# The Seven Madmen, The Lame Woman Los siete locos · Roberto Arlt · Part Two Source: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/la-coja. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/la-coja.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/arlt/.m4a. Ese mismo día, poco antes de llegar Erdosain al último tramo de la escalera en caracol, distinguió, detenida en el rellano, a una señora envuelta en un abrigo de lutre y toca verde, que conversaba con la patrona de la pensión. That same day, shortly before Erdosain reached the last flight of the spiral staircase, he made out, stopped on the landing, a lady wrapped in an otter coat and a green hat, who was talking with the landlady of the boarding house. > Infinitive with its own subject: After «antes de», Spanish uses an infinitive rather than a conjugated verb, and it can give that infinitive a subject placed right after it: «antes de llegar Erdosain» = 'before Erdosain arrived'. English needs a full clause with a finite verb here. Un «ahí viene» le hizo comprender que era a él a quien esperaban, y al detenerse en el pasillo, la desconocida, volviendo el rostro, ligeramente pecoso, le dijo: An "here he comes" made him understand that he was the one they were waiting for, and as he stopped in the corridor the stranger, turning her slightly freckled face, said to him: > Cleft for emphasis: Spanish foregrounds a phrase by wrapping it in «ser» plus «a quien / el que»: «era a él a quien esperaban» = 'it was him they were waiting for'. The 'personal a' is repeated on both halves («a él», «a quien») because the object is a person. –¿Usted es el señor Erdosain? "Are you Señor Erdosain?" –¿Dónde he visto esta cara? –se preguntó Erdosain al responder afirmativamente a la desconocida, que entonces se presentó: "Where have I seen this face?" Erdosain asked himself as he answered the stranger in the affirmative, whereupon she introduced herself: > «Al» + infinitive: «Al» plus an infinitive means 'on / as (doing something)': «al responder» = 'as he answered'. It packs a whole time clause into two words — one of the most common constructions in Arlt's prose. –Soy la esposa del señor Ergueta. "I am Señor Ergueta's wife." –¡Ah! ¿Usted es la Coja! –mas súbitamente, avergonzado de la inconveniencia que asombró a la patrona hasta hacerle mirar los pies a la desconocida, Erdosain se disculpó: "Ah! You're the lame one!" But suddenly, ashamed of the rudeness that so startled the landlady it made her look down at the stranger's feet, Erdosain apologized: > «la Coja»: «cojo/coja» means 'lame', someone who limps. Used with the article as a nickname, «la Coja» = 'the lame woman' — a blunt, almost cruel label. Erdosain blurts it out before catching himself, which is why the landlady instinctively glances at the woman's feet. –Perdón, estoy aturdido... Usted comprende, no esperaba... ¿quiere pasar? "Sorry, I'm flustered... You understand, I wasn't expecting... would you like to come in?" Antes de abrir la puerta de su habitación, Erdosain volvió a disculparse por el desorden que encontraría en ella la visita, e Hipólita, sonriendo irónicamente, le replicó: Before opening the door of his room, Erdosain apologized again for the mess his visitor would find in it, and Hipólita, smiling ironically, replied: > «volver a» + infinitive = 'to do again': «volver a» plus an infinitive expresses repetition: «volvió a disculparse» = 'he apologized again' (literally 'he returned to apologizing'). It is the standard Spanish way to say 'to do something again'. –Está bien, señor. "It's all right, sir." Sin embargo a Erdosain le irritaba la mirada fría que filtraba las transparentes pupilas verdegrises de la mujer. Yet Erdosain was irritated by the cold gaze that filtered through the woman's transparent green-gray pupils. > The 'gustar'-type construction: Like «gustar», «irritar» here takes the thing as grammatical subject and the person as an indirect object: «a Erdosain le irritaba la mirada» = literally 'the gaze irritated to Erdosain', i.e. 'the gaze irritated Erdosain'. The verb agrees with «la mirada», not with the person. Y pensó: –Debe ser una perversa –pues había reparado que bajo la toca verde, el cabello rojo de Hipólita se alisaba a lo largo de las sienes en dos lisos bandos que cubrían la punta de sus orejas. And he thought: "She must be a wicked woman," for he had noticed that under the green hat Hipólita's red hair was smoothed along her temples into two flat bands that covered the tips of her ears. > «deber» = obligation vs. probability: «deber» plus an infinitive expresses likely inference: «debe ser una perversa» = 'she must be a wicked woman' (a guess). Spanish often distinguishes this from obligation by adding «de» — «debe de ser» — but in speech, as here, plain «debe ser» commonly carries the 'must be / probably is' sense. Volvió a observar sus pestañas fijas y rojas y los labios que parecían inflamados en la sonrojada morbidez del rostro pecoso. He looked again at her motionless red lashes and her lips, which seemed inflamed against the flushed softness of her freckled face. Y se dijo: –¡Qué distinta a la de la fotografía! And he said to himself: "How different from the one in the photograph!" Ella, detenida ante él, le observaba como diciéndose: She, stopped in front of him, watched him as if saying to herself: –Este es el hombre –y él, inmediato a la mujer, sentía su presencia sin comprenderla, como si ella no existiera o estuviera distante de él por muchas leguas del rumbo interior. "This is the man," and he, right beside the woman, felt her presence without understanding it, as if she did not exist or were many leagues distant from him along some inner road. > «como si» + past subjunctive: «como si» ('as if') always takes the imperfect subjunctive for an unreal comparison: «como si ella no existiera o estuviera distante» = 'as if she did not exist or were distant'. English mirrors this with its own 'were'-subjunctive. Sin embargo, estaba allí y era preciso decir algo, y no ocurriéndosele otra cosa, dijo, después de encender la luz y ofrecerle una silla a la señora, ocupando él el sofá: Yet she was there and something had to be said, and since nothing else occurred to him, he spoke—after turning on the light and offering the lady a chair, while he himself took the sofa: > «ocurrírsele algo a alguien»: «ocurrírsele» means 'to come to one's mind': «no se le ocurría otra cosa» = 'nothing else came to him'. In the gerund the pronouns stack onto the verb: «ocurriéndosele» = «ocurriendo» + «se» (the verb) + «le» (to him), 'nothing else occurring to him'. –¿Así que usted es la esposa de Ergueta? Muy bien. "So you're Ergueta's wife? Very good." > «Así que» = 'so / so then': At the head of a question, «así que» means 'so' or 'so then', drawing a conclusion from what was just said: «¿Así que usted es la esposa de Ergueta?» = 'So you're Ergueta's wife?'