O scrisoare Pierduticle I.L'Carrgiale ( 1852-1912)

TRAHANACHE: Am citit-o de zece orii poate

o stiu pe dinatard! Ascr-rlta "scumpd mea Zoe'

t",t".nilifulr (adici eu) rnerge deseari la intrunire

(intrunirea de alaltaieri seara)' -Eu (adica.. tu)

trebuie sd stau acasa' pentru cA a$tept depeli' dq

la Bucureqti, la care trebuie sd rispunz pe datri{'

p*L:.ttflr si mI cheme ministrul l:r telegraf

Nu mi a$tepta' prin urmare, 9i vino tu (adlc6

n"uorta-rn"a. loitica)' 1a cocogelul tIu" (adicd ttr)

care te adora, ca totdeauna. 9i te sirutd de o mie

J. o.i. Fdnici " (Prive$te iung pe Tipitescu'

care e in culmea agitatiei )

The Lost LetterbY I.L"Caragiale (1852-19I2)

TRAHANACF{E I've read it ten timesl I

suess I know it bv heart! Listen to this

'Dearest Zoe, your venerable old man2 (that'd

be me) is going to the meeting tonight (the

meeting we*heid the night before last) -1 (that'd

be vou) have to stav at home tbr I'm waiting fbr

:r dispatch' fiom Bucharest which I must

onr*", right awayr; the ministler himself may

even call L" on the telegraph' So don't wait

lor me and come yourself (that'd be my wif'e'

Joitica), to see your sweetieo lthat'd be vou)

who adores you' as always. and sends .vou a

thousand kisies. Fdnicl ' '(stares at Tipdtescu

who is extremelY excited)'

lAm citit-o tle zece 61j - I'r€ read it ten times nol I'vc heen reading it taw times'

rhcactionandcspcciall,.l.,.p,..,.,,.colthclrcqucncrltdrcrb'tentirnes.rrlriclrConlinuousi}spccl.Bcs,ci"s.thcrrscoltlrcContinuousaspcctrrouldimplr'imtationonl:'nt 1l1r'caSC !11 thc l'\'l ,\r.^ nrFr..rp/r ilr rrlrt,l \Illunt uj!. cr tlallstatlt,rt i ftt:

'tieneriibilul+1'oufl'cncnbleoldman'\'eRillll\lllcll\l:asslsoprelcrrcoolrtrQ4\IllgllLost Letter And other il;ili Ion Luca. crrgi.r.. l"#nc" and wishanr LTD. London 1956: 2't-25 In Romanian"

venerabil is a c*lturc spccific clcmcnt rcndcrcd in English br, lour'enera'le old rnan- in n'hich the rvord venerable

is orrlv a prc_mociiticr. Arorhcr rariant ,ugg.riJ*oirrr" iuierahre b*t it coulci'ot be acccprcd bccausc onll suclr

abstracl conccprs us: .,rl- good- trulJr. U"n,rtu.'.i.. .ir function in English as notlns $'itcn prccedcd b1'thc definitc

article. 1 --.r E'...r;-1. r-^rrn ac it dnes nof refer to countablhn'. Irlspatcn

' depegi * a dispatch: it cor'rld not be translated b-v a pluml U:FUtit-11:*- as it does not refer to counutbiliw Dispatct

rr.:rs tl.rus choser as best matchrng the semantrc dirnension of the ongural- tt rtrtl,,en ntes'sage sent it1 ftasre fiHebster"

1996.-113). j^L+.rr..*: thc r,erl- inescapable obligation" itr trcbuie si rispunz pr d{tl '+ I must anslver right awal.'' the verb must here e\pressl[g I

ernp'asizes the spe'aker:s.-t "Joatt o.'"' hi'*'"li- "

ili t'i' opinion there is no othcr ciroicc al ali (see the co-ter1) '

: poate chiar sd ma ct em. ministrur rn t"r"iri --ir* irrri"cr him.scrf mal. e1'cn ca' me on the telegraph The

orlrervanart suggested-*-as to cu, up $ridati;rr- iyro:+r *hicrr,couldbe consideredloo genenc also irnplf ing a

sliglrt senr,'tic loss tru"rnnorrritate n''th ,,':"frin"n' Webster 199(>:211 - rvhereas in the ST another means of

