Artículo recibido: 14/07/2022 Artículo aceptado: 24/11/2022 doi: 10.17533/udea.mut.v16n1a10 ISSN 2011-799X Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo gonzalo.iturregui@uab.cat https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-0045 Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain. Abstract Permafrost (Permagel in Catalan) is a novel by poet and writer Eva Baltasar. Published in 2018, it man- aged to gain notable popularity both in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Since its publication, it has been translated into different languages with great success. Its English translation by American translator Julia Sanches arrived in the uk in 2020. Baltasar’s story centres on a lesbian woman in her forties who, as a victim of the hostile environment in which she is obliged to live, fantasises about suicide and, at the same time, shows a hedonistic urge that leads her to the enjoyment of her human condition to its maximum, principally through sex. Sexual desire is explored in depth in the novel, artfully unfurled in the author’s prose poetry. She manages to evoke deeply symbolic imagery and a strong sense of immediacy using a vast array of word combinations and metaphors. This article first explores the impact of the novel in both its original territory and among the English-speaking readership; particularly the topic of sex, which featured heavily in the reviews. Secondly, it aims to analyse the description of lesbian (queer) desire in the original and its transfer into the English lan- guage through the lens of queer and feminist translation. By applying a queerfeminist perspective, the analysis describes the effectiveness of the translation when transporting the contents into another cultural and linguistic reality. Keywords: queer translation, feminist translation, lesbian desire, interculturality, literary translation, Permafrost Permagel/Permafrost: el deseo lésbico y su traducción Resumen Permafrost (Permagel en catalán) es una novela de la poeta y escritora Eva Baltasar. Publicada en 2018, la novela ganó notable popularidad tanto en Cataluña como en el resto de España. Desde su publicación, ha sido traducida a diferentes idiomas con gran éxito. Su traducción al inglés llegó al Reino Unido en 2020 de la mano de la traductora estadounidense Julia Sanches. La historia de Baltasar se centra en una mujer lesbiana en la cuarentena que, víctima del entorno hostil en el que se ve obligada a vivir, fantasea con el suicidio y, al mismo tiempo, muestra un impulso hedonista que la lleva a disfrutar al máximo de su condición humana, principalmente a través del sexo. La novela explora en profundidad el deseo sexual, desplegado de forma muy estética en la poesía en prosa de Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation la autora, que consigue evocar imágenes de fuerte simbolismo e inmediatez en un amplio abanico de combinaciones de palabras y metáforas. En primer lugar, el presente artículo explora la repercusión de la novela tanto en su territorio original como entre el público anglosajón, y la fuerte presencia del 167 tema del sexo, un tema muy citado en las reseñas de la obra. En segundo lugar, analiza la descripción del deseo lésbico (queer) en el original y su traslado a la lengua inglesa a través de las premisas de la traducción queer y feminista. Aplicando una perspectiva queerfeminista, el análisis describe la eficacia de la traducción al trasvasar los contenidos a otra realidad cultural y lingüística. Palabras clave: traducción queer, traducción feminista, deseo lésbico, interculturalidad, traducción literaria, Permafrost Permagel/Permafrost : le désire lesbique et sa traduction Résumé Permafrost (ou Permagel, en catalan) est un roman de la poétesse et écrivaine Eva Baltasar. Publié en 2018, il jouit aujourd´hui d´une popularité remarquable, aussi bien en Catalogne que dans le reste de l’Espagne. Depuis sa publication, sa traduction en plusieurs langues lui a valu un grand succès. Grâce à la traductrice américaine Julia Sanches, son adaptation en anglais est parvenue au Royaume-Uni en 2020. Le roman de Baltasar raconte l´histoire d´une femme lesbienne d’une quarantaine d’années qui, victime de l’environnement hostile dans lequel elle est contrainte à vivre, fantasme sur le suicide et est prise en même temps d’une pulsion hédoniste qui la conduit à profiter pleinement de sa condi- tion humaine, principalement à travers le sexe. Déployé de manière très esthétique dans le poème en prose de l’auteur, ce désir sexuel est exploré en profondeur. En effet, grâce à un large éventail d´as- sociation de mots et de métaphores, l’auteur parvient à évoquer des images d’un symbolisme fort et d´une grande évanescence. Cet article commence par mesurer l’impact du roman, à la fois sur son territoire d’origine et auprès du public anglo-saxon, avant de se pencher sur l´omniprésence du sexe, sujet particulièrement récurrent dans les critiques de l´œuvre. Ensuite, l’article se fait l´analyse de la description du désir lesbien (queer) dans la langue source et dans sa version anglaise, à travers les prémisses de la traduction queer féministe. En adoptant une perspective queer-féministe, cette analyse décrit l’efficacité de la traduction dans sa capacité à transposer le contenu dans une tout autre réalité culturelle et linguistique. Mots-clés : traduction queer, traduction féministe, désir lesbien, interculturalité, traduction littéraire, Permafrost Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo Introduction sincere and harsh (Mcnamara, 2021; Kirkus, 2021; Suau, 2019), and they highlight the dou- 168 Eva Baltasar’s Permafrost was published in ble-faceted essence of the protagonist; she is 2018 by Barcelona-based publisher Club Ed- willing to commit suicide, fed up with life and itor. The novel gained popularity almost en- society, while at the same time she manages tirely by word of mouth and reached the top to enjoy life’s most essential experiences (Ro- positions in the best-sellers list (Abella, 2018). drigues Fowler, 2021; Kirkus, 2021). The con- That same year, it won the Premi Llibreter for tradictory personality of the narrator brings best book in Catalan literature, awarded by to the table a range of topics identified in the the trade of Catalan book sellers, for being a reviews, namely, society’s hostility, medication “bold, uninhibited, and risky” novel, for “the used to survive this dangerous environment, language used, with a clear poetic influence,” maternity, family, life expectations and frus- and for “the way the evolution of the narra- tration, and unfulfilling and imperfect love tor is portrayed” (Gremi de llibreters de Cata- among others (Chang, 2021; Abella, 2018; lunya, 