Shifting contexts
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Charles Sabatos
Abstract
Milan Kundera’s 1984 essay “The Tragedy of Central Europe” attempted to redraw the Cold War boundaries of Europe, arguing that the “small nations” of Central Europe were historically western, but had been “kidnapped” into an alien eastern culture. Originally written in French as “A Kidnapped West,” the essay was adapted in its better-known translation into English, subtly adjusting the boundaries between Central, Western, and Eastern Europe. Kundera’s claim for a transnational Central European identity can be seen as a form of “cultural translation” for Western readers, helping to create a new image for the region; due to the variations between these versions, however, there is no genuine “original” text authoritative borders between east and west according to which can be drawn.
Abstract
Milan Kundera’s 1984 essay “The Tragedy of Central Europe” attempted to redraw the Cold War boundaries of Europe, arguing that the “small nations” of Central Europe were historically western, but had been “kidnapped” into an alien eastern culture. Originally written in French as “A Kidnapped West,” the essay was adapted in its better-known translation into English, subtly adjusting the boundaries between Central, Western, and Eastern Europe. Kundera’s claim for a transnational Central European identity can be seen as a form of “cultural translation” for Western readers, helping to create a new image for the region; due to the variations between these versions, however, there is no genuine “original” text authoritative borders between east and west according to which can be drawn.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Contexts
- Shifting contexts 19
- Nation and translation 33
- Vasilii Zhukovskii as translator and the protean Russian nation 55
- Romania as Europe’s translator 79
- Translating India, constructing self 97
- The water of life 117
- Translation trouble 137
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Part II. Subtexts
- Between the lines 149
- Translation theory and cold war politics 171
- The poetics and politics of Joseph Brodsky as a Russian poet-translator 187
- Squandered opportunities 205
- Meaningful absences 219
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Part III. Pretexts
- Translated by Goblin 235
- “No text is an island” 249
- Russian dystopia in exile 265
- Between cosmopolitanism and hermeticism 277
- The other polysystem 295
- Translation as condition and theme in Milan Kundera’s novels 317
- Index 323
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Contexts
- Shifting contexts 19
- Nation and translation 33
- Vasilii Zhukovskii as translator and the protean Russian nation 55
- Romania as Europe’s translator 79
- Translating India, constructing self 97
- The water of life 117
- Translation trouble 137
-
Part II. Subtexts
- Between the lines 149
- Translation theory and cold war politics 171
- The poetics and politics of Joseph Brodsky as a Russian poet-translator 187
- Squandered opportunities 205
- Meaningful absences 219
-
Part III. Pretexts
- Translated by Goblin 235
- “No text is an island” 249
- Russian dystopia in exile 265
- Between cosmopolitanism and hermeticism 277
- The other polysystem 295
- Translation as condition and theme in Milan Kundera’s novels 317
- Index 323
