci permetteva di sederci intorno, e mentre stirava i merletti di Mrs. Reed e arricciava i bordi della sua cuffia da notte, alimentava la nostra avida attenzione con passaggi d'amore e avventura tratti da vecchie fiabe e altre ballate; o (come scoprii in un periodo successivo) dalle pagine di Pamela e di Henry, Earl of Moreland.
With Bewick on my knee, I was then happy: happy at least in my way. I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon. The breakfast-room door opened.
Con Bewick sulle ginocchia, ero felice: felice almeno a modo mio. Non temevo nulla tranne l'interruzione, e questa arrivò troppo presto. La porta della sala da colazione si aprì.
"Boh! Madam Mope!" cried the voice of John Reed; then he paused: he found the room apparently empty.
«Boh! Signora Malinconia!» gridò la voce di John Reed; poi si fermò: trovò la stanza apparentemente vuota.
"Where the dickens is she!" he continued. "Lizzy! Georgy! (calling to his sisters) Joan is not here: tell mama she is run out into the rain—bad animal!
«Dove diavolo è finita!» continuò. «Lizzy! Georgy! (chiamando le sorelle) Joan non è qui: dite alla mamma che è corsa fuori sotto la pioggia—brutto animale!
Vocabulary
- due
- The number two
- navi
- Ships; large sea-going vessels
- immobilizzate
- Immobilized; held completely still, unable to move
- bonaccia
- Dead calm; complete absence of wind at sea
- mare
- The sea; large body of salt water
- torpido
- Sluggish, torpid; slow-moving and lethargic
- credevo
- I believed; first-person singular imperfect of credere
- fossero
- Were; third-person plural imperfect subjunctive of essere
- fantasmi
- Ghosts, phantoms; supernatural apparitions
- marini
- Marine; relating to the sea, nautical
- demonio
- Demon, devil; an evil supernatural being
- schiacciava
- Was crushing, pressing down; imperfect of schiacciare
- fardello
- Burden, bundle; a heavy load carried with difficulty
- ladro
- Thief; a person who steals
- dietro
- Behind, after; indicating position at the back
- sorpassai
- I overtook, I passed; first-person singular past of sorpassare
- rapidamente
- Rapidly, quickly; in a fast manner
- oggetto
- Object; a thing or subject of focus
- terrore
- Terror, great fear; intense feeling of dread
- nera
- Black; feminine form of the color adjective
- creatura
- Creature; a living being or entity
- cornuta
- Horned; having horns, used to describe a demonic figure
- seduta
- Seated, sitting; feminine past participle of sedere
- disparte
- Apart, aside; used in 'in disparte' meaning apart from others
- roccia
- Rock, boulder; a large solid mass of stone
- osservava
- Was observing, watching; imperfect of osservare
- folla
- Crowd; a large gathering of people
- lontana
- Distant, far; feminine adjective indicating remoteness
- circondava
- Was surrounding; imperfect of circondare
- forca
- Gallows, gibbet; a structure used for hanging
- Ogni
- Every, each; Italian adjective indicating totality
- immagine
- Image, picture; a visual representation
- raccontava
- Was telling, narrating; imperfect of raccontare
- storia
- Story, history; a narrative account of events
- spesso
- Often, frequently; common Italian adverb of frequency
- misteriosa
- Mysterious; difficult to understand or explain
- mente
- Mind; the faculty of thought and intellect
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; common Italian adverb
- acerba
- Unripe, immature; not yet fully developed
- sentimenti
- Feelings, emotions; inner emotional states
- imperfetti
- Imperfect, flawed; not fully formed or complete
- eppure
- Yet, and yet, nevertheless; Italian conjunctive adverb
- sempre
- Always, ever; at all times
- profondamente
- Deeply, profoundly; in an intense or deep manner
- interessante
- Interesting; arousing curiosity or attention
- tanto
- So much, as much; Italian adverb of degree
- quanto
- As, as much as; used in comparisons
- storie
- Stories; plural of storia, narrative accounts
- volte
- Times; plural of volta, as in 'a volte' meaning sometimes
- narrava
- Was narrating, telling; imperfect of narrare
- sere
- Evenings; plural of sera
- inverno
- Winter; the coldest season of the year
- quando
- When; Italian conjunction or adverb of time
- caso
- Case, chance; by chance, accidentally
