Spanish · Part Two

Los Espila

The Espila Family

139 sentences · 91 notes

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1
The train stopped at Ramos Mejía.
ElTheel · determiner, masculine, singulardeterminer of tren
trentraintren · noun, masculine, singularsubject of detuvo
seitselfél · pronoun, accusative, reflexivereflexive particle of detuvo
detuvostoppeddetener · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
enaten · prepositionpreposition marking Ramos
RamosRamosRamos · proper nounoblique complement of detuvo
MejíaMejíaMejía · proper nounpart of the name Ramos
GrammarPronominal «detenerse» in the preterite «Detenerse» ('to stop, to come to a halt') is a pronominal verb: the reflexive «se» marks the train as undergoing the action itself rather than stopping something else. «Se detuvo» is the third-person preterite — a single, completed event that gets the chapter moving.
The station clock read eight o'clock at night.
GrammarImperfect for a standing state «Marcaba» (imperfect of «marcar») describes the clock as it stood — an ongoing condition framing the scene — rather than a one-off action. Spanish reaches for the imperfect to paint such backdrops; the preterite «marcó» would instead report a single moment of marking.
Erdosain got off.
2
A dense fog hung heavy over the muddy streets of the town.
Word«fangoso» — muddy «Fangoso» means 'muddy, miry', from «fango» ('mud, mire'). Arlt's outer-suburb streets are literally unpaved and waterlogged; the word also carries a grimy, sunken connotation that colors the whole scene.
3
When he found himself alone on Centenario street, walled off in front and behind by two ramparts of fog, he remembered that the next day they would murder Barsut.
GrammarRedundant object pronoun River Plate Spanish often doubles a named direct object with a clitic: «lo asesinarán a Barsut» literally has both «lo» and «a Barsut». The «lo» is grammatically redundant but idiomatic — it foregrounds Barsut as the victim before he is even named.
It was true.
They would murder him.
GrammarConditional as a future-in-the-past «Asesinarían» is the conditional of «asesinar». After a past frame it expresses a future seen from that past moment — 'they were going to murder him'. The bare two-word sentence lets the certainty land like a verdict.
4
He would have liked to have a mirror before his eyes to see his murderer's body, so implausible did it seem to him that it was he (the self) who, by such a crime, was going to cut himself off from all men.
GrammarPluperfect subjunctive as a soft conditional «Hubiera querido» ('he would have liked') is the pluperfect subjunctive of «querer». Spanish frequently uses the «-ra» subjunctive in place of the conditional «habría querido» to voice an unreal wish — here, a longing that cannot be fulfilled.
5
The streetlamps burned mournfully, pouring through the mire cataracts of cottony light that dripped onto the tiles, making the town invisible beyond two steps.
Word«algodonoso» — cottony «Algodonoso» derives from «algodón» ('cotton'). Applied to «luz» ('light'), it makes the lamplight soft, woolly, and muffling — the fog turned to glowing fleece. Arlt favors such sensory adjectives to thicken his nocturnal atmosphere.
An enormous despair lay within Erdosain, who walked on sadder than a leper.
6
He had now the sense that his soul had drawn away forever from every earthly affection.
GrammarPluperfect indicative «Se había apartado» («haber» in the imperfect + past participle) is the pluperfect — an action completed before another past reference point. It places the soul's withdrawal already in the past relative to the present sensation «tenía».
And his anguish was that of a man who carries in his conscience a sinister cage, where, among the bones of sins, blood-stained, supple tigers yawn, fixing the eye on the arc of a leap.
Word«jaulón» — a great cage «Jaulón» is the augmentative of «jaula» ('cage'); the «-ón» suffix enlarges it to a big, brutal cage. The augmentative lets Arlt scale his inner menagerie up to nightmare size.
7
And Erdosain, as he walked on, thought about his life as if it were someone else's, trying to understand those dark forces that rose in him from the roots of his nails until they crowded, hissing, against his bars like the simoom.
Grammar«como si» + past subjunctive «Como si» ('as if') always triggers the imperfect subjunctive: «como si fuera» = 'as if it were'. It frames a hypothetical, counter-to-fact comparison — his own life held at arm's length, as though it belonged to a stranger.
8
Wrapped in the fog that carried into the last little cell of his lung a drop of heavy damp, Erdosain reached Gaona street, where he stopped to wipe his sweat-covered brow.
