A Feminist Reading of Colman Barks’ Translation of Mevlãnã’s Story: “AMan and a Woman Arguing”

The significance of translation in our life is extensively multidimensional. Translation paves the wayforward for global interaction and allows nations to forge interactive relationships to advance art,civilization, and politics. Masnavi is among the most translated masterpieces around the world.Coleman Barks, the American poet, is the most contemporary famous translator of Mevlãnã. Althoughhe neither speaks nor reads Persian, he had been awarded an honorary doctorate in Persian Languageand Literature by the University of Tehran. He translated "The Story of the Poor Arab and His Wife'sAltercation with Him" by Mevlãnã into English under "A Man and a Woman Arguing." In this paper,the original story by Mevlãnã and its translation by Coleman Barks has been studied due to the carefocusedtheory of Gilligan and Noddings. The authors argue that the differences between the man andthe woman in the source language, allude to the fact that they supplement each other without anysuperiority though this aspect is neglected in the translation of Barks. In contrast to Mevlãnã, ColemanBarks' attitude follows patriarchy; as a result, by manipulating the narration, he depicts the woman'sinferiority to the man and limits the woman's role in the translation.

Keywords:

Coleman Barks , Feminism , Mevlãnã , Noddings , Gilligan , Translation Studies