THE PARATEXTS OF THE SECOND TRANSLATION INTO SPANISH OF E. M. FORSTER'S A PASSAGE TO INDIA

Abstract

A Passage to India, the last novel British author E. M. Forster published during his lifetime, appeared in 1924. Almost fifty years later, in 1981, it was translated and published in Spain by Alianza Editorial. This translation has been reissued several times over the years by its original publisher, and in this paper I analyse the different paratexts that have been used to frame it.

Headnote

Abstract: A Passage to India, the last novel British author E. M. Forster published during his lifetime, appeared in 1924. Almost fifty years later, in 1981, it was translated and published in Spain by Alianza Editorial. This translation has been reissued several times over the years by its original publisher, and in this paper I analyse the different paratexts that have been used to frame it.

Keywords: British literature, E. M. Forster, paratexts, translation

1. Introduction

According to Genette (1989: 9-10), transtextuality is roughly defined as "all that sets the text in a relationship, whether obvious or concealed, with other texts". Among the different types of possible transtextual relationships, Genette (1989) recognizes what he calls paratextuality, that is, the relationship that binds the text to its paratexts or "the means by which a text makes a book of itself and proposes itself as such to its readers" (Genette 1991: 262). These productions can be themselves verbal or not, and include elements such as the author's name, the title, the preface or the illustrations that surround and prolong the text. The importance of paratexts has been widely acknowledged, and Genette (1989) himself already pointed out that paratextual elements can play an important role on the reception of a literary text. In this paper, I will discuss the paratexts of the different editions2 of José Luis López Muñoz's translation into Spanish of E. M. Forster's novel A Passage to India, published by Alianza Editorial. More specifically, I shall focus on a number of peritexts (that is, those paratexts either situated around the text, in the space of the same volume, or inserted into the interstices of the text (Genette 1991)), such as the title, the bindings, the footnotes and the glossary.

2. Bindings

López Muñoz's translation of E. M. Forster's A Passage to India was first printed as a paperback with a dust jacket in 1981. The front cover of the dust jacket shows the photograph of an elephant figurine covered in tesserae, sequins and beads, against an ochre background, as well as the author's name, the book's title and the name of the collection it belonged to (Alianza Tres); under the jacket, the cover of the book is plain black and it only features the author's name, the title and the collection's name. The following text is printed both on the back cover of the book and on the back cover and the first flap of the dust jacket:

In 1912, after a short trip to India, E. M. Forster (1879-1970) started to write a novel that would play a decisive role in establishing his literary fame. Twelve years later, after spending six months in the same country as secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas, he finished the novel, which he titled Un viaje a la India, an allusion to Walt Whitman's poem. The importance of the novel, which has a political core and is a critical representation of a particular historical period, is absolutely not limited to that of a mere denunciation of the havoc caused by British imperialism in the subcontinent. Un viaje a la India is the poetic embodiment of the confrontation between two opposing worlds, East and West; between two mindsets, the intuitive and the logical; between two principles reduced to norms of conduct, aesthetics and pragmatism. Beyond those confrontations, there is the impossibility of communication - not necessarily because of their different nationalities, races or beliefs - between two people connected to each other by love or friendship. The plot of the story revolves around three main points, and its tripartite structure is in correspondence with three different levels of interpretation. According to Forster, the main motifs of the book, mosque, caves and temple, were in correspondence with the tropical climate seasons, however, they have an ulterior meaning, being places of mystical initiation that foster moments of especial penetration, full consciousness and revelations. Poetry and humour bind together all this complex and symbolic world, which, as all masterpieces, allows multiple interpretations. Alianza Tres has published two other books by Forster: "El más largo viaje", one of his most important novels, and "La vida futura", a collection of short stories sharing a common thread, that of homosexuality and forbidden love (my transl.).

