Spanish-English Intermediate Bilingual Novella
(long short story OR short novel)
FRANZ KAFKA
La Metamorfosis [The Metamorphosis]
PART TEN
SECTION A ~ Traditional Parallel Text
PARA10.1
Pero la hermana era, lamentablemente, de otra opinión; no sin cierto derecho, se había acostumbrado a aparecer frente a los padres como experta al discutir sobre asuntos concernientes a Gregorio, y de esta forma el consejo de la madre era para la hermana motivo suficiente para retirar no sólo el armario y el escritorio, como había pensado en un principio, sino todos los muebles a excepción del imprescindible canapé. Naturalmente, no sólo se trataba de una terquedad pueril y de la confianza en sí misma que en los últimos tiempos, de forma tan inesperada y difícil, había conseguido, lo que la impulsaba a esta exigencia; ella había observado, efectivamente, que Gregorio necesitaba mucho sitio para arrastrarse y que, en cambio, no utilizaba en absoluto los muebles, al menos por lo que se veía. Pero quizá jugaba también un papel importante el carácter exaltado de una chica de su edad, que busca su satisfacción en cada oportunidad, y por el que Grete ahora se dejaba tentar con la intención de hacer más que ahora, porque en una habitación en la que sólo Gregorio era dueño y señor de las paredes vacías, no se atrevería a entrar ninguna otra persona más que Grete. |
His sister, unfortunately, did not agree; she had become used to the idea, not without reason, that she was Gregor's spokesman to his parents about the things that concerned him. This meant that his mother's advice now was sufficient reason for her to insist on removing not only the chest of drawers and the desk, as she had thought at first, but all the furniture apart from the all-important couch. It was more than childish perversity, of course, or the unexpected confidence she had recently acquired, that made her insist; she had indeed noticed that Gregor needed a lot of room to crawl about in, whereas the furniture, as far as anyone could see, was of no use to him at all. Girls of that age, though, do become enthusiastic about things and feel they must get their way whenever they can. Perhaps this was what tempted Grete to make Gregor's situation seem even more shocking than it was so that she could do even more for him. Grete would probably be the only one who would dare enter a room dominated by Gregor crawling about the bare walls by himself. |
PARA10.2
Así pues, no se dejó disuadir de sus propósitos por la madre, que también, de pura inquietud, parecía sentirse insegura en esta habitación; pronto enmudeció y ayudó a la hermana con todas sus fuerzas a sacar el armario. Bueno, en caso de necesidad, Gregorio podía prescindir del armario, pero el escritorio tenía que quedarse; y apenas habían abandonado las mujeres la habitación con el armario, en el cual se apoyaban gimiendo, cuando Gregorio sacó la cabeza de debajo del canapé para ver cómo podía tomar cartas en el asunto lo más prudente y discretamente posible. Pero, por desgracia, fue precisamente la madre quien regresó primero, mientras Grete, en la habitación contigua, sujetaba el armario rodeándolo con los brazos y lo empujaba sola de acá para allá, naturalmente, sin moverlo un ápice de su sitio. Pero la madre no estaba acostumbrada a ver a Gregorio, podría haberse puesto enferma por su culpa, y así Gregorio, andando hacia atrás, se alejó asustado hasta el otro extremo del canapé, pero no pudo evitar que la sábana se moviese un poco por la parte de delante. Esto fue suficiente para llamar la atención de la madre. Ésta se detuvo, permaneció allí un momento en silencio y luego volvió con Grete. |
So she refused to let her mother dissuade her. Gregor's mother already looked uneasy in his room, she soon stopped speaking and helped Gregor's sister to get the chest of drawers out with what strength she had. The chest of drawers was something that Gregor could do without if he had to, but the writing desk had to stay. Hardly had the two women pushed the chest of drawers, groaning, out of the room than Gregor poked his head out from under the couch to see what he could do about it. He meant to be as careful and considerate as he could, but, unfortunately, it was his mother who came back first while Grete in the next room had her arms round the chest, pushing and pulling at it from side to side by herself without, of course, moving it an inch. His mother was not used to the sight of Gregor, he might have made her ill, so Gregor hurried backwards to the far end of the couch. In his startlement, though, he was not able to prevent the sheet at its front from moving a little. It was enough to attract his mother's attention. She stood very still, remained there a moment, and then went back out to Grete. |
PARA10.3
A pesar de que Gregorio se repetía una y otra vez que no ocurría nada fuera de lo común, sino que sólo se cambiaban de sitio algunos muebles, sin embargo, como pronto habría de confesarse a sí mismo, este ir y venir de las mujeres, sus breves gritos, el arrastre de los muebles sobre el suelo, le producían la impresión de un gran barullo, que crecía procedente de todas las direcciones y, por mucho que encogía la cabeza y las patas sobre sí mismo y apretaba el cuerpo contra el suelo, tuvo que confesarse irremisiblemente que no soportaría todo esto mucho tiempo. Ellas le vaciaban su habitación, le quitaban todo aquello a lo que tenía cariño, el armario en el que guardaba la sierra y otras herramientas ya lo habían sacado; ahora ya aflojaban el escritorio, que estaba fijo al suelo, en el cual había hecho sus deberes cuando era estudiante de comercio, alumno del instituto e incluso alumno de la escuela primaria —ante esto no le quedaba ni un momento para comprobar las buenas intenciones que tenían las dos mujeres, y cuya existencia, por cierto, casi había olvidado, porque de puro agotamiento trabajaban en silencio y solamente se oían las sordas pisadas de sus pies. |
