In 1973 in France the translation of Gombrowcz’s Ferdydurke by GG eorges Sédir was published. The initiator of this publication was a French editor Christian Bourgois, who considered the previous ...French edition of the novel (translated by Roland Martin and Witold Gombrowicz) as “unfaithful to the original”. Regadless of the fact that the first French edition opened Gombrowicz the window to the word and be- came the grounwork for seven English editions (London, New York) as well as fortranslations to Italian, Norwegian and Swedish. The aim of the essay is to analyse the chosen fragments of the author’s translation, showing the strategy of “wild creative freedom” against the Polish origi- nal version. What is worth reminding, the strategy made the book to be nominated in 1958 as the best translation in France.
In 1964, Sudamericana Publishing House printed in Buenos Aires the second edition of the Spanish version of the novel
Ferdydurke
(1937) by Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz. Apparently, it was ...identical to the first publication in Spanish (by Argos Publishing House, Buenos Aires, 1947); however, the text had been extensively revised according to Ernesto Sabato’s indications. Furthermore, a new prologue written by Sabato substituted the previous initials materials. This article documents and explains how this revision, the new prologue, the decision to publish in Sudamericana, and the publicity given to the book were conscious decisions either by Gombrowicz or by Sabato in search of editorial success. Their final goal was to place the novel and its author in a visible and privileged place in the Argentine and Spanish-speaking literary system. The study also focuses on the textual differences between
Ferdydurke
’s first and second Spanish editions: it tries to explain how and why specific changes were made and the implications of these changes.
The present paper aims at demonstrating how the initial norms adopted by translators, affecting their operational norms, impact the hermeneutic potential and process of canonization of the target ...text—or, in other words, how the consistency of Gombrowicz’s philosophy as it is expressed in his works in the Polish language transforms when translated into English. Opening with an overview of the canonization of translated literature and canonical authors’ “signature words,” the paper concentrates on one of landmark Gombrowicz’s terms, the word pupa, and its function in the immanent poetics of the philosopher’s work and in his global vision of the human condition. Against such a backdrop, an analysis of the consequences of the English translator’s choice concerning this term is provided, simultaneously revealing the importance of “signature words” in the process of canonization of a translated text.
Gombrowicz’s life can be divided into two parts. During the first period of his life, Gombrowicz is preoccupied with the “Ferdydurke Man”, i.e. a funny character who is tortured by Form, which he ...tries to overcome but which he finally succumbs to by falling into inauthenticity. This man, though incoherent, is understandable both for the author and the reader because he comes from the world they both live in and epitomizes their own problems, which makes readers laugh. The second period of Gombrowicz’s life begins with a scene in Venice in 1938. He meets young Italian pilots who are ready to destroy the city if Mussolini gives such an order. This is when new and “savage” young people take the place of the “Ferdydurke Man”. They are a product of their time – they do not think independently and they constitute a breeding ground for totalitarian ideologies. Gombrowicz tries to understand this generation and presents a picture of the world these young people are building for themselves in consecutive dark literary works.
This article presents the story of the first French edition of Witold Gombrowicz’s Ferdydurke. The novel was published in October 1958 by the Julliard publishing house. The article is based on ...letters that Gombrowicz exchanged with Constantin Jelenski, a Polish essayist living in Paris and a great promoter of his work, as well as on Gombrowicz’s publishing-related correspondence with Maurice Nadeau, René Julliard and Pierre Javet. The article shows that Gombrowicz was a writer who paid great attention not only to the form of his works, but also to the way in which they reached the reader. Therefore, he attempted to influence, as much as possible, the manner in which his books would be published. He sought to establish a new way of presenting the writer to the reader that would fall outside the rules and conventions of world literature. The article shows why he succeeded in Poland and Argentina, but not in France, where he did not have followers.
Calfiness Jan Gondowicz
Przestrzenie teorii,
01/2013
20
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In Ferdydurke Witold Gombrowicz presented the secret of interpersonal relations by using anatomical metaphors. In this ironic lecture a calf plays as important role as buttocks (stuck to the face) – ...it is a symbol of seductive youth and, to a considerable degree, of an unaware, but intuitive infantility. This topic is covered in the novel as part of an episode about a fascinating teenage girl Zuta, who is one of most demonic characters in the 20th-century prose. This paper draws attention to the ambiguity of the self-emancipating strategy that Gombrowicz’s hero uses when he discovers this notion and in order to fight against it. A calf, which represents the temptation of modern, sterile and totalitarian sex appeal, refers – as a spiritual, form-shaping power – to the lack of self-confidence that contemporary people conceal, also from themselves. And that is the hidden origin – as Gombrowicz implies – of mass culture’s erotic blackmail.
This article is an attempt to interpret Witold Gombrowicz’s first novel in the context of cynicism, which is first conceptualized within the Foucauldian tradition as a practice of “frank speech” ...(parrhesia), and then, according to Peter Sloterdijk’s critical philosophy, as a form of modern consciousness based on inverted idealism. The opposition between an ancient subversive cynicism and its modern schizoid form allows one to analyze the complexity of Ferdydurke. In the course of interpretation it turns out that there are some intersecting planes: the protagonist searches in vain for lost insolence, but it is the author who manages to find it at the end of the novel.
The article aims to present one of the most popular yet at the same time often misunderstood novels by Witold Gombrowicz – Ferdydurke. The article claims that the most important motif in Gombrowicz’s ...works is the problem with Form and in Ferdydurke the writer tackles this very subject. This novel – though not very long – is a complex and rich analysis of Form related to human life. The concept of Form is the key to an adequate understanding of Ferdydurke: it justifies unusual formal strategies and linguistic means used by the writer. It also explains a complicated plot and proves that what used to be regarded as chaos is in fact an intended strategy used in a logical and consequential way. The article is addressed above all to those, who being unfamiliar with Gombrowicz’s creativity, regard it as strange and incomprehensible. It proves that at least in the case of Ferdydurke this is not true and it is worth reading Gombrowicz’s works once again, as the world created by the writer is fascinating and multidimensional.
Freddy Durkee and Ferdydurke Pratt, Daniel Webster
Comparative literature studies (Urbana),
01/2015, Letnik:
52, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The title of Witold Gombrowicz's first novel, Ferdydurke, has inspired a great deal of speculation as to its possible meanings since the work was first published in 1937. Even in 1986, when Bodgan ...Baran discovered that the title came from Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt, the matter was still not put to rest. In this essay, the author attempts to discover the meaning behind Gombrowicz's choice of title through a Gombrowiczian reading of Lewis's popular but generally understudied novel. Lewis scholarship has been rather sparse, owing mostly to the attitude that his works were merely examples of popular literature not worth further examination. After using Ferdydurke to explain Gombrowicz's artistic theories, the author applies these to Babbitt, demonstrating that the sociological descriptions underline deeper philosophical understandings of the world that Gombrowicz would later develop in his own writings. These are then reflected in the approach that Gombrowicz and Lewis take to their position as author and artist within their respective national cultures.
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