2018, my translation). Furthermore, it Haro, 2018, Zanón, 2018; Cardenete, 2018). was a finalist for the 2020 French award, Prix The impetus for this study originates from one Médicis, as the Best Foreign Novel. Just as its of the few negative reviews which eviscerated dedication reads – “to poetry, for permitting Baltasar’s novel (Duval, 2020). While the ma- it”– Baltasar’s style originates in poetry. She jority of reviewers praise Baltasar’s portrayal has published more than ten poetry collections of same-sex desire as instinctive and raw, Du- and won multiple prizes in the genre. She has val asserts that Permafrost’s treatment of desire remarked that whereas her poetry is intimate is masculine and conservative, and that the and confessional, through these three novels only thing that really changes is the gender of she is able to put more distance between her- the narrator: a woman. self and her writing. It has been translated into different languages: Spanish, French, Italian, This study aims to analyse the translation of and English among others. Its English version, Permafrost into English observing the texts from translated by American translator Julia Sanch- a queer feminist perspective. First, I will deal es, was published in 2020. with Baltasar’s representation of the lesbian and same-sex desire. The starting point for the Permafrost, part one of a three-part series, is analysis will be to frame Permafrost as a femi- followed by Boulder (published in 2020 and nist novel (cf. Gilbert & Gubar, 1979) and as a winner of the Omnium Prize for best novel queer text based on the ideas of queer lesbian in the same year). The series concludes with feminist theorists such as De Lauretis (1991, the recently published Mammut. The collection 2011), Suárez Briones (2014), and Trujillo is linked through the nature of their protago- (2014, 2022) and authors such as Wittig (1986 nists, who happen to be women and lesbians. [1973]) and Cixous (1983), who stand as key Baltasar’s story centres on a lesbian woman in figures in lesbian feminist waves born in the her forties who, as a victim of the hostile envi- 70s. Second, the translation will be examined ronment in which she feels obliged to live, fan- through the lens of queer and feminist transla- tasises about suicide while, at the same time, tion theories and practices, that serve as both experiencing a hedonistic urge that leads to the translation and analysis tools. The basis of the enjoyment of her human condition to its max- queer translation theory will be inspired by the imum, principally through sex. works of authors such as Anzaldúa (1987) and Baer (2018). For the analysis, I will be apply- Permafrost received generally positive reviews ing Démont’s analysis of queer translations both in Catalonia and around the globe. Re- (2018), which delves into different modes to views concur that the tone of the book is strengthen, unify, or hide the queerness of a Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation text. The feminist translation strategies will be established sexual and social codes based on drawn from those proposed by Castro (2008) historical heteropatriarchy and homogeneity. and based on the work of important feminist Based on De Lauretis (1991), I am not only 169 translators and scholars (cf. von Flotow, God- referring to having a lesbian as the protago- ard, Lotbinière-Hartwood). nist but an uncomfortable lesbian who follows queer practices and has queer desires. In this The article will ultimately combine these two regard, there is parallelism between Perma- approaches in order to create and explore frost’s imagery and that found in important ex- new avenues to tackle queer texts and trans- isting queer feminist literature precursors (i.e., lations. The conclusions will reflect on the Wittig and Cixous). The book explores sexual overall translation quality and the importance practices and a discourse related to desire that of transmitting the queer in a text. It will end embraces a perverse and polymorphous sexu- with a note concerning the status of English as ality (De Lauretis, 2011, p. 253), personified in a “global queer” language and how minority the queer lesbian. languages open space for new voices and gen- erate debate and further research. From the early classic imagery of Sapphic re- lationships on the island of Lesbos, the under- 1. Lesbian (Woman): A Feminist standing of sexaffectivity between women has and Queer Text changed throughout history up to more con- temporary approaches that consider the les- According to Baltasar, Permafrost is not deliber- bian as something different from a woman or ately a feminist novel in the sense that she has that reframe this type of sexual identity from a not written it for this purpose. I argue that if we queer perspective. Even if in some cases, lesbi- see queer feminism as the natural progression an relationships have been considered sodomy, of feminist theory (Trujillo, 2022), Permafrost is as happened with relationships between males, in fact a queer and feminist novel or, in other historically, sexual or romantic relationships words, a queer text that is necessarily feminist. between women were considered as non-exis- It is a feminist text because it immerses itself tent. This is at least in Western countries since in a literary tradition based on the idea of au- legal systems did not penalise nor even men- thor anxiety described by Gilbert and Gubar tion them. Their absence is clearly linked to a (1979) in their reading of female authors from patriarchal society that has repeatedly erased the 19th and 20th centuries. Although their work women. Feminist movements originating at has faced considerable criticism –deemed by the end of the nineteenth century were able to some as essentialist (cf. Gezari, 2006)– they allow women to start obtaining their rights and identified some key aspects in the work of fe- visibility. The feminist fight, however, did not male literary authors. They argued that female start raising awareness of lesbian women until authors have historically tried to defy author the 70s (Suárez Briones, 2013). anxiety (created by the dominant patriarchal gaze in the literary space) by searching for pre- In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir (2017 cursors to resist it, that is, they build upon pre- [1949]) describes the lesbian woman from a vious female authors. Furthermore, Permafrost somewhat pathological perspective based on fits into the characteristics identified by Gilbert Freudian theories. Even if she does not reject and Gubar (1979): Female authors have histor- or condemn lesbian women, she mentions ically spoken more about their own experienc- that the lesbian