Gregor kept trying to assure himself that nothing unusual was happening, it was just a few pieces of furniture being moved after all, but he soon had to admit that the women going to and fro, their little calls to each other, the scraping of the furniture on the floor, all these things made him feel as if he were being assailed from all sides. With his head and legs pulled in against him and his body pressed to the floor, he was forced to admit to himself that he could not stand all of this much longer. They were emptying his room out; taking away everything that was dear to him; they had already taken out the chest containing his fretsaw and other tools; now they threatened to remove the writing desk with its place clearly worn into the floor, the desk where he had done his homework as a business trainee, at high school, even while he had been at infant school - he really could not wait any longer to see whether the two women's intentions were good. He had nearly forgotten they were there anyway, as they were now too tired to say anything while they worked and he could only hear their feet as they stepped heavily on the floor. |
PARA10.4
Y así salió de repente — las mujeres estaban en ese momento en la habitación contigua, apoyadas en el escritorio para tomar aliento—, cambió cuatro veces la dirección de su marcha, no sabía a ciencia cierta qué era lo que debía salvar primero, cuando vio en la pared ya vacía, llamándole la atención, el cuadro de la mujer envuelta en pieles, se arrastró apresuradamente hacia arriba y se apretó contra el cuadro, cuyo cristal le sujetaba y le aliviaba el ardor de su vientre. Al menos este cuadro, que Gregorio tapaba ahora por completo, seguro que no se lo llevaba nadie. Volvió la cabeza hacia la puerta del cuarto de estar para observar a las mujeres cuando volviesen. |
So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out, changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall - which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it - of the lady dressed in copious fur. He hurried up onto the picture and pressed himself against its glass, it held him firmly and felt good on his hot belly. This picture at least, now totally covered by Gregor, would certainly be taken away by no-one. He turned his head to face the door into the living room so that he could watch the women when they came back. |
PARA10.5
No se habían permitido una larga tregua y ya volvían; Grete había rodeado a su madre con el brazo y casi la llevaba en volandas. —¿Qué nos llevamos ahora? — dijo Grete, y miró a su alrededor. Entonces sus miradas se cruzaron con las de Gregorio, que estaba en la pared. Seguramente sólo a causa de la presencia de la madre conservó su serenidad, inclinó su rostro hacia la madre, para impedir que ella mirase a su alrededor, y dijo temblando y aturdida: —Ven, ¿nos volvemos un momento al cuarto de estar? Gregorio veía claramente la intención de Grete, quería llevar a la madre a un lugar seguro y luego echarle de la pared. Bueno, ¡que lo intentase! Él permanecería sobre su cuadro y no renunciaría a él. Prefería saltarle a Grete a la cara. |
They had not allowed themselves a long rest and came back quite soon; Grete had put her arm around her mother and was nearly carrying her. "What shall we take now, then?", said Grete and looked around. Her eyes met those of Gregor on the wall. Perhaps only because her mother was there, she remained calm, bent her face to her so that she would not look round and said, albeit hurriedly and with a tremor in her voice: "Come on, let's go back in the living room for a while?" Gregor could see what Grete had in mind, she wanted to take her mother somewhere safe and then chase him down from the wall. Well, she could certainly try it! He sat unyielding on his picture. He would rather jump at Grete's face. |
PARA10.6
Pero justamente las palabras de Grete inquietaron a la madre, se echó a un lado, vio la gigantesca mancha parduzca sobre el papel pintado de flores y, antes de darse realmente cuenta de que aquello que veía era Gregorio, gritó con voz ronca y estridente: —¡Ay Dios mío, ay Dios mío! — y con los brazos extendidos cayó sobre el canapé, como si renunciase a todo, y se quedó allí inmóvil. —¡Cuidado, Gregorio! — gritó la hermana levantando el puño y con una mirada penetrante. Desde la transformación eran estas las primeras palabras que le dirigía directamente. Corrió a la habitación contigua para buscar alguna esencia con la que pudiese despertar a su madre de su inconsciencia; Gregorio también quería ayudar — había tiempo más que suficiente para salvar el cuadro—, pero estaba pegado al cristal y tuvo que desprenderse con fuerza, luego corrió también a la habitación de al lado como si pudiera dar a la hermana algún consejo, como en otros tiempos, pero tuvo que quedarse detrás de ella sin hacer nada; mientras que Grete revolvía entre diversos frascos, se asustó al darse la vuelta, un frasco se cayó al suelo y se rompió y un trozo de cristal hirió a Gregorio en la cara; una medicina corrosiva se derramó sobre él. Sin detenerse más tiempo, Grete cogió todos los frascos que podía llevar y corrió con ellos hacia donde estaba la madre; cerró la puerta con el pie. Gregorio estaba ahora aislado de la madre, que quizá estaba a punto de morir por su culpa; no debía abrir la habitación, no quería echar a la hermana que tenía que permanecer con la madre; ahora no tenía otra cosa que hacer que esperar; y, afligido por los remordimientos y la preocupación, comenzó a arrastrarse, se arrastró por todas partes: paredes, muebles y techos, y finalmente, en su desesperación, cuando ya la habitación empezaba a dar vueltas a su alrededor, se desplomó en medio de la gran mesa. |
But Grete's words had made her mother quite worried, she stepped to one side, saw the enormous brown patch against the flowers of the wallpaper, and before she even realised it was Gregor that she saw screamed: "Oh God, oh God!" Arms outstretched, she fell onto the couch as if she had given up everything and stayed there immobile. "Gregor!" shouted his sister, glowering at him and shaking her fist. That was the first word she had spoken to him directly since his transformation. She ran into the other room to fetch some kind of smelling salts to bring her mother out of her faint; Gregor wanted to help too - he could save his picture later, although he stuck fast to the glass and had to pull himself off by force; then he, too, ran into the next room as if he could advise his sister like in the old days; but he had to just stand behind her doing nothing; she was looking into various bottles, he startled her when she turned round; a bottle fell to the ground and broke; a splinter cut Gregor's face, some kind of caustic medicine splashed all over him; now, without delaying any longer, Grete took hold of all the bottles she could and ran with them in to her mother; she slammed the door shut with her foot. So now Gregor was shut out from his mother, who, because of him, might be near to death; he could not open the door if he did not want to chase his sister away, and she had to stay with his mother; there was nothing for him to do but wait; and, oppressed with anxiety and self-reproach, he began to crawl about, he crawled over everything, walls, furniture, ceiling, and finally in his confusion as the whole room began to spin around him he fell down into the middle of the dinner table. |
