Spanish · Part One

La propuesta

The Proposal

283 sentences · 145 notes

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1
The Astrologer was getting ready to go to bed when he heard footsteps on the path that led to the house.
Eltheel · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of Astrólogo
AstrólogoAstrologerAstrólogo · proper nounsubject of disponía
se(reflexive)él · pronoun, accusative, reflexivereflexive particle of disponía
disponíawas getting readydisponer · verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
atoa · prepositionintroduces the clause of acostarse
acostarsego to bedacostar él · verb, infinitivecomplement of disponía
cuandowhencuando · subordinating conjunctionintroduces the clause of escuchó
escuchóheardescuchar · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularadverbial clause on disponía
pasosfootstepspaso · noun, masculine, pluraldirect object of escuchó
enonen · prepositionpreposition marking sendero
eltheel · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of sendero
senderopathsendero · noun, masculine, singularoblique complement of escuchó
quethatque · pronounsubject of conducía
conducíaledconducir · verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singularclause modifying sendero
atoa · prepositionpreposition marking casa
latheel · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of casa
casahousecasa · noun, feminine, singularoblique complement of conducía
GrammarImperfect for an action in progress «se disponía a acostarse» is the imperfect of the pronominal verb «disponerse a» ('to be about to'). The imperfect sets the scene already underway — 'he was getting ready' — and is interrupted by the preterite «escuchó» ('he heard'), which names the single completed event that breaks in on it.
Since the dog did not bark, he opened the shutter partway.
Grammar«Como» = 'since / because' At the head of a clause, «como» usually means 'since' or 'as' (giving a reason), not 'like' or 'how'. «Como el perro no ladró» = 'since the dog didn't bark'. The causal «como» clause normally comes first, before the main clause it explains.
A parallelogram of light cut through the darkness as far as the dome of the pomegranate trees, and through this yellow box he saw Erdosain coming forward, the light striking him full in the face.
GrammarPerception verb + infinitive Verbs of perception like «ver» take a bare infinitive for what is seen happening: «vio avanzar a Erdosain» = 'he saw Erdosain come forward'. The personal «a» before «Erdosain» marks him as the human object of «vio».
2
"How odd!" thought the Astrologer.
I still hadn't noticed this fellow wears a straw hat!
GrammarPluperfect + pronominal «fijarse» «fijarse (en)» means 'to notice / take note of'. Here it is in the pluperfect, «no me había fijado» = 'I hadn't noticed', a state reaching up to the present moment of speaking. The reflexive «me» is part of the verb, not a separate object.
What can he want?
GrammarFuture of conjecture The future tense «querrá» here does not point to the future; it expresses a present guess — 'what can he want?', 'I wonder what he wants'. Spanish often uses the future this way to voice supposition about the present.
And after making sure he had the revolver at his waist (this motion was instinctive in him) he unlocked the door, and Erdosain came in.
Grammar«después de» + infinitive When the subject is the same in both clauses, Spanish uses «después de» plus an infinitive rather than a conjugated verb: «después de asegurarse» = 'after making sure (he) had…'. The pronominal «asegurarse (de)» means 'to make sure / satisfy oneself'.
3
"I thought you'd gone to bed."
GrammarPreterite «creí» for a finished thought «Creí que…» ('I thought that…') is the preterite of «creer» — a belief held at one bounded past moment, now corrected. The imperfect «estaba acostado» ('you were in bed / had gone to bed') describes the supposed ongoing state inside that belief.
4
"Come in."
GrammarFormal command (usted) «Pase» is the «usted» imperative of «pasar», here meaning 'come in / step through'. The Astrologer and Erdosain address each other with formal «usted» throughout, the polite distance two grown men keep even while plotting a murder together.
5
Erdosain went through into the study.
The map of the United States was still there, with black flags pinned into the territories where the Ku Klux Klan held sway.
The Astrologer had been working on a horoscope, because the open case of compasses lay on the table.
GrammarPast perfect continuous «había estado trabajando» combines the pluperfect of «estar» with a gerund to mean 'had been working' — an activity going on over a stretch of time before the moment of the scene. It is the past-in-the-past mirror of «he estado trabajando» ('I have been working').
The wind coming in through the grille stirred the papers, and Erdosain, after waiting for the other man to put some documents away in the cabinet, sat down with his back to the garden.
GrammarSubjunctive after «esperar que» «esperar que» ('to wait for / hope that') triggers the subjunctive in its clause, here the past subjunctive «guardara» ('put away'). «aquél» ('that one, the former') is a demonstrative pronoun standing in for the Astrologer.
6
Settled there, he sat gazing at the broad face of the other man — the crooked nose springing from the tumultuous brow, the cabbage-like ear, the enormous chest packed inside the dull black clothes, his copper chain crossing the waistcoat from side to side, the steel ring with its violet stone on a hand of misshapen fingers and weathered skin.
GrammarEnclitic pronoun + «quedarse» + gerund «quedóse mirando» is «se quedó mirando» with the pronoun attached to the end of the verb («quedóse»), an older, literary placement Arlt favors. «quedarse + gerund» means 'to remain / stay doing something' — here 'he sat there gazing'.
Now that the man was without his hat, you could see that his hair was kinky, hopelessly tangled, and short.
WordAbsolute superlative «-ísimo» The suffix «-ísimo/a» turns an adjective into its strongest degree: «enmarañado» ('tangled') → «enmarañadísimo» ('utterly tangled, a hopeless tangle'). It intensifies without needing «muy», and Arlt piles it onto an already vivid word.
He had stretched out his legs and was letting his whole weight rest on the arms of the chair.
With his unpolished boots he looked like a man of the mountains, perhaps a gold prospector.
Why shouldn't the gold prospectors of Patagonia look like this? thought Erdosain, and unable to account for his own wandering mind he sat there staring at the map of the United States and silently repeating the words he had heard the Astrologer say that afternoon, while pointing out the federal states to the Ruffian with his pointer.
Grammar«haber de» + infinitive «haber de» plus an infinitive expresses obligation or expectation — 'to be (supposed) to'. In a rhetorical question, «¿por qué no habían de ser así?» means 'why shouldn't they be like this?'. It is a more literary cousin of «tener que» and «deber».
7
"The Ku Klux Klan is strong in Texas, Ohio, Indianapolis, Oklahoma, Oregon..."
8
"And what do you say, my friend... what?..."
9
"Ah, that's right!..."
I've come to see you...
Grammar«le» as a direct object («leísmo») Standard grammar would use «verlo» ('to see him'), but the «le» here ('verle') is «leísmo» — using «le» for a male human direct object. It is widespread in Spain and in this register, and the meaning is identical: 'to see you' (the formal «usted»).
10
"I was just about to turn in."
I've been working on the horoscope of some idiot...
