Middlemarch — Page 2

English → Fr FINALE. PRELUDE. Level 9/10

Many Theresas have been born who found for themselves no epic life wherein there was a constant unfolding of far-resonant action; perhaps only a life of mistakes, the offspring of a certain spiritual grandeur ill-matched with the meanness of opportunity; perhaps a tragic failure which found no sacred poet and sank unwept into oblivion.

Beaucoup de Thérèse ont vu le jour qui ne trouvèrent pour elles-mêmes aucune vie épique où se déployait sans cesse une action aux vastes résonances ; peut-être seulement une vie d'erreurs, fruit d'une certaine grandeur spirituelle mal assortie à l'étroitesse des occasions ; peut-être un échec tragique qui ne trouva nul poète sacré et sombra sans larmes dans l'oubli.

With dim lights and tangled circumstance they tried to shape their thought and deed in noble agreement; but after all, to common eyes their struggles seemed mere inconsistency and formlessness; for these later-born Theresas were helped by no coherent social faith and order which could perform the function of knowledge for the ardently willing soul.

Dans une lumière incertaine et des circonstances enchevêtrées, elles s'efforcèrent de faire concorder noblement leur pensée et leurs actes ; mais en fin de compte, aux yeux du commun, leurs luttes ne semblaient qu'incohérence et absence de forme ; car ces Thérèse nées plus tard n'étaient soutenues par aucune foi sociale cohérente ni par aucun ordre capable de remplir la fonction de la connaissance pour l'âme ardemment désireuse.

Their ardor alternated between a vague ideal and the common yearning of womanhood; so that the one was disapproved as extravagance, and the other condemned as a lapse.

Leur ardeur oscillait entre un idéal vague et l'aspiration commune à la féminité ; si bien que l'une était réprouvée comme extravagance, et l'autre condamnée comme une défaillance.

Some have felt that these blundering lives are due to the inconvenient indefiniteness with which the Supreme Power has fashioned the natures of women: if there were one level of feminine incompetence as strict as the ability to count three and no more, the social lot of women might be treated with scientific certitude.

Certains ont estimé que ces vies maladroites sont dues à l'indéfinition gênante avec laquelle la Puissance Suprême a façonné la nature des femmes : s'il existait un seul niveau d'incompétence féminine aussi précis que la capacité de compter jusqu'à trois et pas davantage, le sort social des femmes pourrait être traité avec une certitude scientifique.

Meanwhile the indefiniteness remains, and the limits of variation are really much wider than any one would imagine from the sameness of women's coiffure and the favorite love-stories in prose and verse.

En attendant, l'indéfinition demeure, et les limites de la variation sont en réalité bien plus larges que quiconque ne l'imaginerait à voir l'uniformité de la coiffure des femmes et leurs histoires d'amour favorites en prose et en vers.

Vocabulary

Beaucoup: Many; a large quantity or number.
de: Of; from; indicating possession or origin.
ont: Have; third person plural of avoir.
vu: Seen; past participle of voir.
le: The; masculine singular definite article.
jour: Day; the period of daylight or date.
qui: Who; which; relative pronoun.
ne: Not; negative particle in French.
trouvèrent: Found; third person plural past tense of trouver.
pour: For; in favor of; towards.
elles: They; feminine plural personal pronoun.
mêmes: Same; themselves; identical or very.
aucune: None; not any; feminine singular.
vie: Life; existence; lived experience.
épique: Epic; grand in scale or heroic.
où: Where; in which place or situation.
se: Oneself; reflexive pronoun.
déployait: Unfolded; displayed; third person singular imperfect.
sans: Without; lacking; in the absence of.
cesse: Ceasing; stopping; interruption.
une: A; an; feminine singular indefinite article.
action: Action; deed; activity or movement.
aux: To the; preposition à plus plural article.
vastes: Vast; very large; extensive or spacious.
résonances: Resonances; echoes; reverberations or associations.
peut: Can; is able to; third person singular.
être: Be; to exist; fundamental French verb.
seulement: Only; solely; merely or just.
erreurs: Errors; mistakes; inaccuracies or faults.
fruit: Fruit; result; product or outcome.
certaine: Certain; sure; particular or specific.
grandeur: Greatness; magnitude; splendor or nobility.
spirituelle: Spiritual; relating to spirit or soul.
mal: Bad; badly; evil or poorly.
assortie: Matched; paired; suited or coordinated.
étroitesse: Narrowness; tightness; narrowmindedness.
occasions: Occasions; opportunities; events or circumstances.
échec: Failure; defeat; lack of success.
tragique: Tragic; sorrowful; expressing tragedy or sorrow.
trouva: Found; third person singular past tense.
nul: No; null; non-existent or worthless.
poète: Poet; one who writes poetry.
sacré: Sacred; holy; blessed or revered.
sombra: Sank; fell; third person singular past.
larmes: Tears; drops from weeping eyes.
dans: In; within; inside of.
oubli: Oblivion; forgetting; state of being forgotten.
Dans: In; within; inside of.
lumière: Light; illumination; clarity or understanding.
incertaine: Uncertain; unclear; doubtful or ambiguous.
circonstances: Circumstances; situations; conditions or events.
enchevêtrées: Entangled; tangled; complicated or interwoven.
efforcèrent: Strived; made effort; third person plural past.
faire: Make; do; fundamental French verb.
concorder: Harmonize; agree; to be in accord.
noblement: Nobly; with nobility; in elevated manner.
pensée: Thought; thinking; idea or reflection.
actes: Acts; deeds; actions or documents.
mais: But; however; yet or still.
fin: End; conclusion; final or finished.
compte: Account; count; reckoning or consideration.
yeux: Eyes; organs of sight.
commun: Common; ordinary; usual or shared.
luttes: Struggles; fights; conflicts or competitions.
semblaient: Seemed; appeared; third person plural imperfect.
incohérence: Incoherence; lack of logical connection.
absence: Absence; lack; non-presence or missing.
forme: Form; shape; structure or appearance.

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