Between translation and writing: reflections on domestication, visibility, ethics and the translator’s authoral construction

Abstract

Translation is an activity that involves many complexities. Among them are the constitution of the translator’s authorship and ethics, which need more discussion. Thus, this article aims to reflect on how invisibility hides the author’s authorial constitution, impacting on the translator’s ethics in domesticated translations. To demonstrate the issues discussed, some examples from a domesticated and adapted translation of The Yellow Wallpaper (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are used. To what extent can the translator interfere with the original author’s writing? What is the impact of the translator’s discursive presence in the work and for the reader? It is known that the translator’s discourse is always present in his or her work, through lexical choices, strategies and techniques used in translation. However, illusory invisibility continues to be practiced by the market and institutions, pointing out the need to resume discussion. In addition, it is necessary to consider that such questions have implications for the translator’s ethics. The theoretical framework on translation studies provides the basis for the reflections, taking Venuti’s contributions (1995) to the area and the theme as a starting point.