. Erdosain repeats this phrase like a nervous tic throughout the scene. No terminaba de comprender qué es lo que hacía esa vida implantada de pronto en su desconcierto. He could not quite grasp what this life, suddenly planted in the middle of his bewilderment, was doing there. > «no terminar de» + infinitive: «no terminar de» plus an infinitive means 'not to manage to / not quite to' do something: «no terminaba de comprender» = 'he couldn't quite understand'. The imperfect «terminaba» keeps it an ongoing, unresolved state. Le soliviantaba el alma una ráfaga de curiosidad, pero hubiera querido estar de otro modo, sentirse familiar al semblante de la mujer, cuyas ovaladas líneas tenían algo de rojo del cobre, como esos rayos de sol de lluvia, que en los cuadros de santos brotan en mil haces de entre un pináculo de nubes. A gust of curiosity stirred his soul, but he would have wanted to be otherwise, to feel familiar with the woman's face, whose oval lines had something of the red of copper, like those rays of rainy sunlight that in paintings of saints burst out in a thousand shafts from a pinnacle of clouds. > Past perfect subjunctive as conditional: «hubiera querido» ('he would have wanted') is the pluperfect subjunctive used to state an unrealized wish about the past. In Spanish this form frequently replaces the conditional perfect «habría querido» with no change in meaning. Y se decía: And he kept saying to himself: –Yo estoy aquí, pero mi alma, ¿dónde está? –Y tornó a decir–: ¿Así que usted es la esposa de Ergueta? Muy bien. "I am here, but my soul—where is it?" And he said once more: "So you're Ergueta's wife? Very good." > «tornar a» + infinitive: «tornar a» plus an infinitive is a more literary equivalent of «volver a», meaning 'to do again': «tornó a decir» = 'he said again'. It lends the line a slightly old-fashioned, formal ring. Ella, que se había cruzado de piernas, estiró el borde de su vestido mucho más abajo de su rodilla, la tela se frunció entre sus dedos sonrosados, y levantando la cabeza como si le costara un gran esfuerzo ese movimiento en la extrañeza de un ambiente que no conocía, dijo: She, who had crossed her legs, tugged the hem of her dress well below her knee, the fabric gathered between her rosy fingers, and lifting her head as if that movement cost her a great effort in the strangeness of a setting she did not know, she said: > Pronominal verb of body posture: «cruzarse de piernas» ('to cross one's legs') uses the reflexive «se» because the action is done to one's own body. The «de» links the verb to the body part: literally 'to cross oneself of legs'. Spanish prefers this over a possessive ('her legs'). –Es preciso que haga usted algo por mi marido. Se ha vuelto loco. "You must do something for my husband. He has gone mad." > Impersonal expression + subjunctive: Impersonal phrases of necessity like «es preciso que» ('it is necessary that') trigger the subjunctive in the following clause: «que haga usted algo» = 'that you do something'. «haga» is the present subjunctive of «hacer». –Mi curiosidad no ha recibido ningún gran golpe –se dijo Erdosain, y satisfecho de mantenerse insensible como uno de esos banqueros de las novelas de Xavier de Montepin, agregó, con la alegría interior de poder representar la comedia del hombre impasible–: ¿Así que se ha vuelto loco? –pero de pronto, comprendiendo que no podría prolongar ese papel, dijo–: ¿Se da cuenta usted, señora? "My curiosity has taken no great blow," Erdosain said to himself, and pleased to keep himself unmoved like one of those bankers in the novels of Xavier de Montepin, he added, with the inner delight of being able to play the comedy of the impassive man: "So he's gone mad?" But suddenly, realizing he could not keep up that role, he said: "Do you realize, ma'am? Me da una noticia extraordinaria, y sin embargo he permanecido impasible. You give me extraordinary news, and yet I've stayed completely impassive. Me duele estar así, vacío de toda emoción; quisiera sentir algo y estoy como un adoquín. It hurts me to be like this, empty of all emotion; I'd like to feel something and I'm like a paving stone. > «quisiera» as a softened wish: «quisiera» is the imperfect subjunctive of «querer» used as a polite, wistful conditional: 'I would like / I wish'. It is softer and more longing than «quiero» ('I want') — perfect for Erdosain's yearning to feel anything at all. Usted tiene que disculparme. You'll have to forgive me. No sé lo qué me pasa. I don't know what's wrong with me. Usted me disculpará, ¿no? You'll forgive me, won't you? En otro tiempo, sin embargo, no estaba así. Once, though, I wasn't like this. Recuerdo que era alegre como un gorrión. I remember I was cheerful as a sparrow. He ido cambiando poco a poco. I've been changing little by little. > «ir» + gerund for gradual change: «ir» plus a gerund expresses a process unfolding step by step: «he ido cambiando» = 'I have been (gradually) changing'. The «ido» (past participle of «ir») places the slow change in the recent past leading up to now. No sé, la miro a usted, quisiera sentirme amigo suyo y no puedo. I don't know, I look at you, I'd like to feel I'm your friend and I can't. Si la viera a usted agonizar posiblemente no le alcanzaría ni un vaso de agua. If I saw you dying I probably wouldn't even hand you a glass of water. > Unreal conditional sentence: An imaginary 'if' pairs the imperfect subjunctive in the «si»-clause with the conditional in the result: «si la viera... no le alcanzaría» = 'if I saw you... I wouldn't hand you'. This is the standard pattern for a hypothetical that is contrary to fact. ¿Se da cuenta? Do you see? Y sin embargo... And yet... ¿Pero, dónde está él? But where is he?" –En el Hospicio de las Mercedes. "In the Hospicio de las Mercedes." –¡Qué curioso! ¿No vivían ustedes en el Azul? "How strange! Didn't you two live in Azul?" –Sí, pero hace quince días que estamos aquí... "Yes, but we've been here for two weeks..." > «hace... que» + present: «hace» plus a span of time plus «que» plus a present-tense verb expresses how long something has been going on: «hace quince días que estamos aquí» = 'we've been here for fifteen days'. Note «quince días», literally 'fifteen days', is the usual Spanish way to say 'two weeks'. –¿Y cuándo sucedió «eso»? "And when did "that" happen?" –Hace seis días. Yo misma no me lo explico. Es como usted decía antes refiriéndose a mí. "Six days ago. I can't explain it to myself either. It's the way you were saying before about me. > Intensifier «mismo» and the dative «me»: «yo misma» = 'I myself' (agreeing in gender, hence «misma» for a woman). «no me lo explico» stacks two pronouns: «me» ('to myself') and «lo» ('it'), so the whole = 'I can't