On The Translator’s Identities In Eileen Chang’s Self-Translation Works

Self-translation is a special phenomenon in translation studies. Eileen Chang hasbeen practicing self-translation throughout her writing career. As a self-translator, EileenChang takes on special identities—the identity of a writer and of a translator aresegregate and merged at different contexts. This paper is to make a study on theembodiment of Eileen Chang’s identities as a writer, a translator and the merged identityof a writer and a translator by employing Lefevere’s translation theory “IdeologyManipulates the Translation Texts” and the translation theory of “Inter-subjectivity inTranslation Studies”. A wider definition of ideology embraces the thinkingcharacteristics of an individual, under which, the writer’s writing characteristics alsobelong to his/her ideology. Lefevere holds that ideology manipulates the translationtexts; therefore, the writer’s ideology manipulates the translation texts in the same way.Eileen Chang’s writing features of feminism, detailed writing and satire writing are alsoemployed in the added and deleted contents in her self-translation works, which provesthat her ideology manipulates the translation texts, and which further reveals heridentity of a writer.“Inter-subjectivity in translation studies” emphasizes the translator’ssubjectivity and harmonious relations between subjects in translation and the writerconversing with the translator gives expression to a harmonious relationship betweenthe writer and the translator. Eileen Chang’s identity as a translator is revealed throughdeveloping her thoughts on translation, concerning the target readers and selecting thetranslation strategies. She also succeeds in making conversations with the writer by theunified theme and thought, the accordant artistic techniques and the same writing style,which reflects her merged identity of a writer and a translator.This paper contains five chapters. Chapter One is about the research aims andsignificance, the research content, the research questions and the organization of thethesis. Chapter Two is about the research history of Eileen Chang’s self-translation,including the overall studies on her self-translation, the studies on her self-translationworks and the studies on the translator’s identities in her self-translation. Chapter Threeis about the content of Lefevere’s translation theory of “Ideology Manipulates theTranslation Texts” and the theory of “Inter-subjectivity in Translation Studies”. ChapterFour is the analysis on the translator’s identities in Eileen Chang’s self-translation works.When the writer and the translator are segregate, she shows the identity of a writer and the identity of a translator respectively. When the writer and the translator are merged,she shows a merged identity. Chapter Five is a conclusion of the research.This paper finds that Eileen Chang’s identities in her self-translation works arecomplicated. In general, in the self-translation of her essays, her writer identity is moreobvious; her novellas and river novels embrace her identity as a translator; the shortnovels self-translation underlines her merged identity of a writer and a translator. Theself-translator has the freedom of deciding the relation between the writer and thetranslator. However, the self-translator has more identities than only being a translator.Her identity is a mixed one: she has the features of a writer, a translator and also makesfused of the writer and the translator. Self-translation has dual properties---the creativeand constrained property, which determines the particularity of self-translation andmulti-identities of a self-translator. This will provide some clues for the analysis ofmulti-identities of a translator.