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The Mailer Review/Volume 13, 2019/Mailer in Translation: The Naked and the Dead: Difference between revisions
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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) | 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) {{efn|The first page number refers to the page in the English edition; the second page number refers to the page in the French edition.}} | ||
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. | ||