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.
Il maestro Miles affermò che sarebbe andato molto meglio se gli fossero stati mandati da casa meno dolci e leccornie; ma il cuore della madre si ribellava a un'opinione così severa, e propendeva piuttosto per l'idea più raffinata che il colorito giallognolo di John fosse dovuto all'eccessivo studio e, forse, alla nostalgia di casa.
John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me.
John non aveva grande affetto per sua madre e le sue sorelle, e provava antipatia nei miei confronti.
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.
Mi maltrattava e mi puniva; non due o tre volte alla settimana, né una o due volte al giorno, ma continuamente: ogni mio nervo lo temeva, e ogni fibra della mia carne si contraeva quando si avvicinava.
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.
Vi erano momenti in cui ero smarrita dal terrore che mi incuteva, perché non avevo alcun ricorso né contro le sue minacce né contro i suoi maltrattamenti; i domestici non volevano offendere il loro giovane padrone prendendo le mie parti contro di lui, e la signora Reed era cieca e sorda al riguardo: non lo vedeva mai colpirmi né lo sentiva insultarmi, benché facesse entrambe le cose di tanto in tanto in sua stessa presenza, più spesso, tuttavia, alle sue spalle.
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.
Abitualmente obbediente a John, mi avvicinai alla sua sedia: trascorse circa tre minuti a tirarmi fuori la lingua più che poteva senza danneggiarle le radici: sapevo che presto mi avrebbe colpita, e mentre temevo il colpo, riflettevo sull'aspetto disgustoso e sgradevole di colui che stava per infliggermelo.
Vocabulary
- maestro
- Teacher or master, especially in arts or music
- affermò
- He/she asserted or stated firmly
- sarebbe
- Conditional form of 'essere': 'would be'
- andato
- Past participle of 'andare': gone or went
- meglio
- Better; comparative adverb of 'bene'
- fossero
- Subjunctive imperfect of 'essere': 'were' (they)
- mandati
- Sent; past participle plural of 'mandare'
- meno
- Less; fewer; comparative of reduction
- dolci
- Sweets, candies; also adjective meaning 'sweet'
- leccornie
- Delicacies, treats, or tasty tidbits
- cuore
- Heart, both literal and figurative
- ribellava
- Was rebelling or resisting against something
- opinione
- Opinion or personal view on a matter
- severa
- Severe, strict, or harsh
- propendeva
- Was inclined or tended toward a particular idea
- piuttosto
- Rather, quite, or somewhat
- raffinata
- Refined, sophisticated, or polished
- colorito
- Complexion or color of one's skin
- giallognolo
- Yellowish; having a pale or sickly yellow hue
- fosse
- Subjunctive imperfect of 'essere': 'were' (he/she/it)
- dovuto
- Due to, owed, or caused by something
- eccessivo
- Excessive, too much, or extreme
- studio
- Study, studying, or a studio/office
- forse
- Perhaps, maybe, or possibly
- nostalgia
- Nostalgia or homesickness, longing for the past
- affetto
- Affection, fondness, or emotional attachment
- sorelle
- Sisters; female siblings
- provava
- Was feeling or experiencing an emotion or sensation
- antipatia
- Dislike, antipathy, or aversion toward someone
- confronti
- Comparisons; in 'nei confronti di' means 'toward'
- maltrattava
- Was mistreating or abusing someone
- puniva
- Was punishing; imperfect of 'punire'
- volte
- Times; plural of 'volta', indicating frequency
- settimana
- Week; a period of seven days
- né
- Neither, nor; negative correlative conjunction
- continuamente
- Continuously, constantly, without interruption
- ogni
- Every, each; used before a singular noun
- nervo
- Nerve; anatomical fiber transmitting signals
- temeva
- Was afraid of; feared; imperfect of 'temere'
- fibra
- Fiber or filament; here metaphorically 'every fiber'
- carne
- Flesh, meat, or skin
- contraeva
- Was contracting or shrinking involuntarily
- avvicinava
- Was approaching or drawing near
- Vi
- There; also second person plural pronoun 'you'
- momenti
- Moments, instants, or brief periods of time
- cui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which', 'whom', or 'that'
- smarrita
- Lost, bewildered, or overwhelmed with confusion
- terrore
- Terror, intense fear, or dread
- incuteva
- Instilled or inspired fear in someone
- alcun
- Any; used in negatives meaning 'no' or 'none'
- ricorso
- Recourse, remedy, or means of appeal
- contro
- Against; preposition indicating opposition
- minacce
- Threats; plural of 'minaccia'
- maltrattamenti
- Mistreatments, abuses; plural of 'maltrattamento'
- domestici
- Domestic servants or household staff
- offendere
- To offend or insult someone
- giovane
- Young; a young person
- padrone
- Master, owner, or employer
- prendendo
- Taking; gerund of 'prendere'
- parti
- Parts, sides; in 'prendere le mie parti' means 'taking my side'
- signora
- Lady, Mrs., or madam; polite title for a woman
- cieca
- Blind; unable to see
- sorda
- Deaf; unable to hear
- riguardo
- Regard, attention, or concern toward something
- vedeva
- Was seeing or watching; imperfect of 'vedere'
- mai
- Never or ever; temporal adverb
- colpirmi
- To hit me; infinitive 'colpire' with clitic 'mi'
- sentiva
- Was hearing or feeling; imperfect of 'sentire'
- insultarmi
- To insult me; infinitive 'insultare' with clitic 'mi'
- benché
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction with subjunctive
- facesse
- Did, made; subjunctive imperfect of 'fare'
- entrambe
- Both; referring to two things feminine
- tanto
- So much, so many, or a lot
- stessa
- Same or herself; feminine of 'stesso'
- presenza
- Presence; the state of being present somewhere
- spesso
- Often, frequently
- tuttavia
- Nevertheless, however, yet
- spalle
- Shoulders; also 'behind one's back'
- Abitualmente
- Usually, habitually, as a regular custom
- obbediente
- Obedient; compliant with rules or orders
- avvicinai
- I approached or drew near; past of 'avvicinarsi'
- sedia
- Chair; a piece of furniture for sitting
- trascorse
- Passed, elapsed; past of 'trascorrere'
- circa
- About, approximately, around
- tirarmi
- To pull me; infinitive 'tirare' with clitic 'mi'
- fuori
- Outside, out, or outward
- lingua
- Tongue or language
- senza
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- danneggiarle
- To damage them; infinitive 'danneggiare' with clitic
- radici
- Roots; plural of 'radice'
- sapevo
- I knew; imperfect first person singular of 'sapere'
- presto
- Soon, quickly, early
- avrebbe
- He/she would have; conditional of 'avere'
- colpita
- Hit, struck; past participle feminine of 'colpire'
- mentre
- While, whereas; temporal or contrastive conjunction
- temevo
- I feared; imperfect first person singular of 'temere'
- colpo
- Blow, hit, or strike
- riflettevo
- I was reflecting or thinking; imperfect of 'riflettere'
- aspetto
- Appearance, aspect, or look of someone or something
- disgustoso
- Disgusting, revolting, or repulsive
- sgradevole
- Unpleasant, disagreeable, or distasteful
- colui
- That man, he who; formal demonstrative pronoun
- infliggermelo
- To inflict it on me; 'infliggere' with clitics 'me' and 'lo'
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