explain it to myself' — the «me» here is the 'dative of interest', emphasizing it baffles her personally. Perdone si le hago perder tiempo. Forgive me if I'm wasting your time. Yo pensé en usted, que le conocía, él siempre me hablaba de usted. I thought of you, who knew him, he was always talking to me about you. ¿Cuándo fue la última vez que lo vio? When was the last time you saw him?" –Antes de casarse... Sí, me habló de usted. La llamaba la Coja... y la Ramera. "Before he got married... Yes, he told me about you. He called you the lame one... and the whore." > Reflexive infinitive after «antes de»: «casarse» ('to get married') is pronominal — the «se» is built in. Kept on the infinitive after «antes de», it reads 'before getting married'; with no stated subject, context tells us whose marriage it is (Ergueta's). A Erdosain le pareció que el alma de Hipólita le iba esmaltando serenamente las pupilas. It seemed to Erdosain that Hipólita's soul was serenely glazing her own pupils. > «ir» + gerund again: «ir» plus a gerund renders a slow, progressive action: «iba esmaltando» = 'was (gradually) glazing / enamelling'. The dative «le» marks the body part affected — literally 'was glazing the pupils to her'. Tenía la certidumbre de que podía hablar de todo con ella. He felt sure he could speak of anything with her. El alma de la mujer estaba inmóvil allí, como para recibirlo naturalmente. The woman's soul stood motionless there, as if to receive him naturally. Ella había apoyado las manos cruzadas sobre la falda encima de la rodilla, y esa circunstancia de posición le hacía fácil el tiempo de confidencia. She had rested her crossed hands on her skirt above her knee, and that detail of posture made the moment of confidence easy for him. Lo ocurrido durante la mañana en la casa del Astrólogo le parecía algo remoto, sólo algún pedacito de árbol y de cielo cruzaba a momentos su recuerdo, y el deslizamiento de las imágenes truncas le dejaba apoyada en la conciencia un placer lento e injustificado. What had happened that morning at the Astrologer's house seemed remote to him; only some little scrap of tree and of sky crossed his memory at moments, and the gliding of those broken images left a slow, unjustified pleasure resting in his consciousness. > Neuter «lo» + participle: «lo» before a past participle creates an abstract noun: «lo ocurrido» = 'what had happened', 'the thing that happened'. This neuter «lo» turns adjectives and participles into 'the ... part / what is ...' across Spanish (lo bueno, lo dicho, lo ocurrido). Se restregó las manos con satisfacción, y dijo: He rubbed his hands together with satisfaction, and said: –No se ofenderá usted, señora... pero yo creo que estaba ya loco al casarse con usted... "You won't be offended, ma'am... but I think he was already mad when he married you..." –Dígame... ¿Usted sabe si jugaba antes de casarse conmigo? "Tell me... do you know if he gambled before marrying me?" > «jugar» = 'to gamble': «jugar» means 'to play', but in this context — and throughout the chapter — it means 'to gamble', to play for money. Ergueta's compulsive gambling at cards and roulette is the engine of the whole story Hipólita tells. –Sí... Además, recuerdo que estudiaba mucho la Biblia, porque entre otras cosas me habló de los tiempos nuevos, del cuarto sello y un montón de cosas más. "Yes... Besides, I remember he studied the Bible a great deal, because among other things he spoke to me about the new times, the fourth seal, and a whole heap of other things. Además, jugaba. Besides, he gambled. A mí siempre me interesó porque veía en él un temperamento frenético. He always interested me because I saw in him a frenzied temperament. > Redundant «a mí... me»: Spanish often doubles the object for emphasis: «a mí... me interesó» = 'me, he interested', stressing the speaker. Both «a mí» and «me» point to the same person; the stressed «a mí» adds the emphasis English would give by tone of voice. –Eso mismo. Un frenético. Llegó a aceptar un envite de cinco mil pesos en una mesa de poker. "Exactly. A man of frenzy. He went so far as to accept a five-thousand-peso bet at a poker table. > «llegar a» + infinitive: «llegar a» plus an infinitive means 'to go so far as to / to end up' doing something: «llegó a aceptar» = 'he went so far as to accept'. It frames the act as a striking extreme reached, not a mere occurrence. Vendió mis joyas, un collar que me había regalado un amigo... He sold my jewels, a necklace a friend had given me... –Pero ¿cómo?... ¿Ese collar usted no se lo regaló a la sirvienta poco antes de casarse con él? "But how can that be?... Didn't you give that necklace to the maid shortly before marrying him? > «se lo»: when «le» becomes «se»: When the indirect-object pronoun «le» ('to her') is followed by «lo/la» ('it'), it changes to «se» to avoid two l-sounds: «se lo regaló» = 'gave it to her'. The «a la sirvienta» that follows simply spells out who «se» refers to. Así me dijo él. That's what he told me. Que usted le regaló el collar y la vajilla de plata... y el cheque de diez mil pesos que le regaló el otro... That you gave her the necklace and the silver tableware... and the ten-thousand-peso check the other man had given you..." –¡Pero usted cree que estoy loca!... ¿Por qué iba a regalarle a mi sirvienta un collar de perlas? "But you think I'm crazy!... Why would I give my maid a pearl necklace?" > «ir a» in the imperfect = 'would': «ir a» plus an infinitive normally means 'going to', but in the imperfect it expresses an indignant hypothetical: «¿por qué iba a regalarle...?» = 'why would I give her...?'. It rejects the premise as absurd rather than reporting a future plan. –Entonces mintió. "Then he lied." > Stem change in the preterite of «mentir»: «mentir» ('to lie') is an «-ir» verb whose stem vowel changes e→i in the third person of the preterite: «él mintió» = 'he lied'. The same shift appears in «sintió» (sentir), «durmió» (dormir, o→u) and other «-ir» verbs. –Es lo que me parece. "That's what I think." –¡Qué curioso!... "How strange!..." –No le extrañe. Mentía mucho. Además, en estos últimos días estaba perdido. "Don't be surprised. He lied a great deal. Besides, in those last days he was beside himself. > Negative command, «gustar»-type verb: «extrañar» here works like «gustar»: the thing surprises, the person is the indirect object. As a negative command it takes the subjunctive: «no le extrañe» = literally 'let it not surprise you', i.e. 