„EIN MONOLOG DES FÜRSTEN MYSCHKIN1“ (NACH FEDOR DOSTOEVSKIJS ROMAN IDIOT) VON INGEBORG BACHMANN UND SEINE ÜBERTRAGUNGEN INS RUSSISCHE: ASPEKTE DER ÜBERSETZUNGSFORSCHUNG

Abstract

The paper analyzes three translations of a fragment of Ingeborg Bachmann’s libretto for Hans Werner Henze’s ballet, The Idiot. Bachmann’s libretto is based on Dostoevsky’s novel, but it also expresses crucial themes of her own poetry, which is underlined by the fact that the text was integrated into her book of poems, Invocation of the Great Bear. Following the transfer-oriented approach of the Göttingen School of translation research, first, the semantic structure of the source text is examined, after which, the target texts are analyzed with regard to significant deviations, which are then explained against the backgrounds of literary, cultural and social-political history. The fact that Bachmann’s text refers back to Dostoevsky’s novel plays a not inconsiderable role in the choice of texts to be translated.