Gadda’s Translator, a Dexterous Philologist

Abstract

The following article is a reflection emanating from the challenges faced when translating Carlo Emilio Gadda. The Italian author's use of self-reference in his work is so extreme that it has pushed his writing to its limits, making it deemed to be untranslatable. A gaddian page is a rich tapestry. It takes the many strands emerging from the philosophical substrate which feed the writer's literary creation and weaves together intertextuality, colloquial and archaic registers, dialect and formal Italian in the author's quest for the truth. Unfortunately, this truth cannot be found, that is, put into words without pushing the boundaries of language to the limit which results in a distortion of reality. The close link which exists between translating and hermeneutics means that the translator needs to make certain decisions in order to carry out his work.