ISSN: 1579-9794
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in
José Donoso’s El lugar sin límites
Traduciendo el transgénero: el inglés llevado al límite en El
lugar sin límites de José Donoso
MARKO JULIO MILETICH
miletimj@buffalostate.edu
Buffalo State University
Fecha de recepción: 28/01/2021
Fecha de aceptación: 10/11/2021
Abstract: A devastating Sunday in the tumultuous life of a 60-year-old
transvestite, co-owner of a brothel with her/his virgin daughter La
Japonesita, sets up a bloody storyline that takes readers to the Chilean town
of El Olivo through the pen of José Donoso and his seminal work El lugar sin
límites (1966). The novella unravels the internal struggles of the fictional
town dominated by the patriarchal prominent landowner, Alejandro Cruz.
The story provides an account of situations that transpire as a result of the
actions of La Manuela, as s/he moves across traditional constructed
sex/gender boundaries while becoming involved with a hypermasculine
character, Pancho, who wrestles with homoerotic desires. A gendered
reading of this novel takes into consideration the way in which sexual
difference is inscribed discursively in the text, and how the translation into
English by Suzanne Jill Levine’s (Hell Has No Limits, 1995) exposes the
interplay of gender and social control. The analysis conducted in this article
is of a descriptive nature, and it intends to point out decisions taken by the
translator in order to represent the multilayered and flexible gender identities
shown in the Spanish text and how they are rendered into English in order to
portray the fictional characters. A careful analysis of the renditions of key
passages will bring to light the translator’s perceptions of the gendered
ideology within the novel. English is pushed to the limits in order to represent
the sexual identities of this gender-laden Spanish text.
Keywords: Donoso, Femininity, Gender, Masculinity, Translation,
Transgender
Resumen: Un devastador domingo en la tumultuosa vida de un travesti de
60 años, copropietario de un burdel con su hija virgen la Japonesita,
introduce una sangrienta trama que lleva a los lectores a la localidad chilena
de El Olivo a través de la pluma de José Donoso y su transcendental obra
34 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
El lugar sin límites (1966). La novela desentraña las luchas internas del
ficticio pueblo dominado por el prominente terrateniente patriarcal, Alejandro
Cruz. La historia relata las situaciones que suceden como resultado de las
acciones de la Manuela, mientras él/ella se mueve a través de las fronteras
tradicionales construidas por el sexo/género a la vez que se relaciona con
un personaje hipermasculino, Pancho, que trata de controlar sus deseos
homoeróticos. Una lectura con conciencia de género de esta novela toma
en consideración la forma en que la diferencia sexual se inscribe
discursivamente en el texto, y cómo la traducción al inglés de Suzanne Jill
Levine (Hell Has No Limits, 1995) expone la interacción entre el género y el
control social. El análisis que se realiza en este artículo es de carácter
descriptivo, y pretende señalar las decisiones tomadas por la traductora
para representar las multidimensionales y flexibles identidades relacionadas
con el género que se muestran en el texto español y cómo se traducen
estas al inglés para representar los personajes ficticios. Un cuidadoso
análisis de las traducciones de pasajes clave sacará a la luz las
percepciones de la traductora en cuanto a la ideología relacionada con
cuestiones de género en la novela. El inglés es llevado al límite para
representar las identidades sexuales expresadas en este texto en español
tan repleto de cuestiones relacionadas con el género.
Palabras clave: Donoso, feminidad, género, masculinidad, traducción,
transgénero
INTRODUCTION
Novelistic characters constantly serve as stand-ins for humans and
carry with them their gendered fictional selves. The characters in the novella
El lugar sin límites (1966) cannot stop themselves from «doing gender» Like
their human counterparts they constitute their gendered identities through
societal expectations associated with their sex. Gender (for our fictional
characters, and for us humans), then is a performance; «the repeated
stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory
frame that congeal over time to produce the appearance of substance, of a
natural sort of being» (Butler, 1999, pp. 43-44). This performativity becomes
evident as we learn about a voyeur (Alejandro Cruz), an asexual being (La
Japonesita), a tranvestite (La Manuela), and a hypermasculine truck driver
with secret homoerotic tendencies (Pancho).
This article explores the translation into English of El lugar sin límites
by Suzanne Jill Levine, who chose the title Hell Has No Limits
1
. In this novel,
1
There are two translations into English of the novella. One from 1972 which has Hallie D.
Taylor and Suzanne Jill Levine as translators, and one from 1995 where Levine appears as the
Marko Julio Miletich 35
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
gender limits are activated, maintained, imposed, violated, challenged, and
transformed through the use of language by the narrator and different
characters that create, construct, reproduce and undermine different notions
of gender.
