Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh

Caroline Crane Marsh (1816-1901), wife of George Perkins Marsh, a U.S. diplomat to Turkey and Italy, deserves recognition for the ways in which her self-understanding was transformed by her travels abroad and translating practice. Caroline saw herself not only as dutiful wife or “handmaiden” to Geor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Etta Madden
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2019-09-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/12574
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832580666149044224
author Etta Madden
author_facet Etta Madden
author_sort Etta Madden
collection DOAJ
description Caroline Crane Marsh (1816-1901), wife of George Perkins Marsh, a U.S. diplomat to Turkey and Italy, deserves recognition for the ways in which her self-understanding was transformed by her travels abroad and translating practice. Caroline saw herself not only as dutiful wife or “handmaiden” to George, but also as surrogate mother, social activist, teacher, translator and aspiring author. Two volumes she translated into English, The Hallig or, the Sheepfold in the Waters: a Tale of Humble Life on the Coast of Schleswig (1856), and The Wolfe of the Knoll, and other Poems (1859), considered alongside her poetry, letters and journals, provide windows to the values of translation as a venue of negotiation and cultural exchange. Caroline’s translating work emerged in a period of American exceptionalism that celebrated the Anglo as ideal subject (if not imperial colonizer) and often occluded cultural difference that had been part of the Americas since European arrival. Yet her literary labors reflect that Caroline realized her role as a mediator rather than militaristic conqueror, with translations that make difference overt and journal entries that demonstrate she recognized her limitations as a reformer and a conveyor of religious “truth.” This emphasis on Caroline as translator contributes to an understudied area in discussions of American women’s travel writings, building from diverse views of translation in the nineteenth century and today.
format Article
id doaj-art-10872e755508453ba713f6596de24e64
institution Kabale University
issn 1765-2766
language English
publishDate 2019-09-01
publisher Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
record_format Article
series Transatlantica
spelling doaj-art-10872e755508453ba713f6596de24e642025-01-30T10:45:30ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662019-09-01110.4000/transatlantica.12574Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane MarshEtta MaddenCaroline Crane Marsh (1816-1901), wife of George Perkins Marsh, a U.S. diplomat to Turkey and Italy, deserves recognition for the ways in which her self-understanding was transformed by her travels abroad and translating practice. Caroline saw herself not only as dutiful wife or “handmaiden” to George, but also as surrogate mother, social activist, teacher, translator and aspiring author. Two volumes she translated into English, The Hallig or, the Sheepfold in the Waters: a Tale of Humble Life on the Coast of Schleswig (1856), and The Wolfe of the Knoll, and other Poems (1859), considered alongside her poetry, letters and journals, provide windows to the values of translation as a venue of negotiation and cultural exchange. Caroline’s translating work emerged in a period of American exceptionalism that celebrated the Anglo as ideal subject (if not imperial colonizer) and often occluded cultural difference that had been part of the Americas since European arrival. Yet her literary labors reflect that Caroline realized her role as a mediator rather than militaristic conqueror, with translations that make difference overt and journal entries that demonstrate she recognized her limitations as a reformer and a conveyor of religious “truth.” This emphasis on Caroline as translator contributes to an understudied area in discussions of American women’s travel writings, building from diverse views of translation in the nineteenth century and today.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/12574religiontranslationactivismCaroline Crane MarshItaly
spellingShingle Etta Madden
Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
Transatlantica
religion
translation
activism
Caroline Crane Marsh
Italy
title Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
title_full Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
title_fullStr Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
title_full_unstemmed Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
title_short Travels, Translations and Limitations: Ambasciatrice Caroline Crane Marsh
title_sort travels translations and limitations ambasciatrice caroline crane marsh
topic religion
translation
activism
Caroline Crane Marsh
Italy
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/12574
work_keys_str_mv AT ettamadden travelstranslationsandlimitationsambasciatricecarolinecranemarsh