delighted to see me!_ _Poquito_, "quite a little," "a good deal": the
inflection of the voice and the context give the above meaning to
_poquito_, rather than the usual "very little."
=6.=--2. =... Atilano Fuentesaúco; acuérdate de los garbanzos.=
_Fuentesaúco_ is a town in the province of León, about twenty-five miles
southeast of Zamora. Fuentesaúco and its neighborhood are known for the
excellent quality of the chick-peas (_garbanzos_) raised there. Atilano
jokingly implies that if Francisco will remember where the chick-peas
are raised, he will not forget his (Atilano's) name.
7. =llegan muy adentro=, _go far in_, i.e., reach the heart.
12. =lo de=, see voc. under _lo_.--=pobrecita=, diminutive implying pity
and affection; see note =4=, 18.
=7.=--3. =Raigoncillo=; here the diminutive brings out the idea of
affection (feigned, of course) and comradeship; _you dear old Raigón_
approximates the Spanish.
5. =Así lo entretenga dos horas=, _I hope to goodness he'll keep him for
two hours_; for =lo=, see note =2=, 10.
18. =Bien, pues usted dirá=..., _well, what do you wish?_ i.e., "come to
the point."
19. =¿Qué es eso de usted?= _the idea of using "usted" with me!_ i.e.,
"you ought to 'thee-and-thou' me, you know me so well." Former
schoolmates would hardly address each other with the formal _usted_, but
Raigón is disinclined to recall his early friendship with Atilano,
divining, doubtless, the purpose of the latter's visit.
22. =bachillerato=; the _bachillerato_ is not to be confused with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts conferred by reputable American colleges. It
is a much more elementary course, more or less equivalent to that of our
high schools, including, perhaps, some of the work of our Freshman and
Sophomore years in college. Candidates prepare for the degree of
_bachiller_ in the public and private _colegios_ and _institutos_. The
degree itself is conferred after examination by the university.
=8.=--10. =Ése sí que ha hecho suerte=, _that fellow certainly has been
lucky!_; _sí_ may be used as an expletive to emphasize an assertion. It
is usually followed by _que_, and is best translated by "yes," "indeed,"
"certainly," or by some form of the emphatic auxiliary "do."
17. =Raigón=, see voc. for the joke on the meaning.
29. =dale que le das á la máquina=, _always working away at the machine_.
=9.=--8. =ni aun dispongo para=, _I haven't even the wherewithal to._
10. =¡Acabáramos!= _we have got to the end of it at last, have we!_ This
seems to be a use of the _-ra_ form with the force of a simple preterite
of the indicative (from the Latin pluperf. indic.), here with ironical
effect.
=10.=--1. =Si siempre fué un adoquín=, _why, he always was a blockhead!_;
the conjunction _si_ is frequently used at the beginning of a phrase to
express surprise or expostulation.
3. =¡Cualquiera le pide nada á ese hombre!= _imagine anyone asking a favor
of that man!_
9. =¿Qué ha de pasarme?= _what do you suppose is the matter with me?_
14. =sacarse una muela=, _to get a tooth pulled_.
16. =¡Qué sé yo!= literally, "what do I know?" Trans. freely, _I can't
imagine!_
=11.=--1. =si=, see note =10=, 1.
3. =va de veras=, see voc. under _veras_.--=¡Que lo aguante su abuela!=
_let his grandmother put up with him_ (i.e., "I won't").
8. =Esta casa es una romería=, i.e., in that Raigón's patients are as
numerous as pilgrims at a shrine.
19. =¿Y tacaño? Es de lo que no hay=, _and stingy? why there is nothing
like him_.
20. =Con decirle á usted que...=, _I have only to tell you_; a conclusion
such as _todo queda dicho_ is necessary to complete the sentence.
21. =Es así.= (_Cerrando el puño._), meaning by the gesture that Raigón is
"tight-fisted."
=12.=--9. =ganándonos=; _nos_ is the dative of advantage; express the idea
with the preposition "for," _making for ourselves_, or omit in
translation.
18. =si=, see note =10=, 1.
22. =Á ver=, _let's see; vamos á ver_ would be the full form.