The analysis conducted in this article is of a descriptive nature, and it
intends to point out decisions taken by the translator in order to represent
the multilayered and flexible identities shown in the Spanish text and how
they are rendered into English in order to portray the fictional characters. A
careful analysis of the renditions of key passages will bring to light the
translator’s perceptions of the gendered ideology embedded in the novel.
1. AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR BACKGROUNDS
José Donoso is one of Latin America's leading fiction writers. He was
born on September 25, 1924, in Santiago, Chile into an upper-class family of
professionals (several family members were lawyers and doctors). In 1949
he obtained a fellowship that brought him to Princeton. While living in the
United States he published two short stories: «The Poisoned Pastries» and
«The Blue Woman
2
». His most famous work is El obsceno pájaro de la
noche (The Obscene Bird of Night). In 1972 he published his personal
history of the Latin American «Boom»
3
. He later participated in theater and
film projects inspired by his novels and short stories. In 1990, he received
Chile’s National Literature Award. From 1990 onwards, he wrote five
voluminous novels. He died on December 7, 1996, in Santiago, Chile. José
Donoso's literary style is characterized by his expressive depiction of the
realities of life, including his own. Donoso’s works showcase themes related
to humankind while highlighting the characteristics of the society of his time.
«Donoso's characters emerge from three distinct social classes: the senile
aristocracy, the manipulative maids and the amoral pariahs of society»
(Martínez, 1975, p. 250). The topics of violence, inequality, and intolerance
abound in his works. Although Donoso uses simple and precise language,
his works display a remarkable depth, creativity, and originality.
Suzanne Jill Levine is a Distinguished Research Professor at
University of California Santa Barbara. She is a renowned translator of
sole translator. Apart from a few lexical choices, the translations are very similar. I will be using
the 1995 version. A film based on the novella was made in 1977 (Ripstein, Director,
CONACITE-2, 1977), but I will not be discussing it.
2
Donoso’s first publications were two short stories in English. «The Poisoned Pastries»
narrates a childhood memory regarding some alleged poisoned pastries, while «The Blue
Woman» describes the experiences of a young woman after a nose job.
3
The «Boom» refers to the period in Latin American literature throughout the 1960s and the
early seventies in which several Latin American writers achieved international acclaim for their
work.
36 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
prominent Latin American writers such as Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Julio
Cortázar, Carlos Fuentes, Manuel Puig, José Donoso, Adolfo Bioy Casares,
and, most recently, Silvina Ocampo. She has written several books about
translation such as The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American
Fiction (1991; 2009), Manuel Puig and the Spiderwoman: His Life and
Fictions (2000, 2002). Through her extensive career as a translator, Levine
has chosen to translate mostly men and those at the outer limits of society;
for her «the most important Latin American writers traditionally were men,
the ones who principally have been promoted. But as I explain in my book
[The Subversive Scribe], those I translated [José Donoso, Guillermo Cabrera
Infante, Manuel Puig] were actually rather marginal» (Guzmán, 2009). Her
translation style reflects not only the choice of authors she translates, but the
way she transforms their texts into English. She explains: «Far from the
traditional view of translators as servile nameless scribes, the literary
translator can be considered a subversive scribe. Something is destroyed —
the form of the original— but meaning is reproduced through another form. A
translation in this light becomes a continuation of the original, which already
always alters the reality is intended to recreate» (Levine, 1991, pp. 7-8).
Levine practices a target-oriented translation approach by rendering a target
text that follows conventional uses of the target language and culture.
Although her translations maintain the same register and sociolect created
by the authors she translates, she often actively intervenes and appropriates
the foreign text with a specific objective in mind, usually to highlight issues
regarding gender and male chauvinism.
2.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This translation analysis utilizes the theoretical framework of
Descriptive Translation Studies (Toury, 1995). It involves a comparison of a
source text and a target text in order to identify the relationships that exist
between corresponding segments
4
. Selected target-text segments will be
analyzed rather than the whole text. These segments are compared to
analyze the translational choices made by the translator regarding the
representations of femininities and masculinities that appear in this Spanish
text. The analysis will also examine the translation strategies used when
considering the structural or metalinguistic (irony, sarcasm) differences
between languages. It will highlight specific cases when changes (often
4
Toury refers to these segments as coupled pairs.
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Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
known as shifts
5
), in the syntactic order or the number and type of words
produced in the target text differ from the source text.
