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Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders pp 147–166Cite as

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Hysteria, Impropriety and Presence: Towards a Feminist Approach to Intersemiotic Translation

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Abstract

Discussing her own translation of Hélène Cixous’ novel Inside (1969/1986) into theatre, Berger suggests the figure of the hysteric as way of determining a feminist practice on intersemiotic translation. The approach outlined is twofold: firstly, Berger suggests methods for translating Cixous’ hysteric aesthetic from prose to the stage, concentrating in particular on Cixous’ use of vibrating signifiers and her methods for producing a synaesthetic experience of signs’ materiality. Secondly, Berger discusses how the practice of intersemiotic translation itself might be considered both hysterical and potentially feminist by contextualising it in relation to feminist theories of translation. In doing so, this chapter contributes to the emerging discourse of intersemiotic translation by offering a politicised approach to it.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In using the term affect here and elsewhere in this essay, I am referring to the notion of affect developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. As its translator Brian Massumi succinctly summarises in his foreword to A Thousand Plateaus, the term refers to a “prepersonal intensity corresponding to the passage from one experiential state of the body to another” (2004: xvii).

  2. 2.

    Throughout this chapter, I will refer to the hysteric in the feminine as I am interested specifically in hysteria’s relationship to women and its place in feminist thought. I do not wish, however, to suggest that hysteria is a solely female issue or silence the history of male hysteria that has been widely theorised (see for example: Bronfen1998).

  3. 3.

    Similarly, the hysteric herself seemingly cannot be interpreted away, given that many of the most famous case studies—Freud’s studies of Anna O. and Dora, Charcot’s of Augustine—are still re-interpreted and theorised today.

  4. 4.

    The piece was shown as part of the Spaces of (Dis)Location conference at The University of Glasgow (May 2012) and Performance Studies International #18 at The University of Leeds (July 2012).

  5. 5.

    I maintained this compositional feature in the performance by splitting it into eight scenes each of which was marked by a blackout at the beginning and end.

  6. 6.

    There was another category, ‘Events,’ which interestingly did not produce any responses. This indicates that Cixous’ novel so fundamentally destabilises the notion of narrative event that my collaborators were not able to pinpoint any.

  7. 7.

    Godard’s translation practice developed primarily through her engagement with Québécoise women’s writing, especially that of Nicole Brossard. Many of the textual features that characterise these practices overlap with Cixous’ approach that is discussed here.

  8. 8.

    Here also see Chapter 11 by Arlene Tucker in this volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Cara Berger

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  1. Cara Berger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Madeleine Campbell

  2. Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College London, London, UK

    Ricarda Vidal

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Berger, C. (2019). Hysteria, Impropriety and Presence: Towards a Feminist Approach to Intersemiotic Translation. In: Campbell, M., Vidal, R. (eds) Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97244-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97244-2_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97244-2

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