Victor Hugo and translation: a whole difficult journey that leads into paradise

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to follow the evolution of Victor Hugo’s own thinking on the idea of translation and the translator. In fact, in 1819, Victor Hugo felt outraged by a translation in verse of Homer into French: “It is monstrous and untenable”, stating that “a translation in verse of anyone, made by anyone, seems [to him] absurd, impossible and chimerical”, thus a priori suggesting that Victor Hugo is an advocate of untranslatability. In his youth, Victor Hugo understood any translation to be forbidden, a taboo, assigning the utmost importance to the author himself. But his point of view will evolve with time. The work done by his son, François-Victor Hugo, from 1858 to 1866, would bring him a new horizon in the field of translation. Hard work, thus leading to a revaluation of the task of the translator, by treading a laborious, yet stimulating path. Tributary of his time, Victor Hugo gives us a whole new process of renewal of ideas around French discourse on translation. This article aims to delve into the universe of Victor Hugo in order to clarify such an individual evolutionary perspective throughout the nineteenth century. We will do so by analysing his writings on a chronological basis, starting from the works written in his early youth to those published during exile.