Collective and creative translation of Quevedo y Villegas’ Entremés de la Ropavejera

Abstract

Haroldo de Campos (2010) sees the process of collective translation as one of the possible solutions for high-complexity texts that would be, in principle, untranslatable. He believes cooperative work among the members of a team oriented towards a common goal would be a possible approach that could foster creative translations, aimed at maintaining the aesthetic sign at the expense of fidelity to textual meaning. Based on these postulates, this paper reports the collective translation experience of Entremés de la Ropavejera (1670), by Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645), undertaken by the Núcleo Quevedo de Estudos Literários e Traduções do Século de Ouro [Quevedo Siglo de Oro Studies and Translation Research Group] (UFSC, Brazil), with a focus on reflections and choices involved in this process. This entremez revolves around the character ropavejera [patcher], who serves customers that come to her shop in search of ointments, removable and ‘spare’ parts to mend or repair the damage caused by old age. Discussions about the text’s translation process allowed the development of a work methodology that involved the use of various resources, such as access to specialized periodic dictionaries and literary criticism, and historical research to approach the context of production, which are presented and discussed here. It also intends to contribute to the dissemination of Siglo de Oro studies in Brazil.