British, but also French: Paul Mascarene’s Translation of Molière’s Le Misanthrope in Colonial Nova Scotia

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-150
Author(s):  
Micah True

This article examines a little-studied manuscript translation of Molière’s Le Misanthrope, made in eighteenth-century British Nova Scotia by a military officer named Paul Mascarene, for what it can tell us about the complicated assimilation of Huguenots in the global refuge. It argues that the undated manuscript shows the surprising extent to which Mascarene, a Huguenot who fled France in childhood, remained culturally French even as he was a perfectly assimilated Briton, and that he can be seen as a cultural ambassador between his homelands new and old. The manuscript here is closely scrutinized in relation both to Molière’s original 1666 play and a published English translation that is approximately contemporaneous to Mascarene’s own effort. Comparison of the three versions of the play show that Mascarene was a skilled and thoughtful translator, committed to accurately rendering Molière’s words while also making changes that reflected his personal religious values. This article also considers the assertion that Mascarene’s translation served as the basis of a performance in Annapolis Royal in 1743 or 1744 and shows that close scrutiny of the manuscript does not support this conclusion. Instead, Mascarene’s translation of Molière’s Le Misanthrope may best be understood as a sign of how Huguenots like him may have maintained and even sought to share with others aspects of their former identities even as they sought to conform to the cultural norms of their new homelands. Cet article étudie une traduction manuscrite du Misanthrope de Molière, réalisée dans la Nouvelle-Écosse britannique au dix-huitième siècle par un officier militaire nommé Paul Mascarene, pour ce qu’elle peut nous dire sur l’assimilation compliquée des Huguenots dans le refuge mondial. Il soutient que le manuscrit montre à quel point Mascarene, un Huguenot qui a quitté la France à l’âge de onze ans et qui est réputé parfaitement assimilé à la culture britannique, est resté culturellement français. Le manuscrit est ici examiné par rapport à la pièce originale de 1666 de Molière et à une traduction en anglais publiée qui est à peu près contemporaine de celle de Mascarene. La comparaison des trois versions de la pièce montre que Mascarene était un traducteur habile et réfléchi, déterminé à traduire fidèlement les paroles de Molière tout en apportant des changements qui reflètent ses valeurs personnelles et religieuses. Cet article examine aussi l’affirmation fréquente selon laquelle la traduction de Mascarene a servi de base à une représentation à Annapolis Royal en 1743 ou 1744, et montre qu’un examen attentif du manuscrit ne corrobore pas cette conclusion. Au lieu de cela, le manuscrit peut être mieux compris comme un aperçu de la façon dont les Huguenots comme Mascarene auraient pu maintenir et même chercher à partager avec d’autres certains aspects de leurs anciennes identités tout en cherchant à se conformer aux normes culturelles de leurs nouvelles patries.

PMLA ◽  
1932 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 772-776
Author(s):  
Rae Blanchard

Among the P. A. Taylor papers in the British Museum, there is a small manuscript verse-book which contains poems written or collected by William Taylor “of South Weald.” In this book are a prologue and an epilogue for Tamerlane, ascribed to Sir Richard Steele. No comment is made in the manuscript as to the circumstances under which they were written; but it is clear that they were meant for a performance of Rowe's play by schoolboys. These poems are not to be found in the printed works of Steele. There is no allusion to them in his letters, and they are not mentioned in the Steele tradition as recorded by John Nichols, his eighteenth-century editor, or by G. A. Aitken, his biographer. But even in the absence of any direct evidence of their authenticity, we can be reasonably sure not only that they are from Steele's pen but that they were written, probably in the early 1720's, for use at Dr. Newcome's School in Clapton, Hackney. Circumstantial evidence leading to this conclusion is to be found in the contents of the verse-book and of other manuscripts among the Taylor papers; in the somewhat scanty information we have of William Taylor's interests and friends; and also, of course, in Steele's pursuits.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-291
Author(s):  
P.S.M. PHIRI ◽  
D.M. MOORE

Central Africa remained botanically unknown to the outside world up to the end of the eighteenth century. This paper provides a historical account of plant explorations in the Luangwa Valley. The first plant specimens were collected in 1897 and the last serious botanical explorations were made in 1993. During this period there have been 58 plant collectors in the Luangwa Valley with peak activity recorded in the 1960s. In 1989 1,348 species of vascular plants were described in the Luangwa Valley. More botanical collecting is needed with a view to finding new plant taxa, and also to provide a satisfactory basis for applied disciplines such as ecology, phytogeography, conservation and environmental impact assessment.


