Theorizing translation: Borges, displacement, and irreverence (Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina)

This dissertation studies how Borges constructs a theory of translation that is intimately linked to his theories of reading and of writing, and which expands the possibilities for writers in Latin America to create new and innovative literatures. Borges' position destabilizes the concept of an "original" text and challenges the supposed primacy of the center from where it comes. Chapter I traces the development of Borges' ideas on translation as articulated in essays such as "Las versiones homericas" and "Los traductores de Las 1001 Noches." In these, Borges defies the notion that a translation is necessarily inferior to an original, and valorizes a practice of creative infidelities and re-contextualization---of mis-translation---that lends an unexpected freedom to writers in the margins. To illustrate Borges' contributions to translation theory, his ideas are placed in textual dialogue with a number of 20th-century thinkers, from Benjamin to Derrida. Chapter II analyzes the extent to which Borges' ideas about (mis-)translation lie at the core of his aesthetics, beginning with Historia universal de la infamia and reaching a zenith in Ficciones and El Aleph. "Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote " demonstrates a poetics in which reading, writing, and translation become interchangeable, and the potential for new meanings in the periphery becomes nearly limitless. Chapter III examines Borges' theories of translation within the specific Argentine context in which they arose. His position of irreverence and displacement, as delineated in "El escritor argentino y la tradicion" and enacted in his own fictions, suggests new ways to read both 19th- and 20th-century Argentine literature. Chapter IV considers how Borges (mis-)reads, (mis-)translates, and (re-)writes Joyce, beginning with Borges' 1925 translation of the last page of Ulysses , in the process creating Joyce as one of his precursors. The Conclusion includes a section that is more personal in nature because of the experiences of the author of this dissertation as the translator of Ricardo Piglia, arguably one of Borges' most accomplished heirs. This section discusses how Piglia updates the techniques of Borges and Arlt to create narratives in which translation functions as an act of resistance in the periphery.