Continuidad de los parques
Monday, June 16, 2008 at 21:52 A translation of a very short story ("Continuity of the parks") by this author. You can read the original here.
He had started reading the novel a few days before. Urgent business made him abandon it for a time; but he returned to its pages while on his way back to the farmland estate. He gradually let himself become interested in the plot, in the characters. That evening, after writing a letter to his representative and discussing a matter of sharecropping, he took up the book again in the tranquility of his study which gazed out upon the park of oak trees. As he lounged in his favorite chair with his back to the door that would have bothered him with the irritating potential for intrusions, he let his left hand stroke the green velvet once then again, and he began to read the final chapters.
His memory retained with no effort the names and appearances of the main characters, and so the novelistic illusion came upon him almost immediately. He took an almost perverse pleasure in letting himself tear through line after line of what surrounded him. All at once he felt his head relaxing comfortably in the velvet of the old recliner, cigarettes persisting within reach of his hands, and, beyond the large windows, the evening air dancing below the oaks. Word for word, absorbed by the heroes’ sordid dilemma, he cast himself adrift towards the images which concerted and acquired color and movement, evidence of the last meeting in the mountain cabin. First the woman came in, mistrustful. Then her lover arrived, his face hurt from the whiplash of a branch. Admirably she clotted the blood with her kisses, but her caresses were rejected: he had not come to repeat the rituals of a secret passion protected by a world of dry leaves and furtive paths. The dagger grew warm against his chest, and below beat cowering liberty. A breathy dialog ran through the pages like a stream of serpents, which felt as if it had always been so. Even as these caresses swirled around the lover’s body as if trying to hold him and dissuade him, they drew at the same time the abominable shape of another body which had to be destroyed. Nothing had been forgotten: alibis, mishaps, possible mistakes. From this hour forth, each moment would have its use, minutely detailed. The merciless re−inspection was hardly interrupted for a hand to caress a cheek. It began to get dark.
No longer looking, bound rigidly to the task which was awaiting them, they separated at the door of the cabin. She had to follow the trail that led north. From the opposite trail, he turned for a moment to watch her run with her hair flowing loosely. He then ran in turn, taking shelter beneath the trees and hedges until, in the mallow mist of twilight, he was able to make out the avenue that led to the house. The dogs were not supposed to bark; and they didn’t. The majordomo would not be in at this hour; and he wasn’t. He climbed the three stairs of the porch and went in. In the blood swishing between his ears rang the words of the woman: first a blue room, then a gallery, then a carpeted staircase. Upstairs, two doors. No one would be in the first room, no one in the second. The door of the living room, and then the dagger in his hand, the light of those large windows, the old recliner with green velvet seat, the head of a man reading a novel.
Reader Comments (109)
You got it, Andy, and thanks for your comments!
where is there foreshadowing in the story?
excellent translation by the way
Tim, the whole story foreshadows the end, as the man is reading the "final chapters" of his own story or his own life. The story is perhaps not completely circular because the initial, background information takes place in the days leading up to this final day. Thanks for your comments!
very useful! THANKYOU
You got it, Kat, and thank you for your feedback!
thank you so much!!! i would have no hope in spanish literature without the beautiful people like you.
You got it, Bek, and thanks for your comments!
thanks so much for putting this up; it really helped me understand the story!
You got it, Fae, and thanks for your comments!
thank you so much! Huge help my friend!
You're welcome, sa, and thanks for your comments!
This is wonderful. I've been meaning to share this story with a few friends that don't know Spanish, but I never thought I'd find such a well translated version of it on the internet! :) Thank you very much <3
You're welcome, Jimena, and thanks for your comments!
Thank you so much! Wow what an incredible story! Thanks for your help!
You're welcome, K (a very welcome initial on these pages), and thanks for your feedback!
this is great.....
Thanks for your comments!
The story in Spanish was confusing, let alone English. With all the other stories I've read for my AP Spanish class, I always use google translate because I can't find anything else * Google translate, shudders*. Finally I find a translation!
Thanks!
You're welcome, Arcanus, and thanks for your feedback!