GrammarReflexive «enjugarse» «Enjugarse» ('to wipe / dry oneself') is the reflexive of «enjugar» ('to wipe dry'). The clitic «se» turns the action back on the subject's own body — he wipes his own brow.
9
He knocked at a plank door, the only way into the huge front of a factory, beside which hung a kerosene lamp... Suddenly a hand opened the gate and the young man, muttering foul words, followed the sides of a great wall along a path of bricks that buckled in the mud under his steps.
Word«farfullar» — to mutter, jabber «Farfullar» means to speak fast and indistinctly, to mumble or gabble. The gerund «farfullando» ('muttering') captures Erdosain swearing under his breath as he stumbles along the muddy path.
10
He stopped before the glass of a lit door, clapped his hands, and a hoarse voice shouted to him:
11
"Come in."
12
Erdosain entered.
13
An acetylene lamp lit, with a sooty flame, the five heads of the Espila family, which a moment before had been bent over their plates.
Grammar«hacer» for elapsed time Impersonal «hacía» («hacer» in the imperfect) plus a time expression means 'ago' in the past: «hacía un instante» = 'a moment before'. Spanish uses «hacer», not a verb of having, to measure how much time has passed.
They all greeted him, smiling with cheerful voices, while Emilio Espila, a tall, gaunt, shaggy-haired big lad, ran toward him to shake his hands.
Word«muchachón» — a big lad «Muchachón» is the augmentative of «muchacho» ('boy, young man'); the «-ón» suffix makes him a large, overgrown youth. Paired with «alto, flaco y cabelludo» it sketches Emilio as a lanky, hairy beanpole.
14
Erdosain greeted them in turn, first the old Espila woman, stooped by the years and dressed in black; then the two young sisters, Luciana and Elena; then deaf Eustaquio, a greying giant, thin as if he were tubercular, who, as was his habit, ate with his nose in his plate while his grey eyes watched over the puzzle in a magazine, working it out as he chewed.
Grammar«como si» + imperfect subjunctive Again «como si» ('as if') governs the imperfect subjunctive: «como si estuviera tuberculoso» = 'as if he were tubercular'. The construction marks an unreal comparison — he merely looks consumptive, he is not.
15
Erdosain felt himself a little revived by the warm smile of Luciana and Elena.
16
Luciana was long-faced and blonde, with a turned-up nose and a mouth of long, thin, sinuous lips tinged with pink.
Word«carilargo» — long-faced «Carilargo» is a compound of «cara» ('face') and «largo» ('long'). Spanish builds such body-description compounds freely — compare «respingada» ('turned-up') applied to the nose in the same sentence.
Elena had a nun-like look, with her oval, wax-colored face and long skirts, and plump, pale hands.
Word«pollera» — skirt (River Plate) In Argentina and Uruguay «pollera» is the everyday word for 'skirt'; in much of the rest of the Spanish-speaking world that would be «falda». It is one of many regionalisms that root the novel in Buenos Aires.
17
"Do you want supper?" said the old woman.
Grammar«voseo»: «querés» for «quieres» «Querés» is the «voseo» form — the River Plate informal 'you' uses «vos» with verbs stressed on the final syllable and no stem change: «vos querés» instead of «tú quieres». You will hear it throughout this family's dialogue.
18
Erdosain, noticing how meager the serving dish was, answered that he already had.
Grammar«al» + infinitive «Al» plus an infinitive means 'on / upon (doing something)': «al observar» = 'on noticing'. It packs a clause of time into two words — here, the instant he sees how little food there is.
19
"Did you really have supper?"
GrammarPreterite «cenaste» «Cenaste» ('you had supper / you dined') is the second-person singular preterite of «cenar» — a single completed act of eating. Note that the «voseo» preterite here keeps the same «-aste» ending as standard «tú».
20
"Yes... I'll have a little tea."
21
They made room for him at the table, and Erdosain took a seat between deaf Eustaquio, who went on watching over his puzzle, and Elena, who was dividing the rest of the stew between Emilio and the old woman.
Word«guisote» — a poor stew «Guisote» is a pejorative form of «guiso» ('stew'); the «-ote» suffix makes it a coarse, unappetizing one. The word quietly underscores the family's poverty — there is barely any of this sorry stew to go around.
22
Erdosain watched them with pity.
He had known the Espilas for many years.
Grammar«hacía... que» + imperfect «Hacía X que» plus an imperfect means an action had been going on for that long: «hacía muchos años que conocía» = 'he had known them for many years'. The imperfect «conocía» keeps the acquaintance ongoing up to the moment described.