is a woman who has not ful- es than male authors. ly attained sexual maturation or that may be identified as a man. It would not be until some Additionally, and most importantly, it is a decades later that more modern conceptions queer text. It is queer because it defies the of the lesbian arose. Such a change appears Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo in the so-called second wave of feminism that actually coined the term queer theory by defin- broadens the diversity of female identity and ing its non-definition, its mutable nature. She 170 empowered lesbians first thought of the term “queer theory” to resist the “cultural and sexual homogenization in ac- whose identity has been constructed in and ademic gay and lesbian studies” (De Lauretis, from negation (lesbians are not real women) 2011, p. 257). Her understanding of the queer and from the lack and contempt (lesbians embraces a space that is “nonhomogeneous,” are pseudo men, pathetic copies that do not “a displacement, a transit, and transforma- have what they must have): lesbian feminism not only defends lesbians as women but not tion” (p. 246), by arguing that Freud’s analy- less than the only women outside patriarchal sis on sex and gender actually materialised the control. (Suárez Briones, 2013, p. 28, my forbidden, the perverse, and polymorphous translation) sexuality, inverting the distinction of what was normal and abnormal. Queer theory emanates French activist, writer, and philosopher, Mo- from sexuality and transcends to the political nique Wittig was one of the main voices of les- by deifying the gender oppressive social struc- bianism within feminist ideology. “It would be ture embedded in feminist critique. incorrect to say that lesbians associate, make love, live with women, for ‘woman’ has mean- As put by Trujillo (2014), “queer feminisms ing only in heterosexual systems of thought have made possible spaces of existence and and heterosexual economic systems. Lesbians visibility for other bodies, other lives, other are not women.” (Wittig, 1992, p. 32). This desires, other voices, other political experienc- marked the beginning of the lesbian no longer es more radical, among them ours, those of being described in terms of sexual desire but the queer lesbians” (p. 131, my translation). of political and ideological premises (Bunch, In Butlerian lines, the queer implies a perfor- 1975, pp. 29–37). It is undeniable that advanc- mance, and relates to an action, not to an iden- es were made on behalf of lesbians in order to tity or a category. Queer is a verb, not a noun; gain emancipation and visibility as an identity it turns the normal into weird in order to ex- group that was subject to different treatments plore new possibilities outside patriarchal dis- and discriminations from straight women. The courses and practices (Suárez Briones, 2014). attribution of masculinity to the lesbian is di- Queer feminism allows for a rethinking of the rectly linked to sexual desire and performance, old divisions and invites reflection on the way as suggested by Newton (2000) when she says, the lesbian is performed, portrayed, and repre- based on Freud, that all desire and active erot- sented. It is understood as an advancement in ic activity are masculine; and therefore, the feminist theory which embraces more diverse woman who desires another woman cannot be bodies and experiences (Trujillo, 2022). other than masculine. The masculine lesbian is the new unmistakable obvious figure in her Under such light, Permafrost is a queer femi- sexuality, as posed by Daly (1978), “[t]he terms nist text. Baltasar’s metaphors and narratives gay or female homosexual more accurately de- challenge what is established. In this regard, it scribe women who, although they relate gen- is not only the portrayal of the narrator’s expe- itally to women, give their allegiance to men rience, trying to shield herself from society and and male myths, ideologies, styles, practices, the social expectations placed upon her which institutions, and professions” (p. 78). challenges and questions binarisms, but also the sexual and desire elements of the book, depict- This understanding of masculinity in lesbians ed by a plethora of metaphors. This is especial- was put to the test with the emergence of queer ly identifiable in passages in which the lesbian theories that fractured pre-established gender sexual practice is related to the realm of the binarisms and expectations. De Lauretis (1991) masculine. In this new paradigm, previously Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation well-defined roles and identities become more the masculine — powerful, active, violent — ambiguous. It is within this framework that are also involved in the terminology employed Baltasar’s sexual desire is analysed in this by the author to illustrate lesbian sex. In par- 171 proposal. ticular, the narrator of Permafrost describes her lovers and sexual partners in an objectifying, 2. The Representation very sexualised and somewhat brutal way. She of Lesbian Sex/Desire mentions a “triplicated clitoris” that acts like “micro penis” (Baltasar, 2018, p. 88) and de- Baltasar depicts sexual relationships in a raw scribes the sexual act as being so savage that manner that also involves very suggestive im- if the protagonist was a man, she would have ages, symbolism, and metaphors. Duval’s re- “made her pregnant” (Baltasar, 2018, p. 88). view (2020) describes some of its passages as being too “masculine” and mentions that the However, limiting the reading of Permafrost’s way Baltasar has portrayed sexual desire be- sexual desire depiction to those instances ig- tween women was not convincing enough. It is nores an important part of its metaphorical di- then arguable that Baltasar defies what may be mension and reduces its queer imagery. Apart expected from a contemporary lesbian author from the two aforementioned examples, the by sometimes using analogies that have histor- novel shows a vast array of metaphors that de- ically been related to the masculine; this may rive from the author’s own voice and create a be actually regarded as going against feminist language far from what is culturally understood postulates. However, the hypothesis that I sug- as masculine. As a matter of fact, Baltasar’s gest, observing the phenomenon under a queer representation of sexual performance and de- light, is that she is able to perform the sexual sire finds some parallelisms with well-known on her own terms, trying to find in existing and authors of lesbian feminist texts, Monique Wit- understandable (but patriarchal) analogies and tig and Hélène Cixous. In their masterpieces, vocabulary a discourse that manages to