CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS AND TRANSLATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DISCOURSE AND IDEOLOGY IN TRANSLATED VERSIONS OF IBSEN’S A DOLL’S HOUSE

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Nordlit 34, 2015 repetitions in Nora's and Helmer's speeches, are most accurately rendered in Peter Watts's English version. Then, by using the critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach, we examine closely the discourse in three different versions, namely (1) Watts's English translation (which is closest to the original), (2) Pan Jiaxun's Chinese target text and (3) Cao Kaiyuan's Taiwanese target text, focusing on the use of devices such as dashes and repetitions in the conversation between Torvald and Nora in the last scene of Act III.

Key findings and arguments
We believe that some devices such as punctuation and repetition which function as disrupting the fluency of a discourse are significant in a text, and in a play, doubly so. At a microscopic level, to deploy the devices differently will vary the extent of discourse interpretation, such as characters' emotions; at a macroscopic level, it will alter one's perception of context, such as social significance. In A Doll's House, which examines a diversity of personal and social issues such as gender inequality, emancipation of women's status and self-discovery, such devices hail a highly essential role -to bring out the subtle conflicts inflicted upon individuals against themselves, individuals against each other and against society. Apparently, in Pan's version, punctuation, repetition and the like are dealt with differently from Watt's version and cause a significant change of implications. Therefore, a rise of inconsistent interpretation ensues. It is evident that the dashes and repetition in the conversation between Nora and Helmer in the last scene of Act III are largely ignored.
From the comparison between Watts's English translation and Pan's Chinese translation, we notice three main differences: (1) Pan alters what is before and after the dashes in the dialogue, (2) Pan tends to delete dashes in the dialogue and (3) Pan omits repetition patterns in the dialogue.
Because of this, moments of silence and hints of hesitation in Nora's dialogue disappear in Pan's translation. Our concern is that this may lead to a different interpretation of the mental struggle that Nora is experiencing in the scene. Interestingly, when we compare Pan's Chinese translation with Cao's (the Taiwanese version), we found Cao's translation, though not as popular and highly acclaimed as Prof. Pan's translation, is synonymous with Watts's English version and Ibsen's Dano-Norwegian version, especially in dealing with punctuation and repetition.

Use of dashes and their implications
Before we look into the translations, let us look briefly at the functions of dashes. As we know, dashes can be used to indicate sudden changes in tone or thought within a sentence. For instance, in "I wish you could -oh, never mind", the dash indicates an abrupt change in thought and warrants. Also, in "I -I don't know", the dash implies there is a pause, a hint of hesitation and uncertainty in the speech.
In the last scene of Act III, dashes can be found quite frequently in Nora's speech. The following is an excerpt from the source text, together with Watts's English translation: Nordlit 34, 2015

Source text
Watts's English version Act III, last scene (page 123): Act III, last scene (page 78): Nora: …(rejser sig.) Torvald, -Nora: …(Getting up.) Torvald -it was i den stund gik det op for mig, then it dawned on me that for at jeg i otte år havde levet her eight years I had been living here sammen med en fremmed mand, here with a strange man, and had og at jeg havde fået tre børn -. Å, borne him three children -. Oh, I jeg tåler ikke at taenke på det! Jeg can't bear to think of it! I could kunde rive mig selv i stumper og tear myself into little bits! stykker.
Here, the dashes represent short moments of silence in Nora's utterance. They suggest an outburst of mixed emotions -regret, frustration, pain, self-restraint and denial. This draws attention to and reflects Nora's unspeakable pain. Since the topic is too difficult and uncomfortable for Nora to continue, the silence protects her from mentioning further explicit and graphic descriptions of her failure. It stops hurtful memories from raining down.
Yet, in Pan's Chinese version, the dashes disappear:

Pan's Chinese version (Dashes missing)
Back Another similar example is found in the following page of the play. Again, in Nora's utterance, as shown in the source text and the English version translated by Watts, a dash is used:

Source text
Watts's English version Act III, last scene (page 124): Act III, last scene (page 78): Nora: Således, som jeg nu er, Nora: As I am now, I am no wife er jeg ingen hustru for dig.
for you. Helmer: Jeg har kraft til at blive en anden.
Helmer: I have it in me to become a different man. Nora: Måske, -hvis dukken tages fra dig.
Nora: Perhaps -if your doll is taken away from you.
Our interpretation is that Nora is not just unhappy with Torvald but also unsatisfied with herself. "I am no wife for you" implies that Nora sees what is lacking in her as a person. That is why she needs to get away and learn to become a better person. The dash indicates a pause, as well as a co-occurrence of two contradictory ideas: should I leave home immediately, or should I give my husband a second chance? While Nora is thinking of leaving the doll's house, it crosses her mind that Torvald does have the potential of reflection and self-improvement. To Nora, it is possible for Torvald, if given a second chance and enough time, to become a different (and better) man one day. But then after the mental struggle, Nora decides to leave, for real changes cannot take place if she does not cease to play the doll's role.
In Pan's Chinese version, the dash is kept, but the phrases before and after the dash are reversed:

Pan's Chinese version (Phrases before
Back Translation (Phrases before and after the dash are reversed) and after the dash are reversed) 娜拉: 照我现在这样子，我不能跟你 Nora: As the way I look now, I 做夫妻。 cannot be your wife.

