Troops of Warsaw Pact
3.1. Historic introduction
The second chapter discusses the period between the years 1949 and 1968, which had a great impact upon translations from English. In reality, only the brief period between 1945 and 1948 allowed a relative freedom of speech, translation and publication. The rest of time people were strongly discouraged to “collaborate” with the West in every possible manner. In 1948 all publishing houses became the politically controlled property of the state. A significant number of literary works was censored according to the current ideological principles: “some books were withdrawn from public libraries or else special permission was required for their consultation.”1 The situation improved only in the late 1950s, and for a brief period in 1968. In 1950s
an important platform for introducing modern foreign writers was the magazine Světová literatura [World Literature], established in 1956 by the renowned writer and translator Josef Škvorecký [which,] during its existence from 1956 to 1996 […]
published numerous translations from Irish literature.2
1 Mánek, CRIPP 170.
2 Mánek, CRIPP 170.
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It also became immensely important to “explain” the authors through publishing additional materials (secondary literature) and to “put their work into the correct perspective.”3 Consequently, some translations of problematic authors were allowed to be published only on that condition that the translators wrote introductions or conclusions where they “condemned”
the authors, in order not to insert “wrong” ideas into the readers’ minds. Mánek describes the situation as follows:
Czech critics and scholars thus had to make concessions and sacrifices in order to give the readers access to Western literature: yet they often managed to smuggle in reasonable and valuable information.4
Mánek uses the example of James Joyce, who was “explained” very often because of the nature of his works. The academic papers upon Joyce written in that era, were
sometimes a strange, ambiguous combination of factual, biographical and contextual information and penetrating perceptions, cogent analyses and apt characterizations, mixing appreciation and rejection in their conclusions.5
Moreover, as Lenka Krafková claims,
in the 1950s, contemporary authors that were allowed to be published were limited to the so-called “progressive authors” with left-wing political beliefs and therefore it was not possible for the Czechoslovakian society to keep up with the literary development in the world.6
3 Mánek, CRIPP 170.
4 Mánek, CRIPP 171.
5 Mánek, CRIPP 171.
6 Lenka Krafková, A Quantitative Perspective on the History of Czech Literary Translations from English to Czech, 2014, 26th August 2015 https://is.muni.cz/th/330898/ff_m/diploma_thesis_final.txt.
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In other words, only a few authors appeared regularly in print, as will be visible from the following part of the chapter. The years between 1949 and 1968 could easily be described as
“Shaw’s era” in terms of the publication of Anglo-Irish writing, because the amount of translations of his works was incredible. Jonathan Swift and John Millington Synge were also translated frequently, as well as Oscar Wilde, whose work appeared in print in the late 1960s.
At that time the publishing houses could even publish the translations of “corrupted”
literature, because of the Party’s claim that the “ideological opponents should be studied.”7 Among others, Samuel Beckett finally made it to the Czech literary market.
3.2. Dramatic works
George Bernard Shaw’s dramatic works, were re-introduced in the period between 1949 and 1968. In 1949 the script of an English colour film based on one of his lesser known plays, Caesar and Cleopatra appeared in translation (the film, directed by Gabriel Pascal, dates back to 1946). The introduction to the adaptation was written by Frank Tetauer, and the script was published by Československé filmové nakladatelství.
Between the years 1949 and 1950 a few plays occurred in new translations or were re-published: for example, the play Androcles and the Lion8 in translation by Karel Mušek (Androkles a lev) was re-published by Československé divadelní a literární jednatelství.
Other two translations from 1949/1950, Caesar and Kleopatra (translated as Caesar a Kleopatra, published by Československé divadelní a literární jednatelství) and Mesaliance (Messaliance, ČDLJ) were also made by Karel Mušek. In comparison to the translations made
7 Mánek, CRIPP 171.
8 Bernard Shaw, Androcles and the Lion (London: 1st World Publishing, 2004).
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between the years 1945 – 1948, it is visible that the translators focused more on Shaw’s plays and neglected his politics (in the previous era only his socio-political articles were published, with the exception of Mrs Warren’s Profession).