*X1""Xtl.'j lT#:::"1,11:i:ttf$],1*,n*,ri. eierne't a,rd ir,r'as u,ansiatedbr..sl€etit' prererred in terms or

rcgisrcr as Lhc in{bn'j .q-i,r[ru ol *::".r!::i *hich *,ourd bc scrnir*ticatv appropnare . 'eirher of'a pair td lovers

iitreiatti;,itrt,iheotlteii",i:Vtf'**t1996'l-137i-butloofonnal'otto'J"g'oU*tq?tH ThevariantsuggcstedbvFridn

Knight (1g5(r.2a) vas rittrefrienrl *,hich courdbc interpreted n, o_u.rr*nri" and strristic ross' Another variant suggested

*as littieiiger. scicctcil i. o.clcr ic prcscnc rha roo*i"r: in ihc sT u'd co"'idetllg .-''o importmt feat'ures: $e trger's

sizc and irs iraugh., pacc (irs pridc). but this r:iuiant couid not u. oL.fted bccau"sc ,l:.)tgto is used metaphoricalh'

rvhen rerering to ,.d person risettrhring a ttger i, rierce,ess. ,uurugr, uir'' (webster 1gg(r:14g4), therefore it matches

ncithcr thc scruantic nor thc str listic dincnsions of the ongrnal'

TIPATESCU (Pacing uP ilnd down rn a

.age;t: I can'i believe it''r I'll break the

niioiv bastard's bonese!"' I can't believe it!

considcnng thc corrscqucncc ofdor::s not allou thc usc of thc

tilc pafi of the sPcaker. u'hich is

TiPATESCU (plimbindu-se inftrriat)7 Nu se

;;;;'-A tili *p "asele

mizerabiluluile

Nu se Poate!

plimbAndu-sc inluriat + pacing up and down in a rage. Anotlter vanant suggcsted nas .r/ridingluriousl.t, r,hich istrot adequalc if thc space refcrred to is a roorn. b strille having l.hc ruciuring'-ltt l.'ttlk u'ith lrtng -r'lqr.s '.1\{ct}strr. l99ri.I107)' Nu sc prtatc! - I can't bclicve it! Here the r-erb can is usecl in the negative to denote irnpossrbilitr or rcfils:rl tobclicrc. Frida !'nigltt's vanant (i9-56.2-t) favoured the use olthe adjectire impossible, but such a construction.r.ould betoo tbrnla.l and irnpersona-I. thus s{listicailf inappropnate. Sorne studcnts suggested to tralslate rtbyno rrd,}r. but thisvliriant l'ould impll' a semintic loss. exprqssing a retirsal to a suggestron.

' O sir-i rup oaselc mizcrabiluluil - I'll hrcak the bloodv bastard's boncs! Thc variall prelerred br1l95tr 2-l) tras 1'l/ bosh ltis Juce in, tlte devil!, t'ai.mt irluch rould not be adequate in terms of thestrlislrc dirncrtsions of tlrc ST. lts Rornarrran cquivalcnls uould bc: tt stti/t.i nturro, a sparge.lalo lslang)thcsc phmscs uas usc.d br Camgialc lu thc onginal- so tlrcl could not bc acccptcd.

Frida Knightsernantic ard. but nonc of

rul;a mi;ielie - such tlaseness. as best rnatching the co-tc.yt in tcrns of meaning. "nt<trall,r; lov, tt,irhout digniw or.setttintent. tnean-spirited,,tellisk. trnrardl.v. " (Webster. 199(r.121) and register. Tiris varialt n'as chosen instead ofmeonnes.t" elso suggcslcd- bcclusc. although base and. mesn are considercd slnonvrns in ccrtair con{c\ts. hot,evcr...fferr.t Sug8esiS Dtlttness .iltti .t'nati-trtuxiler*rcs,s ' $-here;is lr{t.{e Slteg,esls ".reilir* (crvqrr.licp lrr ntulul ilenrftvr^,"i w rn*ter. I 9\,(': x*x l.tt Bine, frate... - Well. ma,n.". ald not myfricnd. \'ariant prefcncd br Frida Knighr (1956: 2-1). as man is commonl-v-

uscd in inlbnnal strlc and strlisticallv adequate.

