Literature

L. Pirtskhalava

On the Problem of Translation of the Title of E. O'Neill's Drama "Mourning Becomes Electra"

To our mind the Russion traslation of the title of Eugene O' Neill's drama "Mourning Becomes Electra" isn't correct and adequate (there is no Georgian translation), as the word "becomes" is translated as Electra's "lot". Besides the great lexical difference, according to the drama's context we don't find appropriate to translate the word "becomes" as someone's "lot" – участь.

The usage of the Russian word участь ("lot") creates the trivial, melodramatic effect. Besides the lexical difference, the drama itself varifies that the final outcome is not Lavinia's lot (участь) but mourning Becomes her. If not the tragic end of the drama, Lavinia would be just an ordinary criminal. And here O' Neill deals with human's immanent tragedy. And the word "becomes" means revealing Superego – the responsibility in Lavinia. Her earler actions are driven by the immanent archetypal opposition existing between one's strivings to certain goals and the barriers preventing one from achieving those goals. Lavinia's strivings in the drama are love and revenge, that bring out much sufferings and endless deaths.

The end of O' Neill's Electra is much more tragic than the death itself. Her final decision appears to be the maximal revealing of responsibility – Superego. And that's when the tragedy takes place. As Electra has become aware of her past cruel actions (the result of Id and Ego interactions), she decides to pay for everything. Her verdict isn't her "lot", but she fully realizes her own responsibilily and this awareness distinguishes her from an ordinary criminal. Here, her Superego opperates as her "inner"-subjective barrier and she punishes herself.

Electra's tragedy in the drama with its inner psychological mechanisms and auther's interpretation reveal tragism as onthological and archetypal feature of human's existance in the world.

 

 
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