Quevedo y Villegas’ “dueña”: a few considerations about its translation into Portuguese

Abstract

Some aspects of the translation choices of the term “dueña” – including its consequences to Brazilian readers – made by Liliana Raquel Chwat in her translation into Portuguese of the satirical book Sueños y Discursos, written in the 17^th century by Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas, compose the subject of this article. The translation was published by Escala in 2005. Quevedo y Villegas’ satirical stories were written in the period between 1605 and 1622, and they showcase a collection of social caricatures. His work is the result of a master’s genius in the use of figures of speech, as he employed precise words to describe scenes full of details that are able to transport the reader to the environment they portray. The term “dueña” appears in such scenes with markedly cultural characteristics whose understanding requires a thorough knowledge of socio-historical aspects embedded in the source text, which in turn constitute challenges for the translator and are here critically discussed.