Llamas Gomez, Noemi (2018) Francesc Payarols and Andreu Nin, agents of the Catalan polysystem. Unmediated translations from Russian in the 1930s: a critical overview. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/30794/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Francesc Payarols and Andreu Nin, Agents of the Catalan Polysystem. Unmediated Translations from Russian in the 1930s: A Critical Overview. Noemi Llamas Gomez Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Modern Languages and Cultures College of Arts University of Glasgow August 2018 iii Abstract This thesis addresses the contribution of Francesc Payarols and Andreu Nin to the Catalan literary system between 1928 and 1937 via the introduction of unmediated translations from Russian into Catalan. This contribution has been studied by comparing it to previous translation activity from Russian into Catalan, to translations in literary systems that due to prestige and geographical proximity can be considered neighbouring systems to the Catalan system (the French, the British and the Spanish), and by reviewing some of the critical reception that these publications gathered in the Catalan press of the time. Selected terminology and theoretical concepts of Polysystem Theory (PST) have been used critically in the methodological framing. This study occupies the gap of knowledge in current scholarship around the work of Payarols, whilst also building on previous and contemporaneous research on Nin. The evolution of translation from Russian into Catalan is contextualised from its introduction in 1879 until the establishment of Edicions Proa in 1928, the platform from which Payarols and Nin published the majority of the texts studied. The role of the translators as agents of the system is particularly highlighted, given both the influence of their translations in creating examples of models of prose that autochthonous novelists could use, and the power of their textual choices outside of the primary authors (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov). Joan Puig i Ferreter’s agency is also explored, as the figure behind Proa’s success and one of the main promoters of the reintroduction of novels into the literary repertoire in Catalan from the late 1920s. This research studies the unmediated Catalan translations of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and a selection of nineteenth and twentieth century authors carried out by Payarols and Nin, and reviews some of the impact that these had upon Catalan writers such as Mercè Rodoreda, Sebastià Juan Arbó and Joan Sales. Overall, these translations largely exceeded the previous available items of Russian literature in Catalan, and in cases such as Dostoevsky and Chekhov, they established a textual presence to go with their already existing literary fame. iv This process establishes that power dynamics were in operation between these translators, and that Nin had higher esteem from the literary milieu, which in turn affected the prestige of the texts he was commissioned to translate. I then contribute to the debate on the mythologisation of Nin’s work by suggesting a revision of his texts, supported by a comparison with the recently revised versions of some of Payarols translations. v Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof Kathryn Crameri and Dr Margaret Tejerizo, for their invaluable help and input in this thesis, and their belief in my research capabilities. I cannot be thankful enough for Prof Crameri’s detailed, constructive feedback, and for Dr Tejerizo’s unconditional enthusiasm, and I cannot apologise enough for my grammar. I also wish to thank Dr John McCulloch, for his initial support as part of my starting supervisory team. To the Fundació Mercè Rodoreda and the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, specially Dr Mallafré, for awarding me an Ajut Rodoreda in 2013 and 2015, which funded a great part of my research trips to the Biblioteca de Catalunya in Barcelona, and allowed me to see my family more often than I would have otherwise. To Susan Bassnett, who kindly suggested improvements to my new structure. To the School of Modern Languages and Cultures PG community, particularly those with whom I shared our Shut Up and Write and Peer Review groups, Hannah Silvester, David John Boyd, Emeline Morin, and Doug Mulliken. I extend my gratitude to Dr Emily Ryder and Dr Jenny Munro-Hunt, whose theses I have been perusing for guidance. To my work colleagues, who have played a major role in keeping me humble and listened to endless histrionic commentaries whilst consuming cake: the admin dream team at the SMLC, Gillian Smith, Carolyn Donaldson, Victoria Robinson, and Teresa Newman, and