Alice Colmbo - PhD Thesis - Reworkings in the Textual Histor

253 Pages·2014·6.19 MB·English

Reworkings in the textual history of Gulliver’s Travels:
a translational approach

Alice Colombo

The thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
of the University of Portsmouth

August 2013
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ABSTRACT

On 28 October 1726 Gulliver’s Travels debuted on the literary scene as a political and
philosophical satire meant to provoke and entertain an audience of relatively educated
and wealthy British readers. Since then, Swift’s work has gradually evolved, assuming
multiple forms and meanings while becoming accessible and attractive to an
increasingly broad readership in and outside Britain. My study emphasises that
reworkings, including re-editions, translations, abridgments, adaptations and
illustrations, have played a primary role in this process. Its principal aim is to
investigate how reworkings contributed to the popularity of Gulliver’s Travels by
examining the dynamics and the stages through which they transformed its text and its
original significance. Central to my research is the assumption that this transformation
is largely the result of shifts of a translational nature and that, therefore, the analysis of
reworkings and the understanding of their role can greatly benefit from the models of
translation description devised in Descriptive Translation Studies. The reading of
reworkings as entailing processes of translation shows how derivative creations operate
collaboratively to ensure literary works’ continuous visibility and actively shape the
literary polysystem.
The study opens with an exploration of existing approaches to reworkings followed by
an examination of the characteristics which exposed Gulliver’s Travels to continuous
rethinking and reworking. Emphasis is put on how the work’s satirical significance gave
rise to a complex early textual problem for which Gulliver’s Travels can be said to have
debuted on the literary scene as a derivative production in the first place. The largest
part of the study is devoted to textual analysis. This is carried out in two stages. First I
concentrate on reworkings of Gulliver’s Travels published in eighteenth- and in
nineteenth-century Italy. These illustrate how interlingual translation operated alongside
criticism, abridgment, adaptation and pictorial representation to extend the accessibility
of Swift’s work and eventually turned it into a popular and children’s book. Then, I
examine British reworkings and how the translational processes which they entail
contributed to the popularity and the popularisation of Gulliver’s Travels in eighteenth-
century Britain.
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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………… 1
CHAPTER ONE - Towards an integrated study of reworkings ……………. 7
1.1 ‘Refractions’ and their role within the literary polysystem …………………... 7
1.2 The translational side of refractions …………………………………………. 11
1.3 In search of a systematic methodology of analysis………………………….. 25

CHAPTER TWO - Gulliver’s Travels: a work in constant progress ……….. 34
2.1 The renegotiation of the significance of Gulliver’s Travels ………………..... 34
2.2 The debut of Gulliver’s Travels: ‘original’ or refraction? …………………… 43
2.2.1 The publication of Motte’s editions and Swift’s response……………… 43
2.2.2 The ‘non-Ford’ corrections and the composition of Faulkner’s text…… 50
2.2.3 The publication of the 1735 text and its implications ………………….. 55

CHAPTER THREE - Gulliver’s Travels in Italy: 1729-1890 ………………… 59
3.1 The Italian debut of Gulliver’s Travels …………………………………….. 59
3.2 Translation trends in the first half of the eighteenth century ………………. 64
3.3. Viaggj del Capitano Lemuel Gulliver in diversi Paesi lontani (Corona, 1729) 71
3.3.1 Macro-level …………………………………………………………….. 71
3.3.2 Micro-level …………………………………………………………….. 76
3.4 The (mis)fortune of Gulliver’s Travels after Marsecco’s translation ………. 81
3.5 The fluctuating course of Gulliver’s Travels: a polysystemic explanation … 85
3.6 Viaggi di Gulliver (Stella, 1840-42) …………………………………………. 99
3.6.1 Macro-level ……………………………………………………………… 99
3.6.2 Micro-level ………………………………………………………………. 101
3.7 The popularisation and the popularity of Gulliver’s Travels in united Italy.. 114
3.8 The triumph of popular publishing …………………………………………. 116
3.9 The diversification of the reading public and the rise of children’s literature 119
3.10 The textual evolution of Gulliver’s Travels between 1865 and 1890 ……. 121
3.10.1 Macro-level ……………………………………………………………. 121
3.10.2 Micro-level …………………………………………………………….. 131

