TRANSLATION WITHIN RECEPTION (OSCAR WILDE`S RECEPTION IN ROMANIA A DOCUMENTARY PERSPECTIVE)

Summary The paper is the first part of an ample research concerning the reception of Oscar Wilde in Romania. Its purpose is that of pointing out the number and the quality of the translations of Oscar Wilde`s works. The period we extend our research on is that between 1907 (the year in which the first translation was registered) and 1989 (the year of the Romanian Revolution). The research is based on the set of data offered by the books we found in libraries, on the one hand, and on the newspapers and the magazines that appeared during that period. These things, together with the fact that both bibliographical and critical references are those belonging to the same period under discussion are meant to increase the originality of the paper.

Sporadic until the beginning of the 17th century, Anglo-Romanian relations begin to develop fast after this period. The sporadic character in comparison with the relations established with the German, Russian, French or Italian literatures gives the possibility of a clear notice of the local necessities to which these contacts corresponded. The development of these relations is determined by the involvement of the British diplomacy and trade in Eastern Europe. Gradually, literary contacts are also established. The first English works intercepted by the Romanian scholars were destined only to offer solutions of life adopted by the civilized Europe. The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the next century know the first literary English works through French. This is a result of the French interest in the English culture and the learning of French in our country. Therefore, around 1890, people came into contact with the English literature due to the French translations of Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot and even Gaskell. The first poets translated into Romanian were those in fashion in western Europe and who constituted the source of inspiration for romantic writers: Young (whose Nights was the first work of an English writer who reached Romania), Ossian and Byron. As for Oscar Wilde`s reception in Romania, his first work to be translated was Salom (Salomeea), in 1907. Until 1989, (the year of the Romanian Revolution), the statistics of the Romanian translations of Oscar Wilde`s works (according to our research) looks like this: - 8 translations of The Happy Prince (1922, 1923, 1943, 1947, 1960, 1967, 1976) - 5 translations of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1920, 1942, 1946, 1967, 1969) - 5 translations of The Ballad of Reading Goal (1916, 1936, 1942, 1944, 1971) - 5 translations of The Nightingale and the Rose (1924, 1945, 1967) - 4 translations of The House of Pomegranates (1929, 1930, 1935, 1945) - 4 translations of The Fisherman and His Soul (1911 published by two publishing houses; 1915; and one translations whose date is not mentioned) - 4 translations of Poems in Prose (1919 published by two publishing houses; 1928 and 1937) - 4 translations of Lord Arthur Seville`s Crime (1916, 1920, 1924, 1967) - 4 translations of The Devoted Friend (1929, 1943, 1976; the date of the fourth one is not mentioned)

4 translations of The Selfish Giant (1943; 1945; the date of two of these translations is not mentioned) 3 translations of Salom (1907, 1929, 1967) 3 translations of The Story of a Young King (1919, 1924, 1945) 2 translations of The Ghost of Canterville (1926, 1959) 2 translations of The Remarkable Rocket ( 1929; 1967) 2 translations of Parables (1916, 1927) 2 translations of The Star-Child (1920; 1945) 1 translation of De Profundis (the date is not mentioned) 1 translation of Intentions (1972) 1 translation of Theatre(1967) 1 translation of Ziua de nastere a Infantei (1920)

The translations of these 1 titles are the result of the work of 28 translators, the greatest part of whom are writers themselves: Dimitrie Anghel, Eugen Boureanu, Al.T. Stamatiad, Igena Floru, Ticu Arhip, Zaharia Brsan, Emil Budaru, L. Ardeleanu, Victor Ion Popa, D.Mazilu, Nicolae Davidescu, Nicolae Porsenna, Sonia, Tilia Holda, Daria Luca, Viorica Hangic, Pericle Martinescu, Stefanovici-Svensk, Adriana Banta, Crian Toescu, Alexandru Alcalay, Sima Zamfir, Zoe I. Gheu, Dim Pavalache, Ion Muat. A number of 23 publishing houses brought their contribution. Among them, the most important and well-known were: Casa coalelor, Cugetarea, Cartea Romneasc, Dimineaa, Omnia (all before 1944), Minerva (before and after 1944) and Editura Tineretului, Editura Pentru Literatur i Art, Univers (after 1944). The volume of poems published in 1881 was received with much enthusiasm in England. It was not translated entirely into Romanian until 1989. The only poem translated was The Ballad of the Reading Goal (Nicolae Davidescu a poet himselfoffered the first translation to us in 1916). What is worth being noticed is the fact that the translation of the ballad was made in prose. The Romanian version is a beautiful one, in a correct and understandable language. The sentences are long enough and come one after another as easy as the verses of the original form. An attentive reading and analysis of this translation reveals the translator`s efforts of preserving the harmony and the perspective transmitted by the author, in spite of the ideas expressed by Fraser 1): The difficulty of translating poetry into prose, is different in its degree, according to the nature of species of the poem. To attempta translation of lyric poem into prose, is the most absurd of all undertakingsnone but a poet can translate a poet. The next translation was made in 19362) and was followed by those appeared in 1937, 1942 and in 1944 ((Nicolae Porsenna`s). Al.T. Stamatiadi observed neither the length of the English verse, nor the inner rhyme of the poem. Although written in verse, it resembled a translation in prose, too. The translator sacrificed the form for the sake of content and its beauty. At the same time, he follows strictly the English original Offering to us the translation of the poem in 1944, Porsenna feels the need to explain the method of his work in the Preface of the book. He mentions the fact that he tried to observe the number of verses and their rhyme a thing that he did successfully. He also mentions the feeling of freedom he experienced while trying to observe the original written in verses of fourteen syllables, each of them divided into two hemistichs of seven syllables, thus obtaining just six hemistichs but only three rhymes.

The novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray was translated for the first time in Romanian by Sonia (a name mentioned by Octav Pduraru in his Anglo-Romanian and Romanian-English Bibliography, 1946), that seems to be a pet-name (the translator`s real name was never identified), under the name of Crim i contiin, in 1920. Then, it was translated in 1942 by Viorica Hangic and Pericle Martinescu (our investigations regarding these persons in terms of their personality and literary activity were not successful). The next translations belonged to Tilia Holda and Daria Luca (1946) and Dan Mazilu (1967 - the second edition was published in 1969). This last translation is preceded by a preface signed by Dan Grigorescu (well known for his activity as a critic) and which represents a short study upon Oscar Wilde and his work. It has a great value, taking into consideration the few works and even the few points of view/opinions concerning the life and activity of the Irish writer, that exist in Romania, written by Romanian writers or literary historians. The critic finds a close resemblance between The Picture of Dorian Gray and rebours, written by Huysmans, whose hero has much in common with Dorian Gray. Both translations mentioned above (1946 and 1967) observe the same air of musicality and the aura of poetry which Wilde imbued the text with. De Profundis was translated into Romania by Marcu Berza, but the year of the translation was not mentioned. What is really interesting is the fact that the translation was directly from English, and at the same time, it was the first and the last to appear in Romania until 1989. The translator follows closely the original text (this is a proof that the translator knew the English language very well and handled it remarkably). His words come one after another as easily as they come in the English text, nothing being forced or wrongly placed. What also strikes is the fact that the translator found the most suitable synonym for the English word. Having no other translation of the same work, the comparison cannot be made. Nevertheless, the existent translation must be given all the appreciation it deserves and although the translator was not a writer, his translation appears as an artist`s work. Oscar Wilde`s critical studies, gathered in 1891 in the volume Intentions were ranslated into Romanian in 1972 by Mihai Rdulescu with a preface signed by Mihai Miroiu. It is the only translation of the work, including critical studies as The Decay of Lying (Decderea minciunii), Pen, Pencil and Poison (Condei, crbune i otrav), The truth of masks (Adevrul mtilor) and the Soul of Man under Socialism (Sufletul omului in socialism ). The translation made by Mihai Rdulescu is appreciated due to the fact that he always finds the exact equivalence for the rich phrase Wilde uses. The style chosen by the translator gives the reader the impression that the work was written from the very beginning in the Romanian language. As for the translation of one word in the title, the word pen with crbune (the Romanian equivalent of the English coal) is explained by the translator himself, in the preface of Inteniuni (Intentions): he felt that the word crbune suggests the idea of drawing better than the word creion (for the English pen) might have done. As for the two prose works - Lord Arthur Sevile`s Crime and The Ghost of Canterville we have identified that: the first was translated in 1916 by L. Ardeleanu, in 1924 by V.I.P. (Victor Ion Popa) and in 1967 by D. Mazilu (included in the same volume with the translation of The Portrait of Dorian Gray and re-edited in 1969). The latter was translated in 1926 by Emil Budaru (the Romanian title: Fantoma din Canterville) and in 1959 in the volume Proz umoristic englez (Humorous English Prose), the preface of which is signed by Silvian Iosifescu. The volume includes

