War and Peace — Page 1
Anna Pávlovna's drawing room was gradually filling.
Le salon d'Anna Pávlovna se remplissait peu à peu.
The highest Petersburg society was assembled there: people differing widely in age and character but alike in the social circle to which they belonged.
La plus haute société de Pétersbourg s'y trouvait rassemblée : des gens très différents par l'âge et le caractère, mais semblables par le cercle social auquel ils appartenaient.
Prince Vasíli's daughter, the beautiful Hélène, came to take her father to the ambassador's entertainment; she wore a ball dress and her badge as maid of honor.
La fille du prince Vasíli, la belle Hélène, était venue chercher son père pour l'emmener à la réception de l'ambassadeur ; elle portait une robe de bal et son insigne de demoiselle d'honneur.
The youthful little Princess Bolkónskaya, known as la femme la plus séduisante de Pétersbourg, * was also there.
La jeune et petite princesse Bolkónskaya, connue sous le nom de la femme la plus séduisante de Pétersbourg, * était également présente.
She had been married during the previous winter, and being pregnant did not go to any large gatherings, but only to small receptions.
Elle s'était mariée au cours de l'hiver précédent, et, étant enceinte, ne se rendait pas aux grandes réunions, mais seulement aux petites réceptions.
Prince Vasíli's son, Hippolyte, had come with Mortemart, whom he introduced.
Le fils du prince Vasíli, Hippolyte, était venu avec Mortemart, qu'il présenta.
The Abbé Morio and many others had also come.
L'abbé Morio et bien d'autres étaient également venus.
* The most fascinating woman in Petersburg.
* La femme la plus séduisante de Pétersbourg.
To each new arrival Anna Pávlovna said, "You have not yet seen my aunt," or "You do not know my aunt?" and very gravely conducted him or her to a little old lady, wearing large bows of ribbon in her cap, who had come sailing in from another room as soon as the guests began to arrive; and slowly turning her eyes from the visitor to her aunt, Anna Pávlovna mentioned each one's name and then left them.
À chaque nouvel arrivant, Anna Pávlovna disait : « Vous n'avez pas encore vu ma tante » ou « Vous ne connaissez pas ma tante ? » et le conduisait très gravement vers une petite vieille dame, coiffée d'un bonnet orné de larges nœuds de ruban, qui avait fait son entrée depuis une autre pièce dès que les invités avaient commencé à arriver ; et, tournant lentement les yeux du visiteur vers sa tante, Anna Pávlovna mentionnait le nom de chacun, puis les laissait.
Each visitor performed the ceremony of greeting this old aunt whom not one of them knew, not one of them wanted to know, and not one of them cared about; Anna Pávlovna observed these greetings with mournful and solemn interest and silent approval.
Chaque visiteur s'acquittait de la cérémonie de saluer cette vieille tante que pas un d'eux ne connaissait, que pas un d'eux ne souhaitait connaître, et dont pas un d'eux ne se souciait ; Anna Pávlovna observait ces salutations avec un intérêt mélancolique et solennel, et une approbation silencieuse.
Vocabulary
- salon
- A drawing room or elegant reception room
- remplissait
- Was filling up, becoming full gradually
- peu
- Little, a small amount or degree
- plus
- More, most; used in comparisons and superlatives
- haute
- High, elevated; referring to upper class society
- société
- Society, a group sharing culture and social status
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or referring to a place
- trouvait
- Was found, was located somewhere
- rassemblée
- Gathered, assembled together in one place
- gens
- People, persons in general
- différents
- Different, varied, not alike in character or age
- âge
- Age, the number of years one has lived
- caractère
- Character, personality, or nature of a person
- semblables
- Similar, alike, resembling one another
- cercle
- Circle; a social group or select gathering
- social
- Social, relating to society or social class
- auquel
- To which, contraction of 'à lequel'
- appartenaient
- Belonged to, were members of a group
- fille
- Girl or daughter; a female child or offspring
- prince
- Prince, a male member of royalty or nobility
- belle
- Beautiful, attractive; feminine form of 'beau'
- venue
- Come, arrived; feminine past participle of 'venir'
- chercher
- To look for, to fetch, to seek someone
- père
- Father; a male parent
- emmener
- To take someone along, to lead away
- réception
- A formal social gathering or welcoming event
- ambassadeur
- Ambassador, a diplomat representing their country abroad
- portait
- Was wearing, was carrying; imperfect of 'porter'
