The framing of a belle infidèle: paratexts, retranslations and Madame Bovary

This article seeks to demonstrate how paratextual material can be used as an illuminating point of entry into the complex, multifaceted process of transmission and substitution that is retranslation. It will undertake a case study on the British translations of 'Madame Bovary', eschewing a linguistic line of enquiry in favour of scrutinizing the paratexts for overt or covert signs of how the work has been framed and presented over time. The article will first map out a space for a "translatorial paratext" within Genette's typology (1987). It will then bring paratextual evidence into direct dialogue with theoretical approaches to the textual and extratextual behaviour of retranslation.