Spanish-English Intermediate Bilingual Novella
(long short story OR short novel)
FRANZ KAFKA
La Metamorfosis [The Metamorphosis]
PART ELEVEN
SECTION A ~ Traditional Parallel Text
PARA11.1
¿El mismo hombre que yacía sepultado en la cama, cuando, en otros tiempos, Gregorio salía en viaje de negocios? ¿El mismo hombre que, la tarde en que volvía, le recibía en bata sentado en su sillón, y que no estaba en condiciones de levantarse, sino que, como señal de alegría, sólo levantaba los brazos hacia él? ¿El mismo hombre que, durante los poco frecuentes paseos en común, un par de domingos al año o en las festividades más importantes, se abría paso hacia delante entre Gregorio y la madre, que ya de por sí andaban despacio, aún más despacio que ellos, envuelto en su viejo abrigo, siempre apoyando con cuidado el bastón, y que, cuando quería decir algo, casi siempre se quedaba parado y congregaba a sus acompañantes a su alrededor? Pero ahora estaba muy derecho, vestido con un rígido uniforme azul con botones, como los que llevan los ordenanzas de los bancos; por encima del cuello alto y tieso de la chaqueta sobresalía su gran papada; por debajo de las pobladas cejas se abría paso la mirada, despierta y atenta, de unos ojos negros. El cabello blanco, en otro tiempo desgreñado, estaba ahora ordenado en un peinado a raya brillante y exacto. |
The same tired man as used to be laying there entombed in his bed when Gregor came back from his business trips, who would receive him sitting in the armchair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings; who was hardly even able to stand up but, as a sign of his pleasure, would just raise his arms and who, on the couple of times a year when they went for a walk together on a Sunday or public holiday wrapped up tightly in his overcoat between Gregor and his mother, would always labour his way forward a little more slowly than them, who were already walking slowly for his sake; who would place his stick down carefully and, if he wanted to say something would invariably stop and gather his companions around him. He was standing up straight enough now; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute; above the high, stiff collar of the coat his strong double-chin emerged; under the bushy eyebrows, his piercing, dark eyes looked out fresh and alert; his normally unkempt white hair was combed down painfully close to his scalp. |
PARA11.2
Arrojó su gorra, en la que había bordado un monograma dorado, probablemente el de un banco, sobre el canapé a través de la habitación formando un arco, y se dirigió hacia Gregorio con el rostro enconado, las puntas de la larga chaqueta del uniforme echadas hacia atrás, y las manos en los bolsillos del pantalón. Probablemente ni él mismo sabía lo que iba a hacer, sin embargo levantaba los pies a una altura desusada y Gregorio se asombró del tamaño enorme de las suelas de sus botas. Pero Gregorio no permanecía parado, ya sabía desde el primer día de su nueva vida que el padre, con respecto a él, sólo consideraba oportuna la mayor rigidez. Y así corría delante del padre, se paraba si el padre se paraba, y se apresuraba a seguir hacia delante con sólo que el padre se moviese. Así recorrieron varias veces la habitación sin que ocurriese nada decisivo y sin que ello hubiese tenido el aspecto de una persecución, como consecuencia de la lentitud de su recorrido. Por eso Gregorio permaneció de momento sobre el suelo, especialmente porque temía que el padre considerase una especial maldad por su parte la huida a las paredes o al techo. Por otra parte, Gregorio tuvo que confesarse a sí mismo que no soportaría por mucho tiempo estas carreras, porque mientras el padre daba un paso, él tenía que realizar un sinnúmero de movimientos. Ya comenzaba a sentir ahogos, bien es verdad que tampoco anteriormente había tenido unos pulmones dignos de confianza. Mientras se tambaleaba con la intención de reunir todas sus fuerzas para la carrera, apenas tenía los ojos abiertos; en su embotamiento no pensaba en otra posibilidad de salvación que la de correr; y ya casi había olvidado que las paredes estaban a su disposición, bien es verdad que éstas estaban obstruidas por muebles llenos de esquinas y picos. En ese momento algo, lanzado sin fuerza, cayó junto a él, y echó a rodar por delante de él. |
