TRANSLATING INTIMACY IN THE WORLD LITERATURE
TRANSLATING INTIMACY IN THE WORLD LITERATURE

Summary/Abstract: This article explores a few strategies of ”translating” (in cultural terms) intimacy and emotions in postcolonial literature, as well as the way that translation shapes perceptions of relationships and identities across cultures. We address the relation between postcolonial and Western writers in the practice of translation, and we proceed to assess its impact on identity reconfiguration. Focusing on local literary and gender studies, we show how intimacy is culturally specific and resists universalization. Case studies, including Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, illustrate how postcolonial narratives preserve cultural authenticity rather than conforming to Western norms.

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