The construction of the Turkish woman author’s image through translation: the image of Suat Derviş in In The Shadow of the Yalı

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study seeks to explore the paratextual packaging of Suat Derviş’s In the Shadow of the Yalı through a sociological lens, probing the connections between the consecrating power of translation and its role in dispelling cultural stereotypes. Arguing that asymmetrical power relations and translation flows have a significant impact on the representation of cultures in and/or through translation, the study first focuses on the stereotypical image(s) of the Turkish women writers in the Anglophone book market. Secondly, the study notes that the representation of Derviş for the Anglophone reader’s reception is beyond the confines of those images, revealing the role played by the translator Maureen Freely in challenging the prevailing practices of Western image construction and dissemination. Thirdly, against the backdrop of the distinction between translation as consecration and consecration by translational agents, the study scrutinizes the paratextual framing strategies that serve to transfer the consecrating agents’ symbolic capital to Derviş. The study concludes that while translation into a dominant literary field might be the initial step toward consecrating a writer from a less dominant culture, translation becomes an instrument that propagates existing power hierarchies when translational agents perpetuate the stereotypical representations that influence the positioning, promotion, and reception of translations.