GrammarPreterite progressive «estuve trabajando» pairs the preterite of «estar» with a gerund: 'I was working / I spent time working'. Unlike the imperfect «estaba trabajando», the preterite frames the whole stretch of work as a finished, bounded block now over.
11
"If I'm bothering you, I'll go."
12
"No, stay."
GrammarFormal imperative + enclitic «se» «quédese» is the «usted» command of the pronominal verb «quedarse» ('to stay'). In an affirmative command the reflexive pronoun attaches to the end of the verb: «quede» + «se» → «quédese». Adding the enclitic pushes the word to three syllables from the stress, so a written accent is needed to keep the stress where it was — the bare command «quede» carries none.
Have you been in a fistfight?
WordRiver Plate slang «trompearse» «trompearse» is Buenos Aires slang for 'to come to blows, get into a fistfight' (from «trompada», 'a punch'). «¿Se ha trompeado?» = 'Have you been in a scrap?' — the Astrologer reads Erdosain's agitation as the look of a man who has just been brawling.
What's the matter with you?
Grammar«qué es lo que» = emphatic 'what' «¿Qué es lo que le pasa?» is an emphatic way of saying «¿Qué le pasa?» ('what's wrong with you?'). The frame «qué es lo que» ('what is it that…') adds weight and a touch of insistence, like English 'what is it that's going on?'.
13
"A great deal."
Tell me, if you could... You won't be shocked by the question?... If you, in order to found your lodge — that is, to get hold of the twenty thousand pesos it takes — if to get twenty thousand pesos you had to kill a man, what would you do?
GrammarHypothetical conditional This is the classic unreal conditional: «si» + past subjunctive («tuviera», 'if you had to') in the 'if' clause, and the conditional («haría», 'would you do') in the result. Together they frame a purely imagined case — exactly the murder Erdosain is feeling his way toward proposing.
Word«logia» — the secret society «logia» is a 'lodge' in the masonic sense: a secret, ranked society. Throughout the novel the Astrologer's «logia» is his planned revolutionary order, funded by crime — the engine of the whole conspiracy this chapter sets running.
14
The Astrologer drew himself up in his chair, his body now, lifted by astonishment, at a right angle...
GrammarGerund of result The gerund «quedando» ('remaining / ending up') attaches a consequence to the main verb: he sat up, «quedando su cuerpo en ángulo recto» = 'so that his body ended up at a right angle'. The gerund here describes the resulting posture rather than a separate action.
And though his head was held high by the thoughts Erdosain had stirred up in him, it seemed to weigh prodigiously on his shoulders.
Grammar«aunque» + indicative «aunque» means 'although / even though'. With the indicative («estaba erguida», 'was held high') it concedes a fact taken as real, not a mere possibility. Had it taken the subjunctive, it would have softened to 'even if'.
He rubbed his hands together and scrutinized Remo's face.
15
"Why does it occur to you to ask me this question?"
Grammar«ocurrírsele a alguien» «ocurrírsele (algo) a alguien» means 'for something to occur to someone, to cross one's mind'. The «se» is impersonal and the «le» marks the person it strikes: «¿por qué se le ocurre?» = 'what makes you think of (asking) this?'. The idea is presented as arriving at the person, not chosen by them.
16
"The thing is, I've found the candidate who has the twenty thousand pesos."
Grammar«Es que» = 'the thing is' «Es que…» opens an explanation or justification: 'the thing is…', 'it's just that…'. It frames what follows as the reason behind something — here, the reason Erdosain is asking such a question.
We can kidnap him, and if he refuses to sign the check for us, we torture him.
GrammarPronominal «negarse a» «negarse a» (pronominal) means 'to refuse to (do something)', as opposed to plain «negar», 'to deny'. «Si se niega a firmar» = 'if he refuses to sign'. The reflexive marks the refusal as the subject's own stance.
17
The Astrologer knit his brows.
Faced with the riddles locked inside that proposal, his perplexity grew, and with the fingers of his left hand he began to turn the ring on the ring finger of his right.
GrammarEnclitic «se» on the verb «acrecentóse» is «se acrecentó» ('grew, increased') with the pronoun fused to the end — the same literary enclitic placement Arlt uses elsewhere in this scene («quedóse», «restregóse»). The pronominal «acrecentarse» means 'to increase' of its own accord.
The violet stone passed every instant in front of the bronze chain, and although he kept his face lowered, beneath the line of his eyebrows his level pupils were searching Erdosain's face.
18
And in that posture the crooked nose took on the force of a stronghold, the chin sunk into the black cloth of the cravat.
19
"Let's see — explain all that to me, because I don't understand a single word."
Grammar«ni» for emphatic 'not even' «no entiendo ni una palabra» = 'I don't understand even a single word'. With a negated verb, «ni» strengthens the negation to 'not even one'. The double negative («no… ni») is standard and obligatory in Spanish.
20
Now he had sat up, and his face seemed to dare a rain of blows.
21
"It's simple and brilliant."
My wife has gone off tonight to live with another man.
GrammarPronominal «irse» = 'to leave / go off' «irse» (with the reflexive pronoun) stresses departure — 'to go away, leave' — where plain «ir» merely means 'to go (somewhere)'. «Se ha ido a vivir con otro» = 'she has gone off to live with another man'. The «se» carries the whole weight of the abandonment.
And so he...
22
"Who is he?..."
23
"Barsut, my wife's cousin... Gregorio Barsut, came to see me and to confess to me that it was he who reported me to the Sugar Company."
GrammarCleft sentence «fue... quien» «fue él quien me denunció» = 'it was he who reported me'. The frame «ser + X + quien/que» singles X out for emphasis, exactly like the English 'it was he who…'. The verb «ser» agrees in tense with the action — here the preterite «fue».
24
"Ah!..."
Was it he who reported you?...
25
"Yes, and to top it all off..."
WordIdiom «para colmo» «para colmo (de males)» means 'to top it all off, to make matters worse'. «colmo» is the brim or the final straw; the phrase introduces one more bad thing piled on the rest.
26
"But for what reason did he report you?..."
27
"How should I know!..."
WordIdiom «¡Qué sé yo!» «¡Qué sé yo!» literally 'what do I know!' is a fixed exclamation meaning 'how should I know, who knows, beats me'. The subject «yo» comes after the verb for emphasis. It shrugs off the question entirely.
To humiliate me...
In short, he's half mad.
Word«medio» as an adverb Used before an adjective, «medio» means 'half / rather' and, as an adverb, does not change to agree: «medio loco» = 'half crazy', and one would also say «medio loca» of a woman, keeping «medio» invariable.
A man who lives frantically.
28
He has twenty thousand pesos.
His father died in an asylum.
He'll end up there too.
Grammar«ir a» + infinitive (near future) «ir a» plus an infinitive is the everyday way to say 'going to (do something)': «va a terminar allí» = 'he's going to end up there'. It is more colloquial than the simple future «terminará» and is by far the more common in speech.
The twenty thousand pesos are an inheritance from an aunt on his father's side.
