Gregory Rabassa's Latin American literature: A translator's visible legacy

In this dissertation I take the particular case of Gregory Rabassa, translator into English of such canonical novels as Garcia Marquez's Cien anos de soledad and Cortazar's Rayuela. I place Rabassa at the center of inquiry in order to recognize the translator's active role in shaping literary traditions and in producing texts and knowledge, and to explore ways in which the question of the translating subject can be entertained critically.; Chapter One, "How Do We Speak of the Translator?" outlines the theoretical framework of the study. I start out by presenting an overview of traditional conceptions of the translator's figure in translation studies, and then focus on contemporary theoretical approaches, largely drawn from poststructuralist perspectives, which pay particular attention to the importance of historicizing the translator's practice, recognizing the translator as a visible agent, and conceptualizing translation as form of writing that unfolds within complex interactions and negotiations.; In Chapter Two, "Rabassa's Theory: The Translator's Reflections about Language" I examine Rabassa's ideas about translation in general and about his own practice in particular. I look at Rabassa's articles, interviews, and prefaces to his translations, as well as his recently published book If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, to reflect on the conceptions of language and translation that underlie his statements.; Chapter Three "Del lado de alla y Del lado de aca/From this Side and From the Other: Rabassa's Dialogue with his Authors" is a reflection on Rabassa's ways of approaching and entering into dialogue with the authors whose texts he translates. I investigate the nature of the translator-author relationships in Rabassa's case, and reflect on the translator's role and expectations as they can be perceived in these interactions.; In Chapter Four "Ayer y hoy/Past and Present: Rabassa's Canon and the Reception of his Translations," which focuses on circulation and reception, I discuss this aspect of Rabassa's translations and the social and institutional aspects that may have influenced their reception. Of particular importance in this chapter is Rabassa's relationship with the canon of Latin American literature as it began to take shape in the sixties, during the Latin American literary Boom.; Chapter Five "Rabassa's Translations and an Imagined Latin America" discusses Rabassa's legacy in terms of the socio-historical dimension of translated literature within the literary institution. I investigate how Rabassa's translations have participated in constructing collective narratives and representations of Latin American literature---and of "Latin America" in its literature. I conclude with a general reflection on Rabassa as an active subject in the inter-American literary exchange, an agent bound to history and to the forces involved in the production of culture.