Struggling Capitalists, Lonely Farmers, and Vast Land – Anthologies of Translated English-Canadian Short Stories in German(y), 1967-2010 by Barbara Renate Erika Pausch A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Translation Studies Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies University of Alberta © Barbara Renate Erika Pausch, 2014 ABSTRACT This study examines anthologies of translated English-Canadian short stories in German, specifically anthologies published in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and Switzerland (CH) between 1967 and 2010. The corpus taken from these anthologies, namely nineteen German translations of nine English- Canadian short stories as well as the nine paratexts (introductions, forewords, and afterwords) that accompany them, is analyzed with regard to the anthologies’ goals, motifs, and functions. Furthermore, this study examines whether and to what extent these motifs and functions as well as the cultural, political, and social surroundings are reflected in the actual translations. These micro-level analyses are complemented with macro-level analyses, which trace the development of the short story in Germany and Canada as well as the history of Canadian literature in German translation. Regarding its methods, this study uses an interdisciplinary approach, which incorporates three disciplines, namely linguistics, literary studies (specifically intertextual studies), and translation studies. The field of linguistics contributes (critical) stylistics (Sandig 2006; Jeffries 2010) and (critical) discourse analysis (Fairclough 1989 and 2001; Gee 2011b), the field of literary studies provides Gérard Genette’s paratext concept (1987), and the field of translation studies contributes Katharina Reiss and Hans Vermeer’s skopos theory (1984) as well as Itamar Even-Zohar’s polysystem theory (1990). All in all, this study shows that translation in its broadest sense is an act of power, which is able to transmit, emphasize, or reflect potentially ideological or stereotypical concepts. At the same time, translated literature is itself influenced by its powerful surroundings, which it reflects. Similarly, however, these surroundings are also able to steer ii the import of translated literature since literary imports usually fulfill certain functions in the receiving literary polysystems. iii PREFACE This dissertation is an original work by Barbara Pausch. The interview project, which is part of this work, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “The Role of Translation in the Transmission and Reproduction of Ideologies and Power Struggles – English-Canadian Short Story Anthologies in German(y), 1967-2010“, No. Pro00041168, September 9, 2013. An earlier version of chapter three has been published as “Anglo-Canadian Short Story Anthologies in German(y): 1967-2010“ in Theory and Practice in English Studies (THEPES) 6.1 (2013): 39-53. iv To Anton & Erika and Mark & Katharina v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors at the University of Alberta, Dr. Carrie Smith-Prei and Dr. Anne Malena, for their poignant classes, their invaluable comments and suggestions, their support and encouragement, the inspiring discussions which shaped my work throughout the entire process, and for the countless emails that they sent across the Atlantic. I would also like to thank my external supervisor at the LMU in Munich, Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Schmid, for his comments and advice, the thought-provoking discussions, as well as for agreeing to participate in the adventurous endeavor of a joint degree program. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to the MLCS department at the University of Alberta. Thanks for the stimulating classes, the friendly staff, and the inspiring atmosphere! Thank you also to the SLUB Dresden for its extremely helpful and friendly staff and for letting me borrow piles of books without which I could not have completed this project. I would also like to thank translator Peter Kleinhempel for many a helpful idea and for sharing his interesting insights into GDR translation with me. Moreover, I am very grateful to my parents for their continual support during my entire time at the university from day one to the completion of my PhD. According to Goethe, there are two things that children should get from their parents: roots and wings. Thank you for giving me both and for encouraging me to explore the world. Finally, I would like to thank Mark for accompanying me on my five year PhD journey. Thank you for being there for me during all the ups and downs, for always having a sympathetic ear for my thoughts and doubts, for grounding and reassuring me whenever the doubts gained the upper hand, and for being my