The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 4
However, he did not long hesitate; for, being perfectly well acquainted with his father's disposition, he did not doubt that he was glad of this pretence to get rid of him; and his resolves being as invariable as the laws of the Medes and Persians, he knew it would be to no purpose to attempt him by prayers and entreaties; so without any farther application, he betook himself, with his disconsolate bedfellow to a farm-house, where an old servant of his mother dwelt: there they remained some time in a situation but ill adapted to the elegance of their desires and tenderness of their love; which nevertheless my father chose to endure, rather than supplicate an unnatural and inflexible parent but my mother, foreseeing the inconveniences to which she must have been exposed, had she been delivered in this place (and her pregnancy was very far advanced), without communicating her design to her husband, went in disguise to the house of my grandfather, hoping that her tears and condition would move him to compassion, and reconcile him to an event which was now irrecoverably past.
Er zögerte jedoch nicht lange; denn da er mit dem Wesen seines Vaters vollkommen vertraut war, zweifelte er nicht daran, dass dieser froh war, diesen Vorwand zu nutzen, um ihn loszuwerden; und da seine Entschlüsse ebenso unveränderlich waren wie die Gesetze der Meder und Perser, wusste er, dass es zwecklos wäre, ihn mit Bitten und Flehen zu versuchen; so begab er sich, ohne weitere Bemühungen, mit seiner trostlosen Gefährtin zu einem Bauernhaus, wo ein alter Diener seiner Mutter wohnte: dort blieben sie eine Zeit lang in einer Lage, die den Ansprüchen ihrer Wünsche und der Zartheit ihrer Liebe wenig entsprach; was mein Vater dennoch zu ertragen vorzog, anstatt einen unnatürlichen und unnachgiebigen Vater zu beschwören; doch meine Mutter, die die Unannehmlichkeiten voraussah, denen sie ausgesetzt sein würde, wenn sie an diesem Ort niedergebracht würde (und ihre Schwangerschaft war schon sehr weit fortgeschritten), begab sich, ohne ihrem Mann ihren Plan mitzuteilen, verkleidet in das Haus meines Großvaters, in der Hoffnung, dass ihre Tränen und ihr Zustand ihn zum Mitleid bewegen und ihn mit einem Ereignis versöhnen würden, das nun unwiderruflich geschehen war.
She found means to deceive the servants, and get introduced as an unfortunate lady, who wanted to complain of some matrimonial grievances, it being my grandfather's particular province to decide in all cases of scandal.
Sie fand Mittel und Wege, die Diener zu täuschen, und ließ sich als eine unglückliche Dame vorstellen, die über eheliche Missstände Klage führen wollte, da es die besondere Aufgabe meines Großvaters war, in allen Fällen von Skandal zu entscheiden.
Vocabulary
- zögerte
- Hesitated; past tense of zögern, to hesitate.
- jedoch
- However; conjunction expressing contrast or reservation.
- denn
- Because; coordinating conjunction giving a reason.
- da
- Since; subordinating conjunction indicating cause or time.
- Wesen
- Nature or character; the essential being of something.
- vollkommen
- Completely; perfectly or entirely familiar with something.
- vertraut
- Familiar; well acquainted or intimate with someone.
- zweifelte
- Doubted; past tense of zweifeln, to doubt.
- daran
- About it; contraction of da and an, referring back.
- froh
- Glad; feeling pleased or happy about something.
- Vorwand
- Pretext; a false reason used to justify an action.
- nutzen
- To use; to make use of or exploit something.
- loszuwerden
- To get rid of; to dispose of someone or something.
- Entschlüsse
- Decisions; firm resolutions made after deliberation.
- ebenso
- Just as; equally so, used for making comparisons.
- unveränderlich
- Unchangeable; impossible to alter or modify permanently.
- Gesetze
- Laws; official rules established by authority or custom.
- wusste
- Knew; past tense of wissen, to know a fact.
- zwecklos
- Pointless; without purpose or likely to succeed.
- wäre
- Would be; subjunctive II form of sein, to be.
- Bitten
- Requests; acts of asking someone for something politely.
- Flehen
- Pleading; desperate imploring or begging someone earnestly.
- versuchen
- To try; to attempt or endeavor to do something.
- begab
- Went; past tense of sich begeben, to betake oneself.