CHAPTER FOUR - The refraction of Gulliver’s Travels in eighteenth-
century Britain ……………………………………….. 147
4.1 The response of the British readership ……………………………………. 147
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4.2 The early popularisation of Gulliver’s Travels: serialisations, abridgments
and chapbooks …………………………………………………………….. 150
4.3 Stone and King’s 1727 edition: a ‘faithful’ abridgement? ………………… 156
4.3.1 Macro-level ……………………………………………………………. 156
4.3.2 Micro-level …………………………………………………………..... 159
4.4 Gulliver’s Travels and the world of chapbooks ………………………….. 172
4.4.1 The Travels and Adventures of Capt. Lemuel Gulliver (1750?):
macro-level …………………………………………………………..... 173
4.4.2 Micro-level …………………………………………………………… 177
4.5 The origins of Gulliver’s Travels as a children’s book …………………… 185
4.6 The Newberys and the earliest children’s edition of Gulliver’s Travels 190
4.6.1 Newbery’s Gulliver’s Travels: macro-level ………………………….. 194
4.6.2 Micro-level ………………………………………………………….... 197

CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………… 209

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………… 214
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DECLARATION

Whilst registered as a candidate for the above degree, I have not been registered for any
other research award. The results and conclusions embodied in this thesis are the work
of the named candidate and have not been submitted for any other academic award.

WORD COUNT: 74.508 words (excluding tables)
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LIST OF TABLES