The translational choices are then examined to analyze the renditions
into English of the Spanish text, concentrating primarily on the
representations of femininities and masculinities. The shifts in the translation
will be pointed out and discussed both at the semantic and/or syntactic
levels to determine differences that may reflect the translator’s appreciations
of the representations of gender in the target texts when compared with the
source text. There will also be instances where grammatical gender will be
examined, since «English nouns are not regularly inflected to distinguish
between feminine and masculine» (Baker, 2011, p. 99). A careful
examination of the English source text will shed light on the choices taken by
the translator and how her decisions may affect the reading of the text in
English.
3. HELL HAS NO LIMITS
Levine’s overall translation of the novella can be said to be considered
an idiomatic translation, which generally means producing a target text that
conforms to the conventions of the target language usage and utilizes
expressions commonly used by native speakers of the target text. In other
words, a translation that reads well in English. Unfortunately, (as it is usually
the case for most translated works) the reviews of the novella in English do
not describe the translation in detail. Using Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean
Darbelnet’s translation procedures (1995), this analysis will examine
Levine’s translations of several translated passages.
3.1. Title
A literal translation of the Spanish title would be The Place without
Limits/The Limitless Place. Levine choses Hell Has No Limits, taken from a
line from a fragment of Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus that Donoso uses
as an epigraph for the novella
6
. Levine uses a strategy she has used before
when translating titles of other novels; for example, the Spanish title for one
of Manuel Puig's novels is Boquitas pintadas, which in English appears as
Heartbreak Tango: A Serial. The title in Spanish is taken from an epigraph (a
quotation of tango lyrics in one part of the book [Third Installment]). Levine’s
translation of the title comes from another epigraph from another part of the
5
The shifts discussed will be non-obligatory shifts, which are determined by literary or cultural
considerations as opposed to obligatory shifts, which are necessary changes due to linguistic
aspects of languages (Toury, 1995, pp. 57, 118, 173)
6
The Tragic Story of Doctor Faust, or simply Doctor Faust, is a play written by Christopher
Marlowe, possibly in 1592, based on the legend of Faust, in which a man sells his soul to the
devil in order to gain power and knowledge.
38 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
book [the Fourth Episode]). Levine explains her translatorial decision: «The
translation responds not only to the author's context but, most urgently, to its
potential reader» (Levine, 1989, p. 31). Levine uses the words from the
epigraph to further underline the hellish life characters experience in a
forsaken Chilean town.
3.2. Transgendering
I will consider La Manuela a transgender character as opposed to a
gay one. Some critics prefer to use the term homosexual in reference to this
type of character (Foster, 1991)
7
. My decision stems from the definition of
transgender provided by Wendy McKenna and Suzanne Kessler as
someone who decides to change their «social gender through the public
presentation of self, without recourse to genital transformation» (2008, p.
480). La Manuela, then, will be considered transgender character as well as
queer which is often defined as «a way of denying the normalcy of
heterosexuality by blurring the gay/straight binary opposition and celebrating
the plurality of responses that are made available». (Pilcher & Whelehan,
2004, p. 75).
The novella starts featuring the main character, La Manuela, right
away. She appears as a migrant being, s/he comes from somewhere else,
and is sheltered in the brothel (of which she will become co-owner), in her
role as a transvestite, dancer/ prostitute. S/he is, however, a nomadic
subject, the circumstances of her life have led her to be constantly on the
move in many towns, from Talca to El Olivo, from a primitive and assigned
masculinity, to performing Manuela in her red flamenco dress.
La Manuela despegó con dificultad sus ojos lagañosos, se estiró
apenas y volcándose
hacia el lado opuesto de donde dormía la Japonesita, alargó la mano
para tomar el reloj. Cinco para las diez. Misa de once. (11)
8
La Manuela forced open her bleary eyes, stretched briefly and,
twisting away from the
sleeping Japonesita, reached for the clock. Five to ten. Eleven o’clock
mass. (7)
9
7
Both Jos Donoso 's 1966 novel El lugar sin límites and Manuel Puig's 1976 novel El beso de
la mujer araña have biologically male protagonists that identify themselves as «women,» but
are referred to as homosexual by Foster.
8
The numbers in parenthesis indicate the page number(s) form the Spanish text that appears in
References.
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Notice that the Spanish text has 36 words while the English text has
26. Levine uses reduction as a semantic adjustment strategy and for the
sake of readability. She eliminates «lado opuesto» (opposite side), probably
because it is understood and not considered necessary to relay the textual
image. She also uses a translation technique known as «borrowing»
10
, when
she uses the name in Spanish. Although proper names are often not
translated in literary texts, I will consider this a borrowing since it
incorporates a foreign word with the article «la». The objectification of the
name with the definite article is not as clear in the English and it is all
together eliminated for the daughter Japonesita, probably for the sake of
legibility. In fact, the names of all the women of the brothel use the definite
article before their names in the Spanish text. Discrimination against women
in our society is a phenomenon that has many manifestations. One of them
is in language. In spontaneous speeches, on numerous occasions, in
Spanish, women are often usually named by adding the definite article
before the noun that designates them; on the contrary, with men this
procedure is not used as much (Aliaga-Rovira, et al., 2020, p. 225).