- weitere
- Further; additional beyond what has already occurred.
- Bemühungen
- Efforts; attempts or endeavors made to achieve something.
- trostlosen
- Disconsolate; deeply sad and without comfort or hope.
- Gefährtin
- Female companion; a woman who accompanies another person.
- Bauernhaus
- Farmhouse; a rural dwelling associated with agricultural activity.
- Diener
- Servant; a person who serves or works for another.
- wohnte
- Lived; past tense of wohnen, to reside somewhere.
- blieben
- Stayed; past tense plural of bleiben, to remain.
- Lage
- Situation; the circumstances or position someone finds themselves in.
- Ansprüchen
- Demands or expectations; claims made upon someone or something.
- Wünsche
- Wishes; desires or hopes someone has for something.
- Zartheit
- Tenderness; quality of being gentle, delicate, or sensitive.
- entsprach
- Corresponded to; past tense of entsprechen, to meet expectations.
- dennoch
- Nevertheless; despite what was said or what occurred before.
- ertragen
- To endure; to bear or tolerate a difficult situation.
- vorzog
- Preferred; past tense of vorziehen, to prefer something.
- anstatt
- Instead of; preposition indicating a substitute or alternative.
- unnatürlichen
- Unnatural; contrary to nature or normal human behavior.
- unnachgiebigen
- Unyielding; stubbornly refusing to change one's position or decisions.
- beschwören
- To implore; to urgently beg or conjure someone earnestly.
- doch
- Yet or still; modal particle adding emphasis or contrast.
- Unannehmlichkeiten
- Inconveniences; difficulties or troubles causing discomfort and hardship.
- voraussah
- Foresaw; past tense of voraussehen, to anticipate future events.
- ausgesetzt
- Exposed to; subjected to or at risk from something harmful.
- würde
- Would; Konjunktiv II auxiliary verb for conditional or subjunctive.
- Schwangerschaft
- Pregnancy; the condition of carrying a developing child.
- schon
- Already; adverb indicating something has happened before expected.
- fortgeschritten
- Advanced; having progressed far along in a process.
- mitzuteilen
- To communicate; to share or inform someone of something.
- verkleidet
- Disguised; dressed up to conceal one's true identity.
- Großvaters
- Grandfather's; genitive form of Großvater, meaning grandfather.
- Hoffnung
- Hope; an expectation or desire for something positive to happen.
- Tränen
- Tears; drops of liquid produced by crying or emotion.
- Zustand
- Condition; the state or situation of a person or thing.
- Mitleid
- Compassion; sympathy felt for another's suffering or misfortune.
- bewegen
- To move; to stir emotionally or cause physical movement.
- Ereignis
- Event; a notable occurrence or happening that takes place.
- versöhnen
- To reconcile; to restore harmony between estranged parties.
- würden
- Would; plural Konjunktiv II auxiliary used in conditional sentences.
- unwiderruflich
- Irrevocably; in a manner that cannot be undone or reversed.
- geschehen
- Happened; past participle of geschehen, to occur or take place.
- fand
- Found; past tense of finden, to find or discover.
- Mittel
- Means or resources; methods or tools used to achieve something.
- Wege
- Ways or paths; methods or routes to accomplish something.
- täuschen
- To deceive; to mislead or create a false impression.
- ließ
- Let or had; past tense of lassen, to allow or cause.
- unglückliche
- Unhappy; an unfortunate or miserable person in distress.
- Dame
- Lady; a polite term for an adult woman of distinction.
- vorstellen
- To introduce or present; to put someone forward to another.
- eheliche
- Marital; relating to marriage or the relationship between spouses.
- Missstände
- Grievances; wrongs, abuses or unsatisfactory conditions causing complaint.
- Klage
- Complaint; a formal or informal expression of grievance or sorrow.
- führen
- To lead or conduct; to carry out or manage something.
- wollte
- Wanted; past tense of wollen, to want or intend.
- besondere
- Special; distinctive or particular, standing out from ordinary things.
- Aufgabe
- Task; a duty or assignment that must be completed.
- Fällen
- Cases; plural dative of Fall, referring to instances or situations.
- Skandal
- Scandal; a disgraceful event causing public outrage or shame.
- entscheiden
- To decide; to make a judgment or reach a conclusion.
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