海尔茂: 我有勇气重新再做人。
Helmer: I have the courage to be a better person. 娜拉: 在你的泥娃娃离开你之后── Nora: After your doll has left you 也许有。 -maybe yes.
Nordlit 34, 2015 With the alteration, Pan's version shows the reader that Nora is very certain about leaving Torvald. The dash, together with the adverb of supposition 'maybe' (也许), has been moved to the end and becomes a post-modifier, ebbing the effect of pre-modifying the main clause "After your doll has left you" (在你的泥娃娃离开你 之后). Now that the clause that carries heavy information is brought to the front, it implies that Nora feels Torvald is hopeless and she has no intention of staying at all. The chance of Torvald becoming a better man had she stayed has been ruled out completely, while if she leaves, there may still be a thin chance. Nora's strong will has been emphasized by repositioning the dash and the adverb. In contrast to the English version in which 'Perhaps -' precedes the clause and brings out the uncertainty first, we see very little mental struggle for Nora in the Chinese version.
In Cao's version, the phrases before and after the dash are in the right order and no alterations are made.

Cao's Chinese version Back Translation 娜: 現在我不是你的太太。
Nora: Now I am not your wife.
Dashes and repetitions do not only occur in Nora's utterance; they can also be found in the speeches of Helmer: Source text Watts's English version Last scene, Act III (page 124): Last scene, Act III (page 79): Helmer: At skilles -skilles fra dig! Helmer: But to part! -to part from Nej, nej, Nora, jeg kan ikke you! No, no, Nora, I can't fatte den tanke.
understand that idea.
The dash, as an interruption initiated by the interlocutor himself (Helmer), implies a sudden revelation of the cruel reality he has been resistant to face. His revelation sees the dual form of this reality -the abrupt power shift of gender roles and the perceivable loss of social status due to the collapse of the familial structure. In Helmer's mind, Nora's unequivocal rejection is analogous to the shift of power from being dominant to being dominated. The dash gives Helmer (the interlocutor) some time to figure out what is going on, as he has never been mentally prepared for such a reversed role, and avoids any further irrational burst of words. Because of this, the situation is aggravated and causes him to completely lose the domination he has always confidently kept intact. From a social point-of-view, this change of role from control to being controlled, implies an utter failure for Helmer, who, in the play, sees himself a successful social climber -he has a bourgeois family and a respectable job. Anything that affects such prestige and enjoyment will be an obstacle hardly accepted in a society of gender stereotypes.
Nordlit 34, 2015 Through words, the grim fate will emerge as an irrevocable form which Helmer cannot accept. The dash can allow time for Helmer to swallow all of his thoughts, calm his nerve and thereby regain the floor. Its implication is manifested in the interlocution and the context. Followed by the dash is the repetition (no, no), which reinforces his reluctance to accept the fate and the power shift. Repetition is a common lexical device to prolong the interlocutor's speech in order to let him/her keep his/her floor. It symbolises his/her retrieval of a dominant role in a discourse, and in A Doll's House, this symbolism goes beyond family to society. It is a struggle of roles between Nora and Helmer, who represent their genders at large.
As shown, the dash serves as an interruption which lets him regain and collect his mind, paving the way for a strong objection, which comes through by him repeating 'no' twice. In a literal sense, 'no' directs to the idea of parting -a clear rejection to Nora's determined mind. Yet, psychologically speaking, such a device can give him time to take back the floor, to shift the power back to him and react accordingly. It signifies a victory readily hailed by Helmer, who fights on behalf of himself, a decision maker in the family and all the men who have been striving to keep the right and power in the society.
In Pan's version, the dash is removed and the repetition is interrupted by the name.
The dash used to mark a significant pause has disappeared and we cannot tell if Helmer experiences the turmoil mentioned in the English version (and in the original text). Although exclamation marks are used and preserve a sigh of disbelief, it does not show any interruption and the effect caused by this. Instead, we are led to believe that Helmer objects to Nora's decision based purely on impulse. An outburst without pause fails to project Helmer's multi-faceted character and the complex motives behind the interlocution. Furthermore, the implication of struggle of thought and power between the genders highlighted in the theme cannot be brought out. Without immediate and exact repetition, the effects of prolonging the time in order to regain the floor and, therefore, the power, have been diminished. The insertion of the name (娜拉) followed by an indirect repetition (不行) makes it a blunt demand which not only fails to reconfirm the need for Helmer to retrieve the floor, but also shows no power shift, as if Helmer had always stayed in a dominant position. His call for his wife's name between repetitions displays his usual confidence and signals complete control. A further change of repetition, from 不 to 不行, stresses that his power is asserted and any threat to his position is negligible. Had it been so, the interlocution would be cut drastically and its major effect of bringing out the inner conflicts would have been lost. The pauses and the repetitions in the utterance, like "No", "nothing -nothing -", seem to suggest that Nora needs time to think and breathe -to decline Torvald's offer is miserable and very painful. After all, as she discloses, she will often think of her husband, her kids and the house. There is a slight shade of hesitation in her line. Also, Nora has to repeat the word "nothing" two times to focus her energy, re-affirm her will to leave and persuade herself again not to change her mind. According to Johnstone (2004), repetition in conversation can minimize "hesitations and fillers while allowing people to keep the conversational floor as they think of what to say next" (146). From that, we can tell that Nora repeats herself in order to gain time to think, without showing obvious signs of hesitation.
However, in Pan's Chinese version, the dashes and the repetitions in Nora's speech are gone:

