How to parse 見ないでもすむようにしていた


I am trying to understand how

> 脚を見ないでもすむようにしていた

could translate to something like

> so that he would not have to see the legs

It's part of [Metamorphosis by
Kafka](http://bilinguis.com/book/metamorphosis/jp/en/c1/). A guy wakes up as a
bug and trie to get out of his bed.

My guess so far is to parse it like the following:

  * 脚を見
  * ないで can be used to forbid something but with proper context can mean "without"
  * As explained [here](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/37090/understanding-the-usage-of-%e3%82%82%e3%81%86-with-present-tense-verbs)

> もう when used in conjunction with a present tense does have that connotation
> in Japanese that the action should not be continued anymore [...]describing
> the situational/contextual setup or "feeling" of the situation

  * すむ means "to end"
  * ように is used as ように "trying to do something"
  * していた is just past progressive する. I suppose "past" because we want to achieve something ie being in a situation where something is done and "progressive" as a way to make the sentence more emphatic

I'm not sure to understand it right because the use of ないで + すむ sounds like a
double negation to me.




なくてもすむ or ないですむ is a phrase that attaches to verbs with the meaning of "get
away without doing verb", e.g.

> その車はやすいのでお金を借りないですむ  
>  That car is cheap so I can get away without borrowing money

I'm not sure if the も is part of the set phrase or adds an additional sense of
'even' i.e. "get away without even doing verb". Maybe someone else can help
with that.

So 脚を見ないでもすむ means "get away without (even?) having to see the legs".

Verb in dictionary form + ようにする is another set phrase that means "to make sure
to do verb" (すむ is actually a verb). See [this
link](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/49131/difference-in-
meaning-
between-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%A8%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B-and-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B-meaning-
of-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%8B-in-this-question/49135#49135). Although "get away with
something" sounds rather passive and "make sure to do something" sounds a
little too active so perhaps "try to do verb" would be better in this case.

Altogether we have the clunky translation of

> 脚を見ないでもすむようにしていた  
>  He had tried to get away without seeing the legs




なくてもすむ or ないですむ is a phrase that attaches to verbs with the meaning of "get
away without doing verb", e.g.

> その車はやすいのでお金を借りないですむ  
>  That car is cheap so I can get away without borrowing money

I'm not sure if the も is part of the set phrase or adds an additional sense of
'even' i.e. "get away without even doing verb". Maybe someone else can help
with that.

So 脚を見ないでもすむ means "get away without (even?) having to see the legs".

Verb in dictionary form + ようにする is another set phrase that means "to make sure
to do verb" (すむ is actually a verb). See [this
link](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/49131/difference-in-
meaning-
between-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%A8%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B-and-%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B-meaning-
of-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%8B-in-this-question/49135#49135). Although "get away with
something" sounds rather passive and "make sure to do something" sounds a
little too active so perhaps "try to do verb" would be better in this case.

Altogether we have the clunky translation of

> 脚を見ないでもすむようにしていた  
>  He had tried to get away without seeing the legs