He took his cap, with its gold monogram from, probably, some bank, and threw it in an arc right across the room onto the sofa, put his hands in his trouser pockets, pushing back the bottom of his long uniform coat, and, with look of determination, walked towards Gregor. He probably did not even know himself what he had in mind, but nonetheless lifted his feet unusually high. Gregor was amazed at the enormous size of the soles of his boots, but wasted no time with that - he knew full well, right from the first day of his new life, that his father thought it necessary to always be extremely strict with him. And so he ran up to his father, stopped when his father stopped, scurried forwards again when he moved, even slightly. In this way they went round the room several times without anything decisive happening, without even giving the impression of a chase as everything went so slowly. Gregor remained all this time on the floor, largely because he feared his father might see it as especially provoking if he fled onto the wall or ceiling. Whatever he did, Gregor had to admit that he certainly would not be able to keep up this running about for long, as for each step his father took he had to carry out countless movements. He became noticeably short of breath, even in his earlier life his lungs had not been very reliable. Now, as he lurched about in his efforts to muster all the strength he could for running he could hardly keep his eyes open; his thoughts became too slow for him to think of any other way of saving himself than running; he almost forgot that the walls were there for him to use although, here, they were concealed behind carefully carved furniture full of notches and protrusions - then, right beside him, lightly tossed, something flew down and rolled in front of him. |
PARA11.3
Era una manzana; inmediatamente siguió otra; Gregorio se quedó inmóvil del susto; seguir corriendo era inútil, porque el padre había decidido bombardearle. Con la fruta procedente del frutero que estaba sobre el aparador se había llenado los bolsillos y lanzaba manzana tras manzana sin apuntar con exactitud, de momento. Estas pequeñas manzanas rojas rodaban por el suelo como electrificadas y chocaban unas con otras. Una manzana lanzada sin fuerza rozó la espalda de Gregorio, pero resbaló sin causarle daños. Sin embargo, otra que la siguió inmediatamente, se incrustó en la espalda de Gregorio; éste quería continuar arrastrándose, como si el increíble y sorprendente dolor pudiese aliviarse al cambiar de sitio; pero estaba como clavado y se estiraba, totalmente desconcertado. Sólo al mirar por última vez alcanzó a ver cómo la puerta de su habitación se abría de par en par y por delante de la hermana, que chillaba, salía corriendo la madre en enaguas, puesto que la hermana la había desnudado para proporcionarle aire mientras permanecía inconsciente; vio también cómo, a continuación, la madre corría hacia el padre y, en el camino, perdía una tras otra sus enaguas desatadas, y cómo tropezando con ellas, caía sobre el padre, y abrazándole, unida estrechamente a él — ya empezaba a fallarle la vista a Gregorio—, le suplicaba, cruzando las manos por detrás de su nuca, que perdonase la vida de Gregorio. |
It was an apple; then another one immediately flew at him; Gregor froze in shock; there was no longer any point in running as his father had decided to bombard him. He had filled his pockets with fruit from the bowl on the sideboard and now, without even taking the time for careful aim, threw one apple after another. These little, red apples rolled about on the floor, knocking into each other as if they had electric motors. An apple thrown without much force glanced against Gregor's back and slid off without doing any harm. Another one however, immediately following it, hit squarely and lodged in his back; Gregor wanted to drag himself away, as if he could remove the surprising, the incredible pain by changing his position; but he felt as if nailed to the spot and spread himself out, all his senses in confusion. The last thing he saw was the door of his room being pulled open, his sister was screaming, his mother ran out in front of her in her blouse (as his sister had taken off some of her clothes after she had fainted to make it easier for her to breathe), she ran to his father, her skirts unfastened and sliding one after another to the ground, stumbling over the skirts she pushed herself to his father, her arms around him, uniting herself with him totally - now Gregor lost his ability to see anything - her hands behind his father's head begging him to spare Gregor's life. |