In an earlier time the family had occupied a relatively comfortable position; then a string of disasters had thrown them into utter destitution, and Erdosain, who one day happened to meet Emilio in the street, paid them a visit.
Word«desahogado» — comfortably off Of an economic «posición», «desahogado» means 'comfortable, free of strain' — literally 'un-suffocated', from «ahogar» ('to drown, choke'). The whole sentence pivots from that ease to «plena miseria» ('utter destitution').
23
It had been seven years since he had seen them, and he was astonished to find them all again living in a hovel — they, who in another day had had a maid, a parlor, and an antechamber.
Word«cuchitril» — a hovel «Cuchitril» means a cramped, squalid little room or pigsty of a dwelling. The contrast with «criada, sala y antesala» ('maid, parlor, antechamber') measures exactly how far the Espilas have fallen.
The three women slept in the room crammed with old furniture, which at supper or lunch hours served as the dining room, while Emilio and the deaf man took shelter in a little kitchen of zinc sheets.
WordIdiom: «hacer las veces de» «Hacer las veces de» means 'to serve as, to stand in for' something. Here the cramped bedroom «hacía las veces de comedor» — it doubled as the dining room. (The source spells «hacía» as «hacia», a period typo retained verbatim.)
To meet the household's expenses, they took on the most extraordinary jobs: they sold social directories, homemade machines for making ice cream, and the two sisters did sewing.
Word«subvenir a» — to provide for «Subvenir a (los gastos)» is a formal verb meaning 'to meet, to provide for (expenses)'. Its bookish register sits with deliberate irony against the makeshift jobs the family actually scrapes by on.
One winter, the poverty was so great that they stole a telegraph pole and sawed it up in the night.
Grammar«tanto... que» — so much that The correlative «tanto/tanta... que» expresses cause and result: «era tanta la pobreza, que...» = 'the poverty was so great that...'. «Tanta» agrees in gender with the feminine «pobreza».
Another time they carried off all the posts of a wire fence, and the escapades they ran to scrape together money at once amused and saddened Erdosain.
Word«muñirse de» — to get hold of «Muñirse de (dinero)» is a River Plate colloquialism for 'to provide oneself with, to scrounge up' something. The reflexive marks the family acting on their own behalf as they hustle for cash.
24
The impression he received the first time he visited was enormous.
The Espilas lived in a big run-down house near Chacarita, a three-story barracks with partitions of iron sheeting.
Word«caserón» — a great rambling house «Caserón» is the augmentative of «casa» ('house'): a big, old, often run-down building. Here it names the overcrowded tenement near Chacarita, the Buenos Aires district known for its vast cemetery.
The building had the look of an ocean liner, and the children sprang from it as if the tenement were a phalanstery.
For several days Erdosain wandered the streets thinking of the sufferings the Espilas must have endured to resign themselves to that catastrophe, and later, when he invented the copper rose, he told himself that to lift these people's spirits he had to graft a hope onto them, and with part of the money stolen from the Sugar Company he bought a used storage battery, an ammeter, and the various items to set up a primitive electroplating workshop.
Grammar«deber» of probability «Deber» + infinitive expresses supposition: «debieron sobrellevar» = 'they must have endured'. (When «deber de» appears the inference is even clearer, but plain «deber» is widely used the same way.) Erdosain is inferring their past suffering, not stating an obligation.
25
And he convinced the Espilas that they should devote themselves to that work in their spare hours, since if it succeeded they would all grow rich.
Grammar«de» + infinitive as a condition «De» plus an infinitive can replace a whole «si» clause: «de tener éxito» = 'if it were to succeed'. It is a compact, slightly literary way of stating a hypothetical condition.
And he, whose life utterly lacked comfort and hope, he, who had felt himself lost for a long time, went so far as to fill their minds with hopes so intense that the Espilas agreed to begin the experiments, and Elena threw herself in earnest into studying electroplating, while the deaf man prepared the baths and grew handy at the job of wiring the ammeter's cables in series or in parallel and at working the resistor.
Grammar«avenirse a» — to agree to «Avenirse a» means 'to agree, to consent, to bring oneself to' do something. «Se avinieron a iniciar» = 'they agreed to begin'. The irregular preterite «avinieron» comes from «avenir», built on «venir».
Even the old woman took part in the experiments, and no one doubted, once they managed to copper-plate a sheet of tin, that in a short time they would grow rich if the copper rose did not fail.
