Self-translation in 20th-century Italian and Polish literature: the cases of Luigi Pirandello, Maria Kuncewiczowa and Janusz Głowacki

Kampert, Magdalena Anna (2018) Self-translation in 20th-century Italian and Polish literature: the cases of Luigi Pirandello, Maria Kuncewiczowa and Janusz Głowacki. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis examines the phenomenon of self-translation in two different cultural contexts: the Italian context of self-translation within national borders and the Polish context of self-translation in displacement. It focuses on four case studies: Luigi Pirandello’s self-translations of ’A birritta cu ’i ciancianeddi (1916) and Tutto per bene (1920), Maria Kuncewiczowa’s self-translation of Thank you for the Rose (1950-1960) and Janusz Glowacki’s assisted self-translation of Antygona w Nowym Jorku (1992). In discussing the case studies, the thesis draws attention to power relations and to the concepts of self-translation’s hybridity and its invisibility in accounts of national literatures, dominated by monolingual and monocultural paradigms. The aim of this study is to identify what the comparison of different contexts reveals about self-translation, its invisibility and the power relations involved. The analysis begins with an outline of theoretical frameworks and debates in the field of self-translation. The themes examined in this part concern the definition of the practice, creativity in self-translation, the importance of paratext and self-translation genetics, ending with a focus on power relations, self-translation’s invisibility and hybridity. The second chapter illustrates current scholarship, including scholarship on Italian and Polish self-translation, and clarifies the choice of case studies and terminology. Following this preliminary contextualisation, the core of the thesis is dedicated to the Italian and Polish areas of study. It is composed of mapping the phenomenon in 20th-century Italian and Polish literature, respectively, and of a thorough examination of the case studies. Each case study takes into account relevant elements of the historical, cultural and sociolinguistic contexts, and stresses the hybridity of the writers’ personal and literary identities. Based on a genetic translation studies approach, the case studies include analysis of paratextual material and close comparative analysis of the linguistic variants involved. The case studies are concluded with observations on the (in)visibility of self-translations and of the related texts. The conclusion considers how the case studies highlight questions of power, self-translation’s invisibility, both in terms of the phenomenon and texts involved, as well as the question of the hybridity of self-translation and self-translators. In examining self-translation in a perspective exceeding one national language and culture, this thesis argues that acknowledging self-translation in accounts of national literature might lead to a shift in the conceptualisation of national literatures and their writers, which accounts for their hybridity.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: self-translation, theatre, Pirandello, Kuncewiczowa, Glowacki, Italian, Sicilian, Polish, national literature, hybridity, invisibility, power relations.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PC Romance languages; P Language and Literature > PG Slavic, Baltic, Albanian languages and literature; P Language and Literature > PQ Romance literatures
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > Comparative Literature
• Supervisor's Name: Grossman, Dr. Elwira, Bassnett, Professor Susan and O'Ceallachain, Dr. Eanna
• Date of Award: 2018
• Depositing User: Magdalena Kampert
• Unique ID: glathesis:2018-71946
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 May 2019 08:12
• Last Modified: 31 Jul 2019 08:28
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71946