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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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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” {{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 Goncourt | 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 Goncourt {{efn|''Weekend in Zuydcoote'' by Robert Merrill won the Prix Goncourt in 1948.}} {{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''”). | ||