The Brothers Karamazov — Page 2

English → De Chapter I. Level 8/10

Fyodor Pavlovitch's first wife, Adelaïda Ivanovna, belonged to a fairly rich and distinguished noble family, also landowners in our district, the Miüsovs.

Fjodor Pawlowitschs erste Frau, Adelaida Iwanowna, entstammte einer ziemlich reichen und angesehenen Adelsfamilie, die ebenfalls Gutsbesitzer in unserem Bezirk waren, den Mjussows.

How it came to pass that an heiress, who was also a beauty, and moreover one of those vigorous, intelligent girls, so common in this generation, but sometimes also to be found in the last, could have married such a worthless, puny weakling, as we all called him, I won't attempt to explain.

Wie es dazu kam, dass eine Erbin, die obendrein eine Schönheit war und überdies zu jenen tatkräftigen, klugen Mädchen gehörte, die in dieser Generation so häufig vorkommen, aber bisweilen auch in der vorigen anzutreffen waren, einen so nichtswürdigen, kümmerlichen Schwächling, wie wir ihn alle nannten, heiraten konnte, will ich nicht versuchen zu erklären.

I knew a young lady of the last "romantic" generation who after some years of an enigmatic passion for a gentleman, whom she might quite easily have married at any moment, invented insuperable obstacles to their union, and ended by throwing herself one stormy night into a rather deep and rapid river from a high bank, almost a precipice, and so perished, entirely to satisfy her own caprice, and to be like Shakespeare's Ophelia.

Ich kannte eine junge Dame der letzten „romantischen" Generation, die nach einigen Jahren einer rätselhaften Leidenschaft für einen Herrn, den sie ganz leicht zu jedem beliebigen Zeitpunkt hätte heiraten können, unüberwindliche Hindernisse für ihre Vereinigung erfand und damit endete, sich in einer stürmischen Nacht von einem hohen Ufer, fast einer Steilklippe, in einen ziemlich tiefen und reißenden Fluss zu stürzen und so umzukommen, einzig um ihrer eigenen Laune zu genügen und wie Shakespeares Ophelia zu sein.

Indeed, if this precipice, a chosen and favorite spot of hers, had been less picturesque, if there had been a prosaic flat bank in its place, most likely the suicide would never have taken place.

Ja, wenn diese Steilklippe, ihr auserwählter und Lieblingsplatz, weniger malerisch gewesen wäre, wenn sich an ihrer Stelle ein prosaisch flaches Ufer befunden hätte, wäre der Selbstmord höchstwahrscheinlich niemals vollzogen worden.

This is a fact, and probably there have been not a few similar instances in the last two or three generations.

Dies ist eine Tatsache, und wahrscheinlich hat es in den letzten zwei oder drei Generationen nicht wenige ähnliche Fälle gegeben.

Adelaïda Ivanovna Miüsov's action was similarly, no doubt, an echo of other people's ideas, and was due to the irritation caused by lack of mental freedom.

Adelaida Iwanowna Mjussows Handlung war zweifellos in ähnlicher Weise ein Echo fremder Ideen und hatte ihren Grund in der Gereiztheit, die durch den Mangel an geistiger Freiheit hervorgerufen wurde.

She wanted, perhaps, to show her feminine independence, to override class distinctions and the despotism of her family.

Sie wollte vielleicht ihre weibliche Unabhängigkeit unter Beweis stellen, die Standesunterschiede und den Despotismus ihrer Familie überwinden.

