The Literary Prestige of the Translated Text: Collodi’s Re-writing of Perrault’s Contes

Abstract

Literary translation gives birth to texts which acquire their own prestige and autonomy. Translated texts enter the receiving culture, literature and language, founding a relationship of mutual exchange with it. In particular, what is called into question in this paper is the influence of translations on the development of the receiving language, especially in historical periods of cultural and social changes. In this perspective, Collodi’s translation of Perraultian fables (1875) turns out to be a significant case of study for many reasons. First of all, it surely can be labelled as a belle infidèle translation. Indeed, Collodi’s aim is not an accurate rendering of the original texts, but a re-writing of them which could be suitable for a different socio-cultural context. Accordingly, Collodi endeavoured to create a new linguistic system able to fulfil the expressive and communicative needs of recently-united Italy. This operation is interesting from at least two points of view. On one hand, it represents a non-trivial supporting evidence for the recognition of the translation as a semiotic process. On the other hand, it is extremely useful for reflecting on the responsibility of the translator in the development and renovation of a language. Indeed, through this experience of literary translation, Collodi refined the efficient and meaningful language that would have become the language of Pinocchio, which played such a heavy influence in the formation of modern Italian. In the first part of this paper, the author highlights the importance of translations for the growing of different cultures and languages, going through some pivotal steps of the history of translational studies. Then, she introduces the case of I Racconti delle fate, underlining the exceptional characteristics of Collodi’s translation. Describing the Italian historical context in the second half of the 19th century, the author sheds light on the significance of this background for Collodi’s fables, considering some of the main theories about the influence of social, cultural and anthropological factors on both the creation and the reception of literary products. The core section of this work is represented by the analysis of a selection of textual examples taken from the collodian fables, aimed at displaying both the operation of creative rewriting of the French texts and the effort for the creation of a new Italian language. This analysis is made by comparing Collodi’s text with the Perraultian one and referring to the dictionaries of the spoken use of the 19th century. Thereafter, the Collodian translation is compared with the one of Cesare Donati, in order to draw attention on Collodi’s peculiarities. Precisely the comparison between two translations which are contemporary but so different reveals the fundamental function of idiomatic expressions in the formation of Collodi’s language and, consequently, in its influence on the Italian language of use.