Italian Literature: Filling in the Blanks of its Slovak Translations

Abstract

In this scientific monograph, it is precisely the relationship of ideology and translation, particularly on the axis of Italian literature – Slovak receptive environment (Slovak culture), that is being explored by means of literary translation. This monograph is divided into five logically organized chapters (plus introduction and conclusion) which, in our opinion, reflect the relationship concerned. The first chapter deals with the relation between literature and censorship, i.e. the one which determined development of both Slovak original literature and translation literature between 1948–1989. The second chapter tackles translation of Italian neo-realist works from its original support to its ideological and political rejection by the Slovak cultural circles. The third chapter points out the problematic cases that blocked penetration of experimental forms from Italian literature into Slovak translated literature. The fourth chapter describes the relationship between the state and religious literature (particularly of Catholic and Jewish provenience). The final chapter analyses the relationship of literary translation and so-called moral reasons, as certain topics were considered ethically unacceptable and thus unsuitable for translation. This monograph covers the post-war period since 1945 whereas the dominant ideological, social, and political determinants, which had influenced literary and non-literary developments, were the events of 1948 in Czechoslovakia. Emphasis is also put on the year 1989, an indicator of the latter-day social and political changes. It was after 1989 when institutional censorship was eliminated, and publishing based on liberal and democratic principles could have started. In this manner, several essential works blacklisted for political and ideological reasons before 1989 were finally translated and delivered to the Slovak public. A typical feature of the new receptive situation, in terms of filling in the blanks after 1989, is additional, belated incorporation of selected literary phenomena, i.e. the authors previously excluded from the linear model of development for ideological reasons, into the receptive context. Unfortunately, additional incorporation is a mechanical process, rather than a spontaneous one.