25. =¡Y así, un jubileo y venga guita!= literally, "a jubilee and let
money come"; trans. freely, _and so there will be a high old time and
plenty of cash as well_; for further examples of this use of _venga_,
see voc. under _venir_.
=13.=--2. =que=, see note =3=, 6; supply a verb like _mira_, "consider,"
upon which _que_ may depend.
18. =¿á qué viene...?= see voc. under _venir_.
22. =moría... mataba=; in the conclusion of a present condition "contrary
to fact," we should expect the conditional (here, _moriría_, _mataría_),
or the first form of the imperfect subjunctive (_muriera_, _matara_).
The imperfect indicative may replace these subjunctive and conditional
forms, especially in familiar and conversational style, adding emphasis
and vividness to the verbal idea.
=14.=--10. =Verás=, _it's this way, you see..._; _verás_, _verá usted_,
_verán ustedes_ are used to introduce or announce an explanatory
statement.
28. =Si lo descubre, lo descubro todo=, _if she finds it out, I shall
disclose everything_; a play on the two meanings of _descubrir_.
=15.=--1. =Pues para todo igual=, _I'm just that way in everything_.
2. =yo soy muy hombre para decirles=, _I'm thoroughly man enough to tell
them_; _muy_ used immediately before nouns has the same value as when
placed before adjectives; cf. _muy señor mío_, "dear Sir."
4. =La vecinita de la derecha... á la izquierda=, _my little neighbor who
lives on the right_ (i.e., Inocencia) _has stolen from me what I have on
the left_ (i.e., my heart).
10. =ya poco podemos tardar=, _we shall only have to wait a little
longer_.
18. =muelita=, _dear little tooth_; here the diminutive does not
necessarily imply that Inocencia's tooth is small, but that Lelis, the
lover, views it with affection.
22. =Me voy á hacer=; _me_, the dative of advantage, is the indirect
object of _hacer_. Its position before _voy_ is explained as follows:
when a pronoun is governed by an infinitive, which is itself dependent
upon another verb, the pronoun may be affixed to the infinitive or
precede the main verb. Hence _voy á hacerme_ would be the alternate
order.
=16.=--18. =figura irle instruyendo=, (_Francisco_) _is represented as
giving him instructions, one after the other_; _ir_, in conjunction
with the present participle, may denote progressive action.
20. =Se conoce que va á salir el que está=, _apparently, the person_
(_inside_) _there is going to come out_.
=17.=--16. =juntitos=, _close together_; an elusive use of the diminutive
which hardly admits of translation. It suggests here the amorous
attitude of the two lovers. Men speaking of "being together" would
naturally use _juntos_, or _muy juntos_; lovers, _juntitos_, with the
added suggestion of being pretty near together.
19. =¿Cuándo meteré yo la cabeza en alguna parte?= _when shall I ever
accomplish anything?_
=18.=--7. =¿Pues no han de venir?= _why, of course they will come_.
17. =acento andaluz=; the speech of Andalucía, the southern-most province
of Spain, is not a dialect in the sense that the languages spoken in
León, the Asturias, and Aragón are. Andalusian has had no distinct
historical development apart from Castilian, and its peculiarities
indicate generally a distortion of Castilian sounds rather than the
existence of independent forms. Besides having a characteristic
intonation, the speech of Andalucía possesses, among others, the
following characteristics: _c_ and _z_ are equivalent to _s_, and _s_ is
frequently given the sound of _z_ (i.e., _dise_ for _dice_, _sapato_ for
_zapato_, _uzté_ for _usted_, and _ezo_ for _eso_; _ll_ is pronounced as
_y_ i.e., _cabayo_ for _caballo_); there may be an interchange of
liquids like _l_ and _r_ (i.e., _er_ for _el_, _Albelto_ for _Alberto_);
there is a persistent suppression or weakening of initial, medial, and
especially final consonants (i.e., _ute_ for _usted_, _lo' rato'_ for
_los ratos_, _ice_ for _dice_, _andao_ for _andado_, _pagá_ for
_pagada_). Needless to say the speech of the educated Andalusian is free
from most of these peculiarities. Many of the characteristics of
Andalusian pronunciation persist in the speech of the Spanish-American
countries which were settled to a considerable extent by southern
Spaniards.