This apparent difference in the treatment of the noun can be
understood to be related to an underlying view of women that is closer to the
category of 'object' than to that of 'person', inasmuch as the use of the article
or other determinant before noun is regulated only for common nouns, which
largely refer to objects. (Aliaga-Rovira, et al., 2020, p. 230). A footnote may
have helped the English reader become aware of this nuance, but Levine
does not use footnotes in her translation probably not to distract readers.
The first night at El Olivo La Manuela is chased out of the whorehouse
and carried through the edge of town. She ends up being thrown into the
water of a canal. Her dressed has been ripped off and s/he stands naked in
front of all the people present. Everyone is amazed at the size of the genitals
they observed.
Donoso opens with a reference to an animal (burro/donkey) which is
usually used to describe the size of the male organ (in English we also use
the expression he is hung like a horse).
—¡Qu burro...!
—Mira que est bien armado...
—Psstt, si éste no parece maricn.
9
Note the numbers in parenthesis indicate the page number(s) form the English text that
appears in References.
10
A translation procedure where a word or expression from the source text is used in the target
text (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, pp. 31-32)
40 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
—Que no te vean las mujeres, que se van a enamorar.
La Manuela, tiritando, contest con una carcajada.
—Si este aparato no me sirve nada más que para hacer pip. (78-79)
«What a stud»
«Hey, this guy’s well hung…»
«Wow, that doesn’t look like a fag to me.»
«Don’t let them see that or they’ll fall in love with you.»
La Manuela, teeth chattering, answered with a laugh.
«I only use this thing to pee.» (82)
Being well-endowed is often associated with being a virile and
masculine heterosexual male. A large penis it is often times seen as
synonymous with manhood, which makes it «an object of intense adoration,
the symbol of absolute power and satisfaction. It is the source of the
macho’s self-assurance and control, sexual and psychological, and the envy
of Hispanic women» (Stavans, 1995, p. 52). The translator is well aware that
queer characters reflect a particular sexuality that is very often textually
marked, so as Alberto Mira describes in «Pushing the Limits of Faithfulness:
A Case for Gay Translation», it becomes relevant to «be able to read the
signifiers in an informed way, and more importantly, to be able to transfer
them to a different culture» (1999, p. 111).
Levine is no stranger to this textual marking as she uses a slang term
«stud» (short for «studhorse», which is a stallion kept for breeding). The
euphemism in Spanish (he is well equipped) is much more visible in the
English «well hung», meaning with large genitals. The translator is using a
procedure known as equivalence
11
; her translation creates a stronger image
that describes a more explicit sexual connotation.
Levine finds a different way to objectify the penis (using thing instead
of the Spanish apparatus) The last line, which in Spanish has 12 words in
English has 7. Levine again uses reduction without losing any of the
meaning, again for the sake of readability.
11
A translation procedure which replicates the same situation with different wording. It is
frequently applied to idioms (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, pp. 38).
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3.3. Virginity
The passage below describes La Japonesita as young girl filled with
contradictions. She is the daughter of La Japonesa Grande (big Japanese
woman) from whom she inherits the brothel. Despite being eighteen years
old, she still does not menstruate. She is thin, ugly and remains a virgin. She
could be seen as an image of virginal femininity, although she seems to be
an asexual being, whose desire does not manage to flourish. She
accumulates money but does not put her libido into the business either. She
is the product of a «bizarre union» (La Manuela, a transvestite father, and
Japonesa, the owner of a brothel), which has a profound influence on her
personality. She is full of ambiguities; owner of a whore house, but cannot
be a whore, repelled by the brutish Pancho, but secretly desiring him. She is
always moving in the dark, with very little light, and always appears to be
cold.
La Japonesita, en cambio, era pura ambigüedad…. Pero si con sus
dieciocho años bien cumplidos ni la regla le llegaba todavía. Era un
fenómeno. Y después decía que no. Que no quería que la anduvieran
mandoneando. Que ya que era dueña de casa de putas mejor sería que ella
también fuera puta. Pero la tocaba un hombre y salía corriendo. Claro que
con esa cara no iba a llegar a mucho. (24-25)
Japonesita, on the other hand, was all ambiguity... And yet here she
is, over eighteen years old and she hasn’t gotten her period yet. Amazing.