PARA11.4
La grave herida de Gregorio, cuyos dolores soportó más de un mes —la manzana permaneció empotrada en la carne como recuerdo visible, ya que nadie se atrevía a retirarla—, pareció recordar, incluso al padre, que Gregorio, a pesar de su triste y repugnante forma actual, era un miembro de la familia, a quien no podía tratarse como a un enemigo, sino frente al cual el deber familiar era aguantarse la repugnancia y resignarse, nada más que resignarse. |
No-one dared to remove the apple lodged in Gregor's flesh, so it remained there as a visible reminder of his injury. He had suffered it there for more than a month, and his condition seemed serious enough to remind even his father that Gregor, despite his current sad and revolting form, was a family member who could not be treated as an enemy. On the contrary, as a family there was a duty to swallow any revulsion for him and to be patient, just to be patient. |
PARA11.5
Y si Gregorio ahora, por culpa de su herida, probablemente había perdido agilidad para siempre, y por lo pronto necesitaba para cruzar su habitación como un viejo inválido largos minutos — no se podía ni pensar en arrastrarse por las alturas—, sin embargo, en compensación por este empeoramiento de su estado, recibió, en su opinión, una reparación más que suficiente: hacia el anochecer se abría la puerta del cuarto de estar, la cual solía observar fijamente ya desde dos horas antes, de forma que, tumbado en la oscuridad de su habitación, sin ser visto desde el comedor, podía ver a toda la familia en la mesa iluminada y podía escuchar sus conversaciones, en cierto modo con el consentimiento general, es decir, de una forma completamente distinta a como había sido hasta ahora. |
Because of his injuries, Gregor had lost much of his mobility - probably permanently. He had been reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid and it took him long, long minutes to crawl across his room - crawling over the ceiling was out of the question - but this deterioration in his condition was fully (in his opinion) made up for by the door to the living room being left open every evening. He got into the habit of closely watching it for one or two hours before it was opened and then, lying in the darkness of his room where he could not be seen from the living room, he could watch the family in the light of the dinner table and listen to their conversation - with everyone's permission, in a way, and thus quite differently from before. |
PARA11.6
Naturalmente, ya no se trataba de las animadas conversaciones de antaño, en las que Gregorio, desde la habitación de su hotel, siempre había pensado con cierta nostalgia cuando, cansado, tenía que meterse en la cama húmeda. La mayoría de las veces transcurría el tiempo en silencio. El padre no tardaba en dormirse en la silla después de la cena, y la madre y la hermana se recomendaban mutuamente silencio; la madre, inclinada muy por debajo de la luz, cosía ropa fina para un comercio de moda; la hermana, que había aceptado un trabajo como dependienta, estudiaba por las noches estenografía y francés, para conseguir, quizá más tarde, un puesto mejor. A veces el padre se despertaba y, como si no supiera que había dormido, decía a la madre: «¡Cuánto coses hoy también!», e inmediatamente volvía a dormirse mientras la madre y la hermana se sonreían mutuamente. |
They no longer held the lively conversations of earlier times, of course, the ones that Gregor always thought about with longing when he was tired and getting into the damp bed in some small hotel room. All of them were usually very quiet nowadays. Soon after dinner, his father would go to sleep in his chair; his mother and sister would urge each other to be quiet; his mother, bent deeply under the lamp, would sew fancy underwear for a fashion shop; his sister, who had taken a sales job, learned shorthand and French in the evenings so that she might be able to get a better position later on. Sometimes his father would wake up and say to Gregor's mother "you're doing so much sewing again today!", as if he did not know that he had been dozing - and then he would go back to sleep again while mother and sister would exchange a tired grin. |
PARA11.7
Por una especie de obstinación, el padre se negaba a quitarse el uniforme mientras estaba en casa; y mientras la bata colgaba inútilmente de la percha, dormitaba el padre en su asiento, completamente vestido, como si siempre estuviese preparado para el servicio e incluso en casa esperase también la voz de su superior. Como consecuencia, el uniforme, que no era nuevo ya en un principio, empezó a ensuciarse a pesar del cuidado de la madre y de la hermana. Gregorio se pasaba con frecuencia tardes enteras mirando esta brillante ropa, completamente manchada, con sus botones dorados siempre limpios, con la que el anciano dormía muy incómodo y, sin embargo, tranquilo. |
With a kind of stubbornness, Gregor's father refused to take his uniform off even at home; while his nightgown hung unused on its peg Gregor's father would slumber where he was, fully dressed, as if always ready to serve and expecting to hear the voice of his superior even here. The uniform had not been new to start with, but as a result of this it slowly became even shabbier despite the efforts of Gregor's mother and sister to look after it. Gregor would often spend the whole evening looking at all the stains on this coat, with its gold buttons always kept polished and shiny, while the old man in it would sleep, highly uncomfortable but peaceful. |
PARA11.8
En cuanto el reloj daba las diez, la madre intentaba despertar al padre en voz baja y convencerle para que se fuese a la cama, porque éste no era un sueño auténtico y el padre tenía necesidad de él, porque tenía que empezar a trabajar a las seis de la mañana. Pero con la obstinación que, se había apoderado de él desde que se había convertido en ordenanza, insistía en quedarse más tiempo a la mesa, a pesar de que, normalmente, se quedaba dormido y, además, sólo con grandes esfuerzos podía convencérsele de que cambiase la silla por la cama. Ya podían la madre y la hermana insistir con pequeñas amonestaciones, durante un cuarto de hora daba cabezadas lentamente, mantenía los ojos cerrados y no se levantaba. La madre le tiraba del brazo, diciéndole al oído palabras cariñosas, la hermana abandonaba su trabajo para ayudar a la madre, pero esto no tenía efecto sobre el padre. Se hundía más profundamente en su silla. Sólo cuando las mujeres le cogían por debajo de los hombros, abría los ojos, miraba alternativamente a la madre y a la hermana, y solía decir: «¡Qué vida ésta! ¡Ésta es la tranquilidad de mis últimos días!», y apoyado sobre las dos mujeres se levantaba pesadamente, como si él mismo fuese su más pesada carga, se dejaba llevar por ellas hasta la puerta, allí les hacía una señal de que no las necesitaba, y continuaba solo, mientras que la madre y la hermana dejaban apresuradamente su costura y su pluma para correr tras el padre y continuar ayudándole. |
As soon as it struck ten, Gregor's mother would speak gently to his father to wake him and try to persuade him to go to bed, as he couldn't sleep properly where he was and he really had to get his sleep if he was to be up at six to get to work. But since he had been in work he had become more obstinate and would always insist on staying longer at the table, even though he regularly fell asleep and it was then harder than ever to persuade him to exchange the chair for his bed. Then, however much mother and sister would importune him with little reproaches and warnings he would keep slowly shaking his head for a quarter of an hour with his eyes closed and refusing to get up. Gregor's mother would tug at his sleeve, whisper endearments into his ear, Gregor's sister would leave her work to help her mother, but nothing would have any effect on him. He would just sink deeper into his chair. Only when the two women took him under the arms he would abruptly open his eyes, look at them one after the other and say: "What a life! This is what peace I get in my old age!" And supported by the two women he would lift himself up carefully as if he were carrying the greatest load himself, let the women take him to the door, send them off and carry on by himself while Gregor's mother would throw down her needle and his sister her pen so that they could run after his father and continue being of help to him. |
And where's Part Twelve?
Well, I have not had the time to get round to finishing it. But don't worry, you can always continue this fascinating story as a parallel text at Farkas Translations. (good look finding your position though)
Well, I have not had the time to get round to finishing it. But don't worry, you can always continue this fascinating story as a parallel text at Farkas Translations. (good look finding your position though)
SECTION B ~ Spanish-English Bilingual Text
Sentence Under Sentence Text Alignment
PARA11.1
¿El mismo hombre que yacía sepultado en la cama, cuando, en otros tiempos, Gregorio salía en viaje de negocios? The same tired man as used to be laying there entombed in his bed when Gregor came back from his business trips,
¿El mismo hombre que, la tarde en que volvía, le recibía en bata sentado en su sillón,
who would receive him sitting in the armchair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings;
y que no estaba en condiciones de levantarse, sino que, como señal de alegría, sólo levantaba los brazos hacia él?
who was hardly even able to stand up but, as a sign of his pleasure, would just raise his arms
¿El mismo hombre que, durante los poco frecuentes paseos en común, un par de domingos al año o en las festividades más importantes, se abría paso hacia delante entre Gregorio y la madre, que ya de por sí andaban despacio, aún más despacio que ellos, envuelto en su viejo abrigo,
and who, on the couple of times a year when they went for a walk together on a Sunday or public holiday wrapped up tightly in his overcoat between Gregor and his mother, would always labour his way forward a little more slowly than them, who were already walking slowly for his sake;
siempre apoyando con cuidado el bastón, y que, cuando quería decir algo, casi siempre se quedaba parado y congregaba a sus acompañantes a su alrededor?
who would place his stick down carefully and, if he wanted to say something would invariably stop and gather his companions around him.
Pero ahora estaba muy derecho, vestido con un rígido uniforme azul con botones, como los que llevan los ordenanzas de los bancos;
He was standing up straight enough now; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute;
por encima del cuello alto y tieso de la chaqueta sobresalía su gran papada;
above the high, stiff collar of the coat his strong double-chin emerged;
por debajo de las pobladas cejas se abría paso la mirada, despierta y atenta, de unos ojos negros.
under the bushy eyebrows, his piercing, dark eyes looked out fresh and alert;
El cabello blanco, en otro tiempo desgreñado, estaba ahora ordenado en un peinado a raya brillante y exacto.
his normally unkempt white hair was combed down painfully close to his scalp.
PARA11.2
Arrojó su gorra, en la que había bordado un monograma dorado, probablemente el de un banco, sobre el canapé a través de la habitación formando un arco,
He took his cap, with its gold monogram from, probably, some bank, and threw it in an arc right across the room onto the sofa,
y se dirigió hacia Gregorio con el rostro enconado, las puntas de la larga chaqueta del uniforme echadas hacia atrás, y las manos en los bolsillos del pantalón.
put his hands in his trouser pockets, pushing back the bottom of his long uniform coat, and, with look of determination, walked towards Gregor.
Probablemente ni él mismo sabía lo que iba a hacer,
He probably did not even know himself what he had in mind,
sin embargo levantaba los pies a una altura desusada
but nonetheless lifted his feet unusually high.
y Gregorio se asombró del tamaño enorme de las suelas de sus botas.
Gregor was amazed at the enormous size of the soles of his boots,
Pero Gregorio no permanecía parado, ya sabía desde el primer día de su nueva vida que el padre, con respecto a él, sólo consideraba oportuna la mayor rigidez.
but wasted no time with that - he knew full well, right from the first day of his new life, that his father thought it necessary to always be extremely strict with him.
Y así corría delante del padre, se paraba si el padre se paraba, y se apresuraba a seguir hacia delante con sólo que el padre se moviese.
And so he ran up to his father, stopped when his father stopped, scurried forwards again when he moved, even slightly.
Así recorrieron varias veces la habitación sin que ocurriese nada decisivo y sin que ello hubiese tenido el aspecto de una persecución, como consecuencia de la lentitud de su recorrido.
In this way they went round the room several times without anything decisive happening, without even giving the impression of a chase as everything went so slowly.
Por eso Gregorio permaneció de momento sobre el suelo, especialmente porque temía que el padre considerase una especial maldad por su parte la huida a las paredes o al techo.
Gregor remained all this time on the floor, largely because he feared his father might see it as especially provoking if he fled onto the wall or ceiling.
Por otra parte, Gregorio tuvo que confesarse a sí mismo que no soportaría por mucho tiempo estas carreras, porque mientras el padre daba un paso, él tenía que realizar un sinnúmero de movimientos.
Whatever he did, Gregor had to admit that he certainly would not be able to keep up this running about for long, as for each step his father took he had to carry out countless movements.
Ya comenzaba a sentir ahogos, bien es verdad que tampoco anteriormente había tenido unos pulmones dignos de confianza.
He became noticeably short of breath, even in his earlier life his lungs had not been very reliable.
Mientras se tambaleaba con la intención de reunir todas sus fuerzas para la carrera, apenas tenía los ojos abiertos;
Now, as he lurched about in his efforts to muster all the strength he could for running he could hardly keep his eyes open;
en su embotamiento no pensaba en otra posibilidad de salvación que la de correr;
his thoughts became too slow for him to think of any other way of saving himself than running;
y ya casi había olvidado que las paredes estaban a su disposición, bien es verdad que éstas estaban obstruidas por muebles llenos de esquinas y picos.
he almost forgot that the walls were there for him to use although, here, they were concealed behind carefully carved furniture full of notches and protrusions
En ese momento algo, lanzado sin fuerza, cayó junto a él, y echó a rodar por delante de él.
- then, right beside him, lightly tossed, something flew down and rolled in front of him.
PARA11.3
Era una manzana;
It was an apple;
inmediatamente siguió otra;
then another one immediately flew at him;
Gregorio se quedó inmóvil del susto; Gregor froze in shock;
seguir corriendo era inútil, porque el padre había decidido bombardearle.
there was no longer any point in running as his father had decided to bombard him.
Con la fruta procedente del frutero que estaba sobre el aparador se había llenado los bolsillos y lanzaba manzana tras manzana sin apuntar con exactitud, de momento.
He had filled his pockets with fruit from the bowl on the sideboard and now, without even taking the time for careful aim, threw one apple after another.
Estas pequeñas manzanas rojas rodaban por el suelo como electrificadas y chocaban unas con otras.
These little, red apples rolled about on the floor, knocking into each other as if they had electric motors.
Una manzana lanzada sin fuerza rozó la espalda de Gregorio, pero resbaló sin causarle daños.
An apple thrown without much force glanced against Gregor's back and slid off without doing any harm.
Sin embargo, otra que la siguió inmediatamente, se incrustó en la espalda de Gregorio;
Another one however, immediately following it, hit squarely and lodged in his back;
éste quería continuar arrastrándose, como si el increíble y sorprendente dolor pudiese aliviarse al cambiar de sitio;
Gregor wanted to drag himself away, as if he could remove the surprising, the incredible pain by changing his position;
pero estaba como clavado y se estiraba, totalmente desconcertado.
but he felt as if nailed to the spot and spread himself out, all his senses in confusion.
Sólo al mirar por última vez alcanzó a ver cómo la puerta de su habitación se abría de par en par
The last thing he saw was the door of his room being pulled open,
y por delante de la hermana, que chillaba, salía corriendo la madre en enaguas, puesto que la hermana la había desnudado para proporcionarle aire mientras permanecía inconsciente;
his sister was screaming, his mother ran out in front of her in her blouse (as his sister had taken off some of her clothes after she had fainted to make it easier for her to breathe),
vio también cómo, a continuación, la madre corría hacia el padre y, en el camino, perdía una tras otra sus enaguas desatadas,
she ran to his father, her skirts unfastened and sliding one after another to the ground,
he also saw how, in continuation, the mother was running towards the father and, on the way, lost one after the other her unfastened skirts
y cómo tropezando con ellas, caía sobre el padre, y abrazándole, unida estrechamente a él stumbling over the skirts she pushed herself to his father, her arms around him, uniting herself with him totally
— ya empezaba a fallarle la vista a Gregorio—,
- now Gregor lost his ability to see anything -
le suplicaba, cruzando las manos por detrás de su nuca, que perdonase la vida de Gregorio.
her hands behind his father's head begging him to spare Gregor's life.
