The Brothers Karamazov — Page 1
He Gets Rid Of His Eldest Son
Il se débarrasse de son fils aîné
You can easily imagine what a father such a man could be and how he would bring up his children.
Vous pouvez aisément imaginer quel père un tel homme pouvait être et comment il élèverait ses enfants.
His behavior as a father was exactly what might be expected.
Sa conduite en tant que père était exactement ce à quoi l'on pouvait s'attendre.
He completely abandoned the child of his marriage with Adelaïda Ivanovna, not from malice, nor because of his matrimonial grievances, but simply because he forgot him.
Il abandonna complètement l'enfant né de son mariage avec Adélaïda Ivanovna, non par malveillance, ni en raison de ses griefs matrimoniaux, mais tout simplement parce qu'il l'oublia.
While he was wearying every one with his tears and complaints, and turning his house into a sink of debauchery, a faithful servant of the family, Grigory, took the three-year-old Mitya into his care.
Tandis qu'il lassait tout le monde avec ses larmes et ses plaintes, et transformait sa maison en un cloaque de débauche, un fidèle serviteur de la famille, Grigory, prit sous sa garde le petit Mitya, âgé de trois ans.
If he hadn't looked after him there would have been no one even to change the baby's little shirt.
S'il n'avait pas veillé sur lui, il n'y aurait eu personne pour seulement changer la petite chemise du bébé.
It happened moreover that the child's relations on his mother's side forgot him too at first.
Il se trouva de plus que les parents de l'enfant du côté maternel l'oublièrent eux aussi dans un premier temps.
His grandfather was no longer living, his widow, Mitya's grandmother, had moved to Moscow, and was seriously ill, while his daughters were married, so that Mitya remained for almost a whole year in old Grigory's charge and lived with him in the servant's cottage.
Son grand-père n'était plus en vie, sa veuve, la grand-mère de Mitya, s'était installée à Moscou et était gravement malade, tandis que ses filles étaient mariées, de sorte que Mitya resta pendant presque une année entière sous la garde du vieux Grigory et vécut avec lui dans la maisonnette des domestiques.
But if his father had remembered him (he could not, indeed, have been altogether unaware of his existence) he would have sent him back to the cottage, as the child would only have been in the way of his debaucheries.
Mais si son père s'était souvenu de lui (il ne pouvait pas, en vérité, avoir été totalement ignorant de son existence), il l'aurait renvoyé à la maisonnette, car l'enfant n'aurait fait que gêner ses débauches.
But a cousin of Mitya's mother, Pyotr Alexandrovitch Miüsov, happened to return from Paris.
Mais un cousin de la mère de Mitya, Piotr Alexandrovitch Miüsov, se trouva revenir de Paris à cette époque.
Vocabulary
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', 'itself'
- débarrasse
- Gets rid of, frees oneself from something unwanted
- fils
- Son; male offspring of a parent
- aîné
- Eldest; firstborn child in a family
- aisément
- Easily, without difficulty or effort
- imaginer
- To imagine; to form a mental picture of something
- tel
- Such, of that kind; used for emphasis or comparison
- élèverait
- Conditional of 'élever'; would raise or bring up children
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior; the way a person acts
- tant
- So much; used in expressions like 'en tant que' (as)
- exactement
- Exactly, precisely; used to confirm or specify something
- attendre
- To wait; also 's'attendre à': to expect something
- abandonna
- Past tense of 'abandonner'; he abandoned or left behind
- complètement
- Completely, entirely, totally; with no exception
- né
- Born; past participle of 'naître', to be born
- mariage
- Marriage; the legal or formal union of two people
- malveillance
- Malice, ill will; desire to harm others
- ni
- Negative conjunction meaning 'nor'; used with 'neither'
- raison
- Reason; a cause, motive, or justification for something
- griefs
- Grievances; complaints or causes of resentment
- matrimoniaux
- Matrimonial; relating to marriage or marital relations
- simplement
- Simply, just; in a plain or straightforward manner
- oublia
- Past tense of 'oublier'; he forgot someone or something
- Tandis
- Used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- lassait
- Imperfect of 'lasser'; was tiring or wearying someone
- larmes
- Tears; drops of liquid shed when crying
- plaintes
- Complaints, laments; expressions of grievance or sorrow
- transformait
- Imperfect of 'transformer'; was turning or changing something
- cloaque
- Cesspool, sewer; a filthy or corrupt place
- débauche
- Debauchery; excessive indulgence in immoral pleasures
- fidèle
- Faithful, loyal; steadfast in allegiance or duty
- serviteur
- Servant; a person who serves or attends another
- prit
- Past tense of 'prendre'; took or seized something
- garde
- Care, custody; the responsibility of watching over someone
- âgé
- Aged, old; of a certain age, often elderly
- veillé
- Past participle of 'veiller'; watched over or cared for
- seulement
- Only, merely; used to limit or restrict a statement
- changer
- To change; to alter or replace something
- chemise
- Shirt; also a garment worn as underclothing
- trouva
- Past tense of 'trouver'; found or discovered something
- côté
- Side; also used in 'du côté de' meaning 'on the side of'
- maternel
- Maternal; relating to the mother or mother's side
- oublièrent
- Past tense of 'oublier'; they forgot someone or something
- grand-père
- Grandfather; father's or mother's father
- veuve
- Widow; a woman whose husband has died
- grand-mère
- Grandmother; father's or mother's mother
- installée
- Settled, installed; established in a place or position
- gravement
- Seriously, gravely; in a severe or critical manner
- malade
- Sick, ill; suffering from a disease or ailment
- tandis
- Used in 'tandis que' meaning 'while' or 'whereas'
- mariées
- Married (feminine plural); women who are wed
- sorte
- Sort, kind; type or manner; used in 'de sorte que'
- resta
- Past tense of 'rester'; stayed or remained somewhere
- pendant
- During, for; indicates a period of time something lasted
- presque
- Almost, nearly; very close to but not quite
- entière
- Entire, whole, complete (feminine); without exception
- vécut
- Past tense of 'vivre'; lived or spent time somewhere
- maisonnette
- Small house; a little dwelling or cottage
- domestiques
- Domestic servants; household staff or attendants
- souvenu
- Past participle of 'se souvenir'; remembered something
- vérité
- Truth; the quality of being true or accurate
- totalement
- Totally, completely; in an absolute or entire manner
- ignorant
- Ignorant; unaware or lacking knowledge of something
- existence
- Existence; the fact of being or living
- renvoyé
- Dismissed, sent away; fired or expelled from a position
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'; gives a reason
- gêner
- To bother, inconvenience; to hinder or embarrass someone
- débauches
- Debaucheries; acts of immoral or dissolute indulgence
- cousin
- Cousin; a relative who shares a grandparent
- revenir
- To come back, return; to go back to a place or state
- époque
- Era, period, time; a particular stretch of historical time
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →