''The Sacred Marriage" de Joyce Carol Oates: Una parábola sobre la intertextualidad

Joyce Carol Oates' short story collection Marriages and Infidelities includes a number of versions of narratives by famous writers. The common theme is, of course, marriage, although "The Sacred Marriage" itself alludes to an spiritual kind of union. Its narrator succeeds at outplanning the audience by selecting a rather improbable way to follow in the story and by introducing apparently impossible events. From the beginning, it is possible to perceive a series of lexical oppositions referring to the setting, intended to make it look like an unreal, dream world. The protagonist, Howard Dean, who is visiting this strange place in order to study the manuscripts of a famous dead writer called Pearce, is going to experience a transcendental change brought about by the sexual rapport with his widow. Neither Howard's affair with the widow, nor his attachment to Pearce can be considered normal. The religious frame introduced in the title contributes to present Pearce as a God and his writings as "parables". "The Sacred Marriage" itself is a parable about intertextuality, presenting art as a continuity of discourses in which the writer is only the last voice of a tradition

“How Can You Use Two Languages and Mean What You Say in Both?”: On Translating Margaret Atwood’s Poetry into Spanish

Contrary to what might be expected, a Canadian literature in Spanish translation already exists and, expectedly, Margaret Atwood is one of the most translated writers. All her novels except Life Before Man, as well as three of her collections of short stories and three of her poetry collections have been translated into Spanish. Her work has received excellent reviews in Spain which have also praised her translators. This essay focuses on my own experience translating Atwood’s poetry–her collection Power Politics (Juegos de poder, 2000)–into Spanish, in an approach which compares my own project of translation or “projet-de-traduction,” as formulated by Antoine Berman, with that of the other translations of her poetry into Spanish. Being a university teacher and a researcher in Canadian literature, and not a specialist in Translation Studies, my approach is necessarily pragmatic and not theoretical. Bearing in mind Barbara Folkart’s contention that poetry is a cognitive activity and the multiplicity of interpretations that the poems offer, in which the feminist one is prominent, I tried to produce a translation which was as close as possible to the original characteristics of Atwood’s poetry in its tone, lineation and imagistic dimension. The first steps were the stylistic analysis, which resulted in a rhetorical study of the poems, and then the review of the existing criticism about the poems. The main problems which arose during the translation were related to the political and feminist connotations of the poems. If the political context is crucial in Power Politics, the cultural background is vital in The Journals of Susanna Moodie, although it has been erased in its Spanish version (Los diarios de Susanna Moodie, 1991, by Lidia Taillefer and Álvaro García). This is not an unusual phenomenon, since translation consists in an often insurmountable paradox which is formulated in the lines by Margaret Atwood quoted in the title of this article: trying to formulate the same idea in two languages which function differently and have completely different cultural contexts.Contrairement à ce qu’on peut imaginer, des traductions espagnoles d’oeuvres littéraires canadiennes existent déjà, et, comme on peut le prévoir, Margaret Atwood figure parmi les écrivains les plus traduits. L’ensemble de ses romans, à l’exception de Life Before Man, trois de ses recueils de nouvelles et trois de ses recueils de poésie ont été traduits en espagnol. Ses oeuvres ont reçu d’excellentes critiques en Espagne, qui ont aussi fait l’éloge de ses traducteurs. Cet article porte sur mon expérience personnelle en tant que traductrice de la poésie d’Atwood – son recueil Power Politics (Juegos de poder, 2000) – vers l’espagnol, suivant une démarche qui consiste à comparer mon propre « projet-de-traduction », tel que formulé par Antoine Berman, à celui des autres traducteurs espagnols de sa poésie. En tant que professeure d’université et de chercheure en littérature canadienne, et n’étant pas une spécialiste de la traductologie, ma démarche est nécessairement pragmatique et non théorique. Tenant compte à la fois du concept de Barbara Folkart selon lequel la poésie est une activité cognitive, et de la multiplicité d’interprétations offertes par les poèmes parmi lesquelles l’interprétation féministe est saillante, j’ai tenté de produire une traduction qui, dans son ton, sa linéation et sa dimension imagiste, se rapproche le plus possible des caractéristiques premières de la poésie d’Atwood. La première étape a été l’analyse stylistique, qui a pris la forme d’une étude rhétorique des poèmes, ensuite vint l’étude de l’état de la critique des poèmes. Les principaux problèmes qui ont surgi pendant la traduction étaient reliés aux connotations politiques et féministes des poèmes. Si le contexte politique est crucial dans Power Politics, l’arrière-plan culturel est vital dans The Journals of Susanna Moodie, même s’il a été effacé dans la version espagnole (Los diarios de Susanna Moodie, 1991, par Lidia Taillefer et Álvaro García,). Ce phénomène n’est pas inhabituel, car la traduction constitue souvent un paradoxe insurmontable qui est formulé dans les vers de Margaret Atwood cités dans le titre du présent article : tenter de formuler une même idée en deux langues qui fonctionnent de façon différente et qui évoluent dans des contextes culturels différents

