The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete — Page 10
" The surprise will be greater than ever when the answer is given that, to a large extent, the plot makes Fathom interesting.
" La surprise sera plus grande que jamais quand on apprendra que, dans une large mesure, l'intrigue rend Fathom intéressant.
Yes, Smollett, hitherto indifferent to structure, has here written a story in which the plot itself, often clumsy though it may be, engages a reader's attention.
Oui, Smollett, jusqu'ici indifférent à la structure, a écrit ici une histoire dans laquelle l'intrigue elle-même, souvent maladroite qu'elle puisse être, retient l'attention du lecteur.
One actually wants to know whether the young Count is ever going to receive consolation for his sorrows and inflict justice on his basely ungrateful pensioner.
On veut réellement savoir si le jeune Comte va jamais recevoir consolation pour ses peines et faire justice de son pensionnaire bassement ingrat.
And when, finally, all turns out as it should, one is amazed to find how many of the people in the book have helped towards the designed conclusion.
Et quand, finalement, tout se termine comme il se doit, on est étonné de constater combien de personnages du livre ont contribué à la conclusion prévue.
Not all of them, indeed, nor all of the adventures, are indispensable, but it is manifest at the end that much, which, for the time, most readers think irrelevant—such as Don Diego's history—is, after all, essential.
Ils ne sont pas tous indispensables, certes, ni toutes les aventures, mais il est manifeste à la fin que beaucoup de ce que la plupart des lecteurs jugent d'abord sans rapport — comme l'histoire de Don Diego — est, après tout, essentiel.
It has already been said that in Count Fathom Smollett appears to some extent as a romanticist, and this is another fact which lends interest to the book.
Il a déjà été dit que dans le Comte Fathom, Smollett apparaît dans une certaine mesure comme un romantique, et c'est là un autre fait qui confère de l'intérêt au livre.
That he had a powerful imagination is not a surprise.
Qu'il ait eu une imagination puissante n'est pas une surprise.
Any one versed in Smollett has already seen it in the remarkable situations which he has put before us in his earlier works.
Quiconque connaît bien Smollett l'a déjà constaté dans les situations remarquables qu'il nous a présentées dans ses œuvres antérieures.
These do not indicate, however, that Smollett possessed the imagination which could excite romantic interest; for in Roderick Random and in Peregrine Pickle, the wonderful situations serve chiefly to amuse.
Celles-ci n'indiquent pas, cependant, que Smollett possédait l'imagination capable de susciter un intérêt romantique ; car dans Roderick Random et dans Peregrine Pickle, les situations merveilleuses servent principalement à divertir.
In Fathom, however, there are some designed to excite horror; and one, at least, is eminently successful.
Dans Fathom, cependant, il en est qui sont conçues pour susciter l'horreur ; et l'une d'elles, du moins, est éminemment réussie.
Vocabulary
- La
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- surprise
- A feeling of astonishment or wonder
- sera
- Will be (future tense of être)
- plus
- More; plus; additional or greater
- grande
- Large; great; big (feminine form)
- que
- Than; that (comparison or relative pronoun)
- jamais
- Never; ever (in negative or interrogative contexts)
- quand
- When; at the time that
- on
- One; we; people (indefinite pronoun)
- apprendra
- Will learn (future tense of apprendre)
- dans
- In; inside; within
- une
- A; one (feminine singular indefinite article)
- large
- Wide; broad; extensive in scope
- mesure
- Measure; extent; proportion
- intrigue
- Plot; scheme; the main story of a work
- rend
- Makes; renders (third person of rendre)
- intéressant
- Interesting; engaging; worthwhile
- Oui
- Yes; affirmative response
- jusqu
- Until; up to (contracted form of jusqu'à)
- ici
- Here; in this place or location
- indifférent
- Indifferent; unconcerned; neutral
- structure
- Structure; framework; organization of something
- écrit
- Written; written work; past participle of écrire
- histoire
- History; story; narrative or account
- laquelle
- Which; that (feminine singular relative pronoun)
- elle-même
- Herself; itself; the thing itself
- souvent
- Often; frequently; at many times
- maladroite
- Clumsy; awkward; lacking skill (feminine)
- puisse
- May; might (subjunctive of pouvoir)
- être
- To be; to exist
- retient
- Holds; keeps; retains (third person of retenir)
- attention
- Attention; focus; the act of paying heed
- lecteur
- Reader; person who reads
- veut
- Wants; wishes; desires (third person of vouloir)
- réellement
- Really; actually; in reality
- savoir
- To know; to be aware of
- si
- If; whether; so (conditional or interrogative)
- le
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- jeune
- Young; youthful; of little age
- Comte
- Count; nobleman with a title
- va
- Goes; is going (third person of aller)
- recevoir
- To receive; to get; to obtain
- consolation
- Consolation; comfort; solace for sorrow
- peines
- Sorrows; pains; punishments or sufferings
- faire
- To make; to do; to perform
- justice
- Justice; fairness; rightness or equity
- pensionnaire
- Boarder; resident; person who receives pension
- ingrat
- Ungrateful; thankless; not appreciative
- finalement
- Finally; ultimately; in the end
- tout
- Everything; all; the whole
- se
- Himself; herself; oneself; reflexive pronoun
- termine
- Ends; finishes; concludes (third person)
- comme
- As; like; in the same way
- il
- He; it (masculine singular pronoun)
- doit
- Must; should; owes (third person of devoir)
- est
- Is (third person singular of être)
- étonné
- Astonished; surprised; amazed
- constater
- To observe; to notice; to establish fact
- combien
- How many; how much; what quantity
- personnages
- Characters; persons; figures in story
- livre
- Book; work; written text
- ont
- Have (third person plural of avoir)
- contribué
- Contributed; helped; played a part
- conclusion
- Conclusion; ending; final determination
- prévue
- Expected; foreseen; anticipated (feminine)
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