A Study On Feminist Poetics In The Two Chinese Versions Of Mrs. Dalloway-from The Perspective Of Feminist Translation Theories

This thesis studies two Chinese versions of Mrs. Dalloway, one of the crown jewels of modern British literature, with a feminist translation perspective. Different scenarios and translation strategies are analyzed all within the common framework of feminist poetics, with the purpose of studying translation strategies and criteria in approaching feminist discourse with a distinctive character.12typical examples are selected from the novel to represent three scenarios, emphasizing loyalty to the original text, reasonable rebellion from the text and rebirth of feminist poetics, which are seemingly contradictory yet in fact consistent under the criteria of "writing project" in feminist translation theory.The comparative study in this thesis reveals that the effect of feminist poetics in translation is a combined result of the translator’s readings into the original text and her own gender awareness. Both female translators frequently applied "supplementing", one of the three major feminist translation strategies in their works; out of sympathy with female characters in the novel, both of them left their own mark as a rewriter of the text by shaping certain females into more positive images. In delivering the author’s feminist ideals and poetics, the two versions each have strengths and share weaknesses in some cases.For a text like Mrs. Dalloway, one with distinctive literary features, the formation of feminist poetics in translation is hinged upon other factors as well, such as writing style and translation pattern of the translator. This thesis proposes "writing project" as a core criterion for evaluating feminist poetics in translation. Still, neither of the two versions reveals radical feminist ideals, which prompts analysis over the text’s literary style and domestic development of feminist translation theories.