PARA10.7
Pasó un momento, Gregorio yacía allí extenuado, a su alrededor todo estaba tranquilo, quizá esto era una buena señal. Entonces sonó el timbre. La chica estaba, naturalmente, encerrada en su cocina y Grete tenía que ir a abrir. El padre había llegado. —¿Qué ha ocurrido? — fueron sus primeras palabras. El aspecto de Grete lo revelaba todo. Grete contestó con voz ahogada, si duda apretaba su rostro contra el pecho del padre: —La madre se quedó inconsciente, pero ya está mejor. Gregorio se ha escapado. —Ya me lo esperaba — dijo el padre—, os lo he dicho una y otra vez, pero vosotras, las mujeres, nunca hacéis caso. Gregorio se dio cuenta de que el padre había interpretado mal la escueta información de Grete y sospechaba que Gregorio había hecho uso de algún acto violento. Por eso ahora tenía que intentar apaciguar al padre, porque para darle explicaciones no tenía ni el tiempo ni la posibilidad. Así pues, Gregorio se precipitó hacia la puerta de su habitación y se apretó contra ella para que el padre, ya desde el momento en que entrase en el vestíbulo, viese que Gregorio tenía la más sana intención de regresar inmediatamente a su habitación, y que no era necesario hacerle retroceder, sino que sólo hacía falta abrir la puerta e inmediatamente desaparecería. Pero el padre no estaba en situación de advertir tales sutilezas. |
He lay there for a while, numb and immobile, all around him it was quiet, maybe that was a good sign. Then there was someone at the door. The maid, of course, had locked herself in her kitchen so that Grete would have to go and answer it. His father had arrived home. "What's happened?" were his first words; Grete's appearance must have made everything clear to him. She answered him with subdued voice, and openly pressed her face into his chest: "Mother's fainted, but she's better now. Gregor got out." "Just as I expected", said his father, "just as I always said, but you women wouldn't listen, would you." It was clear to Gregor that Grete had not said enough and that his father took it to mean that something bad had happened, that he was responsible for some act of violence. That meant Gregor would now have to try to calm his father, as he did not have the time to explain things to him even if that had been possible. So he fled to the door of his room and pressed himself against it so that his father, when he came in from the hall, could see straight away that Gregor had the best intentions and would go back into his room without delay, that it would not be necessary to drive him back but that they had only to open the door and he would disappear. His father, though, was not in the mood to notice subtleties like that: |
PARA10.8
—¡Ah! — gritó al entrar, en un tono como si al mismo tiempo estuviese furioso y contento. Gregorio retiró la cabeza de la puerta y la levantó hacia el padre. Nunca se hubiese imaginado así al padre, tal y como estaba allí; bien es verdad que en los últimos tiempos, puesta su atención en arrastrarse por todas partes, había perdido la ocasión de preocuparse como antes de los asuntos que ocurrían en el resto de la casa, y tenía realmente que haber estado preparado para encontrar las circunstancias cambiadas. Aun así, aun así. ¿Era este todavía el padre? |
"Ah!", he shouted as he came in, sounding as if he were both angry and glad at the same time. Gregor drew his head back from the door and lifted it towards his father. He really had not imagined his father the way he stood there now; of late, with his new habit of crawling about, he had neglected to pay attention to what was going on the rest of the flat the way he had done before. He really ought to have expected things to have changed, but still, still, was that really his father? |
SECTION B ~ Spanish-English Bilingual Text
Sentence Under Sentence Text Alignment
PARA10.1
Pero la hermana era, lamentablemente, de otra opinión;
His sister, unfortunately, did not agree;
no sin cierto derecho, se había acostumbrado a aparecer frente a los padres como experta al discutir sobre asuntos concernientes a Gregorio,
she had become used to the idea, not without reason, that she was Gregor's spokesman to his parents about the things that concerned him.
y de esta forma el consejo de la madre era para la hermana motivo suficiente para retirar no sólo el armario y el escritorio, como había pensado en un principio, sino todos los muebles a excepción del imprescindible canapé.
This meant that his mother's advice now was sufficient reason for her to insist on removing not only the chest of drawers and the desk, as she had thought at first, but all the furniture apart from the all-important couch.
Naturalmente, no sólo se trataba de una terquedad pueril y de la confianza en sí misma que en los últimos tiempos, de forma tan inesperada y difícil, había conseguido, lo que la impulsaba a esta exigencia;
It was more than childish perversity, of course, or the unexpected confidence she had recently acquired, that made her insist;
ella había observado, efectivamente, que Gregorio necesitaba mucho sitio para arrastrarse y que, en cambio, no utilizaba en absoluto los muebles, al menos por lo que se veía.
she had indeed noticed that Gregor needed a lot of room to crawl about in, whereas the furniture, as far as anyone could see, was of no use to him at all.
Pero quizá jugaba también un papel importante el carácter exaltado de una chica de su edad, que busca su satisfacción en cada oportunidad,
Girls of that age, though, do become enthusiastic about things and feel they must get their way whenever they can.
y por el que Grete ahora se dejaba tentar con la intención de hacer más que ahora, porque en una habitación en la que sólo Gregorio era dueño y señor de las paredes vacías, no se atrevería a entrar ninguna otra persona más que Grete.
Perhaps this was what tempted Grete to make Gregor's situation seem even more shocking than it was so that she could do even more for him. Grete would probably be the only one who would dare enter a room dominated by Gregor crawling about the bare walls by himself.
