Your correction makes sense.
I don't like Philippe; in addition to everything else he has done so far, his views on women, as stated in this chapter, are particularly despicable. But at this stage, I find myself rooting for his success. (Of course, who knows what he will do if he wins...)
PL OK.
Cheers,
COMPLETE - The Two Brothers, by Honoré de Balzac - icequeen
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Winnifred
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Winnifred
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Chapter 16 is ready for PL.
I must confess that I find the last half of this chapter a little puzzling. Philippe encourages la Rabouilleuse to marry Rouget, and this is supposed to be somehow to Philippe's long-term advantage. I don't see that advantage. (Maybe I'm missing some detail of 19th-century French inheritance law?) I guess some people at the time might have seen it the same way I do, since the newspaper article that's quoted in the chapter praises Philippe's supposed self-sacrifice, since it appears that he may be giving up his chance at the inheritance.
Significantly, however, the lawyer Desroches seems to see through the scheme (whatever it is), and is sure that Philippe will be keeping his "paw" on the money.
There are 3 little corrections that I had to make.
• At 17:17, "the terrible tussle called 'the savante,'" should be "...'the savate” (apparently a type of fight using the feet).
• At 31:09, "She had better obtain a definite right to his property... then threaten a whole family..." should be "...than threaten a whole family."
• At 32:31, "a dignified and virtuous bourgeoisie" should be "a dignified and virtuous bourgeoise."
Bruce
I must confess that I find the last half of this chapter a little puzzling. Philippe encourages la Rabouilleuse to marry Rouget, and this is supposed to be somehow to Philippe's long-term advantage. I don't see that advantage. (Maybe I'm missing some detail of 19th-century French inheritance law?) I guess some people at the time might have seen it the same way I do, since the newspaper article that's quoted in the chapter praises Philippe's supposed self-sacrifice, since it appears that he may be giving up his chance at the inheritance.
Significantly, however, the lawyer Desroches seems to see through the scheme (whatever it is), and is sure that Philippe will be keeping his "paw" on the money.
There are 3 little corrections that I had to make.
• At 17:17, "the terrible tussle called 'the savante,'" should be "...'the savate” (apparently a type of fight using the feet).
• At 31:09, "She had better obtain a definite right to his property... then threaten a whole family..." should be "...than threaten a whole family."
• At 32:31, "a dignified and virtuous bourgeoisie" should be "a dignified and virtuous bourgeoise."
Bruce
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Winnifred
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Happy Libriversary, Bruce! 15 years. Wow. Quite the accomplishment.
Will finish Chapter 16 later tonight. Max has just died.
Cheers,
Will finish Chapter 16 later tonight. Max has just died.
Cheers,
Winnifred
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
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Winnifred
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Chapter 16 is PL OK. Your corrections all make sense.
I see what Philippe is up to; he's playing the long game. The goal is the entire inheritance -- all to himself. His uncle will not live long; when he dies, chances are that Flore will inherit all if she's his wife. Philippe will then marry Flore after a respectable lapse of time and become her heir (and maybe even murder her to get it sooner?) In any case, he'll have his hands on the purse-strings as soon as he marries her.
The alternative (if she hadn't married him) would be for Rouget to disinherit Flore (which I believe he has already done in this chapter?) and leave everything to all three Bridaus, which would mean only a third of the estate would come to Philippe.
He's a devious one. Prison has just taught him to plan more carefully and cheat his family in a way that will leave him blameless.
Cheers,
I see what Philippe is up to; he's playing the long game. The goal is the entire inheritance -- all to himself. His uncle will not live long; when he dies, chances are that Flore will inherit all if she's his wife. Philippe will then marry Flore after a respectable lapse of time and become her heir (and maybe even murder her to get it sooner?) In any case, he'll have his hands on the purse-strings as soon as he marries her.
The alternative (if she hadn't married him) would be for Rouget to disinherit Flore (which I believe he has already done in this chapter?) and leave everything to all three Bridaus, which would mean only a third of the estate would come to Philippe.
He's a devious one. Prison has just taught him to plan more carefully and cheat his family in a way that will leave him blameless.
Cheers,
Winnifred
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Thanks for the "Libriversary" wishes!
And my hat is off to you for your understanding of Philippe's plan. Now that I've begun working on the final chapter, it starts to take shape for me, but your explanation really clarified it.
I realize that it all hinges on his being in position to marry la Rabouilleuse, and that requires him to be allowed to establish himself in that household and get Flore used to the idea of being around him. One key, I guess, was the narrator's mention, in Chapter 16, that the plan was to be like Richard III and outrageously marry the widow of the man he killed.
Bruce
And my hat is off to you for your understanding of Philippe's plan. Now that I've begun working on the final chapter, it starts to take shape for me, but your explanation really clarified it.
