“Gone with the Wind”, the challenge of the new translation
Text by: Sophie Torlotin Follow
Since its publication in 1936, and its adaptation to the phenomenal triumph on the big screen, Gone with the Wind had never been so much inked. In France a new translation of the novel (fallen into the public domain) by Gallmeister is published this Thursday, June 11.
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Read moreMargaret Mitchell's novel, which is set among the wealthy slave planters of the southern United States during the American Civil War, finds an unexpected response at this time, as protests around the world denounce police violence and the racism of which descendants of slaves are still victims.
In the United States, the HBO Max platform has just removed the film from its catalog and will give it back with a note while restoring the historical context.
In France, the publication of a new translation of the novel by Gallmeister raises the question: how to translate a monument of American literature, Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1937, sold to more than 30 million copies worldwide?
" Sclarlett O'Hara was not beautiful "
Josette Chicheportiche broke away from the French translation established in 1939. And his text is much more faithful to the original novel: “ Even if only the first sentence. In English, it starts with : “ Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful ”. He had translated it : " Scarlett O'Hara was not of classical beauty ". And I translated : “Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful”. "
In 1939, the first translator had chosen to make the slaves speak in a very particular way. He described this language - by claiming its use - as "little negro". For Josette Chicheportiche, this choice is very much linked to the time, not to the original text. “ At the time, it was ' Y'a bon Banania ', it was Tintin in the Congo , it was the era of the colonies. So he must have said : " Margaret Mitchell, that's it. I reproduced" petit-nègre ", because that's how we make blacks speak in French literature ". "
The inspiration of Maupassant and George Sand
Josette Chicheportiche chose another option: “ I was inspired a little by the way Maupassant or George Sand made the peasants talk. I tried to have a fairly musical, singing language. "
In French, Margaret Mitchell's text now exists in two versions: the original French version from Gallimard, and the new translation from Gallmeister.
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