29
The Astrologer clutched his forehead.
He was more perplexed than ever.
The matter interested him, but he did not understand it.
Grammar«interesar» like «gustar» «interesar» works like «gustar»: the thing that interests is the grammatical subject, and the person is an indirect object. «A él le interesaba el asunto» = 'the matter interested him' (literally 'to him the matter was interesting'). The fronted «a él» merely emphasizes the «le».
Word«mas» without an accent = 'but' «mas» (no accent) is a literary word for 'but', equivalent to «pero». Do not confuse it with «más» ('more'), which carries an accent. Arlt's «mas no lo comprendía» = 'but he did not understand it'.
30
He pressed on:
31
"Tell me everything in detail, in order."
GrammarFormal command + enclitic «me» «Cuénteme» is the «usted» imperative of «contar» ('to tell') with the object pronoun «me» attached: 'tell me'. The written accent on «cuénte-» keeps the original stress once the pronoun lengthens the word.
32
Erdosain began his account again.
He told everything we already know.
He spoke slowly, meticulously, for the nervous tension that had preceded the proposal he made to the Astrologer had now gone out of him.
Word«pues» = 'for / since' Here «pues» introduces a reason — 'for, because, since' — rather than functioning as the filler 'well'. «Hablaba despacio... pues había desaparecido...» = 'he spoke slowly... for [the tension] had vanished...'.
33
Now he sat on the edge of the chair, his back arched, his elbows propped on his knees, his cheeks latticed by his fingers, his gaze fixed on the floor.
The yellow skin stuck to the flat bones of his face gave him the look of a consumptive.
Word«tísico» — a consumptive «tísico» is someone suffering from «tisis», the old word for pulmonary tuberculosis ('consumption'). It conjures the wasted, hollow-cheeked look the disease was known for — the sickly mask Erdosain's face has become.
A heap of iniquities came out of his throat, without pause, dully, as if he were reciting a lesson stamped cold onto the surface of his conscience.
Grammar«como si» + past subjunctive «como si» ('as if') always takes the past (or pluperfect) subjunctive, even about the present: «como si recitara» = 'as if he were reciting'. The construction sets up an unreal comparison — he is not really reciting, only seems to be.
The Astrologer, his lips covered with his fingers, listened to him, watching him in bewilderment.
GrammarAbsolute participle clause «tapados los labios con los dedos» is a participle phrase standing on its own — 'his lips covered with his fingers'. The past participle «tapados» agrees with «los labios» and compresses 'with his lips covered…' into a tight, image-like clause.
He had imagined many things, but not this many.
34
With a slowness born of the excess of care not to make a mistake, Erdosain piled up anguishes, humiliations, memories, sufferings, nights he had spent without sleep, frightful quarrels.
Grammar«para» + infinitive of purpose «para» plus an infinitive states a purpose: «para no equivocarse» = 'so as not to go wrong / make a mistake'. The negative «no» sits between «para» and the infinitive. «equivocarse» is pronominal — 'to be mistaken, slip up'.
Among other things, he said:
35
"It will seem a lie to you that I, I who have come to propose to you the murder of a man, should speak to you of innocence — and yet I was twenty years old and I was a boy."
GrammarSubjunctive after «parecer mentira que» «Le parecerá mentira que… le hable de inocencia» = 'it will seem a lie to you that I should speak of innocence'. An expression of (dis)belief like «parecer mentira que» governs the subjunctive «hable» in its clause, marking the speaking as something doubted, not asserted.
Do you know what kind of sadness it is that makes a man spend the night in a filthy liquor bar, wasting time amid stupid conversations and shots of cane liquor?
GrammarImpersonal «uno» + causative «hacer» «uno» here is the impersonal 'one / a person', and «hacer + infinitive» is causative: «le hace pasar a uno la noche» = 'makes one spend the night'. The «le» doubles the «a uno», a standard pairing of pronoun and full object.
Do you know what it is to be in a brothel and suddenly hold yourself back so as not to weep in despair?
You look at me in astonishment, of course — you saw a strange man, perhaps, but you didn't realize that all that strangeness came from the anguish I carried hidden inside me.
GrammarIdiom «darse cuenta de» «darse cuenta de (que)» means 'to realize (that)'. The «de» is required before a «que» clause: «no se daba cuenta de que…» = 'you didn't realize that…'. Dropping the «de» («darse cuenta que») is common in speech but considered incorrect.
Look, it even seems a lie to me that I can speak as precisely as I do.
Word«Vea» as a discourse marker Literally the «usted» command of «ver» ('see'), «Vea» works here as a conversational opener — 'Look, listen, you see'. It calls the listener's attention to what comes next rather than asking him to look at anything.
Who am I?
Where am I going?
I don't know.
I have the impression that you are just like me, and that is why I have come to propose to you the murder of Barsut.
With the money we'll found the lodge, and perhaps we'll be able to shake the foundations of this society.
GrammarSubjunctive after «quizá» «quizá» ('perhaps') commonly takes the subjunctive when the doubt is real: «quizá podamos» = 'perhaps we may be able to'. The subjunctive «podamos» leaves the outcome genuinely open, more tentative than the indicative would be.
36
The Astrologer interrupted him:
37
"But why have you always acted this way?..."
38
"That's exactly what I don't know."
Why do you want to organize the lodge?
Why does the Melancholy Ruffian go on exploiting women and shining his own boots in spite of having a fortune?
Grammar«continuar / seguir» + gerund «continuar» (like «seguir») plus a gerund means 'to keep / go on doing something': «continúa explotando» = 'he goes on exploiting'. Spanish uses the gerund here where English uses 'keep + -ing'.
Why did Ergueta marry a prostitute and leave the millionairess?
Do you suppose I put up with Barsut's slap and the captain's presence just because?
WordIdiom «porque sí» «porque sí» means 'just because, for no reason at all'. It dismisses the idea that there is any real motive — here Erdosain insists the opposite: that there is a hidden reason for everything he has endured.
On the surface I'm a coward, Ergueta a madman, the Ruffian a miser, you a man obsessed.
On the surface we are all of that, but deep down, inside, below our consciousness and our thoughts there is another life, more powerful and enormous... and if we endure everything it is because we believe that by enduring or by acting as we do we will reach the truth at last... that is, the truth of our own selves.
GrammarGerund of means The gerunds «soportando» and «procediendo» express the means by which something happens — 'by enduring or by acting'. This 'by + -ing' use of the bare gerund is common in Spanish and tells you how the main verb («llegaremos», 'we will reach') comes about.
39
The Astrologer stood up, came over to Erdosain, and, laying his hand on his head, said broodingly: "You're right, my son."
WordIdiom «tener razón» «tener razón» means 'to be right' (literally 'to have reason'). One is right in Spanish by 'having' rightness, not by 'being' it. «Tiene usted razón» = 'you are right'.
We are mystics without knowing it.
