Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1 Department of English, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
2 Department of History, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
1. Introduction
The translation of literary works in Iran has always been subject to social and political conditions, intellectual tendencies, and dominant ideologies of the related historical period. Hence, in each period the translators were inclined to translate specific literary works according to the beliefs and viewpoint of a distinguished political and social group. Thus, the translated literary works of each period have general characteristics originating from the cultural and social-political conditions and the dominant intellectual beliefs (Mirabedini, 1987, vol. 1, pp. 13-14). One of the most important and famous periods whose social and political events have influenced cultural and intellectual changes is the period between 1941 and 1953 (i.e. during Tudeh Party and the leftist ideology dominance). From the beginning of its dominance in 1941, Tudeh Party paid so much attention to translation and it trained the best Iranian intellectuals such as translators; therefore, from 1941 onwards most of the translators of literary works were from political intellectuals and the leftists played an effective role in translation (Amir faryar, 2001, p. 70). Therefore, in the present research an attempt has been made to investigate the influences of Tudeh Party and the leftist ideology on the selection of literary works for translation without any prejudice. To this end, the translated literary works published from 1941 to 1953 were analyzed. The results showed that more than half of the works selected for translation could be placed in one of the following three categories: socialist realistic works, the leftist writers' works, and realistic works.
2. Methodology
The research framework for analyzing the data is the visible and invisible concepts of the leftist ideology according to which the translated literary works published from 1941 to 1953 were analyzed. According to the list of the printed translated books from the beginning to 1991collected by Islamic Researches Foundation of Astan Quds, these works are 260 literary works from the literatures of considered countries during this period. Therefore, first, the literary works corresponding to the visible and invisible concepts of the leftist ideology are categorized by the investigation of the translators' introductions and the theories of literary researchers who introduce the writers' background and the subject and content of their works. Then, further evidence would be found about the works corresponding to the leftist ideology by selecting the most important literary works from each categories and applying Leo lowenthal's theory of sociology of literature (1948) to it.
3. Discussion
The investigation of the list of printed translated books from the beginning to 1991 showed that during the period between 1941 and 1953, the translation of literary works from Russia, France, Germany, England, and finally America along with the literature of South America and Eastern Europe was respectively taken into consideration by the translators of that period. By studying the translators' introductions and the theories of literary researchers who introduce the writers' background and the content of their works, common obvious and unobvious points between different writers and their works are understood, and this is due to the specific political conditions of that period. In this way, the writers and the works that correspond to the leftist ideology are classified.
Since the visible concepts of the leftist thinking are found in socialist realistic works in an ideological, propagandistic and biased way, this doctrine was taken into a great consideration by the members of Tudeh Party and the translators were naturally inclined to translate some works from this doctrine under the influence of Tudeh Party. Therefore, 37 works from Gorky, Sholokhov, Ostrovsky, and Chernyshevsky were translated, which formed 14 percent of the whole translated literary works during that period.
In addition, during the period between 1941 and 1953 the translation of the other leftist writers' literary works in which the visible concepts of the leftist thinking could be found was developed by Tudeh Party's members and translators (Mirabedini, 2013, p. 93). Therefore, 46 works from France, London, Ehrenburg, Shaw, Barbusse, Aragon, Laffitte, Fuchik, Tressell, Amado, Saghers, Steinbeck, and Voynich were translated, which formed 17 percent of the whole translated literary works during that period.
The translation of realistic works was also impressively developed during these years. These works are not necessarily considered as leftist works, but they were taken into consideration by the translators of that period, because they have common characteristics with the leftist thinking according to their social criticism about the current condition and also the negation and change of it. Therefore, 67 works from Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Twain, Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, Dickens, Hemingway, Gogol, and Lermontov were translated, which formed 25 percent of the whole translated literary works during that period.
4. Conclusion
During the period between 1941 and 1953, the translators, who were influenced by Tudeh Party and the leftist ideology in different ways, became active in the process of the translation of books, and they were inclined to translate the literary works corresponding to the leftist thinking. Therefore, the investigation of the translated literary works during this period showed that from 260 translated literary works, 150 works (i.e. more than half of the translated literary works [57%]) were somehow in the realm of leftist thinking or had common characteristics with it. It is found that the translators and the selection of literary works for translation were influenced by Tudeh Party and the leftist ideology in one of the most important historical periods. This is an important issue, because it showed that the selection of an important part of the literary works for translation was influenced by the dominant leftist thinking. Therefore, in addition to the widespread and impressive influence of Tudeh Party on Iranian intellectuals and translators, the direct influence of the leftist ideology on the selection of literary works for translation can be confirmed.
Keywords
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