Welcome to the third and final experience within this exhibition, the audio world of Emma‘s first chapter. Jane Austen’s works were meant to be read aloud. I can imagine her reading to her family, gathered around a warm fire, laughter ringing out when an inside joke is hidden within the text. While we never had a chance to be one of those members, sitting around Austen as she read her newest novel aloud, we can experience the joy and pleasure of having her works read to us. While we have thus far engaged in a visual exploration of the three Spanish translations and paused to appreciate the art created when translating the novel’s first sentence, we now get to embark on my favorite part of this journey, a part that truly brings Emma to life in both English and Spanish.
Something very special happens when a book is read aloud. The words change from static ink on paper and become infused with the vibrant life force of the audio’s reader, the inflections and rhythm of their unique voice, the artistic choices they make when reading dialogue, and our own imaginations as we listen. Below you will find each Spanish translation’s Chapter 1 of Emma, generously read aloud by a Spanish professor at Goucher College, along with the original English text read aloud by myself. Whether you understand the language or not, I invite you to play each recording and notice how your own personal experience with the text changes from one audio to the next. Notice how the world of Emma becomes laced with new colors and a new energy with each audio reader’s voice. Find a cozy place to settle down, grab a warm beverage, and listen. Listen to the art that is created in collaboration between Austen’s text, the translator’s linguistic choices, the audio reader’s voice, and your own imagination.
Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Emma. Read aloud by Lilia Gestson from the 2015 Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of the novel. Edited by Juliette Wells.
Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Emma. Read aloud by Viki Zavales Eggert from the 1954 Spanish translation of the novel. Translated from English to Spanish by Jaime Bofill Y Ferro.
Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Emma. Read aloud by Jeanie Murphy from the 1971 Spanish translation of the novel. Translated from English to Spanish by José Luis López Muñoz.
Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Emma. Read aloud by Maite Gomis-Quinto from the 2014 Spanish translation of the novel. Translated from English to Spanish by Sergio Pitol.
The future vision for this exhibition is that it could expand and grow to include an exploration of Emma translations from many different countries. The first addition I would add to this exhibition is the addition of French translations. I invite you to listen to chapter 1 from the 1979 French translation of the novel, read aloud by Goucher College Professor, Mark Ingram. Take a moment to notice how your experience as a reader shifts between listening to the English, Spanish, and French translations. The world of Austen and translation is rich with linguistic art and this exhibition only touches a small surface of this writer’s global legacy.
Chapter 1 of Jane Austen’s Emma. Read aloud by Mark Ingram from the 1979 French translation of the novel. Translated by P. et E. de Saint-Segond.
Continue exploring the exhibition and its final reflections and acknowledgments.