“The Unavoidable Collision of Religion and Life”: Scots Presbyterianism in Alice Munro’s Fiction

Presbyterian theology, as conceived by John Calvin and John Knox, is an integral part of Alice Munro’s fictional world and the lack of knowledge about this kind of theological background may be an impediment to arriving at a full comprehension of many of her stories. Since the topic of Presbyterianism in Munro’s fiction is hugely important and expands beyond the scope of this article, the article focuses on three of the collections where it appears most prominently: Lives of Girls and Women, Friend of My Youth, and The View from Castle Rock. The article aims to show how the Scots Calvinistic doctrines of Munro´s ancestors provide an essential framework for the intellectual questing of the protagonists and narrators of her stories. To this end, it explores how the stories examine and hold up to scrutiny the dogmas of Calvinism summarized in the acronym T.U.L.I.P:  Total Depravation; Unconditional Election; Limited Atonement; Irresistible Grace and Perseverance of the Saints. The article also offers an explanation for Munro´s allusions to the Covenanters in her collection Friend of My Youth in the light of the history of the Scottish Reformation

«Witness is What You Must Bear»: Margaret Atwood’s Poetic Politics

La relació entre literatura i compromís polític és una preocupació central de l'escriptora canadenca Margaret Atwood (Ottawa, 1939) que no es limita a la seua obra literària, sinó que es completa i reafirma amb la seua militància en organitzacions com a Amnistia Internacional. Des de la seua dimensió com a autora compromesa amb la defensa dels drets humans, este assaig presenta una aproximació a la poètica política de Margaret Atwood a través del comentari de les seues col·leccions de poemes publicades en les dècades dels setanta i dels huitanta. De l'anàlisi dels dits poemaris es desprén que la política, entesa com l'organització humana del poder, és un aspecte essencial per a comprendre la seua obra, a pesar que molts crítics hagen ignorat el contingut socialista i democràtic de la seua producció literària.La relación entre literatura y compromiso político es una preocupación central de la escritora canadiense Margaret Atwood (Ottawa, 1939) que no se limita a su obra literaria, sino que se completa y reafirma con su militancia en organizaciones como Amnistía Internacional. Desde su dimensión como autora comprometida con la defensa de los derechos humanos, este ensayo presenta una aproximación a la poética política de Margaret Atwood a través del comentario de sus colecciones de poemas publicadas en las décadas de los setenta y de los ochenta. Del análisis de dichos poemarios se desprende que la política, entendida como la organización humana del poder, es un aspecto esencial para comprender su obra, pese a que muchos críticos hayan ignorado el contenido socialista y democrático de su producción literariaThe relationship between literature and politics is a central preoccupation for the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, which is not restricted to her literary works, but is, rather, completed and reaffirmed by her belonging to organizations such as Amnesty International. Approaching Atwood as a writer who is engaged with the defence of human rights, this essay explores her collections of poetry published in the Seventies and Eighties. The analysis of these collections proves that, although critics have usuallyignored the democratic-socialist content of Atwood’s writing, politics is an essential issue to understanding her works

"Is Gandhi the hero?" : A Reappraisal of Gandhi's Views about Women in Deepa Mehta's Water

