Uncovering the hidden actors with the help of Latour: the ‘making’ of The Second Sex

Abstract

This paper seeks to respond to current and on-going criticism of the first and only English translation of Simone de Beauvoir's Le deuxième sexe. It reconsiders the translator-publisher dynamic by applying Bruno Latour's sociological framework in order to arrive at more detailed and comprehensive conclusions. After briefly presenting the publication, reception, and the criticism of the English translation, this paper investigates into the case study with the help of Latour and the letters from the Smith College Archives. The study was based on the reading of historical documents B more than a hundred letters between the translator, Howard M. Parshley, and the publishing house, Alfred A. Knopf. A brief overview of Latour's Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is presented and then followed by two examples of application of the theoretical framework. The paper concludes by insisting that the involvement of multiple actors and their influence on translation products should receive more attention when considering the work of translators.