Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

si sarebbe dannata la vita inutilmente.

English translation:

she would have ruined her life for nothing.

Added to glossary by Janice Giffin
Jan 24, 2015 15:53
9 yrs ago
Italian term

si sarebbe dannata la vita inutilmente.

Italian to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings self reflection
Part of a novel (Ukraine, 1910) in which a mother reflects on her daughter's alarming wish to become a doctor.

Here is the context:

Y. aveva spesso incaricato R.[sua figlia] di preparare un cesto di viveri e di consegnarlo. Altre volte si era fatta accompagnare da lei nelle visite all’ospedale o alla casa di riposo per gli anziani. Se però ora R. non avesse imparato a mantenere il giusto distacco tra sé e la sofferenza degli altri si sarebbe dannata la vita inutilmente.

My attempts at the last phrase are very clumsy....all suggestions received with thanks.
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): James (Jim) Davis, Michele Fauble

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Proposed translations

+6
8 mins
Selected

she would have ruined her life for nothing.

One possibility.

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Note added at 10 min (2015-01-24 16:03:41 GMT)
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Or she would ruin her life for nothing.
Peer comment(s):

agree Teresa Valaer
2 mins
Thank you again Teresa
agree writeaway
13 mins
Thanks
agree P.L.F. Persio
41 mins
Thanks!
agree Simo Blom
51 mins
Thanks again!
agree contesei
2 hrs
Thanks
agree Michele Fauble
4 hrs
Thanks Michele
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "My thanks for all contributions. Very helpful."
16 mins

...she would be condemned to living a/her life in vain.

This could be a possible solution. But depends on the nuance that you want IMO - i.e. you could highlight the "Dammed" aspect of the phrase and make it quite dark, or you could give it a lighter touch, as I have tried to do with my phrasing.

Hope it works.
Peer comment(s):

neutral writeaway : fyi, rivers are dammed but here I suppose you mean damned. what do you mean by living one's life in vain?
36 mins
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

she would have lived a wretched life for no reason.

matter of preference
Something went wrong...
18 hrs

She would have destroyed her life for nothing

Some one destroy his life without reason.
Something went wrong...
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