The Treatment of Intertextuality in Translation Studies: A case study with the latest English translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe

Abstract

The present paper explores the way intertextuality is dealt with in the latest English translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe (1949). Intertextuality was described by Genette as a ‘piège à traducteurs’ (1982: 295-6), or as “a trap for translators”, because it can go unnoticed, and, therefore, runs the risk of not being translated, particularly when more than two languages are present in a text. In de Beauvoir’s magnum opus, intertextuality is paramount and highly multilingual. Moreover, the plurality of voices and languages present reinforces de Beauvoir’s argument on Existentialism, which has had a radical impact, especially in the field of philosophical ethics and gender studies. In light of this work’s iconic status and Genette’s comment on intertextuality in translation, analysing how this intertextual plurality has been rendered in The Second Sex (2009) is of crucial importance. In this paper, I analyse the translators’ strategies and the risks of taking an inconsistent approach to translating philosophy. I also highlight the significance of how particular translation strategies can contribute to burying connections between critical theories.