An Analysis Of Two Chinese Versions Of Tess Of The D’urbervilles From The Perspective Of Feminist Translation Theory

Feminist Translation Theory advocates that the translator should enjoy the same status as the author of the source text and emphasizes the female translator’s subjectivity.Once it was introduced to China in the 1990 s,this theory in China was challenged.For decades,domestic translators have made achievements in theoretical aspect,but translation practice guided by this theory is far from enough.Tess of the d’Urbervilles by the British writer Hardy was published in 1891 and there are more than ten translated versions.Domestic researchers have explored its translated versions from different aspects,but few practices are carried out from the perspective of Feminist Translation Theory.Based on this situation,the author selects the most influential versions of Zhang Guruo(male)and Huang Jianren(female)and makes a comparative study of the two versions guided by Feminist Translation Theory.This paper includes five chapters.Chapter one introduces the background of this thesis,the significance of the study and the structure of the thesis.Chapter two discusses Feminist Translation Theories at home and abroad as well as previous studies on these two versions.Chapter three analyzes the principles of Feminist Translation Theory and feminist translation strategies under the guidance of these principles.The translator’s subjectivity,one of the principles,and supplementing and hijacking are the criteria for comparative study in chapter four.Chapter four analyzes the differences between the two versions in terms of translator’s subjectivity and feminist translation strategies.The differences of the translator’s subjectivity are mainly reflected in the linguistic level and the aesthetic level.And feminist translation strategies differ in the use of supplementing and hijacking.The last chapter summarizes the significant findings,limitations,and suggestions.Through the comparative analysis of the two versions,the author finds that: first of all,the female translator gives full play to the translator’s subjectivity by using the feminine language,which is reflected in word choice,sentence structure and emotional expressing.Besides,the two translators differ in aesthetic level,which also features in word choice;on top of that,she adopts the feminist translation strategy to express her understanding in shaping the heroine’s image,which is close to the female image in the original work.The author hopes to provide a new perspective for later translators and expects to make a modest contribution to the study of Feminist Translation Theory in China.