A Study of Marie Canavaggia’s Translation of The Scarlet Letter from the Perspectives of Pierre Bourdieu and Antoine Berman
Marie Canavaggia is one of the few prominent translators of major works of American and English literature in the 20th century. Her role and influence in France and in French-speaking countries gave French readers the opportunity to discover key texts of English-language literatures. Our study of this important translator lies within the framework of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theory and, secondarily, is informed by Antoine Berman’s thoughts on literary translation. To develop an understanding of Marie Canavaggia’s habitus—a concept it was first necessary to clarify—this study examines her biography (factual biographical information in particular) and presents a contrastive analysis of her translation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It concludes by highlighting the elements that make it possible to better define Marie Canavaggia’s influence on French literature and literary translation.