PARA10.2
Así pues, no se dejó disuadir de sus propósitos por la madre, que también, de pura inquietud, parecía sentirse insegura en esta habitación;
So she refused to let her mother dissuade her. Gregor's mother already looked uneasy in his room,
pronto enmudeció y ayudó a la hermana con todas sus fuerzas a sacar el armario.
she soon stopped speaking and helped Gregor's sister to get the chest of drawers out with what strength she had.
Bueno, en caso de necesidad, Gregorio podía prescindir del armario, pero el escritorio tenía que quedarse;
The chest of drawers was something that Gregor could do without if he had to, but the writing desk had to stay.
y apenas habían abandonado las mujeres la habitación con el armario, en el cual se apoyaban gimiendo, cuando Gregorio sacó la cabeza de debajo del canapé para ver cómo podía tomar cartas en el asunto lo más prudente y discretamente posible.
Hardly had the two women pushed the chest of drawers, groaning, out of the room than Gregor poked his head out from under the couch to see what he could do about it. He meant to be as careful and considerate as he could,
Pero, por desgracia, fue precisamente la madre quien regresó primero, mientras Grete, en la habitación contigua, sujetaba el armario rodeándolo con los brazos y lo empujaba sola de acá para allá, naturalmente, sin moverlo un ápice de su sitio.
but, unfortunately, it was his mother who came back first while Grete in the next room had her arms round the chest, pushing and pulling at it from side to side by herself without, of course, moving it an inch.
Pero la madre no estaba acostumbrada a ver a Gregorio, podría haberse puesto enferma por su culpa, y así Gregorio, andando hacia atrás, se alejó asustado hasta el otro extremo del canapé, pero no pudo evitar que la sábana se moviese un poco por la parte de delante.
His mother was not used to the sight of Gregor, he might have made her ill, so Gregor hurried backwards to the far end of the couch. In his startlement, though, he was not able to prevent the sheet at its front from moving a little.
Esto fue suficiente para llamar la atención de la madre.
It was enough to attract his mother's attention.
Ésta se detuvo, permaneció allí un momento en silencio y luego volvió con Grete.
She stood very still, remained there a moment, and then went back out to Grete.
PARA10.3
A pesar de que Gregorio se repetía una y otra vez que no ocurría nada fuera de lo común, sino que sólo se cambiaban de sitio algunos muebles, sin embargo, como pronto habría de confesarse a sí mismo, este ir y venir de las mujeres, sus breves gritos, el arrastre de los muebles sobre el suelo, le producían la impresión de un gran barullo, que crecía procedente de todas las direcciones
Gregor kept trying to assure himself that nothing unusual was happening, it was just a few pieces of furniture being moved after all, but he soon had to admit that the women going to and fro, their little calls to each other, the scraping of the furniture on the floor, all these things made him feel as if he were being assailed from all sides.
y, por mucho que encogía la cabeza y las patas sobre sí mismo y apretaba el cuerpo contra el suelo, tuvo que confesarse irremisiblemente que no soportaría todo esto mucho tiempo.
With his head and legs pulled in against him and his body pressed to the floor, he was forced to admit to himself that he could not stand all of this much longer.
Ellas le vaciaban su habitación,
They were emptying his room out;
le quitaban todo aquello a lo que tenía cariño,
taking away everything that was dear to him;
el armario en el que guardaba la sierra y otras herramientas ya lo habían sacado;
they had already taken out the chest containing his fretsaw and other tools;
ahora ya aflojaban el escritorio, que estaba fijo al suelo,
now they threatened to remove the writing desk with its place clearly worn into the floor,
en el cual había hecho sus deberes cuando era estudiante de comercio, alumno del instituto e incluso alumno de la escuela primaria
the desk where he had done his homework as a business trainee, at high school, even while he had been at infant school
—ante esto no le quedaba ni un momento para comprobar las buenas intenciones que tenían las dos mujeres,
- he really could not wait any longer to see whether the two women's intentions were good.
y cuya existencia, por cierto, casi había olvidado, porque de puro agotamiento trabajaban en silencio y solamente se oían las sordas pisadas de sus pies.
He had nearly forgotten they were there anyway, as they were now too tired to say anything while they worked and he could only hear their feet as they stepped heavily on the floor.
PARA10.4
Y así salió de repente — las mujeres estaban en ese momento en la habitación contigua, apoyadas en el escritorio para tomar aliento—,
So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out,
cambió cuatro veces la dirección de su marcha, no sabía a ciencia cierta qué era lo que debía salvar primero,
changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first
cuando vio en la pared ya vacía, llamándole la atención, el cuadro de la mujer envuelta en pieles,
before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall - which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it - of the lady dressed in copious fur.
se arrastró apresuradamente hacia arriba y se apretó contra el cuadro, cuyo cristal le sujetaba y le aliviaba el ardor de su vientre.
He hurried up onto the picture and pressed himself against its glass, it held him firmly and felt good on his hot belly.
Al menos este cuadro, que Gregorio tapaba ahora por completo, seguro que no se lo llevaba nadie.
This picture at least, now totally covered by Gregor, would certainly be taken away by no-one.
Volvió la cabeza hacia la puerta del cuarto de estar para observar a las mujeres cuando volviesen.
He turned his head to face the door into the living room so that he could watch the women when they came back.
PARA10.5
No se habían permitido una larga tregua y ya volvían;
They had not allowed themselves a long rest and came back quite soon;
Grete había rodeado a su madre con el brazo y casi la llevaba en volandas.
Grete had put her arm around her mother and was nearly carrying her.
—¿Qué nos llevamos ahora?
"What shall we take now, then?",
— dijo Grete, y miró a su alrededor.
said Grete and looked around.
Entonces sus miradas se cruzaron con las de Gregorio, que estaba en la pared.
Her eyes met those of Gregor on the wall.