1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Montgomery

This essay examines the language of an expatriate community as found in letters and petitions written by African Americans who migrated to Sierra Leone by way of Nova Scotia in 1792. These documents provide some of the earliest first-hand evidence of African American English and contribute to debates about the history of that variety. The paper compares selected grammatical features in that variety to modern-day African Nova Scotian English for insights to the history of African American English and develops a case for the principled use of manuscript documents for reconstructing earlier stages of colloquial English.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-400
Author(s):  
Jolanta Mędelska

The author analysed the language of the first Polish translation of the eighteenth-century poem “Metai” [The Seasons] by Kristijonas Donelaitis, a Lithuanian Lutheran pastor. The translation was made in 1933 by a socialist activist and close associate of Józef Piłsudski, Kazimierz Pietkiewicz. The analysis showed that the language of the translation is peculiar. On the one hand, this peculiarity consists in refraining from archaizing the translation and the use of elements that are close to the translator’s style of social-political journalism (e.g., dorobkiewicz [vulgarian], feministka [feminist]), on the other hand, the presence at all levels of language of peculiarities characteristic for Kresy Polish language in both its territorial variations. These are generally old features of common Polish, the retention of which in the eastern areas of the Polish Rzeczpospolita was supported by the influence of substrate languages, later also Russian, or by borrowing. This layer was natural in the language of the translator, born in Ukraine, who spent part of his life in Vilnius, some in exile in Russia. This is the colourful linguistic heritage of the former Republic of Poland.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-136
Author(s):  
Maurits S. Berger

Abstract To understand the concerns and issues related to Muslims and Islam in Europe, this article makes use of a framework that qualifies ‘Islam’ as two manifestations of ‘physical’ and ‘virtual’ Islam and ‘Europe’ as two discourses defined as the political-legal and cultural-religious discourse. The resulting matrix of these four dimensions will be applied to several of the main issues of the interaction between Islam and Europe: the numerical presence of Muslims, their visibility, the legacy of centuries of European-Islamic interaction, and the (in)compatibility of Islamic and European values. Based on these examples, the author observes that the European concerns regarding ‘Islam’ mostly relate to virtual Islam and are dominated by cultural-religious discourse. The author therefore questions the often-heard two-choice question between ‘Europanization of Islam’ or ‘Islamization of Europe’, arguing that the real choice to be made in Europe is whether it will adhere to its political-legal values, such as liberalism, equalit and human rights, or will prefer its cultural-religious values.


Author(s):  
Lynn Abrams

This chapter argues that male interpersonal violence provides a way in which divergent, conflicting and shifting codes of manliness in Scottish society can be discerned. Historians of masculinity have argued that the eighteenth century saw a change in the model of manhood as male interpersonal violence in defence of honour and reputation was replaced by the advocacy of self-governance and recourse to the law. Using court records of violent assault, this chapter focusses on a type of modernizing society – the Scottish Highlands 1760-1840 - in which a code of violence governed by an indigenous culture of manhood was gradually superceded by new cultural norms. An earlier association of masculinity with interpersonal violence in the Highlands was challenged increasingly from around 1800 by those who advocated civility and restraint amongst men, especially in the growing Highland town of Inverness, the centre of an emerging middle-class culture with changing social sensibilities


2021 ◽  
pp. 9-31
Author(s):  
Gary L. Steward

This chapter analyzes the justification of political resistance provided to the founding generation by Boston Congregationalist minister Jonathan Mayhew. Mayhew’s arguments made in 1750 influenced John Adams and a number who were active participants in the American Revolution. The source and context of Mayhew’s arguments is considered, first in light of eighteenth-century discussions in Britain, and then in light of the Protestant theological tradition. This chapter argues that Mayhew’s thought on the question of political resistance did not deviate from his inherited Protestant tradition. It is best understood as a renewed assertion of views found commonly within Reformed Protestantism, going back to at least the sixteenth century. Although Mayhew embraced unorthodox theology in other areas, he shared his views on political resistance with a number of more conservative clergymen who were united in their long-standing opposition to the claims of the Stuart absolutists.


1958 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 595-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Graham

Five species of parasites reared from European material were released at Oak Hill, near Bridgewater, Nova Scotia from 1954 to 1956 as biotic agents against the winter moth, Operophtera brumata (L.) which had been established in Nova Scotia since before 1950. Recovery collections were made annually from 1955 to 1957. This work is still in progress, and in 1957 releases were made in four additional localities. Results of establishment of parasites from releases from 1954 to 1956 are reported below.


Author(s):  
Christina Riggs

‘Four little words’ analyses the meanings of ‘Ancient’, ‘Egyptian’, ‘art’, and ‘architecture’ in order to understand how Egyptian art and architecture are studied and discussed, why and how they have influenced the modern world, and whether iconic examples of Egyptian artworks and buildings are in any way representative of cultural norms and lived experience in the ancient past. When is ‘ancient’ Egypt? Where and what was ‘Egypt’ in antiquity and how did its people describe themselves and their land? Art and architecture are considered to comprise those objects made in such a way that their form and materials contribute to their representational power, social or symbolic significance, and aesthetic qualities.


1961 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
pp. 1020-1021 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Evenhuis

During a stay at the Research Station, Canada Department of Agriculture at Kentville, Nova Scotia, from July 3 to October 16, 1959, I had the opportunity to make some observations on the natural enemies of the woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausm.), the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea (Pass.), and the green apple aplud, Aphis pomi Deg. An inventory of these enemies was made in the Annapolis Valley in apple orchards. sprayed according to the principles of the spray schedule of Dr. A. D. Pickett. This schedule avoids spraying with fungicides and insecticides such as sulphur and phosphorus compounds, which are very harmful to the enemies of a number of pests, studied by Dr. Picktett and his staff (cf. Pickett 1959). The dipterous predators and their enemies are dealt with in this paper.


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