- robe
- A dress or gown worn by a woman
- bal
- A ball, a formal dance event or party
- insigne
- Distinguished, notable, remarkable; also a badge or insignia
- demoiselle
- A young unmarried woman or miss
- honneur
- Honor, respect, high regard or distinction
- jeune
- Young, youthful in age
- petite
- Small, little; feminine form of 'petit'
- princesse
- Princess, a female member of royalty or nobility
- connue
- Known, recognized; feminine past participle of 'connaître'
- sous
- Under, beneath; a common French preposition
- nom
- Name, the word used to identify a person
- femme
- Woman or wife; an adult female person
- séduisante
- Seductive, charming, very attractive or appealing
- également
- Also, equally, likewise; an adverb of addition
- présente
- Present, in attendance at a place or event
- mariée
- Married; a woman who has wed
- cours
- Course; 'au cours de' means 'during'
- hiver
- Winter, the coldest season of the year
- précédent
- Previous, preceding, the one before
- étant
- Being; present participle of 'être'
- enceinte
- Pregnant, expecting a child
- rendait
- Went, attended; imperfect of 'se rendre'
- grandes
- Large, big, great; feminine plural of 'grand'
- réunions
- Meetings, gatherings, assemblies of people
- seulement
- Only, just, merely; a restrictive adverb
- petites
- Small, little; feminine plural of 'petit'
- réceptions
- Receptions, formal social gatherings or parties
- fils
- Son, a male offspring
- venu
- Come, arrived; past participle of 'venir'
- présenta
- Introduced, presented; past simple of 'présenter'
- abbé
- An abbot or Catholic priest, a religious title
- bien
- Well, good; also means 'many' in some contexts
- autres
- Others, other people or things
- venus
- Come, arrived; masculine plural past participle of 'venir'
- chaque
- Each, every; used before singular nouns
- nouvel
- New; masculine form before vowel, variant of 'nouveau'
- arrivant
- Arriving person, newcomer; present participle of 'arriver'
- disait
- Said, was saying; imperfect of 'dire'
- encore
- Yet, still, again; a common French adverb
- vu
- Seen; past participle of 'voir'
- tante
- Aunt, a parent's sister
- connaissez
- Know (a person); second plural present of 'connaître'
- conduisait
- Led, guided, took; imperfect of 'conduire'
- gravement
- Gravely, solemnly, seriously; an adverb of manner
- vers
- Toward, towards; a directional preposition
- vieille
- Old, elderly; feminine form of 'vieux'
- dame
- Lady, a woman of refinement or social standing
- coiffée
- Wearing a hairstyle or headwear; styled hair
- bonnet
- A bonnet or cap worn on the head
- orné
- Adorned, decorated, embellished with ornaments
- larges
- Wide, broad, large; plural form of 'large'
- nœuds
- Knots or bows, tied decorative ribbon loops
- ruban
- Ribbon, a narrow decorative strip of fabric
- entrée
- Entry, entrance; the act of entering a room
- depuis
- Since, from; indicates starting point in time
- autre
- Other, another; referring to a different one
- pièce
- Room in a building; also a piece or coin
- dès
- As soon as, from; indicates immediacy of time
- invités
- Guests, invited people at a gathering
- commencé
- Started, begun; past participle of 'commencer'
- arriver
- To arrive, to come, to reach a destination
- tournant
- Turning; present participle of 'tourner'
- lentement
- Slowly, in a slow manner; adverb of manner
- yeux
- Eyes; irregular plural of 'œil'
- visiteur
- Visitor, a person who visits or calls on someone
- mentionnait
- Mentioned, was mentioning; imperfect of 'mentionner'
- chacun
- Each one, everyone; indefinite pronoun
- puis
- Then, afterwards; an adverb of sequence
- laissait
- Left, was leaving; imperfect of 'laisser'
- Chaque
- Each, every; used before a singular noun
- acquittait
- Fulfilled, discharged a duty; imperfect of 's'acquitter'
- cérémonie
- Ceremony, a formal ritual or obligatory social act
- saluer
- To greet, to salute, to acknowledge someone formally
- souhaitait
- Wished, desired; imperfect of 'souhaiter'
- dont
- Whose, of which, about which; relative pronoun
- souciait
- Cared about, was concerned; imperfect of 'se soucier'
- observait
- Observed, watched; imperfect of 'observer'
- salutations
- Greetings, salutations exchanged between people
- intérêt
- Interest, curiosity, attention given to something
- mélancolique
- Melancholic, sad, expressing a pensive sadness
- solennel
- Solemn, formal, grave in manner or tone
- approbation
- Approval, agreement, a favorable opinion of something
- silencieuse
- Silent, quiet; feminine form of 'silencieux'
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