Vocabulary

erste: First; ordinal number indicating position one.
Frau: Woman; wife; adult female person.
entstammte: Came from; originated from a particular family.
einer: Indefinite article, dative/genitive feminine: a, one.
ziemlich: Quite; fairly; rather; to a considerable degree.
reichen: Rich; wealthy; having abundant financial resources.
und: And; coordinating conjunction linking words or clauses.
angesehenen: Respected; esteemed; held in high social regard.
Adelsfamilie: Noble family; aristocratic family of high social standing.
die: Definite article or relative pronoun: the, who, which.
ebenfalls: Also; likewise; equally; in the same manner.
Gutsbesitzer: Landowner; estate owner; person owning a rural property.
in: In; within; inside; preposition indicating location.
unserem: Our; dative form of possessive pronoun unser.
Bezirk: District; region; administrative or geographic subdivision.
waren: Were; past tense plural of sein (to be).
den: Definite article accusative masculine or dative plural: the.
Wie: How; as; in what way or manner.
es: It; neuter third-person singular pronoun.
dazu: To that; for that; in addition to that purpose.
kam: Came; past tense of kommen (to come).
dass: That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause.
eine: A, an; indefinite article feminine nominative.
Erbin: Heiress; female heir to property or wealth.
obendrein: Moreover; on top of that; additionally; besides.
Schönheit: Beauty; the quality of being physically attractive.
war: Was; past tense singular of sein (to be).
überdies: Furthermore; besides; in addition to what was said.
zu: To; too; at; preposition or infinitive particle.
jenen: Those; dative/accusative demonstrative pronoun or article.
tatkräftigen: Energetic; vigorous; capable of decisive action.
klugen: Clever; intelligent; smart; inflected form of klug.
Mädchen: Girl; young female person; maiden.
gehörte: Belonged; was part of; past tense of gehören.
dieser: This; of this; genitive/dative demonstrative form.
Generation: Generation; group of people born in the same era.
so: So; thus; in such a way; to such a degree.
häufig: Frequent; often; occurring many times repeatedly.
vorkommen: To occur; to appear; to happen; to come across.
aber: But; however; yet; coordinating adversative conjunction.
bisweilen: Sometimes; occasionally; now and then; at times.
auch: Also; too; as well; even; additionally.
der: The; definite article or relative/demonstrative pronoun.
vorigen: Previous; prior; former; inflected form of vorig.
anzutreffen: To encounter; to find; to meet with someone or something.
einen: A, an; indefinite article accusative masculine.
nichtswürdigen: Worthless; despicable; contemptible; of no moral value.
kümmerlichen: Miserable; wretched; pitiful; meager; pathetically poor.
Schwächling: Weakling; feeble person lacking strength or character.
wie: As; like; how; used in comparisons or questions.
wir: We; first person plural nominative pronoun.
ihn: Him; accusative form of third person singular pronoun er.
alle: All; everyone; every one of a group.
nannten: Called; named; past tense plural of nennen.
heiraten: To marry; to wed; to enter into marriage.
konnte: Could; was able to; past tense of können.
will: Wants to; intends to; first/third person of wollen.
ich: I; first person singular nominative pronoun.
nicht: Not; negation particle used to negate verbs or phrases.
versuchen: To try; to attempt; to endeavor to do something.
erklären: To explain; to clarify; to declare; to make understandable.
Ich: I; first person singular nominative pronoun.
kannte: Knew; was acquainted with; past tense of kennen.
junge: Young; youthful; inflected form of jung.
Dame: Lady; woman of refinement or high social standing.
letzten: Last; final; most recent; inflected form of letzt.
romantischen: Romantic; idealistic; relating to romance or idealism.
nach: After; to; according to; preposition of time or direction.
einigen: Some; a few; several; inflected form of einig.
Jahren: Years; dative plural of Jahr (year).
rätselhaften: Mysterious; enigmatic; puzzling; hard to explain or understand.
Leidenschaft: Passion; intense emotion or strong feeling for something.
für: For; in favor of; preposition indicating purpose or recipient.
Herrn: Mr.; gentleman; accusative/dative form of Herr.
sie: She; they; her; third person pronoun singular or plural.
ganz: Quite; entirely; whole; completely; very.
leicht: Easy; light; simple; not difficult or heavy.
jedem: Every; each; any; dative form of jeder.
beliebigen: Any desired; arbitrary; whichever one chooses freely.
Zeitpunkt: Point in time; moment; specific instant of time.
hätte: Would have; had; subjunctive past form of haben.
können: To be able to; can; modal verb of ability.
unüberwindliche: Insurmountable; insuperable; impossible to overcome or defeat.
Hindernisse: Obstacles; hindrances; barriers preventing progress or union.
ihre: Her; their; possessive pronoun third person feminine.
Vereinigung: Union; joining together; unification of two parties.
erfand: Invented; fabricated; past tense of erfinden.
damit: With that; so that; in order that; thereby.
