Cycnos | Numéros | Volume 16.1 - Conservatismes anglo-américains XVIII^e et XIX^e siècles

Résumé :

The following is a study of a nineteenth-century French translation of Gulliver’s Travels, undertaken by a teacher named Gausseron for the benefit of the younger readership. Gausseron’s linguistic expertise is undeniable but he is led by his original bias to bowdlerize Swift’s text: alterations and deletions (far from being systematic and coherent) appear most numerous where scatology and sexuality are concerned. Surprisingly, however, violence — whether physical or mental — is scrupulously rendered. Gausseron’s selective sense of propriety and decency results, therefore, in a version of Swift’s outrageous masterpiece, that is both lopsided as regards indelicacy and literarily mutilating.

Date de publication : 2008-07-11