The Yellow Wallpaper — Page 1
The Yellow Wallpaper
Die gelbe Tapete
By Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Von Charlotte Perkins Gilman
It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer.
Es ist sehr selten, dass ganz gewöhnliche Menschen wie John und ich für den Sommer ein Herrenhaus ergattern.
A colonial mansion, a hereditary estate, I would say a haunted house, and reach the height of romantic felicity—but that would be asking too much of fate!
Ein Kolonialherrenhaus, ein Erbgut, ja ich würde sogar sagen ein Geisterhaus, und damit den Gipfel romantischer Seligkeit erklimmen – aber das wäre zu viel vom Schicksal verlangt!
Still I will proudly declare that there is something queer about it.
Dennoch werde ich stolz behaupten, dass etwas Seltsames an ihm ist.
Else, why should it be let so cheaply? And why have stood so long untenanted?
Warum sonst würde es so billig vermietet? Und warum stand es so lange leer?
John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.
John lacht natürlich über mich, aber das erwartet man in der Ehe.
John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not to be felt and seen and put down in figures.
John ist im höchsten Maße praktisch veranlagt. Er hat keine Geduld mit Glauben, einen tiefen Abscheu vor Aberglauben, und er spottet offen über jedes Gerede von Dingen, die man nicht fühlen und sehen und in Zahlen ausdrücken kann.
John is a physician, and perhaps—(I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)—perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster.
John ist Arzt, und vielleicht – (ich würde es natürlich keiner lebenden Seele sagen, aber dies ist totes Papier und eine große Erleichterung für meinen Geist) – vielleicht ist das ein Grund, warum ich nicht schneller gesund werde.
You see, he does not believe I am sick!
Sehen Sie, er glaubt nicht, dass ich krank bin!
And what can one do?
Und was kann man da tun?
If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency—what is one to do?
Wenn ein angesehener Arzt und der eigene Ehemann Freunden und Verwandten versichert, dass mit einem wirklich nichts weiter nicht stimmt als eine vorübergehende Nervenschwäche – eine leichte hysterische Neigung –, was soll man da tun?
My brother is also a physician, and also of high standing, and he says the same thing.
Mein Bruder ist ebenfalls Arzt, und ebenfalls von hohem Ansehen, und er sagt dasselbe.
Vocabulary
- gelbe
- Yellow (adjective, inflected form)
- Tapete
- Wallpaper used to cover interior walls
- sehr
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'much'
- selten
- Rarely occurring; uncommon or infrequent
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'that'
- ganz
- Adverb or adjective meaning 'completely' or 'whole'
- gewöhnliche
- Ordinary, common, or everyday (inflected form)
- Menschen
- Plural of Mensch; human beings or people
- Sommer
- The warmest season of the year
- Herrenhaus
- A manor house or grand estate home
- ergattern
- To snag or obtain something with some effort
- Erbgut
- An inherited estate or hereditary property
- ja
- Particle meaning 'yes' or adding emphasis
- würde
- Conditional auxiliary meaning 'would'
- sogar
- Adverb meaning 'even' emphasizing a statement
- sagen
- To say or tell something to someone
- Geisterhaus
- A haunted house said to contain ghosts
- damit
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'so that' or 'with it'
- Gipfel
- Peak, summit, or pinnacle of something
- romantischer
- More romantic; relating to romance or emotion
- Seligkeit
- Bliss, supreme happiness, or beatific joy
- erklimmen
- To climb up to or scale a height
- aber
- Coordinating conjunction meaning 'but' or 'however'
- wäre
- Subjunctive form of 'sein' meaning 'would be'
- viel
- Much or a lot; indicating a large quantity
- Schicksal
- Fate or destiny assigned to a person
- verlangt
- Demanded or required; third-person form of 'verlangen'
- Dennoch
- Nevertheless or yet; concessive adverb
- stolz
- Proud; feeling pride about something
- behaupten
- To claim or assert something firmly
- etwas
- Something or somewhat; an indefinite pronoun
- Seltsames
- Something strange, odd, or peculiar
- Warum
- Interrogative adverb meaning 'why'
- sonst
- Otherwise or else; in other circumstances
- billig
- Cheap or inexpensive in cost
- vermietet
- Rented out to a tenant; past participle of 'vermieten'
- warum
- Interrogative adverb asking 'why'
- stand
- Past tense of 'stehen'; stood or was standing
- lange
- For a long time; adverb of duration
- leer
- Empty or vacant; containing nothing
- lacht
- Laughs; third-person singular of 'lachen'
- natürlich
- Naturally or of course; adverb of confirmation
- erwartet
- Expects or expects from; anticipates something
- man
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one' or 'people'
- Ehe
- Marriage; the legal union of two people
- höchsten
- Highest; superlative of 'hoch' (high)
- Maße
- Degree or measure; extent of something
- praktisch
- Practical; oriented toward useful, real-world matters
- veranlagt
- Disposed or inclined toward a certain trait
- keine
- No or none; negative article (feminine/plural)
- Geduld
- Patience; ability to wait calmly
- Glauben
- Belief or faith; trust in something
- tiefen
- Deep (inflected); profound or intense
- Abscheu
- Disgust, revulsion, or strong aversion
- Aberglauben
- Superstition; irrational belief in supernatural causes
- spottet
- Mocks or scoffs; third-person of 'spotten'
- offen
- Openly or frankly; without concealment
- jedes
- Every or each (neuter genitive/nominative form)
- Gerede
- Idle talk, chatter, or gossip
- Dingen
- Things; dative plural of 'Ding'
- fühlen
- To feel; to sense physically or emotionally
- sehen
- To see; to perceive visually
- Zahlen
- Numbers or figures; plural of 'Zahl'
- ausdrücken
- To express or convey something in words
- Arzt
- A medical doctor or physician
- vielleicht
- Perhaps or maybe; expressing uncertainty
- keiner
- No one or none; negative pronoun
- lebenden
- Living; genitive/dative form of 'lebend'
- Seele
- Soul; the spiritual or inner essence of a person
- dies
- This; demonstrative pronoun in neuter form
- totes
- Dead (neuter form); lifeless or inanimate
- Papier
- Paper; thin material used for writing
- große
- Great or large (inflected form of 'groß')
- Erleichterung
- Relief; a feeling of comfort after difficulty
- meinen
- My (accusative/dative masculine) or to mean
- Geist
- Mind, spirit, or ghost
- Grund
- Reason, ground, or cause for something
- schneller
- Faster; comparative form of 'schnell'
- gesund
- Healthy; in good physical or mental condition
- Sehen
- Seeing; the act of visual perception
- glaubt
- Believes; third-person singular of 'glauben'
- krank
- Sick or ill; not in good health
- tun
- To do or to perform an action
- Wenn
- Subordinating conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if'
- angesehener
- More respected or esteemed; comparative of 'angesehen'
- eigene
- Own; one's own (inflected form of 'eigen')
- Ehemann
- Husband; a married male partner
- Freunden
- Friends; dative plural of 'Freund'
- Verwandten
- Relatives; dative plural of 'Verwandte'
- versichert
- Assures or insures; past participle of 'versichern'
- wirklich
- Really or truly; adverb emphasizing reality
- nichts
- Nothing; negative indefinite pronoun
- weiter
- Further or more; comparative adverb
- stimmt
- Is correct or wrong; matches; third-person of 'stimmen'
- als
- Than or as; conjunction used in comparisons
- vorübergehende
- Temporary or passing; transient (inflected form)
- Nervenschwäche
- Nervous weakness; a historical term for neurasthenia
- leichte
- Slight or light (inflected form of 'leicht')
- hysterische
- Hysterical; relating to hysteria (inflected form)
- Neigung
- Inclination, tendency, or slight leaning toward something
- soll
- Should or is supposed to; modal auxiliary verb
- Bruder
- Brother; a male sibling
- ebenfalls
- Also or likewise; similarly true for another
- hohem
- High (dative form of 'hoch'); great standing
- Ansehen
- Reputation or prestige; regard in which held
- sagt
- Says; third-person singular present of 'sagen'
- dasselbe
- The same thing; emphatic demonstrative pronoun
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