the amazing academics Kirsty Gowling-Afchain and Eamon McCarthy, for their laughter therapy sessions disguised as office meetings. To everyone at Campus Central who has ever heard about this thesis and not walked away, particularly to my partner in crime Cherae Smith, BBA (TourismMgmt), for her daily support and cheese-fuelled morning teas. vi And last, but obviously not least, to my loving wife Alex, for her love, her immense patience and support throughout, from the moment I found out I was going to be a self- funded researcher. She is the sole reason this text was ever produced; I could not have done it without her. This is as much her thesis as it is mine. And to, of course, thesis monitor Jelly Princess. She is, after all, our cat overlady. Esta tesis va dedicada a mis padres y a mi hermana, quienes sin entender una sola palabra de “la Merche” siempre han estado ayudándome y soportándome desde la distancia. vii Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 13 1. Preliminary Considerations 15 2. Research Question and Aims 24 3. Theoretical Framework and Methodology 27 4. Thesis Structure 44 CHAPTER ONE. TRANSLATING FROM RUSSIAN INTO CATALAN BEFORE 1928: CONTEXT AND AGENTS 47 1. Russian Translated Literature Before Payarols and Nin 49 2. A Note on Translations of Pushkin 63 3. Edicions Proa’s Cultural Project (1928-1938) 68 3.1. Biblioteca A Tot Vent 68 3.2. Puig i Ferreter and Russian Literature 71 4. Francesc Payarols and Andreu Nin: Agents of the Polysystem 74 4.1. Francesc Payarols, ‘Traductor del Rus’ 76 4.2. Andreu Nin, Translation and Politics 80 CHAPTER TWO. TRANSLATING TOLSTOY: FROM SHORT STORIES TO NOVELS AND MODELS OF PROSE 91 1. Tolstoy in Translation 92 2. Tolstoy in Catalan Before Edicions Proa 101 2.1. Short Narrative and Narcís Oller 106 2.2. Noucentista Translations: Tolstoy’s Plays 108 viii 3. The 1930s 116 3.1. 1928 118 3.2. Francesc Payarols’ Translations 120 3.3. Andreu Nin’s Anna Karènina 126 3.4. The Power Dynamics of Translating Tolstoy 131 4. Tolstoy’s Role in the Development of the Catalan Literary Repertoire 134 4.1. Tolstoy’s Position at the Centre of the Literary System: the Role of Proa 135 4.2. Rebuilding the Repertoire on Psychological Prose 139 Conclusions 143 CHAPTER THREE. TRANSLATING DOSTOEVSKY INTO CATALAN: TRANSLATION ‘WARS’, MYTHOLOGISATION, AND ATEXTUAL CENTRALITY 145 1. Dostoevsky in Translation 147 2. Translations of Dostoevsky before Payarols and Nin 157 3. Dostoevsky Translated by Payarols and Nin 162 3.1. The Translation ‘Wars’ 163 3.2. Payarols’ L’etern marit 168 3.3 Nin’s Crim i càstig 171 4. Dostoevsky and the Reshaping of the Catalan Literary Repertoire of the 1930s 178 4.1. Position in the Polysystem: Atextual Centrality 179 4.2. Claiming Textless Influence 182 Conclusions 185 CHAPTER FOUR. CHEKHOV IN CATALAN: TRANSLATING IN THE PERIPHERY 187 1. Chekhov in Translation 188 2. Chekhov in Catalan Before Edicions Proa 196 ix 3. The 1930s 201 3.1. Francesc Payarols’ Els múgics 202 3.2 Andreu Nin’s Una cacera dramàtica 204 3.3. Power Dynamics in the Translation of Chekhov 208 4. Position and Interference in the Catalan Literary System 211 4.1 ‘A Novel by Chekhov’: Repertoire and Adaptation 212 4.2. Interference in the Periphery: Mercè Rodoreda 214 Conclusions 218 CHAPTER FIVE. TRANSLATING ‘THE OTHER RUSSIANS’: IDEOLOGICAL CHASM AND TRANSLATORS’ AGENCY 221 1. The Ideological Chasm 222 1.1. Translator Agency 223 1.2. Politics Versus Culture at Atena and Beyond 225 2. Nineteenth vs Twentieth Century Literature: Illustrating Translator’s Agency 231 2.1. Payarols’ Choices 232 2.2. Nin’s Choices 240 3. Mythologisation, Revisions, and Text Survival 247 Conclusions 250 CONCLUSION 253 BIBLIOGRAPHY 263 xi Author’s Declaration I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, that this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at the University of Glasgow or any other institution. Noemi Llamas Gomez 13 INTRODUCTION Much has been said about translation in the context of Catalan literature of the 1930s over the last thirty years,1 and with good reason. The catalogues of the major publishing houses that had emerged in the previous decade were mostly filled with translated items, alongside the occasional Catalan novel.2 The introduction of models of prose into Catalan literature via translation contributed to the development of autochthonous Catalan novels, a genre that had fallen out of favour during the preceding Noucentista period.3 In this context, Russian literature was a constant feature in those catalogues as longer, more substantial texts by some of their great authors, such as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov among others, were made available to the broader public.