translations of works written by Hardy, Thackeray and Dickens and the preface is the only one which offers some remarks referring to Oscar Wilde`s short stories. Thus, Silvian Iosifescu mentions Widle`s talent as a humourist and satirist and underlines the fact that he knew how to handle the fantastic humour with the absurd one, thus following an old tradition in the English language.3) As far as the volume Poems in Prose is concerned, our research points out that it appeared with different translations of the title: Poeme in proz (word for word translation) and Parabole. With the first title there appeared two translations: one is made by Al. T. Stamatiad and published in different years at different publishing houses: 1919 (Cultura Romneasc, Steinberg), 1928 (Minerva), 1937 (Cartea Romneasc); the other translation is included in a volume under the title of Cntecul din urm. Poeme in proz. Balada temniei din Reading, Bucureti, 1946, but the name of the translator is not mentioned. Under the second title, Parabole, it appeared due to the work of Nicolae Davidescu, in two editions: 1916 (Minerva) and 1927 (Cartea Romneasc). Both A. Stamatiad and Nicolae Davidescu were writers themselves; they manifested their talent in their own works (Stamatiad wrote poems, prose and theatre, while Davidescu was a symbolist poet). Besides several interpretations from the world literature (Chinese, Japanese and French literature), he offered us translations from Maeterlinck, Wilde and other foreign writers. Maybe the admiration for Wilde`s poems in prose made him write Cetatea cu porile nchise, which is in fact a collection of parables, but written in an artificial manner. Under these circumstances, the translation of Wilde`s Poems in Prose gets sense and finds its motivation. Nicolae Davidescu`s predilection towards Wilde cannot be interpreted so clearly. The attraction towards Wilde`s work may be integrated within a profound interest for the world literature, in general, and for writers like Gautier, Villiers de l`isle-Adam and others, from whose works he translated. The two translators offered quite similar Romanian versions. It is only the translation made by Stamatiad that gets feedback from the part of a contemporary critic: Al. I. Stamatiad succeeds in giving independent Romanian existence/life to Oscar Wilde`s complicated and spiritual art4) Wilde`s short-stories enjoyed a great popularity in our country. The first translation was made in the first half of the 20th century and the number of translations appeared before 1944 is almost equal with that appeared after this year, until 1989. Ranking the difficulties that the works of English writers present for a Romanian translator, Leon Levitchi5) decided to include Oscar Wilde`s short-stories among the works of the second degree of difficulty (besides most of Robert Browning`s poems and Shakespeare`s sonnets). His decision was based on the idea that while easy to understand, Wilde`s style is difficult to be reproduced. The first short-story that was translated was The Fisherman and His Soul (Pescarul i sufletul su) due to the work of Dimitrie Anghel (1911). A writer himself (a poet), Dimitrie Anghel translated from Verlaine, Gautier, Goethe, Lenau, Heine, Lermontov and Oscar Wilde. It is possible that the translations made from Wilde and Verlaine are a direct consequence of the that Anghel met them in Paris ad was impressed by the sick Verlaine and the corrupt Wilde. What is sure is the fact that Anghel evoked them in his Povestea celor necjii6) Anghel tried to give an air of poetry to his translation and implicitly, a certain although pale musicality. This is easy to be noticed when comparing Anghel`s translation with that made by Eugen Boureanu later, in Casa cu rodii (the translation of The House of Pomegranates); the

year of this translation is not mentioned. Generally speaking, Anghel`s translation follows more closely the English original than that of Boureanu. The Devoted Friend (Prietenul devotat) was translated for the first time by Igena Floru, in 1923 and it was included in a volume together with some other shortstories written by Wilde: The Happy Prince (Prinul fericit), The Nightingale and the Rose (Privighetoarea i trandafirul), The Selfish Giant (Uriaul cel egoist), The Remarkable Rocket (Un artificiu cum nu sunt multe). Other translations of the same short-story belong to I. tefanovici-Svensk (1929 in the volume Prietenul devotat i alte povestiri), Eugen Boureanu (1945 Prietenul cel bun) and Ticu Arhip (1967 Prietenul credincios). If the texts of the different mentioned translations are analysed, the general conclusion is that, no matter the title, the body text follows quite closely the English version and there are not striking differences between/among the Romanian versions. Three of Wilde`s short-stories (The Happy Prince; The Devoted Friend; The Selfish Giant) were remade in 1943, due to the work and talent of Ion Muat. While reading these remakings, one is surprised at the simple, direct and very clear language. Ion Muat introduces passages that one cannot find in the English version and he does it in a very natural way (nothing seems forced), adapting the stories to the Romanian way of thinking and colouring the characters` speech with typical Romanian expressions and colloquial structures. The translations of The Selfish Giant can be found in several editions and under several titles: Uriaul egoist (1923 Igena Floru; 1945 Eugen Boureanu), Uriaul hain (in the translation existing in the edition Cartea popular, made in 1947 by an unknown translator) and Uriaul zgrcit (in Ion Muat`s remaking, made in 1943). One can easily observe the different qualifying adjectives in the title of the mentioned translations, as well as the nuance added by the word hain in the translation of the unknown author. Nevertheless, no matter the Romanian title, the translators observe the English version closely and differences among translations are based only on the synonyms that their authors choose in the text. The Nightingale and the Rose (Privighetoarea i trandafirul) can be found in four Romanian translations made by Igena Floru, Eugen Boureanu and Ticu Arhip. The fourth translation appeared under the title of Trandafirul rou, but the name of the translator remained unknown. A number of short-stories, among which The Star-Child (Copilul din stele), The Birthday of the Infanta (Ziua de natere a Infantei), The Young King (Regele cel tnr) were translated only by Eugen Boureanu. The first play translated into Romanian (and, at the same time, the first work belonging to Oscar Wilde that was recepted in Romania) is Salom (Salomeea). The translation belongs to Zaharia Brsan and was made in 1907. The performance of the play on the stage of the National Theatre in Bucharest was acknowledged in the journal Viata Romneasc, nr. 3, volume 20, 1911; the article is signed by O. Botez. The play enjoyed a great success to which, the music of Strauss that accompanied it, contributed largely to its great success. It seems that this play was best recepted and appreciated by the Romanian public. From 1911 to 1944 it was often revived. We must also mention the fact that it was not only the theatre that enjoyed success with Salomeea, but the Romanian opera, too. Beginning with 1914, Wilde`s comedies were included in the repertoire of Marioara Voiculescu Bulandra`s company and enjoyed the same remarkable success.

