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meredithg8's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
How do we translate misogyny? Should we preserve a source text's real or perceived moral failings, or should we "update" them in the target text? These questions are relevant in every instance of translation, but particularly when colloquial or informal speech is used in the source text.
An excellent example is the title of this work, which is «Олень и шалашовка» in Russian. The word олень properly means "deer," but has a euphemistic and derogatory meaning of a foolish or narrow-minded individual. The word шалашовка, connected to шалаш ("hut; bottom bunk of a bunk bed"), refers to a young or cheap prostitute. I've seen various different English translations of the title, such as the following:
The Tenderfoot and the Tart
The Greenhorn and the Tramp
The Greenhorn and the Camp-Whore
The Love-Girl and the Innocent
Which is more correct? "Love-girl" is perhaps the kindest interpretation of шалашовка, while "camp-whore" is definitely the cruelest. Both "tart" and "tramp" introduce a different flavour of misogyny than the one in the original title. "Camp-whore" is the closest in literal meaning, although another interesting detail is the name of the aforementioned woman: Lyuba (Люба), the diminutive form of Lyubov (Любовь), from the word любовь ("love").
And what of the other actor, the dear олень? Neither "tenderfoot," "greenhorn," nor "innocent" really captures the meaning of олень in my opinion. "Idiot" or "naïve" would be more appropriate, particularly given the context of Nemov's actions and perspectives within the play. The name Nemov (Немов) of course evokes the word немой ("dumb, mute"), and also reminds me of the Ukrainian word немовля ("infant, baby"), essentially не- ("not") + мовити ("speaking"), something that does not speak.
Interestingly, Solzhenitsyn's original title for the play was «Республика труда», i.e., "The Republic of Labour"—nothing whatsoever to do with idiots or prostitutes.
An excellent example is the title of this work, which is «Олень и шалашовка» in Russian. The word олень properly means "deer," but has a euphemistic and derogatory meaning of a foolish or narrow-minded individual. The word шалашовка, connected to шалаш ("hut; bottom bunk of a bunk bed"), refers to a young or cheap prostitute. I've seen various different English translations of the title, such as the following:
The Tenderfoot and the Tart
The Greenhorn and the Tramp
The Greenhorn and the Camp-Whore
The Love-Girl and the Innocent
Which is more correct? "Love-girl" is perhaps the kindest interpretation of шалашовка, while "camp-whore" is definitely the cruelest. Both "tart" and "tramp" introduce a different flavour of misogyny than the one in the original title. "Camp-whore" is the closest in literal meaning, although another interesting detail is the name of the aforementioned woman: Lyuba (Люба), the diminutive form of Lyubov (Любовь), from the word любовь ("love").
And what of the other actor, the dear олень? Neither "tenderfoot," "greenhorn," nor "innocent" really captures the meaning of олень in my opinion. "Idiot" or "naïve" would be more appropriate, particularly given the context of Nemov's actions and perspectives within the play. The name Nemov (Немов) of course evokes the word немой ("dumb, mute"), and also reminds me of the Ukrainian word немовля ("infant, baby"), essentially не- ("not") + мовити ("speaking"), something that does not speak.
Interestingly, Solzhenitsyn's original title for the play was «Республика труда», i.e., "The Republic of Labour"—nothing whatsoever to do with idiots or prostitutes.
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