22. =soleá=, see voc. under _soleá_ for the play on the meanings of the
word.
27. =¡Qué barbaridad, cómo viene este hombre!= _how awful, the condition
this man is in!_
=19.=--1. =Gracias á que=, _thank goodness that_; =á= is retained before
the substantival clause as a reminiscence of its use in expressions like
_gracias á Dios_, where it precedes a substantive.
2. =Yo no puedo más=, see voc. under _poder_.
16. =Buenas ganas de conversación tengo yo ahora=, _I feel a lot like
talking, I must say_.
20. =Será de los nervios=, _it is probably caused by your nerves_; the
future may be used in place of the present, and the conditional in place
of the imperfect, to express conjecture or probability.
23. =ya=; for the expletive use of _ya_, see voc.
=20.=--1. =¡Qué me he de reir...!= _I, laugh? I should say not!_
6. =No me retientan ni por casualidad=, _they show no signs of attacking
me again; not in the least_.
23. =se me va calmando=; _se_ is the object of _calmar_; _me_ is the
dative of advantage.
=21.=--25. =¡pero si tiene usted ahí la cueva de Montesinos!= _why, you
have a regular cave of Montesinos in there!_ (i.e., the cavity); =cueva de
Montesinos=, famous through Cervantes' reference to it in _Don Quijote_
(Part II, chapters 22-23), lies about three miles from the village of
_Osa de Montiel_ in La Mancha. Being about 40 yards wide and 60 deep, we
may assume that the impression made upon Rocío by the cavity in the
Caballero's tooth was considerable.
=22.=--1. =Vaya si es graciosa la mujer=, _my, but this woman is funny!_
5. =Para valiente cosa le serviría yo á usted=, _precious little good I'd
be to you_.
8. =perdió usted á su esposo... No lo perdí yo; se perdió él=, _you lost
your husband... I didn't destroy_ (_or lose_) _him; he destroyed
himself_. A play on the two meanings of _perder_.
15. =Tengo aquí un plato de calamares=, _I have here_ (_within my breast_)
_a dish of squids_; the squid, or calamary, emits a black fluid, and
when served as a food is known in Spanish as _calamares en su tinta_,
"squids in their ink." Rocío uses this essentially Andalusian
exaggeration to signify that her heart is in mourning.
=23.=--5. =Servidora=, _I, Sir_; a briefer form of _servidora de usted_,
"your servant," a polite substitute for "I."
22. =De los más chiquirrititos. De aquéllos, de los de dos pesetas=, _the
very smallest you have. Those_ (_you know_) _that_ (_you sell_) _for two
pesetas_; =chiquirrititos=, combinations of diminutive terminations with a
cumulative value are common in Spanish, especially in conversation.
Starting with _chico_, the gradations of smallness are expressed by
_chiquito_, _chiquitito_, and _chiquirritito_.
=24.=--5. =¿Dónde habrá papeles?= _I wonder where there is any paper_; see
note =19=, 20.
7. =y ponerme ahora á que me den un par de tirones=, _and to allow myself
now_ (i.e., after the pain has gone) _to be given a couple of yanks_;
supply as a conclusion something like "would be quite foolish."
10. =Vaya, que me largo=, _there now, I'm off_.
20. =De parte de usted=, "on your behalf," i.e., _I'll be glad to do so
for you_.
22. =como si lo viera: está...=, _I am as sure as can be_ (literally, "as
if I saw it") (_that_) _he is..._
=25.=--13. =Habrá=, see note =19=, 20.
=26.=--2. =á que=, _in order that_; see note =3=, 18.--=la=; _le_ instead
of _la_ would be expected as indirect object; see note =2=, 10.
11. =¿Es bueno, eh?= _it's a pretty sight, isn't it?_
15. =media estocada=, in bull-fighting parlance, the _media estocada_ is
a thrust made by the matador that causes only half the blade to enter the
bull. Here Atilano uses the expression to mean that no ordinary
_pinchazo_ will suffice to cure such an abscess as Isidra's, which must
be opened by the sort of thrust that will kill a bull.
28. =¡Qué sé yo, qué sé yo!= _I'm not so sure._
29. =calarlo=, see voc. under _calar_, connect _calar_ with _melón_ in
_¡Si esto es un melón!_ for the play on words.