I realize that it all hinges on his being in position to marry la Rabouilleuse, and that requires him to be allowed to establish himself in that household and get Flore used to the idea of being around him. One key, I guess, was the narrator's mention, in Chapter 16, that the plan was to be like Richard III and outrageously marry the widow of the man he killed.
Bruce
Chapter 17 is ready for PL.
I really dislike being in the position of having to correct a translation. It's beyond the mandate of a LibriVox reader to be "fixing" books.... but sometimes, something is just wrong and may mislead a reader if it's not fixed.
Around 21:23 to 21:50, there's a passage in which Madame Bridau gets a terrible letter from Philippe. The shock makes her collapse onto the sofa. She drops the letter onto the floor. Joseph rushes to help her when he sees what has happened. The translation says that he rushes over at the "sight of his mother stretched out on the floor." But she's not on the floor — only the letter is on the floor. (It matters because that's why Joseph doesn't yet notice that letter.) The original French reads: "À l'aspect de sa mère étendue..." — "at the sight of his mother stretched out...", i.e, stretched out on the sofa. So I've decided to drop the incorrect mention of the floor and read the line just as "the sight of his mother stretched out there."
There is mention of the historical events of July 1830. This was recent history for Balzac's first readers, so they didn't need much explanation. July 1830 was the date of the so-called "Second French Revolution," when a popular uprising forced out the elder branch of the Bourbon family, in favour of the younger branch. That meant that Charles X and the Crown Prince — the "Dauphin" — had to go into exile.
And Winnifred, you may remember that in César Birotteau, César's bankruptcy was engineered behind the scenes by the villainous banker du Tillet. You'll appreciate seeing du Tillet make a guest appearance in the final pages of this book.
____________________
And so that completes this project! It's been a real pleasure to work on this book, which I think deserves more attention. And a pleasure to work with you, Winnifred; once again, thank you for your always careful attention. And of course thank you, Ann, for your valuable work as Admin.
Bruce
I really dislike being in the position of having to correct a translation. It's beyond the mandate of a LibriVox reader to be "fixing" books.... but sometimes, something is just wrong and may mislead a reader if it's not fixed.
Around 21:23 to 21:50, there's a passage in which Madame Bridau gets a terrible letter from Philippe. The shock makes her collapse onto the sofa. She drops the letter onto the floor. Joseph rushes to help her when he sees what has happened. The translation says that he rushes over at the "sight of his mother stretched out on the floor." But she's not on the floor — only the letter is on the floor. (It matters because that's why Joseph doesn't yet notice that letter.) The original French reads: "À l'aspect de sa mère étendue..." — "at the sight of his mother stretched out...", i.e, stretched out on the sofa. So I've decided to drop the incorrect mention of the floor and read the line just as "the sight of his mother stretched out there."
There is mention of the historical events of July 1830. This was recent history for Balzac's first readers, so they didn't need much explanation. July 1830 was the date of the so-called "Second French Revolution," when a popular uprising forced out the elder branch of the Bourbon family, in favour of the younger branch. That meant that Charles X and the Crown Prince — the "Dauphin" — had to go into exile.
And Winnifred, you may remember that in César Birotteau, César's bankruptcy was engineered behind the scenes by the villainous banker du Tillet. You'll appreciate seeing du Tillet make a guest appearance in the final pages of this book.
____________________
And so that completes this project! It's been a real pleasure to work on this book, which I think deserves more attention. And a pleasure to work with you, Winnifred; once again, thank you for your always careful attention. And of course thank you, Ann, for your valuable work as Admin.
Bruce
-
Winnifred
- Posts: 2666
- Joined: February 4th, 2022, 4:50 pm
- Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Chapter 17 is PL OK!
Your changes make perfect sense to me. I suppose translators aren't infallible; the occasional slip has to be expected.
So Philippe got his comeuppance in the end! Couldn't have happened to a more deserving soul.
I agree that this book deserves more prominence than it has. Well, perhaps your reading will bring it to the attention of more people.
It's been a lovely journey! Thank you for making proof listening such an enjoyable experience. I shall look out for your next.
Cheers,
Your changes make perfect sense to me. I suppose translators aren't infallible; the occasional slip has to be expected.
So Philippe got his comeuppance in the end! Couldn't have happened to a more deserving soul.
I agree that this book deserves more prominence than it has. Well, perhaps your reading will bring it to the attention of more people.
It's been a lovely journey! Thank you for making proof listening such an enjoyable experience. I shall look out for your next.
Cheers,
Winnifred
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
Readers Wanted:
Where the Blue Begins by Christopher Morley (humorous novel about a "Synthetic Hound" named Haphazard Gissing I.)
Potemkin Village by Fletcher Pratt (science fiction novelet)
This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/the-two-brothers-by-honore-de-balzac/
Great job, Bruce and Winnifred!
Great job, Bruce and Winnifred!
Ann
Audio, video, disco!
Audio, video, disco!