DISSERTATION Titel der Dissertation HAROLD PINTER IN GERMAN: WHAT'S LOST IN TRANSLATION? Verfasserin RENÉE VON PASCHEN, M.A. angestrebter akademischer Grad Doktorin der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) Wien, 2012 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 092 317 Dissertationsgebiet lt. Studienblatt: Theater-, Film- und Medienwissenschaft Betreuerin: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Brigitte Marschall 2 2 3 ABSTRACT 7 ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 9 FOREWORD 11 INTRODUCTION 12 1 HAROLD PINTER'S BACKGROUND AS A WRITER 16 1.1 HAROLD PINTER'S BIOGRAPHY 16 1.1.1 PINTER'S CHILDHOOD YEARS 17 1.1.2 PINTER'S ACTING AND DIRECTING CAREER 19 1.1.2.1 Pinter's Acting Career in the Theater ..............................................................................26 1.1.2.2 Pinter's Acting Career and Roles in Cinema...................................................................26 1.1.2.3 Television Films and Roles in Which Pinter Acted........................................................27 1.1.2.4 Radio Broadcasts in Which Pinter Played a Role ...........................................................28 1.1.2.5 Plays Pinter Directed on Stage........................................................................................28 1.1.2.6 Movies and Television Films Directed by Pinter............................................................29 1.1.3 PINTER'S POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT 30 1.1.4 PINTER'S OEUVRE AS A WRITER 35 1.1.4.1 Plays by Pinter.................................................................................................................35 1.1.4.2 Prose and Poetry by Pinter ..............................................................................................37 1.1.4.3 Screenplays by Pinter......................................................................................................39 1.1.4.4 Prizes and Awards Won by Pinter ..................................................................................40 1.1.5 INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS TO PINTER'S NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2005 42 1.2 CONSIDERATIONS OF ABSURDIST LITERATURE 45 1.2.1 ORIGINS OF THE ABSURDIST GENRE: HORROR AND HUMOR 45 1.2.2 SAMUEL BECKETT AS AN ABSURDIST PLAYWRIGHT 47 1.2.3 SAMUEL BECKETT'S INFLUENCE ON HAROLD PINTER 50 1.3 CONSIDERATIONS OF HUMOR AND COMEDY 53 1.3.1 BLACK HUMOR AND DARK COMEDY 54 1.3.2 JEWISH AND YIDDISH HUMOR 56 1.3.3 CLASSICAL GERMAN COMEDY OR THE LACK THEREOF 62 1.4 HAROLD PINTER AS A PLAYWRIGHT 65 1.4.1 PINTER’S METAPHORICAL AND POLITICAL PLAYS 66 1.4.2 THE INFLUENCE OF PINTER'S JEWISH BACKGROUND ON HIS WRITING 67 1.4.3 PINTER'S LANGUAGE AND STYLE 68 1.4.4 PINTER'S COMEDIES OF MENACE 79 3 4 2 TRANSLATION STUDIES 88 2.1 TRANSLATION OF HUMOR 89 2.2 TRANSLATION OF DIALOGUE 91 2.3 AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION 94 2.4 HAROLD PINTER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION 96 3 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY BY HAROLD PINTER 100 3.1 A GENERAL PLOT OUTLINE OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY 100 3.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY INCLUDING REVIEWS 101 3.2.1 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF DIE GEBURTSTAGSFEIER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION 109 3.2.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY SCREENPLAY AND FILM 122 3.3 GENERAL COMMENTARIES ON THE BIRTHDAY PARTY 126 3.4 PINTER'S COMMENTS ON THE BIRTHDAY PARTY 128 3.5 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY WITH DIE GEBURTSTAGSFEIER TRANSLATIONS BY WILLY H. THIEM AND MICHAEL WALTER 131 4 THE CARETAKER BY HAROLD PINTER 164 4.1 A GENERAL PLOT OUTLINE OF THE CARETAKER 164 4.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE CARETAKER INCLUDING REVIEWS 165 4.2.1 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF DER HAUSMEISTER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION 174 4.2.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF THE CARETAKER SCREENPLAY AND FILM 193 4.3 GENERAL COMMENTARIES ON THE CARETAKER 197 4.4 PINTER'S COMMENTS ON THE CARETAKER 201 4.5 A COMPARISON OF THE PLAY THE CARETAKER WITH THE FILM - SCREENPLAY BY HAROLD PINTER 204 4.6 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE CARETAKER (DONNER) WITH DER HAUSMEISTER (PFLEGERL) AND THIEM & WALTER'S TRANSLATIONS 211 5 THE DUMB WAITER BY HAROLD PINTER 239 5.1 A GENERAL PLOT OUTLINE OF THE DUMB WAITER 239 5.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF THE DUMB WAITER INCLUDING REVIEWS 240 5.2.1 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF DER STUMME DIENER IN GERMAN TRANSLATION 246 4 5 5.2.2 PRODUCTION HISTORY & RECEPTION OF THE DUMB WAITER FILM BY ROBERT ALTMAN 264 5.3 GENERAL COMMENTARIES ON THE DUMB WAITER 268 5.4 PINTER'S COMMENTS ON THE DUMB WAITER 271 5.5 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE DUMB WAITER WITH ITS GERMAN TRANSLATION BY WILLY THIEM, THE FILM BY ROBERT ALTMANN AND ITS GERMAN DUBBED VERSION DER STUMME DIENER 272 6 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW OF AUSTRIAN PINTER PRODUCTIONS COMPARED TO OTHER 20TH CENTURY ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PLAYWRIGHTS 300 6.1 AUSTRIAN PRODUCTIONS OF POPULAR 20TH CENTURY ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PLAYWRIGHTS IN GERMAN TRANSLATION 300 6.1.1 SAMUEL BECKETT (1949-1982): 126 PRODUCTIONS 