Reading Machado through the looking-glass: Case studies from the translations of memórias póstumas

Abstract

For the past few decades, Anglophones have had access to three different translations of the Memórias póstumas de Brás Cubas. Rather than muddying the waters, the divergences to be found between these versions of the novel may prove a fruitful entry into the text for scholars working in both languages. This paper provides a series of case studies from the translations of the novel, illustrating how a reading of the English versions allows us, the readers of Machado's readers, to map ambiguities and intertextual references.