The Realization Of Translator's Subjectivity In Literary Translation: Manipulation And Anti-manipulation

Translator, text and reader are three major factors in translation. Starting from the relationship between the three factors, this thesis firstly reviews translation studies under the philological and structuralist paradigms, which fail to recognize translator's subjectivity correctly and appropriately and during which, the researchers of philological study consider from the artistic perspective that translator is an artistic subject with originality in his translation so that he can manipulate the original text, as a silent object, while the researchers of structuralist paradigm from linguistic aspect holds that translator's subjectivity is denied working in his translation so that he is a neutral subject in a certain value system. Then, this thesis argues that the translator, as a subject, establishes his active subjectivity in the process of translating as well as his interpretation of the source text; meanwhile, this thesis, from the macro-perspective of New Historicism, demonstrates that translator is confined by a series of powers and discourses, such as specific social history, culture, ideology, ethics, reception aesthetics and religion so that translator is a manipulated subject. Yet, lastly, this thesis points out that, in the macro-context of society, on one hand he is manipulated by the present specific powers and discourses under which he lives; on the other hand he is manipulating, which especially manifests in his anti-manipulation: his translation ambition, acute historical-social awareness, and his consideration of target readers, especially in literary translation. However, the manipulation and his anti-manipulation are on different levels. This thesis, by proposing that there exists a continuum of manipulation and anti-manipulation, suggests that translator should try to keep a balance between the two sides in translating literary works, through maintaining a balance to a possible extent between the two poles, in order to realizes his subjectivity. We know that only from translators with proper anti-manipulation awareness and sharpening originality can we read a lot of good translations, and as a result, can our translation become prosper in the long run.