THE TRANSLATION OF KAFKA
A fragment of the second Polish translation of Kafka’s “The Trial” by poet and essayist Jakub Ekier, born in 1961 and awarded the Barbara Sadowska’s Prize, was published in “Literatura na Świecie” (“Literature in the World”), no 1-2/2008. Additionally, three articles about the life and work of the German-speaking writer can be found on the pages of the periodical. Their titles are: O niewzruszonej logice „Procesu” (About the Fixed Logic of “The Trial”) by Jakub Ekier, “Franz Kafka” by Klaus Wagenbauch (translated by Andrzej Kopacki) and “The Trial”, That is Lynch (translated by Andrzej Kopacki). The recent translation of “The Trial” and also the articles on the interpretation of the book’s meanings made me reflect one more time on the issues connected with the translator’s job. This time, however, I additionally considered the role the knowledge of the writer’s biography plays in the process of translation. It was noted in the above-mentioned works that there was had been a remarkable development regarding the knowledge of Kafka’s life since 1935 when the first translation of “The Trial” by Józefa Szczelińska (for years believed to be Bruno Schulz’s) had been published. This once again turned my attention to the question of what kind of role in reading the work by successive generations plays careful interpretation, which consequently helps the readers to understand both themselves and the literature itself.
The ‘fusion’ of translation and interpretation creates the illusion of reliability. Such fusion is necessary, however, at times there is a tendency to treat it with neglect. That is why I consider these recent translations from a critical point of view. I am not under the influence of nicely-sounding texts, I do not omit the analysis of details and my attention is mainly drawn by the intensity of dialogs and the richness of descriptions. What also amplifies the caution and reserve is the relationship with books, which create ideas, are of great importance and which inspire not only individuals but also whole generations. The question “What do we need the new translation of ‘The Trial’ for?” is not so much as naive, as it is elementary. It leads to considering not only the role Kafka plays for the successive generations of Polish people but also the character of translation itself. Jakub Ekier writes:
“Kafka’s translator faces the contradictions between the author’s radicalism and the rules of his mother tongue; the contradictions between particular meanings carried by certain words, sentences, motifs, scenes or dialogs; but mostly he faces the contradictions between the detail, which is not a revelation, and the whole, which does not get to the core but is compact; which strikes with the logic but doesn’t reveal its laws. Do we see the whole through its parts or is it the other way round? Should we turn to deconstruction of the translation beforehand, or rather to hermeneutics? “The ‘inexhaustible’ Trial” makes us look for balance among these contradictions and turn to a particular interpretation and aesthetics as rarely as possible. It also makes us come back to the text and be aware of every detail, as well as of its purpose”
Therefore the comparison of various, both earlier and more recent translations, is not groundless. What we do notice in it is, first, the simple combination of words and second, the sense of social and historical changes. What we get out of the simple change of words (‘assistant manager’, ‘interrogation’, ‘investigating officer’, ‘courtroom’, ‘notebook’, ‘writer’ or ‘hired assassin’) into ones whose meaning in Polish has negative, totalitarian connotations, is the ground for taking into consideration the cultural question of not treating The Trial like a book that can be understood on its own. It is more like its meanings can be in a way found again in contexts inscribed by the successive readers. Ekier claims that the extension of meanings, which led to identifying Kafka’s vision with the prophecy of totalitarianism was not really the result of an incorrect translation. Rather, it resulted from re-reading the book in various socio-political realities. The connotations of words like ‘investigation’ or ‘interrogation’ changed in the second half of the 20th century and had a great impact on inscribing to Kafka’s book meanings coming not so much from the book itself, but rather from these new contexts. What should be done now is, in fact, a careful re-discovery of these meanings.
The task of the new translations is not only to refresh the text but also to free it from the associations with freely functioning key words, which enable us to over-interpret. Re-interpretation, which has been changing the original sense more and more, has to reach its end and free itself from such secondary contexts. Jakub Ekier writes that “this attempt to exclude the analysis not intended by the author is not yet an interpretation. It is only one of many decisions in the area of semantics, though this semantics is hard to get hold of.” The subtle matter of language, on which a translator works, is not shapeless. With regard to semantics, symbolism, syntax and narration, the translated text functions in a precisely defined area. One should consistently grasp its contents and do not let oneself translate freely. It is therefore important that a translator’s preface was published in the “Literature in the World” beside the new translation of The Trial. In the preface, the translator justifies his choices which in turn reflect the ideas of the two experts on Kafka’s life and literary work, namely Reiner Stach and Klaus Wagenbach. The first of them, who penned the biography Kafka, Die Jahre der Entscheidungen (published in 2002), shows the greatness of The Trial, a novel in which Kafka revealed his writing techniques. Stach also points to the extent to which the book draws its vitality from the author’s life. Klaus Wagenbach is the founder of Verlag Klaus Wagenbach publishing house and the author of a few essays on the life and work of Kafka. In the extract from the writer’s monograph published in “Literature in the World” he points out just how strong the connection between Kafka’s life and his literary work was. The “groundwork” enabling Kafka to write was, in fact, the effect of the atmosphere during the moments of his life in which his emotional state was noticeable in his wordplays and literary images.
When translating Kafka into Polish a translator faces an extremely delicate matter. To all, who love the author of the The Trial I can recommend this short rendez-vous with the writer and his creative work, as well as a critical essay on the two subjects included in the above-mentioned “Literature in the World.” The durability of literary work is ruled by the logic of recalling.
Lidia Koszkało
Translated by Marta Barton
Discussed journals: Literatura na Świecie