One common theme seen throughout history classes and textbooks in the U.S is the attempt to paint the U.S and European countries as great nations by means of limited narratives from oppressors. The voices of the oppressed within these colonizer societies are often silenced, as most perspectives come from those in power. One specific group of people whose voices have been silenced throughout history is women. Because of this, women in the 19th century would often adopt disguises in order to talk about their experiences. In my capstone project I will be working on translating into English, two letters from the novel “Una holandesa en América”, written in Spanish by Colombian author Soledad Acosta de Samper [1833-1913]. In this novel, the main character is Lucía, a Dutch woman who embarks on a journey to América, recounting her perspective on the roles of women in society and her opinions about Europe’s modernity and America’s lack thereof. These letters are included in the novel as a way for Lucia to express her initial feelings and experiences to her friend, Mercedes, about leaving her independent life in her homeland for Colombia, to take on the role as the head of her expatriated family’s household. The novel’s narrator states that these two letters are originally in English and then translated to Spanish. The novel is therefore written in Spanish by a Colombian writer writing in the voice of a Dutch woman who writes these letters in English. Why does the author do this? Is it because the disguise gives her more authority? Is it because she has the ability and resources to write about her experiences and opinions? Throughout history, women have played major roles in movements, wars, and society in general but there is a lack of visibility for works containing the voices of women. In order to have their voices heard they often utilized some form of disguise and to an extent have some form of privilege. My goal for this project is to look at Samper’s text and try to answer the lingering questions: Why did Samper use translation as a disguise? How does the experiences of Samper’s character (Lucia) make her oppressed and help us understand oppression during this time? How does it compare to what oppression is for women today? Hidden in the silenced voices are the truths of history that are not taught to us.
Presentation deriving from capstone seminar with Rayes Lázaro, director of the translation studies concentration.