Federico
Bliss and other stories (part 2) I know the meaning of the world “bliss”, but if I were asked to explain it, I would not be able to do it. Furthermore, if I had to translate it into Spanish, I would not know which word to use. Both “felicidad” and “dicha” seem fine, but still none of them would convey the exact idea of the word. The fact that I run into the word “bliss” many years after beginning to learn English, while the word “happiness” had been appearing since the beginnings, might have make it easier for me to understand the meaning. But the truth is that I did not really sense that I grasped the exact meaning of this word until reading Katherine Mansfield’s short story named “Bliss”, which is included in her collection “Bliss and Other Stories.” The story itself and the description of what the main character of the story feels are a perfect definition for this word, to the point that a dictionary could legitimately state next to its entry: “read Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Bliss” for a more accurate definition.” Therefore, after reading this story there is no way you could not understand the meaning of this word or when to use it. Since having read it, every time I heard or read the word “bliss” the story and the image of its main character instantly come to my mind. So, then when listening for the first time to a song called “Still too soon to know”, I knew exactly what E.C. meant at the last lines when he sang “I wonder was this ignorance or bliss / Still too soon to know” and felt very happy.
Mar 30, 2015 1:47 AM
Corrections · 3

Bliss and other stories (part 2)

I know the meaning of the world “bliss”, but if I were asked to explain it, I would not be able to do it. Furthermore, if I had to translate it into Spanish, I would not know which word to use. Both “felicidad” and “dicha” seem fine, but still none of them would convey the exact idea of the word.

The fact that I have run into the word “bliss” so many years after beginning to learn English, while the word “happiness” had been appearing since the beginning, might have made it easier for me to understand the meaning. But the truth is that I did not really sense that I grasped the exact meaning of this word until reading Katherine Mansfield’s short story named “Bliss”, which is included in her collection “Bliss and Other Stories.”

The story itself and the description of what the main character of the story feels are a perfect definition for this word, to the point that a dictionary could legitimately state next to its entry: “read Katherine Mansfield’s short story “Bliss” for a more accurate definition.” Therefore, after reading this story there is no way you could not understand the meaning of this word or when to use it. Since having read it, every time I heard or read the word “bliss” the story and the image of its main character instantly come to my mind.

So, then when listening for the first time to a song called “Still too soon to know”, I knew exactly what E.C. meant at the last lines when he sang “I wonder was this ignorance or bliss / Still too soon to know” and felt very happy.

sí una palabra simpática

March 30, 2015
Wow, Federico! This is a well-written essay on a complex topic. I don't have anything to add to James's corrections below. I haven't thought about how I would translate the concept of "bliss" into Spanish. Do you think "gozo" might work? You probably already know this, but "Ignorance is bliss" is a very common saying in the English language. Have a great evening!
March 31, 2015
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