Word«cobrear» — to copper-plate «Cobrear» is a verb coined from «cobre» ('copper'): to coat something with copper by electroplating. Arlt drops in this technical jargon to make Erdosain's harebrained scheme sound almost plausible.
26
Erdosain also talked to them about making gold lace, silver curtains, copper gauzes, and even sketched out a plan for a metal necktie that amazed them all.
His plan was, in essence, simple.
27
They would manufacture shirts with metal fronts, cuffs, and collars, by taking cloth, dipping it in a saline solution, and subjecting it to an electroplating bath of copper or nickel.
GrammarImpersonal «se» + conditional «Se fabricarían» pairs the impersonal/passive «se» with the conditional: 'shirts would be manufactured', with no stated agent. Spanish leans on this «se» construction to describe a process without naming who does it. (The source's stray «)» after «galvanoplastia» is a period typo, kept verbatim.)
Gath y Chaves, Harrods, or San Juan could buy the patent from him, and Erdosain, who only half believed in these applications, came to think one day that he had gone too far in setting these people dreaming, because now, despite the fact that they paid no one and were nearly starving, the least they dreamed of was acquiring a Rolls-Royce and a chalet, which, if it were not on Avenida Alvear, did not interest them as a property.
Erdosain leaned over the cup of tea, and then Luciana, who was slightly flushed, answered Emilio's cocky smile with a sign, but he, who because he was extraordinarily toothless could not speak except with a heavy lisp, said:
Word«cecear» — to lisp «Cecear» is to pronounce «s» as a «th»-like sound, i.e. to lisp. Toothless Emilio's lisp is then written into his dialogue («Zabez» for «Sabés», «roza» for «rosa»), so his lines look spelled-out wrong on purpose.
28
"Y'know... the rothe ith a thure thing..."
GrammarLisped «Sabés»; idiom «ser un hecho» «Zabez» spells out a lisped «Sabés» — the «voseo» form of «saber» ('you know'). «Ser un hecho» ('to be a fact / a done thing') is an idiom for 'it's settled, it's a sure thing'. The misspellings render Emilio's toothless lisp.
29
"Yes, thank God we've managed to get it out."
GrammarClitic before «conseguir + infinitive» With a verb plus infinitive, the object pronoun may climb to the front of the whole phrase: «la hemos conseguido sacar» instead of «hemos conseguido sacarla». Both are correct; «conseguir» + infinitive means 'to manage to' do something.
But Luciana sprang up impatiently, opened a washstand drawer, and Erdosain smiled, delighted.
30
Between the fingers of the blonde maiden the copper rose stood upright.
GrammarReflexive «erguirse» (imperfect) «Erguirse» ('to rise, to stand erect') is pronominal: the rose holds itself upright. The imperfect «se erguía» freezes the image as an ongoing tableau, and the verb «erguir» is notably irregular (e.g. present «se yergue»).
31
In the wretched hovel the marvelous metal flower unfurled its vermilion petals.
Word«bermejo» — bright red «Bermejo» is a literary word for a reddish, vermilion or auburn color — warmer and older-sounding than plain «rojo». It lends the copper petals a jewel-like glow against the squalor of the room.
The trembling of the acetylene lamp's flame set a red transparency playing, as if the flower were stirred by a botanical life that was already burned away by the acids and that made up its soul.
Grammar«como si» + imperfect subjunctive Once more «como si» ('as if') takes the imperfect subjunctive: «como si... se animara» = 'as if it were stirred to life'. The unreal mood is exactly right — the rose only seems alive; its 'life' has been burned out by acid.
32
The deaf man lifted his nose from his plate of escarole, and in a booming voice exclaimed, after examining the puzzle and the rose:
33
"No two ways about it, man... Erdosain... you're a genius..."
Grammar«che» and «voseo» «sos» «Che» is the quintessential River Plate interjection for getting someone's attention — 'hey, man, buddy'. «Sos» is the «voseo» present of «ser» («vos sos» = 'you are'), replacing «tú eres». Both stamp the dialogue as unmistakably porteño.
34
"If thith time we make ourthelveth rich..."
WordIdiom: «de esta hecha» Under the lisp, «Zi de ezta hecha noz hazemos ricoz» is «Si de esta hecha nos hacemos ricos». «De esta hecha» is an idiom meaning 'this time around, on this occasion'. Emilio is daydreaming: 'if this time we strike it rich...'.
35
"May God hear you," murmured the old woman.
