How Can History Support Translation Studies? A Case of the Polish Translators of Faust Between 1826 and 1938

Abstract

This paper aims to answer the question of who the translators of Faust into Polish between 1826 and 1938 were. The problem is analysed thanks to the application of two research methods. In addition to the translator biography taken from the sociology of translation, a method taken from history, called microhistory, can be used. The use of microhistory in the translator study is useful to identify general trends prevailing in the field of translation and situations common to translators working in the same time frame and geographical-historical space. In this way, it has been possible to establish  that the Faust translators working between 1826 and 1938 were predominantly males, well educated, affected by the political events of the time, and chose to translate Faust as a result of personal literary fascinations.