As we have seen, the content that framed the 1921 Revista Nós version of
Cathleen Ni Houlihan revolves around a political figure, Terence Mac Swiney, and
encouraged the readership to see a parallel between the Irish cause and the Galician nationalists’ claims by highlighting similarities between the two nations based not only on their political circumstances but also on ethnic, historical and even spiritual affinities.82 In the 1935 edition, the paratexts indicate a different intent. There is again a utilisation of a prestigious figure, but on this occasion not a political activist. On the cover page, the reference to the Nobel Prize that Yeats received in 1923 captures the extent of the shift to cultural concerns: ‘Laureado c’o premio Nóbel de Literatura’.83
The translations of the plays are preceded by three short texts: an opening statement in the form of a dedication, and forewords by Antón Villar Ponte and Plácido Castro. The ample references to theatre and performance indicate that this publication was not only part of a political strategy but a step towards the development of dramaturgical activity in Galician language via the exploration of a new genre: the folk-drama. The coros, the folkloric groups that were so often
82 As previously discussed, the content adjacent to Cathleen Ni Houlihan in Nós shows recurring
references to ‘racial brotherhood’ and religious imagery, seeking a mystical/mythical identification with Ireland.
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mentioned in Villar Ponte’s journalistic contributions, are the explicit addressees of these plays in a dedication with the revealing title ‘Agasallo’ (‘gift’), signed by the three translators:
C’o pensamento posto nos coros enxebres – colmeas de mocedade a traballaren o recendente mel lírico zugado pol-o genius da terra nas marelas chourimas da montana e na herba de namorar da mariña – pillamos dun horto da Illa Verde co’a fouce druida do luar estas flores […].84
This statement draws on the same images that appeared in an earlier article, ‘Caravel andaluz e chourima galega’85
hence, the dedication is likely to have been penned by Antón Villar Ponte himself. In the first of the prefaces, he continues to resort to the floral metaphor and to the religious imagery discussed in relation to the language in the Revista Nós: ‘Todal-as xestas da verde Eirin en prol da sua liberdade, doas sanguiñentas d’un Rosario de sacrificios heroicos unidos pol-o fio da perenidade do común esforzo vencellado ô longo da historia’.86 The dedication then moves on to the problems facing Galician theatre, such as the excessive dependence on ‘Castillian’ models, which he considers an unsuitable vehicle of expression for the Galician self. The solution to this can be found by following in the footsteps of Irish dramatists: ‘Este é o problema que Yeats, Synge e outros poetas irlandeses resolveron mergullándose na lagoa da saudade, común ôs pobos celtas’.87 However, there is no reference to the fact that the dramatists linked to the Abbey Theatre opted for the medium of English in their work.88
In his section, Plácido Castro acknowledges the obstacles for a staging of the chosen plays in the Galician context: ‘Podíanse ter escollido para iniciar unha serie de traduccións ao galego das millores obras do teatro irlandés, pezas cecais máis teatraes e máis inmediatamente adaptadas â nosa escea que istes dous folk-dramas de
84
Dous folk-dramas..., p. ii.
85 Antón Villar Ponte, ‘Caravel andaluz e chourima galega’, El Pueblo Gallego (17 July 1929). 86 Antón Villar Ponte, ‘Liñas d’abrente’, in Dous folc-dramas…., pp. 3-6 (p. 4)
87 Ibid., p. 5.
88 This issue will be insistently raised by Manuel F. Vieites in future, in an application of the
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William Butler Yeats’.89 Reference here to ‘a series of translations’ points in the direction of the projected Galician version of Riders to the Sea that Villar Ponte is believed to have produced but which is yet to be located.90 According to Castro, the selection was based on the artistic value of the plays, their inaugural character in the source context but, above all, their ability to express the ‘celtic spirit’: ‘[…] obras súas como ‘Cathleen ni [sic] Houlihan’ e ‘The Land of Hearts Desire’ abriron os ollos, primeiro de Irlanda, e logo do mundo enteiro, â inmensa fonte de riqueza artistica que podia xurdir do ‘folk-lore’, cando era o seu intérprete un gran poeta’.91 In Castro’s view, Yeats’ dramatic works were crucial for the evolution of Irish drama and his example is one to follow in Galicia:
As obras dramáticas de Yeats [...] mataron para sempre ao tradicional ‘irlandés de scenario’, cuyo humorismo e simpatía servían de capa para perpetuar, da maneira máis insidiosa, unha falsa interpretación do pobo irlandés. [...] o sucedido en Irlanda fai máis de trinta anos, encerra hoxe para nós leccións de extraordinario valor.92
The Irish Dramatic Movement and the Abbey Theatre are presented as ‘unha das mais outas manifestacions do arte teatral do noso tempo’.93 The paratexts position the translations not only as a political value but also as a crucial element in the development of Galician national theatre, for which the Abbey was deemed an appropriate mode.
As far as the translation process is concerned, Antón Villar Ponte, Ramón Villar Ponte and Plácido R. Castro are presented as joint translators, together with claims of directness and permission of the author: ‘Vertidos â língoa galega direitamente do ingles por Plácido R. Castro e os irmáns Vilar Ponte, con licencia do
89 Dous folc-dramas de W.B. Yeats (Santiago de Compostela: Nós, 1935), p. 7.
90
Manuel F. Vieites, ‘O folc drama en Galicia (I). A propósito do Movemento Dramático Angloirlandés e do Movemento Dramático Nacional: traducións e proxectos literarios na formulación dun teatro nacional’, Anuario de estudios literarios galegos (2002), 167-197 (175).