Grammar«sin» + infinitive «sin» plus an infinitive means 'without (doing)': «sin saberlo» = 'without knowing it'. The «lo» ('it') attaches to the infinitive. It is the negative counterpart of phrases like «al saberlo» ('on knowing it').
A mystic is the Melancholy Ruffian, a mystic is Ergueta — you, I, she, and they...
GrammarFronted predicate for emphasis Normal order would be «el Rufián es místico» ('the Ruffian is a mystic'). Putting the predicate «místico» first, «místico es el Rufián», throws the stress onto that word and gives the line an incantatory, sermon-like rhythm — fitting for the Astrologer's speech.
The sickness of the age, irreligion, has wrecked our understanding, and so we look outside ourselves for what lies in the mystery of our subconscious.
GrammarPossessive dative Spanish marks the 'whose' of a body part or faculty with an indirect-object pronoun, not a possessive: «nos ha destrozado el entendimiento» = 'has wrecked our understanding' (literally 'has wrecked the understanding to us'). The «nos» tells you whose understanding it is.
We need a religion to save ourselves from this catastrophe that has fallen on our heads.
You'll tell me that I'm telling you nothing new.
Agreed; but remember that on this earth the only thing that can change is the style, the custom — the substance is the same.
GrammarCommand of «acordarse» «acuérdese» is the «usted» imperative of the pronominal «acordarse (de)» ('to remember'), with «se» attached and an accent preserving the stress. Note the stem change o→ue: «acordar» → «acuérde-».
If you believed in God you wouldn't have lived that hellish life; if I believed in God I wouldn't be sitting here listening to your proposal to murder a fellow man.
GrammarMixed conditional Here a present-unreal 'if' clause («si creyera», 'if you believed') pairs with a past-unreal result («no habría pasado», 'you would not have lived'). Spanish allows such mixes: a standing condition explaining a completed past outcome.
And the most terrible thing is that for us the time to acquire a belief, a faith, has already passed.
GrammarNeuter «lo» + adjective «lo» before an adjective makes an abstract noun out of it: «lo más terrible» = 'the most terrible thing / what is most terrible'. There is no actual noun — «lo» turns the quality itself into the subject.
If we were to go and see a priest, he wouldn't understand our problems and would only manage to advise us to recite an Our Father and to confess every week.
GrammarSubjunctive after a verb of advising Verbs of asking, advising, or wishing put their dependent clause in the subjunctive: «recomendarnos que recitáramos… y que nos confesáramos» = 'advise us to recite… and to confess'. The past subjunctives follow from the conditional «acertaría» in the main clause.
40
"And one asks oneself what ought to be done..."
GrammarPassive / impersonal «se» «qué es lo que debe hacerse» = 'what must be done'. The «se» on «hacerse» forms an impersonal/passive: the action's doer is left unnamed. The question is about what is to be done, not who does it.
41
"That's just it."
WordIdiom «Ahí está» Literally 'there it is', «Ahí está» is used to mean 'that's the point, that's exactly it, there's the rub'. The Astrologer seizes Erdosain's question as the very heart of the matter.
What ought to be done.
In other ages there would have remained for us the refuge of a monastery, or of a voyage to unknown and marvelous lands.
GrammarPast subjunctive for the conditional perfect «hubiera quedado» ('would have remained') here does the work of «habría quedado». Spanish freely uses the «-ra» pluperfect subjunctive in place of the conditional perfect, especially in literary prose. The sense is the same: a thing that could have been, in another age.
Today you can have a sorbet in the morning in Patagonia and eat bananas in the afternoon in Brazil.
What is it that ought to be done?
I read a great deal, and believe me, in all the European books I find this same bottom of bitterness and anguish that you tell me about from your own life.
GrammarCommand of «creer» + «me» «créame» is the «usted» imperative of «creer» ('believe') with «me» attached: 'believe me'. As a set phrase it works just like English 'believe me', vouching for what follows.
Look at the United States.
The actresses have platinum ovaries put into them, and there are murderers who try to break the record for the most horrifying crimes.
GrammarCausative «hacerse + infinitive» «hacerse + infinitive» means 'to have something done (to oneself)': «se hacen colocar ovarios» = 'they have ovaries put in'. The reflexive «se» shows the subject is the one undergoing the procedure, while someone else performs it.
You, who have walked the world, know it.
Houses, more houses, different faces and identical hearts.
Humanity has lost its festivals and its joys.
42
Men are so unhappy that they have even lost God!
Grammar«hasta» = 'even' «hasta» can mean 'even' as well as 'until': «hasta a Dios lo han perdido» = 'they have even lost God'. The personal «a» before «Dios» marks him as object, and the redundant «lo» doubles it for emphasis.
And a 300-horsepower engine only manages to distract them when it's driven by a madman who might smash himself to pieces in a ditch.
Grammar«conseguir» + infinitive = 'manage to' «conseguir» plus an infinitive means 'to manage / succeed in (doing)': «sólo consigue distraerlos» = 'only manages to distract them'. It stresses the effort or difficulty of achieving the result.
Man is a sad beast whom only marvels will succeed in moving.
Or butcheries.
Well then, we, with our society, will give them marvels — plagues of Asiatic cholera, myths, discoveries of gold deposits or diamond mines.
WordDiscourse marker «Pues bien» «Pues bien» means 'well then, all right then, so' — it gathers up what came before and moves the argument forward to its point. It signals the Astrologer is about to deliver his conclusion.
I've observed it in talking with you.
You only come alive when the marvelous enters our conversation.
GrammarNeuter «lo» + adjective «lo prodigioso» = 'the marvelous, that which is marvelous'. As with «lo más terrible» earlier, «lo» plus an adjective names the abstract quality itself, with no noun behind it.
And so it is with all men, scoundrels or saints.
43
"So then, do we kidnap Barsut?"
GrammarDoubled direct object «lo secuestramos a Barsut» repeats the object: the pronoun «lo» and the full noun «a Barsut» ('him… Barsut'). This doubling, very common in River Plate speech, foregrounds the named object. The personal «a» marks Barsut as the human object.
44
"Yes."
Now we have to see how we can get hold of him and of the money.
GrammarImpersonal «hay que» + infinitive «hay que» plus an infinitive states a general necessity with no specified subject: «hay que ver» = 'one must see / it remains to be seen'. Contrast «tener que», which pins the obligation on a particular person.
45
The wind stirred the foliage.
Erdosain spent a few seconds watching the band of light that fell through the half-open window onto the pomegranate trees.
The Astrologer had moved his chair over to the cabinet so that he was resting his head against the ochre panel, and his fingers played once more with the steel ring, turning it before his eyes.
Grammar«de modo que» + indicative «de modo que» means 'so that / in such a way that'. With the indicative («apoyaba», 'he was resting') it reports an actual result. (With the subjunctive it would express purpose — 'so that he might rest'.)
46
"How will we get hold of him?"
