The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete — Page 8
So far as we may judge from the other personages of Count Fathom, even this interesting Amazon would sooner or later have turned into a wooden figure, with a label giving the necessary information as to her character.
Pour autant que nous puissions en juger d'après les autres personnages du Comte Fathom, même cette intéressante Amazone aurait tôt ou tard fini par devenir une figure de bois, avec une étiquette donnant les informations nécessaires sur son caractère.
Such certainly is her son, Fathom, the hero of the book.
Tel est certainement son fils, Fathom, le héros du livre.
Because he is placarded, "Shrewd villain of monstrous inhumanity," we are fain to accept him for what his creator intended; but seldom in word or deed is he a convincingly real villain.
Parce qu'il est affiché comme « Rusé scélérat d'une inhumanité monstrueuse », nous sommes bien obligés de l'accepter tel que son créateur l'a voulu ; mais rarement en parole ou en acte est-il un véritable méchant convaincant.
His friend and foil, the noble young Count de Melvil, is no more alive than he; and equally wooden are Joshua, the high-minded, saint-like Jew, and that tedious, foolish Don Diego.
Son ami et repoussoir, le noble jeune comte de Melvil, n'est pas plus vivant que lui ; et tout aussi figés sont Joshua, le Juif noble d'esprit et semblable à un saint, et cet ennuyeux et sot Don Diego.
Neither is the heroine alive, the peerless Monimia, but then, in her case, want of vitality is not surprising; the presence of it would amaze us.
L'héroïne non plus n'est pas vivante, l'incomparable Monimia, mais dans son cas, le manque de vitalité n'est pas surprenant ; sa présence nous étonnerait.
If she were a woman throbbing with life, she would be different from Smollett's other heroines.
Si elle était une femme vibrante de vie, elle serait différente des autres héroïnes de Smollett.
The "second lady" of the melodrama, Mademoiselle de Melvil, though by no means vivified, is yet more real than her sister-in-law.
La « deuxième dame » du mélodrame, Mademoiselle de Melvil, bien que nullement vivifiée, est pourtant plus réelle que sa belle-sœur.
The fact that they are mostly inanimate figures is not the only surprise given us by the personages of Count Fathom.
Le fait qu'ils soient pour la plupart des figures inanimées n'est pas la seule surprise que nous réservent les personnages du Comte Fathom.
It is a surprise to find few of them strikingly whimsical; it is a surprise to find them in some cases far more distinctly conceived than any of the people in Roderick Random or Peregrine Pickle.
C'est une surprise de constater que peu d'entre eux sont frappamment excentriques ; c'est une surprise de les trouver dans certains cas bien plus nettement conçus que n'importe quel personnage de Roderick Random ou de Peregrine Pickle.
Vocabulary
- Pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- autant
- As much, as many, or to that extent
- que
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'
- nous
- First person plural pronoun meaning 'we' or 'us'
- puissions
- Subjunctive form of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can' or 'be able'
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in', 'of it', 'some'
- juger
- To judge or evaluate something or someone
- d'
- Contracted form of 'de', meaning 'of' or 'from'
- après
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'after' or 'according to'
- les
- Definite plural article meaning 'the'
- autres
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'others'
- personnages
- Characters or notable figures in a story or context
- du
- Contracted form of 'de le', meaning 'of the'
- Comte
- A nobleman's title meaning 'Count'
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'even', 'same', or 'itself'
- cette
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this'
- intéressante
- Adjective meaning interesting or engaging
- Amazone
- A warrior woman; figuratively a bold, strong woman
- aurait
- Conditional form of 'avoir', meaning 'would have'
- tôt
- Adverb meaning 'soon' or 'early'
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or'
- tard
- Adverb meaning 'late' or 'later'
- fini
- Past participle of 'finir', meaning 'finished' or 'ended'
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by', 'through', or 'per'
- devenir
- Infinitive meaning 'to become'
- une
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- figure
- A figure, face, or representation of a person
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'about'
- bois
- Wood; figuratively rigid or lifeless in manner
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- étiquette
- A label or tag; also social protocol or manners
- donnant
- Present participle of 'donner', meaning 'giving'
- informations
- Information or data provided about something
- nécessaires
- Adjective meaning necessary or required
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'about', or 'over'
- son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- caractère
- Character, personality, or nature of a person
- Tel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'such' or 'such a'
- est
- Third person singular of 'être', meaning 'is'
- certainement
- Adverb meaning certainly or definitely
- fils
- Noun meaning 'son'
- le
- Masculine definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'him'
- héros
- A hero or protagonist of a story
- livre
- A book; also a unit of currency or weight
- Parce
- Part of 'parce que', meaning 'because'
- qu'
- Contracted 'que', meaning 'that' or 'which'
- il
- Third person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'
- affiché
- Displayed or presented; past participle of 'afficher'
- comme
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as', 'like', or 'how'
- Rusé
- Adjective meaning cunning, crafty, or sly
- scélérat
- A villain or scoundrel; wicked person
- inhumanité
- Noun meaning inhumanity or extreme cruelty
- monstrueuse
- Adjective meaning monstrous or horrifyingly cruel
