Voss

entitled White and his Brazilian Contemporaries¹⁴⁸. This is only one of the many possibilities that might be devised in the field of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, as it is always a fruitful exercise to observe the different historical events that took place while the novels being translated were written (and about the ones occasionally being depicted in the plot). This is part of any translation process which cares about the target reader (and the translator, i.e., the one whose reading will predominate), in understanding the production contexts and then being able to make the stories more comprehensible for a given audience.

but we read “Leichardt”). Additionally, the impression we get is that the story is full of action, even though there is the warning that “the reader will follow, step by step, the slow penetration into a virgin continent”, which is reflected in not such a rapid rhythm of reading – indeed, there is not much of any adventurous movement (as implied by the word “epic” in the text of the jacket). The intense emotivity represented by the planotic relationship between Laura and Voss (via letters) is one of the points which is admired by some and hated by others (as some create false expectations about their actual relationship). However, one cannot deny the strength of the language artistically employed by Patrick White (as seen in his “incisive prose”). In effect, this description focuses on the figure of Voss, signaling to the reader his strength of character, courage and will: thus, s/he should be prepared to follow a deep psychological analysis not only of Voss, but also of the other members of the expedition (some praiseworthy philosophical dialogues in the middle of the Australian outback are part of that strategy). At the end of the commentary, there is a summary about the life of the author. However, there is a fact which shows a high level of misinformation: Sydney was not the capital of Australia in 1948 (Canberra became the official capital in 1927). There is the misleading idea that New South Wales is a country, that the story would take place in connection to all the established elements of the country named Australia as we know it nowadays (the Federation happened in 1901). Sydney is the capital of New South Wales (look for the name Australia in Voss and few if any occurrences will come up). As already pointed out, “nation”, when mentioned, would have England as the only reference. For example, in the following excerpt, it is clear that the object of study is the colony of New South Wales, and not Australia, as an established political unit (as the character does not seem interested in going to any other colony of Australia):

Exhibit 18 – Excerpt from Voss

English Brazilian Edition

At this point the aunt, beaming for her niece’s self- possession and looks, could not resist announcing:

‘Mr Badgery is anxious to study the geography of New South Wales, Laura. He, too, is of an intellectual turn of mind.’

Such compliments are apt to become accusations.

‘I do not make claims on the strength of one or two hobbies.’ The surgeon began to bristle (WHITE, 1994, p. 302).

Foi então que a tia, orgulhosa da conduta e da boa aparência da moça, não conseguiu mais se conter, afirmando:

‒ O Sr. Badgery está ansioso por estudar a geografia de Nova Gales do Sul. Ele também tem tendências intelectuais.

Elogios como esse às vezes viram acusações.

‒ Absolutamente; trata-se apenas de um passatempo meu. ‒ O doutor estava atento (WHITE, 1985, p. 320).

In a paper presented at the conference Dislocated Readings: Translation and Transnationalism, in 2013, what had become of “country” and related terms in Paulo Henriques Britto’s translation into Brazilian Portuguese was examined, since the word

“country”, in the Brazilian setting described in Voss, has yet to gain the idea of an independent political unit, engendering a complex set of relationships between an empire and one of its provinces. In the Brazilian context, “country” alludes to an entity commonly conceived of as an everyday New World republic, but which could be better understood as an empire under another name. In the translation, the play of meanings surrounding the word is missing. We can prove this argument by analyzing some important parts of the novel (since a thorough analysis of the translation would deserve a separate academic work):

Exhibit 19 – Use of “country”

English Brazilian Edition

‘I was never in Germany,’ said the firm young woman. ‘But I find the road to Sydney monotonous, even from a carriage.’

‘Do you go much into your country?’ asked Voss, who had found some conviction to lean upon.

‘Not really. Not often,’ said Laura Trevelyan. ‘We drive out sometimes, for picnics, you know. Or we ride out on horseback. We will spend a few days with friends, on a property. A week in the country makes a change, but I am always happy to return to this house.’

‘A pity that you huddle,’ said the German. ‘Your country is of great subtlety.’

With rough persistence, he accused her of the superficiality which she herself suspected. At times she could hear her own voice. She was also afraid of the country which, for lack of any other, she supposed was hers. But this fear, like certain dreams, was something to which she would never have admitted (WHITE, 1994, p. 11).

– Nunca estive na Alemanha – disse a jovem com firmeza. – Mas acho monótona a viagem até Sydney, mesmo de carruagem.

