Pride and Prejudice — Page 15
I sometimes wish that the exigencies of the story had permitted Miss Austen to unite these personages, and thus at once achieve a notable mating and soothe poor Mrs. Bennet's anguish over the entail.
Je souhaite parfois que les exigences de l'histoire eussent permis à Miss Austen d'unir ces personnages, et d'accomplir ainsi d'un seul coup un mariage remarquable tout en apaisant l'angoisse de la pauvre Mrs. Bennet au sujet du majorat.
The Bingleys and the Gardiners and the Lucases, Miss Darcy and Miss de Bourgh, Jane, Wickham, and the rest, must pass without special comment, further than the remark that Charlotte Lucas (her egregious papa, though delightful, is just a little on the thither side of the line between comedy and farce) is a wonderfully clever study in drab of one kind, and that Wickham (though something of Miss Austen's hesitation of touch in dealing with young men appears) is a not much less notable sketch in drab of another.
Les Bingley et les Gardiner et les Lucas, Miss Darcy et Miss de Bourgh, Jane, Wickham et les autres, doivent passer sans commentaire particulier, si ce n'est pour remarquer que Charlotte Lucas (son extravagant papa, bien que délicieux, se trouve juste un peu de l'autre côté de la ligne entre la comédie et la farce) est une étude merveilleusement habile du terne d'une sorte, et que Wickham (bien qu'apparaisse quelque chose de l'hésitation de touche de Miss Austen dans le traitement des jeunes hommes) est une esquisse du terne d'une autre sorte à peine moins remarquable.
Only genius could have made Charlotte what she is, yet not disagreeable; Wickham what he is, without investing him either with a cheap Don Juanish attractiveness or a disgusting rascality.
Seul le génie aurait pu faire de Charlotte ce qu'elle est, sans la rendre pour autant déplaisante ; faire de Wickham ce qu'il est, sans lui conférer ni un attrait de Don Juan de pacotille ni une friponnerie dégoûtante.
But the hero and the heroine are not tints to be dismissed.
Mais le héros et l'héroïne ne sont pas des teintes que l'on peut écarter d'un revers de main.
Darcy has always seemed to me by far the best and most interesting of Miss Austen's heroes; the only possible competitor being Henry Tilney, whose part is so slight and simple that it hardly enters into comparison.
Darcy m'a toujours semblé de loin le meilleur et le plus intéressant des héros de Miss Austen ; le seul concurrent possible étant Henry Tilney, dont le rôle est si mince et si simple qu'il entre à peine en comparaison.
It has sometimes, I believe, been urged that his pride is unnatural at first in its expression and later in its yielding, while his falling in love at all is not extremely probable.
On a parfois soutenu, je crois, que son orgueil est peu naturel, d'abord dans son expression puis dans son abandon, tandis que le fait qu'il tombe amoureux tout court n'est pas extrêmement vraisemblable.
Here again I cannot go with the objectors.
Ici encore, je ne puis suivre les détracteurs.
Vocabulary
- souhaite
- To wish or desire something; first person singular present
- parfois
- Sometimes; occasionally; not always
- exigences
- Requirements, demands, or constraints imposed by circumstances
- histoire
- History or story; narrative of past events
- eussent
- Past subjunctive of 'avoir'; third person plural 'had'
- permis
- Allowed or permitted; past participle of 'permettre'
- unir
- To unite or join people or things together
- personnages
- Characters in a story or literary work
- accomplir
- To accomplish or achieve a goal or task
- ainsi
- Thus; in this way; consequently
- seul
- Alone; single; only one
- coup
- Blow, strike, or single decisive action
- mariage
- Marriage; the union of two people as partners
- remarquable
- Remarkable; worthy of attention or admiration
- tout
- All, everything, or entirely; used as adjective or adverb
- apaisant
- Soothing or calming; present participle of 'apaiser'
- angoisse
- Anguish, anxiety, or deep distress
- pauvre
- Poor; used to express pity or sympathy
- sujet
- Subject or topic; 'au sujet de' means 'about'
- majorat
- Entail; legal inheritance restricted to eldest heir
- autres
- Others; other people or things
- doivent
- Must or have to; third person plural of 'devoir'
- passer
- To pass, go by, or move past something
- sans
- Without; lacking something
- commentaire
- Commentary or remark about something
- particulier
- Particular, specific, or special; individual
- si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis
- remarquer
