Many readers of literary translations undoubtedly understand that more than merely linguistic aspects must be considered in translation. Indeed, understanding the norms and expectations of the target culture is especially essential to any translator aiming for a successful reception, particularly when the subject matter, or a certain linguistic use, in the source text is incompatible with the social or cultural norms of the target culture. To demonstrate just how sensitive the translator of literature needs to be to sociocultural norms and values, I will compare the four most recently published Swedish translations of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and their translation of the so-called “n-word”. I will demonstrate that whatever translational strategy is adopted, translators must consider aspects such as the intended reader, the different cultures and times involved, the changing connotations of words and, not least, their own social and professional capital.

This review primarily considers five articles published in Forbidden Literature. Case studies on censorship, edited by Erik Erlanson, Jon Helgason, Peter Henning & Linnéa Lindsköld and published by Nordic Academic Press, Lund, 2020. It argues that this type of publication is important as it both lays bare the powers of censorship, explaining how censorship may be exercised, and pushes the borders of what may be considered as censorship.

I argue that there needs to be agreater critical awarenessinparts ofthe academic world as regards the useof literary translations published at a time of state censorship.Using the first English translations ofAugust Strindberg’sGiftas(1884;1886) andI havsbandet(1890) as a case in point, this paper demonstratestheextent to which translations of books whose content clashed with theBritishObscene PublicationsAct 1857 deviated from their source texts, oftenon the very points that made the books and their authorsfamous. Although there are more recent and uncensored translations available today, the old and censoredtranslations of“provocative”authors such as Strindberg, Zola and Flaubert often outnumber more recentones on the market, sometimes under the guise of being “Scholar’s Choice” editions. I will demonstratethatseveralliterary scholars quote and refer to censored translations,eventothe censored passagesthemselves,andthatsomeuse them in academic coursesfocussing onthevery aspects that were censored.I therefore suggest thatit should be made mandatory forallcoursesdealing with translated literaturetoinclude critical discussions on the use of translations.

This dissertation studies August Strindberg’s two-volume collection of short stories, Giftas (1884, 1886) and its first English translation, Ellie Schleussner’s Married (1913). The purpose is to demonstrate that Married deviates from the original in many ways, primarily on the very aspects that were generally associated with the work. The study also analyses and discusses possible influences on the translation outcome and its reception.

The dissertation makes clear how the traditional image of Strindberg as a provocative author and a persuasive debater has almost disappeared in Married due to culturally motivated translational choices and the need to avoid state censorship, which could also explain the weak reception of Married. The hypothesis is that British readers were disappointed as Strindberg did not live up to the image they had expected to find. As there was state censorship of “obscene” publications in both Britain and the USA at the time Married was published, other Strindberg works saw similar changes in English translation. The conclusion is that a combination of these phenomena may help explain Strindberg’s relatively belated entry into the Anglo-American canon.

The dissertation is carried out within the frames of translation studies, which is characterized by being multidisciplinary. The theoretical frame is based on descriptive translation studies (Gideon Toury) and polysystem theory (Itamar Even-Zohar), but it also incorporates perspectives from reception theory, the notion of multiple translatorship and imagology. Thus, it has both a source- and target-oriented focus. Of special relevance to the thesis are also the concepts of habitus, borrowed from the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, and the panopticon effect, as described by Michel Foucault.

Through some key concepts and perspectives borrowed from actor-network theory, the study shows how a prerequisite for a successful transfer of Scandinavian works at this time was easy access for the authors or literary agents of the source culture to a network of cultural agents such as translators, publishers, theatre directors and critics. The study analyses how Strindberg’s access to such networks in France and Germany and his lack of a similar network in Britain and the USA may explain the divergent reception in these countries. In addition, the dissertation portrays the conditions for how European literature in general could migrate within Europe at the turn of the 20th century, and how the social norms in Britain and the USA in particular have affected the translation of Strindberg’s works.

Avhandlingen visar hur den första engelska översättningen av August Strindbergs Giftas (1884, 1886) – Ellie Schleussners Married (1913) – avviker från originalet, främst på de punkter för vilka verket blivit känt. Fokus ligger på faktorer som har påverkat översättningens utfall samt vad som ligger till grund för receptionen av densamma.