It's very easy.
I'll tell Barsut that I've found out where the captain is with Elsa...
GrammarIndirect object doubling «le diré a Barsut» pairs the indirect-object pronoun «le» with the full phrase «a Barsut» ('I'll tell him… Barsut'). With indirect objects this doubling is the norm, not the exception, in Spanish.
47
"Yes, that's fine."
But how did you find it out?
That's what the other man is bound to ask you...
Grammar«dejar de» + infinitive «dejar de» plus an infinitive means 'to stop / cease doing something'. Negated, «no va a dejar de preguntarle» = 'he's not going to fail to ask you', i.e. 'he is bound to ask you'. The double negative yields a strong affirmation.
48
"By telling him that I went to the Personnel Office of the War Ministry."
GrammarGerund as the answer Erdosain answers 'how?' with a bare gerund: «Diciéndole que…» = 'by telling him that…'. The 'by + -ing' gerund states the means, here standing alone as a complete reply to the Astrologer's question.
49
"Perfect... very good... crystal clear..."
50
Now the Astrologer had sat up briskly and was looking at Erdosain with interest.
51
"And on the pretext that he should persuade Elsa to come back to my side again, we bring him here."
Grammar«para que» + subjunctive of purpose «para que» ('so that, in order that') always takes the subjunctive when the subjects differ: «para que vuelva» = 'so that she may come back'. Both «que convenza» and «para que vuelva» here are subjunctive, chained purposes inside the pretext.
52
"Admirable."
Let me think a moment.
Grammar«dejar que» + subjunctive «dejar que» ('to let / allow') takes the subjunctive: «deje que piense» = 'let me think'. «Deje» is the «usted» command of «dejar», and «piense» the subjunctive of «pensar» (stem change e→ie).
Everything you're laying out... of course... is very good.
Ah... tell me one thing — does he have relatives?
53
"Apart from my wife, no."
Word«Salvo» = 'except / apart from' «salvo» is a preposition meaning 'except, save, apart from'. «Salvo mi señora» = 'apart from my wife'. It is interchangeable with «excepto» and «menos» in this sense.
54
"And where does he live?"
55
"In a boarding house."
Word«pensión» — a boarding house A «pensión» is a boarding or lodging house where one rents a room, often with meals — cheap, transient housing. That Barsut lives in one, with no family but Erdosain's wife, is what makes him easy to make disappear.
The landlady's daughter is cross-eyed.
56
"What will they say when Barsut disappears?"
Grammar«cuando» + subjunctive for the future When «cuando» points to an event still to come, its verb goes in the subjunctive: «cuando desaparezca» = 'when he disappears' (at some future point). The main clause keeps the future indicative, «¿qué dirán?» ('what will they say?').
57
"We can do this, which is splendid."
We send the landlady a telegram from Rosario, signed by him, telling her to send his trunks to a certain hotel, where you'll be living under the name of Gregorio Barsut.
GrammarSubjunctive for a reported command When «decir que» conveys an order rather than information, its clause is subjunctive: «diciendo que le envíe los baúles» = 'telling her to send the trunks'. Compare the indicative «diciendo que envía» ('saying that she is sending'), which would merely report a fact.
58
"Exactly this."
Do you know you've thought this out very well?
The plan is perfect.
True, everything lends itself to it — the captain, the Ministry offices, his having no relatives, his living in a boarding house.
GrammarPronominal «prestarse a» «prestarse a» means 'to lend itself to, to be suited to'. «Todo se presta» = 'everything lends itself (to the plan), it all fits'. The reflexive turns 'lend' into 'lend itself'.
GrammarNominalized infinitive An article before an infinitive turns it into a noun: «el vivir en una pensión» = 'the (fact of) living in a boarding house', «no tener parientes» = 'having no relatives'. Spanish often uses the bare infinitive where English needs a gerund or an abstract noun.
It's clearer than a move in chess.
All right.
59
Having said this, he began to pace back and forth across the room.
GrammarAbsolute participle «Dicho esto» «Dicho esto» is a fixed participle phrase, 'this said / having said this'. The past participle «dicho» (from «decir») agrees with «esto» and packs a whole 'after he said this' clause into two words.
Each time he crossed in front of the window's grille, the garden would darken, or a shadow would spill across the cabinet, reaching all the way up to the roof beams.
GrammarImperfect for repeated action «cada vez que cruzaba… el jardín oscurecía» uses the imperfect for things that happened over and over: 'each time he crossed… the garden would darken'. The imperfect is Spanish's tense for habitual, repeated past action — English 'would' or 'used to'.
Erdosain was not wrong when he said that the plan was as clean-cut "as if it had been stamped onto an iron plate at thousands of pounds of pressure".
GrammarLitotes «no faltarle razón» «no faltarle razón a alguien» literally 'for reason not to be lacking to someone' means 'to be quite right'. «No le faltó razón a Erdosain» = 'Erdosain was not wrong, was perfectly right'. It is the negative mirror of «tener razón».
And while in the room the Astrologer's boots resounded dully with each step, Erdosain was already lamenting that the "plan" was so simple and so unlike a novel.
GrammarSubjunctive after «lamentarse de que» Verbs of emotion like «lamentarse de que» ('to lament, regret that') govern the subjunctive: «se lamentaba de que el plan fuera tan simple» = 'he was lamenting that the plan was so simple'. The past subjunctive «fuera» follows from the past-tense main verb.
A more dangerous, less geometrical adventure would have pleased him.
Grammar«agradar» like «gustar» «agradar» behaves like «gustar»: the thing that pleases is the subject, the person an indirect object. «Le hubiera agradado una aventura» = 'an adventure would have pleased him'. The «-ra» form here stands for the conditional perfect «habría agradado».
60
"What the devil!"
There's no fun in this!
WordIdiom «tener gracia» «tener gracia» means 'to be funny, charming, or amusing'. Negated, «esto no tiene gracia» = 'there's no fun in this, this is no fun'. Erdosain complains the murder plot is too tidy to be exciting.
Anybody could be a murderer like this!
Grammar«cualquiera» = 'anybody' «cualquiera» means 'anyone, anybody'. «Así cualquiera es asesino» = 'this way, anybody is a murderer'. Before a noun it shortens to «cualquier» («cualquier hombre»), but standing alone as a pronoun it keeps the full «-a».
61
"And Gregorio has nothing going with the cross-eyed girl?"
62
"No."
63
"And why did you mention her to me, then?"
64
"I don't know."
65
"And aren't you afraid of having remorse after "that" happens?"
GrammarSubjunctive after «después que» When «después (de) que» points to a future event, the verb is subjunctive: «después que eso suceda» = 'after that happens'. The deed has not yet occurred, so «suceda» (subjunctive) is used rather than the indicative «sucede».
66
"Look, I think that only happens in novels."
In real life I've done bad and good deeds, and in neither case have I felt either the greatest joy or the slightest remorse.