'don't be surprised'. Estudió una martingala para aplicarla a la ruleta. He worked out a betting system to apply to roulette. > «martingala»: A «martingala» is a gambling system meant to guarantee winnings — classically, doubling your stake after each loss. Ergueta's obsessive search for the foolproof martingale is the comic-tragic heart of Hipólita's account. Usted se habría reído si lo hubiera visto. You'd have laughed if you had seen him. > Past unreal conditional: For an 'if' about the past that never happened, Spanish pairs the conditional perfect with the pluperfect subjunctive: «se habría reído si lo hubiera visto» = 'you'd have laughed if you had seen him'. Both halves point to a contrary-to-fact past. Armó un libro de números que nadie entendía como no ser él. He put together a book of numbers that nobody understood except him. > «como no ser» = 'except': «como no ser» is a River Plate way of saying 'except for / other than': «nadie... como no ser él» = 'nobody except him'. Standard Spanish would more often say «salvo él» or «excepto él». ¡Qué hombre! What a man! No podía dormir de la preocupación; desatendía la farmacia; a veces, estando la luz apagada y yo por dormirme, sentía un gran golpe en el suelo; era él que se había tirado de la cama, prendía la luz, anotaba unas cifras como si tuviera miedo de que se le escaparan... He couldn't sleep from worry; he neglected the pharmacy; sometimes, with the light off and me about to fall asleep, I'd hear a great thud on the floor; it was him, having thrown himself out of bed, turning on the light, jotting down some figures as if he were afraid they would escape him... > «estar por» + infinitive: «estar por» plus an infinitive means 'to be about to': here «yo por dormirme» (with «estando» understood) = 'me about to fall asleep'. It marks an action on the very point of happening. Pero, ¿así que le dijo a usted que yo había regalado mi collar de perlas? But—so he told you that I had given away my pearl necklace? ¡Qué hombre! What a man! Lo que hizo fue empeñarlo antes de que nos casáramos... What he did was pawn it before we got married... > «antes de que» + subjunctive: When «antes de» governs a clause with its own subject, it becomes «antes de que» and takes the subjunctive: «antes de que nos casáramos» = 'before we got married'. «casáramos» is the imperfect subjunctive of «casarse». Bueno, como le decía... el mes pasado fue al Real de San Carlos... Well, as I was saying... last month he went to the Real de San Carlos... –Y, lógicamente, perdió... "And, logically, he lost..." –No, con setecientos pesos ganó siete mil. Hubiera visto cómo llegó... Callado... Yo me dije: ¡Zas!, perdió... pero lo notable es que estaba asustado de la suerte que había tenido... él mismo hasta entonces había tenido una relativa confianza en su martingala... "No, with seven hundred pesos he won seven thousand. You should have seen how he came in... Silent... I said to myself: There it is! He's lost... but the remarkable thing is that he was frightened of the luck he'd had... up to then even he had had only relative confidence in his system... > «hubiera» as a softened 'you should have': Dropping «usted», «hubiera visto» = 'you should have seen' / 'if only you'd seen'. The pluperfect subjunctive stands in for the full conditional «habría visto», a very common, lively shortcut in speech. –Sí... me doy cuenta... Prefería creer en ella a probarla. "Yes... I see... He preferred believing in it to testing it." > «preferir A a B»: «preferir» links the two compared things with «a»: «preferir creer... a probarla» = 'to prefer believing... to testing it'. The «a» is the 'than/to' of the comparison, not a destination. –Claro, por miedo al fracaso. Pero ya le digo... durante algunos días estuvo como trastornado. Recuerdo que una tarde, a la hora de la siesta, me dijo: «Bueno, negra, te resignarás a ser la reina del mundo». "Of course, for fear of failure. But as I tell you... for several days he was as if deranged. I remember that one afternoon, at siesta time, he said to me: "Well, negra, you'll just have to resign yourself to being queen of the world." –Siempre la manía de las grandezas... "Always the delusions of grandeur..." > «manía de grandezas»: «manía de grandezas» is the fixed phrase for 'delusions of grandeur', megalomania. It is the everyday Spanish term for the inflated self-importance Ergueta keeps displaying — fitting, given he's just been committed. –Le prevengo que en parte yo también creí después de eso en el éxito de la martingala. "I warn you that, in part, after that even I came to believe in the success of the system. El había jugado de acuerdo a los números que figuraban en su tabla de cálculos, y entonces para hacer saltar la banca retiró tres mil pesos del banco... He had played according to the numbers that appeared on his table of calculations, and so, to break the bank, he withdrew three thousand pesos from the bank... > «hacer saltar la banca»: «hacer saltar la banca» is the gambler's idiom 'to break the bank' — to win so much that the house runs out of money to pay. Note the wordplay: «banca» (the casino's bank) versus «banco» (the actual bank he draws the cash from). Estaban a mi nombre, recuerdo, y más los seis mil quinientos... Había pagado unas cuentas de la farmacia... Salimos para Montevideo... y lo perdió todo. They were in my name, I remember, plus the six thousand five hundred... He had paid some pharmacy bills... We set out for Montevideo... and he lost it all. > Redundant «lo» with «todo»: When «todo» ('everything') is the object, Spanish anticipates it with «lo»: «lo perdió todo» = 'he lost it all'. The «lo» and «todo» refer to the same thing; the doubling is obligatory, not optional emphasis here. –¿Cuánto tardó? "How long did it take?" > «tardar» = 'to take time': «tardar» means 'to take (a certain amount of) time' or 'to be long': «¿cuánto tardó?» = 'how long did it take / how long was he?'. It does not mean 'to be late' in the English sense unless paired with «en». –Veinte minutos... Yo creía que se desmayaba por el camino... pero, ¿así que a usted le dijo que yo había regalado mi collar a la sirvienta?... ¡Qué hombre! "Twenty minutes... I thought he was going to faint on the way... but—so he told you I'd given my necklace to the maid?... What a man!" –Sería para darme una mejor idea de usted. ¿Y en el viaje, cómo les fue? "It must have been to give me a better impression of you. And on the trip, how did it go for you?" > Conditional of conjecture: The conditional can express a guess about the past: «sería para...» = 'it must have been / it was probably so as to...'