Negotiating with women writers of the past, translating feminists and anti-feminists

Abstract

Promoting the circulation of works by women long ignored by the misogynistic literary canon remains an important yet challenging task. Although this endeavor is well established within Feminist Translation Studies, it continues to raise complex questions – particularly the need to engage with the worldviews of those women whose voices we, as feminist translators of the 21st century, seek to amplify. At times, however, these authors combine remarkable literary achievement with commitments to social criticism and gender justice, alongside views that unsettle contemporary sensibilities, challenge our political beliefs, and differ from our vision of feminism. This paper emerges from research and translation work on the fiction of Marchesa Colombi (1840-1920) and Amalia Guglielminetti (1881-1941), two prominent writers from the late 19th- and early 20th-century Italian literary scene who have since been relegated to oblivion. These cases provide a basis for reflecting on the challenges and possible negotiations involved in a process that remains open and ongoing, in dialogue with studies on memory, literary theory, and the ethics of translation.