TR.{HANACHE (placid). Firegte cA nu se poate,clar tr-ai fi inchipuit a$a mi$elietu (Cu candoare)Bine. frate", inteleg plastografie, pind unde sepoate, dar pAnd aci nu inteieg. Ei, FdnicS, sIvezi imitatie de scrisoare! SI zici gi tu ci e a ta,dar sI juri. nu altceva, sI juri! 12

" Ei, Flnici, sir rezi imitatie de scrisoare! s[ zici ;ii tu cI e a ta, daronll r'ou'd seen this lbrgerr!'vou could've said it's ]-ours, na\':srvorn it. Although it sorneiron mlsses tire rnodaliry', it is closer torepetition is necessarf in order 10 presen'e the rhetoric symrnetj,v of the

(Oprindu-se qi privind pe Tipitescu, care se

piimba cu pumnii inclegtati; eu mirare qi ciuda.)Uite-te la el cum se turburd! Lasi, omule, zi-imigel gi pacelr3 Ce te aprinzi a$a? A$a e lumea,n-ai ce-i face, n-avem s-o schimbdm noi. Cine-qipoate inchipui pind unde poate merge migeliaomului!

TIPATESCU (acelasi joc'a). Mizerabilul! 15

"f RAHANACHE Mii omule, ai putinticiribdarer6. zi-i ce i-am zis eu ,.Esti tarert,

TRAHANACF{E (placidly). Of course youcan't; but could you ever have imaeined suchbasenessl0 (Candidly) Well, man' ' . I carlunderstand forgery up to a certain extent but thisis too much".. Hey, FInici if only you'd seenthis forgery! You could've said it's vours, nayyou couldove sworn it's yours, you could havesworn it12

(Stopping and looking at Tipetescu who pacesthe room, his fists clenched, surprised andvexed). Look how he's fretting! Oh, come ono

man, call him a rascal and drop it13! Why are

you getting so excited about it? That's howpeople are, you can't help it, there's nothtng wecan do about it Who couid ever imaeine howfar human baseness can golTIPATESCU (as beforera): The wretchr5l

* Oh, come on, man, call him a rascal antl drop it The verb to drop t+'as chosenkeep up or htn'e to tb v'ith " flilebster 1996. 131). O(her variants suggested were:lattcr being preferred bi'Frida Knight 1956: 2-l), but the1,*ou-ld requirc diflerent

si juri, nu altceva, sd juri! - [IeI, FlnicI, il1'ou could'.r,e sltorn it's lours, 1'ou could'vethc ernotional charge of tire origtnll tert. Theoriginai.

TRAHANACHE. Come on, rnan, have a littlebit of patiencer'', tell him what I myself did.

13 LasI. omule, zi-i miqel qi pacr:in tcntrs ol rneaning . "lo ccose kt

firget about it ttnd that'll do (tItecontcals.ti acelagi joc - as bcfbre. choscn in order to presen'e the ambiguitv in the original. The other varizurts suggestcd bvdrc studcnts . the sune u<ting or o<ling the same way. could not be accepted as the1, do not express eractl-v the meaningoi joc in 'Jrc ST. lhc Romanian noun being rnuch morc complex and suggestive than thc English octing - simplvrrtcening tnlerprc tor('.15 Mizeratrilul! - 'Ihe rvretch! considering its second marning: "a per.tot't of despicable or base charocter"(Wctrstcr, 1996 . I6't'7). Rastard, i;dtltough it could have been used in order to presen e ttre q.'mrnetry of the text" was notclrcrsen as it is uurch too contemporan'. Scoundrel, meamng "an unprincipletl, di.shonorable non" (Webster.199(t l2t3l) would sorneltou'miss the stvlislic effect of the original- as rvell as rascul, rneanilg "a bdse, dishonest orutt.t<,ntpultru.s per.\()tt " (Wr:bster. 199(>. I192)

stimabilels, la machiaverlffcuri, tarele. n-am ce "'you're very good.r- misterrt at such

sd zic. dar nu ti-ai gisit omul2O. ." Ei, dacd a Machiavellian stuffre. reallv good I should sa-y.