GrammarCorrelative «ni... ni» «ni… ni…» means 'neither… nor…'. The sentence stacks it twice — «ni en un caso ni en el otro» ('in neither case') and «ni la mayor alegría ni el menor remordimiento» ('neither the greatest joy nor the slightest remorse') — for a flatly total denial of feeling.
I think that what people have taken to calling remorse is the fear of punishment.
GrammarIdiom «dar en + infinitive», with impersonal «se» «dar en (hacer algo)» means 'to take to / fall into (doing something)', often of a habit or a convention. Here it carries the impersonal «se», which leaves the doers unnamed: «se ha dado en llamar remordimiento…» = 'what people have come to call remorse…'. The «se» belongs to the impersonal construction, not to the idiom — there is no pronominal verb «darse en».
Here they don't hang you, and only cowards...
GrammarImpersonal third-person plural An unspecified 'they' is rendered by a bare third-person plural: «no lo ahorcan» = 'they don't hang you / one isn't hanged'. With impersonal «uno» as object («a uno… lo»), it states a general truth about anyone, no particular hangmen in view.
67
"And you?..."
68
"Allow me."
I am not a cowardly man.
I'm a cold man, which is different.
Reason it out.
GrammarCommand + explicit «usted» «Razone» is the «usted» imperative of «razonar» ('to reason'). Adding the pronoun «usted» after the command — «Razone usted» — is optional and lends a courteous or insistent emphasis, common in this formal register.
If I have impassively let my wife be taken from me, and let myself be slapped by a man who betrayed me, with how much more reason will I look on impassively at the scene of his death, provided it is not a butchery?
Grammar«dejarse» + infinitive (passive permission) «dejarse + infinitive» means 'to let oneself be (done to)': «me he dejado llevar la mujer» = 'I have let my wife be taken from me', «(dejarse) abofetear» = 'let oneself be slapped'. The reflexive turns the subject into the one who permits the action upon himself.
Grammar«siempre que» + subjunctive = 'provided that' «siempre que» with the subjunctive means 'provided that, as long as': «siempre que ésta no sea una carnicería» = 'provided it is not a butchery'. It states the condition under which he will stay calm.
69
"True."
It's quite logical.
Everything about you is logical.
Do you know, Erdosain, that you are an interesting fellow?
70
"My wife used to say the same thing."
GrammarImperfect for a habitual past «decía» (imperfect of «decir») renders a repeated or habitual past action: «lo mismo decía mi esposa» = 'my wife used to say the same'. The imperfect is the tense for things one did over and over, with no single endpoint in view.
That didn't stop her from going off with another man.
Grammar«impedir» + infinitive «impedir (a alguien) + infinitive» means 'to prevent / stop (someone) from doing'. «Esto no le impidió irse» = 'this did not stop her from leaving'. The person prevented is the indirect object «le», and the pronominal «irse» means 'to go off, leave'.
71
"And do you hate him?"
72
"Sometimes."
It depends.
Perhaps in me physical revulsion is stronger than hatred.
GrammarIdiom «poder más que» «poder más que» means 'to be stronger than, to prevail over'. «En mí pueda más la repulsión física que el odio» = 'in me physical revulsion outweighs hatred'. The subjunctive «pueda» follows from «quizá» ('perhaps').
In truth, not hatred, because we can never hate the people we know are capable of doing exactly the same vile things as ourselves.
Word«canallada» — a vile act A «canallada» is a dirty, despicable act, the kind of thing a «canalla» ('scoundrel, swine') does. «Las mismas canalladas que nosotros» = 'the same vile deeds as ourselves'. The word drips contempt.
73
"And why do you want to kill him, then?"
74
"And why do you want to found the society?"
75
"And do you believe that this crime is going to have any influence on your life?"
76
"That's the curiosity I have."
To know whether my life, my way of seeing things, my sensibility, will change with the spectacle of his death.
Word«si» = 'whether' in an indirect question Here «si» introduces an indirect yes/no question — 'whether', not 'if (conditional)': «saber si… cambian» = 'to know whether… they change'. After «si» in this sense Spanish keeps the indicative, never the subjunctive.
Besides, I already have a need to kill someone.
Even if only to amuse myself, you know?
Grammar«aunque sea» = 'even if only' «aunque» plus the subjunctive «sea» yields 'even if it be', and the set phrase «aunque sea» comes to mean 'at least, if only, even if just'. «Aunque sea para distraerme» = 'if only to amuse myself'.
77
"And you want me to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for you?"
WordIdiom «sacar las castañas del fuego» «sacar las castañas del fuego (a alguien)» means 'to pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire' — to do the dirty or dangerous work for them, taking the risk so they reap the benefit. The Astrologer asks if he is being asked to do exactly that.
78
"Of course!..."
because for you, in these circumstances, pulling the chestnuts out of the fire for me amounts to having twenty thousand pesos to set up the society and the brothels...
Grammar«equivaler a» = 'to amount to' «equivaler a» means 'to be equivalent to, amount to'. «Sacarme las castañas... equivale a tener veinte mil pesos» = 'pulling the chestnuts out for me amounts to having twenty thousand pesos'. The nominalized infinitives on each side are equated.
79
"And how did it occur to you that I was capable of doing "that"?"
80
"How?"
I've been observing you for a long time.
Grammar«hace... que» for duration «hace + time + que + verb» expresses how long something has been going on: «hace mucho tiempo que lo he observado» = 'I have been observing you for a long time'. The «hace… que» frame carries the 'for / since' meaning English puts on the verb tense.
But the conviction that you were a man to embark on a dangerous adventure came to me a year ago, when I met you at the Theosophical Society.
Grammar«conocer» in the preterite = 'met' In the preterite, «conocer» means 'to meet (for the first time)', not 'to know': «cuando lo conocí» = 'when I first met you'. The imperfect «conocía» would instead mean 'I knew / was acquainted with him'.
81
"Let's hear it?..."
82
"I remember it as if it were now."
Grammar«como si» + past subjunctive «como si fuera ahora» = 'as if it were now'. As always, «como si» ('as if') takes the past subjunctive — «fuera» (from «ser») — to frame an unreal comparison: it is not now, but the memory is that vivid.
A coal-seller's wife, to your left, was talking about the perispirit with a shoemaker.
Word«periespíritu» — the perispirit The «periespíritu» ('perispirit') is a term from spiritualism: a subtle, semi-material envelope said to clothe the soul and link it to the body. Its casual mention by ordinary people — a coal-seller's wife, a shoemaker — captures the era's craze for the occult.
Haven't you noticed what a predilection shoemakers have for the occult sciences?
83
"And?"
84
"On that occasion you addressed a Polish gentleman who was in contact with the spirit of Sobieski."
Grammar«dirigirse a» = 'to address' The pronominal «dirigirse a (alguien)» means 'to address, to turn to, to speak to someone'. «Usted se dirigió a un caballero polaco» = 'you addressed a Polish gentleman'. It is more formal than «hablar con».