Seguramente sólo a causa de la presencia de la madre conservó su serenidad,
Perhaps only because her mother was there, she remained calm,
inclinó su rostro hacia la madre, para impedir que ella mirase a su alrededor,
bent her face to her so that she would not look round
y dijo temblando y aturdida:
and said, albeit hurriedly and with a tremor in her voice:
"Ven, ¿nos volvemos un momento al cuarto de estar?"
"Come on, let's go back in the living room for a while?"
Gregorio veía claramente la intención de Grete,
Gregor could see what Grete had in mind,
quería llevar a la madre a un lugar seguro y luego echarle de la pared.
she wanted to take her mother somewhere safe and then chase him down from the wall.
Bueno, ¡que lo intentase!
Well, she could certainly try it!
Él permanecería sobre su cuadro y no renunciaría a él.
He sat unyielding on his picture.
Prefería saltarle a Grete a la cara.
He would rather jump at Grete's face.
PARA10.6
Pero justamente las palabras de Grete inquietaron a la madre,
But Grete's words had made her mother quite worried,
se echó a un lado, vio la gigantesca mancha parduzca sobre el papel pintado de flores y,
she stepped to one side, saw the enormous brown patch against the flowers of the wallpaper, and
antes de darse realmente cuenta de que aquello que veía era Gregorio, gritó con voz ronca y estridente:
before she even realised it was Gregor that she saw screamed:
—¡Ay Dios mío, ay Dios mío! — y con los brazos extendidos cayó sobre el canapé,
"Oh God, oh God!" Arms outstretched, she fell onto the couch
como si renunciase a todo, y se quedó allí inmóvil.
as if she had given up everything and stayed there immobile.
"¡Cuidado, Gregorio!" gritó la hermana levantando el puño y con una mirada penetrante.
"Gregor!" shouted his sister, glowering at him and shaking her fist.
Desde la transformación eran estas las primeras palabras que le dirigía directamente.
That was the first word she had spoken to him directly since his transformation.
Corrió a la habitación contigua para buscar alguna esencia con la que pudiese despertar a su madre de su inconsciencia;
She ran into the other room to fetch some kind of smelling salts to bring her mother out of her faint;
Gregorio también quería ayudar —
Gregor wanted to help too -
había tiempo más que suficiente para salvar el cuadro—,
he could save his picture later,
pero estaba pegado al cristal y tuvo que desprenderse con fuerza,
although he stuck fast to the glass and had to pull himself off by force;
luego corrió también a la habitación de al lado como si pudiera dar a la hermana algún consejo, como en otros tiempos,
then he, too, ran into the next room as if he could advise his sister like in the old days;
pero tuvo que quedarse detrás de ella sin hacer nada;
but he had to just stand behind her doing nothing;
mientras que Grete revolvía entre diversos frascos, se asustó al darse la vuelta,
she was looking into various bottles, he startled her when she turned round;
un frasco se cayó al suelo y se rompió
a bottle fell to the ground and broke;
y un trozo de cristal hirió a Gregorio en la cara;
a splinter cut Gregor's face,
una medicina corrosiva se derramó sobre él.
some kind of caustic medicine splashed all over him;
Sin detenerse más tiempo,
now, without delaying any longer,
Grete cogió todos los frascos que podía llevar y corrió con ellos hacia donde estaba la madre;
Grete took hold of all the bottles she could and ran with them in to her mother;
cerró la puerta con el pie.
she slammed the door shut with her foot.
Gregorio estaba ahora aislado de la madre,
So now Gregor was shut out from his mother,
que quizá estaba a punto de morir por su culpa;
who, because of him, might be near to death;
no debía abrir la habitación, no quería echar a la hermana que tenía que permanecer con la madre;
he could not open the door if he did not want to chase his sister away, and she had to stay with his mother;
ahora no tenía otra cosa que hacer que esperar;
there was nothing for him to do but wait;
y, afligido por los remordimientos y la preocupación,
and, oppressed with anxiety and self-reproach,
comenzó a arrastrarse, se arrastró por todas partes:
he began to crawl about, he crawled over everything,
paredes, muebles y techos, y finalmente, en su desesperación, cuando ya la habitación empezaba a dar vueltas a su alrededor, se desplomó en medio de la gran mesa.
walls, furniture, ceiling, and finally in his confusion as the whole room began to spin around him he fell down into the middle of the dinner table.
PARA10.7
Pasó un momento, Gregorio yacía allí extenuado, a su alrededor todo estaba tranquilo, quizá esto era una buena señal.
He lay there for a while, numb and immobile, all around him it was quiet, maybe that was a good sign.
Entonces sonó el timbre.
Then there was someone at the door.
La chica estaba, naturalmente, encerrada en su cocina y Grete tenía que ir a abrir.
The maid, of course, had locked herself in her kitchen so that Grete would have to go and answer it.
El padre había llegado.
His father had arrived home.
—¿Qué ha ocurrido? — fueron sus primeras palabras.
"What's happened?" were his first words;
El aspecto de Grete lo revelaba todo.
Grete's appearance must have made everything clear to him.
Grete contestó con voz ahogada, si duda apretaba su rostro contra el pecho del padre:
She answered him with subdued voice, and openly pressed her face into his chest:
—La madre se quedó inconsciente, pero ya está mejor. Gregorio se ha escapado.
"Mother's fainted, but she's better now. Gregor got out."
—Ya me lo esperaba — dijo el padre—, os lo he dicho una y otra vez, pero vosotras, las mujeres, nunca hacéis caso.
"Just as I expected", said his father, "just as I always said, but you women wouldn't listen, would you."
Gregorio se dio cuenta de que el padre había interpretado mal la escueta información de Grete y sospechaba que Gregorio había hecho uso de algún acto violento.
It was clear to Gregor that Grete had not said enough and that his father took it to mean that something bad had happened, that he was responsible for some act of violence.
Por eso ahora tenía que intentar apaciguar al padre, porque para darle explicaciones no tenía ni el tiempo ni la posibilidad.