vazut ci nu i se tr"""lu mine, gtii la ce-a ajuns? but you haven't found your pigeonto..." Well,N{i-a spus cd, dacd nu dau eu importantd lucrului" when he saw he couldn't take me in. do you

o s6-i dea publicul, pentru cd scrisoarea o sf, se know what he thought up? He told me that if Ipublice duminicd la gazetl. qi o sd fie pusl in didn't take it seriously. the public was going to,

cercevea, ca s-o vazi oricine-o poftl2r fbr the letter would be published in the Sundaynewspaperr and posted up so as to be seen byever"vone

"' D{iii omulc. ai putintica rirbdare... - Come on. man, hitve a littlc bit of patience... . cltoscn in ordcr to prcsen'c

Llrcstrlisticcllcctconvclcdbr thcsulhx"-icl"(putintici)intltcoriginal.althoughitistrlitlleaukriardandulusutililErrglislr. ltr ilris rcspcct- a lixle putience and a bit oJ'putience riould not rcndcr tltc suJhr in thc TL Thc .,ariant

srrggcstccl br Fnda Knig.ht (19-iij.2-l) $as ja.r'f u gruin of'patience. lhc partitirc u gruin ry' bcing rnarkcd b}'

[+CONCRETEI. u'hcrcas patience has 1he lcature l+ABSTRACT].1? Egti tare,.". - lou're rerr good. ... .Considcnng rls cormotativc tncaning- tltc trarlslator rcndcrcd tarc bv good- not

bt tough mcuning "not ea-rih: injluenc:erl. .sttthhrtrn; violtnt". (Webster. 1996.i-l9tt) llhich *ould be a sclniulic loss

and rr.oulcl llso niatch n ciifl'crcnt rcgistcr. Frida KnigJrt's variant ],ou're us good us Muchiuvelli ut tlrcse things(1956:2-t) is rnorc rclatcd to lhc profcssionirl locl aud conscqucnth'. to a diffcrent registcr. therefore it u'as considered

inadequate il terms oI the d-rarvpic variation of language.r8...stimabile...

- ...mistcr... lt is a culture specific element rendered b1' ...mister not by sir. as the former best

gratches the conte.\t. also being cornlnon usage il rnlbnnai sfi'le (r-rsed in direct address and not necessanlt'follorved by

the name of tire person addressed). (Wcbster. 1996: 917): on dre contran-. the latter, srr- rs a fonnal terrn of address

u:cti x-r d. lrldrjr. iiiur ixutg strlisiiu.r.iir iiiriiie.luitc.urJ bcsidss- ri rirruid riiis; tlic stili.sic effce. iil $ii orl;:rnl. ''Yll:l

MiiKrlli ,fi! Cn,f,Ca:, titc tt;ttt-rtirt0t ir,s\] r(Jt]K utt(.] uutrsirrcr(ruulr uru uJrrriurr ut d lriau!L )]r!c6ii- r-i-.i. ir-*t.- dulrr'u1!

Brittsh Councri. *'ho suggested tlurt mistrr rvould be more adequate tlnn sir in such a context.re la machiavcrlicuri - at such lVlarhiar.ellian stuff. Tius couid be considered a case of eponvmf ils tyell as a case of1on-equiralerlce al the rnorphologicitl ler,el because machiaverlic is a rorn and it rvas rendered urto English bv an

lcljectir.e. Nlachiavelliirn rs the epon],m of Nicollo di Bern;rdo Machiavelli- an Italiur stateslu& politicat plulosopiter.

iurcl aruhor. Ttus eponrm w'as used here consrderi-ng its third in*uung'. "choructerized by sttbtle or tutscrupuloLts

cttnning, dec:eptitm rr tlisltonest.v'. a"g. lle re.vtrtetl to.\[achiavellion lactics in orcler t<t get ahead" (Webster 1996.

859). Such cascs of cpon\ lny. rvhcn tlrc gramrnaticai category' is not prcserved are rather rare. Anolltcr example in point

is Falstaffiain. thc cponl,nr of Sir Jolur Falstaff. "the jovial. .lizt l*ttght of brazen assurance and fexi scruples rn

Sltokespeare'.s Henry* IV. part.r I antl 2 and The Merry lllves of ?l/indsor" (Webster 1996:513). Thus" Falstalfian,

usccl as ln adjcctive as rvcll. rclcrs to a pcrson ''perraining b. or having the qualitie,s of Fal*aff, e.speciolll, hisrobust,

har,tl,,'l'tLtmour, gorstl-naturetl ra,scalit.v,, antl bra;en hraggadocio " (Webster 1996: 513).