And then Japonesita would say no. She didn’t want to be pushed around.
And since she owned a whorehouse she might as well be a whore too. But
let a man touch her and she’d run like mad. Of course, with that face she
didn’t have much choice. (22-23)
Levine here uses amplification
12
when she adds, «And yet here she
is.» She uses that same procedure again when she translates «salía
corriendo» (run out/run away) as «run like mad.» She uses modulation
13
as
she expresses the Spanish «she wouldn’t get far» with «she didn’t have
much choice» which could serve to reinforce the irony of being the ugly girl
in a whorehouse. Levine’s translation of this passage serves to portray the
psychological configuration and repression of the character.
12
A translation procedure where the translator uses more words in the target text than in the
source text to reinforce an idea (Delisle, Lee-Jahnke, & Cormier, 1999, p. 116).
13
A translation procedure where a translator changes the point of view of a source text segment
(Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, pp. 36-37).
42 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
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3.4. Seduction
La Japonesa Grande (Big Japanese) is the first owner of the brothel.
She is pure fire, has a big build, is full of hope, and she is ambitious. She
has an overpowering personality (it is explicit in the sexual act in which she
conceives her daughter with La Manuela). Since she often squints her eyes
due to nearsightedness, she earned the nickname «Japonesa» (Japanese).
She is, like everyone else in the village, under the aegis of Don Alejo
Cruz and her brothel is established as the headquarters of his electoral
campaign. Since she is in charge of a brothel, she is not allowed to fall in
love with any man. She had affairs with Don Alejo in her youth, although now
they have just a friendly relationship. The act of «deflowering» Manuela truly
ignites the character.
After La Manuela has been seen naked, Don Alejo bets La Japonesa
that she cannot excite La Manuela and have sex with him/her. They bet
ownership of the brothel. La Japonesa tries to convince La Manuela to put
on the ultimate performance.
—¿Estás mala de la cabeza, Japonesa, por Dios? ¿No ves que soy
loca perdida? Yo no sé. ¡Cómo se te ocurre una cochinada así! (82)
«Are you crazy, Japonesa, for God’s sake? Can’t you see I’m
hopeless? I don’t get it. How could you think of such a dirty thing?» (86)
Levine here decides not to emphasize the idea of being gay «loca» (a
slang word used to refer to homosexuals) and uses the word «hopeless.»
Her choice appears to reference La Manuela’s continuous attraction to
males, since women are never considered as sexually desirable for the
character. Also, «cochinada» refers to an improper action, which often has a
sexual connotation. Levine uses «dirty thing» which also has a similar
connotation and objectifies the sexual act.
La Japonesa is still trying to convince La Manuela to have sex with
her, saying that is just going to for show (performance) for the benefit of Don
Alejo Cruz who will be watching so they can obtain ownership of the brothel.
Manuela, no tengas miedo al movimiento de las nalgas, de las
caderas, la boca en la boca, como dos mujeres cuando los caballeros en la
casa de la Pecho de Palo les pagan a las putas para que hagan cuadros
plásticos. (104)
Manuela, don’t be afraid of my thighs moving, my hips, my mouth in
yours like two women when the gentlemen in Wooden Heart’s house pay the
whores to let them watch. (110)
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Levine’s translation adopts the possessive (my thighs moving, my
hips, my mouth) when translating into English, since this is the idiomatic way
to refer to body parts in English. She uses explicitation
14
, as well as
modulation, translating «cuadros plásticos» as «let them watch» although
perhaps «tableaux vivants» (a representation of a picture, statue, scene,
etc., by one or more persons suitably costumed and posed) could have been
used; maybe «pornographic tableaux vivants». Nevertheless, Levine
emphasizes the voyeuristic aspect of the scene with her translatorial choice.
It is curious to note that the name of the owner of a rival brothel
(Pecho de Palo) has been translated as «Wooden Heart» substituting chest
(pecho) for heart. The external quality of a person (chest) has been turned
into an internal one (heart). I tend to agree with Sifuentes Jáuregui that
«Pecho de Palo» could mean flat (as a stick/board), probably referring to
being flat chested. Jáuregui, goes even further to state «I am tempted to
speculate that she too was a transvestite» (Sifuentes Jáuregui, 1997, p. 61).
Levine uses the image of a wooden heart to provide the idea of the owner of
the competing brothel as heartless person with no empathy. Suzanne Jill
Levine intentionally shifted the focus from the physical realm to the
emotional one, maybe to give some depth to the character, or to subvert a
depiction that she saw as sexist
15
.
