A Bourdieusian Analysis of Jamalzadeh's Translation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People in the Literary Field of Iran

مطالعات زبان و ترجمه

Volume 57, Issue 4, March 2025, Pages 29-64   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/lts.2025.91246.1318

Authors

Samaneh Farhadi¹; Behzad Ghaderi Sohi^{* 2}

¹Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan

²Erciyes University

Abstract

Employing Bourdieu's “theory of practice”, this research examines Jamalzadeh’s position in Iran’s literary field and his motives for translating Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. First, the field of theater and the subfield of dramatic translation in the 1940s are reviewed. Then, Jamalzadeh’s habitus as a “translator in self-exile” is explored and the 1950s events leading to the 1953 coup are paralleled to those of the drama. Furthermore, deploying Bourdieu's and Derrida’s notions of “trajectory” and the “ideal translator,” respectively, Jamalzadeh’s earlier writings, including Saharay-e Mahshar, are analyzed to explore his position and the possible reasons behind his Ibsen translation. The research demonstrates how silenced voices in history can be heard through translations. Moreover, based on a sociological analysis of this translation, the authors argue that Jamalzadeh chooses Ibsen's text as a tool for identifying the then-political elites’ shortsightedness as the root cause of confusion among the people.

Keywords

Sociology of Translation; Henrik Ibsen; Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh; Theory of Practice; An Enemy of the People

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