'" dt. nu ti-ai glsit omul - 1ou haven't found 1'our pigeon. Tlte translator considered pigeon the mosi adequatc

choicc not onlv in tenns of rncaning but also in terms of slvle: "lslang) a person v'ho i's eo.ri!.v'.fboled' (Webster

I 996. 109 I ). rendcnng tiie cflect of {he onginal idiorn as nell.tt...$i ,, si fie pusl in crrcereir. ca $-o vAzi-l cine o pofti +..,nnd posted up so as to be seen by el'eryone. chosen as

bcst nratching thc scmuntic ard st1'listic ciimcnsion ol thc ST. instcitd of thc other lariants suggestcd b1' the students. i.c.

stt thut $t!ts:pur, u,hiv,ishes mightsee il.Jbr unvone interested in to sce il. n'hich. although render-ing thc mealing. are

too fonnal.

TIPATESCU (turbat). il impugc! ii dau foc2z!

Tretruie sI mi-l aduci aici numaidecit:r. viu ori

mort, cu scrisoarea. (Se repede in fund.) Ghite! Sn

vie polifaiut!24TRAHANACF{E (dupa el pdnd in tund): Aiputinticd.... (intorcindu-se singur in scend) E iute!

N-are cump6t. Altminteri bun b[iat, deqtept, cu

carte, dar iute, nu face pentru prefect. lntr-osotietate fbrd moral qi f[r[ prinlip... trebuie sl ai

qi putinticd diplomatie!

TIPATESCU (mad with rage). I'll shoot him!I'll kill him.22 I must have him brought here23

right now, dead or alive, with the letter. (rushes

to the back of the stage) GhiF! Ghitel Call forthe cop!24

TRAHANACF{E (at the back of the stage):

Have a little bit of...(comes back alone). He is

hot-tempered. He loses his patience easily. He isa good fellow, anyway, smart, well educated,

but hot-tempered, it's not a good thing about aprefect. ln a society with no moral or principle,you must have a little bit of diplomacy, too.

" i-i dau foc! * I'll kill him! Being a culnye specific elernenl it could not be rendered into English bl' a simiiar

constnrction. The idiom to sd somebodv/ something on fve has a different connotative meaning "to cause lo burn.

ignite: to excite, arouse. inflarne " (Wr:bster. i996: ,53-l) This varianl although it could be interpreted as a senantic

loss" it best renders the effect of the oriEnal. Frida Knigh{'s variant: I'lI strungl,e him (L956:25) is not comnonly used

in spoken Englishtttreb.rie sd mi-l artucl aici numaidecAt + I must have him tlrought herc. lt is a case of non-equil'alence. The

Englislr language favouls the use of the causatir.e I'ert havc rneani:rg "to cause to, as bt: command, in,*itation, etc-"

Oil'ebster, 1996: 6-;0): it is cotnmon English usaget* SI r"ie politliul! * C.rll for thr: cop! Tlus urlbmrd vanmt \I'as preferred Io policeman rvhich is too fonnal and

utich docs not rcnder tltc stvlistic efl-cct olthc origitral.

TiPATESCU (intorcdndu-se din fund): Infamul! TIPATESCU (coming from the back of the

canalia! stage): The villain! The knave!

TRA,HANACF{E: Ei. astimpirl-te, omule25. qi TRAHANACF{E: Come on, calm down, man,

lasl odati mofturile, avem lutn:ri mai serioase de stop fussing2s ; we've got more important

vorbit. Deseari e intrunire. S-a hotirAt? Punem things to talk about. There's a meeting tonight.

candidatura lui Farfuridi26? Ce facem? Is it settied? Shall we put forward FarfuridiDesearf,, am aflat ci discdlimea cu Calavencu gi as our candidate?'u What are we going to do?

cu tofi ai lor vor sA facd scandal. Trebuie si-i I've heard that tonight the teachers together

spunem lui Ghile sA ingrijeascd. Miqelul de with Calavencu and company are going to make

Calavencu o sA ia deseard cuvdntul ca sa ne a row. We must tell Ghi15 to take care. That

combatA.. bastard, Calavencu, is going to take the floorand attack us tonight...