La Japonesa and La Manuela do engage in the sexual act. The scene
presents an upset of binary terms. Between la Japonesa Grande and La
Manuela, limits explode and desire results in an act that nobody imagined
possible. Paradoxically, from this encounter, from this fusion and confusion
of identities, plagued by eroticism, Japonesita will be born; the heiress of the
brothel, an asexual being.
…no, no, t eres la mujer, Manuela, yo soy la macha, ves cómo te
estoy bajando los calzones y cómo te quito el sostén para que tus pechos
queden desnudos y yo gozártelos, s tienes Manuela, no llores, s tienes
pechos, chiquitos como los de una niña, pero tienes y por eso te quiero.
(104)
…no, no, you’re the woman, Manuela, I’m the man, look how I’m
taking off your panties and loosening your brassiere so your breasts will be
14
A translation procedure to make explicit in the target language what is implicit in the source
language. (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, pp. 342)
15
Levine has discussed these types of changes often. In her book The Subversive Scrive (1984)
she examines her translation of Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s La Habana para un infante difunto
(Infante’s Inferno) and argues that her role as translator is not to repeat the sexist model shown
by the narrator of Cabrera Infante’s novel. Levine decides to intervene on some occasions and
subvert, eliminate, soften, or change the sexist views of the male narrator.
44 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
bare and I can play with them, yes you have them Manuela, don’t cry, you
do have breasts. Tiny like a little girl’s, but you have them and that’s why I
love you. (110)
The traditional dichotomous roles of the feminine and the masculine
(in terms of women's passivity and men's sexual aggression) are here
reversed. Levine decides to translate «macha» as «man». «Macha» is the
feminine of the word for macho
16
. Since English does not show
grammaticalized gender the same way as Spanish does, it is difficult to
convey this play on words. The translation avoids the playfulness altogether
and makes it more explicit with the use of the word «man».
La Manuela fantasizes about the moment and identifies as a woman.
Yo soñaba mis senos acariciados, y algo sucedía mientras ella me
decía sí, mijita, yo te estoy haciendo gozar porque yo soy la macha y tú la
hembra, te quiero porque eres todo, y siento el calor de ella que me engulle,
a m, a un yo que no existe, … (104)
I dreamed about my breasts being caressed and something happened
while she was saying, yes little girl, I’m making you like it because I’m the
man and you’re the woman, I love you because you’re everything, and I feel
her heat devouring me, me, a me that does not exist, … (110)
Here again the target text uses «man» instead of the «macha» term.
The Spanish plays with the contrast («macho/hembra» [«male/female»
usually used when referring to the sex of animals]) which Levine translates
as man and woman. Male and female could have been used but it would
have required a bigger change or unusual terms to be introduced (perhaps
male/female, (fe)male, she-male) that could have interfered with the natural
flow of the text. The translation of «mijita» (short form of my little daughter,
which in turn is the affectionate and diminutive way of saying «my daughter»
or «dear») has been translated as «little girl» which also gives an
affectionate tone while maintaining the gender of the person.
During the sex act, Donoso portrays La Manuela’s ejaculation as
bleeding, as a woman may bleed when she has penetrative sex for the first
time because of her hymen breaking. La Manuela never had sex with a
woman before, something that Levine is quick to notice.
…hasta estremecerme y quedar mutilado, desangrndome dentro de
ella mientras ella grita y me aprieta y luego cae, mijito lindo, qu cosa más
rica, hacía tanto tiempo, tanto, y las palabras se disuelven y se evaporan los
16
Sometimes the words marimacho/marimacha, a woman who in her corpulence or actions
looks or acts like a man, it is often utilized to refer to butch lesbians.
Marko Julio Miletich 45
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olores y las redondeces se repliegan, quedo yo, durmiendo sobre ella, y ella
me dice al oído, como entre sueños: mijita, mijito, confundidas sus palabras
con la almohada. (104-105)
…until I shudder and am mutilated, bleeding inside of her as she
screams and clutches me and then falls, my precious little boy, what a sweet
thing, it’s been so long, so long, and the words dissolve and the odors
evaporate and the hardness shrivel, I stay sleeping over her, and she says
into my ear, as if in a dream, my sweet girl, my sweet boy, her words muffled
in the pillow. (110)
The Spanish text has the phrase «las redondeces se repliegan»,
meaning the roundness retracts, which appears to refer to the end of coitus.
The image is that of bodies separating (in my view the roundness refers
more to La Japonesa’s body since she has been previously described as
chubby). Levine has used modulation, once more, to give the reader a
different point of view, that of the man losing his erection after the sexual act
has been consummated. The translator has managed to reflect the changes
from masculine to feminine in the Spanish text. Levine has translated
«mijito» (the masculine form of «mijita», the term of endearment discussed
before) in two different ways; the first time as «little boy», and the second
time as «sweet boy/sweet girl.» Her alternative provides a clear transition
from the masculine to the feminine.
