Middlemarch — Page 7
She felt sure that she would have accepted the judicious Hooker, if she had been born in time to save him from that wretched mistake he made in matrimony; or John Milton when his blindness had come on; or any of the other great men whose odd habits it would have been glorious piety to endure; but an amiable handsome baronet, who said "Exactly" to her remarks even when she expressed uncertainty,—how could he affect her as a lover?
Elle était convaincue qu'elle aurait accepté le judicieux Hooker, si elle était née à temps pour le sauver de cette funeste erreur qu'il commit en se mariant ; ou John Milton lorsque sa cécité l'avait frappé ; ou l'un quelconque de ces autres grands hommes dont il eût été d'une glorieuse piété de supporter les bizarres habitudes ; mais un aimable et beau baronnet, qui répondait « Exactement » à ses remarques même lorsqu'elle exprimait un doute, — comment aurait-il pu lui apparaître comme un amant ?
The really delightful marriage must be that where your husband was a sort of father, and could teach you even Hebrew, if you wished it.
Le mariage vraiment délicieux devait être celui où votre mari était une sorte de père, et pouvait vous enseigner même l'hébreu, si vous le souhaitiez.
These peculiarities of Dorothea's character caused Mr. Brooke to be all the more blamed in neighboring families for not securing some middle-aged lady as guide and companion to his nieces.
Ces particularités du caractère de Dorothea valurent à M. Brooke d'être d'autant plus blâmé dans les familles voisines pour n'avoir pas assuré à ses nièces les services d'une dame d'âge mûr en qualité de guide et de compagne.
But he himself dreaded so much the sort of superior woman likely to be available for such a position, that he allowed himself to be dissuaded by Dorothea's objections, and was in this case brave enough to defy the world—that is to say, Mrs. Cadwallader the Rector's wife, and the small group of gentry with whom he visited in the northeast corner of Loamshire.
Mais il redoutait lui-même tellement le genre de femme supérieure susceptible d'être disponible pour un tel poste, qu'il se laissa dissuader par les objections de Dorothea, et fut en l'occurrence assez courageux pour braver le monde — c'est-à-dire Mme Cadwallader, la femme du recteur, et le petit groupe de notables chez qui il rendait visite dans le coin nord-est du Loamshire.
So Miss Brooke presided in her uncle's household, and did not at all dislike her new authority, with the homage that belonged to it.
Ainsi Miss Brooke présidait au foyer de son oncle, et n'était nullement déplaisait par sa nouvelle autorité, avec les hommages qui s'y rattachaient.
Sir James Chettam was going to dine at the Grange to-day with another gentleman whom the girls had never seen, and about whom Dorothea felt some venerating expectation.
Sir James Chettam devait dîner ce jour-là à Grange avec un autre gentleman que les jeunes filles n'avaient jamais vu, et à l'égard duquel Dorothea éprouvait une certaine attente révérencieuse.
Vocabulary
- était
- Was; past imperfect of être.
- convaincue
- Convinced; certain of something being true.
- aurait
- Would have; conditional of avoir.
- accepté
- Accepted; agreed to receive or take something.
- judicieux
- Judicious; showing good judgment and wisdom.
- née
- Born; past participle of naître, feminine form.
- temps
- Time; the right moment or period for something.
- sauver
- To save; to rescue someone or something from harm.
- funeste
- Fatal, disastrous; causing death or great misfortune.
- erreur
- Error, mistake; an incorrect action or belief.
- commit
- Committed; past simple of commettre, to commit an act.
- mariant
- Marrying; present participle of se marier.
- lorsque
- When; conjunction indicating a specific moment in time.
- cécité
- Blindness; total or partial inability to see.
- frappé
- Struck, hit; past participle indicating a blow or affliction.
- quelconque
- Any, some; indicating an unspecified or ordinary person or thing.
- dont
- Whose, of which; relative pronoun indicating possession or origin.
- eût
- Had; past subjunctive of avoir expressing hypothetical possession.
- glorieuse
- Glorious; worthy of great praise and admiration.
- piété
- Piety; deep religious devotion and reverence.
- supporter
- To bear, endure; to tolerate something difficult or unpleasant.
- bizarres
- Strange, odd; unusual or eccentric in character or behavior.
- habitudes
- Habits; regular behaviors or customs practiced routinely.
- aimable
- Kind, amiable; pleasant and friendly in manner.
- beau
- Handsome, beautiful; attractive in appearance.
- baronnet
- Baronet; a hereditary title ranking below a baron.
- répondait
- Answered, replied; past imperfect of répondre.
- Exactement
- Exactly; expressing complete agreement or precision.
- remarques
- Remarks, comments; observations or statements made aloud.
- même
- Even, same; indicating inclusion or identity.
