The poet’s wife

Abstract

In recent years, attempts have been made to unveil the role of women in the history of translation and have brought to light women's contributions to translation, which had generally been overlooked in mainstream discourse on the history of translation. This study focuses on Zenobia Camprubi's (1887-1956) contribution to translation. Camprubi, the wife of the Spanish poet and Nobel laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez (1881-1958), translated literary and non-literary texts extensively from English into Spanish. In order to critically evaluate her impact as a translator, a thorough analysis is carried out, based on a mixed range of sources, such as newspapers, private correspondence, previous studies on Camprubi's work as a translator, and contemporary research on translation history. The results provide new insights regarding into the reception of Camprubi's translations at the time of publication (characterized by frequent comments with value judgments typically for women as well as unfounded questioning of her role as a translator), her unusual and distinctive (co-)translation method, and her presence in contemporary translation literature. Ultimately, this study reveals how, despite her undoubted commitment to translation, Camprubi never really stepped out of her husband's shadow, which is, regrettably, the case of many other women translators.