What is the meaning of the English word “ravished” in this sentence, violated or transfixed?

Question

I’m trying to figure out the best word in Spanish to translate the English word ravished as it’s used in the following context:

There, before my ravished eye, a Cube, moving in some altogether new direction, but strictly according to Analogy, so as to make every particle of his interior pass through a new kind of Space with a wake of its own — shall create a still more perfect perfection than himself, with sixteen terminal Extra-solid angles, and Eight solid Cubes for his Perimeter.

―Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbot. Page 89, first paragraph.

Generally it is not difficult to determine using DeepL or Google Translator, but this time this particular word throws up meanings that are almost opposite of each other, it could mean “raped” — violado, ultrajado — or “spellbound” — embelesado, extasiado. Which sense fits better in this sentence?

I was about to translate it to:

Allí, ante mi ojo arrebatado, un Cubo, ...

But in Spanish this sounds weird, so I need a second point of view. How can I translate this English sentence into Spanish that sounds natural while keeping the original author’s meaning intact?

Answer 1

Try using real dictionaries like the Larousse English<>Spanish ones. This one is free and online. There are others, too.
It says, for ravish: embelesado.

Larousse Spanish <>English Here the man seems to be taking pleasure in the situation.

1. First, determine what the English means. Only the archaic meaning is "raped" and here, that would make little sense.

Merriam Webster:

Definition of ravish transitive verb

1a: to seize and take away by violence [not relevant]
b: to overcome with emotion (such as joy or delight) [relevant for an eye] ravished by the scenic beauty
c: RAPE entry 1 sense 1

2. It is very likely here to mean: embelezado (RAE: arrebetar o cautivar los sentidos) or simply encantar.

ravish in Merriam Webster

When translating literature, never just use a bilingual dictionary. Look up the word in a source language monolingual dictionary first.

Answer 2

There are probably many translations which would fit the meaning here which is that the author's eye had been delighted by the sight.

I would suggest cautivado from cautivar for which the third definition in the entry linked to above is

3. tr. Ejercer irresistible influencia en el ánimo de alguien por medio de atractivo físico o moral.

Answer 3

The meaning of the English word ravish in this context is something like enrapture — to fill with delight. I can't say if the Google translation to extasiar is accurate, but it might provide a starting point.

Answer 4

It’s an old book, so an obvious trick is to check existing translations:

Allí, ante mi ojo deslumbrado, un cubo, moviéndose en una dirección completamente nueva, pero rigurosamente de acuerdo con la analogía, de manera que haga que cada partícula de su interior pase a través de un nuevo género de espacio, con una estela propia, creará una perfección aún más perfecta que él mismo, con dieciséis ángulos extrasólidos terminales, y ocho cubos sólidos por perímetro.

Version by José Manuel Álvarez Flórez, Ed. Torre de Viento.