A Study Of Polysystem Theory Application In The Different Chinese Translated Texts Of Jane Eyre

Polysystem theory, advanced in the 1970s by Itamar Even-Zohar, an Israel scholar, opened a new, descriptive, target-oriented and systemic approach for translation studies and then gave impetus to the cultural turn. However, since it was put forward, the theory has been also criticized by some scholars at home and abroad. The present thesis endeavors to investigate the application of polysystem theory, especially its limitations in Chinese translation context by conducting a comprehensive and contrastive analysis of the three translated texts of Jane Eyre by Wu Guangjian, Li Jiye and Huang Yuanshen.According to polysystem theory, the position assumed by translated literature within the literary polysystem conditions the selection of texts to be translated and the adoption of translation strategies. Texts to be translated are chosen because of their compatibility with the mainstream culture of the target polysystem. To put it differently, the socio-literary conditions of the target culture dertermine those texts that get translated in the first place. With regard to the translation strategy, Even-Zohar suggests that when translated literature assumes a primary position within the target literary polysystem, translators will adopt foreignization in their translations and when translated literature occupies a secondary one, translators tend to follow the strategy of domestication.In the present study, three Chinese translated texts of Jane Eyre by Wu Guangjian, Li Jiye and Huang Yuanshen have been compared and analyzed in great detail in terms of the the reasons for the selection of the text and the adoption of translation strategies, the two main points proper in polysystem theory. As regards the selection of texts, this study compared the reasons for the seletion got based on the relevant literature, especially the prefaces and postscripts of the three translated texts, with the ones got based on the polysystem theory. With regard to the adoption of translation strategy, this study compared the translation strategies got based on the textual analysis, to be specific, the analysis of the 624 sentences in the 30 pages in the source text, with the ones got based on polysystem theory. And the results indicate that texts to be translated are chosen not merely because of their compatibility with the mainstream culture, namely, social needs (political needs, cultural needs and popular needs) in a target cultural polysystem but also because of other constraints, such as, patron's influence, translator's subjectivity, and that translators'adoption of translation strategies got based on the textual analysis is not always consistent with the ones got based on the position of translated literature in polysystem theory, therefore the adoption of translation strategies is conditioned not only by the position of translated literature but also by patron's influence and translator's subjectivity, namely translator's purpose of translation, translator's recognition of target readers'acceptability and of the position of translated literature within the target cultural polysystem.Based on the above research, this study concludes that polysystem theory can partly explain some translation phenomena but it has some limitations as well. In the present thesis, the three limitations are discovered, including absence of translator's subjectivity, neglect of patron's influence and the rigid dichotomy between central and peripheral position of translated literature, among which the absence of translator's subjectivity is the greatest limitation. Therefore, polysystem theory needs further development and improvement.