ex- Le corps lesbien (Wittig, 1986[1973]) and Le livre press what she has in mind. In this sense, she de Promethea (Cixous, 1983), respectively, they may be queering lesbian desire, playing with use strategies to rethink sex and sexual desire the masculine and the feminine and bringing through lesbian, feminist, and queer lenses. it to a middle ground or even elevated ground where such dichotomies are rendered obsolete. As put by Cleveland (2001, p. 24), “Wittig ex- However, despite a queer reading of the de- poses and resists through her reworking of the piction of lesbian sexual desire, it is probable language” to combat the masculine gaze in that Baltasar’s writing is influence by the his- which “the female body bears a long history of torical lack of resources to define the lesbian social and medical management”. She choos- body and their sexual sphere due to a general es a vocabulary able to “resist the metaphor, indifference from the male and straight view the anatomical lexicon” (Hernández Piñero, (Cleveland, 2001). 2013, p. 177, my translation), for instance: In some cases, Baltasar’s metaphors have resort- your canines gash m/y flesh where it is most ed to the masculine in order to make reference sensitive, you hold m/e between your paws, to sensations and practices in female same-sex you constrain m/e to lean on m/y elbows, you desire. It could be acknowledged that this as- make m/e turn m/y back to you, your breasts sertion is made based on socially established press against m/y bare skin, I feel your hairs binaries and that a queer understanding of the touching m/y buttocks at the height of your lesbian body and identity would dismantle clitoris, you climb on m/e, you rip off m/y such explanations. I argue that the historical skin with the claws of your four paws […] and social connotations of what is related to (p. 22) Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo And she describes her lovers with passages know my subterfuge. But you are passing such as the following: right by the little room that I want to keep 172 closed, and you don’t see it.” (1983, p. 126) The gleam of your teeth your joy your so- rrow the hidden life of your viscera your It is in the framework of this task where Cix- blood your arteries your veins your hollow ous and Wittig enquire into the sense, the habitations your organs your nerves their limits, and the possibilities of the metaphor rupture their spurting forth death slow de- with the purpose of creating images of lesbi- composition stench being devoured by worms an desire. Baltasar outlines a vision of lesbian your open skull, all will be equally unbeara- desire where anatomy and excess are solidly ble to her. (p. 15) present. Her narrator seeks refuge in a brutal and objectifying approach to her lovers, to the “However, this gesture of refusing the metaphor point where some metaphors use masculinity to is twofold, since it is a gesture that implies at portray intensity, exaggeration, climax, and vio- the same time the creation of new metaphors, lence and creates a personal gaze. Such a gaze, of a new metaphorical sphere” (Hernández from a queer perspective, defies the aforemen- Piñero, 2013, p. 177, my translation). Cixous, tioned masculine view by refuting the definition in turn, configures “a desire between women of what is masculine and feminine, or better as an excess or exaggeration. […] Cixous has put, by challenging what is really masculine to destroy the distance between writing and and feminine. This does not, by any means, life. According to the author, this means writ- dismiss the influence of the patriarchal asso- ing closer or before the metaphor” (Hernández ciation of the masculine with certain sexual Piñero, 2013, p. 177, my translation), as seen practices and notions. Nevertheless, through a here: “And I? I drink, I burn, I gather dreams. queer understanding, it would not be deliberately And sometimes I tell a story. Because Promet- masculine. The reading of Baltasar’s Permafrost hea asks me for a bowl of words before she as merely masculine could dangerously reduce goes to sleep” (p. 44). Examples of Cixous’ its plurality to a simplistic understanding of the metaphorical dimension when she describes author’s imagery in a way that, in Démont’s the desired body can be found in the following (2018) taxonomy of representing the queer in excerpts: translation, would tend to simplify the queer You make me thirsty, Promethea, my river, content of a text to suit the political and social you make me eternally thirsty, my water. As expectations. if I had spent my life in an old house of dried mud, so dry myself that I could not even Such an understanding and portrayal of lesbi- thirst, until yesterday. (p. 43) an sexual desire, which is profoundly attached to the author’s style and based on complex This is how I want you: larger and smaller metaphors and imagery, needs to be tackled stronger and weaker taller and trembling intimately in the transfer to another language more, more out of breath that I more burn- and culture. The way queer messages circulate ing more penetrating bolder bossier more can help diversify the queer experience by fa- yielding more frightened narrower and more relentless than you are more than I. (1983, cilitating the target culture’s comprehension p. 72) of the text and guaranteeing their engagement and enjoyment. Or when she expresses the sensations and feel- ings of the narrator: 3. Translating the Queer “It is because I am a deep, cool pyramid. Go From the so-called cultural and power turn through me. Pass through all my rooms and in translation (Bassnett & Lefevere, 1990; Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation Tymoczko, 2000), there was a shift in the as the volumes by Baer and Kaindl (2018), Baer perspective of translation studies. Martínez (2020), and Epstein and Gillett (2017), who Pleguezuelos (2018) notes that there is a par- deal with the diversity of identities of the 173 allelism in the development of gay and lesbi- lgbtq+ community; Rose (2021), who focus- an studies and translation studies during that es particularly on trans and intersex texts and time. With the overcoming of prescriptivist their translation; or Martínez Pleguezuelos postulates towards more descriptive approach- (2018) and Villanueva and Chaume (2021), es, he states, translation becomes the ideal space who focus on the field of audiovisual transla- to identify the discursive power dynamics that tion and queer identities. contribute to the formation of minority sexuali- ties. If feminist translation tries “to actively vali- Villanueva and Chaume (2021) have applied a date the different types of feminisms (in plural) systematic review of the