TRANSLATIONS
In November
1740, the first part of Pamela was
published in England, followed a few
months later by the second part. It was
very well received by the English public. Only five
editions carne out. In 1741 it was
translated into French for the first time; in 1742 into
Dutch and Germán;
in the following year into Danish; in 1744 into Italian and in 1787 into
Russian. What happened to the Spanish versión? The first complete translation of Pamela
into Spanish was finished in 1794, the
same year in which Clarissa was
also translated.
Both works were already known in
Spain in their original versions but mainly in their
French
versions.
1794 was the year in which the
translation into Spanish of Richardson's three novels
began. Censorship stopped Sir Charles Grandison
from being published before 1798
(Pajares "Primeros traductores" 184-88). This delay is a fact that we have
to consider when
assessing Richardson's work in this country. Pamela appeared in Spain fifty-three
years
after its appearance in French. People
were already familiar with the basic plot of the novel
through the odd performances and
publications based on Goldoni's adaptations. It was
published in four volumes with a total of eight
tomes. The second-rate Presbiterian writer
Ignacio García
Malo was responsible for this translation. Loyal to
the currents of his
century, and inspired by the motto "to
teach is to delight," he followed the already
expurgated versión
of the French abbé. It is understood that the
translation is "corregida
Richardson's
Presence and Absence in Spain 161y acomodada a nuestras costumbres,"
which prepares us, from the start, for dealing with a versión,
by no means faithful to the original.
Prévost, who provided the model on which the
Hispanic translator based his work,
did likewise and his versión oí Pamela was the second
most widely read novel in France.
The additions
and omissions made by the translator were so significant that they
distorted many essential aspects of the novel, depriving it of the
simplicity, ingenuousness
and spontaneity of the original text.
Most of the omissions made by the Spanish translator,
"helped"
by censorship are to be found in those paragraphs and pages containing religious
references to the Catholic Church, which did not suit the
translator's way of thinking.
Political opinions were also
"reasonably" omitted. Similarly, there were other important
omissions, which according to the translator,
were due to the fact that the English author
did not respect the correct norms of
conduct. This translator's aggravated zeal is to blame
for the novel's loss
of credibility, authenticity and beauty
in its Spanish versión. Serious
as the omissions may be, the additions are of no less
importance.
Unfortunately,
these are not the only alterations to be found; some errors are made, the verse
is not respected, and there is a constant variation of the English novelist's rythm and style. The translator is more concerned about morality than
faithfulness and precisión in the reproduction of
linguistic
elements.
Nevertheless, it must
be said that his prose is in general harmonious and elegant,
and for this reason, even in the
present century, the translation Pamela
Andrews, o la
virtud recompensada has been praised (Fernández Montesinos 274-75). In 1799 a second
edition, Pamela Andrews, o la virtud premiada, was published. This edition, which is
understood to be "corregida
por el traductor,"
was, in fact, a reprint of the first edition. He
only changed spelling, leaving the
remainder identical. García Malo
was urged by
economic problems to request H. M.
Government that the publication of this translation
should be assigned to the Royal Press. His
request was granted. There have been two new
Spanish
publications of Pamela in the
twentieth century. They only include the
incomplete first part, since in those versions
the novel ends when Pamela and MB get
married. These versions are not, in fact,
new, merely a revision
of the eighteenth century
translations, bringing up to date the obsolete
words and spelling.
In spite of the
French influence in which our eighteenth century was steeped, it was
a company of Italian actors who
introduced Pamela to the Spanish public
in 1761,
performing the adaptation by Galdoni, Pamela
nubile in Barcelona. The
famous writer Ramón de la Cruz translated
Goldoni's version in 1762, and
although it was published anonymously, it was performed in Sevilla under
the title: La
bella Pamela Inglesa
or,
simply, La
Pamela. This adaptation
was received warmly by the
public, judging from the successive
performances in Spain over the years to follow until
the end of the century. In addition to Pamela nubile, Goldoni wrote another
one-act
dramatic version to be performed in Barcelona under the title Pamela Maritata. From
the
various Italian versions of Pamela, several more or less free
adaptations or translations
were written, including an opera and a
song. It is surprising that none of the French
dramatic versions of this novel were
translated into Spanish. This fact can only be
162 Revista Alicantina de Estudios
Ingleses understood taking into account the enormous
success that this Italian's comedies had in France too.
On the other hand it is necessary to emphasize that
the books more translated and known almost throughout the world of the author
have been the famous "Pamela", and the one that according to the
critique has been the best and more imporant of his
works: "Clarissa".
Later, we offer two of the more important Samuel
Richardson's Spanish translations, done by Spanish writers before renowned:
(1798) Jose
Marcos Gutierrez. “El traducctor”
in Samuel Richardson. He translates “Historia del caballero Carlos Grandison”
(it was translated by E.T.D.T; second edition in Madrid 1824).Press of I. Sancho.
(1799) Ignacio Garcia
Malo. “Prólogo del traductor ” in Samuel Richardson.
He translates “Pamela Andrews
o la virtud premiada”( second
edition. Madrid)Real press.
Paginas de referencia:
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/6094/1/RAEI_07_14.pdf