Pan's Chinese version (Dashes and Back Translation (Dashes and repetitions of negation omitted; a repetitions of negation omitted; a strong modal verb used) strong modal verb used) 娜拉: 喔，我会时常想到你，
Nora: Oh, I will often think of you, 想到孩子们，想到这个家。 think of our kids, think of our home.

海尔茂: 我可以给你写信吗？
Helmer: May I write to you? 娜拉: 不， 千万别写信。 Nora: No. Don't you ever write to me. Without the pauses and the repetitions of "Nothing nothing" and "No", Nora seems very cold and abrupt in her answers. Also, the change of auxiliary verbs, from 'can' to 'do', as in the English version "I can receive nothing from a stranger" and Pan's version "I do not accept help from a stranger", results in a drastic change of tone. The former 'can' projects a soft tone, thereby softening her stance, which only presupposes how Nora treats Helmer in the future, and any hint that forges this link is not least improbable; whereas the latter 'do' carries a forceful tone, which amounts to a resolute attitude in rejecting Helmer and seeing him as a stranger under all circumstances, thereby eliminating all possible remedies and reconciliation. This conflicts with the repetition expressed in the earlier line of utterance, "I will often think of you, think of our kids, think of our home", which suggests a longing for the past.
In Cao's Chinese translation, a small change in the choice of words is noted; nonetheless, pauses and repetitions are kept:

Conclusion
A Doll's House (1979) encompasses the fundamental problems that occurred within a chauvinistic hierarchical society of the 19 th century. According to Morkhagen (2012), not until 1882 were Norwegian women given access to higher education and not until the1890s were married women granted the right to control their own wealth. Also, Norwegian women were not allowed to vote until 1913. Through the monologues Nordlit 34, 2015 and dialogues between Nora and Helmer in A Doll 's House (1979), Ibsen reveals to us social and familial dominance, power struggle and abuse, and the liberation of mind. We are led to the inner thoughts of each and the conflicts between them through the analysis of discourse devices such as punctuation and repetition. They help stretch our imagination to the past and pave the way for questions: whom could she turn to after leaving home? Where would the money for rent, for food and other necessities come from? How could she make a living? Independence and survival require not just courage, but also money. We can imagine that by choosing to leave home, Nora will have to face huge pressure. Yet, the change of devices such as dashes and repetitions in Pan's version predicts the opposite: she could leave home proudly and happily without a trace of hesitation and mental struggle. Analysis along this line has also been found in some critics. Chinese views on literature are no more monolithic than Western views. However, in the interpretation of Ibsen monolithic tendencies are obvious whereas the diversity is barely visible. Chinese critics after the May Fourth period wrote for an elite readership, as their predecessors had done; they assumed an audience with a shared educational and cultural background. This assumption made many of them treat Western authors as if they were as familiar as the most well-known Chinese authors. Perhaps this may explain why plays such as A Doll's House became transformed from a multi-faceted play to a slogan for female emancipation.
As noted, functional and syntactic features (mainly for disruption of an interlocution) not only affect how we perceive a play and its characters subtly, but also mark the unique status and implications of a particular version. We have demonstrated such effects on A Doll's House with reference to an English version (Peter Watt's) and a Chinese version (Pan's) accompanied by the original text (Ibsen's). The preference for certain syntactic use and functional devices shown in different translations may result in various interpretations of a discourse, hence perceptions of the context. The noticeable difference between Chinese critics and Western critics in analysing the play clearly indicates this. From translators to readers to critics, the influence has proven significant and substantial, and this starts from the use of punctuation and repetition.
Nordlit 34, 2015 ii Pan Jiaxun, Professor of Western Languages at the Peking University, is considered the most authoritative Chinese translator among Chinese scholars. As Tam (1985) remarks, "Pan's continuous efforts in translating Ibsen through the 1920's and 30's made him an authoritative figure comparable to William Archer in England." (135)