Tab.1 Italian editions of Gulliver’s Travels published between 1729 and 1890 .. 26
Tab.2 British reworkings of Gulliver’s Travels subject to analysis…………….. 27
Tab.3 Opening sentences of passage one in Motte’s 1726 edition, the Hague
translation and Marsecco’s version………………………………………. 76
Tab.4 Opening sentences of passage two in Motte’s 1726 edition, the Hague
translation and Marsecco’s version………………………………………. 77
Tab.5 Opening sentences of passage three in Motte’s 1726 edition, the Hague
translation and Marsecco’s version………………………………………. 77
Tab.6 Opening sentences of passage four in Motte’s 1726 edition, the Hague
translation and Marsecco’s version………………………………………. 77
Tab.7 Omissions in Marsecco’s version ………………………………………... 78
Tab.8 Syntactic transposition in Marsecco’s version…………………………… 79
Tab.9 Amplification in Marsecco’s version…………………………………….. 79
Tab.10 Extract from Scott’s commentary in the original and in the French and
Italian editions of 1838 and 1842 ……………………………………….. 100
Tab.11 Amplification in Barbieri’s translation, (passage one) …………………. 102
Tab.12 Amplification in Barbieri’s translation, (passage two) …………………. 102
Tab.13 Amplification in Barbieri’s translation, (passage three) ………………… 102
Tab.14 Amplification in Barbieri’s translation, (passage four) ………………… 102
Tab.15 Intensification of the dramatic effect in Barbieri’s translation ………….. 103
Tab.16 Syntactic transposition in Barbieri’s translation, extract from passage 1 .. 103
Tab.17 Syntactic structure of the extract in table 16……………………………... 104
Tab.18 Censorship in Barbieri’s translation (passage four) …………………… 104
Tab.19 Repetitions in Barbieri’s translation……………………………………… 105
Tab.20 Shifts imposed by Grandville’s illustrations …………………………….. 109
Tab.21 Illuminated letters in the first four chapters of the voyage to Lilliput in
Faulkner’s 1735 text and in Fournier and Furne’s and Stella’s editions .. 111
Tab.22 Illuminated letters in the first four chapters of the voyage to Lilliput in
Faulkner’s 1735 text and in Fournier and Furne’s and Taylor’s editions .. 112
Tab.23 Initials of Chapter IX, Part IV, in Faulkner’s 1735 text and in Fournier
and Furne’s and Taylor’s editions ………………………………………. 113
Tab.24 Italian editions of Gulliver’s Travels published between 1865 and 1890 .. 115
Tab.25 Italian versions published between 1865 and 1890 and their sources ….. 132
Tab.26 Opening sentences of passage one in Desfontaines’ translation and in
Treves’ and Sonzogno’s editions………………………………………… 132
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Tab.27 Opening sentences of passage two in Desfontaines’ translation and in
Treves’ and Sonzogno’s editions………………………………………… 133
Tab.28 Opening sentences of passage three in Desfontaines’ translation and in
Treves’ and Sonzogno’s editions ……………………………………….. 133
Tab.29 Opening sentences of passage four in Desfontaines’ translation and
Sonzogno’s edition ………………………………………………………. 133
Tab.30 Gulliver’s awakening in Motte’s 1726 edition and in Desfontaines’ and
Cavanna’s translations…………………………………………………… 135
Tab.31 The Lilliputians’ attacks in Motte’s 1726 edition and in Desfontaines’
and Cavanna’s translations………………………………………………. 135
Tab.32 The religious wars in Motte’s 1726 edition and in Desfontaines’ and
Cavanna’s translations …………………………………………………... 137
Tab.33 Extinction of the fire in Motte’s 1726 edition and in Desfontaines’ and
Cavanna’s translations…………………………………………………… 138
Tab.34 Reduction, reordering and syntactic transposition in Cavanna’s
translation ………………………………………………………………... 139
Tab.35 Similarities between Barbieri’s and Cavanna’s translations……………... 140
Tab.36 Minor interventions in Bestetti’s version………………………………… 141
Tab.37 Translational shifts in Bestetti’s version ………………………………… 141
Tab.38 Variations of Barbieri’s translation in Muggiani’s and Perino’s editions .. 142
Tab.39 Opening sentences of passage one in Cairo’s edition …………………... 143
Tab.40 Opening sentences of passage two in Cairo’s edition…………………... 143
Tab.41 Opening sentences of passage one in Motte’s 1726 edition and in Stone
and King’s abridgment ………………………………………………….. 160
Tab.42 Opening sentences of passage one in Desfontaines’ translation and in
Cavanna’s children’s version…………………………………………….. 161
Tab.43 Treatment of descriptive details in Stone and King’s abridgment ………. 163
Tab.44 Treatment of descriptive details in Cavanna’a children’s version……….. 163
Tab.45 The strife between Tramecksan and Slamecksan in Motte’s 1726 edition
and in Stone and King’s abridgment…………………………………….. 164
Tab.46 The strife between Tramecksan and Slamecksan in Desfontaines’
translation and in Cavanna children’s version…………………………... 165
Tab.47 The war between Lilliput and Blefuscu in Motte’s 1726 edition and in
Stone and King’s abridgment……………………………………………. 166
Tab.48 The war between Lilliput and Blefuscu in Desfontaines’ translation and
in Cavanna’s children’s version ………………………………………… 166
Tab.49 Gulliver’s first contact with the Lilliputians in Motte’s 1726 edition and
in Stone and King’s abridgment …………………………………………. 168
Tab.50 Combination of shifts, extract from passage two in Stone and King’s
abridgment……………………………………………………………….. 168
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Tab.51 Omission from passage two in Stone and King’s abridgment………….. 169
Tab.52 Ambiguity in passage one in Stone and King’s abridgment…………….. 170
Tab.53 Ambiguity in passage three in Stone and King’s abridgment………... 170
Tab.54 Substitution with synonymic expressions in Stone and King’s
abridgment ………………………………………………………………. 170
Tab.55 Shift from plural to singular in Stone and King’s abridgment…………… 171
Tab.56 Opening sentences of passage one in Motte 1726/Faulkner 1735
editions, Stone and King’s abridgment and the chapbook……………….. 178
Tab.57 Shift from singular to plural in the chapbook……………………………. 180
Tab.58 Gulliver under siege, in Motte 1726/Faulkner 1735 editions, Stone and
King’s abridgment and the chapbook……………………………………. 181
Tab.59 Re-codification of passage three in the chapbook………………………. 183
Tab.60 Political targets in Stone and King’s abridgment I ……………………… 198
Tab.61 Political targets in Newbery’s edition I …………………………………. 198
Tab.62 Political targets in Stone and King’s abridgment II……………………… 199
Tab.63 Political targets in Newbery’s edition II…………………………………. 199
Tab.64 Religious allegory in Stone and King’s abridgment……………………... 200
Tab.65 Religious allegory in Newbery’s edition………………………………… 201
Tab.66 Clarifications in Newbery’s edition……………………………………… 203
Tab.67 Gulliver in captivity in Stone and King’s abridgment …………………... 204
Tab.68 Gulliver in captivity in the chapbook……………………………………. 204
Tab.69 Gulliver in captivity in Newbery’s edition………………………………. 205
Tab.70 The break-out of the fire in Stone and King’s abridgment………………. 206
Tab.71 The break-out of the fire in the chapbook ……………………………….. 206
Tab.72 The break-out of the fire, Newbery’s 1776 version……………………… 206
Tab.73 The immorality of Gulliver’s expedient in Newbery’s edition…………... 208
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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig.1 Scheme as presented by Lambert and van Gorp, 1985, p.43 …………….. 28
Fig.2 Title page of The Hague version, Tome I ………………………………... 71
Fig.3 Title page of Marsecco’s version, Tome I ……………………………….. 71
Fig.4 Preface to Marsecco’s Translation ……………………………………….. 73
Fig.5 First pages of the tables of contents of A Voyage to Lilliput, in the Hague
and Marsecco’s version ………………………………………………….. 74
Fig.6 Gulliver on the shore of Lilliput in the Hague version …………………. 75
Fig.7 Gulliver on the shore of Lilliput in Marsecco’s version …………………. 75
Fig.8 Detail, in the Hague version ……………………………………………… 75
Fig.9 Detail, in Marsecco’s version …………………………………………….. 75
Fig.10 Announcement of Çenéassaimanon al paese degli Houyhnimi, in
Bibliografia Italiana, Dec. 1838, p.303 ………………………………….. 94
Fig.11 Announcement of Borroni and Scotti’s edition of Viaggi di Gulliver, Oct.
1840, p.278 ………………………………………………………………. 94
Fig.12 Announcement of Stella’s edition of Viaggi di Gulliver, Oct. 1840, p.278 94
Fig.13 Main title page, in Fournier and Furne’s edition ………………………… 99
Fig.14 Main title page in Stella’s edition………………………………………… 99
Fig.15 Title page preceding Scott’s biographical notice in Fournier and Furne’s
edition ……………………………………………………………………. 99
Fig.16 Title page preceding Scott’s biographical notice in Stella’s edition ……... 99
Fig.17 Gulliver swimming for survival, Fournier and Furne, tome I, p.8, Stella,
p.7 …………………………………………………………………. 107
Fig.18 Gulliver under siege, Fournier and Furne, tome I, p.11, Stella, p.9 ……… 107
Fig.19 Initial of Chapter III, Fournier and Furne, tome I, p.41, Stella, p.34 …….. 108
Fig.20 Battle between Small- and Big-Endians, Fournier and Furne, tome I,
p.63, Stella, p.55 …………………………………………………………. 108
Fig.21 Gulliver attempting to raise his head, Fournier and Furne, tome I, p.9,
Stella, p.8 ………………………………………………………………… 110
Fig.22 An elf-like Lilliputian, Treves, p.1 (detail) ………………………………. 125
Fig.23 The Emperor of Lilliput, Treves, p.36 (detail) …………………………… 125
Fig.24 Rejuvenated Gulliver, Treves, p.36 (detail) ……………………………… 126
Fig.25 Rejuvenated Gulliver, Carrara, frontispiece (detail) …………………….. 126
Fig.26 Amused Gulliver, Treves, p.12 (detail) ………………………………….. 127
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Fig.27 Peaceful Gulliver, Carrara, betw. pp.16 and 17 (detail) …………………. 127
Fig.28 Frontispiece of Muggiani’s edition, vol.I ………………………………… 127
Fig.29 Frontispiece of Muggiani’s edition, vol.II ……………………………….. 127
Fig.30 Preface with Grandville’s illustrations in Carrara’s edition ……………… 128

