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?
Era sicura che avrebbe accettato il giudizioso Hooker, se fosse nata in tempo per salvarlo da quel misero errore che aveva commesso in matrimonio; o John Milton quando era sopraggiunta la sua cecità; o qualunque altro grande uomo i cui strani comportamenti sarebbe stata gloriosa pietà sopportare; ma un amabile e avvenente baronetto, che diceva «Esattamente» alle sue osservazioni persino quando lei esprimeva incertezza, — come avrebbe potuto farle l'effetto di un innamorato?
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.
Il matrimonio davvero delizioso doveva essere quello in cui il marito fosse una sorta di padre, e potesse insegnarti persino l'ebraico, se lo desideravi.
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.
Queste peculiarità del carattere di Dorothea fecero sì che il signor Brooke fosse ancora più biasimato dalle famiglie vicine per non aver trovato una signora di mezza età come guida e compagna per le sue nipoti.
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.
Ma egli stesso temeva così tanto il tipo di donna superiore che avrebbe potuto essere disponibile per tale incarico, che si lasciò dissuadere dalle obiezioni di Dorothea, e in questo caso ebbe il coraggio di sfidare il mondo — vale a dire, la signora Cadwallader moglie del Rettore, e il piccolo gruppo di gentiluomini con cui si frequentava nell'angolo nordorientale del 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.
Così la signorina Brooke presiedeva alla casa dello zio, e non le dispiaceva affatto la sua nuova autorità, con l'omaggio che le apparteneva.
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 sarebbe venuto a pranzo alla Grange quel giorno con un altro gentiluomo che le ragazze non avevano mai visto, e riguardo al quale Dorothea nutriva una sorta di riverente aspettativa.
Vocabulary
- Era
- Was; past tense of essere (to be)
- sicura
- Sure, certain, confident (feminine form)
- che
- That, which, who; common conjunction and relative pronoun
- avrebbe
- Would have; conditional past of avere
- accettato
- Accepted; past participle of accettare
- il
- The; definite article masculine singular
- se
- If; conditional conjunction used in hypothetical statements
- fosse
- Were; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- nata
- Born; past participle feminine of nascere
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or time
- tempo
- Time, weather; basic noun with multiple meanings
- per
- For, in order to; preposition expressing purpose or cause
- salvarlo
- To save him; infinitive with masculine object pronoun
- da
- From, by; preposition indicating origin or agent
- quel
- That; demonstrative adjective before masculine noun
- misero
- Miserable, wretched, poor in quality or condition
- errore
- Error, mistake; common noun for incorrect action
- aveva
- Had; past tense of avere (to have)
- commesso
- Committed, made; past participle of commettere
- matrimonio
- Marriage, matrimony; important social and legal institution
- quando
- When; temporal adverb and conjunction for time reference
- sua
- His, her, its; possessive adjective feminine singular
- qualunque
- Any, whatever; indefinite adjective expressing indifference
- altro
- Other, another; adjective indicating something different
- grande
- Great, large, big; common adjective of size importance
- uomo
- Man, human male; fundamental noun in Italian
- cui
- Whom, which; relative pronoun for indirect object
- strani
- Strange, odd, unusual; plural adjective form
- comportamenti
- Behaviors, conducts; plural noun for how one acts
- stata
- Been; feminine past participle of essere
- gloriosa
- Glorious, magnificent; feminine adjective of honor and pride
- pietà
- Pity, compassion, mercy; important virtue in Italian culture
- sopportare
- To bear, tolerate, endure; verb for suffering or putting up
- ma
- But; fundamental conjunction for contrast and opposition
- un
- A, an; indefinite article masculine singular
- diceva
- Said, was saying; past tense imperfect of dire
- Esattamente
- Exactly, precisely; adverb expressing perfect accuracy agreement
- alle
- To the, at the; preposition article contraction feminine
- osservazioni
- Observations, remarks, comments; plural noun for noting things
- persino
- Even, even though; adverb emphasizing surprise or emphasis
- lei
- Her, she; feminine personal pronoun third person
- esprimeva
- Expressed, was expressing; imperfect past of esprimere
- incertezza
- Uncertainty, doubt; noun state of being unsure
- come
- How, as, like; versatile conjunction and adverb
- potuto
- Been able, could; past participle of potere
- farle
- To make her, to do for her; infinitive with pronoun
- effetto
- Effect, impression; noun for result or consequence
- innamorato
- Lover, in love; adjective or noun of romantic affection
- Il
- The; definite article masculine singular capitalized
- davvero
- Really, truly; adverb for emphasis and authenticity
- delizioso
- Delightful, delicious; adjective expressing pleasant enjoyment taste
- doveva
- Had to, was supposed to; imperfect of dovere
- essere
- To be; fundamental auxiliary and copulative verb
- quello
- That; demonstrative adjective or pronoun masculine singular
- marito
- Husband; basic family term for married male
- sorta
- Sort, kind, type; noun expressing category or variety
- padre
- Father; family term for male parent or authority
- potesse
- Could, might; imperfect subjunctive of potere
- insegnarti
- To teach you; infinitive with indirect object pronoun
- lo
- Him, it; masculine object pronoun or article
- desideravi
- You desired, you wanted; past tense of desiderare
- Queste
- These; feminine plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
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