91 Plácido R. Castro, ‘Liñas d’abrente’, in Dous folk-dramas…, pp. 7-9 (p. 7) 92 Ibid., p. 7.
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autor’.94 However, we have established that the source text for Catuxa de Houlihan was Marià Manent’s 1921 Catalan version and, therefore, that it is not a direct translation from the English original. Although the 1935 edition reflects some changes, there is no revision of shifts or mistranslations and no evidence of an English source text in this case either. 95 There are evident parallels between both incorporations; for instance, a Catalan version of The Land of Heart’s Desire, La
terra del Desig,96 also signed by Marià Manent and published in La Revista, precedes the Editorial Nós book. The Catalan text was likely to be known to the translators and it is possible that it played some role in the selection of the play, but on this occasion, there is no sustained evidence of mediation.97
Certain choices support from the outset the use of an English-language source text for O país da saudade. Firstly, amongst the characters listed, we find a ‘Faery Child’, a qualifier maintained in Galician (‘Unha Fada Meniña’, ‘a little fairy girl’), while the Catalan is ‘Unha Noia’ (‘a girl’). The reference to a world of magic is preserved in the Galician version and the young age of the character also emphasised by the use of ‘meniña’, whereas the Catalan ‘noia’ means also ‘young woman’. Secondly, there is the participation of Plácido Castro in the project, whose knowledge of English and trajectory as a translator makes him the most likely agent for this translation. Castro identified himself as the translator of the play, in collaboration with Antón Villar Ponte, in a letter he sent to the Estafeta Literaria in 1965:‘He leído con gran interés el número extraordinario de la revista de su digna dirección dedicado al “Mapa Literario de Galicia”, especialmente el artículo de su colaborador Juan Miguel Moreiras acerca de los “Escritores traducidos al gallego”,
94 Yeats, Dous folc-dramas…, cover page. See Fig. 1 on p. 42.
95 Although Vázquez Fernández describes traits that further ‘galicianise’ the 1935 text, these changes
are minimal in terms of their impact on performance aspects of the text and overall, a prolongation of the localising tendency of the first translation. Vázquez Fernández, Translation, Minority…, pp. 185- 197.
96Yeats, W.B. ‘La Terra del Desig’, trans. by Marià Manent, La Revista (16 July 1927), 122-132. 97 A hypothesis backed by Vázquez Fernández, who carried out a micro-analysis of the translation
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por haber hecho yo unas cuantas modestas aportaciones a este aspecto de las letras gallegas, entre ellas, en colaboración con Antón Villar Ponte, la obra de Yeats O
País da Saudade, aparte de los poemas célticos que se citan, y algunos ingleses
publicados en revistas y periódicos’.98
Whereas we do not have documentary evidence of direct contact between the translators and W.B. Yeats, who allegedly agreed to the publication, we know of Plácido R. Castro’s high regard for the Irish poet. In 1967, the journal Grial published posthumously his article ‘Vida e poesía de Yeats’, whom he described as ‘the great Irish poet’.99
In the same text, Plácido Castro considers one aspect of Yeats’ poetry as particularly worthy of the attention of Galician readers: ‘Quizabes […] seña a saudosa beleza do seu periodo céltigo o que posea maior calidá de supervivencia. En todo caso ten que ser o que pra nós, galegos, posee unha meirande atración’. He finds in those poems ‘o anceio que semella non ter nin percurar un ouxeto’.100 This same feeling of longing, identifiable with ‘saudade’, signals the affinity between Galicia and Ireland. Castro viewed ‘saudade’ as a defining trait of the Celtic nations that must find expression in their art and literature and, indeed, is a recurring theme in his articles, although he admittedly fails to define the concept: ‘sería yo el primero en lamentar que se lograra definir la saudade’.101
The association between Celticism and ‘saudade’ is a significant characteristic of Plácido Castro’s understanding of Galician nationalism.102 Vázquez Fernández describes this as ‘problematic’ and interprets it as a strategic merger on the part of the ‘Galician intelligentsia’, seeking ‘to establish a strong link between their two main referents
98
Plácido R. Castro del Río, ‘Más traductores gallegos’, Estafeta Literaria 320-321 (1965), 238. Laura Linares has documented the correspondence between Castro and the Estafeta in ‘The thoughtful soul to solitude retires: Style and Ideology in Plácido Castro’s translation of the Rubáyiát’. Unpublished conference paper. Text and Identities: A Symposium on Contemporary Galician Studies. University College Cork. 28 April 2015.
99 Plácido R. Castro, ‘Vida e poesía de Yeats’, Grial 18 (1967), reproduced in facsimile edition (Vigo:
Editorial Galaxia, 1988), pp. 460-62 (p. 460).
100 Ibid.
101 ‘Saudade y arte I’, El Pueblo Gallego , 5 October 1927, p. 1.
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(Portugal and Ireland) in the construction of a national identity. It is all part of the manipulative process of inventing the nation’.103 But rather than explicitly applying the term in political arguments, Castro generally refers to the presence of this longing for an unattainable ideal in Irish literary production and, specifically, in dramatic production, which is in his opinion ‘dominada […] por el ansia de magia’.104
The rendering of the title The Land of Heart’s Desire – in addition to the very choice of play – as O país da saudade reflects this same focus on the idea of ‘saudade’: ‘Y aún en las ocasiones en que la acción se desarrolla en el mundo real es el tema más frecuente el anhelo de ese inalcanzable mundo ideal’.105 This is precisely the case in the play, where Mary Bruin surrenders to her impulse to enter the world of the fairies, ignoring the warnings of her family and the priest. The action is set against the backdrop of traditional rural life ‘at a remote time’,106 a realistic frame that brings to the fore the quotidian presence of the supernatural in both the Irish and Galician cultural contexts while avoiding any tie to historical accuracy.