Middlemarch — Page 5

English → It CHAPTER I. Level 9/10

And how should Dorothea not marry?—a girl so handsome and with such prospects?

E come avrebbe potuto Dorothea non sposarsi? — una ragazza così bella e con tali prospettive?

Nothing could hinder it but her love of extremes, and her insistence on regulating life according to notions which might cause a wary man to hesitate before he made her an offer, or even might lead her at last to refuse all offers.

Nulla avrebbe potuto impedirlo se non il suo amore per gli estremi, e la sua insistenza nel regolare la vita secondo principi che avrebbero potuto indurre un uomo cauto a esitare prima di farle una proposta, o addirittura condurla alla fine a rifiutare tutte le proposte.

A young lady of some birth and fortune, who knelt suddenly down on a brick floor by the side of a sick laborer and prayed fervidly as if she thought herself living in the time of the Apostles—who had strange whims of fasting like a Papist, and of sitting up at night to read old theological books!

Una giovane signora di una certa nascita e fortuna, che si inginocchiava all'improvviso su un pavimento di mattoni accanto a un lavoratore malato e pregava con fervore come se si credesse vissuta ai tempi degli Apostoli — che aveva strane manie di digiunare come una papista, e di stare sveglia la notte a leggere vecchi libri di teologia!

Such a wife might awaken you some fine morning with a new scheme for the application of her income which would interfere with political economy and the keeping of saddle-horses: a man would naturally think twice before he risked himself in such fellowship.

Una tale moglie avrebbe potuto svegliarti una bella mattina con un nuovo piano per l'impiego del suo reddito che avrebbe interferito con l'economia politica e il mantenimento dei cavalli da sella: un uomo avrebbe naturalmente pensato due volte prima di avventurarsi in una simile unione.

Women were expected to have weak opinions; but the great safeguard of society and of domestic life was, that opinions were not acted on.

Ci si aspettava che le donne avessero opinioni deboli; ma la grande salvaguardia della società e della vita domestica era che le opinioni non venissero messe in pratica.

Sane people did what their neighbors did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.

Le persone sane facevano ciò che facevano i loro vicini, così che se qualche pazzo era in libertà, lo si poteva riconoscere ed evitare.

The rural opinion about the new young ladies, even among the cottagers, was generally in favor of Celia, as being so amiable and innocent-looking, while Miss Brooke's large eyes seemed, like her religion, too unusual and striking.

L'opinione della gente di campagna riguardo alle nuove giovani signore, persino tra i contadini, era generalmente a favore di Celia, considerata così amabile e dall'aspetto innocente, mentre i grandi occhi della signorina Brooke sembravano, come la sua religione, troppo insoliti e appariscenti.

Poor Dorothea!

Povera Dorothea!

