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Research Articles

No. 7

From Polyphony to "Dual Authorship": Transfictional Voices in Benden’iz James Joyce

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13944050
Submitted
29 August 2024
Published
30.10.2024

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the role of the fictional translator and reader in Benden’iz James Joyce [It is Me, James Joyce], a transfictional novel penned by Fuat Sevimay as a paratextual commentary on Joyce’s oeuvre. Drawing on the Bakhtinian conception of polyphony, the study first notes that the polyphonic discourse in the novel provides not only the fictional translator but also the fictional reader with a discernible voice, which carries equal weight as Joyce’s own literary voice. Second, the study argues that the concept of “dual authorship” as used by Sevimay serves to indicate significant ethical implications within the field of Translation Studies. Third, the study draws on Roland Barthes’s concept of the “death of the author” in order to explore how Sevimay’s utilization of “Reader-God” may reveal his conception of translatorial agency. The study concludes that transfiction endows translators with a fertile ground through which they can showcase their paratextual and extratextual visibility, thereby emphasizing their agency. Ultimately, the study suggests that transfictional narratives crafted by translators constitute part of translators’ archives that constitute an integral part of microhistorical research within translator studies.

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