The 1982 reprint of López Muñoz's translation was identical to the first edition, but from 1985 on, they changed. The 1985 edition was a paperback with French flaps. The front cover, as well as the first flap and part of the second, features a still image from David Lean's movie adaptation, which was released in Spain that same year. The image shows a panoramic view of Aziz, Adela and Mrs Moore's elephant ride during their expedition to the Marabar caves. On top of the cover, there is the book's title and the author's name; at the foot there is the name of the collection, Alianza Tres. The same text is printed on the back cover and the second flap, although the last sentence is rephrased, and information about the change of title, David Lean's movie and a new translation of a novel by Forster published by Alianza is included:

In 1912, after a short trip to India, E. M. Forster (1879-1970) started to write a novel that would make him famous. Twelve years later, after spending six months in the same country as secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas, he finished the novel, which he titled Pasaje a la India, an allusion to Walt Whitman's poem. David Lean's adaptation, filmed in 1984, has helped to popularise the atmosphere, the plot and the characters of this extraordinary story (which was previously published by Alianza under the title Un viaje a la India. The importance of the novel, which has a political core and is a critical representation of a particular historical period, is absolutely not limited to that of a mere denunciation of the havoc caused by British imperialism in the subcontinent. Pasaje a la India is the poetic embodiment of the confrontation between two opposing worlds, East and West; between two mindsets, the intuitive and the logical; between two principles reduced to norms of conduct, aesthetics and pragmatism. Beyond those confrontations, there is the impossibility of communication - not necessarily because of their different nationalities, races or beliefs - between two people connected to each other by love or friendship. The plot of the story revolves around three main points, and its tripartite structure is in correspondence with three different levels of interpretation. According to Forster, the main motifs of the book, mosque, caves and temple, were in correspondence with the tropical climate seasons, however, they have an ulterior meaning, being places of mystical initiation that foster moments of especial penetration, full consciousness and revelations. Poetry and humour bind together all this complex and symbolic world, which, as all masterpieces, allows multiple interpretations. Other books by the author published by Alianza Editorial: "La vida futura" (AT 21), "El más largo viaje" (AT 34) and "La mansión" (AT 77) (my transl.).

The 1997 edition was a paperback without either dust jacket or French flaps. The front cover features a slightly different framing of the same movie still, with the author's name and the title at the top and the name of the collection (Literatura) and the publisher's name and logo at the foot. A shorter version of the same text is printed on the back cover against a white background. A reprint was issued in 1998.

The importance and meaning of Pasaje a la India is absolutely not limited to that of a mere denunciation of the havoc caused by British imperialism in the subcontinent, but E.M. Forster achieves with it the poetic embodiment of the confrontation between two opposing worlds, East and West; between two mindsets, the intuitive and the logical; between two principles reduced to norms of conduct, aesthetics and pragmatism. Beyond those confrontations, there is the impossibility of communication - not necessarily because of their different nationalities, races or beliefs - between two people connected to each other by love or friendship (my translation).

The 2005 edition is another paperback with no jacket and no flaps. The still on the front cover is almost identical to the one used on the previous edition, with the author's name and the title at the top and the collection's name (Biblioteca Forster) and the publisher's name and logo at the foot. The back cover is blue and features the same text as the previous edition, although a sentence has been added at the beginning of the paragraph and the text is accompanied by a portrait of Forster. A reprint was issued in 2009.

The importance and meaning of Pasaje a la India, which is considered almost unanimously Forster's masterpiece, is absolutely not limited to that of a mere denunciation of the havoc caused by British imperialism in the subcontinent (...) (my transl. ).

The 2007 edition is a paperback with French flaps. The front cover features the same movie still, although the zoom and framing are again slightly different. At the top of the cover there is the title against a bright green background, whereas the author's name is superimposed over the still (so are the publisher's name and the logo of the collection (13/20), situated at the foot of the image). The back cover gives two new texts, as well as the publisher's name and the collection's logo. A reprint was issued in 2010.

Around 1920 the British Raj is unwittingly coming to an end. Aziz, a young Indian Muslim doctor, is in good terms with the English, although he is aware that a great distance separates his world from theirs. However, as the result of a confusing incident in the strange Marabar caves he is subjected to an unlikely accusation, and the trial that follows brings to light the confrontation between two opposing worlds and two different mindsets. Pasaje a la India, adapted by David Lean in 1984, is also the unforgettable portrait of a country full of contrasts and suggestions, as well as of the character of its people (my transl.).