endete: Ended; concluded; past tense of enden.
sich: Herself; himself; itself; reflexive pronoun third person.
stürmischen: Stormy; turbulent; tempestuous; inflected form of stürmisch.
Nacht: Night; the dark period between sunset and sunrise.
von: From; of; by; preposition indicating origin or possession.
einem: A, an; dative indefinite article masculine or neuter.
hohen: High; tall; elevated; inflected form of hoch.
Ufer: Bank; shore; the edge of a river or lake.
fast: Almost; nearly; very close to but not quite.
Steilklippe: Steep cliff; sheer rocky face dropping sharply downward.
tiefen: Deep; profound; inflected form of tief.
reißenden: Raging; torrential; swift-flowing; tearing; fast and violent.
Fluss: River; a large natural stream of flowing water.
stürzen: To plunge; to fall; to rush; to throw oneself down.
umzukommen: To perish; to die; to be killed or lost.
einzig: Solely; only; unique; one and nothing more.
um: In order to; around; at; preposition or conjunction.
ihrer: Her; their; genitive/dative possessive pronoun feminine.
eigenen: Own; one's own; inflected form of eigen.
Laune: Whim; mood; caprice; passing fancy or impulse.
genügen: To satisfy; to suffice; to be enough for someone.
sein: To be; also his; infinitive of the verb sein.
Ja: Yes; indeed; certainly; affirmative particle or intensifier.
wenn: If; when; conditional or temporal subordinating conjunction.
diese: This; these; demonstrative pronoun or article, feminine/plural.
ihr: Her; your (formal plural); possessive or dative pronoun.
auserwählter: Chosen; selected; preferred; inflected form of auserwählt.
Lieblingsplatz: Favorite place; preferred spot one returns to often.
weniger: Less; fewer; comparative form of wenig.
malerisch: Picturesque; scenic; visually attractive like a painting.
gewesen: Been; past participle of sein (to be).
wäre: Would be; were; subjunctive form of sein.
an: At; on; near; preposition indicating position or contact.
Stelle: Place; spot; position; passage in a text.
ein: A, an; one; indefinite article masculine/neuter nominative.
prosaisch: Prosaic; dull; unromantic; ordinary; lacking poetic quality.
flaches: Flat; level; plain; inflected form of flach.
befunden: Found; located; past participle of befinden.
Selbstmord: Suicide; the act of intentionally ending one's own life.
höchstwahrscheinlich: Most likely; in all probability; almost certainly true.
niemals: Never; at no time; not on any occasion whatsoever.
vollzogen: Carried out; executed; past participle of vollziehen.
worden: Become; been; past participle of werden (passive auxiliary).
Dies: This; that; neuter demonstrative pronoun referring to something.
ist: Is; third person singular present tense of sein.
Tatsache: Fact; reality; something known to be true.
wahrscheinlich: Probably; likely; with considerable probability.
hat: Has; third person singular present tense of haben.
zwei: Two; the cardinal number 2.
oder: Or; coordinating disjunctive conjunction.
drei: Three; the cardinal number 3.
Generationen: Generations; plural of Generation; successive age groups.
wenige: Few; a small number of; not many.
ähnliche: Similar; comparable; resembling; inflected form of ähnlich.
Fälle: Cases; instances; plural of Fall.
gegeben: Given; occurred; past participle of geben.
Handlung: Action; act; deed; plot of a story or drama.
zweifellos: Undoubtedly; without doubt; certainly; unquestionably true.
ähnlicher: Similar; resembling; comparative/inflected form of ähnlich.
Weise: Way; manner; mode; method of doing something.
Echo: Echo; repetition of sound; reflection of an idea.
fremder: Foreign; alien; of others; inflected form of fremd.
Ideen: Ideas; thoughts; concepts; plural of Idee.
hatte: Had; past tense singular of haben (to have).
ihren: Her; their; accusative possessive pronoun third person.
Grund: Reason; ground; cause; basis for something.
Gereiztheit: Irritability; irritation; state of being easily provoked.
durch: Through; by means of; because of; via.
Mangel: Lack; shortage; deficiency; absence of something needed.
geistiger: Intellectual; mental; spiritual; inflected form of geistig.
Freiheit: Freedom; liberty; the state of being free.
hervorgerufen: Caused; evoked; produced; past participle of hervorrufen.
wurde: Was; became; past tense singular of werden.
Sie: She; they; you (formal); third or second person pronoun.
wollte: Wanted; intended; past tense of wollen.
vielleicht: Perhaps; maybe; possibly; expressing uncertainty.
weibliche: Female; feminine; womanly; inflected form of weiblich.
Unabhängigkeit: Independence; freedom from control or reliance on others.
unter: Under; among; below; beneath; preposition of position.
Beweis: Proof; evidence; demonstration of truth or validity.
stellen: To place; to put; to set; to present something.
Standesunterschiede: Class differences; social rank distinctions between people.
Despotismus: Despotism; tyranny; absolute authoritarian rule or control.
Familie: Family; a group of closely related people.
überwinden: To overcome; to surmount; to conquer a difficulty.

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