– A senhorita costuma viajar pelo interior? – perguntou Voss, encontrando algo em que se apoiar.

– Não muito. Não com frequência – respondeu Laura Trevelyan. – Às vezes damos um passeio, fazemos piqueninques, o senhor sabe. Ou então andamos a cavalo. Passamos alguns dias no sítio de uns amigos.

Uma semana no campo é bom para variar, mas sempre é com prazer que eu volto para esta casa.

– É uma pena – disse o alemão. – Seu país tem muitas sutilezas.

Com uma persistência rude, acusou-a de superficialidade – acusação que ela mesma já se fizera.

Parecia-lhe às vezes estar ouvindo sua própria voz. Ela também tinha medo do país que, à falta de outro, ela julgava ser o seu. Mas esse medo, como certos sonhos, era algo que ela jamais confessaria (WHITE, 1985, p.

11).

Voss, when using “your country”, suggests that it belongs to the British settlers, not to the German, and the preposition “into” refers to the experience of entering the landscape. These

words, apparently without much importance, are manipulated in the dialogue, evincing a different perspective for each character: for Laura, by replying without the prepositional phrase (“we drive out sometimes”), the landscape is a space outside, beyond the safety of the town, while Voss sees it as a space to be entered. To Voss, Laura is on the edge of her country and could go more deeply into it, and Sydney is part of that country. To Laura, country is in opposition to city, with Sydney not being a part of it. When saying that “a week in the country makes a change”, she declines any reference to personal ownership, and when they spend their time “with friends, on a property”, that portion of land does not belong to any of them.

Voss replies with “your country is of great subtlety”, emphasising the physical aspect of the land and the possessive: the subtlety is attributed to British land and not a neutral one.

Afterward, when the conversation stops, the narrator says that Laura is “afraid of the country which, for lack of any other, she supposed was hers,” combining the two meanings of the word.

The opposition between go into and drive out is absent in the translation, as is the sense that the country belongs to Laura and not to Voss: his question alludes to “interior”, which suggests the non-urban part of a territory, making no distinction between rural areas and land left in its natural state. In Laura’s reply to Voss, property loses its sense of ownership and becomes sítio, suggesting a small farm which would automatically belong to the friends in question, when in reality, there is no reference to ownership in the original (they were with friends, but these friends do not necessarily own the property). The term used for

“week in the country” – campo – refers tothe idea of agriculture. In the final “your country”, Voss, as already said, stresses the experience of the land, but in the translation, we see “país”, which is unhelpful, not only because the country in question clearly is not a country in the geopolitical sense, but also because even if it were, it is not in that sense that it possesses great subtlety: the whole thrust of his comment is associated with the physical land, not with a political unit. A logical consequence of the translator’s choice is that Laura is afraid not of an experience of the land, but instead of a political unit. The idea of any such fear would probably sound strange even to the Brazilian reader who has not had access to the original in English.

There are seven footnotes in the edition: the first one refers to the term “emancipist”, explaining Rose Portion’s condition in Australia; the second explains the meaning of

“brickfielder”, a strong wind which brings dust and sand; the third item describes the word

“cumquats” (same spelling in the translation, and in italics), which is a fruit, found in Brazil too. The Brazilian form would be “cunquate”. The fourth note is about “Rhine Towers”,

explaining a pun in the text; the fifth is also an explanation for a pun with the verb “turn in”

related to the surname of the character Turner; the sixth is about the name of Rose’s child, then adopted by Laura Trevelyan: “Mercy”; and the last note is an explanation for the word

“corroboree”, which is a term coined by the Eruopean colonizers in Australia to refer to the Aboriginal dance festival held at night to celebrate a special occasion, called caribberie.

Paulo Henriques Britto, the translator of Voss, in several papers and interviews claims that the literary translator needs deep knowledge both of the language to which s/he is translating (in our case, Brazilian Portuguese) and of the language from which s/he is translating. Clearly, the emphasis is given to literary sensitivity and how we should compose well in both languages. However, the sensitivity to historical aspects is vital too, otherwise, we will have a beautiful text in Brazilian Portuguese, correct and stylish, but lacking the important historical information necessary to make sense of the story. In the translation of Voss, Britto was starting his career as a translator at the time, thus, a question arises: did the publisher Nova Fronteira apparently disregard the complexity of the text (and Patrick White’s name) by giving it to someone who had never translated a literary piece before? The historical neglect, which might have affected the reception of Voss, is precisely what we would like to avoid in the translation of The Solid Mandala into Brazilian Portuguese.