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At that time, Mailer was on the threshold of fame, and Malaquais was an
At that time, Mailer was on the threshold of fame, and Malaquais was an
established “French” intellectual. The expatriate, Polish born Malaquais (''né'' Wladimir Jan Pavel Malacki), had settled in France after a long period of wandering in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. A ''flâneur'' before the fact, he presented himself as a kind of intellectual vagabond: “Morally and intellectually I was a tramp, a companion of the dispossessed” (Lennon 100). Such a self-assessment certainly would have appealed to the anti-establishment Mailer, as it had to the French intellectual community. Fifteen years Mailer’s senior, Malaquais had learned much the hard way. Mailer, uncharacteristically self-effacing,remarked that “Malaquais had more influence on my mind than anyone I ever knew from the time we had gotten well acquainted while he was translating “''The Naked and the Dead''” (Lennon 101).
established “French” intellectual. The expatriate, Polish born Malaquais (''né'' Wladimir Jan Pavel Malacki), had settled in France after a long period of wandering in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. A ''flâneur'' before the fact, he presented himself as a kind of intellectual vagabond: “Morally and intellectually I was a tramp, a companion of the dispossessed” {{sfn|Lennon|2013|p=100}}. Such a self-assessment certainly would have appealed to the anti-establishment Mailer, as it had to the French intellectual community. Fifteen years Mailer’s senior, Malaquais had learned much the hard way. Mailer, uncharacteristically self-effacing, remarked that “Malaquais had more influence on my mind than anyone I ever knew from the time we had gotten well acquainted while he was translating “''The Naked and the Dead''” {{sfn|Lennon|2013|p=101}}


By any reckoning, Malaquais had to be one of the most intelligent and fascinating people the young Norman had ever met. Primarily an autodidact, Malaquais came from a learned family: his father was a Classicist and his mother was a musician, but having left home at the age of seventeen, Malaquais had to earn his living doing manual labor and read and study on his own. Without knowing it, he had followed the educational precepts of Michel de Montaigne (1539–1592) in that he traveled before settling down to reading, books and all that is meant by “education.”
By any reckoning, Malaquais had to be one of the most intelligent and fascinating people the young Norman had ever met. Primarily an autodidact, Malaquais came from a learned family: his father was a Classicist and his mother was a musician, but having left home at the age of seventeen, Malaquais had to earn his living doing manual labor and read and study on his own. Without knowing it, he had followed the educational precepts of Michel de Montaigne (1539–1592) in that he traveled before settling down to reading, books and all that is meant by “education.”
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The French language has plenty of words considered “indecent,”“taboo,” and “vulgar,” and all were allowed in the French translation. As might be expected, Malaquais takes full advantage of the opportunity to use them. This freedom represents an exercise in revenge on American publishers, American mores, and their complicit hypocrisy that Mailer and Malaquais must have relished.
The French language has plenty of words considered “indecent,”“taboo,” and “vulgar,” and all were allowed in the French translation. As might be expected, Malaquais takes full advantage of the opportunity to use them. This freedom represents an exercise in revenge on American publishers, American mores, and their complicit hypocrisy that Mailer and Malaquais must have relished.


That is not to say that no one objected to the rough vocabulary in the book. André Maurois, in his Preface to the French edition, mentions this aspect of the book when he describes ''The Naked and the Dead'' as “difficult, unpleasant sometimes irritating” just before he adds “but unforgettable” (Fuchs 184). Maurois comments that upon publication of the novel in England (note that it is England and not France where the problems arise) “some legions of decency were alarmed and attempted to have the book banned” (Fuchs 184). The Attorney General of England denied that demand on the grounds that “The intention to corrupt was absent and the quality of the work justified its tone” (Fuchs ). Maurois also stresses that “the brutal and obscene” nature of the characters was “inevitable” and resembles the way French soldiers behaved and spoke in a novel written about the Dunkirk invasion, which had won the prestigious Prix Goncourt1 (Fuchs 184).
That is not to say that no one objected to the rough vocabulary in the book. André Maurois, in his Preface to the French edition, mentions this aspect of the book when he describes ''The Naked and the Dead'' as “difficult, unpleasant sometimes irritating” just before he adds “but unforgettable” {{sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=184}}. Maurois comments that upon publication of the novel in England (note that it is England and not France where the problems arise) “some legions of decency were alarmed and attempted to have the book banned” {{sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=184}}. The Attorney General of England denied that demand on the grounds that “The intention to corrupt was absent and the quality of the work justified its tone” {{sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=184}}. Maurois also stresses that “the brutal and obscene” nature of the characters was “inevitable” and resembles the way French soldiers behaved and spoke in a novel written about the Dunkirk invasion, which had won the prestigious Prix Goncourt1 {{sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=184}}.