In 1951, Frank Tetauer translated a few plays by Shaw: The Music Cure9 was published by ČDLJ as Léčení hudbou, The Six of Calais (subtitled A mediaeval War Story in One Act, by Jean Froissart, Auguste Rodin and Bernard Shaw)10 was published as Měšťané callaisští by Dilia, and a comedy in three acts Widower’s Houses11 was published as Vdovcovy domy by ČDLJ.
Československé divadelní a literární nakladatelství was a Prague organization with a right to give permission to publish works of art, related to poetry, prose, drama, musical drama, choreography and pantomime, to transmit them to another apparatus, to propagate the works through different means of transmission and to perform the adaptations, according to the regulations of the authorial law and the definition that was set in 1952.12 However, it is very probable that censorship was applied on ČDLN as well as on other publishing houses at that time.
In 1952 The Devil’s Disciple13 was re-published under the translation (Čertovo kvítko – Pekelník) by Karel Mušek by ČDLJ; later it was edited and published under the same title. It is visible that though a few other translators took part in translating Shaw, Mušek’s translations were still favoured by the audience.
9 Bernard Frank Dukore, Shaw’s Theatre (USA: University Press of Florida, 2000) 210.
10 Michel W. Pharand, Bernard Shaw and the French (USa: University Press of Florida, 2000) 235.
11 George Bernard Shaw, Widower’s Houses (USA: Wildside Press LLC, 2009).
12 Kopecký v. r., "Vyhláška ze dne 8. 12. 1952: O Zabezpečení ochrany původských práv k dílům literárním,“ 8.
12. 1952, 29th August 2015 http://www.epravo.cz/vyhledavani-aspi/?Id=27002&Section=1&IdPara=1&ParaC=2.
13 Bernard Shaw, The Devil’s Disciple (USA: NuVision Publications, LLC, 1958).
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In 1953 a translation of Widower’s Houses by Frank Tetauer was re-published under a different title as Domy pana Sartoria (earlier it was translated as Vdovcovy domy) by Orbis, and the afterword was added to the second edition. Tetauer also translated The Glimpse of Reality14 as Záblesk pravdy (“The Glimpse of Truth”) and it was published by ČDLJ.
In 1954 several new editions of Shaw’s works were published, mostly in translation by Frank Tetauer, for example Androkles a lev or Čertovo kvítko (both published by ČDLJ). ČDLJ also published two new translations of Shaw’s play made by Tetauer: the play John Bull’s Other Island15 (Druhý ostrov Johna Bulla) and Saint Joan,16 (Svatá Jana: Kronikářská hra o šesti obrazech). This translation was re-published in 1956.
In 1956 Caesar and Kleopatra was re-translated by Zdeněk Vančura and published by Dilia.
In the same year a new translation of the play Arms and the Man17 by Ota Ornest was published under the title Čokoládový hrdina - komedie o 3 dějstvích by ČDL, and a compilation of a few of Shaw’s plays came out (published by Státní nakladatelství krásné literatury, hudby a umění). It was edited by Frank Tetauer and Zdeněk Vančura, who also wrote the introduction. The translators included Frank Tetauer, Rostislav Kocourek and Eva Kondrysová, and the explanatory notes were written by Květa Marysková. Finally, two more plays were published in the same year, both by ČDLJ. The first was Major Barbara,18 translated as Majorka Barbora by Aloys Skoumal. This one was actually considered one of Shaw’s most controversial works, because part of his audience accused him of blasphemy on the base of the content. The second translation was published as Vzorný sluha Bashville:
14 Bernard Shaw, The Glimpse of Reality (London: Kessinger Publishing, 2005).
15 George Bernard Shaw, John Bull’s Other Island (London: 1st World Publishing, 2004) .
16 George Bernard Shaw, Saint Joan (UK: Booklassic, 2015) .
17 George Bernard Shaw, Arms and the Man (USA: Courier Corporation, 2012).
18 George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara (UK: Start Publishing LLC, 2012).
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Jevištní zpracování románu o Cashelu Byronovi ve třech dějstvích (Gustav Pflanzer), from the original The Admirable Bashville, or, Constancy Unrewarded.19
In 1957 three translations of Shaw’s works were published. The first one was a compilation of Shaw’s explanatory notes regarding the authorial intentions in Saint Joan. It was translated by Frank Tetauer and published in the magazine Národní a Stavovské divadlo 32, no 7. The second translation, Jak August vykonal svou povinnost (from the original Augustus Does His Bit: a True to Life Farce.20) was made by Věra Nosková and published as a typescript by Dilia. The third translation was made from the original O’Flaherty, V. C: a Recruiting Pamhplet.21 It was translated by Nosková as Kříž O’Flahertyho, and published as a typescript by Dilia.