3.5. Bi-curiosity
At the beginning of the novella, Pancho is thinking about going to the
brothel to have sex with both a father and a daughter (La Manuela and La
Japonesita).
—A las dos me las voy a montar bien montadas, a la Japonesita y al
maricn del pap… (12)
«I’ll screw the two of them, Japonesita and her fag of a father…» (8)
The Spanish text plays with the gender of the definite articles as the
sentence starts using the feminine article «las» although we only have one
feminine noun (Japonesita). In Spanish the definite article would have taken
the masculine form when referring to male and female names together. This
cannot be accomplished in the English without adding several additional
words and the translator has decided not to take that route. The Spanish
also uses «montar» which is used to refer to an animal having sex with
another animal. Also, «montar» gives the image of riding as well as being on
top and having a dominant position during a sex act. Levine decided to use
the slang term «screw» which refers to having sexual intercourse, but in a
46 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
hasty or casual way. It also gives the idea of using use a long penetrative
object to force into a hole. Levine has used a modulation to provide an
intense image.
A crucial moment in the novella happens when Pancho is afraid his
homoerotic desires would be discovered by his brother-in-law, Octavio, and
everyone else. Pancho tries to justify his bi-curiosity to himself.
Entonces Pancho se rio. Si era hombre tenía que ser capaz de
sentirlo todo, aun esto, y nadie, ni Octavio ni ninguno de sus amigos se
extrañaría. Esto era fiesta. Farra. Maricones de casas de putas había
conocido demasiados en su vida como para asustarse de esta vieja ridícula,
y siempre se enamoraban de él —se tocó los bíceps, se tocó el vello áspero
que le crecía en la abertura de la camisa en el cuello. Se había tranquilizado
bajo la mano de la Lucy. (121-122)
Then Pancho roared. After all he was a man, he was supposed to feel
everything, even this, and no one, not Octavio or any of his friends would
think him a freak. This was a party! A fling. He had met too many
whorehouse fags in his life to be frightened by this ridiculous old woman,
and they always fell in love with him—they felt his biceps, they felt the rough
hair that grew to where his shirt opened at the neck. He relaxed under
Lucy’s hand. (129)
The transvestite body of Manuela awakens a violent desire in Pancho
who is justifying his desires to himself. Levine has translated «rio» (laughed)
as «roared» which usually conveys the meaning of laughing loudly or
boisterously to intensify an already tense situation. In addition, it provides an
animalistic connotation. In another clear example of modulation, «ninguno
de sus amigos se extrañaría» is translated as «any of his friends would think
him a freak». Her decision provides for a stronger look at the character’s
introspection and not be seen as an example of a strange deviation from
nature.
The word «farra» was translated as a «fling» «Farra» in Spanish is
usually associated with a short period of unrestricted partying, a boisterous
festivity. Levine uses the word «fling» (another modulation) to indicate both a
short period of unrestrained pursuit of one's wishes or desires and a casual
or brief love affair. Her choice, then, diminishes (for the character) the
seriousness of a possible encounter with La Manuela.
Also, the translator slightly changes the perspective of a phrase when
in the Spanish text Pancho is touching his own biceps and body hair while
Levine has others touching his body parts and hair. The decision seems to
reinforce the character’s desirability.
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3.6. Annihilation
La Manuela starts to realize the danger her/his performance has
brought her/him.
Parada en el barro de la calzada mientras Octavio la paralizaba
retorciéndole el brazo, la Manuela despertó. No era la Manuela. Era él,
Manuel González Astica. Él. Y porque era él iban a hacerle daño y Manuel
González Astica sintió terror. (124-125)
Standing in the mud, paralyzed by Octavio, who was twisting her arm,
la Manuela woke up. He wasn’t la Manuela. He was Señor Manuel Gonzlez
Astica. He. And because he was he they were going to hurt him and Manuel
González Astica tasted terror. (132)
The character realizes that the transgression now has been fully
exposed. The text gradually changes sexes for the protagonist as he/she
fears what is coming to her/him. Notice how Levine uses explicitation to
make clearer the transformation from woman to man, when she adds the
word «Señor,» perhaps compensating for the Spanish past participle used
as a feminine adjective in the beginning of the text («parada») that cannot be
rendered in English. Levine also uses modulation when she translates
«sintió terror» (felt terror) as «tasted terror» to give a different point of view
that adds to the alarming situation.
