Translation and Analysis of Suzanne Myre’s Short Story Collection Mises à mort: A Case Study in Translating the Short Story Cycle Cassidy Hildebrand School of Translation and Interpretation University of Ottawa Under the supervision of Marc Charron School of Translation and Interpretation University of Ottawa Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA (Translation Studies) © Cassidy Hildebrand, Ottawa, Canada, 2013 Abstract In translation studies, the short story cycle has been largely overlooked as an object of study in prose translation. This thesis serves as a case study on the practice of translating the short story cycle, using my translation of Suzanne Myre’s 2007 short story collection Mises à mort as a paradigm. The thesis comprises four sections: the first is devoted to a discussion of the short story cycle, a modernist form of the short story collection. It is a hybrid subgenre, balancing elements of both the traditional short story collection, characterized by heterogeneity, and the novel, characterized by homogeneity. In this first section, I examine a few definitions of the cycle, then I discuss the subgenre according to a four-part criteria established by Gerald Lynch: ‘character,’ ‘place,’ ‘theme’ and ‘style or tone.’ In the second section, I provide an analysis of Mises à mort within the framework of short story cycle criteria; an examination of the characters, setting, overarching themes and stylistic parallels serves to demonstrate how and why I ultimately interpreted the collection as a short story cycle. The third section is my complete translation of the work. In the fourth and final section, I discuss what implications my interpretation of Mises à mort as a cycle had for my translation thereof, and what unique challenges it presented. I compare my first draft, produced in the mindset that I was translating a traditional collection, to my final draft, revised to accommodate the cohesiveness of the work. This thesis serves to demonstrate how a translator can accommodate for the dual nature of the short story cycle, simultaneously maintaining the discreteness and interconnectedness of the stories. ii Résumé En traductologie, le sous-genre littéraire appelé « recueil-ensemble de nouvelles »1 (short story cycle en anglais) a été grandement négligé. La présente thèse constitue une étude de cas sur le sujet, avec comme paradigme ma traduction de Mises à mort, le recueil de nouvelles de Suzanne Myre paru en 2007. La thèse se divise en quatre parties : la première porte sur le recueil-ensemble de nouvelles, une forme ou sous-genre moderniste du recueil de nouvelles. Il s’agit d’un sous-genre hybride caractérisé à la fois par l’hétérogénéité du recueil de nouvelles traditionnel et par l’homogénéité du roman. Dans cette première partie, j’examine quelques définitions, puis je traite du sous-genre selon les quatre critères établis par Gerald Lynch : personnage, action, thème et style. Dans la deuxième partie, j’analyse Mises à mort en fonction de ces critères; l’étude des personnages, de l’action, des thèmes dominants et des parallèles stylistiques permet d’expliquer les raisons qui m’amènent à conclure qu’il s’agit d’un recueil-ensemble. La troisième partie présente ma traduction complète de l’œuvre. Dans la quatrième et dernière partie, je traite de l’incidence de mes conclusions sur la traduction, ainsi que des défis uniques auxquels j’ai été confrontée. Je compare mon premier jet, traduit comme un recueil traditionnel, à ma version finale, révisée avec un souci particulier pour une cohésion unifiante. La présente thèse montre comment un traducteur peut s’adapter à la double nature du recueil-ensemble, c’est-à-dire en conservant à la fois le caractère distinct des nouvelles et leur interdépendance. 1 The term used by Jean-Pierre Boucher to designate ‘short story cycle.’ In French, there is no standardized term for the subgenre. iii Acknowledgements It was a long, hard road and I will be forever grateful to all those who helped along the way: Karin, Harry, Tyler and my Billiam, who gave me their unfailing love, support and encouragement, along with the rest of my wonderful family; my fabulous friends, who were always available when I needed a coffee and a chat; my fantastic supervisor, Marc Charron, who always helped me through when I was stuck and gave me confidence in my work; Luise and Nicole, who took the time to act as my examiners and made my defense a very pleasant experience; Marianne, who generously lent her French services; my colleagues in the translation department, who were a constant source of inspiration; Suzanne Myre, who writes great stories; Mats and Scarlett, who were my comforting little shadows while I worked; wine; Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Schubert, Rachmaninov, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Radiohead and Fiona Apple, who provided the study music. Thank you all. iv Table of Contents 0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1 The Short Story Cycle ................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4 1.2 The Emergence of a New Subgenre ......................................................................... 5 1.3 The New Subgenre: Definition(s) and Characteristics ............................................ 7 1.4 Arrangement ............................................................................................................. 9 1.5 Title ......................................................................................................................... 13 1.6 Self-sufficiency and Interrelatedness ...................................................................... 14 1.7 Character ................................................................................................................. 15 1.8 Place ........................................................................................................................ 17 1.9 Theme and style ...................................................................................................... 18 2 Analysis of Mises à mort .............................................................................................. 20 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 20 2.2 Title ......................................................................................................................... 20 2.3 Arrangement ........................................................................................................... 21 2.4 Self-sufficiency and interrelatedness ..................................................................... 21 2.5 Character ................................................................................................................. 22 2.6 Place ........................................................................................................................ 23 2.7 Theme ..................................................................................................................... 24 2.7.1 Death ............................................................................................................... 25 2.7.1.1 Sex ............................................................................................................ 30 2.7.1.2 Religion ..................................................................................................... 31 2.7.1.2.1 The Generation Clash ....................................................................... 34 2.7.1.2.2 The Afterlife ....................................................................................... 35 2.7.1.3 Solitude .................................................................................................... 36 2.7.1.3.1 Into the Void ...................................................................................... 37 v 2.8 Style and Tone ....................................................................................................... 38 2.8.1 Irony ................................................................................................................. 39 2.8.2 Humour ............................................................................................................ 40 2.8.3 Repetition ......................................................................................................... 41 2.8.4 Bilingualism: Use of the English Language .................................................... 41 2.8.5 Popular Culture References ............................................................................. 42 3 English Translation of Mises à mort (Death Sentences) ........................................... 45 Vile City ........................................................................................................................ 46 The Birthday Gift .......................................................................................................... 55 Missing Hug .................................................................................................................. 59 Cell Phones in the Air ................................................................................................... 76 Bitter