. Like «debía de ser», it softens a statement into speculation about why something happened. –Nada... no dijo una palabra. Eso sí, tenía los ojos vidriosos, la cara como deshecha, relajada, ¿sabe? En cuanto llegamos a Buenos Aires se acostó... era un día lunes. "Nothing... he didn't say a word. That, yes—his eyes were glassy, his face as if undone, slack, you know? As soon as we reached Buenos Aires he went to bed... it was a Monday. > «en cuanto» = 'as soon as': «en cuanto» means 'as soon as / the moment that': «en cuanto llegamos» = 'as soon as we arrived'. With a completed past action it takes the indicative preterite, as here; about the future it would switch to the subjunctive. Se quedó hasta el anochecer en la cama, luego fue a la calle, no sé por qué me daba en el corazón de que algo iba a suceder... A las diez de la noche no había vuelto aún, y entonces me acosté; a eso de la una de la madrugada me despertaron sus pasos en el cuarto, yo iba a encender la luz cuando él dio un gran salto y tomándome de un brazo, usted sabe la espantosa fuerza que tiene, en camisón me sacó de la cama y arrastrándome por los pasillos me llegó hasta la puerta del hotel. He stayed in bed until nightfall, then he went out, I don't know why it weighed on my heart that something was going to happen... By ten at night he still hadn't come back, so I went to bed; around one in the morning his steps in the room woke me, I was about to turn on the light when he gave a great leap and, seizing me by an arm—you know the dreadful strength he has—in my nightgown he hauled me out of bed and, dragging me through the corridors, got me all the way to the door of the hotel. > «darle a uno en el corazón»: «me daba en el corazón (de) que...» is a colloquial idiom for a foreboding: 'I had a feeling in my heart that...', 'something told me that...'. It names an intuition of coming disaster, not a literal physical sensation. –¿Y usted? "And you?" –Yo no gritaba porque sabía que lo iba a enfurecer. "I didn't scream because I knew it would enrage him. > «ir a» in the imperfect = 'was going to': «iba a» plus an infinitive is the past of «ir a», the near-future construction: «lo iba a enfurecer» = 'it was going to enrage him'. Reported from inside the past, it works like the English 'would'. Ya en la puerta del hotel se quedó mirándome como si no me conociera, con la frente hecha un bulto de arrugas, los ojos grandes. Once at the hotel door he stood staring at me as if he didn't know me, his forehead bunched into a knot of wrinkles, his eyes huge. > «quedarse» + gerund: «quedarse» plus a gerund means 'to remain / be left doing something': «se quedó mirándome» = 'he stood there looking at me', 'he kept staring'. It stresses a state that persists, here an unsettling, motionless stare. Corría un viento que hacía doblarse los árboles, yo me tapaba con los brazos, y él, sin decir palabra, no hacía más que mirarme, cuando frente a nosotros se detuvo un vigilante, mientras que de atrás lo agarraba por los brazos el portero, que se había despertado con el ruido. A wind was blowing that bent the trees over, I covered myself with my arms, and he, without a word, did nothing but stare at me, when in front of us a policeman stopped, while from behind the night porter, who had woken at the noise, grabbed him by the arms. > «no hacer más que» + infinitive: «no hacer más que» plus an infinitive means 'to do nothing but': «no hacía más que mirarme» = 'he did nothing but stare at me'. It is the standard idiom for an action repeated to the exclusion of all else. Y él gritaba que lo podían escuchar desde la esquina: Esta es la ramera... la que amó a los rufianes que tienen la carne como la carne del mulo...» And he shouted so that they could hear him from the corner: "This is the whore... the one who loved the pimps whose flesh is like the flesh of the mule..." > «rufián»: A «rufián» is a pimp, a man who lives off prostitutes — a recurring figure in Arlt's underworld. Ergueta's biblical-sounding tirade brands Hipólita with her past, mixing scripture and gutter slang in the same breath. –¿Pero cómo se acuerda usted de esas palabras? "But how do you remember those words?" > «acordarse de»: 'To remember' is «acordarse de» — pronominal, and always followed by «de»: «¿cómo se acuerda usted de esas palabras?» = 'how do you remember those words?'. Its non-reflexive cousin «acordar» means something different ('to agree on / decide'). –Todo lo que pasó es como si lo estuviera viendo ahora. "Everything that happened is as if I were seeing it now. El, entre una hoja de la puerta, tironeando para adentro; desde afuera el vigilante estirándolo, mientras el portero lo abrazaba por la garganta para hacerle perder fuerzas, y yo en el quicio esperando que eso terminara, pues se habían juntado varias personas que en vez de ayudarlo al vigilante se entretenían en mirarme a mí. He, in the gap of one door-leaf, wrenching inward; from outside the policeman pulling at him, while the porter clamped him by the throat to sap his strength, and I in the doorway waiting for it to end, since several people had gathered who, instead of helping the policeman, amused themselves by staring at me. > «esperar que» + subjunctive: «esperar que» ('to wait / hope that') triggers the subjunctive: «esperando que eso terminara» = 'waiting for it to end'. Within a past narration the verb is the imperfect subjunctive «terminara». Menos mal que yo usé siempre un largo camisón de noche... It's just as well I always wore a long nightgown... > «menos mal que»: «menos mal que» means 'it's a good thing that / thank goodness': «menos mal que yo usé...» = 'it's just as well I wore...'. A fixed, very common spoken phrase expressing relief at how something turned out. Por fin, con la ayuda de otros vigilantes a quienes avisó un mozo desde adentro con llamadas de auxilio, pudieron sacarlo para la comisaría. Finally, with the help of other policemen whom a bellboy summoned from inside with cries for help, they managed to take him off to the police station. > «comisaría»: A «comisaría» is a police station or precinct. «sacarlo para la comisaría» = 'to take him off to the station'. Note «mozo» here is a hotel bellboy/waiter, another sense of a word that elsewhere means simply 'young man'. Creían que estaba borracho... pero era un ataque de locura... Así lo diagnosticó el médico. They thought he was drunk... but it was a fit of madness... That's how the doctor diagnosed it. Deliraba con el arca de Noé... He was raving about Noah's ark... –Perfectamente... ¿y en qué puedo servirla? –Otra vez Erdosain sentía que lo importante del personaje reaparecía en su vida como un elemento novelesco que hay que cuidar como se cuida el lazo de la corbata en el desorden de un baile. "Very well... and how can I be of service to you?" Once again Erdosain felt that the importance of the character was reappearing in his life like a novelistic element to be looked after the way one looks after the knot of one's tie in the disorder of a dance. > «servir» + direct object person: «servir a alguien» = 'to be of service to / help someone'. The pronoun «la» (here used for 'usted' addressed to a woman) attaches to the infinitive: «servirla» = 'serve you'. The whole phrase is a polite 'how may I help you?'