In 1958 Candida was translated by Pavla Moudrá, edited by Miloš Nedbal, supervised by Doralice Winterová and published by Dilia. Second, Frank Tetauer’s translation of John Bull’s Other Island was re-published. Third, a lecture upon Vladimir Iljič Lenin, which was later transcribed, was translated by Vladimír Brett and published in the magazine Tvorba 23, no. 10, on 17th April 1958 (the original lecture was published in The New York American22);
by the way the subtitles that appeared in print in 1920, when Shaw gave a lecture called
“Socialism and the Labour Party” – “Bernard Shaw Applauds Lenin” (Workers’
Dreadnought, 7th February 1920) and “Bernard Shaw on Bolshevism” (The Call, 12th February 1920) – give a clear notion that the writer was probably an admirer of the politician and his ideas. In the previous chapter it was already hinted at the fact that he was a keen
19 George Bernard Shaw, The Admirable Bashville, or, Constancy Unrewarded (UK: Constable, 1914).
20 George Bernard Shaw, Augustus Does His Bit: a True to Life Farce (UK: Createspace Independent Pub, 2013).
21 George Bernard Shaw, O’Flaherty, V. C: a Recruiting Pamhplet (UK: Dodo Press, 2007).
22 Bernard Shaw and Dan H. Laurence, Bernard Shaw Collected Letters (USA: Viking, 1988) 252.
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socialist with communist tendencies and therefore he never suffered from censorship, which the provided information supports.23 In the introductory review to the book on Soviet Union it is claimed that thoughts and therefore it is no wonder there was no need to censor his works, some of which reflected his socialist tendencies.
In 1959 Shaw’s lesser known play that did not appear on Czech literary market for decades was translated by Vladimír Kusín as Inka z Perusalemu – komedieta takřka historická (from the original The Inka of Perusalem – an Almost Historical Commedieta26). Vladimír Kusín also translated Passion, Plaster and Petrifaction, Or, The Fatal Gazogene: A Brief Tragedy for Barns and Booths27 as Vášeň, jed a sádra neboli Osudný sifon – krátká tragedie pro stodoly a stany.” Both translations were published by Dilia.
23 Ian Bullock, Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left (USA: Athabasca University Press, 2011) 399.
24 Bullock, RR
25 Bullock, RR
26 George Bernard Shaw, The Inka of Perusalem – an Almost Historical Commedieta (UK: Constable 1915).
27 C. Lewis Broad and Violet M. Broad eds., "Passion, Plaster and Petrifaction, Or, The Fatal Gazogene: A Brief Tragedy for Barns and Booths,“ Dictionary to the Plays and Novels by Bernard Shaw Passion, Plaster and Petrifaction, Or, The Fatal Gazogene: A Brief Tragedy for Barns and Booths (UK: Haskell House Publishers, 1969) 70.
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Nine Shaw’s plays (the number exceeds all previous years) were translated and published in 1960. Some of them were re-editions of the previous translations, but some were brand new.
Most of the originals were translated by Frank Tetauer.
The first translation was made by Miroslav Pátek, from the original The Doctor’s Dilemma28 (Lékař na rozpacích – hra o 5 dějstvích). It was published by Dilia, as well as seven of eight remaining Shaw’s plays. Another translation was made by Milan Lukeš, from You Never Can Tell (Člověk nikdy neví). Finally, Aloys Skoumal’s translation Majorka Barbara was published. The rest of the translations were the works by Frank Tetauer, and some were re-published from previous years: Domy pana Sartoria, Milionářka – Johnsonovská komedie o 4 dějstvích od člena královské literární společnosti (The Millionairess: A Jonsonian Comedy29), Svatá Jana – kronikářská hra o šesti obrazech s epilogem, Vdovcovy domy, Živnost paní Warrenové, and finally, the most famous of Shaw’s plays, Pygmalion.