First, the vocabulary needs to be examined. There are three verbs in French that all mean “to fuck”: “''baiser''”, “''foutre'',” “''enculer'',” and “''s’enculer''” (the reflexive form of “''enculer''”).
First, the vocabulary needs to be examined. There are three verbs in French that all mean “to fuck”: “''baiser''”, “''foutre'',” “''enculer'',” and “''s’enculer''” (the reflexive form of “''enculer''”).
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“''Baiser''” as a noun is innocuous and simply means a “kiss” (''le baiser''); over time, starting about in the Sixteenth Century, it came to mean sexual intercourse and is not used in polite conversation; “''foutre''” as a noun means “sperm” but as a verb it means the same as “''baiser''”; “''enculer''” also means the same as “''baiser''” but it has two extra added attractions: it refers to anal sex with “''cul''” as its root, which means “ass” and used reflexively, it can mean something you do to yourself, or something you can tell others to do to themselves. All three verbs, in one form or another, are used in Chapter 1 of the novel.
“''Baiser''” as a noun is innocuous and simply means a “kiss” (''le baiser''); over time, starting about in the Sixteenth Century, it came to mean sexual intercourse and is not used in polite conversation; “''foutre''” as a noun means “sperm” but as a verb it means the same as “''baiser''”; “''enculer''” also means the same as “''baiser''” but it has two extra added attractions: it refers to anal sex with “''cul''” as its root, which means “ass” and used reflexively, it can mean something you do to yourself, or something you can tell others to do to themselves. All three verbs, in one form or another, are used in Chapter 1 of the novel.


Then, there are nouns that are vulgar and essential to the narrative: one is derived from the verb “''enculer''”: “''l’enculé''” and means “asshole”; the men refer to “''les enculés''” several times. Gallagher uses the verb when referring angrily to how many times Levy is shuffling the cards (think of the motion of card shuffling and the link becomes clear): Gallagher screams, “''Arrête de les enculer et qu’on joue'',” to Mailer’s, “Let’s stop shuffling the fuggers and start playing” (7&21).2
Then, there are nouns that are vulgar and essential to the narrative: one is derived from the verb “''enculer''”: “''l’enculé''” and means “asshole”; the men refer to “''les enculés''” several times. Gallagher uses the verb when referring angrily to how many times Levy is shuffling the cards (think of the motion of card shuffling and the link becomes clear): Gallagher screams, “''Arrête de les enculer et qu’on joue'',” to Mailer’s, “Let’s stop shuffling the fuggers and start playing” (7 & 21).2


Another noun,“''con'',” which is the same as the “c” word in English, is used as “pussy” when Wilson talks about the woman, the wife of a friend, with whom he had repeated sex, which he thoroughly enjoyed. However, “''con''” is one of the most commonly used curse words in French. It is also used as an adjective and means “stupid” in an obscene way: “''ilest con''” could mean “he’s fucking stupid.” The second advantage that the French translation provides over English is the use of the familiar form of the verb, the second person singular: “''tu''”; it is most appropriate in the situation the characters in Chapter 1 are in, as well as throughout the novel.
Another noun,“''con'',” which is the same as the “c” word in English, is used as “pussy” when Wilson talks about the woman, the wife of a friend, with whom he had repeated sex, which he thoroughly enjoyed. However, “''con''” is one of the most commonly used curse words in French. It is also used as an adjective and means “stupid” in an obscene way: “''ilest con''” could mean “he’s fucking stupid.” The second advantage that the French translation provides over English is the use of the familiar form of the verb, the second person singular: “''tu''”; it is most appropriate in the situation the characters in Chapter 1 are in, as well as throughout the novel.
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The solemnity and the elegiac tone of the passage resonate in both languages. Despite the movement implied in the scene to come, there is a profound silence that is echoed in the chapter that follows, in many ways by the men themselves, even those who speak and wake others. The mood is sober and silent in the convoy as conveyed so well by Red’s thoughts—as he is all alone on deck.
The solemnity and the elegiac tone of the passage resonate in both languages. Despite the movement implied in the scene to come, there is a profound silence that is echoed in the chapter that follows, in many ways by the men themselves, even those who speak and wake others. The mood is sober and silent in the convoy as conveyed so well by Red’s thoughts—as he is all alone on deck.
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
1. ''Weekend in Zuydcoote'' by Robert Merrill won the Prix Goncourt in 1948.
2. The first page number refers to the page in the English edition; the second page number refers to the page in the French edition.
3. In modern English usage(except for the Quakers)the second person singular,“thou”is not used; however, it still occurs in prayers: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with '''thee''', blessed art '''thou''' . . .”.; poetry; Shakespeare; and the Bible.
===Works Cited===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Fuchs |first=Jeanne. |date=2017 |title=''The Mailer Review, Vol. 11'' Translation of Preface by André Maurois in French edition |pages=183-187 |ref=harv }}
* {{cite book |last=Lennon |first= Michael J. |date= 2013|title=''Norman Mailer: A Double Life'' |publisher=Simon & Schuster |ref=harv }}
* {{cite book |last=Mailer |first=Norman. |date=1950 |title=''Les Nus et les Morts'' Translated by Jean Malaquais |publisher=Albin Michel |ref=harv }}
* {{cite book |last=Mailer |first=Norman. |date=1998 |title=''The Naked and the Dead'' |publisher=Henry Holt |ref=harv }}
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
{{sfn|Lennon|2013|p=100}}
{{sfn|Lennon|2013|p=101}}
{{sfn|Fuchs|2017|p=184}}
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