Translation, re-translation, and the reception of Arabic literature in English: The case of Ahlam Mostaghenami’s novel Chaos of the senses

Abstract

The current study compares the two translations of Ahlam Mostaghenami’s second novel Fawda Al-Hawas into English as Chaos of the Senses by (Baria Ahmar Sreih, 2004) and Chaos of the Senses by (Nancy Roberts, 2015) and examines the reception of both translations in the English-speaking communities where they were circulated. The study seeks to find out answers to questions about: the reasons for retranslating Fawda Al-Hawas after a relatively short period of time after its first translation, the roles of human agents such as the author, translators, and publishers in the production and reception of the two translations of Fawda Al-Hawas, how the retranslation tried to avoid previous problems, if any, that hindered the circulation of the first translation, the role of paratexts in the reception of the two translations. The study draws on major concepts form reception theory as adopted by (Brown, 1994) in her study of Latin American novels published in West Germany. Specifically, the current study draws a close comparison of the paratexts associated with the two translations of Mostaghenami’s Fawda Al-Hawasas well as the roles of stakeholders. The study concludes that despite the use of more paratextual elements as well as textual improvements in the retranslation, it has not shown better results in terms of reception and circulation.