. –En fin, yo lo molestaba a ver si usted provisoriamente podía ayudarme. Con la familia de él no puedo contar absolutamente para nada. "Well, I was troubling you to see whether you might be able to help me for the time being. On his family I can't count for absolutely anything. > «contar con» = 'to count on': «contar con» means 'to count on / rely on someone': «no puedo contar con la familia de él» = 'I can't count on his family'. Without «con», «contar» means 'to count' (numbers) or 'to tell' (a story). –¿Pero usted no se casó en la casa de él? "But didn't you marry into his family's house?" –Sí, pero cuando volvimos de Montevideo después que nos casamos, fuimos un día de visita... imagínese... de visita en una casa donde yo había sido sirvienta. "Yes, but when we came back from Montevideo after we married, we went one day to visit... imagine... to visit a house where I had been a maid. > Reflexive command with «usted»: «imagínese» is the «usted» command of «imaginarse», with the reflexive «se» attached: 'imagine (to yourself)'. Used as an aside, it means 'just imagine!', inviting the listener to picture the awkward scene. –¡Qué colosal! "How extraordinary!" –La indignación de esa gente usted no se la imagina. Una día de él... pero ¡para qué contar tantas mezquindades!... ¿no le parece? La vida es así y listo. Nos echaron y nos fuimos. Paciencia, mala suerte. "You can't imagine those people's indignation. One of his days... but what's the use of recounting so many mean little things!... don't you think? Life is like that, and that's that. They threw us out and we left. Patience, bad luck. > «y listo»: «y listo» is a casual tag meaning 'and that's that / and done': «la vida es así y listo» = 'life is like that, and that's that'. The closing «paciencia, mala suerte» ('patience, bad luck') is Hipólita's fatalistic shrug — a phrase Erdosain later finds vulgar. –Lo raro es que usted haya sido sirvienta. "The strange thing is that you should have been a maid." > Value judgment + subjunctive: Expressions of evaluation like «lo raro es que» ('the strange thing is that') take the subjunctive: «que usted haya sido sirvienta» = 'that you were/should have been a maid'. «haya sido» is the present perfect subjunctive of «ser». –No tiene nada de particular... "There's nothing unusual about it..." > «no tener nada de» + adjective: «no tener nada de» plus an adjective means 'to be not at all ...': «no tiene nada de particular» = 'there's nothing special/unusual about it'. The «de» links the verb to the quality being denied. –Es que usted no causa esa impresión... "It's that you don't give that impression..." > «es que» = 'the thing is': Beginning an answer with «es que» softens an explanation or excuse: «es que usted no causa esa impresión» = 'it's just that you don't give that impression'. It frames what follows as the reason behind a previous remark. –Gracias... el caso es que al salir del hotel tuve que empeñar un anillo... y necesito administrar el poco dinero que tengo... "Thank you... the thing is that on leaving the hotel I had to pawn a ring... and I need to make the little money I have last... > «empeñar» = 'to pawn': «empeñar» means 'to pawn', to leave an object at a pawnshop as security for a loan: «tuve que empeñar un anillo» = 'I had to pawn a ring'. Earlier Ergueta «empeñó» the very necklace he claimed she gave away — pawning runs all through their broke, drifting life. –¿Y la farmacia? "And the pharmacy?" –Está a cargo de un idóneo. Le he telegrafiado que envíe dinero... pero él me ha contestado que tiene órdenes de la familia de Ergueta de no entregarme un centavo. En fin... "It's in the charge of a licensed assistant. I've wired him to send money... but he's answered that he has orders from Ergueta's family not to hand me a cent. Anyway... > Verb of request + subjunctive: When you ask someone to do something, the request triggers the subjunctive: «le he telegrafiado que envíe dinero» = 'I've wired him to send money'. «envíe» is the present subjunctive of «enviar» — a command embedded in reported speech. > «idóneo»: As an adjective «idóneo» means 'suitable, qualified'; as a noun in old Argentine usage it meant a licensed pharmacy assistant — someone certified to run a «farmacia» without being a full pharmacist. That is the sense here. –¿Y usted qué piensa hacer? "And what do you plan to do?" > «pensar» + infinitive = 'to intend': «pensar» plus an infinitive means 'to intend / plan to': «¿qué piensa hacer?» = 'what do you plan to do?'. This differs from «pensar en» ('to think about') and «pensar que» ('to think that'). –Eso es lo que no sé... Si volver a Pico, o esperar aquí. "That's what I don't know... Whether to go back to Pico, or wait here." > «si» + infinitive for a dilemma: «si» plus an infinitive frames an open choice one is weighing: «si volver a Pico, o esperar aquí» = '(whether) to go back to Pico, or wait here'. Here «si» means 'whether', not 'if', presenting two options. –¡Qué lío!... "What a mess!..." > «lío»: «lío» means a 'mess, tangle, jam' — a complicated, troublesome situation. «¡qué lío!» = 'what a mess!'. A very common colloquial exclamation; it can also mean a messy love affair. –Créame, estoy harta ya. "Believe me, I'm fed up by now." > «estar harto/a de»: «estar harto/a» means 'to be fed up, sick of': «estoy harta ya» = 'I'm fed up by now' (feminine «harta» for a woman). To name what one is sick of, add «de»: «harta de todo» = 'fed up with everything'. –Bueno, el caso es que hoy no tengo dinero. Mañana, sí, tendré... "Well, the thing is that today I have no money. Tomorrow, yes, I'll have some..." –¿Sabe?... Esos pocos pesos quiero reservarlos por si acaso... "You know?... Those few pesos I want to keep just in case..." > «por si acaso»: «por si acaso» means 'just in case': «quiero reservarlos por si acaso» = 'I want to keep them just in case'. A set phrase; «por si» alone plus a verb works the same way ('in case ...'). –Y en tanto usted averigüe algo serio... si quiere puede quedarse aquí. Precisamente, al lado hay una pieza vacía. ¿Y qué más desea? "And while you look into something solid... if you like you can stay here. As it happens, there's an empty room next door. And what else do you want?" > «en tanto» + subjunctive: «en tanto (que)» here means 'while / as long as' and, pointing to something not yet done, takes the subjunctive: «en tanto usted averigüe algo» = 'while you look into something'. «averigüe» is the subjunctive of «averiguar» — note the diaeresis keeps the «u» sounded. > «pieza» = 'room': In River Plate Spanish «pieza» commonly means a 'room' (especially a bedroom or rented room), where Spain would say «habitación» or «cuarto». «al lado hay una pieza vacía» = 'there's an empty room next door'. –Ver si usted lo puede sacar del hospicio. "To see if you can get him out of the asylum." –¿Cómo lo voy a sacar si está