Set in 1938 against the backdrop of India's anti-colonial movement led by Gandhi, the film Water (2005) by Deepa Mehta crudely exposes one of the most demeaning aspects of the patriarchal ideology of Hinduism: the custom of condemning widows to a life of self-denial and deprivation at the ashrams. Mehta has remarked that figures like Gandhi have inspired people throughout the ages. Nonetheless, in this essay I argue that under an apparent admiration for the figure of Gandhi in the context of the emancipation of India in general and widows in particular, Water questions whether Gandhi's doctrines about the liberation of women were effective or whether, on the contrary, they contributed to restricting women to the private realm by turning them into personifications of the Indian nation. In this context of submission and oppression of women in India, Gandhi did try to improve their conditions though he was convinced that gender is destiny and that women's chastity is connected to India's national honour. I argue that Mehta's film undermines Gandhi's idealism by presenting images of him and dialogues in which he is the topic. As a methodological approach, I propose a dialogic (Bahktin 1981) reading of the filmic text which analyses how a polyphony of voices praise and disparage the figure of Gandhi in Water. I will also analyse the film in the light of Bakhtin's views on the hero (1983) and his notion of the "chronotope"(Bahktin 1981).Ambientada en 1938 durante el movimiento a favor de la independencia de la India liderado por Gandhi, la película Water (2005) de Deepa Mehta expone en toda su crudeza uno de los aspectos más degradantes de la ideología patriarcal del hinduismo: la tradición de condenar a las viudas a una vida de autonegación y sacrificio en los ashrams. Según Mehta, la figura de Gandhi ha inspirado a muchas personas a lo largo de la historia. Sin embargo, en este artículo defiendo que, ante una aparente admiración por la figura de Gandhi en el contexto de la emancipación de la India en general y de las viudas en particular, Water cuestiona si las doctrinas de Gandhi sobre la liberación de la mujer fueron realmente efectivas o si, por el contrario, contribuyeron a restringir a las mujeres al ámbito privado convirtiéndolas en personificaciones de la nación india. En este artículo argumento, por tanto, que la película de Mehta socava el idealismo de Gandhi a través de imágenes suyas y diálogos en los que la figura de Gandhi es el centro de atención. La metodología propuesta para el análisis es una lectura dialógica (Bahktin 1981) de la película que analice la polifonía de voces que, en algunos momentos, elogia y, en otros, critica la figura de Gandhi. Asimismo, analizaré la película de Deepa Mehta siguiendo las teorías de Bahktin (1983) sobre el héroe y su concepto del "cronotopo" (Bakhtin 1981)

“Teresa speaks to poets”: Mystical experience, apology and literary creation in Kate O’Brien’s Teresa of Ávila

Kate O’Brien’s connection to Spain, and the extent to which it is central to her work, has been widely studied using as background information the eight months she spent in Bilbao working as a governess (1922-23), an experience which inspired her novel Mary Lavelle (1936). However, her biography of Teresa of Avila has received less scholarly attention than the rest of her novels or travelogues. Although O’Brien referred to the Spanish writer and mystic in many of her works and interviews, she especially celebrated her in the biography Teresa of Avila (1951). In this essay, I will start by tracing the similarities between the lives of Kate O’Brien and Teresa of Avila in order to emphasize O’Brien’s identification with Teresa of Avila. I am going to argue, firstly, that Kate O’Brien’s biography of Teresa is as much a defence of herself as a writer against her censors and detractors, as it is a passionate apology of the Spanish mystic, just as Teresa’s The Book of Her Life is a theological apology written in order to justify herself to her confessors. Secondly, that Kate O’Brien, drawing on the terminology of Teresa’s mystical method, traces a parallelism between the mystical experience and the act of creative writing.La conexión de Kate O’Brien con España, que resulta esencial para comprender su obra, ha sido ampliamente analizada usando como trasfondo los ocho meses que pasó en Bilbao trabajando como institutriz (1922-23), que inspiraron su novela Mary Lavelle (1936). Sin embargo, su biografía de Teresa de Ávila ha sido menos estudiada que sus novelas y libros de viaje. Aunque O’Brien mencionó a la escritora y mística española en muchas de sus obras y entrevistas, la homenajeó especialmente en la biografía Teresa de Ávila (1951). En este ensayo, comenzaré trazando las similitudes entre las vidas de Kate O’Brien y Teresa de Ávila para destacar la identificación que O’Brien sentía con la mística abulense. En primer lugar, argumentaré que la biografía de Teresa escrita por Kate O’Brien es tanto un alegato contra sus censores y detractores, así como una defensa apasionada de la mística española; de la misma forma que El libro de la vida de Teresa de Ávila es una disculpa teológica escrita para justificarse ante sus confesores. En segundo lugar, defenderé que Kate O’Brien, basándose en método místico de Teresa, traza un paralelismo entre la experiencia mística y el acto de la escritura creativ

