Pride and Prejudice — Page 14
The goodness of the minor characters in Pride and Prejudice has been already alluded to, and it makes a detailed dwelling on their beauties difficult in any space, and impossible in this.
La qualité des personnages secondaires dans Orgueil et Préjugés a déjà été évoquée, et elle rend difficile, en quelque espace que ce soit, et impossible ici, de s'attarder en détail sur leurs beautés.
Mrs. Bennet we have glanced at, and it is not easy to say whether she is more exquisitely amusing or more horribly true.
Nous avons effleuré Mme Bennet, et il n'est pas aisé de dire si elle est plus exquisément amusante ou plus horriblement vraie.
Much the same may be said of Kitty and Lydia; but it is not every author, even of genius, who would have differentiated with such unerring skill the effects of folly and vulgarity of intellect and disposition working upon the common weaknesses of woman at such different ages.
On pourrait dire à peu près la même chose de Kitty et de Lydia ; mais tous les auteurs, même les plus géniaux, n'auraient pas su différencier avec une telle habileté infaillible les effets de la sottise et de la vulgarité d'esprit et de caractère agissant sur les faiblesses communes de la femme à des âges si différents.
With Mary, Miss Austen has taken rather less pains, though she has been even more unkind to her; not merely in the text, but, as we learn from those interesting traditional appendices which Mr. Austen Leigh has given us, in dooming her privately to marry "one of Mr. Philips's clerks."
Avec Mary, Miss Austen s'est donné un peu moins de mal, bien qu'elle ait été encore plus cruelle envers elle ; non seulement dans le texte, mais, comme nous l'apprenons de ces intéressantes appendices traditionnelles que M. Austen Leigh nous a transmises, en la condamnant en privé à épouser « l'un des clercs de M. Philips ».
The habits of first copying and then retailing moral sentiments, of playing and singing too long in public, are, no doubt, grievous and criminal; but perhaps poor Mary was rather the scapegoat of the sins of blue stockings in that Fordyce-belectured generation.
Les habitudes de copier puis de colporter des sentences morales, de jouer et de chanter trop longtemps en public, sont, sans aucun doute, fâcheuses et répréhensibles ; mais la pauvre Mary était peut-être davantage le bouc émissaire des péchés des bas-bleus de cette génération abreuvée de sermons à la Fordyce.
It is at any rate difficult not to extend to her a share of the respect and affection (affection and respect of a peculiar kind; doubtless), with which one regards Mr. Collins, when she draws the moral of Lydia's fall.
Il est en tout cas difficile de ne pas lui accorder une part du respect et de l'affection (affection et respect d'une sorte particulière, sans aucun doute) avec lesquels on considère M. Collins, lorsqu'elle tire la leçon morale de la chute de Lydia.
Vocabulary
- qualité
- Quality, standard, or characteristic of something
- personnages
- Characters or figures in a story or play
- secondaires
- Secondary, minor, or less important in role
- Orgueil
- Pride; title word of 'Pride and Prejudice'
- Préjugés
- Prejudices; biased opinions formed without full knowledge
- déjà
- Already; previously mentioned or done before
- évoquée
- Mentioned, evoked, or brought up in discussion
- rend
- Makes or renders something a certain way
- difficile
- Difficult, hard, or challenging to accomplish
- quelque
- Some, any; used before a noun or in expressions
- espace
- Space, area, or room available
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'be' or 'is'
- impossible
- Impossible; not able to be done or achieved
- ici
- Here; in this place or context
- attarder
- To linger, dwell on, or spend extra time on
- détail
- Detail; a small, specific piece of information
- beautés
- Beauties; remarkable or admirable qualities
- effleuré
- Lightly touched on or briefly mentioned a topic
- aisé
- Easy, effortless; also comfortable or well-off
- dire
- To say or to tell something to someone
- exquisément
- Exquisitely; in a refined, delicate, or perfect manner
- amusante
- Amusing, entertaining, or funny (feminine form)
- horriblement
- Horribly, terribly; to a dreadful or extreme degree
- vraie
- True, real, or genuine (feminine form)
- pourrait
- Could; conditional of 'pouvoir', expressing possibility
- près
- Near, close; used in 'à peu près' meaning 'roughly'
- même
- Same; identical or very similar in nature
- chose
- Thing; an object, matter, or subject of discussion
- auteurs
- Authors, writers; those who create literary works
- géniaux
- Brilliant, ingenious; having exceptional creative talent
- auraient
- Conditional plural of 'avoir', meaning 'would have'
- su