=27.=--12. =dejarlo=; the infinitive may be used as an imperative in sudden
exclamations or brief commands.
=28.=--9. =Ni que robara uno el dinero=, _why, if one actually stole money_
(i.e., "get it easily, as by stealing"); supply _he wouldn't ask such a
price as that_.
16. =si no quiere que le iguale los dos carrillos=, _if you don't want me
to make your two cheeks look alike_ (i.e., by cuffing the other cheek
and making it swell).
19. =¡Ni en Sierra Morena!= trans. freely, _even the bandits in the Sierra
Morena Mountains wouldn't rob one to that extent_.
=29.=--2. =Venga=, see voc. under _venir_.
15. =no es de los que=, _is not of the sort that_.
=30.=--11. =¡estoy perdido!... ¡Es verdad, perdido!= _I'm in a fearful
condition_ (i.e., "my teeth are, etc.")... _That's right, you are done
for_ ("when I get hold of you"): a pun on the two meanings of _perdido_.
30. =Déjese de tratamientos=, _drop your ceremony_ (i.e., the use of
_usía_); see voc. under _usía_ and _tratamiento_.
=31.=--2. =tranquilito=, _nice and quiet_; the diminutive gives a soothing
and persuasive tone to the suggestion.
3. =se aguanta=; notice the imperative force here of the present
indicative.
30. =hija del respeto=, _due to respect_.
=32.=--12. =por si acaso=, _to make sure_; an elliptical expression, the
rest of which must be inferred in each case from the context. Here the
complete idea could be _por si acaso tirara yo demasiado_, "in case I
might pull too hard."
13. =Ya estoy, ya= (supply =agarrado=), _I am_ (_holding on_).
=33.=--4. =unas=, need not be translated; _unos, -as_ is more indefinite
than _algunos_, being frequently equivalent to the French partitive
construction with _des_, etc.; it is also equivalent to the English "a
pair of," "a couple of."
7. =Nada, nada, como que retiro mi promesa=, _why, I should say you did
have a clever hand, and such a clever one that I withdraw my promise_;
this use of _nada, nada_ cannot be translated literally into English;
its general sense is "there's no getting out of it" or "there is no help
for it." Peláez thinks Atilano such a skilful dentist that it is quite
unnecessary to get him a government job.
30. =lo ponga de su bolsillo=, _you should make it up out of your own
pocket_.
=34.=--7. =yo te pondré seis velas=, _I shall offer up to thee six
candles_; it is a Catholic custom to make an offering of candles for
some special intention, or by way of petition or thanks-giving. In many
churches candles are to be found unlighted near the altar. The offering
is a coin dropped in a box near by, after a candle has been lighted.
14. =Eso ha sido del cabello de ángel=, _the sweets caused it_ (i.e., the
tooth-ache); see voc. under _cabello_.
25. =auxiliar tercero de la clase de quintos=, _a third assistant civil
employé of the government of the fifth grade_; the _auxiliar tercero de
la clase de quintos_ (the position no longer exists) was an
office-holder drawing a salary of three thousand reales (about $150)
annually, and consequently was one of the humblest clerks in the Spanish
bureaucracy. The author is evidently trying to emphasize the abject
category of Atilano, the _cesante_, and to ridicule a condition of
affairs which maintains such poorly paid positions.
=37.=--2. =Ande usted con él=, _you go ahead and tackle him_.
18. =¡Los innumerables mártires de Zaragoza!= Atilano compares Francisco's
victims to the ill-fated defenders of the city of Saragossa in the
famous siege of 1808-1809, when the city held out against the French
from the 15th of June, 1808, to the 19th of February, 1809. More than
half of the inhabitants (about 50,000) perished in the defence.
LAS SOLTERONAS
=41.=--Stage direction, =de junto á=, _near_; _de_ governs the clause
_junto á la chimenea_ and combined with it forms an adjectival clause
modifying _butacas_.
3. =siempre te llevas más de lo que dejas=, _you keep taking away more
than you leave_.
=42.=--2. =ejercicios=, see voc. for the play on meanings.
=43.=--13. =Te=, see note =15=, 22.
19. =Lo dicho=, _it's just as I said_.
