! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! THE!TRANSLATOR’S!VISIBILITY:!SCENES!OF!TRANSLATION!IN!CONTEMPORARY! LATIN!AMERICAN!FICTION! ! ! ! Heather!Cleary! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Submitted!in!partial!fulfillment!of!the! requirements!for!the!deGree!of! Doctor!of!Philosophy! in!the!Graduate!School!of!Arts!and!Sciences! ! ! ! ! ! COLUMBIA!UNIVERSITY! ! 2014! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2014! ©!Heather!Cleary! All!rights!reserved! ! ABSTRACT! The!Translator’s!Visibility:!! Scenes!of!Translation!in!Contemporary!Latin!American!Fiction! Heather!Cleary! ! My!dissertation!explores!the!proliferation!of!novels!written!in!Latin!America!over! the!past!quarter!century!that!feature!translators!as!protagonists,!asserting!that!the! mobilization!of!this!figure!in!fiction!allows!contemporary!writers!a!nonUexpository! space!to!reflect!on!the!place!and!shape!of!literature!in!the!context!of!shifting! paradigms!of!cultural!production!and!consumption,!to!address!the!uneven! distribution!of!cultural!capital!still!prevalent!in!discussions!of!World!Literature,!and! to!present!dynamic,!reciprocal!notions!of!creativity!over!and!against!hierarchical! models!of!intellectual!influence.!! ! In!my!analysis!of!the!metaphorical!weight!of!the!literary!figure!of!the! translator,!I!examine!the!engagement!of!three!central!tropes!of!translation!theory!in! contemporary!fiction,!setting!close!readings!of!the!corpus!in!the!context!of!both!the! region’s!longstanding!tradition!of!translation—epitomized!in!the!last!century!by,! but!not!limited!to,!the!work!of!Jorge!Luis!Borges!and!Haroldo!de!Campos—and! theories!of!translation!and!cultural!exchange!presented!by!Walter!Benjamin,!Jacques! Derrida,!Gayatri!Spivak,!Lawrence!Venuti,!and!Silviano!Santiago,!among!others.!! Following!an!introduction!that!situates!my!dissertation!within!the!broader! discussion!of!World!Literature!and!early!reflections!on!the!literary!representation!of! translators!in!the!field!of!translation!studies,!the!study’s!second!chapter!explores!the! ! metaphor!of!translation!as!reproduction!in!both!a!biological!sense,!as!seen!in!Luis! Fernando!Verissimo’s!Borges'e'os'orangotangos'eternos!(2000),!and!a!biogenetic! one,!in!the!form!of!the!conflation!of!cloning!and!translation!in!César!Aira’s!El' congreso'de'literatura!(1999),!to!explore!the!extent!to!which!these!works!go!beyond! the!simple!inversion!of!the!discursive!hierarchy!inherent!to!the!notion!of!influence! to!posit!a!nonUlinear!model!of!cultural!exchange.!The!third!chapter!defends!what!I! describe!as!translation’s!right!to!untranslatability—a!mode!of!translational!reading! grounded!in!the!recognition!of!cultural!specificity—as!it!appears!in!narratives! centered!on!translation!failure!at!the!level!of!the!cognate,!those!terms!in!which!two! languages!would!appear!to!be!at!their!closest;!in!this!analysis,!I!focus!on!Salvador! Benesdra’s!El'traductor!(1998)!and!Alan!Pauls’s!El'Pasado!(2003).!The!fourth! chapter!looks!at!the!mobilization!of!the!textual!space!of!the!translator’s!footnote!in! Mario!Bellatin’s!El'jardín'de'la'señora'Murakami!