GrammarSubjunctive of wish «Oiga» is the present subjunctive of «oír». A bare subjunctive can voice a wish or blessing: «Dios te oiga» = 'may God hear you'. The old woman's hope is wistful — she half doubts the prayer will be answered.
36
"But Mama... don't be tho thkeptical..."
GrammarNegative command with subjunctive Behind the lisp, «no zea» is «no sea» — the negative «usted» command of «ser», 'don't be'. Negative commands always use the subjunctive. Emilio addresses his mother with formal «usted» even while teasing her: «no sea tan escéptica», 'don't be so skeptical'.
37
"Did it take you a lot of work?"
Grammar«costar» like «gustar» «Costar» works like «gustar»: the thing (the work) is the subject and the person is an indirect object — «te costó mucho trabajo» literally 'much work cost to you', i.e. 'did it cost you a lot of effort?'.
38
Elena, with a smiling gravity and a scientific air, explained herself.
Word«talante» — disposition, air «Talante» means one's mood, manner, or disposition; «talante científico» is 'a scientific air / frame of mind'. Elena adopts the bearing of a real chemist as she walks Erdosain through the procedure.
39
"Look, Remo, since on the first rose this one here was giving it too much amperage, it kept burning..."
Grammar«voseo» command «fijate» «Fijate» is the affirmative «vos» command of «fijarse» ('to notice, pay attention') — 'look, take note'. The «voseo» imperative drops the «-r» of the infinitive and adds the pronoun, with no accent shift: «fijá» + «te» → «fijate».
40
"And the bath didn't precipitate out?"
Word«precipitarse» — to precipitate (chemistry) Beyond its everyday sense 'to rush, to fall headlong', «precipitarse» is the chemistry term 'to precipitate', i.e. to drop out of solution as a solid. Erdosain asks, in the jargon of the workshop, whether the plating bath went cloudy.
41
"No... that said, we warmed it up a little bit..."
GrammarDiminutive «-ito» «Poquito» is the diminutive of «poco» ('a little'); the «-ito» suffix softens it to 'a tiny bit'. Spanish diminutives carry warmth and understatement as much as size, which suits the family's cozy shop talk.
42
"To give this one its bath, we glued it..."
Word«encolar» — to glue «Encolar» ('to glue, to size') is formed from «cola», which in this sense means 'glue' (not 'tail' or 'queue'). They coat the natural rose in glue so the metal will take to it in the plating bath.
43
"Y'know... a coat of fine glue... thmooth..."
44
Remo examined the copper rose once more, admiring its perfection.
Each red petal was almost transparent, and under the metallic film one could barely make out the veined shape of the natural petal, which the glue had blackened.
GrammarImpersonal «se» — 'one could' «Se distinguía» uses the impersonal «se» with no stated subject: 'one could make out', 'you could tell'. Spanish often replaces an English passive or generic 'one' with this «se» plus a third-person verb.
The weight of the flower was slight, and Erdosain added:
45
"How light it is!... It weighs less than a five-centavo coin..."
GrammarExclamatory «¡Qué + adjective!» «¡Qué liviana!» = 'How light (it is)!'. «¡Qué!» plus an adjective or noun forms an exclamation; «liviana» ('light in weight') agrees with the feminine «flor»/«rosa».
46
Then, noticing a yellow shadow that covered the flower's pistils, streaking as it climbed back up to the petals, he added:
47
"All the same, when you take the flowers out of the bath you have to wash them with plenty of water."
GrammarSubjunctive after «cuando» (future) When «cuando» points at an as-yet-unrealized future action, the verb goes in the subjunctive: «cuando saquen las flores» = 'when(ever) you take the flowers out'. The deed hasn't happened yet, so Spanish uses «saquen», not the indicative «sacan».
"Do you see these yellow streaks?"
"It's the cyanide in the bath attacking the copper."
All the heads formed a circle around him and listened to him in religious silence.
He went on:
"Copper cyanate forms, which you have to avoid, because otherwise the nickel bath won't take."
Grammar«hay que» + infinitive — impersonal obligation «Hay que» plus an infinitive states a general necessity with no particular subject: «hay que evitarlo» = 'one must avoid it', 'it has to be avoided'. Contrast «tener que» («tienen que lavarlas»), which pins the obligation on a specific person.
"How long did it take?"
48
"An hour."
49
On lifting his eyes from the rose, his gaze met Luciana's.