- To notice or remark upon something observed
- extravagant
- Extravagant; excessive or wildly eccentric in behavior
- papa
- Dad or father; informal term for one's father
- délicieux
- Delicious or delightful; extremely pleasing
- trouve
- Finds or is located; third person singular of 'trouver'
- juste
- Just; exactly; fair or precisely
- peu
- A little; few; small amount
- autre
- Other; another; different
- côté
- Side; direction; aspect of something
- ligne
- Line; boundary or row
- entre
- Between; among; preposition of position
- comédie
- Comedy; a humorous play or genre
- farce
- Farce; exaggerated comedy full of absurd situations
- étude
- Study or analysis; careful examination of a subject
- merveilleusement
- Marvelously; wonderfully; in a remarkable manner
- habile
- Skillful or clever; adept at doing something
- terne
- Dull or lackluster; lacking brightness or interest
- sorte
- Sort, kind, or type of something
- apparaisse
- Appear; subjunctive form of 'apparaître'
- quelque
- Some; a certain; an unspecified amount or degree
- chose
- Thing; object or matter
- hésitation
- Hesitation; pause or uncertainty before acting
- touche
- Touch; quality or slight trace of something
- traitement
- Treatment; handling or portrayal of a subject
- jeunes
- Young; youthful people or things
- hommes
- Men; plural of 'homme'
- esquisse
- Sketch; rough outline or preliminary portrayal
- peine
- Hardly; difficulty; sadness; 'à peine' means 'barely'
- moins
- Less; fewer; used in comparisons
- Seul
- Only; alone; a single person or thing
- génie
- Genius; exceptional natural ability or talent
- aurait
- Would have; conditional of 'avoir'
- pu
- Been able to; past participle of 'pouvoir'
- faire
- To do or make; very common French verb
- rendre
- To make or render something into a certain state
- autant
- As much; so much; equivalent degree
- déplaisante
- Unpleasant or disagreeable; causing discomfort
- conférer
- To confer or grant a quality to someone
- ni
- Neither; nor; used in negative correlations
- attrait
- Attraction or appeal; an alluring quality
- pacotille
- Cheap goods; rubbish; something of poor quality
- friponnerie
- Roguery; knavish tricks or dishonest behavior
- dégoûtante
- Disgusting or revolting; causing strong distaste
- Mais
- But; however; coordinating conjunction of contrast
- héros
- Hero; main male protagonist of a story
- héroïne
- Heroine; main female protagonist of a story
- teintes
- Tinted or colored; shaded with a particular hue
- on
- One; we; people in general; indefinite pronoun
- peut
- Can; is able to; third person singular of 'pouvoir'
- écarter
- To push aside or dismiss; to set apart
- revers
- Back of the hand; reversal; lapel of a jacket
- main
- Hand; the human hand
- toujours
- Always; still; at all times
- semblé
- Seemed; past participle of 'sembler'
- loin
- Far; distant; 'de loin' means 'by far'
- meilleur
- Better; best; comparative/superlative of 'bon'
- plus
- More; most; used in comparisons
- intéressant
- Interesting; engaging; worthy of attention
- concurrent
- Competitor or rival; one who competes against another
- possible
- Possible; able to be done or achieved
- étant
- Being; present participle of 'être'
- dont
- Whose; of which; relative pronoun
- rôle
- Role or part played by a character
- mince
- Thin, slim, or slight; small in scope
- simple
- Simple; straightforward; uncomplicated
- comparaison
- Comparison; act of comparing two things
- On
- One; we; indefinite subject pronoun
- soutenu
- Sustained or argued; past participle of 'soutenir'
- crois
- Believe or think; first person singular of 'croire'
- orgueil
- Pride or arrogance; excessive self-esteem
- naturel
- Natural; unaffected; belonging to one's nature
- abord
- First approach; 'd'abord' means 'at first'
- expression
- Expression; way of showing feelings or ideas
- puis
- Then; afterwards; next in sequence
- abandon
- Abandonment; giving up or relinquishing something
- tandis
- While; whereas; 'tandis que' introduces contrast
- fait
- Does or makes; fact; third person singular of 'faire'
- tombe
- Falls; third person singular of 'tomber'
- amoureux
- In love; loving; enamored of someone
- court
- Runs; short; third person singular of 'courir'
- extrêmement
- Extremely; to a very great degree
- vraisemblable
- Plausible; likely; appearing true or realistic
- Ici
- Here; in this place or context
- encore
- Again; still; yet; once more
- suivre
- To follow; to go after or adhere to
- détracteurs
- Detractors; critics who belittle or disparage others
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