- lorsqu'
- When; elided conjunction introducing a time clause.
- exprimait
- Expressed; past imperfect of exprimer, to voice something.
- doute
- Doubt; uncertainty or lack of conviction about something.
- pu
- Been able to; past participle of pouvoir.
- apparaître
- To appear; to become visible or come into view.
- amant
- Lover; a person in a romantic or sexual relationship.
- mariage
- Marriage; the legal union of two people as partners.
- vraiment
- Truly, really; adverb emphasizing truth or sincerity.
- délicieux
- Delightful, delicious; extremely pleasing or enjoyable.
- devait
- Had to, must have been; past imperfect of devoir.
- celui
- The one; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun.
- mari
- Husband; a man joined in marriage to a spouse.
- sorte
- Comes out, exits; subjunctive of sortir.
- pouvait
- Could, was able to; past imperfect of pouvoir.
- enseigner
- To teach; to instruct someone in a subject or skill.
- hébreu
- Hebrew; the ancient Semitic language of the Jewish people.
- souhaitiez
- Wished, desired; past imperfect of souhaiter.
- particularités
- Peculiarities; distinctive or unusual characteristics of someone.
- caractère
- Character; the set of qualities defining a person.
- valurent
- Earned, brought; past simple of valoir, third person plural.
- autant
- As much, so much; adverb expressing quantity or degree.
- blâmé
- Blamed, criticized; held responsible for a fault or wrongdoing.
- voisines
- Neighboring; situated close by or in the vicinity.
- assuré
- Ensured, provided; past participle of assurer.
- nièces
- Nieces; daughters of one's brother or sister.
- services
- Services; assistance or duties provided to others.
- dame
- Lady, woman; a respectful term for an adult woman.
- âge
- Age; the length of time a person has lived.
- mûr
- Mature, ripe; fully developed in age or judgment.
- qualité
- Quality, capacity; a characteristic or role someone fulfills.
- guide
- Guide; someone who leads or directs others.
- compagne
- Companion; a female friend or associate accompanying another.
- redoutait
- Dreaded, feared; past imperfect of redouter.
- tellement
- So much, so; adverb expressing a high degree.
- genre
- Type, sort, kind; a category or variety of something.
- supérieure
- Superior; of higher rank, quality, or ability.
- susceptible
- Likely, prone; liable to be influenced or affected.
- disponible
- Available; free and able to be used or accessed.
- tel
- Such, such a; adjective indicating a particular kind.
- poste
- Post, position; a job or role assigned to someone.
- laissa
- Let, allowed; past simple of laisser.
- dissuader
- To dissuade; to persuade someone not to do something.
- objections
- Objections; reasons expressed against a proposal or action.
- fut
- Was; past simple of être, third person singular.
- occurrence
- Occasion, instance; a particular situation or event.
- assez
- Enough, quite; adverb indicating sufficient degree.
- courageux
- Courageous, brave; showing bravery in facing difficulty.
- braver
- To brave, defy; to face danger or opposition boldly.
- monde
- World, society; the community or people in general.
- recteur
- Rector; a clergyman in charge of a parish or church.
- groupe
- Group; a number of people gathered or associated together.
- notables
- Notables; prominent or distinguished people in a community.
- chez
- At the home of; preposition indicating someone's place.
- rendait
- Made, rendered; past imperfect of rendre.
- visite
- Visit; a trip to see a person or place.
- coin
- Corner, area; a small or particular locality or region.
- nord
- North; the direction opposite to south.
- Ainsi
- Thus, so; adverb indicating consequence or manner.
- présidait
- Presided over; past imperfect of présider, to manage.
- foyer
- Home, hearth; the domestic interior of a house.
- oncle
- Uncle; the brother of one's parent.
- nullement
- Not at all; adverb expressing total negation.
- déplaisait
- Displeased; past imperfect of déplaire, to be disliked.
- autorité
- Authority; the power or right to give orders.
- hommages
- Homages, tributes; expressions of respect or admiration.
- y
- There, to it; adverbial pronoun replacing a place or thing.
- rattachaient
- Were attached, linked; past imperfect of se rattacher.
- dîner
- Dinner, to dine; the main meal of the day.
- Grange
- Grange; a country house or farm, proper name here.
- gentleman
- Gentleman; a well-mannered man of good social standing.
- jamais
- Never, ever; adverb expressing absence or negation of frequency.
- égard
- Regard, respect; consideration shown toward someone.
- duquel
- Of whom, of which; contracted relative pronoun.
- éprouvait
- Felt, experienced; past imperfect of éprouver.
- certaine
- Certain, a certain; indicating a specific but unnamed quality.
- attente
- Expectation, anticipation; the act of waiting for something.
- révérencieuse
- Reverent, respectful; showing deep respect or veneration.
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