Grammar«al» + infinitive (time) «Al levantar los ojos» = 'on raising his eyes', 'as he looked up'. The «al» + infinitive again compresses a whole clause of time into the moment one action coincides with another — here, the chance meeting of glances.
The maiden's eyes seemed velveted with a mysterious warmth, and her lips smiled, letting the bright teeth show through.
Word«aterciopelado» — velvety «Aterciopelado» ('velvety, velveted') comes from «terciopelo» ('velvet'). Used of Luciana's eyes it makes her gaze soft and plush — the first hint of the tenderness she is about to confess.
Erdosain looked at her, taken aback.
The deaf man was examining the rose, and all the heads pressed close against him followed attentively the yellow lines of the cyanide.
Luciana did not lower her eyelids.
Suddenly Erdosain remembered that the next day he would take part in the murder of Barsut, and an enormous sadness made him lower his eyes; then, suddenly hostile toward these deluded people, who had no notion of his sufferings or of the anguish he had been bearing for months, he stood up and said:
GrammarConditional as future-in-the-past «Intervendría» (irregular conditional of «intervenir») reports a future event seen from a past vantage point — 'he would take part'. The murder is still to come for Erdosain, but the narration looks at it from within the remembered evening.
50
"All right, see you later."
51
Even the deaf man looked at him, dumbfounded.
Word«desencajado» — with a stunned, contorted face «Desencajado» literally means 'out of joint, dislocated'; of a face it describes features twisted or frozen by shock. The deaf man's expression comes apart at Erdosain's abrupt change of mood.
52
Elena left her chair, and the old woman froze with her arm still, holding a plate she was about to set in front of Eustaquio.
GrammarEnclitic pronoun: «quedóse» «Quedóse» attaches the reflexive pronoun to the end of the verb — «se quedó» written as one word. This enclitic placement is a literary, slightly old-fashioned style; in everyday speech you would say «se quedó».
53
"What's the matter, Remo?"
Grammar«pasar» with an indirect object «¿Qué te pasa?» — literally 'what happens to you?' — is the everyday way to ask 'what's wrong?'. «Pasar» here takes an indirect-object pronoun («te») for the person affected, much like «gustar» or «doler».
54
"But come on, man, Erdosain..."
55
Elena watched him gravely:
56
"Is something wrong, Remo?"
57
"Nothing, Elena... believe me..."
GrammarFormal command «créame» «Créame» is the affirmative «usted» command of «creer» with the pronoun attached — 'believe me (formal)'. Note the switch: Erdosain addresses Elena with formal «usted» here, even though elsewhere the family uses «vos» with each other.
58
"Are you angry?" asked Luciana, her eyes brimming with that mysterious, sad warmth.
Word«enojarse» — to get angry In River Plate (and broader Latin American) Spanish «enojarse» / «estar enojado» is the standard way to say 'to get / be angry'. In Spain «enfadarse» is more usual. «¿Estás enojado?» = 'Are you angry / upset?'.
59
"No, nothing... I had a huge urge to see you all... Now I have to go..."
WordIdiom: «tener ganas de» «Tener ganas de» plus an infinitive means 'to feel like / have an urge to' do something: «ganas de verlos» = 'a longing to see you all'. The object pronoun «los» on «ver» refers to the whole family.
60
"You're really not angry?"
61
"No, ma'am."
62
"It'th the worrieth... I underthtand..."
Grammar«explicarse» — to understand Reflexive «explicarse» means 'to understand, to make sense of' something: «me explico» = 'I see, that explains it'. Under the lisp («Zon... preocupacionez») Emilio is saying «Son las preocupaciones... me explico» — 'It's the worries... that makes sense to me'.
63
"You be quiet, you fool..."
Grammar«voseo» command + emphatic «vos» «Callate» is the «vos» command of «callarse» ('to be quiet') — 'shut up, hush'. Adding «vos» after it is emphatic: 'you, you be quiet'. «Badulaque» is an old insult meaning 'fool, good-for-nothing'.
64
The deaf man made up his mind to leave the puzzle and pressed the point he had made before.
Grammar«-ra» subjunctive as a pluperfect Here «dijera» (imperfect subjunctive of «decir») stands in for the pluperfect «había dicho» — 'what he had said before'. This older literary use of the «-ra» form to mean a remote past is common in early-20th-century prose like Arlt's.
65
"I warn you, you've got to take this seriously, because you're going to get rich."
