Politics of sexuality, poetics of originality: early retranslations of Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince” into Turkish
Middle Eastern Literatures, cilt.28, sa.1, ss.58-79, 2026 (AHCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 28 Sayı: 1
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/1475262x.2025.2605994
- Dergi Adı: Middle Eastern Literatures
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Arab World Research Source, Index Islamicus, Jewish Studies Source, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Religion and Philosophy Collection, Index to Jewish Periodicals, MLA International Bibliography, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Humanities Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.58-79
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Retranslation, (self-)censorship, gender and sexuality, Turkish modernization, Oscar Wilde
- Kırklareli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This article examines the early retranslations of Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince” published in Turkey between 1923 and 1945, a period marked by nation-building and modernization efforts of the Turkish Republic. Notable for its homoerotic content and frequent retranslations, the story serves as a lens to explore how same-sex sexuality was addressed in translation during an era that prioritized heterosexual norms. Situating these retranslations within the socio-political context, the study highlights the dynamics of heteronormalization and its intersections with modernization. A comparative analysis of the retranslations reveals that overt censorship attempts remain minimal. This is interpreted as a reflection of the unique dynamics of the politics of sexuality during the era and, in particular, the adoption of a modern translation paradigm–termed here the poetics of originality–that privileged the foreign text over its translations.