Middlemarch — Page 3
She could not reconcile the anxieties of a spiritual life involving eternal consequences, with a keen interest in gimp and artificial protrusions of drapery.
Elle ne pouvait pas concilier les inquiétudes d'une vie spirituelle impliquant des conséquences éternelles, avec un vif intérêt pour la guipure et les artificielles protubérances de la draperie.
Her mind was theoretic, and yearned by its nature after some lofty conception of the world which might frankly include the parish of Tipton and her own rule of conduct there;
Son esprit était théorique, et aspirait par sa nature à quelque haute conception du monde qui pourrait franchement inclure la paroisse de Tipton et ses propres règles de conduite ;
she was enamoured of intensity and greatness, and rash in embracing whatever seemed to her to have those aspects;
elle était éprise d'intensité et de grandeur, et prompte à embrasser tout ce qui lui semblait avoir ces aspects ;
likely to seek martyrdom, to make retractations, and then to incur martyrdom after all in a quarter where she had not sought it.
susceptible de rechercher le martyre, de faire des rétractations, et puis d'encourir le martyre malgré tout dans un domaine où elle ne l'avait pas cherché.
Certainly such elements in the character of a marriageable girl tended to interfere with her lot, and hinder it from being decided according to custom, by good looks, vanity, and merely canine affection.
Certes, de tels éléments dans le caractère d'une jeune fille nubile tendaient à contrarier son sort, et à l'empêcher d'être décidé selon la coutume, par la beauté, la vanité, et une affection purement canine.
With all this, she, the elder of the sisters, was not yet twenty, and they had both been educated, since they were about twelve years old and had lost their parents, on plans at once narrow and promiscuous, first in an English family and afterwards in a Swiss family at Lausanne, their bachelor uncle and guardian trying in this way to remedy the disadvantages of their orphaned condition.
Malgré tout cela, elle, l'aînée des sœurs, n'avait pas encore vingt ans, et toutes deux avaient été éduquées, depuis qu'elles avaient environ douze ans et avaient perdu leurs parents, selon des plans à la fois étroits et disparates, d'abord dans une famille anglaise et ensuite dans une famille suisse à Lausanne, leur oncle célibataire et tuteur cherchant ainsi à remédier aux désavantages de leur condition d'orphelines.
It was hardly a year since they had come to live at Tipton Grange with their uncle, a man nearly sixty, of acquiescent temper, miscellaneous opinions, and uncertain vote.
Cela faisait à peine un an qu'elles étaient venues vivre à Tipton Grange avec leur oncle, un homme proche de la soixantaine, d'un tempérament accommodant, aux opinions disparates et au vote incertain.
Vocabulary
- pouvait
- Imperfect tense of 'pouvoir'; was able to, could
- concilier
- To reconcile or bring two conflicting things into harmony
- inquiétudes
- Worries, anxieties, or concerns about something
- spirituelle
- Relating to the spirit, soul, or religious matters
- impliquant
- Present participle of 'impliquer'; implying or involving
- conséquences
- Results or outcomes that follow from an action
- éternelles
- Eternal, everlasting; lasting forever without end
- vif
- Keen, lively, or intense; vivid and strong
- guipure
- A type of heavy lace with large patterns
- artificielles
- Artificial; made by human craft, not naturally occurring
- protubérances
- Protuberances; parts that bulge or stick out
- draperie
- Drapery; decorative arrangement of fabric or cloth
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, or intellect; one's mental faculty
- théorique
- Theoretical; based on abstract ideas rather than practice
- aspirait
- Imperfect of 'aspirer'; longed for or yearned toward
- quelque
- Some, a certain; used before a singular noun
- conception
- Conception; an idea or understanding of something
- pourrait
- Conditional of 'pouvoir'; could, would be able to
- franchement
- Frankly, openly, honestly; in a direct manner
- inclure
- To include; to contain or incorporate something within
- paroisse
- Parish; a local church community or district
- propres
- Own; belonging specifically to oneself; also meaning clean
- règles
