Role of gender in translation

Author Emily Wilson sees her gender as her strength in interpreting and translating “Iliad” into English

Emily Wilson makes a point about translations when she says, “Two different people, from two different demographic backgrounds with two different literary ears are going to produce completely different things, even while being as truthful as possible to the original. Gender is one of the things that impacts it. “

This conversation comes in the context of the fact that Wilson is the first woman to have translated Iliad into English, in spite of there being more than 60 translations in existence. The question, therefore was, the role her gender played. Wilson’s resounding reply is a question: Why is it never asked if a man’s gender influenced his translations? Is the underlying assumption that to be a male translator is the “normal” way to be?

“Women had translated the Illiad into French and other European languages. Only into English, it had never been done by a woman,” says Wilson. “However, there are many women who have studied Homer,” adds Wilson.

To understand why women had not translated it, she delves into more pedantic reasons.

Steering clear

“Firstly, women get tenure lower than men and translation is not that which can get you a tenure. It takes an enormous amount of time and could potentially even be a black mark…the whole structure of how tenure happens is on the basis of peer reviewed monographs…other kind of writing you can do on the side. Secondly, even in 2017, women, on an average, spend more time doing child care, elder care, domestic labour etc….”

Translation may thus not be financially viable, says Wilson as stacks up many more such reasons. Wilson says gender is not the whole thing, it is part of the whole gamut of reasons that influence the translator’s perspective. “However,” she says, “there have been some real gender blindness in the way people have translated the Odyssey…that is also because I have to think about gender because it is a problem for me…a man does not have to…it is not a problem for him.” Wilson sees her gender as her strength,”… to read , interpret and translate Homer … I am aware of gender. A poem which is very much interested in gender roles and gender inequalities gender hierarchies and relationships, it is an advantage that I am not switched off in that part of the reading experience. I am thinking about it critically.”

Wilson talks, among other things of the use of words like ‘slut’, ‘whore’, even ‘nymph’. They all come with connotations which are not there in the original…in a subtle way this puts down women, something the Greek original does not do. Wilson says,”I am not changing the way the story is…I just want to show people as they are…”