Gender dynamics in theatrical retranslation: women’s roles in English versions of Fuente Ovejuna
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Abstract
The concept of retranslation holds particular significance in the performing arts, where considerations of historical periods, linguistic aspects, literary discoveries, and personal views are key aspects. This paper aims to shed some light on the textual, paratextual and social agents that intervene in the (re)translation and reception in the UK of Lope de Vega’s Fuente Ovejuna. More specifically, it intends to show how women’s roles and sexual exploitation in the Spanish text are portrayed in the target plays, examining the extent to which female characters are afforded increased empowerment and agency. For exemplification purposes, four British performance-oriented retranslations have been selected: Allan Sillitoe and Ruth Fainlight’s All Citizens Are Soldiers (1967), Adrian Mitchell’s Fuente Ovejuna (1988), Daniel Goldman’s Fuente Ovejuna (2010), and April De Angelis’s The Village (2018a). The findings reveal a gradual shift from collective judgement to alternative interpretations that situate women at the heart of the action.
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