Flaubert’s Voice: Retranslating Madame Bovary

My translation of Madame Bovary, the work of four years, was driven by my fascination for the immediate detail of Flaubert’s writing. To voice his words again, in English, I needed a literary model. I found that model in the early chapters of Joyce’s Ulysses, which I had originally read alongside Madame Bovary in 1968, when Flaubert was at the height of his twentieth century reputation. Translating Madame Bovary I also drew upon three precursor translations. Each translation had its special virtues. I could use them all, avoiding the exclusive influence of any of them. Translating Madame Bovary also taught me how much of Balzac survives in Flaubert.