The Application Of Skopos Theory To The Translation Of Detective Story The Enigma

John Fowles is one of the most talented and innovative writers in post-war Britain. His detective stories present newness in thoughts and style, and are full of mystery and suspense.This paper is a meditation on the practice of translating Fowles’s The Enigma. Under the guidance of Skopos Theory, the translator has chosen proper strategies so that the information (ideological, cultural and stylistic) in the source text is effectively conveyed to the target language readers.This paper consists of four chapters. Chapter One is an introduction of the theoretical basis, the reasons for choosing The Enigma as the research subject, and the structure of this thesis. Chapter Two explains the key concepts of Skopos Theory, the thematic and stylistic features of postmodern fiction, and the plot and style of The Enigma. Like Fowles’s other works, The Enigma is obscure and seemingly unintelligibility in content and style. Therefore, the application of Skopos Theory would make the translated The Enigma more appreciable to Chinese readers. Chapter Three illustrates how translation strategies, under the guidance of Skopos Theory, are flexibly utilized so that both messages and style of the source text are conveyed as much as possible. Chapter Four points out the effectiveness and limitations of Skopos Theory as applied to translating The Enigma.