E. M. Forster (1879-1970) is one of the most important English writers of the 20th century. He was a very successful author when he was alive and his fame grew even larger with the adaptations of Regreso a Howards End, Una habitación con vistas or Maurice, all of them published by Alianza Editorial (my transl.).

The last edition, published in 2018, is a paperback without jacket or flaps. The front cover shows a photograph of Sabrina Michaud, her son Romain and two native people riding an elephant in the Indian Kaziranga National Park; at the foot of the cover, there are the title and the author's and the publisher's names, superimposed over two white stripes. The back cover features the same text as the 2005 edition, as well as a small portion of the front cover photograph, the names of the publisher and the collection the book belongs to (El libro de bolsillo) and the name of the translator.

3. Title

In the note he wrote for the programme of Santha Rama Rau's dramatized version of A Passage to India, which premiered in Oxford in 1960, Forster (1989: 335) stated that, in taking his title from a poem by Walt Whitman, he had tried to indicate "the human predicament in a universe which is not, so far, comprehensible to our minds". The intended meaning of the word 'passage' as used in the novel's title has been widely discussed among critics ever since the book was published. According to Shusterman (1965: 174-175), the title is a play on words, an elaborate pun, since, in one respect, 'passage' means "the way to an ultimate solution of India's problems" and, in another, it is "the passage back, as Whitman expressed it, 'to primal thought'" (the tenth section of Whitman's poem begins: "Passage indeed, O soul, to primal thought!"). According to Oliver (1976: 57), the word 'passage' alluded to a 'voyage of the soul': "Whitman (...) writes of the need to combine with these material successes of Western civilization a new passage or voyage of the soul into those unexplained areas which are to the soul what India was to the early explorers like Vasco da Gama". According to Decap (1968: 104105) Whitman's passage to India could be described as "un pelerinage aux Sources, un effort de retrouver les intuitions religieuses premieres" and the poem was a necessary clue to decipher the title of the novel, since this one did not deal with "un voyage jusqu'en Inde" but with "un séjour". According to Zabel (1955), what Whitman called 'passage to India' and Forster had used to title his novel was what Westerner souls must undertake in order to reach that goal of the human spirit which is situated beyond Western rationality and aggressiveness, logics and morals, in a place of spiritual development and renunciation, that is, in the East or in the South.

Of the twenty-five translations into Spanish of Whitman's works that could be checked, "Passage to India" was included in eight. Armando Vasseur (1910) translated it as "Camino de las Indias Orientales"; Concha Zardoya (1946) as "Paso hacia la India"; Francisco Alexander Alexander (1956) as "Navegar a las Indias" (the poem is retitled "Pasaje a la India" in the 2004 edition, published by Colihue and revised by Rolando Costa Picazo); Leandro Wolfson (1976) as "Tránsito hacia la India"; Pablo Mañé (1994) as "La ruta de las Indias"; Luis Chamosa and Rosa Rabadán (1999) as "Viaje a la India"; Pablo Ingberg (2007) as "Pasaje a la India"; and Eduardo Moga as "Viaje a la India" (2014). At least four of these translations (Vasseur's, Zardoya's, Alexander's and Wolfson's) were published prior to 1981, when López Muñoz's translation of Forster's novel was first released. The first edition of López Muñoz's translation was titled Un viaje a la India, but from 1985 on it was retitled Pasaje a la India. At least two different journalists criticized this change, which they connected to David Lean's adaptation (his movie was released in Spain in 1985 under that title, Pasaje a la India):

[...] his most famous (although in my opinion not his best) novel, A Passage to India (which the Catalan publisher, resisting the cinematic mermaid songs, has tastefully decided to translate as 'viatge', which is what it should be, whereas the Spanish publisher has fallen into the Hollywood trap and titled their second edition 'pasaje', which is not what it should be). (Pessarrodona 1987) (my translation)

Forster's novel A Passage to India was published under the title Viaje a la India, which was correct, however, the movie's title, Pasaje a la India, was nonsense. It is really a shame that Alianza Editorial, a publishing house that usually takes good care of their well-deserved reputation, decided to reissue the novel (included in the exquisite collection Alianza Tres) and use the movie's title for purely commercial reasons. (Permanyer 1988) (my translation)

Later on, both Osvaldo Gallone (2006) and Paola Mancosu (2013) would agree in considering that the title Pasaje a la India is less appropriate than the title used in the first translation into Spanish of Forster's novel (published in Argentina in 1955 as El paso a la India).