That meant Gregor would now have to try to calm his father, as he did not have the time to explain things to him even if that had been possible.
Así pues, Gregorio se precipitó hacia la puerta de su habitación y se apretó contra ella para que el padre, ya desde el momento en que entrase en el vestíbulo,
So he fled to the door of his room and pressed himself against it so that his father, when he came in from the hall,
viese que Gregorio tenía la más sana intención de regresar inmediatamente a su habitación, y que no era necesario hacerle retroceder, sino que sólo hacía falta abrir la puerta e inmediatamente desaparecería.
could see straight away that Gregor had the best intentions and would go back into his room without delay, that it would not be necessary to drive him back but that they had only to open the door and he would disappear.
Pero el padre no estaba en situación de advertir tales sutilezas.
His father, though, was not in the mood to notice subtleties like that:
PARA10.8
—¡Ah! — gritó al entrar, en un tono como si al mismo tiempo estuviese furioso y contento.
"Ah!", he shouted as he came in, sounding as if he were both angry and glad at the same time.
Gregorio retiró la cabeza de la puerta y la levantó hacia el padre.
Gregor drew his head back from the door and lifted it towards his father.
Nunca se hubiese imaginado así al padre, tal y como estaba allí;
He really had not imagined his father the way he stood there now;
bien es verdad que en los últimos tiempos, puesta su atención en arrastrarse por todas partes, había perdido la ocasión de preocuparse como antes de los asuntos que ocurrían en el resto de la casa,
of late, with his new habit of crawling about, he had neglected to pay attention to what was going on the rest of the flat the way he had done before.
y tenía realmente que haber estado preparado para encontrar las circunstancias cambiadas. Aun así, aun así. ¿Era este todavía el padre?
He really ought to have expected things to have changed, but still, still, was that really his father?
Pero la hermana era, lamentablemente, de otra opinión;
His sister, unfortunately, did not agree;
no sin cierto derecho, se había acostumbrado a aparecer frente a los padres como experta al discutir sobre asuntos concernientes a Gregorio,
she had become used to the idea, not without reason, that she was Gregor's spokesman to his parents about the things that concerned him.
y de esta forma el consejo de la madre era para la hermana motivo suficiente para retirar no sólo el armario y el escritorio, como había pensado en un principio, sino todos los muebles a excepción del imprescindible canapé.
This meant that his mother's advice now was sufficient reason for her to insist on removing not only the chest of drawers and the desk, as she had thought at first, but all the furniture apart from the all-important couch.
Naturalmente, no sólo se trataba de una terquedad pueril y de la confianza en sí misma que en los últimos tiempos, de forma tan inesperada y difícil, había conseguido, lo que la impulsaba a esta exigencia;
It was more than childish perversity, of course, or the unexpected confidence she had recently acquired, that made her insist;
ella había observado, efectivamente, que Gregorio necesitaba mucho sitio para arrastrarse y que, en cambio, no utilizaba en absoluto los muebles, al menos por lo que se veía.
she had indeed noticed that Gregor needed a lot of room to crawl about in, whereas the furniture, as far as anyone could see, was of no use to him at all.
Pero quizá jugaba también un papel importante el carácter exaltado de una chica de su edad, que busca su satisfacción en cada oportunidad,
Girls of that age, though, do become enthusiastic about things and feel they must get their way whenever they can.
y por el que Grete ahora se dejaba tentar con la intención de hacer más que ahora, porque en una habitación en la que sólo Gregorio era dueño y señor de las paredes vacías, no se atrevería a entrar ninguna otra persona más que Grete.
Perhaps this was what tempted Grete to make Gregor's situation seem even more shocking than it was so that she could do even more for him. Grete would probably be the only one who would dare enter a room dominated by Gregor crawling about the bare walls by himself.
PARA10.2
Así pues, no se dejó disuadir de sus propósitos por la madre, que también, de pura inquietud, parecía sentirse insegura en esta habitación;
So she refused to let her mother dissuade her. Gregor's mother already looked uneasy in his room,
pronto enmudeció y ayudó a la hermana con todas sus fuerzas a sacar el armario.
she soon stopped speaking and helped Gregor's sister to get the chest of drawers out with what strength she had.
Bueno, en caso de necesidad, Gregorio podía prescindir del armario, pero el escritorio tenía que quedarse;
The chest of drawers was something that Gregor could do without if he had to, but the writing desk had to stay.
y apenas habían abandonado las mujeres la habitación con el armario, en el cual se apoyaban gimiendo, cuando Gregorio sacó la cabeza de debajo del canapé para ver cómo podía tomar cartas en el asunto lo más prudente y discretamente posible.
Hardly had the two women pushed the chest of drawers, groaning, out of the room than Gregor poked his head out from under the couch to see what he could do about it. He meant to be as careful and considerate as he could,
Pero, por desgracia, fue precisamente la madre quien regresó primero, mientras Grete, en la habitación contigua, sujetaba el armario rodeándolo con los brazos y lo empujaba sola de acá para allá, naturalmente, sin moverlo un ápice de su sitio.
but, unfortunately, it was his mother who came back first while Grete in the next room had her arms round the chest, pushing and pulling at it from side to side by herself without, of course, moving it an inch.
Pero la madre no estaba acostumbrada a ver a Gregorio, podría haberse puesto enferma por su culpa, y así Gregorio, andando hacia atrás, se alejó asustado hasta el otro extremo del canapé, pero no pudo evitar que la sábana se moviese un poco por la parte de delante.
His mother was not used to the sight of Gregor, he might have made her ill, so Gregor hurried backwards to the far end of the couch. In his startlement, though, he was not able to prevent the sheet at its front from moving a little.
Esto fue suficiente para llamar la atención de la madre.
It was enough to attract his mother's attention.