85
"I don't remember..."
86
"I do."
Grammar«sí» for emphatic affirmation «Yo sí» answers a negative with 'I do (though)'. The stressed «sí» ('yes, indeed') stands in for the whole verb: against Erdosain's «no recuerdo», the Astrologer's «Yo sí» = 'I do remember'.
The Polish gentleman — you yourself told me so later — was a bricklayer's laborer... You and the Polish gentleman went from Sobieski to arguing about the "homing sense of pigeons", and you answered: "For me the only importance the homing sense of pigeons has is to serve as go-betweens in a blackmail scheme", and there you began to explain...
Grammar«mismo» = 'self / very' «mismo/a» after a pronoun or noun means '-self, the very': «usted mismo me lo dijo» = 'you yourself told me'. It intensifies, insisting the source was Erdosain himself, no one else.
Word«chantage» — blackmail (a Gallicism) «chantage» is a French loanword for 'blackmail' (standard Spanish «chantaje»). The French spelling, fashionable in the period, suits the cosmopolitan, slightly pretentious flavor of these characters' talk.
Well, when you finished speaking, amid the astonishment of the Pole, the coal-seller's wife, and the shoemaker, I said to myself: this man is a daring soul awaiting his moment...
Grammar«terminar de» + infinitive «terminar de» plus an infinitive means 'to finish (doing something)': «cuando usted terminó de hablar» = 'when you finished speaking'. Note the «de» — «terminar de hacer» is 'to finish doing', distinct from «terminar por hacer» ('to end up doing').
87
"Ha-ha! What a fellow you are!"
GrammarExclamatory «¡Qué + noun!» «¡Qué + noun!» forms an exclamation: «¡Qué muchacho es usted!» = 'what a fellow you are!'. Note that Spanish needs no article — «qué muchacho», never «qué un muchacho» — where English requires 'what a'.
88
"Perfect."
89
"You must take this into account: it's a mechanism that breaks down into three sub-mechanisms which have to run in harmony, even though they are independent."
WordIdiom «tomar en cuenta» «tomar en cuenta» means 'to take into account, bear in mind'. «Usted debe tomar en cuenta esto» = 'you must take this into account'. The related «tener en cuenta» means the same thing.
Look: the first mechanism is the kidnapping.
The second, your stay in Rosario, where you'll request and receive the luggage under the name of Barsut.
The third, the murder and the procedure for making him disappear.
GrammarCausative «hacer» + infinitive «hacer + infinitive» is causative — 'to make / cause (something to happen)': «hacerlo desaparecer» = 'to make him disappear'. The pronoun «lo» ('him') attaches to «hacer», the object of the whole causative phrase.
90
"Will we destroy the body?"
91
"Of course."
With nitric acid, or else with a furnace where... If it's a furnace, you have to reach a minimum of five hundred degrees to char the bones as well.
Word«si no» = 'otherwise / or else' Written as two words, «si no» means 'if not, otherwise, or else': «con ácido nítrico o si no con un horno» = 'with nitric acid, or else with a furnace'. Do not confuse it with the one-word «sino» ('but rather').
92
"And where did you get that information?"
Grammar«sacar» = 'to get / draw out' «sacar» basically means 'to take out, draw out', and by extension 'to get, obtain': «¿de dónde ha sacado esos datos?» = 'where did you get that information from?'. The «de dónde» asks for the source.
93
"You already know I'm an inventor."
Ah, of the twenty thousand pesos we can set aside a part to manufacture the copper rose on a large scale.
I've already commissioned its manufacture to a family I'm friendly with.
Possibly one of the boys will join the society.
GrammarSubjunctive after «posiblemente» Adverbs of possibility like «posiblemente» often take the subjunctive: «posiblemente uno de los muchachos ingrese» = 'possibly one of the boys will join'. The subjunctive «ingrese» keeps the outcome uncertain, as the adverb implies.
Besides, the other day an electromagnetic modification for Stephenson's steam engine occurred to me.
Well, what I've devised is a hundred times simpler.
Do you know what I would need?
GrammarIdiom «hacer falta» «hacer falta» means 'to be needed, to be lacking': «lo que a mí me haría falta» = 'what I would need'. Like «gustar», the needed thing is the subject and the person an indirect object («me»); «a mí» merely emphasizes it.
To go away for a while, to be in the mountains, to rest and study.
94
"And you could go to the colony we'll set up..."
GrammarConditional «podría» for a soft suggestion «podría» (conditional of «poder») softens a proposal to 'could / might': «usted podría ir» = 'you could go'. The conditional makes the suggestion tentative and polite rather than a flat assertion.
95
"So you're agreed on the plan?"
Word«estar conforme con» «estar conforme con» means 'to be in agreement with, satisfied with, to go along with'. «¿Está conforme con el plan?» = 'are you agreed on the plan?'. «conforme» here is an adjective of assent.
96
"Ah! One thing."
The money — where did Barsut get it from?
97
"Three years ago he sold a property that came to him by inheritance."
GrammarIdiom «tocarle (algo) a alguien» «tocarle a alguien» means 'to fall to someone, to be one's share/lot': «una propiedad que le tocó en herencia» = 'a property that came to him by inheritance'. It is the same «tocar» as in «te toca a ti» ('it's your turn').
98
"And he keeps it in a savings account..."
99
"No, in a checking account."
Word«cuenta corriente» vs «caja de ahorros» A «cuenta corriente» is a current / checking account (against which one writes checks), as opposed to a «caja de ahorros», a savings account that earns interest. The distinction matters to the plotters: a checking account is money he can sign away on the spot.
100
"So he doesn't live off the interest?"
Word«Así que» = 'so / therefore' «Así que» draws a conclusion: 'so, therefore, which means'. «¿Así que no vive del interés?» = 'so he doesn't live off the interest?'. It links the new inference to what was just established.
101
"No, he's spending it little by little."
Grammar«ir» + gerund (gradual progress) «ir» plus a gerund pictures an action unfolding bit by bit: «lo va gastando de a poco» = 'he is gradually spending it'. Where «estar + gerund» is action in progress, «ir + gerund» stresses its step-by-step advance.
At two hundred pesos a month.
WordRiver Plate «de a» for rate «de a» before a quantity is a River Plate way of marking a rate or unit: «de a doscientos pesos mensuales» = 'at two hundred pesos a month, in lots of two hundred'. Standard Spanish would often drop the «a» («de doscientos»).
He says that before finishing that sum he'll be dead.
GrammarFuture perfect «habrá muerto» is the future perfect — 'he will have died' — an action expected to be already complete by a later point: «antes de terminar esa suma habrá muerto» = 'before he finishes that sum, he'll already be dead'. (The source's «conesa» is a printer's run-together of «con esa».)
102
"It's curious."
And what sort of fellow is he?
