Translations, Paratextual Mediation, and Ideological Closure

Abstract: This article deals with the way so-called paratexts were used, in Finland in 1890-1939, in publishing translations of Anglo-American literature, and especially with the tendencies towards ideological closure that those paratexts manifest. The dominant ideology in the material is what could be called religious-conservative ideology, emphasizing the thought content of the works and their (educative, civilizing, sometimes also entertaining) impact on readers. This is due to the ideological unification process that penetrated the cultural institutions, which were still relatively undifferentiated and non-autonomous during the period in Finland. The article emphasizes that in studying paratext, it is necessary to take heed of the wider cultural context; looking at the paratexts alone is not enough. Résumé: Cet article etudie les paratextes finnois qui accompagnent les traductions de textes litteraires anglo-americains publies entre 1890 et 1939. L'ideologie dominante qu'on y observe est de type conservateur-religieux: elle met l'accent sur le contenu des oeuvres, et sur les effets educatifs, civilisants, quelquefois aussi divertissants, que celles-ci produisent sur le lecteur. En est responsable le processus ideologique unificateur au sein d'institutions culturelles encore peu differenciees, et depourvues d'autonomic a cette epoque. L'article souligne la necessite d'associer le contexte culturel a l'etude des paratextes, auxquels on ne peut donc limiter l'analyse.