(2000),!in!relation!to!precursors! such!as!the!writings!of!Rodolfo!Walsh!and!Moacyr!Scliar,!to!argue!that!Bellatin! adopts!the!persona!of!the!translator!as!a!means!of!destabilizing!traditional!notions! of!authorship!and!originality.!Finally,!a!coda!proposes!two!avenues!for!future! research:!one!based!on!an!extended!analysis!of!the!topographical!space!occupied!by! the!translator!in!these!narratives,!and!another!on!the!alignment!of!translation!with! new!models!of!authorship!and!creativity!that!have!emerged!in!the!digital!age.!! ! In!this!way,!my!dissertation!both!establishes!a!connection!between!Latin! American!cultural!studies!and!translation!theory,!and!expands!the!“fictional!turn”!of! translation!studies—which!tends!to!analyze!the!narrative!representation!of! ! translators!in!relation!to!the!concrete!realities!of!the!practice—to!include!the! symbolic!mobilization!of!translation!as!a!commentary!on!broader!cultural!dynamics.! ! "!v!"! ! TABLE!OF!CONTENTS! ! 1.!Introduction:!A!Tradition!of!Translation! ! ! ! ! 1! ! I.!Contexts!and!Clarifications! ! ! ! ! ! 9! ! II.!Translation!in!a!Global!Sense! ! ! ! ! ! 16! ! ! III.!A!Tradition!of!Translation! ! ! ! ! ! 24! 2.!Monsters!and!Parricides:!Scandals!of!Textual!Reproduction! ! ! 45! ! I.!The!Misery!and!the!Splendor! ! ! ! ! ! 54! ! II.!Of!Bastards!and!Clones! ! ! ! ! ! ! 62! 3.!Foreign!Correspondence:!The!Politics!of!Untranslatability! ! ! 93! ! I.!A!Few!Notes!on!(UnU)!Translatability! ! ! ! ! 99! ! II.!Fragments!of!a!Vessel! ! ! ! ! ! ! 109! ! III.!The!Problem!with!False!Friends! ! ! ! ! 114! ! IV.!The!Problem!with!True!Friends!! ! ! ! ! 118! ! V.!Best!Enemies! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 128! 4.!Writing!in!the!Margins:!The!Case!of!Mario!Bellatin! ! ! ! 135! ! I.!On!the!(FootU)!Printed!Page! ! ! ! ! ! 136! ! II.!The!Hermeneutic!(ComU)!Motion! ! ! ! ! 153! ! III.!A!ReUWriter!on!the!Edge!! ! ! ! ! ! 170! 5.!Coda:!A!Creative!Figure!for!Uncreative!Times! ! ! ! ! 180! ! I.!More!Scenes!of!Translation! ! ! ! ! ! 180! ! II.!A!Creative!Figure!for!an!Uncreative!Age!! ! ! ! 188! 6.!Bibliography! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 205! ! ! "!i!"! ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS! ! ! Writing!is!often!described!as!a!solitary!task.!I!am!happy!to!say!that!this!was!not!my! experience,!as!I!had!the!support!of!two!incredibly!generous!mentors.!I!am!deeply! grateful!to!my!dissertation!advisor!Carlos!J.!Alonso!for!his!counsel,!his!careful! readings,!and!for!asking!the!questions!that!needed!to!be!asked!every!step!of!the!way,! and!to!Graciela!Montaldo,!who!was!also!always!ready!with!insightful!feedback!and! suggestions!for!further!reading.!Thank!you!both,!from!the!bottom!of!my!heart.! Credit!is!also!due!to!Richard!Sieburth!and!Eliot!Weinberger,!who!introduced! me!to!translation!as!a!practice!and!a!field!of!inquiry,!and!who!taught!me!everything!I! know!about!revision;!Jacques!Lezra,!whose!invaluable!guidance!and!good!humor! have!nurtured!this!work!since!its!earliest!stages;!Mariano!Siskind,!whose!friendship! and!counsel!I!cherish;!Emily!Apter!and!my!classmates!in!the!Mellon!Translation! Theory!seminar!at!NYU!for!their!contributions!to!the!development!of!this!study,!and! the!panelists!of!