Pancho conceals his repressed homosexuality and his secret desires
though the macho image he presents to the world. The violence exercised
over Manuela, by Pancho and his brother-in-law, Octavio, is a mechanism of
expiation, an act of purification of the hegemonic masculinity of the
victimizer; for Pancho it serves to invalidate the homoerotic desire that
produces in him the transvestite body of his victim. (Romero, 1997).
…buscando quin es el culpable, castigndolo, castigndola,
castigándose deleitados hasta en el fondo de la confusión dolorosa, el
cuerpo endeble de la Manuela que ya no resiste, quiebra bajo el peso, ya no
puede ni aullar de dolor, bocas calientes, manos calientes, cuerpos
babientos y duros hiriendo el suyo y que ríen y que insultan y que buscan
romper y quebrar y destrozar y reconocer ese monstruo de tres cuerpos
retorciéndose, hasta que ya no queda nada y la Manuela apenas ve, apenas
oye, apenas siente, ve, no, no ve, y ellos se escabullen a través de la mora
y queda ella sola junto al río que la separa de las viñas donde don Alejo
espera benevolente. (127)
…looking for the one to blame, punishing him, her, them, shuddering
gratifications, excruciating confusion, la Manuela’s frail body resists no more,
48 Translating Transgender: English Pushed to the Limits in José […]
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
breaks under the strain, can’t even moan from pain, hot mouths, hot hands,
slavering, hard bodies wounding his, bodies that howl, and insult and grope,
that monster of three torturous bodies, breaking and tearing, and raking and
probing, until nothing is left and now la Manuela scarcely sees, scarcely
hears, scarcely feels, sees, no, doesn’t see, and they scape through the
blackberry bushes and she is left alone by the river that separates her from
the vineyards where Don Alejo waits, benevolent. (134-135)
The punishing death scene recalls the image of Cerberus, a three
headed dog that guards the gates of hell as the scene points to a hellish
conclusion. La Manuela's sacrifice fulfills a double role. It allows Pancho to
absolutely mask his homosexuality before the world and in particularly
before Octavio who is the one who questions him. It is also an act of
atonement, of purification of his «contaminated» sexuality.
The translator maintains the length and syntax of the paragraph,
which is one long sentence with many subordinate clauses. Levine decided
to maintain the Spanish syntax although contemporary English usually relies
more on shorter sentences. Her choice makes the selection follow the
Spanish text and visualize the complex experiences the narrator is
expressing during this horrifying struggle.
Levine’s translation does not repeat the verb «punishing» as the
Spanish does, but choses to use the pronouns in the masculine and
feminine forms to show the ambiguity portrayed in the Spanish applying a
reduction strategy again. She forgoes the reflexive form of the verb
«castigándose» (punishing themselves) and opts to use the pronoun «them»
for a more succinct solution.
The phrase «deleitados hasta en el fondo de la confusión dolorosa»
was translated as «shuddering gratifications, excruciating confusion» using
reduction, modulation and a transposition
17
, since it changes the point of
view but maintains the idea of being both gratified and confused. She uses
«excruciating», which includes the idea of «cross» to bring about the
religious undertones of the novel. She uses «howling» for «ríen» (laugh) to
add a more animalistic image to the scene.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All translation is intervention. It transforms a text from one language to
another through the mediating actions of a translator or translators who re-
write passages first written in one language in order to make them available
17
A transposition uses a different part of speech in the target text that was used in the source
text (Vinay & Darbelnet, 1995, pp. 36).
Marko Julio Miletich 49
Hikma 21 (1) (2022), 33 - 51
in another. Transforming fictional texts from one language to another
requires careful analysis of the human characters that appear in fiction. The
textual representations of femininities and masculinities, as well as the
attitudes of both female and male characters towards each other, also
require examination when making translatorial decisions and may often
require an intervention that goes further than the usual translation shifts
previously described.
This article has discussed some of the translatorial decision of an
accomplished translator as she faced Donoso’s magnificent Spanish novella.
Beginning with the title, Levine intervenes to produce an experience for the
English reader that is as rich as Donoso’s text. The translator has managed
to produce an idiomatic translation that (re)creates the gendered views and
performances expressed in the Spanish text. Her interventions through
reductions, explicitations, and many modulations have been carefully chosen
to navigate the many gendered views that coexist in a small Chilean town,
filled with ambitions, desires, secrets and deceptions.
The translation of El lugar sin límites is certainly no easy task. Levine
has masterfully managed to bring into English characters that perform their
gender in ways that often contradicts conventions. Levine has deftly
managed to make us feel the voyeurism of Don Alejo, the ambition and
perversity of La Japonesa Grande, the ambiguity of La Japonesita, and the
desires and actions of an over the hill transvestite as their lives intersect in a
limitless hell.
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