CIRCLES WITHIN CIRCLES: TRANSLATION AND ANALYSES OF SELECTED SHORT STORIES BY JOSE EMILIO PACHECO by LENORA MARYANNE PASACRETA B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1990 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in (Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October 1997 © Lenora Maryanne Pasacreta, 1997 In 'presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. * Department of 1///V/M/lt/A- ¥'^a/^d^ /fe^^ The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT This thesis is a detailed examination of three short stories written by the Mexican author and poet, Jose Emilio Pacheco, selected from two of his collections: El viento distante and El principio del placer. I chose "Virgen de los veranos" and "Parque de diversiones" from the former collection, and "La fiesta brava" from the latter. There are two main focuses in my work; one is the translation of the three short stories into English and the other is the analyses of the stories. In addition, as an aid to placing the stories contextually within the history of Mexican literature, I include a chapter on the development of the Mexican short story. In this first chapter I provide a survey of the short story's evolution throughout Mexican literary history. I briefly document the roots of the Mexican short story in the pre-Hispanic era and I give an overview of its development throughout the subsequent centuries up to the present times. In the second chapter I explain the general and the specific strategies I employed in translating the stories into English, providing examples wherever possible. The following three chapters are dedicated to a detailed analysis of each short story; I include discussions of all aspects pertaining to theme, plot, character development, and structure. Pacheco's treatment of time is of particular interest and I deal with this both in the individual analyses and also in the final chapter. His representation of time is reminiscent of the Aztec cyclical concept of time, in which a belief in repetition is stressed. In the final chapter I identify the common elements seen throughout the ii three stories and attempt to interpret the messages they impart to the reader. The author presents a view of humankind largely centered around the opposition, within society and within the natural world, between the dominators and the dominated or the oppressors and the oppressed. His characters, both human and animal, are often representations of both. His stories reflect a belief in the endless repetitiveness of life, and he uses myth and history as the common elements in presenting his ideas and imparting his message to the reader. "Virgen de los veranos" (Summertime Virgin), "La fiesta brava" (The Bullfight), and "Parque de diversiones" (The Amusement Park), in their translated forms, follow the final chapter and conclude the work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iv INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter One The Mexican Short Story: Origins and Short History 7 Chapter Two Translation Strategies 41 Chapter Three Analysis of Virgen de los veranos 64 Chapter Four Analysis of La fiesta brava 93 Chapter Five Analysis of Parque de diversiones 128 Conclusion Commonalities Among the Stories 153 The Short Stories Translated into English Summertime Virgin 166 The Bullfight 183 The Amusement Park 212 Bibliography of Works Cited 221 Bibliography of Works Consulted 223 iv INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is to: 1) give the reader a basic understanding of the development of the Mexican short story through an overview of the history of short narrative in Mexican literature; 2) translate three short stories by the Mexican author Jose Emilio Pacheco into English, providing an explanation of the strategies employed in the translations; 3) analyse each short story; 4) tie the three stories together by identifying their common elements, purposes, and meanings. In the historical overview I cover the beginnings of Mexican literature in pre- Hispanic times, the extensive period of conquest and colonization which produced an abundance of chronicles and historical works, the introduction of foreign influences into Mexican literature, and the development and role of the pamphlet, the newspaper, and the magazine. I also cover the numerous literary trends and schools of thought infiltrating the genre of the short story from the late 1700's throughout the nineteenth century, the influence of the Mexican Revolution upon the short story, post-World War II movements in literature, and finally, late twentieth-century trends and themes. In the chapter which discusses the strategies employed in translating the stories from Spanish into English, I deal with the general and the specific problems encountered in each story. I also treat the broader, more general concerns inherent in the process of translation itself, and within the individual works themselves. In 1 addition, I include examples from the source texts and from my translations when explaining my solutions to individual and specific problems. I devote one chapter each to the analyses of the three short stories chosen for translation. I analyse each story on an individual basis, discussing such things as the treatment of time, character development, narrators, language, oppositions and contrasts, structural features, the role of the reader, and elements such as religion, violence and nature. I identify and discuss the author's themes in an attempt to elucidate the messages they impart to the reader. In the final chapter, in addition to identifying and discussing the elements common to all three stories, I also examine the elements common to only two of them. In this way, I tie the stories together, forming a solid basis which I use to explain the messages found within the common themes. The translation of literature is one of the numerous ways in which we attempt, in some small measure, to transcend or to cross the linguistic and cultural boundaries that exist between nations. By translating a work from one language to another, the information, ideas, imagination, opinions, and messages of the author of the source text are given a much greater, broader, and diverse audience. Translating Mexican literature into English opens up a vista of the Mexican literary and cultural world to the English-speaking reader, allowing an insight, albeit in small measure, into certain attitudes and perspectives of the Mexican people, as observed and represented by individual writers. Through translation the English-speaking reader can be introduced 2 to the causes and results of political upheaval and struggle, to religious and cultural history and development, to national economic concerns, and to attitudinal changes brought about by these forces. However, literary translation can only play a small role in fostering a better understanding between diverse cultures and societies. For one thing, this is neither the focus nor the goal of many translations. We must also recognize the simple fact that literary translation is not an exact science; many words and phrases in one language, and the ideas behind them, can not always be presented with the same force and clarity of meaning in another language. Individual speech patterns, nuances of meaning, poetic imagery, jokes, idiomatic expressions, slang, and swearing are some of the many difficult linguistic features likely to inhibit coherent and meaningful translations. The three short stories written by Jose Emilio Pacheco that I have selected for translation are important because in them he writes about the ordinary Mexican people, and in doing so he deals with matters and concerns common to all people: religion, politics, money, oppression, violence, war, and self-esteem, all leading toward the larger questions concerned with the nature of life and humankind's progress within organized societies. These translated stories open up a portion of the Mexican world to the English-speaking reader through an exposition of the beliefs and lives of certain characters. They deal with the long-term effects of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Maya peoples. These include the Mexican's two-tiered identity struggle—pre- Hispanic identity vis-a-vis an essentially European view of Mexican society, and the 3 extent to which both are being challenged in contemporary Mexico by the pervading socio-economic influence of the United States. The stories also deal with the effects of war, poverty, and religious strife on ordinary people, and certain universal human characteristics such as greed, insecurity, and dominance. The bibliography which appears at the end of my work identifies the sources for the information I provide in the chapter dealing with the history of the Mexican short story. The bibliography also lists the dictionaries and resource books I employed while working on the translations. The translation project required many in-depth, focused readings and re-readings of the source texts. A great deal of thought about, and research into the meaning of each word and phrase, helped me to come to a more complete understanding of the stories and their common themes and messages. I accepted the invitation proffered by the author to become an active reader. As a result, I began to ask many questions about numerous aspects of the stories. This process sometimes led to definite answers, sometimes to speculative possibilities.