Pride and Prejudice — Page 7
A man in the early eighteenth century, of course, could push this taste further than a lady in the early nineteenth; and no doubt Miss Austen's principles, as well as her heart, would have shrunk from such things as the letter from the unfortunate husband in the_ Spectator, _who describes, with all the gusto and all the innocence in the world, how his wife and his friend induce him to play at blind-man's-buff.
Un homme du début du dix-huitième siècle pouvait, bien sûr, pousser ce goût plus loin qu'une dame du début du dix-neuvième ; et sans aucun doute les principes de Miss Austen, tout comme son cœur, auraient reculé devant des choses telles que la lettre du malheureux mari dans le Spectator, qui décrit, avec tout l'enthousiasme et toute l'innocence du monde, comment sa femme et son ami l'amènent à jouer à colin-maillard.
But another_ Spectator _letter--that of the damsel of fourteen who wishes to marry Mr. Shapely, and assures her selected Mentor that "he admires your_ Spectators _mightily"--might have been written by a rather more ladylike and intelligent Lydia Bennet in the days of Lydia's great-grandmother;
Mais une autre lettre du Spectator — celle de la demoiselle de quatorze ans qui souhaite épouser M. Shapely, et assure son Mentor choisi qu'« il admire énormément vos Spectators » — aurait pu être écrite par une Lydia Bennet un peu plus distinguée et intelligente à l'époque de l'arrière-grand-mère de Lydia ;
while, on the other hand, some (I think unreasonably) have found "cynicism" in touches of Miss Austen's own, such as her satire of Mrs. Musgrove's self-deceiving regrets over her son.
tandis que, d'un autre côté, certains (à tort, selon moi) ont trouvé du « cynisme » dans certains traits propres à Miss Austen, comme sa satire des regrets illusoires de Mme Musgrove au sujet de son fils.
But this word "cynical" is one of the most misused in the English language, especially when, by a glaring and gratuitous falsification of its original sense, it is applied, not to rough and snarling invective, but to gentle and oblique satire.
Mais ce mot « cynique » est l'un des plus mal employés de la langue anglaise, surtout lorsque, par une falsification flagrante et gratuite de son sens originel, il est appliqué non pas à une invective grossière et agressive, mais à une satire douce et oblique.
Vocabulary
- homme
- A male human being; a man
- début
- The beginning or start of something
- dix-huitième
- Ordinal number meaning eighteenth
- siècle
- A period of one hundred years; century
- pouvait
- Past imperfect of 'pouvoir'; was able to
- bien
- Used for emphasis; certainly, quite, well
- sûr
- Certain, confident, or sure about something
- pousser
- To push, or to carry something further
- goût
- Personal preference or taste for something
- loin
- Far; to a greater distance or extent
- dame
- A refined or respected woman; a lady
- dix-neuvième
- Ordinal number meaning nineteenth
- sans
- Preposition meaning without
- aucun
- No, none, or not any; negates a noun
- doute
- Uncertainty or lack of certainty; doubt
- principes
- Fundamental rules or moral beliefs; principles
- tout
- All, every, or completely; entirely
- cœur
- The heart as organ or seat of emotion
- auraient
- Conditional plural of 'avoir'; would have
- reculé
- Drawn back, retreated, or recoiled from something
- devant
- Preposition meaning in front of or before
- choses
- Objects, matters, or things in general
- telles
- Such; used to introduce examples of a kind
- lettre
- A written message sent to someone; letter
- malheureux
- Unhappy, unfortunate, or miserable
- mari
- A woman's husband; a married male partner
- décrit
- Describes or depicts something in words
- enthousiasme
- Intense eagerness or excitement about something
- innocence
- State of being free from guilt or naivety
- monde
- The world, or people in general; everyone
- comment
- Adverb meaning how; in what way
- femme
- A woman, or a man's wife
- ami
- A person one has a friendly relationship with
- amènent
- Third person plural of 'amener'; bring or lead
- jouer
- To play a game or engage in play
- colin-maillard
- A French children's game similar to blind man's bluff
- autre
- Different or additional; another one
- celle
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the one' (feminine)
- demoiselle
- A young unmarried woman or girl; miss
- quatorze
- The cardinal number fourteen
- ans
- Years of age or years in time
- souhaite
- Wishes or desires something to happen
- épouser
- To marry someone; to take as a spouse
- assure
- Tells confidently; assures or guarantees someone
- Mentor
- An advisor or guide, often in epistolary context
- choisi
- Past participle of 'choisir'; chosen or selected
- admire
- Regards with pleasure, approval, or respect
- énormément
- To a very great degree; enormously, tremendously
- vos
- Plural possessive adjective meaning 'your' (formal/plural)
- aurait
- Third person singular conditional of 'avoir'; would have
- pu
- Past participle of 'pouvoir'; been able to
- être
- Infinitive of the verb 'to be'
- écrite
- Past participle (feminine) of 'écrire'; written
- peu
- A small amount; a little or slightly
- distinguée
- Having refined elegance or notable social distinction
- intelligente
- Having or showing intellectual ability; clever
- époque
- A particular period of time or historical era
- arrière-grand-mère
- The mother of one's grandparent; great-grandmother
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que' meaning while or whereas
- côté
- Side; aspect or direction of something
- certains
- Some; certain unspecified people or things
- tort
- Being wrong or at fault; incorrectness
- selon
- Preposition meaning according to or in the opinion of
- trouvé
- Past participle of 'trouver'; found or considered
- cynisme
- Distrust of human sincerity or good motives
- traits
- Distinguishing features or characteristic qualities
- propres
- Own, or characteristic of; belonging specifically to
- satire
- Use of irony to expose or criticize foolishness
- regrets
- Feelings of sadness or remorse about something past
- illusoires
- Based on illusion; deceptive, false, or unreal
- sujet
- Topic or subject of discussion; matter at hand
- fils
- A male child in relation to his parents; son
- mot
- A unit of language expressing meaning; word
- cynique
- Adjective describing a distrustful or mocking attitude
- mal
- Badly or poorly; incorrectly or wrongly used
- employés
- Past participle plural of 'employer'; used or applied
- langue
- A system of communication used by a community; language
- anglaise
- Adjective meaning English (feminine form)
- surtout
- Adverb meaning above all, especially, or particularly
- lorsque
- Conjunction meaning when or at the time that
- falsification
- The act of altering or distorting something falsely
- flagrante
- Obviously wrong or conspicuous; blatant, glaring
- gratuite
- Uncalled for, unjustified, or without good reason
- sens
- The meaning or significance of a word
- originel
- Relating to the origin; original or first
- appliqué
- Past participle of 'appliquer'; applied or used for
- invective
- Harsh or insulting language directed at someone
- grossière
- Rude, coarse, or vulgar in manner or language
- agressive
- Hostile, forceful, or showing aggression
- douce
- Gentle, soft, or mild in manner or tone
- oblique
- Indirect or not straightforward in approach or expression
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →