The Yellow Wallpaper — Page 8
I never saw so much expression in an inanimate thing before, and we all know how much expression they have!
Non avevo mai visto tanta espressività in una cosa inanimata prima d'ora, e sappiamo tutti quanta espressività possono avere!
I used to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment and terror out of blank walls and plain furniture than most children could find in a toy-store.
Da bambina ero solita restare sveglia e ricavare più intrattenimento e terrore da pareti spoglie e mobili semplici di quanto la maggior parte dei bambini potesse trovare in un negozio di giocattoli.
I remember what a kindly wink the knobs of our big old bureau used to have, and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.
Ricordo quanto ammiccassero in modo bonario i pomelli del nostro vecchio comò, e c'era una sedia che sembrava sempre una solida amica.
I used to feel that if any of the other things looked too fierce I could always hop into that chair and be safe.
Avevo la sensazione che se qualcuno degli altri oggetti avesse assunto un aspetto troppo minaccioso, avrei sempre potuto saltare su quella sedia e stare al sicuro.
The furniture in this room is no worse than inharmonious, however, for we had to bring it all from downstairs.
I mobili di questa stanza non sono peggio che inarmoniosi, tuttavia, poiché abbiamo dovuto portarli tutti dal piano di sotto.
I suppose when this was used as a playroom they had to take the nursery things out, and no wonder!
Suppongo che quando questa stanza era usata come sala giochi abbiano dovuto togliere gli arredi della nursery, e non c'è da stupirsi!
I never saw such ravages as the children have made here.
Non ho mai visto tali devastazioni come quelle che i bambini hanno fatto qui.
The wallpaper, as I said before, is torn off in spots, and it sticketh closer than a brother—they must have had perseverance as well as hatred.
La carta da parati, come ho detto prima, è strappata in alcuni punti, e aderisce più di un fratello — devono aver avuto perseveranza oltre che odio.
Then the floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here and there, and this great heavy bed, which is all we found in the room, looks as if it had been through the wars.
Poi il pavimento è graffiato, scavato e scheggiato, l'intonaco stesso è stato scavato qua e là, e questo grande e pesante letto, che è tutto ciò che abbiamo trovato nella stanza, sembra come se avesse attraversato le guerre.
But I don't mind it a bit—only the paper.
Ma non me ne importa affatto — solo la carta.
There comes John's sister. Such a dear girl as she is, and so careful of me!
Ecco che arriva la sorella di John. Una ragazza così cara, e così premurosa nei miei confronti!
Vocabulary
- Non
- Not; negation particle
- avevo
- I had (imperfect past tense of avere)
- mai
- Never; ever (in interrogative contexts)
- visto
- Seen (past participle of vedere)
- tanta
- So much; such a lot of (feminine)
- espressività
- Expressiveness; quality of being expressive
- in
- In; inside; within (preposition)
- una
- A; an (feminine singular article)
- cosa
- Thing; object; matter; something
- inanimata
- Inanimate; lifeless; without animation
- prima
- Before; previously; earlier (time/sequence)
- ora
- Now; at this moment; currently
- sappiamo
- We know (present indicative of sapere)
- tutti
- Everyone; all; everybody (masculine plural)
- quanta
- How much; how many (feminine)
- possono
- They can; are able to (present tense)
- avere
- To have; to possess (infinitive)
- Da
- From; since; by (preposition)
- bambina
- Girl; female child (young female person)
- ero
- I was (imperfect past tense of essere)
- solita
- Accustomed; in the habit of (feminine)
- restare
- To remain; to stay; to keep (infinitive)
- sveglia
- Awake; awakened (adjective or noun alarm)
- ricavare
- To obtain; to extract; to derive (infinitive)
- più
- More; additional; greater in quantity
- intrattenimento
- Entertainment; amusement; something that entertains
- terrore
- Terror; extreme fear; fright
- da
- From; since; by; at (preposition)
- pareti
- Walls (plural of parete)
- spoglie
- Bare; naked; stripped; bare walls
- mobili
- Furniture; movable items or pieces
- semplici
- Simple; plain; uncomplicated (plural)
- di
- Of; from; about; by (preposition)
- quanto
- How much; as much as; what
- la
- The; it (feminine singular article/pronoun)
- maggior
- Greater; larger; the greatest (part)
- parte
- Part; portion; piece; role
- dei
- Of the; from the (plural contraction)
- bambini
- Children; boys; young people (plural)
- potesse
- Could; might; were able to (subjunctive)
- trovare
- To find; to discover; to locate (infinitive)
- un
- A; an (masculine singular article)
- negozio
- Shop; store; business establishment
- giocattoli
- Toys; playthings (plural of giocattolo)
- Ricordo
- I remember; memory (verb or noun)
- modo
- Way; manner; mode; style (noun)
- del
- Of the; from the (singular contraction)
- nostro
- Our; ours (masculine singular possessive)
- vecchio
- Old; aged; ancient (adjective masculine)
- era
- Was (imperfect past tense of essere)
- sedia
- Chair; seat (piece of furniture)
- che
- That; which; who; what (relative)
- sembrava
- Seemed; appeared; looked like (imperfect)
- sempre
- Always; ever; continuously; all the time
- solida
- Solid; firm; sturdy; reliable (feminine)
- amica
- Friend; female friend (feminine noun)
- Avevo
- I had (imperfect past tense of avere)
- sensazione
- Sensation; feeling; sense; impression
- se
- If; whether; in case that (conjunction)
- qualcuno
- Someone; anybody; anyone (pronoun)
- degli
- Of the; from the (plural contraction)
- altri
- Others; other people; different ones
- oggetti
- Objects; things; items (plural)
- avesse
- Had; were to have (subjunctive imperfect)
- assunto
- Assumed; taken on; supposed (past participle)
- aspetto
- Appearance; look; aspect; manner
- troppo
- Too much; too; excessively; overly
- avrei
- I would have (conditional past of avere)
- potuto
- Could; been able to (past participle)
- saltare
- To jump; to leap; to skip (infinitive)
- su
- On; upon; up; upward (preposition)
- quella
- That one; that (feminine demonstrative)
- stare
- To stay; to remain; to stand (infinitive)
- al
- To the; at the (contraction)
- sicuro
- Safe; secure; certain; sure (adjective)
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