- Past participle of 'savoir', meaning 'known' or 'been able'
- différencier
- To differentiate or distinguish between multiple things
- telle
- Such, so great; used to emphasize degree or kind
- habileté
- Skill, dexterity, or cleverness in doing something
- infaillible
- Infallible, unerring; never making mistakes or failing
- effets
- Effects, results, or impressions produced by something
- sottise
- Foolishness, stupidity, or a silly remark or action
- vulgarité
- Vulgarity; lack of refinement or tasteless behavior
- esprit
- Mind, wit, or spirit; intellectual sharpness or character
- caractère
- Character, nature, or personality of a person
- agissant
- Acting, operating; present participle of 'agir'
- faiblesses
- Weaknesses, flaws, or shortcomings in character
- communes
- Common, shared, or ordinary (feminine plural form)
- femme
- Woman or wife; adult female person
- âges
- Ages; different stages or periods of life
- différents
- Different, various, or distinct from one another
- donné
- Given; past participle of 'donner'
- moins
- Less; used in comparisons indicating smaller degree
- mal
- Badly, poorly; also pain or evil as a noun
- ait
- Subjunctive of 'avoir', meaning 'has' in subordinate clauses
- encore
- Still, yet, again; indicating continuation or repetition
- cruelle
- Cruel, harsh, or merciless (feminine form)
- envers
- Toward, with regard to; indicating attitude or treatment
- seulement
- Only, merely; limiting to one thing or aspect
- texte
- Text; written content of a book or document
- apprenons
- We learn; first-person plural present of 'apprendre'
- intéressantes
- Interesting, engaging, or worth attention (feminine plural)
- appendices
- Appendices; supplementary sections added to a text
- traditionnelles
- Traditional, customary, following established conventions
- transmises
- Transmitted, passed down or conveyed to others
- condamnant
- Condemning, criticizing harshly; present participle of 'condamner'
- privé
- Private; also deprived of something in some contexts
- épouser
- To marry, to wed; to take someone as a spouse
- clercs
- Clerks or clerics; also scholars or minor clergy
- habitudes
- Habits, customs, or regular patterns of behavior
- copier
- To copy; to reproduce or imitate something written
- puis
- Then, afterwards; indicating sequence of actions
- colporter
- To spread, peddle, or circulate gossip or information
- sentences
- Maxims, moral sayings, or authoritative pronouncements
- morales
- Moral, ethical; relating to principles of right conduct
- jouer
- To play; to perform music or engage in games
- chanter
- To sing; to produce vocal musical sounds
- trop
- Too much, too many; exceeding a desirable limit
- longtemps
- For a long time; over an extended duration
- public
- Public, audience; people gathered to watch or listen
- sans
- Without; indicating the absence of something
- aucun
- No, none, not any; indicating total absence
- doute
- Doubt; uncertainty about truth or a matter
- fâcheuses
- Unfortunate, annoying, or disagreeable (feminine plural)
- répréhensibles
- Reprehensible, blameworthy; deserving of criticism or condemnation
- pauvre
- Poor; lacking money, or deserving of sympathy
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe; expressing uncertainty or possibility
- davantage
- More, to a greater extent or degree than before
- bouc
- Goat (male); used in 'bouc émissaire' meaning scapegoat
- émissaire
- Emissary; in 'bouc émissaire', means scapegoat
- péchés
- Sins; moral wrongdoings or transgressions
- bas-bleus
- Bluestockings; derogatory term for pedantic learned women
- génération
- Generation; a group of people born in the same era
- abreuvée
- Steeped in, saturated with; literally 'watered' or 'drenched'
- sermons
- Sermons; moralizing speeches or religious discourses
- cas
- Case, situation, or instance; used in 'en tout cas'
- accorder
- To grant, give, or accord something to someone
- part
- Share, part; a portion given or belonging to someone
- respect
- Respect; esteem or consideration shown toward someone
- affection
- Affection; warm feeling of fondness toward someone
- sorte
- Sort, kind, or type of something
- particulière
- Particular, specific, or distinctive (feminine form)
- lesquels
- Which ones; relative pronoun referring to masculine plural nouns
- considère
- Considers, regards; third-person singular of 'considérer'
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction 'lorsque' elided before a vowel
- tire
- Draws, extracts; third-person singular of 'tirer'
- leçon
- Lesson; a moral or instructive conclusion drawn from events
- morale
- Moral; ethical lesson derived from a story or event
- chute
- Fall, downfall; also the punchline or conclusion of a text
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