In 1963 the play You Never Can Tell30 was translated as Člověk nikdy neví – hra o 4 dějstvích by Milan Lukeš, who also wrote the afterword.
In 1964 a short story “Tajemství divadelní šatny” was translated and published. The translation was made by Vladimír Procházka from the original “A Dressing Room Secret”31 and it appeared in Zemědělské noviny 20, no. 164. The short story also appeared in the compilation of Shaw’s short stories Short Stories, Scraps and Savings (193132), translated as Nebeský fotbal a jiné povídky.
28 George Bernard Shaw, The Doctor’s Dilemma (UK: The Floating Press, 2011).
29 Bernard Shaw, The Simpleton; The Six; The Millionnaires (UK: Constable, 1949).
30 George Bernard Shaw, You Never Can Tell (UK: The Floating Press, 2011).
31 Maurice J. O. Sullivan, Shakespeare’s Other Lives: An Anthology of Fictional Depictions of the Bard (UK:
McFarland, 2005) 92.
32 George Bernard Shaw, Short Stories, Scraps and Shavings (UK: B. Tauschnitz, 1937).
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In 1965 the play Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in a Russian Manner on English Themes33 was translated by Ota Ernest as Dům zlomených srdcí – Fantazie v ruském stylu na anglické téma o 3 dějstvích. It was published by Dilia.
In 1966 George Bernard Shaw’s collection of aphorisms called The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion34 was translated by Antonín Rausch as Z revolucionářovy příručky and published in Plamen 8, no. 11.
In 1967 two new translations appeared in print. The first one was The Philanderer,35 translated as Záletník Leonard – veselohra o 4 dějstvích by Ota Ornest and published by Dilia.
The second play, Mrs Warren’s Profession, was translated as Živnost paní Warrenové – komedie o 4 dějstvích by Břetislav Hodek, published by Dilia and performed at Realistické divadlo Zdeňka Nejedlého.
Finally, three works were published in 1968. The first was a short story “Cashel Byron’s Profession,” translated as “Profese Cashela Byrona” by Vladimír Thiele and Jožka Brabcová.
It appeared in the collection Boxerské povídky, published by Olympia. The second work was Pygmalion (quite surprisingly, it appeared in print only once in the previous two periods, which is rather significant, because nowadays, it is the only play by Shaw that is generally known to the public, thanks to the adaptation), the translation was made by Milan Lukeš and published by Dilia. Third, the adaptation of the play Shakes versus Shaw (from the original version Shakes versus Shav: A Puppet Play36) was published in Československý loutkář 18, no. 11.
33 George Bernard Shaw, Heartbreak House: A Fantasia in a Russian Manner on English Themes (UK: The Floating Press, 2009).
34 George Bernard Shaw, The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion (UK: The Floating Press, 2012).
35 George Bernard Shaw, The Philanderer (UK: Broadview Press, 2015).
36 Bernard Shaw, Shakes versus Shav: A Puppet Play (UK: W. S. Lanchester, 1949).
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As to the actual reception of Shaw’s plays in the Czech Lands, it is necessary to mention the staging. It is true that
since 1945 the Czech theatres have presented over 170 performances of Shaw’s plays, or those that derived from them (the musical My Fair Lady is an adaptation of his Pygmalion).37
However, it must be said that in the latest period Shaw’s plays have experienced a huge decline. Jindřich Černý in his review upon Pygmalion from 2002 expresses his views as follows:
Shaw’s Pygmalion is ninety years old. It is the play from the middle generation’s grandfathers’ youth. How many plays from that era, Shaw’s included, has survived?
When I was young, during the era of the strange national democracy limiting the democratic regime from the years 1945-1948 the theatres were swarming with Shaw’s plays. However, when you browse through the Czech theatre annuals from 1997-2000, you realize that Shaw has become a completely omitted author, commemorated only because of Pygmalion and its musical adaptation My Fair Lady.38
37 "Od roku 1945 uvedla česká divadla přes 170 inscenací Shawových her či těch, které z nich vycházely (muzikál My Fair Lady, který je verzí jeho Pygmalionu).“ "Svatá Jana bojuje pod Palmovkou,“ Česká televize – ČT24, Česká televize 1996 – 2015, 14th January 2011, 28th December 2015 http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/kultura/1291522-svata-jana-bojuje-pod-palmovkou. My translation.
