AN ‘EDIBLE WOMAN’ REVISED TWO DECADES APART: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS – THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS – OF THE ROMANIAN TRANSLATION AND REVISION OF MARGARET ATWOOD’S 1969 NOVEL
AN ‘EDIBLE WOMAN’ REVISED TWO DECADES APART: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS – THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS – OF THE ROMANIAN TRANSLATION AND REVISION OF MARGARET ATWOOD’S 1969 NOVEL

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to analyze the differences between the Romanian 1989 translation and 2008 revision of Margaret Atwood’s 1989 debut novel, The Edible Woman, in terms of translation strategies and solutions as far as feminist ideology, themes, symbolism and imagery are concerned. Given the fact that this novel places a conflicted heroine at the forefront, one that is grappling with the expectations 1960s ‘Canadian’ society places on women in terms of their place, motherhood, femininity, their ‘assigned’ role and ‘use’, as well as the action taking place against the backdrop of the Second Wave of feminism, it bears taking an in-depth look at the two Romanian texts in terms of approaches, orientation, as well as strategies. Moreover, another striking feature of this case is the fact that not only is the translator of both versions one and the same, but the texts also came out with two different publishing houses, almost two decades apart (19 years). Therefore, beyond the particular case of a Romanian translation and revision from two different zeitgeists (1989 and 2008) being subject to closer scrutiny in terms of style and solutions, it will also be relevant to note what changes, if any, translator Margareta Petruț made, given the fact that her translation was published on the cusp of Romania’s ‘exit’ from the Bloc, whereas the revised text was published by a different publishing house, almost twenty years later, for a different kind of readership in terms of expectations.

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