English Translations of French Dialogues, Phrases and Words in Villette by Charlotte Brontë (Chapters 7-14)
I first started reading the novel in the start of the previous month (October 2019) when I became conscious of the fact that I was in love with Bronte's Jane Eyre and would love to read her other works. I was reading an e-book and soon enough came across French phrases that proved a barrier to smooth reading. Since my e-book had no annotations or translations, I resorted to downloading Google Translate (which is not always accurate by the way, and the offline version is downright laughable). I realized that others might come across the same problem and might benefit from my store of translations, so I put them here for all and sundry who love Brontë and are eager to read the novel.
Please note that I don't know any French and all translations came from Google Translate or Translate.Yandex.
To read my thoughts on Villette click the following link to my Goodreads review:
Review
French
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English
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Chapter 7: Villette
Qu’est-ce que vous faîtes donc? Cette malle
est à moi.
|
What are you doing? This trunk is
mine.
|
Pensionnat de Demoiselles
|
Boarding school for girls
|
Maîtresse
|
Mistress
|
Il n’y a que les Anglaises pour ces sortes d’entreprises,” said
she: “sontelles donc intrépides ces femmes là!
|
There
are only English women for these kinds of businesses,” said she: “Are these
women fearless?
|
Voilà pour la prière du soir
|
This
is for the evening prayer
|
Et qu’en dites vous?”
“Mais— bien des choses” |
And
what do you say?”
"But-many
things”
|
Chapter 8: Madame
Beck
prière du soir
|
evening
prayer
|
un véritable cachemire
|
a
real cashmere
|
chambred’enfans”
|
children's
room
|
Gouvernante
|
housekeeper
|
Pour
les pauvres
|
For
the poor
|
jours de sortie
|
days
of release
|
fête-days
|
feast-days
|
Gaufres
|
waffle
|
vin blanc
|
white
wine
|
pistolets au beurre
|
butter
rolls
|
Dîtes
donc vous sentez vous réellement trop
faible? |
So
say, you really feel too much weak?
|
Ce sont des Labassecouriennes, rondes, franches, brusques, et
tant soit peu rebelles.
|
These
are Labassecourien girls, round, frank, sudden, and a little rebellious.
|
C’est vrai
|
It
is true
|
Jeune
fille
|
Young
girl
|
bonne d’enfants
|
Nanny
|
Ayant
l’air de rien
|
Looking
like nothing
|
C’est
bien
|
It’s
good
|
Ca
ira
|
It’ll
go
|
Chapter 9: Isidore
|
|
J’ai menti plusieurs fois
|
I
lied several times.
|
Dieu, que c’est difficile! Je n’en veux pas. Cela m’ennuie trop.
|
God,
this is hard! I don’t want to. It bores me too much.
|
Parceue,
uand vous ceres morte- vous brûlerez tout de suite dans l’Enfer.
Croyez-vous?
|
Because
when you’re dead – you will burn right away in Hell.
Do
you believe that?
|
Certainement que j’y crois: tout lé monde lé sait; et d’ailleurs
lé prêtre me l’a dit.
|
Certainly
I believe in it; everyone knows it, and the priest told me.
|
Pour
assurer vôtre salut là-haut, on ferait bien de vous
brûler toute vive ici-bas.
|
To
ensure your salvation up there, we would do well to burn you alive down here.
|
Ca
suffit
|
That’s
enough
|
Furieusement
|
Furiously
|
A
ce qu’on dit
|
What
is said
|
Beau,
mais plutôt bel homme que joli garçon
|
Handsome,
but rather handsome man than pretty boy
|
ceinture bleu, celeste
|
Blue
belt, heavenly
|
Parure
|
Adornment
|
On
est la pour
|
We
are here to
|
Ecoutez
|
listen
|
Blanc-bec
|
Greenhorn
|
Mais
pas du tout
|
But
not at all
|
Les penseurs, les homes profonds et passionnés ne sont pas à mon
goût.
|
The
thinkers, the men deep and passionate are not to my taste.
|
Va pour les beaux fats et les jolis fripons! Vive les joies et
les plaisirs! A bas les grandes passions et les sévères vertus!
|
Let's
go for the good-looking cats and the pretty rascals! Long live joys and
pleasures! Down with the great passions and the severe virtues!