38 "Shawovu Pygmalionu je devadesát let. Je to hra z mládí dědů dnešní střední generace. Kolik her z té doby, včetně Shawových, do dneška přežilo? Ještě za mého mládí, v oné zvláštní lidovou demokracií limitované demokracii let 1945-1948, se to v českých divadlech Shawy jen hemžilo. Zato když se dneska podíváte do rejstříků českých divadelních ročenek 1997-2000, zjistíte, že Shaw je zcela pominutelný autor, který se v paměti drží jen díky Pygmalionu a jeho muzikálové podobě My Fair Lady. Zajímavá perspektiva: George Bernard Shaw jako autor jediné divadelní hry.“ Jindřich Černý, "Nahořklý Pygmalion,“ Host 2002, 8 http://host.divadlo.cz/noviny/archiv2002/cislo08/kritika.html. My translation.
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Oscar Wilde’s plays gained even more popularity in this period; as is said in the introduction, it was quite common to publish the works by already established authors. In 1951 the translation of The Importance of Being Earnest by J. Z. Novák (Jak je důležité míti Filipa) from the year 1946 - 1947 (the exact date is unknown, according to the sources39) was used for a theatrical adaptation, directed by Ota Ornest, who also wrote lyrics to the songs.
The script was published by ČDLJ, and the play was performed at Realistic Theatre in Prague40 (Švandovo divadlo41) twice: first in 194742 and second in 1952. It was neither the first nor the last time Novák’s translation was used for theatrical purposes; his work became a standard for the years to come.
In 1957 the translation of A Woman of no Importance43 (J. Z. Novák, Bezvýznamná žena) was published by ČDLJ, and two translations of The Canterville Ghost44 followed, both made by Zdeněk Vančura, who also wrote an afterword to one of the editions. Finally, Myšlenky z Oscara Wildea [Aforismy], translated by Aloys Skoumal, were published in the magazine Nový život.
Two Wilde’s works were re-published in 1958, though none was actually a drama. The first was a re-publication of the translation Obraz Doriana Graye (The Picture of Dorian Gray) by J. Z. Novák, with the foreword by Zdeněk Vančura. It was published by SNKLHU. The
39 Daniela Cvachová, "Jak je důležité, aby měl překladatel filipa,“ Diplomová práce - Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury, Praha 2011, 30th August 2015
file:///C:/Users/alzinka/Documents/Škola%20- %20Mgr.%20Anglophone%20Literatures%20and%20Cultures/3rd%20semester,%20winter%202014-15/Diplomová%20práce/Ornest.pdf 11.
40 Stefano Evangelista ed., "Performance Timeline of the European Reception of Oscar Wilde,“ The Reception of Oscar Wilde in Europe (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010) xciv.
41 Stefano Evangelista, "Volume 18 of the Athlone Critical Traditions Series: The Reception of British and Irish Authors in Europe“ (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010) 381.
42 Cvachová 10.
43 Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance (UK: ARC MANOR, 2008).
44 Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost (UK: eKitap Projesi, 2015).
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second was a translation of a short story “The Sphinx Without a Secret”45 (“Sfinga bez záhad”). It was made by an unknown translator and published in Lidová demokracie 14, no.
65.
The claim that “by the 1920s Wilde was firmly established in Czechoslovakia as an extremely popular playwright, poet, essayist and novelist”46 may be supported by the number of translations and publications of his works in 1959, when four of them appeared in print (not alike the years 1949 – 1959 when only The Happy Prince, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest were regularly published). First, J. Z. Novák’s translation of The Importance of Being Earnest was re-published under the title Jak je důležité míti Filipa – lehkovážná komedie pro vážné lidi by Orbis. The re-publication did not come as a great surprise, because the comedy “has ranked ever since among the most frequently revived plays of all times, with around a dozen professional productions in each subsequent decade.”47 Another Wilde’s play published in that year was Salome. The translation was made by Ivo Fleischmann and the afterword was written by Květa Marysková. It was published by Orbis.
Salome actually belongs to the lesser known (and less typical) plays by Wilde, since it is not a
Salome actually belongs to the lesser known (and less typical) plays by Wilde, since it is not a