Fig.31 Sighting of Laputa, Fournier and Furne, vol.II, p.11 …………………….. 128
Fig.32 Sighting of Laputa, Sonzogno, cover ……………………………………. 128
Fig.33 Experiment on a dog, Fournier and Furne, vol.II, p.59 ………………….. 129
Fig.34 Experiment on a dog, Sonzogno, p.31……………………………………. 129
Fig.35 Extinction of the Fire, Fournier & Furne, vol.I p.73……………………… 129
Fig.36 Extinction of the Fire, Perino, p.41……………………………………….. 129
Fig.37 Experiment to reconcile political parties, Fournier & Furne, vol.II, p.73... 129
Fig.38 Experiment to reconcile political parties, Perino, p.193………………….. 129
Fig.39 Defeat of the Blefuscudian fleet, Fournier & Furne, vol.I, p.68………….. 130
Fig.40 Defeat of the Blefuscudian fleet, Treves, p.59 …………………………… 130
Fig.41 Italian editions, 1865-1890 ………………………………………………. 144
Fig.42 Title page of Stone and King’s abridgment ……………………………… 156
Fig.43 Synopsis of Chapter I, Motte, 1726, vol.I, p.1 ………………………….. 159
Fig.44 Synopsis of Chapter I, Stone & King, p.1 ……………………………….. 159
Fig.45 Synopsis of Chapter II, Motte, 1726, vol.I, p.1 …………………………. 159
Fig.46 Synopsis of Chapter II, Stone & King, p.75 ……………………………... 159
Fig.47 Front page of the chapbook edition ………………………………………. 173
Fig.48 Gulliver tied to the ground (lower section) and carried to Mildendo (top
section) in Motte’s 1727 edition, vol.I…………………………………... 174
Fig.49 Gulliver tied to the ground (lower section) and carried to Mildendo (top
section) in the chapbook version………………………………………… 174
Fig.50 Gulliver sighting Laputa in Motte’s 1727 edition, vol.II…………………. 175
Fig.51 Gulliver sighting Mildendo in the chapbook version……………………... 175
Fig.52 Conversation with the emperor, in the chapbook versions of Gulliver’s
Travels, Guy of Warwick and Valentine and Orson……………………… 176
Fig.53 Dance scene, in the chapbook versions of Gulliver’s Travels, The Fairy
Dance and The Witch of the Woodlands………………………………….. 176
Fig.54 Gulliver and Reldresal, in the chapbook versions of Gulliver’s Travels
and Merry Frolicks, or the comical Cheats of Swalpo…………………… 176