24. =á qué viene=, see voc. under _venir_.
26. =¡Lo que son las mujeres!= _what a queer lot women are!_
27. =Que= may be explained as depending upon some verbal expression like
_dices_, understood.
29. =de que sus novios hayan dado media vuelta=, _that their suitors have
turned their backs on them_ (i.e., have spurned them).
31. =Puede que sí=, see voc. under _poder_.
=44.=--7. =que=, trans. by _if_, or _in case_.
12. =á no ser que=, _unless_.
18. =Estoy poniendo los puntos sobre las íes.--Di más bien: los pies
sobre los callos=, trans. freely, _I am speaking to the point.--You mean
that you are making matters worse_ (Sandalia also implies that he is
treading on corns by assuming his daughters to have them).
=46.=--10. =Ni tú á la tuya=, _nor do you resemble yours_ (i.e., your
mother).
25. =Lo que es hoy=, elliptical for _por lo que es hoy_, "as far as to-day
is concerned"; trans. _to-day, at least_.
=47.=--2. =¡Pues bonitos son los hombres!= _a fine lot men are, I must
say!_--=¡Qué han de ser bonitos!= _pretty? I should say not!_ A play on
the two meanings of _bonito_, "fine" (ironical), and "pretty."
10. =señor don Procopio Canchalagua=; _don_ precedes the baptismal name,
e.g., _don Procopio_; _señor_, the family name, e.g., _señor
Canchalagua_. The use of the double form _señor don_, before either the
baptismal name or the baptismal and family name combined, conveys an
idea of greater respect than the use of either form singly. The possible
combinations are: _don Procopio_, _señor don Procopio_, _señor
Canchalagua_, _señor don Procopio Canchalagua_; but not _don
Canchalagua_, or _señor Procopio_. This last form is used by the
illiterate, as when doña Paula refers to "señor de Rodrigo en la horca,"
_Los Pantalones_, =82=, 22.
22. =¿Su gracia de usted?--Ninguna=, _what is your name?--I haven't any_;
Casta uses _gracia_ in the sense of "name"; Claudio stupidly takes it to
mean "wit," and tells her he hasn't any.
=48.=--1. =unos=, do not translate; cf. French, _des yeux_.
=49.=--6. =¡Ya; vamos!= _yes, yes, of course_.
19. =Pues nada=, _no trouble at all_.
24. =¡Que si lo sé!= _do I know it!_
25. =Calle usted=, _would you believe it, why..._; _calle usted_ prepares
and enhances the following assertion.
30. =tortícolis=; there seems to be considerable confusion as to the
accentuation and gender of the word. The Dictionary of the Spanish
Academy gives the gender as masculine (from Lat. _tortum collum_) and
places the accent on the penultimate syllable. The word is doubtless
properly masculine, but through the analogy of feminines ending in
unaccented _is_ (cf. _tisis_, _crisis_, etc.), it is erroneously made
feminine, especially in the plural.
31. =¡Digo, digo!= _I declare!_
=50.=--9. =¡Así fuese mañana!= _would that it were to-morrow_.
27. =Posada del Peine=, a hotel in the calle de Postas in Madrid,
patronized extensively by Spaniards from the country to whom it
represents all that is best in urban luxury and refinement. The
Madrileños themselves poke fun at the hotel as a third-rate hostelry and
a gathering-place for provincials.
=51.=--2. =¡No faltaba más!= _the very idea!_; see also line 21, where it
means _why, of course_.
=52.=--1. =¡Es que son guapas!= _they really are good-looking_.
11. =Por=, _referring to_.
28. =¡Miren la de las convicciones arraigadas!= _just see the woman with
the deep-rooted convictions!_ Pura is referring sarcastically to Casta's
remark on page 47, lines 4 and 5, where she declares her contempt for
man.
=53.=--7. =se está=; _se_ is untranslatable; see note =4=, 16.
10. =Á ver, niñas, corriendo, decid...=, _come now, girls, hurry and
tell_.
13. =almorzado=; the _almuerzo_, frequently confused with our breakfast or
first meal of the day, is a substantial meal eaten near midday. The
Spanish breakfast is the _desayuno_, a light meal taken early, and
consisting usually of coffee or chocolate and bread.
