← Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice — Page 9

English → De Preface Level 7/10

And I am not so certain that I should myself use the word "narrow" in connection with her.

Und ich bin nicht so sicher, dass ich selbst das Wort „eng" in Verbindung mit ihr verwenden würde.

If her world is a microcosm, the cosmic quality of it is at least as eminent as the littleness.

Wenn ihre Welt ein Mikrokosmos ist, so ist die kosmische Qualität derselben zumindest ebenso bedeutend wie ihre Kleinheit.

She does not touch what she did not feel herself called to paint; I am not so sure that she could not have painted what she did not feel herself called to touch.

Sie berührt nicht, was sie sich nicht berufen fühlte zu malen; ich bin nicht so sicher, dass sie nicht hätte malen können, was sie sich nicht berufen fühlte zu berühren.

It is at least remarkable that in two very short periods of writing--one of about three years, and another of not much more than five--she executed six capital works, and has not left a single failure.

Es ist zumindest bemerkenswert, dass sie in zwei sehr kurzen Schaffensperioden – einer von etwa drei Jahren und einer weiteren von nicht viel mehr als fünf – sechs bedeutende Werke vollendete und kein einziges Misslingen hinterlassen hat.

It is possible that the romantic paste in her composition was defective: we must always remember that hardly anybody born in her decade--that of the eighteenth-century seventies--independently exhibited the full romantic quality.

Es ist möglich, dass der romantische Anteil in ihrer Anlage mangelhaft war: Wir müssen stets bedenken, dass kaum jemand, der in ihrem Jahrzehnt geboren wurde – dem der Siebzigerjahre des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts – selbstständig die volle romantische Qualität zeigte.

Even Scott required hill and mountain and ballad, even Coleridge metaphysics and German to enable them to chip the classical shell.

Sogar Scott bedurfte der Hügel und Berge und Balladen, sogar Coleridge der Metaphysik und des Deutschen, um ihnen zu ermöglichen, die klassische Schale zu sprengen.

Miss Austen was an English girl, brought up in a country retirement, at the time when ladies went back into the house if there was a white frost which might pierce their kid shoes, when a sudden cold was the subject of the gravest fears, when their studies, their ways, their conduct were subject to all those fantastic limits and restrictions against which Mary Wollstonecraft protested with better general sense than particular taste or judgment.

Miss Austen war ein englisches Mädchen, auf dem Lande aufgewachsen, zu einer Zeit, als Damen ins Haus zurückkehrten, wenn ein Reif auf dem Boden lag, der ihre Ziegenlederscuhe durchdringen könnte, als eine plötzliche Erkältung Anlass zu den ernstesten Befürchtungen gab, als ihre Studien, ihre Lebensweise und ihr Betragen all jenen phantastischen Grenzen und Beschränkungen unterworfen waren, gegen die Mary Wollstonecraft mit mehr allgemeinem Verstand als besonderem Geschmack oder Urteilsvermögen protestierte.