|
J’aime
mon beau Colonel. Je n’aime rai jamais son rival
|
I
love my handsome Colonel. I’ll never love his rival
|
Je
ne serai jamais femme de bourgeoise moi
|
I
will never be a bourgeois’ woman
|
Chapter 10: Dr. John
Leur
avenir
|
Their
future
|
Prends
garde mon enfant
|
Take
care, my child
|
Quelle
peste que cette quell desire quell poison que cet enfant la
|
What
a plague ,what desire, what poison that this child
|
Salle
à manger
|
Dining
room
|
Besoin
d’une surveillance toute particulere.
|
Special
monitoring is needed.
|
Cet
enfant a un os casse
|
This
child has a broken bone.
|
Et
qu’on aille tout de suite chercher un fiacre
|
Let’s
go get a cab right away.
|
Eau
sucrée
|
Sweet
water
|
Ca
vaudra mieux
|
It’ll
be better
|
Fort
bien
|
Very
good
|
Voilà un sang-froid bien opportun, et qui vaut mille élans de sensibilité
déplacée
|
This
is a very opportune cold blood, and it is worth a thousand impulses of
misplaced sensibility.
|
Chapter 11: The Portress’s
Cabinet
Rondeur
et franchise de bonne femme
|
Roundness
and frankness of a good woman
|
Ce
pauvre
|
This
poor
|
Ce
cher jeune home! Lé meilleur creature du monde
|
This
dear young man! The best creature in the world
|
Voilà tout
|
That’s
all
|
fraiche
|
Fresh
|
Brise
|
Breeze
|
Chapter 12: The Casket
l’allée défendue
|
the
forbidden alley
|
Voyez
bous comme elle est proper, cette demoiselle Lucie? Vous aimez done cette allée Mees.
|
Do
you see how clean she is, this young lady Lucy? So you like this alley, Miss.
|
Bonté
|
Goodness
|
Pour
la robe grise
|
For
the grey dress
|
Billet
doux
|
Love
letter
|
Une véritable bégueule Britannique à ce que vous dites— espèce
de monstre, brusque et rude comme un vieux caporal de grenadiers, et revêche
comme une religieuse
|
A
real British behemoth to what you say-like a monster, abrupt and rough like
an old Grenadier corporal, and clad like a nun
|
Le
chapeau de paille
|
The
straw hat
|
Pensionnaires
|
Residents/boarders
|
Quel
conte Personne n’y a été
|
What
a tale, nobody was there
|
Esclandre
|
Scandal
|
la brise du soir.
|
The
evening breeze
|
“Quelle belle nuit!
|
What
a beautiful night!
|
Qu’il fait bon? que l’air est frais!
|
How
good is it? That the air is fresh!
|
Bon soir, my bonne amie; dormez bien
|
Good
evening, my good friend, sleep well
|
Chapter 13: A Sneeze out of
Season
Etude
du soir
|
Evening
study
|
Lecture
pieuse
|
Pious
reading
|
lits d’ange
|
Angel
beds
|
meuble
|
furniture
|
Cette enfant a toujours un peu de fièvre
|
This
child always has a little fever.
|
pour faire quelques courses en fiacre
|
To
do some shopping in a cab
|
Le Docteur John l’a-t-il vue dernièrement? Non, n’est-ce pas?
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Has
Dr. John seen her lately? No, is it not?
|
chapeau vert tender
|
Soft
green hat
|
malgré maman and médecin
|
Despite
mother and doctor
|
Le
marmot n’a rien, nest-ce pas?
|
The
kid's got nothing, right?
|
Pas
beaucoup
|
Not
much
|
Coup
de vent
|
Gale
|
Mas
enfin
|
But
finally
|
il n’y a donc rien là-dessous: pas de mystère, pas d’amourette,
par exemple?
|
so
there's nothing down there: no mystery,
no
love, for example?
|
Pas plus que sur ma main,” responded the doctor, showing his
palm. “Quel dommage!” responded the grisette: “et moi— à qui tout cela commençait
à donner des idées.”
“Vraiment! vous en êtes pour vos frais,” was the doctor’s cool rejoinder. |
No
more than on my hand,” responded the doctor, showing his palm.
"What
a shame!"responded the grisette:"and I-to whom all this started
giving ideas.”
