Translating Anthropomorphic Metaphors: An Ecostylistic Contrastive Analysis of Grazia Deledda’s The Mother

Abstract

This contribution explores the translation of anthropomorphic metaphors via a contrastive analysis of La madre, by the Sardinian Nobel Laureate in Literature Grazia Deledda, and its 1922 translation (The Mother) by Mary Steegman. It will be argued that the target readers’ perception of the symbolic relationship between landscape and cultural identity, which Deledda presents metaphorically through the use of anthropomorphism, can be reshaped by the translator’s interpretation. To explore the patterns that reveal the translator’s approach to anthropomorphic metaphors, the study will be based on Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), notably Prandi’s distinction and theory on metaphor translation (2019), and ecostylistics.