Gender in Translation: The Handmaid’s Tale in Greek

Abstract

The study explores the representation of women in two Greek translation versions (1990, 2018) of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale. Drawing upon feminist theories of language and translation, and feminist practices in translation, the study critically examines how female identities are shaped in the Greek versions, to elucidate translator decision-making. The data show that the 1990 translator seems to have the tendency to neutralize female power, by raising religious connotations in shaping them, whereas the 2018 translator enforces the representation of powerful female identities, through items which highlight their power. Respondents confirmed the findings of the study through a questionnaire asking them to identify the powerful female representation, thus verifying that the second translation takes a more feminist translation approach, critically adjusting the representation of female identities. The significance of the study lies in that it shows the potential of discourse and translation to reshape identities and perpetuate or resist intended ideologies.

Appendix: Representation of Female Figures

1.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

The following extracts are from the two Greek translations of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid's Tale. It is narrated by Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, a dystopian version of the United States of America after the takeover of a totalitarian regime. Due to heavy pollution and radiation, fertility issues are common, and most women are unable to conceive. As one of the few fertile women in Gilead, Offred is forced to produce children for the Commanders, the ruling class of men and their Wives. Aunts are in charge of training and indoctrinating the Handmaids.

Please read the following extracts to identify the translation that you believe offers a more powerful representation of female figure(s).

PLEASE CIRCLE_Sex: Male/Female, Age: 20–25/ 25–30.

• 1. The Handmaids always travel in pairs when outside. Offred does her shopping with Ofglen, another Handmaid when they encounter a group of Japanese tourists and their interpreter.

  ST - Ofglen stops beside me and I know that she too cannot take her eyes off these women

  • Η Τουγκλέν κοντοστέκεται πλάι μου και ξέρω ότι και αυτή τρώει με τα μάτια της τις γυναίκες.

  • Η τέτοια του Γκλέν σταματάει δίπλα μου και το ξέρω ότι και εκείνη αδυνατεί να αποσύρει τα μάτια της απ’ αυτές τις γυναίκες.

  Please provide a short explanation of your choice.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

• 2. The Commander’s wife sits in her garden and knits constantly. All the Wives knit scarves for the soldiers at the frontlines.

  ST - Maybe it’s just something to keep the Wives busy, to give them a sense of purpose.

  • Μία λύση, να ‘χουν με τι ν΄ απασχολούνται οι Γαμετές, ορρός αυταπάτης που διαθέτουν λόγο ύπαρξης.

  • Μπορεί να ναι απλώς κάτι για να περνούν οι Σύζυγοι την ώρα τους, για να χουν ένα αίσθημα σκοπού.

  Please provide a short explanation of your choice.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

• 3. Offred likes to remember her former life. She recalls talking to her college friend, Moira, in her dorm room and her reaction for dating a married man.

  ST - She said I was poaching, on another woman’s ground.

  • Είπε, καταπατούσα τα οικόπεδα άλλης γυναίκας.

  • Με έλεγε λαθροθήρα, ότι κυνηγούσα στα εδάφη άλλης γυναίκας.

  Please provide a short explanation of your choice.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

• 4. Τhe voice of Aunt Lydia rings in Offred’s head, insisting that women are better off in Gilead, free from exploitation and violence, than they were in the dangerous freedom of pre-Gilead times.

  ST - What you must be, girls, is impenetrable.

  • Και εσείς κορίτσια, πρέπει να είστε αδιαπέραστες σε κάθε διείσδυση.

  • Ένα το χρέος σας κορίτσια: να μείνετε άδυτο άβατο.

  Please provide a short explanation of your choice.

  ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you!