epistemological and and ultimately eradicate (the also plural) gen- methodological value of publications in the der discrimination” (Castro, 2008, p. 286, my field of audiovisual translation and lgtbiq+ translation), queer translation aims to bring to representation for the last two decades. Their the surface sexual and gender diversity to un- study serves to conceptualise this very unsta- mask essentialist ideas to use the potential in- ble field which departs from the conceptuali- herent in the fluid concepts of translation and sation of the label itself: queer. They mention sexuality and understand the practices and dis- that most of the studies conducted up to date courses involved in negotiating identities (Baer are case studies with a single product (they & Kaindl, 2018). focus on audiovisual content) and are qualita- tive studies. Their criticisms focus on the vari- Kedem (2019, p. 159) approaches queer trans- ability of the term “translation,” and they put lation as “an object of immanent critique that emphasis on the logocentrism of the analyses. challenges pre-established notions of both The differences in the understanding of the the concept of the queer and that of transla- practice itself call for different methodologies tion”. For queer theories to be effective critical of analysis and yield different results. modes of thinking, though they must culti- vate a self-critical dimension that will secure From my understanding, most of these qualita- its elasticity as a political practice, guarantee tive analyses reviewed in Villanueva and Chau- its dynamic and plural form and can thus also me (2021) lack a categorisation or taxonomy of provide the means to counter its critics (Butler, strategies used for the translation and study of 1993). In this sense, I view translation as a bor- queer texts. It is here where I call for the mod- der, as presented in Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La elling of feminist translation strategies in queer frontera (1987) and analysed in Baer (2020) as translation based on the fact that both feminist a key concept in queer translation. This bor- and queer translation share the same main ob- der works as a margin that is not only a meet- jective. Feminist translation scholars and profes- ing point between two languages but that also sionals have proposed different strategies that exposes a view from the “position of the he- can bring feminist issues in a text that may be gemon” (Baer, 2020, p. 32), hiding and open- hidden, censored, or shifted in translation to the ing what is found beyond, thus resisting mere fore. Such strategies are summarised in the study equivalence and symmetrical monolingualism. of Castro (2008), expanded in the following sec- tion, who bases her work on previous scholars The “queer turn” in translation, as described by considered classics in this line of research such Santaemilia (2018), provides new possibilities as the works of Godard (1990), Lotbinière-Har- for research in the field. Recent publications are wood (1991), Simon (1995, 1996), and Von Flo- proof of new applications and discussions, such tow (1991, 1995, 1997). Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo I argue here, based on previous experiences and distilling both definitions into her own (Iturregui-Gallardo, 2021), that feminist trans- narrative. Consequently, Duval’s claims (2020) 174 lation strategies constitute an adaptable ref- should be put to the test. It is true that the in- erential framework for both the analysis and stances analysed in her review are blatantly production of queer translations. The queer masculine in the sense that Baltasar resorts to turn takes gender-conscious translation fur- a series of male images to describe the power ther in what Giustini (2015) names the second and brutality of lesbian sex. However, these do paradigm in translation. As put by Von Flotow not account, by any means, for the totality of (2007, p. 92, quoted in Giustini, 2015), “queer, the images, since the novel presents many oth- as well as gay and lesbian studies concerned er passages in which lesbian desire is depicted with other gender identities and in particular in different forms; from the enumeration of fe- with individual choice in these matters, have male anatomy or their analogies with food, to taken debates to other, though not necessarily the juxtaposition of sex and eating to describe new, areas” (p. 2). Both approaches to transla- excess which resonate with the aforementioned tion share the emphasis on historically hidden lesbian feminist texts by Wittig (1986[1973]) discourses and narratives belonging to social and Cixous (1983). minorities which evolved in the margins of power such as women and lgbtq+ identities. I depart from the categorization presented by The proposed combination or application of Démont (2018) in which he proposes three feminist strategies to the queer text offer multi- different modes of translating literary queer ple advantages. texts. In this case, he is not proposing specific strategies on feminist translation, as provided 4. Methodology: Queerfeminist Strategies by Castro (2008), but a collection of three pos- sible outcomes in the treatment of the queer Permafrost was published in Barcelona in 2018; component of a text. He proposes two modes and its English translation, penned by Ameri- that hide or simplify the queer (misrecognizing can translator Julia Sanches, arrived in 2020. the queer and minoritizing the queer) and a third The totality of excerpts in which (lesbian) mode that manages to transfer the queer in a sexuality and desire were featured, identified, text into the translated text, which I will name and gathered on a table opposite their En- preserving the queer for the purposes of this glish translation. With both texts in parallel, study. the analysis took place. The translations were located in one of the three modes described In the first mode, the one in which the queer is by Démont (2018), and the translation strate- misrecognised, the translation is “subject to the gies proposed for feminist translation (Castro, normalizing and ‘straightening’ power of trans- 2008) were used as analysis tools. Both ap- lators” and “by being connected to a whole new proaches aimed to show the gender-conscious set of semantic associations, the potentially intention of the translation that successfully subversive content is turned into a conservative maintains its queer component. strategy to hide a queer sexuality” (Démont, 2018, pp. 158–159). The second mode, which This article proposes a queer reading in which is when the queer contents of a text are minor- the practices represented in Permafrost can be itized, reduces