Ésta se detuvo, permaneció allí un momento en silencio y luego volvió con Grete.
She stood very still, remained there a moment, and then went back out to Grete.
PARA10.3
A pesar de que Gregorio se repetía una y otra vez que no ocurría nada fuera de lo común, sino que sólo se cambiaban de sitio algunos muebles, sin embargo, como pronto habría de confesarse a sí mismo, este ir y venir de las mujeres, sus breves gritos, el arrastre de los muebles sobre el suelo, le producían la impresión de un gran barullo, que crecía procedente de todas las direcciones
Gregor kept trying to assure himself that nothing unusual was happening, it was just a few pieces of furniture being moved after all, but he soon had to admit that the women going to and fro, their little calls to each other, the scraping of the furniture on the floor, all these things made him feel as if he were being assailed from all sides.
y, por mucho que encogía la cabeza y las patas sobre sí mismo y apretaba el cuerpo contra el suelo, tuvo que confesarse irremisiblemente que no soportaría todo esto mucho tiempo.
With his head and legs pulled in against him and his body pressed to the floor, he was forced to admit to himself that he could not stand all of this much longer.
Ellas le vaciaban su habitación,
They were emptying his room out;
le quitaban todo aquello a lo que tenía cariño,
taking away everything that was dear to him;
el armario en el que guardaba la sierra y otras herramientas ya lo habían sacado;
they had already taken out the chest containing his fretsaw and other tools;
ahora ya aflojaban el escritorio, que estaba fijo al suelo,
now they threatened to remove the writing desk with its place clearly worn into the floor,
en el cual había hecho sus deberes cuando era estudiante de comercio, alumno del instituto e incluso alumno de la escuela primaria
the desk where he had done his homework as a business trainee, at high school, even while he had been at infant school
—ante esto no le quedaba ni un momento para comprobar las buenas intenciones que tenían las dos mujeres,
- he really could not wait any longer to see whether the two women's intentions were good.
y cuya existencia, por cierto, casi había olvidado, porque de puro agotamiento trabajaban en silencio y solamente se oían las sordas pisadas de sus pies.
He had nearly forgotten they were there anyway, as they were now too tired to say anything while they worked and he could only hear their feet as they stepped heavily on the floor.
PARA10.4
Y así salió de repente — las mujeres estaban en ese momento en la habitación contigua, apoyadas en el escritorio para tomar aliento—,
So, while the women were leant against the desk in the other room catching their breath, he sallied out,
cambió cuatro veces la dirección de su marcha, no sabía a ciencia cierta qué era lo que debía salvar primero,
changed direction four times not knowing what he should save first
cuando vio en la pared ya vacía, llamándole la atención, el cuadro de la mujer envuelta en pieles,
before his attention was suddenly caught by the picture on the wall - which was already denuded of everything else that had been on it - of the lady dressed in copious fur.
se arrastró apresuradamente hacia arriba y se apretó contra el cuadro, cuyo cristal le sujetaba y le aliviaba el ardor de su vientre.
He hurried up onto the picture and pressed himself against its glass, it held him firmly and felt good on his hot belly.
Al menos este cuadro, que Gregorio tapaba ahora por completo, seguro que no se lo llevaba nadie.
This picture at least, now totally covered by Gregor, would certainly be taken away by no-one.
Volvió la cabeza hacia la puerta del cuarto de estar para observar a las mujeres cuando volviesen.
He turned his head to face the door into the living room so that he could watch the women when they came back.
PARA10.5
No se habían permitido una larga tregua y ya volvían;
They had not allowed themselves a long rest and came back quite soon;
Grete había rodeado a su madre con el brazo y casi la llevaba en volandas.
Grete had put her arm around her mother and was nearly carrying her.
—¿Qué nos llevamos ahora?
"What shall we take now, then?",
— dijo Grete, y miró a su alrededor.
said Grete and looked around.
Entonces sus miradas se cruzaron con las de Gregorio, que estaba en la pared.
Her eyes met those of Gregor on the wall.
Seguramente sólo a causa de la presencia de la madre conservó su serenidad,
Perhaps only because her mother was there, she remained calm,
inclinó su rostro hacia la madre, para impedir que ella mirase a su alrededor,
bent her face to her so that she would not look round
y dijo temblando y aturdida:
and said, albeit hurriedly and with a tremor in her voice:
"Ven, ¿nos volvemos un momento al cuarto de estar?"
"Come on, let's go back in the living room for a while?"
Gregorio veía claramente la intención de Grete,
Gregor could see what Grete had in mind,
quería llevar a la madre a un lugar seguro y luego echarle de la pared.
she wanted to take her mother somewhere safe and then chase him down from the wall.
Bueno, ¡que lo intentase!
Well, she could certainly try it!
Él permanecería sobre su cuadro y no renunciaría a él.
He sat unyielding on his picture.
Prefería saltarle a Grete a la cara.
He would rather jump at Grete's face.
PARA10.6
Pero justamente las palabras de Grete inquietaron a la madre,
But Grete's words had made her mother quite worried,
se echó a un lado, vio la gigantesca mancha parduzca sobre el papel pintado de flores y,
she stepped to one side, saw the enormous brown patch against the flowers of the wallpaper, and
antes de darse realmente cuenta de que aquello que veía era Gregorio, gritó con voz ronca y estridente:
before she even realised it was Gregor that she saw screamed:
—¡Ay Dios mío, ay Dios mío! — y con los brazos extendidos cayó sobre el canapé,
"Oh God, oh God!" Arms outstretched, she fell onto the couch
como si renunciase a todo, y se quedó allí inmóvil.
as if she had given up everything and stayed there immobile.
"¡Cuidado, Gregorio!" gritó la hermana levantando el puño y con una mirada penetrante.
"Gregor!" shouted his sister, glowering at him and shaking her fist.
Desde la transformación eran estas las primeras palabras que le dirigía directamente.
