06-12-2017, 07:18 AM | #1 |
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Help with German obstetrics please
I'm working on The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim, published in 1914 and set in east Prussia, and need help with two short comments.
Ingeborg is about to deliver her first child and 'uttered a small exclamation and turned quickly to Ilse with a look of startled questioning. "Geht's los?" asked Ilse,' It is a very difficult and painful delivery, and the obstetric nurse later says "was sein muss sein muss." I can't make any sense out of Google Translate or a German dictionary. Can anyone help please? |
06-12-2017, 07:45 AM | #2 |
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"Geht's los" means "here we go!", "Let's go!", "We're off!", etc. As a question, perhaps "Are we off?", "Has it started?".
"was sein muss sein muss" means literally "what must be, must be". To paraphrase, perhaps "what had to be done, had to be done". Ie it was hard, but necessary. |
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06-12-2017, 08:27 AM | #3 |
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"Geht's los?" means as HarryT said "Has it started?". Are you shure about the second phrase? Maybe it is a typo or just odd/old usage. But it should read "Was sein muss, muss sein". This means "What has to be, has to be", or "What has to be done, has to be done". More likely the second one is what is meant. It is a common phrase in german.
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06-12-2017, 08:28 AM | #4 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
@AlexBell: This might be a reference to the Low-German/Saxon (Plattdeutsch) proverb "Wat mut, dat mut!" = "Was muss, das muss." Last edited by Doitsu; 06-12-2017 at 08:34 AM. |
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06-12-2017, 11:49 AM | #5 |
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06-12-2017, 12:37 PM | #6 | |
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Since the Present Perfect often implies "up to now" it can be used to refer to present events that started in the past. This explanation might make more sense to you, if add "yet" at the end of the sentence: "has it started yet?". |
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06-12-2017, 12:46 PM | #7 | |
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06-13-2017, 12:18 AM | #8 |
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Thanks to you all.
I'm going to use 'Has it started' and 'what must be, must be' as the translations; they seem to fit the context best. Ingeborg is English, and has not been welcomed as the wife of her husband who is the local Lutheran pastor. Ilse is her maid, and is rather more sympathetic than the rest. Frau Dosch, the midwife, and Pastor Dremmel are not sympathetic, and are more focused on Ingeborg's duty to provide a male heir than her well-being. |
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