Description
Carmilla: A study of the horror and queerness in two Greek translations (Maria Episkopou)
Recent years have brought about a rise in gothic subcultures, a revisitation of older fiction with diverse elements, an increase in classic gothic fiction studies and an interest in the analysis of its elements. One of the less researched novels, in Greece, is Carmilla (1872) by Irish writer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, which involves elements of gothic horror and queer sexuality. This study analyses two target versions of the novel that are around thirty years apart (1986 and 2015) to identify how translation has handled the gothic and queer elements overtime. Questionnaires submitted to the linguistic insight of native Greek respondents confirm that the latest version tends to focus on the psychological and more violent aspects of the self, whereas the first one highlights the supernatural element and is generally less threatening. Likewise, the latest version highlights queerness where the earlier arouses a much friendlier connotation between female protagonists. The significance of the research lies in that Carmilla is a rather under-researched work in the Greek target context, and in that it demonstrates a gap in horror studies in terms of its reception as a genre and its exploration of queer sexuality. Furthermore, the research highlights how societal values impact translation approaches with respect to certain themes and become reflective of their eras. Last but not least, the study leaves space for further work in the subject of psychological elements (and perhaps medical terminology) in target versions, which signal a shift in perspective.
