# Damen-Bildnis aus den achtziger Jahren · Portrait of a Lady from the Eighteen-Eighties

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/damen-bildnis-aus-den-achtziger-jahren. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/damen-bildnis-aus-den-achtziger-jahren.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Wartend stand sie an den schwergerafften  
Waiting, she stood against the heavily gathered
> Coined compound adjective: schwergerafft is a compound past participle Rilke builds from schwer, 'heavy', and raffen, 'to gather up, bunch'. Used as an adjective on Draperien, 'draperies', it means 'heavily gathered up'.

**2** dunklen Atlasdraperien,  
dark satin draperies,
> False friend for a fabric: Atlas here means 'satin', the fabric, not the Titan or a book of maps. Atlasdraperien are 'satin draperies'. German compounds nouns freely, so Atlas and Draperien fuse into one word.

**3** die ein Aufwand falscher Leidenschaften  
which a display of false passions
> Noun for staged excess: der Aufwand means 'expenditure, display, lavishness', effort or money spent for show. ein Aufwand falscher Leidenschaften is 'a display of false passions'.

**4** über ihr zu ballen schien;  
seemed to be massing above her;
> Verb governs a zu-infinitive: scheinen, 'to seem', governs a zu-infinitive: zu ballen schien, 'seemed to mass, clench together'. The subject is ein Aufwand from the line before, so the clause reads 'a display of false passions that seemed to mass above her'.


**5** seit den noch so nahen Mädchenjahren  
since the girlhood years still so near,
> Preposition seit takes the dative: The preposition seit, 'since, for', always governs the dative. seit den ... Mädchenjahren is dative plural, 'since the girlhood years'. noch so nahen, 'still so near', modifies Mädchenjahren.

**6** wie mit einer anderen vertauscht:  
as if swapped for another woman:
> Verb for swapping one thing: vertauschen means 'to swap, exchange, mix up'. mit einer anderen vertauscht is 'exchanged for another woman'; einer anderen is feminine dative after mit. wie, 'as though', makes the phrase a comparison.

**7** müde unter den getürmten Haaren,  
weary beneath the piled-up hair,
> Past participle from a tower: getürmt is the past participle of türmen, 'to pile up, tower', from der Turm, 'tower'. die getürmten Haare names hair piled high in the 1880s style; the dative plural is den getürmten Haaren.

**8** in den Rüschen-Roben unerfahren  
unpracticed in the ruffled gowns
> Compound noun for a gown: die Rüsche is 'ruffle, frill'; die Robe is 'gown, robe'. Ruschen-Roben are 'ruffled gowns'. unerfahren, 'inexperienced, unpracticed', describes her relation to them.

**9** und von allen Falten wie belauscht  
and as if eavesdropped on by every fold,
> Verb for covert listening: belauschen means 'to eavesdrop on, spy on, listen in on'. von allen Falten wie belauscht is 'as though eavesdropped on by every fold'; von marks the agent of the passive-like wie belauscht.


**10** bei dem Heimweh und dem schwachen Planen,  
in her homesickness and her faint planning
> Compound noun for longing: das Heimweh is 'homesickness', literally 'home-ache'. bei dem Heimweh means 'amid, during her homesickness'. schwachen Planen is 'faint planning', paired with it by und.

**11** wie das Leben weiter werden soll:  
of how life is meant to go on:
> Modal for expectation: sollen here expresses expectation or intention, 'is supposed to, meant to'. wie das Leben weiter werden soll is 'how life is meant to go on'. weiter, 'onward, further', pairs with werden, 'to become'.

**12** anders, wirklicher, wie in Romanen,  
different, more real, as in novels,
> False friend for novel: der Roman means 'a novel', not 'romance' in the modern English sense, so it is a false friend. wie in Romanen is 'as in novels'. anders, wirklicher means 'different, more real'.

**13** hingerissen und verhängnisvoll,–  
rapturous and fateful,—
> Adjective for fateful: verhängnisvoll is built from das Verhängnis, 'doom, fate, calamity', plus -voll, 'full of': 'fateful, disastrous'. It pairs with hingerissen, 'enraptured, swept away'.


**14** daß man etwas erst in die Schatullen  
that one might first lay something in the caskets
> Subordinate clause opens a long wish: daß, older spelling of the modern dass, opens a subordinate clause that runs across several stanzas, governed by dürfte, 'might be allowed to', below. man is the impersonal 'one'.
> Noun for a small box: die Schatulle is a small ornamental box or casket for jewels and keepsakes. in die Schatullen legen uses the accusative after in to mark motion into them, placing something inside.

**15** legen dürfte, um sich im Geruch  
and so might steep oneself in the scent
> Purpose clause with um zu: um here opens an um ... zu purpose clause, 'in order to', that closes with einzulullen two lines later. dürfte is the Konjunktiv II of dürfen, 'might be allowed to'.

**16** von Erinnerungen einzulullen;  
of memories;
> Separable verb with zu inserted: einlullen, 'to lull to sleep, soothe', is separable. In a zu-infinitive, zu slots between prefix and stem: ein-zu-lullen. With sich it means 'to lull oneself', here in the scent of memories.

**17** daß man endlich in dem Tagebuch  
that one might at last find in the diary
> Compound noun for a journal: das Tagebuch is 'diary, journal', literally 'day-book'. daß man endlich in dem Tagebuch continues the daß-wish from earlier stanzas: 'that one might at last, in the diary'. in dem Tagebuch is dative after in.


**18** einen Anfang fände, der nicht schon  
a beginning that did not already,
> Subjunctive continues the wish: fände is the past subjunctive of finden, 'to find', carrying the unreal, wishful mood of the passage: 'that one might find'. einen Anfang, 'a beginning', is its accusative object.

**19** unterm Schreiben sinnlos wird und Lüge,  
in the writing, turn meaningless and a lie,
> Contraction plus nominalized infinitive: unterm contracts unter dem. With the nominalized infinitive das Schreiben, 'writing', unterm Schreiben means 'in the course of writing, while one writes'.

**20** und ein Blatt von einer Rose trüge  
and that would carry a petal of a rose
> Noun with two meanings: das Blatt means 'leaf', and of a flower, 'petal'; ein Blatt von einer Rose is 'a petal of a rose'. The same word can also mean a sheet or 'page'.

**21** in dem schweren leeren Medaillon,  
in the heavy empty locket,
> French loanword for a locket: das Medaillon is a loanword from French for a 'locket', the small hinged pendant holding a portrait or keepsake. It is described as schwer, 'heavy', and leer, 'empty'.


**22** welches liegt auf jedem Atemzug.  
which lies on every breath she draws.
> Compound noun for one breath: der Atemzug is 'a breath, an intake of breath', from Atem, 'breath', and Zug, 'draw, pull'. auf jedem Atemzug means 'on every breath'.

**23** Daß man einmal durch das Fenster winkte  
That one might once wave through the window
> Subjunctive resumes the wish: winkte is the simple past of winken, 'to wave, beckon', read here in the unreal wishful sense the passage sustains: 'that one might once wave'. durch das Fenster means 'through the window'.

**24** diese schlanke Hand, die neuberingte,  
this slender hand, the newly ringed one,
> Coined compound for a new ring: neuberingte fuses neu, 'newly', with beringt, the past participle of beringen, 'to put a ring on': 'newly be-ringed'. It modifies Hand, 'hand'.

**25** hätte dran für Monate genug.  
would have, in that, enough for months.
> Subjunctive closes the wish: hätte is the past subjunctive of haben, closing the wish clause: 'would have'. dran is colloquial for daran, 'at it, by that'; the phrase means 'would have enough in that for months'.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.