“Latin!American!in/and!Translation”—especially!Rosemary!Arrojo! and!Benjamin!van!Wyke—who!showed!me!how!rich!and!varied!the!intersection!of! translation!and!cultural!studies!can!be.!! I!would!like!to!thank!the!members!of!my!defense!committee—Carlos!Alonso,! Graciela!Montaldo,!Jacques!Lezra,!Alessandra!Russo,!and!Peter!Connor—for!taking! the!time!to!read!my!work!and!helping!to!usher!it!into!its!next!incarnation,!as!well!as! Eunice!Rodríguez!Ferguson!and!Kosmas!Pissakos!for!their!administrative!and! troubleshooting!skills!over!the!years.! ! "!ii!"! ! Last!but!certainly!not!least,!my!heartfelt!thanks!go!to!my!parents!and!theirs! for!the!love!and!support!that!made!this!whole!adventure!possible,!and!to!the!friends! who!have!challenged,!inspired,!and!distracted!me,!Anjuli!and!Elena!above!all.!And! Milton—thank!you!for!your!insight,!your!support,!your!laughter,!and!for!keeping!me! on!an!even!keel!in!fair!weather!and!foul. ! "!iii!"! ! CHAPTER!ONE! Introduction:!A!Tradition!of!Translation! ! ! On!the!eve!of!the!new!millennium,!Sherry!Simon!declared!that!the!place!of!the! translator!“is!no!longer!an!exclusive!site.!It!overlaps!with!that!of!the!writer!and,!in! fact,!of!the!contemporary!Western!citizen.”1!This!observation!has!been!borne!out!in! recent!years!across!the!international!critical!and!creative!landscape:!the!past! quarter!century!has!seen!the!publication!of!dozens!of!novels!that!feature!a! translator!as!a!central!character,!and!countless!intellectuals!both!within!and!outside! academia!have!been!turning!to!translation!as!a!means!of!thinking!through!broader! processes!of!cultural!exchange,!from!the!global!circulation!of!goods!and!information! to!the!power!struggles!that!subtend!the!consecration!of!works!that!come!to!be! considered!World!Literature.!Translation!studies,!in!turn,!has!broadened!its!purview! beyond!the!literary!to!touch!on!disciplines!as!varied!as!genetics,!computer!science! and!economics.2!Translation,!in!other!words,!has!become!a!central!part!of!the!way! we!reflect!on!the!world!around!us,!and!this!discursive!prominence!has!echoed! throughout!the!literary!sphere.! My!dissertation!explores!what!it!means,!in!the!specific!context!of!Latin! American!literature,!to!center!a!work!of!fiction!on!the!figure!of!the!translator!today.! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!From!the!1999!article,!“Translation!and!Interlingual!Creation!in!the!Contact!Zone”!(Bassnett!59).! 2!See,!for!example,!Emily!Apter’s!The'Translation'Zone,!the!work!of!Andrew!Piper,!Michael!Cronin,! and!Anthony!Pym,!and!the!edited!volumes!Translation'and'Power!(Gentzler!and!Tymoczko)!and! Translating'and'Interpreting'Conflict!(SalamaUCarr).! ! "!1!"! ! Understanding!the!contemporary!texts!that!comprise!this!study’s!corpus!not!as!a! break!from,!but!rather!as!a!renovation!and!reframing!of,!the!tradition!of!translation! in!the!region,!I!examine!the!ways!in!which!a!new!generation!of!writers!is!mobilizing! translation!as!a!means!of!inserting!itself!into!debates!surrounding!the!hierarchical! dynamics!of!cultural!geopolitics,!to!ultimately!assert!that!these!specific!uses!of!the! figure!of!the!translator!not!only!interrogate!and!subvert!the!center/periphery!dyad! that!haunts!discussions!of!the!region’s!cultural!production!to!this!day,!but!in!fact! allow!these!writers!to!construct!a!dynamic,!reciprocal!model!of!creativity!grounded! in!reference!and!appropriation!over!and!against!that!of!a!monolithic!discursive!