Allographic Paratext and Robinson Crusoe in Translation: Priming 19th-Century Romanian Readership

Abstract

The paper analyses the paratextual side of several Romanian versions of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe published in the 19th century, with a view to emphasizing the ways in which the prefaces, postfaces and translator’s notes, penned in keeping with the moral values prevailing in the Romanian society at the time, are meant to “prime” or guide the readership. The editions under scrutiny are either translations of some adaptations or indirect translations (usually via German), yet richly endowed peritextuality-wise. Our main research aim is to account for the most frequent topoi covered in the allographic prefaces to four Romanian editions of Robinson Crusoe (one published in 1835, two in 1899, and one in 1900). The 1835 edition is particularly striking in that, although written in Cyrillic (as was customary at the time), it is highly readable (in transliteration) and extremely interesting as it contains a variety of paratextual elements (a Dedication, a Foreword, a Translator’s Note, two black-and-white illustrations, 19 encyclopaedic footnotes). In an eclectic, self-referential, wide-ranging preludial discourse, the translator-turned-editor capitalizes on a deft preemptive defense strategy while taking on the huge responsibility of educating the reading public. Our conclusion is that the primary function fulfilled by these 19th-century paratexts is to persuade the readership: first, to buy and read the book, and then, to read it strictly as a religious parable. By isolating and imposing the moral dimension of Robinson Crusoe, these Romanian editions privilege the pedagogical stake of children’s literature and also illustrate the power any paratext might have over texts.