Translating Canada

Margaret Atwood in German/y: A Case Study

Margaret Atwood in German/y: A Case Study Stefan Ferguson University of Constance INTRODUCTION There can hardly be a more appropriate subject for a case study of Canadian literature in German translation than Margaret Atwood.1 As a novelist, poet, short-story writer, and literary and cultural critic, Atwood has, for the best part of four decades now, been Canada’s most prominent and admired literary ÀJXUH ERWK LQ KHU KRPH FRXQWU\ DQG DEURDG ,QGHHG WKURXJK KHU OLWHUDU\ oeuvre as well as her charismatic personality, she has become a genuine literary and media icon, symbolizing not only Canadian literature but also in many respects Canadianness itself. Atwood’s high renown in her native country—the phenomenon of “Atwood bashing” notwithstanding—comes as no surprise, since her works, for all their universality, are rooted in a strong sense of Canadian locality, both wild and urban, and often involve deeply cogitated negotiations with Canadian identity. Similarly, Atwood’s success in the rest of the EnglishVSHDNLQJ ZRUOGDQGVSHFLÀFDOO\LQWKH8QLWHG.LQJGRPDQGWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV though remarkable, is hardly unexpected given the shared linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the countries involved. What is more thought-provoking is the success of Atwood’s works in translation, in cultural and linguistic environments often radically different from those of her original texts. Remarkably, Atwood’s works have been translated into over thirty languages (see Nischik 2002273), a sure sign of their ability to cross literary and cultural borders. Among the many languages and cultures into which her works have been transferred, Germany occupies DVSHFLDOSRVLWLRQ,QKDUGO\DQ\RWKHUFRXQWU\³WKHDQJORSKRQHZRUOGQRW  $WYDULRXVSRLQWVLQWKLVFKDSWHU,TXRWHVRXUFHVRULJLQDOO\ZULWWHQLQ*HUPDQ)RUWKHFRQYHQLHQFH RIWKHUHDGHU,KDYHSURYLGHGP\RZQWUDQVODWLRQVRIVXFKSDVVDJHV3DJHUHIHUHQFHVDUHWRWKH original German texts. &!STEFAN FERGUSON excepted—is Atwood so admired and so popularly successful, hardly anywhere else so prominent on syllabi and curricula, so well represented in academic research.2 ThischapterexploresthereasonsforAtwood’soutstandingsuccessinGermany, placing it in the context of Germany’s fascination with Canadian literature in general and examining aspects of German and Canadian culture that help to H[SODLQWKHSKHQRPHQRQ,WDOVRSURYLGHVDQDQDO\VLVRIWZR*HUPDQWUDQVODWLRQV of Atwood’s seminal novel Surfacing as a case in point for cultural processes at work in the translation of Canadian literature into German. THE STATUS OF MARGARET ATWOOD’S WORKS IN GERMANY What exactly does it mean when we talk about Atwood’s “success” and “popularity” in Germany? Her prominence as a best-selling author represents MXVWRQHIDFHWRIKHUVWDWXVLQ*HUPDQ\WKRXJKDVLJQLÀFDQWRQH+HUFRQWLQXHG success in this respect is all the more remarkable when compared with that of other prominent North American writers. As German publisher Arnulf Conradi VWDWHV´$PHULFDQZULWHUVOLNH6DXO%HOORZ-RKQ8SGLNH3KLOLS5RWKRURXURZQ 5LFKDUG)RUGDUHKLJKO\UHVSHFWHGEXWWKH\YHU\UDUHO\UHDFKWKHEHVWVHOOHUOLVWVLQ our country. Margaret Atwood does it every time” (2000 35). +RZHYHU RWKHU LQGLFDWRUV RI $WZRRG·V VXFFHVV LQ *HUPDQ\ DUH HTXDOO\ revealing: the database of the Canadian Embassy in Germany, Kanadische Autoren in deutscher Übersetzung,3 lists twenty-eight translations of works by Atwood. Excluding reprints of individual short stories or poems, there are thirteen translations of novels (including two versions of Surfacing)—the entire novelistic RHXYUHKDVWKXVEHHQWUDQVODWHGWKUHHRI$WZRRG·VÀYHVKRUWVWRU\FROOHFWLRQV have appeared in German, representing fairly good coverage of the genre; all three of Atwood’s prose-poetry/short-prose collections have been translated; WKUHHRIKHUÀYHZRUNVRIFKLOGUHQ·VÀFWLRQKDYHEHHQWUDQVODWHGKRZHYHURQO\ two of her volumes of poetry (True Stories/Wahre Geschichten and Morning in the Burned House/Ein Morgen im verbrannten Haus) out of a total of eleven (excluding DQWKRORJLHV KDYHEHHQWUDQVODWHG7KHVHÀJXUHVVXJJHVWWZRWKLQJV)LUVWWKH\ clearly demonstrate the extent to which Atwood’s works (with the exception of her poetry) have been made available in German translation, a good indicator 2. The special status of Germany in the reception of Atwood is suggested by the order in which the QDWLRQDOLWLHVDUHOLVWHGLQWKHIROORZLQJVWDWHPHQWE\5REHUW)XOIRUG´)RUDORQJWLPHVKH·VEHHQ DJUDQGLQWHUQDWLRQDOÀJXUHORYHGE\WKH*HUPDQVWKH(QJOLVKWKH-DSDQHVHDQG*RGNQRZV who else”; “Toronto and Margaret Atwood,” National Post, 24 August 2000. 3. The database can be accessed at www.dfait...