Grammar«voseo» «tenés» + «tener que» «Tenés» is the «voseo» present of «tener» ('you have'), and «tener que» + infinitive means 'to have to': «tenés que tomarlo en serio» = 'you have to take it seriously'. The «lo» on «tomar» refers back to «esto» ('this').
66
"But nothing's wrong with you, is there?"
67
Erdosain picked up his hat.
He felt an enormous revulsion at uttering useless words.
Everything was settled.
Why speak, then?
Grammar«¿A qué + infinitive?» «¿A qué hablar?» = 'what's the point of talking?', 'why speak?'. The pattern «¿a qué + infinitive?» asks rhetorically about the purpose of an action, and the infinitive stands in for a full clause.
Nevertheless, he made an effort and said:
68
"Believe me... I love you all very much... just like before... I'm not angry... calm down... I have more ideas... We'll open a dog-dyeing shop and sell dogs dyed green, blue, yellow, and violet... You see I have ideas to spare... You're going to get out of this horrible misery... I'm going to get you out... you see, ideas overflow in me."
Grammar«sobrar» like «gustar» «Sobrar» ('to be left over, to be in excess') behaves like «gustar»: the thing is the subject and the person takes an indirect object — «me sobran ideas» = 'ideas are left over to me', i.e. 'I have ideas to spare'. The verb agrees with the plural «ideas».
GrammarPlural formal command «tranquilícense» «Tranquilícense» is the «ustedes» command of «tranquilizarse» ('to calm down') with the reflexive pronoun attached — 'calm yourselves'. The «z→c» spelling before «-en» keeps the soft sound of the verb.
69
Luciana looked at him with pity and said:
70
"I'll walk you out," and so they went out together as far as the street.
GrammarPresent tense for the near future «Yo te acompaño» — present indicative — is used here for an immediate intention: 'I'll go with you'. Spanish freely uses the present to announce something about to happen, especially in offers like this one.
71
The fog wedged into the alley a cube in which the burners of the oil lamps reverberated mournfully.
Word«callejón» — narrow alley «Callejón» is the augmentative-shaped but actually narrowing form of «calle» ('street'): a tight lane or alley. The fog packs itself into this slot of a street, a 'cube' of grey lit only by the oil-lamp flames.
72
Suddenly Luciana took Erdosain's arm and said to him in a very soft voice:
GrammarEnclitic + «tomarse de» «Tomóse» is «se tomó» with the pronoun attached (the literary enclitic style). «Tomarse de(l brazo)» means 'to take hold of (the arm)' — she clutches his arm to her.
73
"I love you, I love you so much!"
Word«querer» — to love «Querer» means both 'to want' and, of a person, 'to love'. «Te quiero» is the warm, everyday way to say 'I love you' — less solemn than «te amo». Luciana's blurted confession is tender, not theatrical.
74
Erdosain looked at her ironically; his grief had transfigured itself into cruelty.
He looked at her:
75
"I already know."
Grammar«ya» and the neuter «lo» «Ya» means 'already, now'; the neuter «lo» stands in for a whole idea rather than a noun — «ya lo sé» = 'I already know (that)'. The two tiny words make Erdosain's reply curt and cold.
76
She went on:
77
"I love you so much that, to please you, I've studied how a blast furnace works and the Bessemer transformer."
GrammarInfinitive of purpose + clitic «Para serte agradable» = 'in order to be pleasing to you'. «Para» + infinitive states purpose, and the dative «te» ('to you') attaches to the infinitive «ser». «Alto horno» is a 'blast furnace'.
"Do you want me to tell you what the harness gear is and how the cooling works?"
GrammarSubjunctive after a verb of wanting When the subject of «querer» wants someone else to do something, the second verb goes in the subjunctive: «querés que te diga» = 'do you want me to tell you'. «Diga» is the present subjunctive of «decir»; «querés» is the «voseo» form.
78
Erdosain wrapped her in a cold look, thinking: "This woman is unwell."
Grammar«estar mal» — to be unwell / not right «Estar mal» (with «estar», not «ser») means 'to be in a bad way' — physically or mentally unwell, or 'not right'. Erdosain coldly judges Luciana to be disturbed. The «guillemets» «...» mark his interior thought.
79
She went on: "I was always thinking of you."
Grammar«pensar en» + «vos» «Pensar en» means 'to think about / of'. After a preposition the «voseo» pronoun is «vos»: «en vos» = 'of you' (where «tuteo» would say «en ti»). The imperfect «pensaba» makes the thinking habitual: 'I was always thinking of you'.