25 .."!.dsi ecl;rfi moftrrrile * stan I'usqing. -l'his r,anrnf r1'2c ^nnci4l^rcd the most pdeqtrRh hnth in terrns oi'manl.nq(fuss. "unneciilrtn.,nen,ous excitement, especiali.v ab()ut utliliryxiriatt things" Or{orr| 196i: {05) and styte. Frida

Knight's variantfo,rga oboutthesetrifles (1956:25) could be interpreted as bringing about a slight shade of meaning.tu pirnem canOidatura lui Farfuridi? - Shall rve put fonvard Farfuridi as our canttidate?. chosen in terms offrcquenc-r in spoken English (ti,e construction Shall we.".? is often used. especiall-v in British Englis[ to introduce a

queition aboul a pc.sonts $,ishes. tvhen asking for suggestions" ctc.) as tryell as in tcrms of meaning: to put forw'ard:"lo nominate, promote or support as/br o position" (Webster i996: 1168)'

nene TIPATESCU (still fretting): Don't worry, dearfie la Zaharia?l, tonight Mr. Calavencu shall not be

at the meeting, tonight, he'll be somewhere else

- in custody.am TRAHANACF{E: Come now, are you coming

de to lunch?

TPATESCU (fierbdnd mereu): Nu te teme,

Zaharia2l, desearf, d.Calavencu nu o sd

intrunire, o sA fie in altd parte - la p[strare.

TRAHAI.IACFIE: 'Aide, mergi la dejun?

TIPATESCU: Nu, neicd, Zahario, mullumim,treabi. Du-te dumneata singur; sirutirimffini coanii Joitichii2s. TIPATESCU: No, my friend, thanks, but I've

TRAHANACF{E: Bine, dar la pranz desigur got much work to do. Go ^yourself;

give my

Deseari eu mA duc la intrunire, tr.b,ri. s6 stai cu regards to Ma'am Joi1ica.28

Joitica, i-e urit singuri. Dupd intrunire avem TRAHANACF{E: All right, but at dinner you- toprel'eran1i...2e shail. I'm going to the meeting tonight, so you

must keep Joilica company, she gets boredwhen all alone. We're playing cards" after the

. meeting.27 neici Zxhar:iz - dear Zthana. In Romanian the appellatire neictr is a variant of nene, having the same meaning

tlrat of "termen de respect cu care se arlreseazd cineva unui bdrbat mai in vdrstd sau unui frate rnai mare" @reban

l9g0: 3g0). Being a cuiturs specific element. it could not be rendered inlo the TL by a sidriiar consffuction. This variant

rvas finallv choscn considenng its higfu frequencv in spoken language as rvell as its appropriateness in terms of

meaning: " heloved or loved; e-g.: o dearJriend of mine " (Webster 1996:372).tt sirut"dri de m6ini coanii Joitica ---+ give my regards to Ma'am Joi{ica. In the Romanian culture, kissing a woman's

hand is a very polite gesture. rmpl-ving resped for that person. In English in order to politely express sentiments ofesteent or affecfion 1{"bst"r, tSgO:tZOl). such constructions as give/ send my regards to..' are commonly used. Tlutis ryhv. sen4 my regards to Ma'am Joitica rvas the translalor's hnal choice as best rendering the rneaning as rvell as

t-tre stytistic etrect oitire original. As lor the other culture specific clement. i.e. coana, used in this contex-t as a polite

tenn of address to a woman- in charge of a household. it is commonly rendered b1-- madam (see the 2nd meaning in

Webster 1996:8(>0). specific to formal stlle or by its informal counterpiul. ma'am; the latter rvas hnall.v preferred so as

to match the swlistic dimension of the original.

tt avem prefcmn{l - wc'It plaf ing cards. Being a culture specific elernent. there is no equivalent construction in theTL and thus an erplanaton paraphrase rvas used. In Romani:rn, prcfcrantii is a popular variant of preferans - a ganeof cards.

(I.L.Caragiale, O scrisonre pierdutd in Elena Croitoru, Floriana Popescu, Gabriela Dim4 Culegere detexte pentru traducere" vol. I, Editura,Evrika, Braila, 1996.91-92)

Translated,interpreted and commented by :- Gabriela Colipcd, Carmen Mafiei, major students in Translation and Interpretation 1999-2000.