III
PARA11.4
La grave herida de Gregorio, cuyos dolores soportó más de un mes —la manzana permaneció empotrada en la carne como recuerdo visible, ya que nadie se atrevía a retirarla—, No-one dared to remove the apple lodged in Gregor's flesh, so it remained there as a visible reminder of his injury. He had suffered it there for more than a month,
pareció recordar, incluso al padre, que Gregorio, a pesar de su triste y repugnante forma actual, era un miembro de la familia, a quien no podía tratarse como a un enemigo,
and his condition seemed serious enough to remind even his father that Gregor, despite his current sad and revolting form, was a family member who could not be treated as an enemy.
sino frente al cual el deber familiar era aguantarse la repugnancia y resignarse, nada más que resignarse.
On the contrary, as a family there was a duty to swallow any revulsion for him and to be patient, just to be patient.
PARA11.5
Y si Gregorio ahora, por culpa de su herida, probablemente había perdido agilidad para siempre,
Because of his injuries, Gregor had lost much of his mobility - probably permanently.
y por lo pronto necesitaba para cruzar su habitación como un viejo inválido largos minutos —
He had been reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid and it took him long, long minutes to crawl across his room -
no se podía ni pensar en arrastrarse por las alturas—,
crawling over the ceiling was out of the question -
sin embargo, en compensación por este empeoramiento de su estado, recibió, en su opinión, una reparación más que suficiente: hacia el anochecer se abría la puerta del cuarto de estar,
but this deterioration in his condition was fully (in his opinion) made up for by the door to the living room being left open every evening.
la cual solía observar fijamente ya desde dos horas antes, de forma que, tumbado en la oscuridad de su habitación, sin ser visto desde el comedor,
He got into the habit of closely watching it for one or two hours before it was opened and then, lying in the darkness of his room where he could not be seen from the living room,
podía ver a toda la familia en la mesa iluminada y podía escuchar sus conversaciones, en cierto modo con el consentimiento general, es decir, de una forma completamente distinta a como había sido hasta ahora.
he could watch the family in the light of the dinner table and listen to their conversation - with everyone's permission, in a way, and thus quite differently from before.
PARA11.6
Naturalmente, ya no se trataba de las animadas conversaciones de antaño, en las que Gregorio, desde la habitación de su hotel, siempre había pensado con cierta nostalgia cuando, cansado, tenía que meterse en la cama húmeda.
They no longer held the lively conversations of earlier times, of course, the ones that Gregor always thought about with longing when he was tired and getting into the damp bed in some small hotel room.
La mayoría de las veces transcurría el tiempo en silencio.
All of them were usually very quiet nowadays.
El padre no tardaba en dormirse en la silla después de la cena,
Soon after dinner, his father would go to sleep in his chair;
y la madre y la hermana se recomendaban mutuamente silencio;
his mother and sister would urge each other to be quiet;
la madre, inclinada muy por debajo de la luz, cosía ropa fina para un comercio de moda;
his mother, bent deeply under the lamp, would sew fancy underwear for a fashion shop;
la hermana, que había aceptado un trabajo como dependienta, estudiaba por las noches estenografía y francés, para conseguir, quizá más tarde, un puesto mejor.
his sister, who had taken a sales job, learned shorthand and French in the evenings so that she might be able to get a better position later on.
A veces el padre se despertaba y, como si no supiera que había dormido, decía a la madre: «¡Cuánto coses hoy también!»,
Sometimes his father would wake up and say to Gregor's mother "you're doing so much sewing again today!", as if he did not know that he had been dozing -
e inmediatamente volvía a dormirse mientras la madre y la hermana se sonreían mutuamente.
and then he would go back to sleep again while mother and sister would exchange a tired grin.