Word«tipo» — a guy / sort «tipo» colloquially means 'guy, fellow, bloke' and, asking «¿qué tipo es?», 'what sort of man is he?'. It is informal but not rude — a staple of everyday River Plate speech.
103
"Strong."
Cruel.
You'll have to plan the kidnapping very carefully, because he'll defend himself like a wild beast.
GrammarFronted topic + resumptive pronoun «El secuestro» is fronted as the topic, then picked up again by the pronoun «lo» on «estudiarlo»: 'the kidnapping — you'll have to plan it carefully'. Spanish often topicalizes a noun this way and resumes it with a clitic pronoun.
104
"Very good."
105
"Ah! — before I go."
Grammar«antes de que» + subjunctive «antes de que» ('before') always takes the subjunctive, since the event has not yet happened: «antes de que me vaya» = 'before I leave'. The subjunctive «vaya» (from «irse») is obligatory here.
Will you tell the Ruffian anything about this?
106
"No."
It's a secret between us.
The Ruffian will take part only as the organizer of the brothels, nothing more.
You're paying tomorrow at the Sugar Company, aren't you?
GrammarPresent tense for the near future Spanish uses the simple present for scheduled future events: «¿Usted paga mañana?» = 'are you paying tomorrow?'. The adverb «mañana» ('tomorrow') makes the future sense clear without needing a future tense. The tag «¿no?» seeks confirmation.
107
"Yes."
108
"Now that I think of it, I know a printer."
GrammarIdiom «ahora que me acuerdo» «ahora que me acuerdo» = 'now that I remember / come to think of it'. The pronominal «acordarse» ('to remember') gives the set phrase that introduces a sudden recollection.
He'll be the one to make us the War Ministry circular.
GrammarSubjunctive in a relative clause «será quien nos haga la circular» = 'he will be the one to make us the circular'. The relative clause takes the subjunctive «haga» because its referent is not yet a settled fact — it describes the role he is to fill, not someone already doing it.
109
Erdosain paced about the room for a moment.
GrammarEnclitic «se» again «paseóse» is «se paseó» ('he paced, strolled') with the pronoun attached to the verb — Arlt's recurring literary enclitic. The pronominal «pasearse» means 'to walk to and fro, stroll about'.
110
"The kidnapping is easy."
You go to Rosario and with a telegram you ask for the trunks.
The thing is that when one finds oneself faced with the commission of a crime...
Grammar«Lo que ocurre es que» = 'the thing is' «Lo que ocurre es que…» literally 'what happens is that…' is a set frame for 'the thing is…, the trouble is…'. It introduces a complication or qualification — here Erdosain's flicker of hesitation before the deed.
111
"The thing is, it won't be the only one we commit..."
112
"What?..."
113
"Well, of course."
Word«Y claro» = 'well, naturally' «Y claro» is a conversational 'well, of course / naturally, obviously'. It treats what follows as self-evident, the Astrologer brushing aside Erdosain's surprise as if the answer were plain.
Another of the things that worries me is the keeping of the secret within the society.
I had thought of the following.
At each point of the state there will be a revolutionary cell.
The central committee will be based in the capital.
Word«radicar» = 'to be located / based' «radicar (en)» means 'to be situated, based, or rooted in a place': «el comité central radicará en la capital» = 'the central committee will be based in the capital'. The word shares its root with 'radical' — to take root.
Then this committee would be organized in the following way: head of the provincial capital, member of the central committee; head of the provincial district, member of the provincial capital's committee; head of the main town, member of the head-district's committee.
GrammarConditional passive for a hypothetical «estaría organizado» ('would be organized') pairs the conditional of «estar» with a past participle to describe an arrangement that is only proposed, not yet real. The conditional keeps the whole scheme in the realm of the planned and imagined.
114
"Doesn't it seem too complicated to you?"
Grammar«parecer» + indirect object «parecer» ('to seem') takes an indirect object for the person to whom something seems so: «¿no le parece muy complicado?» = 'doesn't it seem too complicated to you?'. The fronted «a usted» merely doubles and emphasizes the «le».
115
"I don't know — it would be looked into."
GrammarConditional + passive «se» «se estudiaría» combines the conditional with the passive/impersonal «se»: 'it would be studied / looked into', with no agent named. It leaves open who would do the studying — a vague 'we'd see about it'.
Other organizational details that have occurred to me are: each cell will have a radiotelegraph transmitter and receiver, it being further obligatory that every ten members acquire an automobile, ten rifles, two machine guns, while in turn every hundred members are to cover the cost of a war airplane, bombs, etc., etc.
GrammarGerunds for stacked conditions The gerunds «siendo» ('being') and «debiendo» ('having to') append further clauses in a clipped, administrative style: «siendo obligación que…» = 'it being obligatory that…', «debiendo cien miembros costear…» = 'every hundred members being obliged to cover…'. It reads like a bureaucratic decree — fitting for the fantastical bylaws the Astrologer reels off.
GrammarSubjunctive after «es obligación que» An expression of necessity like «es obligación que» governs the subjunctive: «que cada diez asociados adquieran…» = 'that every ten members acquire…'. The subjunctive «adquieran» (from «adquirir») states what is required rather than what is the case.
Promotions will be by order of the higher council; elections to the lower ranks will be governed by qualified votes.
But it's time to go to bed.
In a little while you have a train... or do you want to stay and sleep here?
Grammar«dentro de» for future time «dentro de» plus a time span means 'in / within (so much time from now)': «dentro de un rato» = 'in a little while'. Do not read it as 'inside' here — with a stretch of time it points forward to the future.
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In truth Erdosain had nothing to do.
Word«tener (algo/nada) que + infinitive» «tener que + infinitive» normally means 'to have to', but with a noun before «que» it means 'to have (something) to do': «no tenía nada que hacer» = 'he had nothing to do'. The «que» links the thing to the action one would perform with it.
The clock had already struck three in the morning, and the words the Astrologer had spoken passed through his mind, almost blurred.
Grammar«-ra» form as a pluperfect «las palabras que pronunciara el Astrólogo» = 'the words the Astrologer had spoken'. In literary prose the «-ra» form («pronunciara») can revive its old value as a plain pluperfect indicative, equal to «había pronunciado» — a flavor of older, formal Spanish.
Nothing interested him.
He wanted to leave, that was all.
To go far away.
He shook the other man's hand; the Astrologer saw him off at the front steps, and Erdosain, weighed down, crossed the grounds.
Word«quinta» — a country house and its grounds A «quinta» is a country house or villa set in its own grounds on the edge of town. The Astrologer's «quinta», out past the city, is the lonely, walled-off setting for the whole conspiracy — far enough that no one hears.
When he turned his head back in the darkness, the lit window set a yellow rectangle hanging in the center of the blackness.

The particulars

The text: Los siete locos, Roberto Arlt. Part One.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
Data: JSON · Markdown · A guide for agents