Translaughing George’s Courteline’s L’Ours (1894)

Abstract

Georges Courteline’s is a famous French comic playwright from the Belle Époque. He wrote numerous vaudevilles and sainetes. Among his comic plays, this article presents the translation of the play L’Ours (1894) with reflections on comic translation in theater (Travaglia, 2003; Vandaele, 2019; Luiz, 2016, 2020, Berman, 1995). To this end, Courteline’s persona, his work, and his importance in such context are introduced. Secondly, the theatrical genres vaudeville and sainete are presented with an in-depth look at the comic elements that make up these literary genres (Barthes, 2020; Dufief, 2001; Geyssant, Guteville, 2000, Razack 2000, Pavis, 2008; Villa Mejía, 2017). At last, the translation is examined and the choices and translation strategies defined and defended are exposed. Thus, this article aims to explore some characteristics of Georges Courteline’s comic theater in translation and to understand how literary knowledge – notably the sainete, the comedy and the stylistics – can be useful to the translator of humorous theatrical texts. The translation of Courteline’s humor (Bornecque, 1969; Morize-Toussaint, Ordas-Piwnik, 2012) is understood as a sensitive and important practice for the execution of his dramatic work in the Brazilian context.