PARA11.7
Por una especie de obstinación, el padre se negaba a quitarse el uniforme mientras estaba en casa; y mientras la bata colgaba inútilmente de la percha, dormitaba el padre en su asiento, completamente vestido, como si siempre estuviese preparado para el servicio e incluso en casa esperase también la voz de su superior. Como consecuencia, el uniforme, que no era nuevo ya en un principio, empezó a ensuciarse a pesar del cuidado de la madre y de la hermana. Gregorio se pasaba con frecuencia tardes enteras mirando esta brillante ropa, completamente manchada, con sus botones dorados siempre limpios, con la que el anciano dormía muy incómodo y, sin embargo, tranquilo.
With a kind of stubbornness, Gregor's father refused to take his uniform off even at home; while his nightgown hung unused on its peg Gregor's father would slumber where he was, fully dressed, as if always ready to serve and expecting to hear the voice of his superior even here. The uniform had not been new to start with, but as a result of this it slowly became even shabbier despite the efforts of Gregor's mother and sister to look after it. Gregor would often spend the whole evening looking at all the stains on this coat, with its gold buttons always kept polished and shiny, while the old man in it would sleep, highly uncomfortable but peaceful.
PARA11.8
En cuanto el reloj daba las diez, la madre intentaba despertar al padre en voz baja y convencerle para que se fuese a la cama, porque éste no era un sueño auténtico y el padre tenía necesidad de él, porque tenía que empezar a trabajar a las seis de la mañana. Pero con la obstinación que, se había apoderado de él desde que se había convertido en ordenanza, insistía en quedarse más tiempo a la mesa, a pesar de que, normalmente, se quedaba dormido y, además, sólo con grandes esfuerzos podía convencérsele de que cambiase la silla por la cama. Ya podían la madre y la hermana insistir con pequeñas amonestaciones, durante un cuarto de hora daba cabezadas lentamente, mantenía los ojos cerrados y no se levantaba. La madre le tiraba del brazo, diciéndole al oído palabras cariñosas, la hermana abandonaba su trabajo para ayudar a la madre, pero esto no tenía efecto sobre el padre. Se hundía más profundamente en su silla. Sólo cuando las mujeres le cogían por debajo de los hombros, abría los ojos, miraba alternativamente a la madre y a la hermana, y solía decir: «¡Qué vida ésta! ¡Ésta es la tranquilidad de mis últimos días!», y apoyado sobre las dos mujeres se levantaba pesadamente, como si él mismo fuese su más pesada carga, se dejaba llevar por ellas hasta la puerta, allí les hacía una señal de que no las necesitaba, y continuaba solo, mientras que la madre y la hermana dejaban apresuradamente su costura y su pluma para correr tras el padre y continuar ayudándole.
As soon as it struck ten, Gregor's mother would speak gently to his father to wake him and try to persuade him to go to bed, as he couldn't sleep properly where he was and he really had to get his sleep if he was to be up at six to get to work. But since he had been in work he had become more obstinate and would always insist on staying longer at the table, even though he regularly fell asleep and it was then harder than ever to persuade him to exchange the chair for his bed. Then, however much mother and sister would importune him with little reproaches and warnings he would keep slowly shaking his head for a quarter of an hour with his eyes closed and refusing to get up. Gregor's mother would tug at his sleeve, whisper endearments into his ear, Gregor's sister would leave her work to help her mother, but nothing would have any effect on him. He would just sink deeper into his chair. Only when the two women took him under the arms he would abruptly open his eyes, look at them one after the other and say: "What a life! This is what peace I get in my old age!" And supported by the two women he would lift himself up carefully as if he were carrying the greatest load himself, let the women take him to the door, send them off and carry on by himself while Gregor's mother would throw down her needle and his sister her pen so that they could run after his father and continue being of help to him.