- Rules, regulations; principles governing behavior or conduct
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior; the way one acts or behaves
- éprise
- Enamored, captivated; deeply taken with something or someone
- intensité
- Intensity; the quality of being extreme or powerful
- grandeur
- Grandeur; greatness, magnificence, or nobility of character
- prompte
- Prompt, quick, ready; acting or done without delay
- embrasser
- To embrace; to hug or to adopt an idea
- semblait
- Imperfect of 'sembler'; seemed, appeared to be
- aspects
- Aspects; particular features or facets of something
- susceptible
- Likely or liable to; prone to a particular outcome
- rechercher
- To seek out, search for; to pursue something actively
- martyre
- Martyrdom; suffering or death for a belief or cause
- rétractations
- Retractions; formal withdrawals of previously stated positions
- puis
- Then, afterwards; indicating a sequence of events
- encourir
- To incur; to bring upon oneself a risk or penalty
- malgré
- Despite, in spite of; regardless of an obstacle
- domaine
- Domain, field, area; a sphere of activity or knowledge
- cherché
- Past participle of 'chercher'; sought, looked for
- Certes
- Certainly, admittedly; used to concede a point
- tels
- Such, like; used to introduce examples or comparisons
- éléments
- Elements, components; parts that make up a whole
- caractère
- Character, personality; the qualities that define a person
- nubile
- Nubile; of marriageable age, typically referring to young women
- tendaient
- Imperfect of 'tendre'; tended to, had a tendency
- contrarier
- To thwart, frustrate, or go against someone's wishes
- sort
- Fate, lot; one's destiny or fortune in life
- empêcher
- To prevent, stop; to hinder something from happening
- décidé
- Decided, determined; resolved or settled upon
- selon
- According to; in conformity with a standard or view
- coutume
- Custom, tradition; a habitual practice in a community
- beauté
- Beauty; the quality of being aesthetically pleasing
- vanité
- Vanity; excessive pride in one's appearance or achievements
- affection
- Affection; fond feelings of warmth toward someone
- purement
- Purely, simply; in a pure or unmixed manner
- canine
- Canine; relating to dogs; dog-like in nature
- Malgré
- Despite, in spite of; regardless of circumstances
- aînée
- Eldest; the oldest among siblings in a family
- encore
- Yet, still, again; indicating continuation or repetition
- éduquées
- Past participle of 'éduquer'; educated, brought up, raised
- depuis
- Since, for; indicating duration from a point in time
- environ
- About, approximately; used before estimated quantities
- perdu
- Past participle of 'perdre'; lost
- plans
- Plans; schemes or arrangements made in advance
- fois
- Times; occurrences or instances of something happening
- étroits
- Narrow, limited; restricted in scope or breadth
- disparates
- Disparate, mismatched; made up of unlike elements
- abord
- Approach; first impression or initial manner of dealing
- ensuite
- Then, next, afterwards; indicating what comes after
- célibataire
- Bachelor, single; an unmarried person, especially a man
- tuteur
- Guardian, tutor; a person with legal care of another
- cherchant
- Present participle of 'chercher'; seeking, trying to find
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way; indicating manner or consequence
- remédier
- To remedy, fix; to correct or address a problem
- désavantages
- Disadvantages; unfavorable conditions or circumstances
- condition
- Condition, situation; the state or circumstances of something
- orphelines
- Orphans (feminine); children who have lost their parents
- peine
- Hardly, barely; also means sorrow or difficulty
- venues
- Past participle of 'venir' (feminine plural); came, arrived
- vivre
- To live; to be alive or to reside somewhere
- proche
- Close, near; in proximity in space, time, or relation
- soixantaine
- About sixty; approximately sixty years of age
- tempérament
- Temperament; a person's natural disposition or character
- accommodant
- Accommodating, easy-going; willing to adapt to others
- opinions
- Opinions; personal views or judgments on a subject
- vote
- Vote; the formal expression of a choice or preference
- incertain
- Uncertain, unsure; not fixed or decided in opinion
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