the text’s queerness “to the considered undecidable, in the words of Rose terms of the contemporary identity politics” (2021). Therefore, both the text and the trans- supressing “the potential discontinuities, asso- lation would benefit from an analysis from this ciations, and uncouplings around which the angle. My hypothesis is that Baltasar uses a original text, and its own sexual rhetoric, are vast array of images for her sexual metaphors organized.” (Démont, 2018, p. 162). Finally, by drawing from the feminine and masculine preserving the queer encompasses the correct Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation recognition and transference of all the nuances Many studies are usually focused on examin- that characterised the queer essence in a text. ing previous (old) translations that have failed to recognise or have completely eliminated 175 For the successful identification and preserva- the queer and proposing new translations to tion of the queer, the present study puts for- address these issues (cf. Baer & Kaindl, 2018; ward feminist strategies not only as tools for Rose, 2021). Even though these contemporary translating queer texts but also as a framework studies align with the historical patriarchal per- of analysis. Feminist translation strategies spective in the study of cultural phenomena, (Castro, 2008) are primarily used to highlight which are truly fundamental, working with and bring the feminist component of texts to contemporary authors and translations will the fore, to the point that they propose mod- provide an understanding of how such content ification as a way of transcreation to subvert travels and is expressed in current different lin- their patriarchal component. As suggested in guistic spaces. the previous section, such strategies are uti- lised to transfer what may be hidden beyond 5. Results and Discussion the frontier of translation, as theorised by Anz- aldúa (1987). By looking at the passages described by Du- val in her review (2020) and putting them in These strategies are compensation, where the the context of the whole novel, it is clear that translator directly intervenes and counter- resorting to masculine aspects for metaphors acts the differences between the source and when describing lesbian desire only happens the target in terms of connotations, gendered twice throughout the novel (Examples 1 and wording, etc.; metatextuality, a strategy that as- 2). As a matter of fact, many other images are sembles paratexts such as forewords, or trans- used to describe sex and desire (Example 8). lator’s notes, among others, to allude directly Subsequently, the author writes with creative to the political intent of the translation, justi- flair –showing her poetic background– and fy their interventions, and explain underlying employs an array of intimate imagery in the meanings that could be lost in translation; ab- novel. It could be stated, then, that the contents junction, where the translator reclaims a text without feminist intent by introducing neolo- Example 1 gisms, changes or parodies in the plot, inclu- sive grammatical forms (such as sticking to a p. 59: We’ve fucked p. 88: Hem follat tota la all afternoon like generalised grammatical female distinction), tarda com animals al animals on the verge of etc.; and close collaboration with the author, re- límit de l’extinció, si fos extinction. If I were male, sulting in a process of co-authorship. un mascle segur que I definitely would have l’hauria prenyada. gotten her pregnant. In the following section the analysis and dis- cussion of the results are presented. The ob- Example 2 jective is to confirm that the translation of the novel into English was conducted by adopting p. 88: Els dits, els llavis i les p. 59: Lips, hands and mans, i el nas i la llengua fingers, nose, tongue a gender-conscious approach, paying special i els peus, i les dents i els and feet, teeth, hair attention to the queer in the text and its trans- cabells i el meu clítoris, – and my clitoris, fer. Subsequently, the present work springs increïblement triplicat shockingly tripled from the hypothesis that this translation is in de mida, com un in size, an insolent fact a queer translation able to correctly pre- micropenis altiu… totes micropenis… my every les meves extensions extremity driven inside serve the queer. Ultimately, this study aims to forçades dins seu fins a her, to the very edge confirm that a translation of a queer text with a l’extrem pel poltre d’un of her, on the rack of queer feminist-conscious approach is possible. desig il·limitat. unlimited desire. Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo of Duval’s review (2020) may have deliberate- Example 5 ly simplified the author’s vision by failing to 176 identify other narratives, thus avoiding a queer p. 130: Animal a mig p. 84: […] a partially domesticar, però reading of the text (cf. Démont, 2018). cabut i feréstec quan domesticated animal, dogged and feral when s’endinsava en el meu Secondly, the translation shows a clear inten- entering my cunt. She cony. Primer no volia. hadn’t wanted to at tion to preserve the author’s understanding of “M’encanta quan te’m first. “I love it when you sex and desire. Sanches’ intention is noticeable menges”, […] Els nostres eat me out,” […] Our in her lexical selection when describing certain conys es van convertir cunts were our favorite en la nostra porcellana practices and parts of the body (particularly, set of fine china. preferida. female genitalia). She uses literal translations that may sound unfamiliar or out of context Example 6 in English but whose meaning is very connot- ed in the Catalan version. This is the case of p. 104: […] vaig pensar p. 68: […] Then I the words used to name the vagina or vulva. com seria sucar els dits wondered what it would In Examples 3, 4, and 5, I show how the au- a la figa de la Laura i feel like to dunk my thor uses the Catalan word cony [cunt] to talk quin gust tindrien en fingers into Laura’s fig, llepar-los. […] Pensava what she would taste about the narrator’s genitalia and that of her en la figa sucosa de la like. […] The thought lovers. This word has particular connotations Laura i m’escorria de of Laura’s syrupy fig in Catalan, normally related to a colloquial or seguida. […] Fent-me immediately made me vulgar register. The word is also used as an in- petons a la ratlla que come. […] I kissed the terjection similar to the English fuck. However, formaven els dits índex line between my index i polze, imaginant-me finger and thumb. I que eren els seus llavis, pictured them as her Example 3 fent-hi lliscar la llengua lips, slipped my tongue entremig i preguntant- between them, and p. 73: Adoro, adoro me si algun dia, quan wondered whether one p. 49: I fucking love les mans de dona. fóssim més grans, la day, maybe when we women’s hands. […] […] Ungles curtes Laura em deixaria fer were older, Laura would Short, the way I like com a mi m’agraden, el mateix amb la seva let me do the same to them. Short, the way ungles curtes com a mi figa. her fig. I like them. The one m’agraden. En realitat, repeating this was qui ho repetia era el actually my cunt, meu cony, pensador unrepentant thinker. impenitent. by no means does it have those connotations Example 4 in English; in fact, it is used as an insult, and quite a strong one in certain territories1. p. 130: Encara que tot, p. 84: Even though en ella, proclamava everything about her Contrarily, in Example 6, Baltasar makes use feminitat: el cap rapat screamed femininity: of the Catalan term figa, a fig in English, that i ros com un cony fort head blonde and shorn is used for the fruit and also to refer to the va- acabat de rasurar, els like a solid and recently gina or vulva in its figurative sense. In Cata- ulls de glaç trencat, els shaven cunt, cracked- pits llargs i constants ice eyes, breasts long lan, figa sounds less direct and violent; it also com llengües, reposant and continuous like carries connotations of innocence. Indeed, this al damunt de la seva tongues resting over a term is used when the protagonist is describ- escala de costelles, els flight of ribs, crimped ing herself masturbating or her sexual arousal mugrons arremangats, nipples, legs and feet experiences when she was a young girl. The les cames i els peus soft and monochrome suavíssims i monocroms like the drawings in the com extremitats d’un classical Kama Sutra. 1 In the Cambridge dictionary, an offensive word Kamasutra clàssic. for a very unpleasant or stupid person. Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation English term “fig” does not carry this mean- different connotations, but it is able to con- ing, but the translator has decided to maintain vey the author’s vision. Again, the translator a literal translation that is easy to follow due resists equivalents to bring the authors’ queer 177 to the context and revolves around the other message to the fore with a translation based on food imagery presented in the passage (the compensation or abjection. girl is comparing the “fig” to a sort of heart- shaped candy). These translations (Examples Another treat of the queer nature of the novel 3 to 6) align with the feminist translation strat- is found in the form of the text: Baltasar’s sig- egy of compensation or abjunction based on the nature use of prose poetry. In fact, the author fact that the target readership might be gaining has pointed out in several interviews that the more information about the source or find the writing of her novels is performed in two steps: selection of words odd. The translation is then A first one in which the text, the plot, the sto- rendered queer by resisting equivalents and ry is built and a second one that has the sole offers the target audience a window into the aim of making the text aesthetically beautiful source text, thus unveiling what is behind the (Díez, 2019). Sanches’ translation has sought translated word (cf. Anzaldúa, 1987). to maintain the rhythm of the original text while always staying close to Baltasar’s met- In Example 7, two different terms are used aphorical dimensions. The sexual and desire to describe vaginal discharge when the young dimensions of the book are demonstrated in protagonist fantasises about one of her girl- Example 8. This example, which evokes imag- friends. First, the original uses substància vis- ery based on food again, is also proof of the cosa which has been translated literally as author’s resourceful use of metaphors to deal “viscous substance”. Later, the author refers to with sexual desire. Here queer escapes what the same fluid as suc [juice], which has been relates to the merely “gay and lesbian”, as sug- used in this context to refer again to the food gested in De Lauretis (1991). In this sense, it imagery recurrent in Baltasar’s novel. The lit- refers to a sexuality which resists homogeneity eral English translation “juice” might have and rejects the reproductive objective to em- body the perverse and antisocial that is found in sexuality (Edelman, 2004, in De Lauretis, Example 7 2011). p. 104: Vaig notar com p. 68: These thoughts aquests pensaments made my body Example 8 feien que el meu cos produce more of that produís més substància viscous substance. viscosa. Em va It soaked my fingers p. 88: Tot el meu emplenar els dits i se’m and spilled from the cos donant-se com p. 59: My entire body va escampar per tota opening, all the way up xiclet calent i dens, is a stick of hot, dense l’obertura, fins més and over my clitoris. I’d emmotllant-se a chewing gum tailored amunt del clítoris. Feia known for some weeks cadascuna de les to her every cavity, unes setmanes que that the thing I fondled seves cavitats, cercant searching for the point sabia que allò que em through my panties el punt on l’exterior where the outside gives tocava per damunt when masturbating fineix i s’obre a la polpa way to the naked and de les calces quan em was called clitoris, but íntima i nua de l’interior. intimate inner pulp. I masturbava es deia now that I was touching Sentia la necessitat de yearn for her essence, clítoris, però ara me’l it directly with fingers trobar-me amb la seva to meld with it. There tocava directament, smeared in juice, the essència, d’integrar- is love so enormous it amb els dits recoberts pleasure I felt was a m’hi. Hi havia un amor precludes the word del meu suc, les thousand times more tan immens que excloïa love. sensacions agradables intense. de si mateix la paraula es multiplicaven per mil. amor. Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181 Gonzalo Iturregui-Gallardo 6. Conclusions excess. Baltasar’s metaphors, which include food, the female anatomy, and which make 178 It has been suggested that Permafrost is a femi- reference to the male body to represent excess nist and queer novel, even if the author insists on create a queer representation of lesbian sex the fact that she has never had any active inten- that may be deemed, first of all, uncomfort- tion to make it so. She has mentioned in more able (cf. Trujillo, 2022) and undecidable, that than one interview that she writes about women is, between or beyond feminine or masculine, who happen to be lesbians simply because she is in some passages (cf. Rose, 2021). a woman who happens to be lesbian (Instituto Cervantes Leeds, 2021). The author does not Sanches’ translation shows a clear intention show a clear activist or political agenda in her to preserve the original’s queerness, following work concerning feminist or queer ideologies. Démont’s categorisation (2018). As shown in Examples 1 to 8, she has carefully selected However, the novel is built on a history of wom- the terminology to mirror the queer imagery en’s literature in the sense that it can be linked of the original Catalan text. This can be seen to the traces of female precursors vital to the in the words chosen to refer to female genitalia development of queer feminism, and it is based (cony and figa in Catalan; and cunt and fig in on personal experience (cf. Gilbert & Gubar, English) and to refer to vaginal discharge (sub- 1979). Further, and most importantly, Perma- stància viscosa and suc, in Catalan; and viscous frost is a queer text; based on the metaphorical substance and juice, in English) for which the language Baltasar employs to create images translator opts for a literal translation that that resist homogeneity and defy normativ- stays very close to the original text and con- ity. She does not automatically use masculine referents to talk about sex; she is using images forms to a transparent translation that lets the that originate from the centuries-old patriarchal original text be seen; thus moving beyond the model but that are part of the general imagery frontier marked by translation (cf. Anzaldúa, in which the masculine is linked to brutality and 1987). She also manages to reproduce the au- power. Why is this so? Do we really have a code thor’s prose poetry rhythm while meticulously to describe lesbian sex and desire? transferring the nuances of the imagery in the original text. It has been argued that the social understand- ing of certain sexual practices is linked to the The translator worked in collaboration with male. It is clear that, unfortunately, historical the author and wrote a prologue in which she androcentrism and patriarchy have had an im- reflects on her experience while translating Per- pact on the referents, codes, and models we mafrost and her intentions as a translator. The use today. Such an understanding of sex has use of metatexts is one of the strategies em- impacted language as seen in Baltasar’s work, ployed by feminist translators when faced with who describes and expresses a series of prac- texts with certain contents that must be brought tices and sensations with existing mainstream to the fore (Castro, 2008). Furthermore, the codes without showing a political and activ- translation reproduces certain selections of im- ist purpose. She uses a variety of images that ages and metaphors that echoes feminist strate- define her voice as an author. By observing gies such as compensation or abjunction, which her texts from a queer approach, the imagery are able to capture the original queerness. The echoes previous canonical lesbian texts such translation solutions provide extra information as The Lesbian Body by Wittig or The Book of about the original Catalan by opting for trans- Prométhea by Cixous, which use a variety of lations closer to the source text to frame the metaphorical figures able to resist the male original analogies and metaphors that sound gaze or to portray lesbian desire based on odd (queer) to the English-speaking readership. Re-sentir lo queer/cuir en la traducción iberoamericana Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian Desire and its Translation Finally, and subsequently, queer feminist ap- during the Spanish dictatorship. The study of proaches to translation are essential to tackle the translation from minority languages into the study of minorities in place of the patriar- English (or other widely spoken and powerful 179 chal heteronormative canon that has long exert- languages) is key to the transfer of knowledge ed its power over marginalised experiences. This across territories and communities. study has shown how in the field of translation, common feminist strategies could also bene- References fit both the analysis and production of queer translations. Furthermore, the transfer from Abella, A. (2018). El deshielo de “Perma- Catalan into English (that is, from a minority gel”. El Periódico. https://www.elperio- language to a language of power) is particular- dico.com/es/ocio-y-cultura/20180612/ ly important; making new queer texts available entrevista-eva-baltasar-permagel-6870120 promotes other images and narratives and thus Anzaldúa, G. (1987). Borderlands/ La frontera. Bor- reinforces the idea of the queer as translational derlands. La frontera. The new mestiza. Aunt Lute (Baer, 2018). Books. Baer, B. J., & Kaindl, K. (Eds.) (2018). Queering 6.1. Future Lines of Research translation, translating the queer: Theory, practice, activism. Routledge. This study opens new avenues for future re- search. Considering the incipient renown of Baltasar, E. (2018). Permagel. Club Editor. Baltasar as a novelist, attention will likely turn Baltasar, E. (2020). Permafrost (J. Sanches, Trans.). to her numerous poetry collections. In her po- And Other Stories. etry she explores same-sex love and desire; the exploration of their translation could provide Bassnett, S., & Lefevere, A. (1990). Translation, his- new insights into her metaphorical and con- tory and culture. Printer Publishers. ceptual universe and how this is transported Baer, B. J. (2020). Queer theory and translation studies; into other languages. language, politics, desire. Routledge. In the same vein, more research is required Bunch, C. (1975). Lesbians in revolt. In N. Myron & C. Bunch (Eds.), Lesbianism and the women’s on the connection point of queer archaeology movement. Diana Press. and queer creation in translation. Most of the studies on the queer have been based on previ- Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter: On the discursive ous translations and, in some cases, previous limits of sex. Routledge. translations that one assumes should be repur- Cardenete, P. (2018). Eva Baltasar publica “Perma- posed. 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The straight mind and other essays. Beacon Press. Sy-Quia, S. (2021). Aggressive like mothers. Time Literary Supplement. https://www.the-tls. Zanón, C. (2018). Bajo el hielo. El País Babelia. ht- co.uk/articles/permafrost-eva-baltasar-re- tps://elpais.com/cultura/2018/12/26/babe- view-stephanie-sy-quia/ lia/1545847513_685474.html How to cite this article: Iturregui-Gallardo, G. (2023). Permagel/Permafrost: Lesbian desire and its translation. Mutatis Mutandis, Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción, 16(1), 166–181. https:// doi.org/10.17533/udea.mut.v16n1a10 Mutatis Mutandis. Revista Latinoamericana de Traducción Vol. 16, N.° 1, 2023, enero-junio, pp. 166-181