4. Footnotes and glossary

The first edition of López Muñoz's translation includes forty-two translator notes, most of them providing information about India's culture, religions, fauna, geography and history, although some deal with Western concepts or items, such as Christian texts or Greek and Nordic mythology, and one is used to explain the decision not to translate the expression 'Bridge Party'. This fact is relevant, since, according to Willson (2011), the presence of translator's notes means the publisher is willing to show that trace of the translation process. Except for the 'Bridge Party' footnote, they all seem to be based on the footnotes included in the edition of A Passage to India edited by Oliver Stallybrass (1989a,b), which contains both notes by the author and editorial notes. The notes were kept when the translation was reissued in 1982, 1985, 1997, 1998, 2005 and 2009, but the 2006, 2010 and 2018 editions lack footnotes. In addition to this, all the editions of the translation published by Alianza include a glossary at the end of the book; this glossary comprises fifty words in the first two editions and fifty-one in the others. Most of the words refer to Indian concepts or objects and come from languages other than English, such as Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian or Arabic; a small number is included in the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy and are considered to be fully assimilated into the Spanish orthographic and phonological systems (since they are not italicized).

5. Conclusion

The editions of López Muñoz's translation into Spanish of E. M. Forster's A Passage to India published by Alianza have changed over time in an interesting way. The translation was first titled Un viaje a la India, a short-lived title that none of the translations of Whitman's poem, available at the time, shared. It was soon replaced by the title Pasaje a la India, a change that has been generally criticized and seems to have been motivated by the desire to cash in on the movie's success: not only was the 1985 edition released at the same time as the movie, which was unfailingly used in every newspaper advert publicizing the book in order to lure in the readers, but the cover image used in the two first editions was also replaced by a still from Lean's movie. The text about the novel, printed on the back cover of the first editions, describes Forster's novel as a political and historical book, but also as a poetic and symbolic work or art, and both the confrontation between East and West and human miscommunication are presented as the novel' s main themes. The direct reference to the political and historical nature of the novel is lost in the shortened version of this text, printed on the back cover of the 1997, 2005 and 2018 editions (as well as their reprints). The text printed on the back cover of the 2007 and 2010 editions is significantly different and reads as the synopsis of a historical courtroom mystery, although it does not fail to point out the confrontation between East and West as one of the novel's underlying themes; in addition to this, these editions are the only ones to include some separate information about Forster, mainly concerning his status and popularity (the first two editions only include information directly related to the writing of A Passage to India, i.e. his trips to the country). But for the title, the last edition published by Alianza is the first one in thirty-three years to fail to make either visual or verbal reference to David Lean's adaptation, as well as the first one to print the name of the translator on the (back) cover. It is also interesting to note that the considerable amount of translator's notes in the first editions of this translation (the other two translations of A Passage to India into Spanish have less than a dozen) were dispensed with in the 2006, 2010 and 2018 editions. These notes (as well as the definitions included in the glossary at the back of the book) offered information mainly about India, and the translator or publisher arguably considered such information to be necessary or at the very least useful for their readers. Since the last editions lack the former (but not the latter), we could argue that additional information about the novel's political, historical and cultural references is no longer considered to be valuable enough to be included in the translation, whereas providing the meaning of those foreign words preserved in the translated text is still considered to be indispensable (even though some of them can be found in the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy).

Sidebar

Marina Alonso Gómez is a PhD Student in Translation Studies at the University of Málaga, Spain. Her research interests focus on literary translation, translation history and English literature and her thesis deals with the translations into Spanish of E. M. Forster's novel A Passage to India. She currently holds a FPU research and teaching fellowship.

E-mail address: [email protected]

Footnote

1 Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education through the FPU program is gratefully acknowledged.

2 The information on the copyright pages of different editions and reprints is contradictory. Here we have considered different editions - those with different ISBN numbers and paratexts and different reprints of the same edition, those with different ISBN numbers but otherwise identical. This approach has the added advantage of matching the information on the copyright page of the last edition, which proclaims to be the sixth one.

References

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