That was the first word she had spoken to him directly since his transformation.
Corrió a la habitación contigua para buscar alguna esencia con la que pudiese despertar a su madre de su inconsciencia;
She ran into the other room to fetch some kind of smelling salts to bring her mother out of her faint;
Gregorio también quería ayudar —
Gregor wanted to help too -
había tiempo más que suficiente para salvar el cuadro—,
he could save his picture later,
pero estaba pegado al cristal y tuvo que desprenderse con fuerza,
although he stuck fast to the glass and had to pull himself off by force;
luego corrió también a la habitación de al lado como si pudiera dar a la hermana algún consejo, como en otros tiempos,
then he, too, ran into the next room as if he could advise his sister like in the old days;
pero tuvo que quedarse detrás de ella sin hacer nada;
but he had to just stand behind her doing nothing;
mientras que Grete revolvía entre diversos frascos, se asustó al darse la vuelta,
she was looking into various bottles, he startled her when she turned round;
un frasco se cayó al suelo y se rompió
a bottle fell to the ground and broke;
y un trozo de cristal hirió a Gregorio en la cara;
a splinter cut Gregor's face,
una medicina corrosiva se derramó sobre él.
some kind of caustic medicine splashed all over him;
Sin detenerse más tiempo,
now, without delaying any longer,
Grete cogió todos los frascos que podía llevar y corrió con ellos hacia donde estaba la madre;
Grete took hold of all the bottles she could and ran with them in to her mother;
cerró la puerta con el pie.
she slammed the door shut with her foot.
Gregorio estaba ahora aislado de la madre,
So now Gregor was shut out from his mother,
que quizá estaba a punto de morir por su culpa;
who, because of him, might be near to death;
no debía abrir la habitación, no quería echar a la hermana que tenía que permanecer con la madre;
he could not open the door if he did not want to chase his sister away, and she had to stay with his mother;
ahora no tenía otra cosa que hacer que esperar;
there was nothing for him to do but wait;
y, afligido por los remordimientos y la preocupación,
and, oppressed with anxiety and self-reproach,
comenzó a arrastrarse, se arrastró por todas partes:
he began to crawl about, he crawled over everything,
paredes, muebles y techos, y finalmente, en su desesperación, cuando ya la habitación empezaba a dar vueltas a su alrededor, se desplomó en medio de la gran mesa.
walls, furniture, ceiling, and finally in his confusion as the whole room began to spin around him he fell down into the middle of the dinner table.
PARA10.7
Pasó un momento, Gregorio yacía allí extenuado, a su alrededor todo estaba tranquilo, quizá esto era una buena señal.
He lay there for a while, numb and immobile, all around him it was quiet, maybe that was a good sign.
Entonces sonó el timbre.
Then there was someone at the door.
La chica estaba, naturalmente, encerrada en su cocina y Grete tenía que ir a abrir.
The maid, of course, had locked herself in her kitchen so that Grete would have to go and answer it.
El padre había llegado.
His father had arrived home.
—¿Qué ha ocurrido? — fueron sus primeras palabras.
"What's happened?" were his first words;
El aspecto de Grete lo revelaba todo.
Grete's appearance must have made everything clear to him.
Grete contestó con voz ahogada, si duda apretaba su rostro contra el pecho del padre:
She answered him with subdued voice, and openly pressed her face into his chest:
—La madre se quedó inconsciente, pero ya está mejor. Gregorio se ha escapado.
"Mother's fainted, but she's better now. Gregor got out."
—Ya me lo esperaba — dijo el padre—, os lo he dicho una y otra vez, pero vosotras, las mujeres, nunca hacéis caso.
"Just as I expected", said his father, "just as I always said, but you women wouldn't listen, would you."
Gregorio se dio cuenta de que el padre había interpretado mal la escueta información de Grete y sospechaba que Gregorio había hecho uso de algún acto violento.
It was clear to Gregor that Grete had not said enough and that his father took it to mean that something bad had happened, that he was responsible for some act of violence.
Por eso ahora tenía que intentar apaciguar al padre, porque para darle explicaciones no tenía ni el tiempo ni la posibilidad.
That meant Gregor would now have to try to calm his father, as he did not have the time to explain things to him even if that had been possible.
Así pues, Gregorio se precipitó hacia la puerta de su habitación y se apretó contra ella para que el padre, ya desde el momento en que entrase en el vestíbulo,
So he fled to the door of his room and pressed himself against it so that his father, when he came in from the hall,
viese que Gregorio tenía la más sana intención de regresar inmediatamente a su habitación, y que no era necesario hacerle retroceder, sino que sólo hacía falta abrir la puerta e inmediatamente desaparecería.
could see straight away that Gregor had the best intentions and would go back into his room without delay, that it would not be necessary to drive him back but that they had only to open the door and he would disappear.
Pero el padre no estaba en situación de advertir tales sutilezas.
His father, though, was not in the mood to notice subtleties like that:
PARA10.8
—¡Ah! — gritó al entrar, en un tono como si al mismo tiempo estuviese furioso y contento.
"Ah!", he shouted as he came in, sounding as if he were both angry and glad at the same time.
Gregorio retiró la cabeza de la puerta y la levantó hacia el padre.
Gregor drew his head back from the door and lifted it towards his father.
Nunca se hubiese imaginado así al padre, tal y como estaba allí;
He really had not imagined his father the way he stood there now;
bien es verdad que en los últimos tiempos, puesta su atención en arrastrarse por todas partes, había perdido la ocasión de preocuparse como antes de los asuntos que ocurrían en el resto de la casa,
of late, with his new habit of crawling about, he had neglected to pay attention to what was going on the rest of the flat the way he had done before.
y tenía realmente que haber estado preparado para encontrar las circunstancias cambiadas. Aun así, aun así. ¿Era este todavía el padre?
He really ought to have expected things to have changed, but still, still, was that really his father?