The construction of an Other in the editions and translations of the work of Carolina Maria de Jesus

Abstract This article investigates how translations and different editions of the Afro-Brazilian writer Carolina Maria de Jesus’ journals were used to construct a specific image of 1960s Brazil for a foreign audience. This article debates the power of representation not only by authors but also by editors, publishers, and translators, that is to say the entire publication process, which often limits authors’ decision-making powers. I compare the edition and translation strategies used by Audálio Dantas in the publication of Quarto de despejo (1960) and by David St. Clair in the translation Child of the dark (1962) to the strategies used in Meu estranho diário (1996), translated as The unedited diaries of Carolina Maria de Jesus (1998) by Nancy P.S. Naro e Cristina Mehrtens. In this analysis, intersections of race, gender, and class are fundamental to the international portrayal of De Jesus. I discuss translation as the tool for making these constructions possible, as well as their political reach.

摘要：本文探究非裔巴西作家卡罗利娜·玛丽亚·德·赫苏斯（Carolina Maria de Jesus）的日记的各类译本与版本，如何被用于为海外受众塑造20世纪60年代巴西的特定形象。本文不仅探讨作者的表征权力，亦探讨编辑、出版者与译者的表征权力——亦即往往会限制作者决策权的整套出版流程。本文将奥达利奥·丹塔斯（Audálio Dantas）出版《弃屋日记》（Quarto de despejo，1960）、戴维·圣克莱尔（David St. Clair）翻译《黑暗之子》（Child of the dark，1962）时采用的编辑与翻译策略，与南希·P.S.纳罗（Nancy P.S. Naro）及克里斯蒂娜·梅尔滕斯（Cristina Mehrtens）将《我的陌生日记》（Meu estranho diário，1996）译为《卡罗利娜·玛丽亚·德·赫苏斯未刊日记》（The unedited diaries of Carolina Maria de Jesus，1998）时所采用的策略进行对比。本分析框架下，种族、性别与阶级的交织对于德·赫苏斯的国际形象塑造具有根本性意义。本文论述翻译作为促成此类形象构建的工具，及其所承载的政治影响力。