- buon
- Good; masculine elided form of buono before nouns
- umore
- Mood, humor; one's current emotional state
- avendo
- Having; gerund of avere, used in compound forms
- portato
- Brought, carried; past participle of portare
- tavolo
- Table; a piece of furniture with a flat surface
- stiro
- Ironing; as in 'tavolo da stiro,' ironing board
- focolare
- Hearth, fireplace; the home fire, domestic center
- permetteva
- Was allowing, permitting; imperfect of permettere
- sederci
- To sit ourselves; reflexive infinitive of sedere with us
- intorno
- Around, surrounding; indicating circular position
- mentre
- While, whereas; Italian temporal conjunction
- stirava
- Was ironing; imperfect of stirare
- merletti
- Laces; delicate decorative fabric with intricate patterns
- arricciava
- Was curling, crimping; imperfect of arricciare
- bordi
- Edges, borders, rims; plural of bordo
- cuffia
- Cap, bonnet; a head covering worn by women
- notte
- Night; the dark hours between sunset and sunrise
- alimentava
- Was feeding, fueling; imperfect of alimentare
- avida
- Avid, eager, greedy; intensely desirous for something
- attenzione
- Attention; the act of focusing the mind on something
- passaggi
- Passages; excerpts or sections from a text
- amore
- Love; a deep feeling of affection
- avventura
- Adventure; an exciting or unusual experience
- tratti
- Drawn, taken; past participle of trarre, extracted from
- vecchie
- Old; feminine plural adjective indicating age
- fiabe
- Fairy tales; fantastical stories for children
- ballate
- Ballads; narrative songs or poems, often traditional
- scoprii
- I discovered; first-person singular passato remoto of scoprire
- periodo
- Period, time; a span or interval of time
- successivo
- Subsequent, following; the next in order
- pagine
- Pages; the numbered leaves of a book
- ginocchia
- Knees; plural of ginocchio, the joint of the leg
- felice
- Happy, content; experiencing pleasure or joy
- almeno
- At least; a minimum, not less than
- modo
- Way, manner; a method or style of doing something
- temevo
- I feared; first-person singular imperfect of temere
- nulla
- Nothing; not anything at all
- tranne
- Except, apart from; excluding something
- interruzione
- Interruption; a break in continuity or flow
- arrivò
- Arrived, came; third-person singular passato remoto of arrivare
- troppo
- Too, too much; exceeding a desirable amount
- presto
- Soon, early, quickly; before the expected time
- porta
- Door; an entrance or exit panel in a room
- sala
- Hall, room; a large room used for gatherings
- colazione
- Breakfast, meal; the first meal of the day
- aprì
- Opened; third-person singular passato remoto of aprire
- Boh
- An exclamation of uncertainty or indifference: who knows
- Signora
- Mrs., lady; polite title for an adult woman
- Malinconia
- Melancholy; a deep sadness or gloominess
- gridò
- Shouted, cried out; third-person singular passato remoto of gridare
- voce
- Voice; the sound produced by a person speaking
- poi
- Then, afterward; indicating what happens next
- fermò
- Stopped; third-person singular passato remoto of fermare
- trovò
- Found; third-person singular passato remoto of trovare
- stanza
- Room; an enclosed space within a building
- apparentemente
- Apparently, seemingly; as it appears on the surface
- vuota
- Empty; containing nothing, unoccupied
- Dove
- Where; interrogative adverb of place
- diavolo
- Devil; used as an expletive meaning the devil
- finita
- Gone, ended; feminine past participle of finire
- continuò
- Continued; third-person singular passato remoto of continuare
- chiamando
- Calling; present participle of chiamare
- sorelle
- Sisters; plural of sorella, female siblings
- qui
- Here; adverb indicating this place
- dite
- Tell, say; second-person plural imperative of dire
- mamma
- Mom, mother; informal word for one's mother
- corsa
- Run, race; the act of running quickly
- fuori
- Outside, out; beyond the interior of something
- sotto
- Under, below; indicating a lower position
- pioggia
- Rain; water falling from clouds
- brutto
- Ugly, bad; unpleasant in appearance or character
- animale
- Animal; a living creature other than a human
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