301 6.1.2 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS (1911-1983): 120 PRODUCTIONS 301 6.1.3 THORNTON WILDER (1897-1985): 96 PRODUCTIONS 302 6.1.4 EUGENE O'NEILL (1988-1953): 80 PRODUCTIONS 302 6.1.5 ARTHUR MILLER (1915-2005): 78 PRODUCTIONS 302 6.1.6 NEIL SIMON (1927 - ): 66 PRODUCTIONS 303 6.1.7 EDWARD ALBEE (1928 - ): 62 PRODUCTIONS 304 6.1.8 JOHN BOYNTON PRIESTLEY (1894-1984): 56 PRODUCTIONS 304 6.1.9 HAROLD PINTER (1930-2008): 49 PRODUCTIONS 305 6.1.9.1 One Production of Pinter's Die Geburtstagsfeier..........................................................307 6.1.9.2 Seven Productions of Pinter's Der stumme Diener .......................................................308 6.1.9.3 Twelve Productions of Pinter's Der Hausmeister .........................................................309 6.1.10 ALAN AYCKBOURN (1939 - ): 42 PRODUCTIONS 311 6.1.11 OTHER POPULAR ENGLISH-SPEAKING PLAYWRIGHTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY IN AUSTRIA 312 7 TRANSLATION AND RECEPTION OF PINTER'S PLAYS IN OTHER LANGUAGES AND COUNTRIES 313 7.1 TRANSLATION AND RECEPTION OF PINTER'S PLAYS IN FRANCE 313 7.2 TRANSLATION AND RECEPTION OF PINTER'S PLAYS IN THE CZECH LANGUAGE 316 7.3 TRANSLATION AND RECEPTION OF PINTER'S PLAYS IN ITALIAN 316 7.4 TRANSLATION AND RECEPTION OF PINTER'S PLAYS IN SLOVENIAN 317 7.5 INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS TO PINTER'S DEATH IN 2008 318 8 FINAL REMARKS AND CONCLUSION 321 5 6 9 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 324 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 326 10.1 BOOKS 326 10.2 ARTICLES AND REVIEWS 333 10.3 OTHER REFERENCE SOURCES 346 11 FILMOGRAPHY 350 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 354 CURRICULUM VITAE 355 6 7 Abstract This interdisciplinary dissertation compares Nobel laureate Harold Pinter's English plays and films with their German versions for the purpose of uncovering what is lost in the course of translation. In this scope, the author also provides creative new German renditions to help illustrate how the multi-faceted levels of meaning can be maintained in contrast to the earlier German translations, whereby a special focus is placed on humor. The premise of this dissertation is that Pinter's work is less popular in German- speaking countries than in English-speaking ones for a series of reasons, in particular the loss of their original meaning and humor in connection with cultural mistranslation. The misunderstanding of Pinter in German-speaking countries may be an exemplary case in theater translation. Basic research will focus on his comedies of menace, including the plays and film versions of 1) The Birthday Party, 2) The Dumb Waiter and 3) The Caretaker. It was, for example, evident that Der stumme Diener would not be well received in Germany and had lost all its humor upon its premiere in Frankfurt, where "…it was played as a completely serious horror piece without a flicker of amusement."1 To begin with, Harold Pinter's broad-scoped oeuvre as a playwright will be depicted, accompanied by remarks on his style and his own commentaries on his work. This will be followed by an exploration of black comedy and British humor, as well as Jewish and Yiddish humor, in contrast to German comedy. Factors contributing to cultural differences in the understanding of humor may include the lack of a great tradition of classical German comedy and the specific political atmosphere in post WWII German-speaking countries. There will also be an examination of the theater of the absurd, including its influences on Pinter's work and style. 1 Taylor, p. 329. 7 8 A further chapter will briefly outline translation studies with emphasis on the Skopos theory, which is the dominant theory in translation studies at present. It postulates that a translation is dependent on the purpose for which it is rendered, meaning that it should be in keeping with the intended scope of use. The author's research ties into this in the form of literary translation, which is widely recognized as the art of recreating a work of literature in another linguistic and cultural context. The comparative study of Harold Pinter's dramatic works shall contrast the English originals with the German translations of the above three plays, as well as corresponding film productions in English and German, where available. This will involve the comparison of selected German and English lines to demonstrate how the literary translation of the dialogue and idiomatic phrasing differ from the source text. The comparative studies of these dramatic works with their German translations will focus on the aspects of humor on stage and screen. Reviews and playbills will also be quoted to illustrate the reception of the above plays and enhance the multiple facets of this interdisciplinary study. As my research on literary translation and the performing arts will also touch upon the non-verbal context, it will be supplemented with film versions of Pinter's play The Birthday Party (Dir. William Friedkin), The Dumb Waiter (Dir. Robert Altman), as well as The Caretaker (Dir. Clive Donner). Der Hausmeister (Dir. Dietmar Pflegerl) was staged and filmed in Austria, enabling further investigation into the German- language interpretation of Pinter's plays, including the stimulus-response system of dialogue on the stage. Altman's film was dubbed as Der stumme Diener in Germany, involving constrained translation, which renders the translation of films particularly complex.