episode_0084

Translation is quite an arduous task. This is completely different from simply reading a foreign edition in the original language as a bilingual speaker.

The arbitrary nature of language does not allow the sentence ‘ABCD’ to be consistently translated as ‘ganadara’. The context in which the word was used, the situation of the time, the expressions mainly used by the author, the translation guidelines of publishers, expressions used in past domestic papers dealing with the work, foreign word notation and idiomatic expressions—all of these are intertwined to form one sentence. makes

In highly complex contexts, the same sentence may be translated completely differently.

– “Senior, are you okay?”

– “Huh?”

– “Your expression is especially… I feel like a crazy person.”

– “You should change your speaking habits.”

– “No, what should I do when my senior’s expression is really strange!”

– “What’s strange?”

– “Well, what should I say? that is… .”

and.

Despite all the hardships.

– “Looks like someone who took drugs… ?”

– “Ugh, the guy called the translator is talking about Malbonsae… .”

The Old Man and the Sea was one of the novels that I really enjoyed translating. Hemingway’s unique powerful and intuitive sentences feel like a kind of jigsaw puzzle to the translator. It is a puzzle where the cathode and anode, and the female and male threads fit perfectly together.

(In fact, novels written by former journalists tend to be like that.)

I guess I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. In a previous life, the copyright for ‘Hemingway’ was released at the end of 2011 in Korea, and thanks to this, so many of Hemingway’s works were published that 2012 could be called the year of Hemingway. It also happened.

Among Hemingway’s novels, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ is a work that has quite a few modifiers used – that is, it is evaluated as ‘talkative’, but because of that, it was a bit more fun to translate. It was no different from people who were accustomed to regular puzzles feeling stronger intellectual pleasure from blank puzzles, three-dimensional puzzles, or irregular puzzles.

So, my junior’s expression, ‘He looks like a person who took drugs’ was actually quite accurate.

– “Then what do you say?”

– “Isn’t there a good expression such as “like a person in love”?”

– ” Just looking at your expression makes me feel like the affection I had for you will drop… ?”

– “I have to try not to fall further.”

– “… Phew. You should! We’re dating now. Ugh, I can’t believe something… .”

Well, anyway.

So I translated this novel.

Hemingway’s novel shows a perfect example of the ‘style’ that literature should pursue.

In this way, the novel ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ was published in the empire.

[“Ah,”]

[He said loudly. There is no translation for this word, and it is probably just a sound made unconsciously by a person when they feel a nail passing through their hand and into the wood.]

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.

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If I were to summarize the plot of ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ in one word, it could be called Saeongjima (塞翁之馬).

The old man, who had not caught a single fish for eighty and four days, catches a huge marlin as if he were being rewarded for his hard work. However, the marlin, which is as big as a shark, continues to drag the boat for three days, and eventually, after a struggle, the old man succeeds in catching the marlin by sticking a harpoon into it.

However, after sticking a spear into a marlin and catching it, sharks start attacking the boat, aiming for the marlin’s flesh. Surprisingly, the old man succeeded in killing the shark as well, but the sea was wide and there were many sharks.

In the end, the old man, whose entire marlin was eaten by sharks, returns home with the marlin’s bones.

And then he falls into a deep sleep – that was the plot of The Old Man and the Sea.

In fact, if you just read the synopsis, you have no idea what kind of novel it is. But if you read it yourself─.

“This is so interesting… ?”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I felt like Metamorphosis was a somewhat experimental novel, but I think this novel is really the most fun novel I’ve ever read!”

“Thank goodness.”

You will instantly become immersed in the story of the old man fishing.

Hemingway had a natural talent for capturing the reader’s attention. The various symbols used in The Old Man and the Sea – Santiago and fishing, the stars and the sea, determination and perseverance – were all very intuitive and familiar ‘biblical’ symbols.

Even in the description, Hemingway used words that were specific and easy for anyone to understand.

If a technical word is needed, an explanation of the word is immediately added. Even such an explanation was not unnatural, but was done in a very poetic and narrative way.

[“He always thought of the sea as ‘la mar.’ This was the name people called in Spanish when they loved the sea. People who love the sea sometimes say bad things about the sea, but they always describe it as feminine.]

For this reason, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ was read by numerous readers and received enormous acclaim the moment it was published.

