A primera vista
at first sightDescribes a judgment formed before knowing someone well.
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Orgullo y prejuicio
B2 · Chapter 1 of 4 · Edition 1
Un baile y dos opiniones
A dance and two opinions
Adapted from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
Para la señora Bennet, casar a sus hijas no era únicamente una ambición social: la propiedad familiar estaba destinada a un heredero varón y no les ofrecía seguridad futura. La llegada de Bingley abrió nuevas posibilidades. Su atención hacia Jane durante un baile pareció confirmar las expectativas de la madre. A primera vista, el afecto y la conveniencia podían caminar juntos sin dificultad.
La reserva de Darcy produjo el efecto opuesto. Al desdeñar un baile con Elizabeth, hirió su orgullo antes de conocerla. Elizabeth, por su parte, transformó la ofensa en una anécdota ingeniosa, sin advertir cuánto condicionaría sus interpretaciones posteriores. Él fue descubriendo una inteligencia que le atraía; ella seguía viendo arrogancia. La distancia entre ambos crecía precisamente porque cada cual consideraba evidente su propia lectura del otro.
For Mrs Bennet, marrying off her daughters was not merely a social ambition: the family estate was destined for a male heir and offered them no future security. Bingley’s arrival opened new possibilities. His attention to Jane during a dance seemed to confirm her mother’s expectations. At first sight, affection and practical advantage could go hand in hand without difficulty.
Darcy’s reserve produced the opposite effect. By disdainfully refusing a dance with Elizabeth, he hurt her pride before getting to know her. Elizabeth, for her part, turned the insult into a witty anecdote, without noticing how much it would shape her later interpretations. He began to discover an intelligence that attracted him; she continued to see arrogance. The distance between them grew precisely because each considered their own reading of the other self-evident.
Key Phrases
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por su parte
for her partIntroduces Elizabeth’s contrasting reaction.
baile
danceA social gathering at which people dance.
Original source and edition
Adapted from Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.
A short, abridged Spanish retelling by Read Spanish Daily, adapted from the original English novel. Events and dialogue are simplified for each reading level; this is not the complete novel or a literal translation.
Pride and Prejudice — Project Gutenberg eBook 1342, English text. Project Gutenberg, 1998.
Original source and edition →