The play The Ideal Husband inaugurated the theatrical season 1914-1915 and famous names such as Tony Bulandra, Marioara Voiculescu, were its main protagonists. After four years, another comedy, Lady Windermere`s Fan was met with the same warmth by the Romanian public. Oscar Wilde`s comedies (together with Salom) were gathered in a volume and translated into Romanian in 1967. The Preface of the volume is signed by Dan Grigorescu, who gives us a very objective and, at the same time, a wonderful appreciation of Wilde`s theatre. The translators of comedies were Andrei Banta (Lady Windermere`s Fan; An Ideal Husband), Andrei Banta and Crian Toescu (A Woman of No Importance), Alexandry Alkalay and Sim Zamfir (The Importance of Being Earnest). The interest in Wilde`s plays increased after 1944 and more and more articles in different newspapers and revues were dedicated to their author, the plays themselves, as well as to the Romanian actors performing them on different Romanian stages (in Bucharest, Cluj, Craiova, Bacu to mention just a few cities in the country). Such articles appeared in Viaa Romneasc, decembrie, 1914; Viaa Romneasc, nr. 3/ 1943, p. 31; Contemporanul, nr.1/1959, Tribuna, nr. 10/1971, p. 10; Teatru, Nr.3/1972, pp.48-49; Scnteia, nr.3027/1972, p. 4: Contemporanul, nr. 10/1971, p.4. As a conclusion, until 1989, Oscar Wilde enjoyed a great popularity and appreciation in our country. The translations of his most important plays, poems, short-stories and the famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (besides adaptations and remakings, as well as the studies dedicated to his work and personality) constitute real cultural acts, destined to make accessible the writer`s literary work to scholars and the large masses of people in Romania. Notes
1. Fraser, A. ( 1938) Essay on the Principles of Translation, London, p. III 2. Al.T. Stamatidiad`s, in Revista Fundaiilor Regale, 3, Nr.7 3. Iosifesu, S. (1959) Prefa la Proz umoristic englez, Editura Tineretului, Bucureti, p. 319 4. Vianu, Tudor (1919) Traduceri din Oscar Wilde, Sburtorul, nr. 15, pp.351-352 5. Levitchi, Leon (1975) ndrumar pentru traductorii din limba englez n limba romn, Editura tiinific i Enciclopedic, Bucureti 6. published for the first time in the journal Ramuri, VI, 1910, nr. 7, 21 noiembrie, p. 3

Bibliography
Botez, O. (1911) Cronica teatral. Salomeea, Viaa Romneasc, nr. 3 Cocora, Ion (1971) Teatrul Naional Cluj Oscar Wilde: O femeie far importan, Tribuna, 4 februarie Iosifescu, S. (1959): Proz umoristic englez, Editura Tineretului, Bucureti Iorga, Nicolae (1938): Ce datorm crii engleze, Conferina la cursurile de var de Limba englez de la Sinaia, 31 iulie Levitchi, Leon (1975), ndrumar pentru traductorii din limba englez n limba romn, Editura tiinific i Enciclopedic, Bucureti Marian, B. Paul (1975) O pies inedit a lui Oscar Wilde, Cronica, nr. 31 Philippide, A. (1973) Sunet unic, Contemporanul, 4 mai Stanciu, Virgil (1973) Inteniunile lui Oscar Wilde, Tribuna, nr. 20 Stemer, George (1973) Poezie si traductibilitate, Secolul 20, nr. 3 Stere, Constantin (1921) Petroniu veacului XIX: Oscar Wilde, Viaa Romneasc, Iai Tornea, Florin (1972) Spectacole noi la teatrul C.I.Nottara, Scnteia, nr. 9027 Weiss, Aureliu (1914) Cazul lui Oscar Wilde, Viaa Romneasc, decembrie