Translation and the quest for self-identity in postcolonial Indian Anglophone and Maghrebian Francophone literature
This thesis starts with the hypothesis that postcolonial works from India and the three North African countries of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia show remarkable similarities in their literatures and that the translation of these works into other European languages poses similar issues to the translator. In an attempt to bridge the gap between Anglophone and Francophone literary productions, my thesis analyzes novels from India and the Maghreb by writers like Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Driss Chraibi, Albert Memmi and Leila Sebbar.I begin by discussing the areas as Postcolonial spaces and draw out the similarities in Form and Content found in the novels. Then, the thesis looks at one of the main themesin the novels - the Quest for Self-Identity, as opposed to the quest for national identity (which was the preoccupying concern for newly-freed citizens of the colonies). Aframework based on works by Freud, Kristeva, Bhabha and Khatibi serves as the basis on which to analyze the quest. The focus then shifts to the Translation Studies aspect of the thesis. Detailed case studies analyze passages from the Source and Target texts - Maghrebian Francophone novels and their translations into English; and Indian Anglophone novels and their translations intoFrench. A simplified version of the framework put forth by Kitty Van Leuven-Zwart is used for these case studies, from which conclusions are arrived at.
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