Translator and Taboo: Polish Versions of Leonid Andreyev’s The Abyss

This article presents a comparative analysis of three Polish translations of The Abyss by the Russian modernist Leonid Andreyev, prepared by Idalia Badowska, Henryk and Jan Zbierzchowski as well as Józef Mondschein. The analysis focuses on manipulation in translation, both cultural and socio-political. The Polish paratext – either in the form of translator’s preface or letters by main characters – reveals the translators’ intentions and strategies; moreover, it informs about the reception of Andreyev’s short story with its shocking topic and inventive form. These comments suggest also why the story had been chosen for translation in the fi rst place. It seems that the questions of taboo were important to the translators, who approached them differently. For instance, the female subject is ignored (Zbierzchowscy), objectifi ed (Mondschein) or sublimed (Badowska). In Andreyev’s short story, woman’s body is described in pre-expressionist terms, whereas the protagonists’ feelings are presented in an impressionist way. The article argues that the translation of such styles is also an important aspect of manipulation. What is more, the translators’ confrontation with the new-born aesthetics refl ects (in micro-scale) changes in the literary language of the Young Poland, where expressionism was hardly noticeable.

Translator and Taboo: Polish Versions of Leonid Andreyev’s The Abyss

This article presents a comparative analysis of three Polish translations of The Abyss by the Russian modernist Leonid Andreyev, prepared by Idalia Badowska, Henryk and Jan Zbierzchowski as well as Józef Mondschein. The analysis focuses on manipulation in translation, both cultural and socio-political. The Polish paratext – either in the form of translator’s preface or letters by main characters – reveals the translators’ intentions and strategies; moreover, it informs about the reception of Andreyev’s short story with its shocking topic and inventive form. These comments suggest also why the story had been chosen for translation in the fi rst place. It seems that the questions of taboo were important to the translators, who approached them differently. For instance, the female subject is ignored (Zbierzchowscy), objectifi ed (Mondschein) or sublimed (Badowska). In Andreyev’s short story, woman’s body is described in pre-expressionist terms, whereas the protagonists’ feelings are presented in an impressionist way. The article argues that the translation of such styles is also an important aspect of manipulation. What is more, the translators’ confrontation with the new-born aesthetics refl ects (in micro-scale) changes in the literary language of the Young Poland, where expressionism was hardly noticeable.