loco? Veremos. Bueno...esta noche se queda a dormir aquí. Yo me las arreglaré en el sofá... aunque es probable que no duerma aquí. "How am I going to get him out if he's insane? We'll see. All right... tonight you'll stay and sleep here. I'll manage on the sofa... though I'll probably not sleep here." > «arreglárselas»: «arreglárselas» is a fixed idiom meaning 'to manage, to get by, to cope': «me las arreglaré en el sofá» = 'I'll manage on the sofa'. The «las» is a frozen feminine pronoun with no separate antecedent — the phrase only works with it. Otra vez la mujer filtró entre las pestañas rojas, su malévola mirada verdosa. Once again the woman let her malevolent greenish gaze filter through her red lashes. Era como si proyectara su alma sobre el relieve de las ideas del hombre, para recoger un calco de sus intenciones. It was as if she projected her soul onto the relief of the man's ideas, to take a tracing of his intentions. > «como si» + imperfect subjunctive: «como si» ('as if') again calls for the imperfect subjunctive: «como si proyectara su alma» = 'as if she were projecting her soul'. The construction is unreal, so the indicative is impossible here. –Bueno, acepto... "All right, I accept..." –Mañana, si quiere, le daré dinero para que se vaya tranquila a vivir a un hotel si no prefiere quedarse aquí. "Tomorrow, if you like, I'll give you money so you can go off and live in peace at a hotel, if you'd rather not stay here." > «para que» + subjunctive: «para que» ('so that, in order that') always takes the subjunctive when the two clauses have different subjects: «para que se vaya tranquila» = 'so that you can go off in peace'. «se vaya» is the subjunctive of «irse». Mas de pronto, encocorado contra Hipólita por un pensamiento que acababa de resbalar en su entendimiento, dijo: But suddenly, irritated with Hipólita by a thought that had just slipped into his understanding, he said: > «acabar de» + infinitive = 'to have just': «acabar de» plus an infinitive means 'to have just done something': «acababa de resbalar» = 'had just slipped'. In the imperfect, as here, it sets the action immediately before the main past moment. –¿Sabe usted que no debe quererlo a Eduardo?... "Do you know that you must not love Eduardo?..." –¿Por qué? "Why?" –Es evidente. Usted llega aquí, me habla de todo este drama con una tranquilidad que asombra... y naturalmente, entonces... ¿qué es lo que uno va a pensar de usted? "It's obvious. You arrive here, you tell me about this whole drama with a calm that astonishes... and naturally, then... what is one to think of you?" > Impersonal «uno»: «uno» ('one') stands in for a generic person, often softening a pointed remark about the listener: «¿qué va a pensar uno de usted?» = 'what is one to think of you?'. Erdosain hides his own judgment behind this impersonal 'one'. Al decir estas palabras, Erdosain había comenzado a pasearse en el reducido espacio de la habitación. As he said these words, Erdosain had begun to pace about the cramped space of the room. Sentíase inquieto, y de reojo examinaba el ovalado rostro pecoso, con las finas cejas rojas bajo la visera verde del sombrero, y los labios como inflamados, mientras que las dos alas de cabello color de cobre ceñían las sienes cubriendo las orejas, y las pupilas transparentes lanzaban haces de mirada. He felt uneasy, and out of the corner of his eye he studied the oval freckled face, with its fine red eyebrows under the green brim of the hat, and the lips as if inflamed, while the two wings of copper-colored hair hugged her temples, covering her ears, and the transparent pupils flung out shafts of gaze. > Enclitic pronoun on a finite verb: In literary Spanish a pronoun may attach to the end of a finite verb that opens a sentence: «sentíase» = «se sentía», 'he felt'. Arlt uses this slightly archaic enclitic placement for rhythm; in everyday Spanish the pronoun comes before the verb. –No tiene casi senos –pensó Erdosain. "She has almost no breasts," Erdosain thought. Hipólita miraba en redor; de pronto, sonriendo amablemente, le preguntó: Hipólita looked around; suddenly, smiling kindly, she asked him: –¿Qué es lo que usted, m'hijito, esperaba de mí? "What was it, my dear boy, that you expected of me?" > «m'hijito»: «m'hijito» is a contraction of «mi hijito» ('my little son'), a coaxing, familiar address — 'my dear', 'sonny'. Coming from a near-stranger and, as the next line says, with a 'brothel' edge, it presumes an intimacy that needles Erdosain. Erdosain se sintió irritado por ese «m'hijito» intempestivo y prostibulario que se sumaba al canalla «paciencia, mala suerte». Erdosain felt irritated by that untimely, brothel-tinged "m'hijito" that added itself to the contemptible "patience, bad luck." > «prostibulario»: «prostibulario» means 'of the brothel', whorehouse-like (from «prostíbulo», 'brothel'). Erdosain hears in her endearment the tone of the bordello, which together with her fatalistic «paciencia, mala suerte» confirms his image of her as common, even degraded. Por fin, dijo: At last he said: –No sé... en fin, me la imaginaba a usted menos fría... hay momentos en que da usted la idea de que es una mujer perversa... puede que me equivoque, pero... en fin... allá usted... "I don't know... well, I imagined you less cold... there are moments when you give the idea that you're a wicked woman... maybe I'm wrong, but... well... that's your business..." > «puede que» + subjunctive: «puede que» ('it may be that / maybe') always takes the subjunctive: «puede que me equivoque» = 'maybe I'm mistaken'. The closing «allá usted» is an idiom — 'that's up to you / that's your business' — washing his hands of the judgment. Hipólita se levantó: Hipólita stood up: –M'hijito, yo nunca he hecho comedias. He venido a usted, sencillamente, porque sabía que usted era su mejor amigo. "My dear boy, I have never put on an act. I've come to you, quite simply, because I knew you were his best friend. > «hacer comedias»: «hacer comedias» means 'to put on an act, to play-act, to make a fuss for effect': «nunca he hecho comedias» = 'I have never put on an act'. It throws Erdosain's own self-image — playing 'the comedy of the impassive man' — back at him. ¿Qué quiere?... ¿Que me ponga a llorar como una Magdalena si no lo siento?... Ya he llorado bastante... What do you want?... For me to start crying like a Magdalene if I don't feel it?... I've cried enough already... > «ponerse a» + infinitive: «ponerse a» plus an infinitive means 'to start / set about doing something', often suddenly: «que me ponga a llorar» = 'for me to burst out crying'. «llorar como una Magdalena» ('to cry like a Magdalene') is the set phrase for weeping floods of tears. Ella también se había puesto de pie. She too had risen to her feet. Lo miraba con fijeza, pero la dureza de líneas que estaba