- sommes
- First person plural of 'être', meaning 'we are'
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well', 'indeed', or 'very'
- obligés
- Adjective meaning obliged or compelled to do something
- l'
- Contracted article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'him/her'
- accepter
- To accept or agree to something
- tel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'such' or 'as such'
- créateur
- Creator or author; one who creates something
- a
- Third person singular of 'avoir', meaning 'has'
- voulu
- Past participle of 'vouloir', meaning 'wanted' or 'intended'
- mais
- Conjunction meaning 'but'
- rarement
- Adverb meaning rarely or seldom
- parole
- A word or spoken statement; speech
- acte
- An act or action; also a theatrical act
- un
- Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- véritable
- Adjective meaning true, genuine, or real
- méchant
- A villain or wicked person; adjective meaning 'bad'
- convaincant
- Adjective meaning convincing or persuasive
- Son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- ami
- A friend; masculine noun
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- repoussoir
- A foil character who contrasts with the protagonist
- noble
- Adjective or noun meaning noble or of high birth
- jeune
- Adjective meaning young
- comte
- A count; European noble title below a marquis
- n'
- Contracted negative particle 'ne', used with 'pas'
- pas
- Negative particle used with 'ne' to negate a verb
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more', 'no longer', or 'plus'
- vivant
- Adjective meaning alive, living, or lively
- lui
- Pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', or 'to him/her'
- tout
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'all', 'every', or 'quite'
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as'
- figés
- Adjective meaning frozen, rigid, or fixed in place
- sont
- Third person plural of 'être', meaning 'are'
- Juif
- Noun meaning 'Jew'; Jewish person
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, or wit of a person
- semblable
- Adjective meaning similar or alike; noun meaning fellow man
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'
- saint
- A saint; adjective meaning holy or saintly
- cet
- Masculine demonstrative adjective before vowel, meaning 'this'
- ennuyeux
- Adjective meaning boring, tedious, or annoying
- sot
- A fool or simpleton; adjective meaning foolish
- L'
- Contracted definite article meaning 'the'
- héroïne
- A heroine or female protagonist of a story
- non
- Adverb meaning 'no' or 'not'
- vivante
- Feminine adjective meaning alive, lively, or vivid
- incomparable
- Adjective meaning incomparable or matchless in quality
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'inside', or 'within'
- cas
- A case or situation; noun meaning 'case'
- manque
- A lack or absence of something needed
- vitalité
- Vitality or liveliness; energy and vigor
- surprenant
- Adjective meaning surprising or astonishing
- sa
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- présence
- Presence or the fact of being present somewhere
- étonnerait
- Conditional of 'étonner', meaning 'would astonish'
- Si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or adverb meaning 'so'
- elle
- Third person feminine pronoun meaning 'she' or 'her'
- était
- Imperfect of 'être', meaning 'was' or 'were'
- femme
- A woman or wife
- vibrante
- Adjective meaning vibrant, dynamic, or full of life
- vie
- Life or way of living
- serait
- Conditional of 'être', meaning 'would be'
- différente
- Feminine adjective meaning different or distinct
- des
- Plural indefinite article or 'de les', meaning 'of the'
- héroïnes
- Plural noun meaning heroines or female protagonists
- La
- Feminine definite article meaning 'the'
- deuxième
- Ordinal adjective meaning 'second'
- dame
- A lady or woman of distinction
- mélodrame
- A melodrama; exaggeratedly dramatic theatrical genre
- Mademoiselle
- Title for an unmarried woman; Miss
- nullement
- Adverb meaning not at all or in no way
- vivifiée
- Past participle meaning enlivened or given vitality
- pourtant
- Adverb meaning however, yet, or nevertheless
- réelle
- Feminine adjective meaning real or genuine
- belle-
- Prefix meaning 'step-' or 'in-law' in family relations
- sœur
- A sister or nun
- Le
- Masculine definite article meaning 'the'
- fait
- A fact; also past participle of 'faire' meaning 'done'
- ils
- Third person masculine plural pronoun meaning 'they'
- soient
- Subjunctive form of 'être', meaning 'be' or 'are'
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- la
- Feminine definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her'
- plupart
- Most or the majority of something
- figures
- Figures or representations; plural of 'figure'
- inanimées
- Adjective meaning inanimate, lifeless, or without vitality
- seule
- Feminine adjective meaning alone, only, or sole
- surprise
- A surprise or unexpected event or discovery
- réservent
- Third plural of 'réserver', meaning 'they reserve' or 'hold'
- C'
- Contracted form of 'ce', meaning 'it' or 'this'
- constater
- To observe, note, or establish a fact
- peu
- Adverb meaning 'little', 'few', or 'not much'
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- eux
- Stressed pronoun meaning 'them' referring to males
- frappamment
- Adverb meaning strikingly or in a striking manner
- excentriques
- Adjective meaning eccentric or unconventional in behavior
- c'
- Contracted 'ce', meaning 'it is' or 'this is'
- trouver
- To find or consider something to be a certain way
- certains
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'certain' or 'some'
- nettement
- Adverb meaning clearly, distinctly, or markedly
- conçus
- Past participle of 'concevoir', meaning 'conceived' or 'designed'
- importe
- Part of 'n'importe quel', meaning 'any' or 'whatever'
- quel
- Interrogative or exclamative adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'
- personnage
- A character or notable person in a work
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