"Really!
you are to your charges,” was the doctor's cool to join in.
|
moue
|
pout
|
Robe
de jaconas
|
Dress
by Jaconas
|
enrhumée
|
Hoarse
|
Chapter 14: The Fete
|
|
Je saïs bien qu’elle n’a pas de
principes, ni, peut-être, de moeurs,” admitted Madame frankly; but added with philosophy, “son maintien en classe est toujours convenable et rempli même d’une certaine dignité: c’est tout ce qu’il faut. Ni les élèves ni les parents ne regardent plus loin; ni, par conséquent, moi non plus. |
I
knew she didn't have any principles, or, perhaps, of manners,” admitted
Madame frankly; goal added with philosophy “ " her retention in class is
always proper and fulfilled
even
with a certain dignity: that's all it takes. Neither the students nor the parents
don't look any further; nor, therefore, do I.
|
bonté
|
Goodness
|
Des
grimaces
|
Faces
|
vite
|
Quickly
|
Eh bien! Deux où trois cuillers, et autant de fourchettes en
argent.
|
Well!
Two or three spoons, and as many silver forks.
|
écoutez
|
listen
|
Vous n’êtes donc que des poupées
|
So
you are only dolls.
|
Vous n’avez pas de passions— vous autres. Vous ne sentez donc
rien? Vôtre chair est de neige, vôtre sang de glace! Moi, je veux que tout
cela s’allume, qu’il ait une vie, une âme
|
You
people have no passions. Can't you feel anything? Your flesh is snow, Your
Blood ice! I want everything to have a life, a soul.
|
Avec delice
|
With
delight
|
benitier
|
Soup
|
tailleuse
|
Tailor
|
Si triste
|
So
sad
|
Convenablement, décemment
|
Properly,
decently
|
des femmes mûres
|
Mature/older
women
|
quant à la. St. Pierre, elle a l’air d’une vieille coquette qui
fait l’ingénue
|
as
to the. St. Pierre, she looks like an old coot who makes the ingenue.
|
C’est cela!” said a voice. “Je la connais: c’est l’Anglaise.
Tant pis. Toute Anglaise, et, par conséquent, toute bégueule qu’elle soit—
elle féra mon affaire, où je saurai pourquoi.
|
That's
it!” said a voice. "I know her: she's the English one. Never mind.
Securely English, and, therefore, she will do my business, where I will know
why.
|
amour-propre
|
self-esteem
|
Dieu sait que je les déteste comme la
peste, ordinairement |
God
knows I hate them like the plague, usually
|
Vite à l’ouvrage!
|
Work
fast!
|
Ca ira!
|
I'll be all right.
|
pâtés à la crème
|
Cream pies
|
Brava!” cried he. “J’ai tout entendu. C’est assez bien. Encore!”
|
Brava!” cried he. "I heard everything. That's pretty good.
Again!”
|
“Et point de grimaces! A bas la timidité!”
|
“And no grimaces! Down with shyness!”
|
“Enfin, elle sait,”
|
"Well, she knows”
|
Eh bien! Qu’est-ce que c’est, Mademoiselle?”
“J’ai bien faim.” “Comment, vous avez faim! Et la collation?” “…I have not seen it, shut up here.” “Ah! C’est vrai,” |
Well! What is it, Miss?”
"I'm very hungry.”
"You're hungry! What about the snack?”
“...I have not seen it, shut up here.”
“Ah! That's right.,”
|
A la bonne heure
|
A good time
|
Nest-ce pas que c’est beau?
|
Isn't it beautiful?
|
halte là!
|
stop right there!
|
petit-mâitre
|
Little master
|
Un peu de sangfroid— un peu d’aplomb, M. Lucien, et tout ira
bien.
|
A little sangfroid— a little self-control, Mr. Lucien, and everything
will be fine.
|
C’est peut-être plus beau que vôtre modèle,” said he, “maïs ce
n’est pas juste.
|
It
may be more beautiful than your model, "said he," but it's not just.
|
cette jeune fille magnifique aux cheveux noirs comme lé jais
|
This
beautiful girl with black hair like jet.
|
Taisez vous
|
Shut
up
|
Vous ne passerez pas à moins que ce ne soit sur mon cadavre, et
vous ne danserez qu’avec la nonnette du jardin
|
You
will not pass unless it is on my corpse, and you will not dance with the
garden nonnette (goose)
|
Sortez, sortez au plus vite
|
Get
out, get out as soon as possible
|
C’est lui-meme
|
It’s
himself
|
Cela suffit: je n’en veux pas
|
That’s
enough, I do not want it
|
Great Post.
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I might have abandoned the book if not for this. Merci.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. I've studied French and I can usually translate most short phrases. The one about the "Labassecouriennes," etc had me stumped. This is very helpful!
ReplyDelete