rígida bajo la epidermis de su semblante como una armadura de voluntad se descompuso de fatiga. She looked at him fixedly, but the hardness of line that lay rigid beneath the skin of her face like an armor of will broke apart from fatigue. Con la cabeza inclinada ligeramente a un costado, a Erdosain le recordó a su esposa... bien podía ser ella... estaba en la puerta de una estancia desconocida... el capitán, indiferente, la miraba marchar para siempre y no la detenía... la calle se abría ante ella... quizá fuera a parar a un hotel de muros sucios, y entonces, apiadado, dijo: With her head tilted slightly to one side, she reminded Erdosain of his own wife... it could well have been her... she was at the door of some unknown house... the captain, indifferent, watched her walk away forever and did not stop her... the street opened before her... perhaps she would end up in a hotel with dirty walls, and then, moved to pity, he said: > «recordar a» = 'to remind of': «recordarle a alguien a otra persona» means 'to remind someone of another': «a Erdosain le recordó a su esposa» = 'she reminded Erdosain of his wife'. The first «a... le» marks who is reminded; the second «a su esposa» marks who is recalled. > «quizá» + subjunctive: «quizá» ('perhaps') takes the subjunctive to mark genuine uncertainty: «quizá fuera a parar a un hotel» = 'perhaps she would end up at a hotel'. «ir a parar» is itself an idiom, 'to end up / wind up' somewhere. –Discúlpeme... estoy un poco nervioso. Usted está en su casa. Lo único que siento es que me haya encontrado sin dinero. Pero mañana tendré. "Forgive me... I'm a little on edge. Make yourself at home. The only thing I regret is that you found me without money. But tomorrow I'll have some." > «estar en su casa»: «está usted en su casa» is the courteous formula 'make yourself at home' (literally 'you are in your own house'). The following «lo único que siento es que...» uses «sentir» in its sense of 'to regret/be sorry', which is why it takes the subjunctive «haya encontrado». Hipólita volvió a ocupar la silla y Erdosain, al tiempo que caminaba se tomó el pulso. Hipólita took the chair again and Erdosain, as he walked, took his own pulse. > «al tiempo que» = 'while': «al tiempo que» means 'at the same time as / while': «al tiempo que caminaba se tomó el pulso» = 'as he walked, he took his pulse'. The reflexive «se tomó el pulso» shows the action is done to his own body. Las venas latían rápidamente. His veins were throbbing rapidly. Fatigado de la tarde pasada con el Astrólogo y Barsut, dijo con amargura: Worn out from the afternoon spent with the Astrologer and Barsut, he said bitterly: –Es pesada la vida... ¿eh?... "Life is heavy going... eh?..." > «pesado» = 'heavy / hard going': «pesado» literally means 'heavy'; of life, work, or a person it means 'wearisome, hard going, a drag': «es pesada la vida» = 'life is hard going'. The adjective agrees in gender with «la vida», hence «pesada». La intrusa miraba en silencio la punta de su zapatito. The intruder gazed in silence at the tip of her little shoe. Levantó los ojos y una arruga fina estrió su frente pecosa. She raised her eyes, and a fine wrinkle streaked her freckled forehead. Luego: Then: –Usted parece que está preocupado. ¿Le pasa algo? "You seem worried. Is something wrong with you?" > «pasarle algo a alguien»: «pasarle algo a alguien» means 'for something to be the matter with someone': «¿le pasa algo?» = 'is something wrong with you?'. «pasar» here is 'to happen', and «le» marks the person it happens to. –Nada... dígame... ¿sufrió mucho al lado de él?... "Nothing... tell me... did you suffer a great deal at his side?..." –Un poco. Es violento... "A little. He's violent..." –¡Qué curioso! Quisiera representármelo en el manicomio y no puedo. "How strange! I'd like to picture him to myself in the madhouse and I can't. > Two pronouns on an infinitive: «representarse algo» means 'to picture something to oneself'. Here two pronouns stack onto the infinitive: «representár-me-lo» = «representar» + «me» (to myself) + «lo» (him/it), 'to picture him to myself'. The added accent keeps the original stress. Apenas si distingo un pedazo de cara y un ojo... Le prevengo que yo presentí el desastre. I can barely make out a piece of a face and an eye... I warn you, I sensed the disaster coming. > «apenas si»: «apenas si» is an emphatic 'hardly / barely at all': «apenas si distingo un pedazo de cara» = 'I can barely make out a piece of a face'. The «si» reinforces «apenas»; it does not mean 'if' here. Le encontré una mañana, me contó todo y de pronto tuve la impresión de que sería desdichada a su lado... pero usted debe estar cansada. I ran into him one morning, he told me everything, and suddenly I had the impression you would be unhappy at his side... but you must be tired. Yo tengo que salir. I have to go out. Le voy a decir a la patrona que le sirva la cena aquí. I'm going to tell the landlady to serve you dinner here. > Indirect command + subjunctive: Telling someone to do something for a third party takes the subjunctive: «le voy a decir a la patrona que le sirva la cena» = 'I'll tell the landlady to serve you dinner'. «sirva» is the present subjunctive of «servir». –No... no tengo ganas. "No... I don't feel like it." > «tener ganas (de)»: «tener ganas de» means 'to feel like / want to': «no tengo ganas» = 'I don't feel like it'. With a following verb it stays in the infinitive: «tengo ganas de dormir» = 'I feel like sleeping'. –Bueno, entonces con su permiso. Aquí está el biombo. Haga como si estuviera en su casa. "All right, then, by your leave. Here's the folding screen. Act as if you were at home." > Command + «como si» + subjunctive: «haga» is the «usted» command of «hacer»; «como si estuviera» again needs the imperfect subjunctive for the unreal comparison: «haga como si estuviera en su casa» = 'act as if you were at home'. Cuando Erdosain salió, la Coja le envolvió en una mirada singular, mirada de abanico que corta con una oblicua el cuerpo de un hombre de pies a cabeza, recogiendo en tangente toda la geometría interior de su vida. When Erdosain went out, the lame woman wrapped him in a singular look, a fan-like look that slices a man's body on the diagonal from head to foot, gathering up at a tangent the whole inner geometry of his life. > «de pies a cabeza»: «de pies a cabeza» is the set phrase 'from head to foot' (literally 'from feet to head' — Spanish reverses the order). It closes the chapter on Hipólita's appraising, dissecting gaze, mirroring the cold look that opened the scene. --- Source text: public domain (Roberto Arlt, d. 1942). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review. NOTE: this is a minimal seed excerpt to make the app target runnable; full verified content is authored through the content pipeline.