"Do you want me to explain the analysis of steels and how copper is smelted, look, and the washing of gold and what the muffles are?"
Grammar«voseo» command «mirá» «Mirá» is the «vos» imperative of «mirar» ('look'), stressed on the final syllable instead of «mira». Dropped into the middle of her breathless list, it is a filler appeal — 'look, listen' — typical of porteño speech.
80
Erdosain, pressing his lips together stubbornly, walked along the alley thinking that the existence of men was an absurdity, and once more an unjustified rancor welled up out of him toward the sweet girl who, pressed against his arm, was saying:
GrammarImperfect for a recurring surge «Brotaba» (imperfect of «brotar», 'to sprout, well up') paired with «otra vez» ('again') paints the rancor as something that keeps rising in him, not a single burst. The imperfect is Arlt's tense for these slow, repeating tides of feeling.
81
"Do you remember that time you talked about how your ideal was to be the head of a blast furnace?"
Grammar«acordarse de» («voseo») «Acordarse de» is the pronominal verb 'to remember': «¿te acordás de...?» = 'do you remember...?'. «Acordás» is the «voseo» present (vs. «tú te acuerdas», which also has a stem change «o→ue» that «voseo» drops).
"You've driven me mad."
WordIdiom: «volver loco/a» «Volver loco/a a alguien» means 'to drive someone crazy/mad'. The participle agrees with the speaker: Luciana says «loca» (feminine). Here it carries both senses — infatuation and the real unbalance Erdosain has just diagnosed.
"Why don't you speak?"
"So I started studying metallurgy."
Grammar«ponerse a» — to set about «Ponerse a» + infinitive means 'to begin / set about' doing something, often spontaneously: «me puse a estudiar» = 'I started studying'. The preterite «me puse» marks the moment she took it up.
"Do you want me to explain the difference between an irregular distribution of carbon and a perfectly molecular one?"
"Why don't you speak, darling?"
82
The muffled roar of the train passing in the distance was heard; the milkiness of the fog turned to darkness a short way from the streetlamps, and Erdosain would have liked to speak, to explain his miseries to her, but that dull, festering malice held him rigid beside the maiden, who insisted:
GrammarEnclitic passive «se» «Sintióse» is «se sintió» with the pronoun attached, here a passive/impersonal «se»: 'the roar was heard / made itself heard'. The enclitic word order is a literary flourish; the «se» turns the sentence around so the noise, not a hearer, is the focus.
83
"But what's wrong with you?"
"Are you angry with us?"
"And yet, it's to you we'll owe our fortune."
GrammarDoubled indirect object for emphasis «A vos te deberemos» doubles the indirect object — the full phrase «a vos» and the clitic «te» both point to the same 'you' — to throw stress onto Erdosain: 'it's to YOU we'll owe it'. «Deberemos» is the future of «deber» ('to owe').
84
Erdosain looked her up and down, gripped the girl's arm, and said to her dully:
WordIdiom: «de pies a cabeza» «De pies a cabeza» — literally 'from feet to head' — is the set phrase for 'from head to toe, up and down, all over'. Erdosain takes her in with one cold, appraising sweep.
85
"You don't interest me."
Grammar«interesar» like «gustar» «Interesar» follows the «gustar» pattern: «no me interesas» = 'you do not interest me', with «me» the experiencer and «tú/vos» («interesas») the subject. The cruelty lands precisely because the grammar is so flat and ordinary.
86
Then he turned his back on her, and before she could manage to turn toward him, with a quick step he was lost in the fog.
GrammarSubjunctive after «antes de que» «Antes de que» always takes the subjunctive: «antes de que ella atinara a volverse» = 'before she could manage to turn'. «Atinara» is the imperfect subjunctive; «atinar a» means 'to manage / succeed in' doing something.
87
He understood that he had gratuitously insulted the girl, and this conviction afforded him a joy so cruel that he muttered through his teeth:
Word«ultrajar»; idiom «entre dientes» «Ultrajar» means 'to outrage, to insult grievously' — stronger than ordinary «insultar». «Murmurar entre dientes» ('to mutter between one's teeth') is the idiom for muttering under one's breath, half to oneself.
88
"I hope they all croak and leave me in peace."
Grammar«ojalá» + subjunctive «Ojalá» ('I hope, if only') always triggers the subjunctive: «ojalá revienten... y me dejen» = 'I hope they croak... and leave me'. «Reventar» here is crude slang, 'to drop dead, to croak'. The chapter ends on this savage wish.

The particulars

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