Genre transgression and auto/biography in Mavis Gallant's "When we were nearly young"

As Claire Obaldia points out, the intensive concern with generic studies in recent times has clearly shown that despite --or perhaps because of-- the striking progress in this field, the question of "genre" remains one of the most difficult in literary theory (1). Aristotle made taxonomy the very praxis of poetics, aiming to find the "essential quality" of each genre. Recent critical directions, however, argue that literary texts are composed of heterogeneous and often contradictory generic s..

Gracias por crear este mundo para todos nosotros’: la globlalidad y la recepción de The Handmaid’s Tale, de Margaret Atwood, después de su adaptación televisiva

Este artículo examina la recepción de la novela The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) de Margaret Atwood tras su adaptación en 2017 a una serie de televisión producida por Hulu que ha obtenido numerosos premios. La recepción de la serie se lleva a cabo a través de una selección de artículos en inglés publicados en línea (online) que se analizan bajo la perspectiva de las teorías de Manfred B. Steger sobre la globalidad. La adaptación televisiva de The Handmaid’s Tale ha tenido un enorme impacto global debido a su diseminación a través de las redes sociales y de las noticias publicadas en internet, y también gracias a la concurrencia de ciertos procesos sociales. Los artículos periodísticos que he analizado se polarizan entre los que argumentan que The Handmaid’s Tale refleja la América de Trump y los que rechazan esta opinión. Mi tesis es que en las dos categorías los articulistas están apropiándose de un producto cultural con intenciones ideológicas o políticas.This article explores the reception of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) after its adaptation into an award-winning television series produced by Hulu in 2017. The reception of the show is studied through a selection of English language articles published online, which are analysed in the light of Manfred B. Steger’s theories on globality. The television adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale has had a global impact thanks to its dissemination through the social media and internet news outlets and because of the random concurrence of certain social processes. The news items I analysed polarize themselves into those who argue that The Handmaid’s Tale series holds up a mirror to Trump’s America and those who reject this belief. In both categories, the commentators are co-opting a cultural product for ideological or political purposes

The Dead: la retórica de la contradicción en un relato literario

The present paper is a stylistic approach to the linguistic representation of the state of mind of Ilena, the protagonist of the short story “The Dead” by Joyce Carol Oates. Ilena is deeply attracted by paradox and carries out this principle in all the realms of her life. She not only experiments with the opposite effects of drugs, but also practices contradiction in her sexual and professional life. This complex fictional attitude is conveyed by a number of linguistic and narrative devices, which we have called the “rhetoric of contradiction”, consisting in the pervasive use of oxymoron and opposition.The story is also held together by a scientific frame related to Ilena’s drug-taking habits. This frame provides cohesion and coherence to the different episodes of the otherwise achronological narrative, and also foregrounds the macrostructure of paradox, since the drugs provoke “adverse reactions” in the protagonist, who constantly stands between life and death

El silencio administrativo a la luz de la Ley 39/2015 de Procedimiento Administrativo Común = Administrative silence in the Administrative Procedure Common Law 39 /2015

Gestada en beneficio de la tutela impugnatoria del ciudadano, la inactividad de la Administración se ha movido entre su propio interés y el interés del ciudadano, a partir de la inseguridad jurídica que supone el incumplimiento por la Administración de su obligación de resolver. Progresivamente, se ha convertido, en última instancia, en una garantía del cumplimiento de la obligación de resolver y notificar, generalizándose la estimación de pretensiones de los ciudadanos. En este texto, se hace una valoración de las diferentes etapas y enfoques que ha ido adoptando el silencio, centrándose tal exposición en la última Ley de Procedimiento Administrativo común, la Ley 29/2015. De manera detallada, se explican las vicisitudes y semejanzas con la anterior legislación y los cambios sustanciales que esta nueva Ley ha producido en la figura del silencio, no siempre en favor del ciudadano. Tomando en consideración otros cambios relevantes como la eliminación del plazo para recurrir el silencio negativo, como consecuencia de la STC 52/2014 de 10 de abri