26. =Pues que no te lo parezca; tenlo por seguro. Mejor. Éstos caen en
seguida=, _there is no thinking at all in the matter, it is an absolute
fact. So much the better_ (_that he is stupid_), _for these_ (_stupid
men_) _fall into the trap right off_.
=54.=--3. =arrimo... sardina=, see voc. under _arrimar_.
16. =Matalavieja=, i.e., _mata-la-vieja_; Procopio implies facetiously
that the Claudio will "kill (i.e., help him get rid of) the old maid";
that is, he will take one of the daughters off his (Procopio's) hands.
=55.=--5. =¡ni que las llevaras á cuestas!= trans. freely, _not even though
you were actually carrying them on your back could you make such a fuss
about it._
7. =¡... cuándo nos veremos en otra!= i.e., _when we'll get another
chance_ (to marry them); _otra_ is the indefinite feminine pronoun.
12. =por su casa=, _through his family estate_.
19. =comiéndose=; distinguish from the reflexive construction of
intransitive verbs (note =4=, 16). Here _se_ is indirect object, or dative
of advantage, and conveys the idea of "eating up."
=56.=--7. =¡Vamos, que estoy animadete!= _the fact is, I'm feeling a bit
lively._
31. =Está usted en su casa=, a play on the literal and figurative meaning
of the expression. In Spanish you courteously inform your guest, to make
him feel at home, that he is in _his own house_. Claudio, fresh from the
country, overworks the expression. He wants to make Procopio feel "at
home," which is not difficult under the circumstances.
=57.=--9. =cuando pasé por Toro=; if the student will bear in mind that
_toro_ means "bull" and that Toro is a town in the province of Zamora;
that =pasar por= means "to pass through" and "to pass as," he will be able
to enjoy this seventh-rate pun.
26. =no es maleja=, _is not so bad_.
=59.=--4. =Soy lo más topo=, _how stupid I am!_
6. =Esto ya es otra cosa=, _this is quite different._
9. =¿En cuál?=; supply _medio_.
20. =Pues si tiene usted unos ojos=, _why, you have such (lovely) eyes_;
some word or phrase qualifying _ojos_ must be understood to explain the
intensive force of _unos_, e.g., _ojos incomparables_. The Spaniard, of
course, does not feel the incompleteness of the construction; to him
_unos_ itself conveys the idea of "admirable," "exquisite," etc.
28. =Vaya=, see voc. under _ir_.
=60.=--10. =Ésa=; _ése, -a_, frequently implies contempt.
12. =No sale de ahí=, _she is always at the same old tune._
18. =caigo en que=, _I understand._
23. =¿Que es guapa?= i.e., _¿dice usted que es guapa?_
=61.=--6. =¡Esto va de veras!= see voc. under _veras_.
=62.=--2. =Pues con no haber venido=, an elliptical expression meaning _si
no hubieses venido no habrías interrumpido_; trans. freely, _why did you
come, then?_
26. =No te has dado poca prisa... Por si acaso=, _you were not at all slow
about it_ (i.e., making eyes at Claudio). _Yes, because of what might
have happened_ (i.e., "You might have got ahead of me").
=63.=--2. =primer=; _bueno_, _malo_, _primero_, _tercero_, _uno_, _alguno_,
_ninguno_ lose their final _o_ when they stand as attributes before a
noun in the masculine singular. The same law is applicable in familiar
speech before nouns in the feminine singular, especially before _a_ and
_ha_.
5. =Empezaste á hacerle tanta monada=, _you began to cast such sheeps'
eyes on him_; =tanta monada=, singular nouns accompanied by words denoting
quantity, such as _mucho_, _tanto_, _cuanto_, are used as emphatic
plurals.
7. =Si eres el perro del hortelano=, _why, you are just like the dog in
the manger._
11. =Conocemos el personal=, _we know with whom we are dealing._
20. =perdone, hermana=, _I can do nothing for you, sister_; it is
customary to say to beggars, when refusing their request for
alms,--_perdone hermano (hermana)_. Pura implies that she will give
Casta no opportunity in the affair with Claudio; at the same time her
manner of denial (as to a beggar) expresses her contemptuous attitude
towards her sister.