Fan letters for Homer poured in to the publisher.

Some people did not hesitate to evaluate ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ as a work as great as ‘Don Quixote’.

“The Old Man and the Sea is a masterpiece that deals with themes worthy of Homer! The human hymn contained in this story—Santiago’s patience and will are salvation in a more realistic and personal way, following the shining ideals of ‘Don Quixote’. This is the Savior’s Passion, and it is no different from the pilgrimage of a saint.”

“It’s so fun… . The last novel, ‘Metamorphosis’, was a little unpleasant, but this novel is a little easier to read and more interesting… . It’s thrilling… .”

Naturally, there were not only positive reviews.

Compared to its overwhelming popularity among the public, critics’ evaluations were rather stingy compared to ‘Transformation’.

“It’s a good novel, but… Isn’t it too simple and old-fashioned? The message also did not go one step further than the existing biblical tradition… It feels like the quality of the work was sacrificed for popularity.”

“This is a fable that pretends to describe reality. Wouldn’t a transformation that puts you in a blatantly absurd situation be technically superior? The expressions were also too simplified… It feels closer to a telegram than a work of art.”

Some critics criticized ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ as a light novel written in a very ‘commercial’ manner, contrary to the public’s favorable reviews.

To put it simply, it was evaluated as a ‘Herodotus’ novel, not a ‘Homeric’ novel.

Of course, as always, not many readers paid attention to critics’ reviews. At most, I looked for nobles or critics in social circles who boasted of their knowledge, and given that most of those nobles were fans of Homer, I was unable to elicit a meaningful response.

Additionally, several priests of the church quoted ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ in their sermons.

“We live in great hardship and poverty. Some hardships cause us to fall, and poverty holds us back from getting up again. But nonetheless, life has value. Respect for life, gentleness and patience… Like Santiago in ‘The Old Man and the Sea,’ let us love our own destiny. Our life becomes truly valuable when we love even the fate that is full of hardships.”

The story of ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ could be heard everywhere in the empire.

and.

Homer, the writer who brought about all these reactions – Ed Frieden.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Uh, isolette?”

I was welcoming my cousin who came to the Frieden Mansion.

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Isolet Reinhardt was born with great talent.

It is the talent of a critic who can see a fairy tale through a child’s eyes, read a romance through a lover’s eyes, and read literature correctly from its lowest rock to its highest peak.

Because of that, we occasionally exchanged stories about our work through letters… .

This was the first time she had visited Frieden Mansion since her brief visit when she transcended.

“Is this place still the same? The ivy growing in a mess, the servant dozing off… .”

“Of course.”

“Ed Wouldn’t it be nice to pay a little more attention to decorating your home sometimes? If the space you stay in is confusing, your mind will also be confused.”

“I’m always cleaning the bookshelf… ?”

“… To you, is space synonymous with study?”

Isolette laughed and shook her head as if she was dumbfounded.

Then, he neatly folded the cloth he was wearing on his shoulder, put it down on the desk, and opened his mouth with a smile.

“Is it okay if I sit in front?”

“Ugh.”

“Thank you. I’ve been riding trains and carriages all day, so my legs are a little sore… .”

“Really? You must be very tired. I’ll ask Sion to bring tea, so just relax for now.”

“Hehe, after all, the only people who think about family are the same family. So, what I’m saying is, is it okay if I stay in this mansion for a few days?”

“Huh?”

“I have to stay in the empire for about a week. I am Reinhardt and you are Frieden… Because we are cousins. I want to rent a little room.”

“It doesn’t matter… . Shouldn’t you ask Count Frieden, not me?”

“Count Frieden said it would be okay as long as you were okay.”

“Really?”

“Uh.”

“Well, then what… .”

I thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Stay comfortably like your own home.”

“Thank you, Ed.”

“It’s my joy.”

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[“Maybe I shouldn’t have become a fisherman.”]

[He thought.]

[“But that was the reason I was born in this world.”]

That night.

A balcony where the moon illuminates the Hwiyeongcheong table.

While I was reading a book by moonlight as usual.

Isolette sat across from him.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

Isolet spoke in a light, joking tone.

I nodded and answered without taking my eyes off the book I was reading.

“Sure. The moon is bright so I can see the book clearly.”

“Me?”

“Huh?”

“Can’t you see me?”