Guiding into Otherness: The Paratext in the Romanian Translation of the Novel Kamen No Kokuhaku, Confessions of a Mask by Mishima Yukio
Guiding into Otherness: The Paratext in the Romanian Translation of the Novel Kamen No Kokuhaku, Confessions of a Mask by Mishima Yukio

Summary/Abstract: The Other – in our case, Japanese culture – can be (re)constructed by means of translation methods, but also by various paratextual components, which sometimes aim at reimagining its distinctive features, thus creating specific expectations in the minds of the potential readers. Especially paratextual elements are powerful tools when we think about the way the reader is guided in understanding the qualities that highlight the Otherness. This study will focus on some parts of the paratext – book covers and blurbs – that are present in the Romanian translation of Mishima Yukio’s literary work Confessions of a Mask. We shall argue that the blurbs act as a form of recreating Mishima’s literary fame in the Romanian cultural space, while having at the same time the role of stressing the autobiographical content, thus insisting on a specific way of understanding this novel. Additionally, we will demonstrate the fact that the cover design of the has the function of marking the cultural difference, thus enjoining the reader to read the literary work from a specific perspective, while the cover design of the second edition introduces him/her into Mishima’s narrative, laying emphasis on the relation between the figure of Saint Sebastian and the novel as well, which is an aspect that also influences the understanding of the novel.

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