Gender Issues In Literary Translation Within The Framework Of Feminism

The cultural turn in translation studies has steered the analysis of translation towards the perspective of cultural studies and thus it has been "establishing a strong primary relationship to essentially non-linguistic disciplines" (Munday, 2001, p. 187). This has given an opportunity for the study the involvement of feminist ideology in translation studies and great importance has been attached to gender issues within the frame work of feminism. As a matter of fact, Sherry Simon states, when she summarizes the importance of cultural turn in translation studies, that "cultural studies brings to the translation an understanding of the complexities of gender and culture" (Simon, 1996, p.136). In this context, a major concern is the gendered identity of the translator.Translation and women have been historically closely associated with each other because of their low social identities and status. Women and translation both try to escape from the bottom of society and become equal with men and the original and enjoy similar rights and privileges. So it seems natural for the feminists to resort to the study of translation within the framework of feminism.Studies of identities have increased the awareness of the cultural authority and of the position of the speakers within dominant codes (Andone, 2003, p. 130). Language is regarded by feminists as a means by which they have been subordinated to an inferior status, thus silencing their feminine expression. In this context, feminist translators, regarding translation as a way of rewriting, put emphasis on the translator's subjectivity and take translation as a political act, i.e. the reworking of meaning so as to reverse the effects of the male social and cultural domination. So in the era of deconstruction, feminist translation redefines the notions of fidelity, equivalence and the translator's invisibility.Both the writers and translators of literature are gendered human beings. As a result, their social and spiritual experiences are bound to be gendered and these will more or less exert an influence on the process of writing and translating. The ideologyof a feminist translator involves a strong purpose of overthrowing the patriarchal power and the mission of building an equal relation between the two sexes. This ideology will surely influence the practice and product of the translating act.This paper is composed of five parts.The Introduction briefly introduces the background, scope, methodology, purpose and significance of the study.Chapter Two begins with reflections on the ideas of gender and feminism, aiming at providing a theoretical basis for the whole paper. Then the relation between gender and translation is presented, in an attempt to provide a general picture of the relation between women and translation, translation studies in the sociocultural context and theoretical development, which foregrounds the notions taken by feminist translators.Chapter Three serves as the rationale of the whole paper. The author intends to expound feminist translation. Gender and literature and the common ground of translation and feminism are first discussed. Then comes language, the yoke by which women have been oppressed. At last the author discusses the major theoretical ideas of feminist translation, which can be summarized as: (1) translation as cultural intervention;(2) emphasis on the equal status of the author and the translator, the translation and the original and (3) reinterpretation of fidelity and emphasis on treason. These ideas serve as the theoretical basis of the feminist translation practice.Chapter Four is on the gendered translation practice, in particular gendered translation practice in China. First of all, a review of the gendered literary translation in China before 1980 was given. The year 1981 serves as a turning point for feminism in China as it witnessed the first arrival of feminism through the works of Zhu Hong. Then the author comes to the process of gendered translation practice, detailing the Chinese feminists' selection of the source texts. In this section, importance is attached to the common characteristics of women's literary works, and the influence that gender has had on the translators' understanding of the source texts. Finally, the specific translating skills adopted by feminist translators are presented, including those put forward by Luise von Flotow and those used by Zhu Hong in translating theessay Are Women as Good as Men ? by Lu Xing'er, a feminist writer in China.The last chapter, Chapter Five, is the conclusion of the thesis. Feminist translation has strikingly challenged the traditional translation. In this chapter, the author presents the advantages of feminist translation and recommends some ways to promote gendered translation in China.