Wow this is awesome! I've had to read this recently for Spanish class and I wasn't sure if I understood it correctly and this helped me a lot!
Thanks for your comments, Siv!
Thanks so much this story is very confusing thanks for the translation it helped a whole lot :)
You're very welcome, Ben, and thanks for posting feedback!
This was a great translation! My Spanish teacher said we wouldn't be able to find a good translation online, but I think this one captures the plot perfectly; thank you!
You got it, gb! Thanks for your comments.
Thanks so much, great translation
You're welcome, Connor, and thanks so much for your feedback!
Thanks. This is very helpful. It helped me to check my understanding of the story because when I first read this thought I must have read it incorrectly because it is a very weird and exceptionally creepy story.
You're welcome, B, and thanks for your comments!
Hi,
I've found this short story really confusing - is the man reading, and then he suddenly gets involved in the story?? Help! Thanks :)
Lisa, a man sitting and reading a book comes to understand that he is a character in the book he is reading. This is not a very rare literary technique, but the smoothness (some will say seamlessness) with which it is done sets this story apart. Thanks so much for your comments.
Thank you so much!!!! You are a lifesaver
You're welcome, Nancy, and thanks for your comments!
I do not understand the ending of the story! Can someone clarify it for me please??
Marie, a man is sitting in his den/ library reading a novel when he realizes that he is actually part of the story, i.e. that the book is about him and that the next scene will involve his wife's lover stabbing him. Thanks for your comments!
This translation was incredibly helpful- and frightening! Very clever twist at the end!
Agreed, Riley, thanks for your comments!
mayordomo is like a butler or caretaker
Thanks for your comments, Jay! Mayordomo has been used in English for over four centuries, and works here because we are "on location," i.e. very much in a wealthy household in a foreign country: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/112628?redirectedFrom=mayordomo#eid.
THANK YOU!!!
You're welcome, R, and thanks for your comments!
I love it thank you, but I have no idea what is going on.. Does the reader die? is there a reader in the book he's reading too?
Krys, the fate of the reader, who is in bilocation in his reality and the reality of the story as presented to us, is yet to be determined, although it doesn't look too good for him. Thanks so much for your comments!
Ha! It makes so much sense now. Kind of a creepy story, but pretty sophisticated.
'Creepy and sophisticated' sums up Cortázar's entire oeuvre rather well, DS. Thanks very much for your comments.
Very good. Helped me a lot, but I still don't comprehend the story.
V, a man is sitting in his den/ library reading a novel when he realizes that he is actually part of the story, i.e. that the book is about him and that the next scene will involve his wife's lover stabbing him. Thanks for your comments!
Any input on the importance of the variation between the preterite and imperfect in the original text?
Not really, since -- as any grammar book will tell you -- the difference in Spanish is one of aspect, not one of tense. Consider how ridiculous this passage would sound if all imperfect Spanish verbs were rendered by the past continuous in English:
"First the woman was coming in, mistrustful. Then her lover was arriving, his face hurt from the whiplash of a branch. Admirably she was clotting the blood with her kisses, but her caresses were being rejected: he had not come to repeat the rituals of a secret passion protected by a world of dry leaves and furtive paths. The dagger was growing warm against his chest, and below was beating cowering liberty. A breathy dialog was running through the pages like a stream of serpents, which was feeling as if it had always been so. Even as these caresses were swirling around the lover’s body as if trying to hold him and dissuade him, they were drawing at the same time the abominable shape of another body which had to be destroyed."
The only acceptable change would be "the dagger was growing warm," even if this is not the best translation. One might have an argument for "would," indicating that the reader had gone through the passage many times ("First the woman would come in, mistrustful. Then her lover would arrive," etc.). I considered such a translation and maybe it would work. But the forms I use make it seem more alive, and that is the necessary effect. Thanks for your comments, Bill.
Hi! I am Argentinian and I wanted to share this story with a friend of mine who doesn't speak (or read) spanish.
I just wanted to thank you for such a well written translation! I read it whole and felt exactly the same as I felt reading it in spanish! :)