I avhandlingen görs tydligt hur den traditionella bilden av Strindberg som en provocerande författare och övertygande debattör till största delen försvunnit i Married på grund av kulturellt anpassade översättningsval och försök att undvika statlig censur, och att det brittiska mottagandet av Married just därför blev svalt. Hypotesen är således att receptionen av Married berodde på att Strindberg inte levde upp till den bild som läsarna förväntat sig finna. Då det rådde censur vid tiden för översättningen av Married har även andra verk av Strindberg sett liknande förändringar i engelsk översättning. Sammantaget kan dessa fenomen förklara Strindbergs relativt sena införlivande i angloamerikansk kanon.

Avhandlingen är förankrad i translation studies, som är tvärvetenskaplig till sin karaktär. Det teoretiska ramverket bygger på descriptive translation studies (Gideon Toury) och polysystemteori (Itamar Even-Zohar), men inkorporerar även perspektiv från receptionsteori, multiple translatorship och imagologi. Därmed behandlas såväl käll- som målkulturen. Av särskild relevans för undersökningen är även koncepten habitus, som lånats in från sociologen Pierre Bourdieu, och panoptikon-effekten, så som Michel Foucault beskrivit den.

Genom vissa nyckelbegrepp och perspektiv från actor network theory visas vidare att en förutsättning för att lyckas med en kulturell överförföring av skandinaviska verk under denna tid var att källkulturens författare eller litterära agenter i målkulturen hade tillgång till ett nätverk av kulturella agenter såsom översättare, förläggare, teaterdirektörer och kritiker. Vidare diskuteras hur Strindbergs tillgång till sådana nätverk i Tyskland och Frankrike och hans brist på motsvarande nätverk i Storbritannien och USA kan förklara den divergerande receptionen i dessa länder. Därmed beskrivs även förutsättningarna för hur europeisk litteratur generellt kunde migrera inom framför allt Europa runt tiden för förra sekelskiftet och hur de sociala normerna i särskilt Storbritannien och USA har påverkat översättningen av Strindbergs verk.

Abstract

Strindberg’s Giftas (1884, 1886) has been translated into English by Ellie Schleussner (Married, 1913) and Mary Sandbach (Getting Married, 1973). This article will discuss the fact that the incomplete English translation from 1913 is based on a German translation from 1910 (Heiraten, by Emil Schering), and show that the 1913 translation has been severely censored. In Giftas, Strindberg’s naturalist convictions are made exceptionally evident – often in the form of concrete examples of man’s sexual urge being an essential driving force, and claims that man is an animal. However, in puritan post-Victorian England, these explicit descriptions were apparently regarded as dangerous and were therefore consistently either made milder or completely removed. Thus, Strindberg’s trying to prove his naturalist convictions was significantly weakened, at times even destroyed, by the translator. Moreover, even though there is a much better translation into English from 1973, the fact that the first translation was the only version available for 60 years, and is still the one primarily available for purchase – coupled with its being censored seemingly having passed unnoticed – enables the 1913 translation to continue to convey a skewed image of Strindberg’s authorship in Giftas to today’s English-speaking world.

Tron är mitt lokalbatteri skriver August Strindberg i boken Ensam - ett av de sista verken. Tron tar sig många uttryck och strömkällan ger kraft till en mängd olika texter. Citatet ger en ingång till flera av dessa berättelser, och till berättelsen om Strindberg som sökare, mystiker, ateist och kristen. Bilden är mångskiftande.

Till Damaskus, En Blå bok, Påsk, Mäster Olof, Giftasnovellerna, Sagospelen och Kammarspelen är några av de texter som betraktas ur detta perspektiv, men även hans tid i Frankrike, hans relation till den katolska kyrkan och till andra författare såsom Emanuel Swedenborg och Carl von Linne.

Ett flertal författare och forskare som under lång tid arbetat med Strindbergs verk och liv medverkar. Avslutar gör biskop em Caroline Krook med en personlig betraktelse över det religiösa sökande som ses i August Strindbergs verk.