Vocabulary

Und
Conjunction used to connect words or clauses together.
ich
First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
bin
First person singular present tense of 'sein' (to be).
nicht
Negation adverb meaning 'not' or 'no'.
so
Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'in such a way'.
sicher
Adjective meaning 'certain', 'sure', or 'safe'.
dass
Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that' in English.
selbst
Pronoun or adverb meaning 'self' or 'even'.
das
Definite article 'the' for neuter nouns.
Wort
Noun meaning 'word' or 'term'.
eng
Adjective meaning 'narrow', 'tight', or 'close'.
in
Preposition meaning 'in', 'into', or 'during'.
Verbindung
Noun meaning 'connection', 'link', or 'relationship'.
mit
Preposition meaning 'with' or 'in company with'.
ihr
Pronoun meaning 'her', 'their', or possessive 'her/their'.
verwenden
Verb meaning 'to use', 'to employ', or 'to apply'.
würde
Conditional auxiliary verb; subjunctive mood of 'werden'.
Wenn
Subordinating conjunction meaning 'if' or 'when'.
ihre
Possessive pronoun meaning 'her', 'their', or 'its'.
Welt
Noun meaning 'world' or 'universe'.
ein
Indefinite article 'a' or 'an'; also numeral 'one'.
ist
Third person singular present tense of 'sein' (to be).
die
Definite article 'the' for feminine and plural nouns.
kosmische
Adjective meaning 'cosmic' or 'universal in scope'.
Qualität
Noun meaning 'quality', 'property', or 'characteristic'.
derselben
Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the same' (genitive/dative).
zumindest
Adverb meaning 'at least' or 'at minimum'.
ebenso
Adverb meaning 'just as', 'equally', or 'likewise'.
bedeutend
Adjective meaning 'significant', 'important', or 'considerable'.
wie
Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as', 'like', or 'how'.
Sie
Formal second person pronoun meaning 'you'; also 'she'.
berührt
Verb meaning 'touches', 'affects', or 'concerns'.
was
Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'which'.
sie
Pronoun meaning 'she', 'they', or 'it' (feminine).
sich
Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself', 'himself', or 'herself'.
berufen
Verb meaning 'to call upon', 'to appeal to', or 'to appeal'.
fühlte
Past tense of 'fühlen'; 'felt' or 'sensed'.
zu
Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'for'.
malen
Verb meaning 'to paint', 'to draw', or 'to depict'.
hätte
Subjunctive past tense of 'haben'; 'would have'.
können
Modal verb meaning 'can', 'to be able to', or 'may'.
berühren
Verb meaning 'to touch', 'to affect', or 'to concern'.
Es
Pronoun meaning 'it'; neuter third person singular pronoun.
bemerkenswert
Adjective meaning 'remarkable', 'noteworthy', or 'striking'.
zwei
Numeral meaning 'two'.
sehr
Adverb meaning 'very', 'greatly', or 'much'.
kurzen
Adjective meaning 'short' (accusative/dative singular form).
einer
Numeral or article meaning 'one' (genitive/dative).
von
Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'.
etwa
Adverb meaning 'about', 'approximately', or 'roughly'.
drei
Numeral meaning 'three'.
Jahren
Plural noun meaning 'years' (dative case).
weiteren
Adjective meaning 'further', 'additional', or 'other'.
viel
Adjective or adverb meaning 'much', 'a lot', or 'many'.
mehr
Adjective or adverb meaning 'more'.
als
Conjunction meaning 'than', 'as', or 'when'.
fünf
Numeral meaning 'five'.
sechs
Numeral meaning 'six'.
bedeutende
Adjective meaning 'significant', 'important', or 'notable'.
Werke
Plural noun meaning 'works', 'creations', or 'compositions'.
vollendete
Past tense verb meaning 'completed' or 'finished'.
kein
Negative article or pronoun meaning 'no', 'not a', or 'none'.
einziges
Adjective meaning 'single', 'sole', or 'only one'.
hinterlassen
Verb meaning 'to leave behind', 'to bequeath', or 'to leave'.
hat
Third person singular present tense of 'haben' (to have).
möglich
Adjective meaning 'possible', 'feasible', or 'likely'.
der
Definite article 'the' for masculine and plural nouns.
romantische
Adjective meaning 'romantic' or 'relating to romanticism'.
Anteil
Noun meaning 'share', 'part', or 'portion'.
ihrer
Possessive pronoun meaning 'her', 'their', or 'its'.
Anlage
Noun meaning 'disposition', 'talent', or 'facility'.
mangelhaft
Adjective meaning 'deficient', 'lacking', or 'inadequate'.
war
Past tense of 'sein'; 'was' or 'were'.
Wir
First person plural pronoun meaning 'we'.
müssen
Modal verb meaning 'must', 'to have to', or 'to need'.
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