Peter Rabbit in the Garden of Terror: Patronizing the Reader in Picturebook Translation

Abstract

This study set out to compare Beatrix Potter’s classic picturebook The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) and its Finnish translation from 1967. The analysis showed that the Finnish translator has added various elements which make the story considerably more frightening for child readers; the translator has, for instance, described Peter’s adversary, Mr. McGregor, as a bogeyman and added descriptions of how afraid Peter supposedly was at different stages of the story. The reason behind these modifications could well be that the translator interpreted the tale as a moral lesson aimed to frighten children. This, indeed, was a common interpretation of the story even among children’s literature scholars before the discovery of Potter’s personal journal, which brought about a new interpretation of the author as a covert rebel who encouraged her young readers to socially nonconformist behavior. However, the Finnish translation does not offer its readers the possibility to interpret Potter’s message in this fashion. The study concludes that the process of translating for children can, at its worst, add an air of patronage to the story.