bastion of calm. vi Barbara Pausch – Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii PREFACE iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF FIGURES x INTRODUCTION 1 The Corpus – An Initial Framing of the Translations and Paratexts 6 Structure 16 CHAPTER 1: Length Matters – The Development and Status of the Short Story in Canada and Germany 18 Introduction 18 The English-Canadian Short Story: Pre-Confederation Era to Turn of the Twentieth Century 19 Early Twentieth Century to 1967: From Modernism to the Centennial Celebrations 24 1967 to the New Millennium: Explosion of Talent 29 The Short Story Form: Some Theoretical Remarks 35 The German Short Story from the Late Nineteenth Century to 1945: From Birth to Censorship 44 1945 to Early 1950s: A New Beginning 51 1950s to 1980s: From Innovation to Schools to Decline 59 1990s to the New Millennium: A New Revival and New Developments 63 Conclusion 66 CHAPTER 2: Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries – Methodology and Themes 67 Introduction 67 Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries 67 Polysystem Theory 76 Paratexts: Literary Thresholds 88 vii Barbara Pausch – Table of Contents Skopos Theory 96 Discourse Analysis and Stylistics 106 Conclusion: Language and Power – Concepts of Power 115 CHAPTER 3: Good Storytelling – Canadian Literature in German/y 119 Introduction 119 Nineteenth Century to Mid-Twentieth Century: First Translations 120 1970s: “Canadian Literature Does In Fact Exist” – But Is Not Accessible Everywhere 127 1980s: Growing Interest in Canada – Canadian Women Writers Pave the Way 138 1990s: Increasing Numbers of Publications – New Aspects 147 New Millennium: New and Expanded Perspectives 155 Conclusion 157 CHAPTER 4: The End Justifies the Means… – The Functions and Skopoi of the Paratexts and Anthologies 160 Introduction 160 The Anthologies’ Paratexts – More Than Mere ‘Props’ 161 Solitude, Canadianness, Multifacetedness – The Paratexts of KEdG, ME, and Ke 166 Novelty and Contemporaneity – The Paratexts of SfC and KudR 179 Problem-Free Travel Destination, Religion, Problem-Laden Capitalist Society – The Paratexts of DwR, GW, and RnK 184 Conclusion 198 CHAPTER 5: The Paratexts – More Than Mere Additions 200 Introduction 200 KEdG (CH, 1967): “It has been known since 1962 that the country consists of two cultures” 201 SfC (FRG, 1969): Canadian literature as “virgin territory” 209 DwR (GDR, 1974): “A country of major unresolved problems and social conflicts” 212 ME foreword (FRG, 1976): Canada – a new home “for countless emigrants from the ‘Old Europe’” 222 viii Barbara Pausch – Table of Contents ME introduction (FRG, 1976): “a feeling of imminence, of exposition is deeply rooted in the Canadian psyche” 224 GW (GDR, 1986): “The Christian faith has struck deep roots in Canada” 233 Ke (FRG, 1992): “Canada is always both this and that” 238 KudR (GDR, 1992): The short story – “most interesting and dynamic genre of Canadian literature” 243 RnK (CH, 2010): “Travelling in Canada is spectacular” 250 Conclusion 255 CHAPTER 6: Analysis of the Translations 258 Introduction 258 Frederick Philip Grove: “Snow” (1926/1932) – Tragedy and Rawness 260 Morley Callaghan: “Two Fishermen” (1934) – Provinciality and Victims 266 Sinclair Ross: “The Lamp at Noon” (1938) – Isolation and Solitude 271 Hugh Garner: “One, Two, Three Little Indians” (1950) – Poverty and Disease 276 Douglas Spettigue: “The Haying” (1953) – Incomprehension and Death 284 Hugh Hood: “Flying a Red Kite” (1962) – Epiphany and Buoyancy 289 Alice Munro: “Boys and Girls” (1964/1968) – Conservatism and Gender Roles 294 Eric Cameron: “The Turning Point” (1966) – Prejudice and Emancipation 302 Farley Mowat: “Walk Well, my Brother” (1975) – Wilderness and Camaraderie 310 Conclusion 315 CONCLUSION 319 BIBLIOGRAPHY 326 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Timeline of the Anthologies 15 Figure 2: My Interdisciplinary Approach 75 x Barbara Pausch – Introduction INTRODUCTION [T]o publish an anthology of translations of any literature in another literature you need a reason. (Lefevere 1995: 40) This study, located at the interdisciplinary intersection of translation studies, linguistics, and literary studies, assumes that no anthology of translated literature is ever published ‘innocently,’ but rather with certain goals and functions as well as a certain image of the source country in mind. According to Margaret Atwood (2004), the image of Canada internationally and in international literature is a rather stereotypical one: “[A] place you escape to from ‘civilization,’ an unspoiled, uncorrupted place imagined as empty or thought of as populated by happy archaic peasants or YMCA instructors, quaint or dull or both” (24). Canada – beautiful nature, untamed wilderness,