Vocabulary

come: How; as; like; used in comparisons or questions.
avrebbe: Third person singular conditional of 'avere' (would have).
potuto: Past participle of 'potere'; been able to.
sposarsi: Reflexive verb meaning to get married or wed.
ragazza: A girl or young woman.
così: So; thus; in this way; to such a degree.
bella: Beautiful; lovely; attractive, feminine singular adjective.
tali: Such; of that kind; plural demonstrative adjective.
prospettive: Prospects; future possibilities or opportunities.
Nulla: Nothing; not anything; used as a pronoun.
impedirlo: To prevent it; to stop or hinder it from happening.
amore: Love; deep affection or romantic feeling.
estremi: Extremes; outermost or most intense positions or behaviors.
insistenza: Insistence; persistent determination or pressing repetition.
regolare: To regulate; to manage or order systematically.
vita: Life; one's existence or way of living.
secondo: According to; second; based on or following rules.
principi: Principles; fundamental rules or moral guidelines.
avrebbero: Third person plural conditional of 'avere' (they would have).
indurre: To induce; to lead or persuade someone to do something.
uomo: A man; an adult male person.
cauto: Cautious; careful; wary of potential risks or dangers.
esitare: To hesitate; to pause with uncertainty before acting.
prima: Before; first; earlier in time or order.
farle: To make or do to her; combined infinitive and pronoun.
proposta: A proposal; an offer or suggestion put forward.
addirittura: Even; actually; going so far as; used for emphasis.
condurla: To lead her; to guide or bring her somewhere.
fine: End; conclusion; the final point of something.
rifiutare: To refuse; to reject an offer or proposal.
tutte: All; every one; feminine plural of 'tutto'.
proposte: Proposals; offers or suggestions, plural form.
giovane: Young; a young person; adjective denoting youth.
signora: Lady; Mrs.; a respectful title for a woman.
certa: Certain; sure; of a particular or definite kind.
nascita: Birth; the origin or beginning of a person's life.
fortuna: Fortune; wealth; luck or favorable circumstance.
inginocchiava: Was kneeling; imperfect tense of 'inginocchiarsi'.
improvviso: Sudden; unexpected; happening without prior warning.
pavimento: Floor; the flat surface of a room underfoot.
mattoni: Bricks; rectangular building blocks made of fired clay.
accanto: Next to; beside; in close proximity to something.
lavoratore: Worker; laborer; a person who performs manual work.
malato: Sick; ill; suffering from a disease or ailment.
pregava: Was praying; imperfect tense of 'pregare'.
fervore: Fervor; intense enthusiasm, passion, or religious zeal.
credesse: That she believed; imperfect subjunctive of 'credere'.
vissuta: Lived; past participle of 'vivere', feminine form.
tempi: Times; periods; plural of 'tempo' referring to eras.
Apostoli: Apostles; the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.
strane: Strange; odd; unusual or peculiar, feminine plural.
manie: Obsessions; manias; excessive fixations or habits.
digiunare: To fast; to abstain from food for a period.
papista: Papist; a follower of the Pope; Roman Catholic adherent.
stare: To stay; to be; to remain in a certain state.
sveglia: Awake; alert; also an alarm clock noun.
notte: Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise.
leggere: To read; to look at and understand written text.
vecchi: Old; ancient; elderly; masculine plural adjective.
libri: Books; written or printed works, plural of 'libro'.
teologia: Theology; the study of God and religious doctrine.
tale: Such; of that sort; a demonstrative adjective.
moglie: Wife; a married woman in relation to her husband.
svegliarti: To wake you up; reflexive infinitive with pronoun.
mattina: Morning; the early part of the day.
nuovo: New; recent; not previously existing or known.
piano: Plan; floor; also soft (in music); a scheme.
impiego: Employment; use; a job or the use of resources.
reddito: Income; revenue; money received regularly from work or investments.
interferito: Interfered; past participle of 'interferire'.
economia: Economy; also thrift; management of financial resources.
politica: Politics; policy; the art of governance or strategy.
mantenimento: Maintenance; upkeep; the act of keeping something going.
cavalli: Horses; large domesticated animals used for riding.
sella: Saddle; a seat placed on a horse for riding.
naturalmente: Naturally; of course; in a natural or obvious manner.
pensato: Thought; past participle of 'pensare', to think.
volte: Times; occasions; plural of 'volta'.
avventurarsi: To venture; to dare to go into risky situations.
simile: Similar; such; of the same kind or nature.
unione: Union; a joining together; also a marriage or partnership.
Ci: There; us; reflexive pronoun or locative particle.
aspettava: Expected; waited; imperfect tense of 'aspettare'.
donne: Women; plural of 'donna', an adult female person.
avessero: That they had; imperfect subjunctive of 'avere'.
opinioni: Opinions; personal views or judgments on topics.
deboli: Weak; feeble; lacking in strength or conviction.
grande: Great; big; large; of notable size or importance.
salvaguardia: Safeguard; protection; a measure ensuring safety or stability.
società: Society; a community of people living together.
domestica: Domestic; household; relating to home or family life.
venissero: That they came; imperfect subjunctive of 'venire'.
messe: Put; placed; past participle of 'mettere', feminine plural.
pratica: Practice; practical application; putting into action.
persone: People; persons; individuals in a group.
sane: Sane; healthy; sensible; feminine plural of 'sano'.
facevano: Were doing; did; imperfect tense of 'fare'.
ciò: That; this; it; demonstrative pronoun referring to something.
loro: Their; them; they; third person plural pronoun or possessive.
vicini: Neighbors; people living nearby; also adjective meaning 'close'.
qualche: Some; a few; any; indefinite adjective indicating quantity.
pazzo: Crazy; mad; a fool or eccentric person.
libertà: Freedom; liberty; the state of being free.
poteva: Could; was able to; imperfect tense of 'potere'.
riconoscere: To recognize; to identify or acknowledge someone or something.
evitare: To avoid; to keep away from something or someone.
opinione: Opinion; a personal view or judgment on a matter.
gente: People; folks; a group of persons in general.
campagna: Countryside; rural area; also a campaign or drive.
riguardo: Regard; respect; concerning; with reference to something.
nuove: New; recent; feminine plural of 'nuovo'.
giovani: Young people; youth; plural of 'giovane'.
signore: Ladies; also Lord; plural of 'signora' or 'signore'.
persino: Even; as far as; used to emphasize an extreme case.
tra: Between; among; in the middle of two or more things.
contadini: Peasants; farmers; rural agricultural workers.
generalmente: Generally; usually; in most cases or situations.
favore: Favor; approval; support or goodwill toward someone.
considerata: Considered; regarded as; past participle of 'considerare'.
amabile: Amiable; lovable; pleasantly kind and likeable.
aspetto: Appearance; aspect; the way someone or something looks.
innocente: Innocent; free from guilt; pure and without wrongdoing.
mentre: While; whereas; at the same time as something else.
grandi: Big; great; large; plural of 'grande'.
occhi: Eyes; the organs of sight, plural of 'occhio'.
signorina: Miss; a young unmarried woman; respectful form of address.
sembravano: Seemed; appeared; imperfect tense of 'sembrare'.
religione: Religion; a system of spiritual faith and worship.
troppo: Too; too much; excessively beyond a normal degree.
insoliti: Unusual; uncommon; not ordinary, masculine plural adjective.
appariscenti: Showy; conspicuous; attracting attention by being striking.
Povera: Poor; unfortunate; expressing pity for someone.

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