Ritraduzione e riscoperta. Il caso di George Macdonald

The paper aims at focusing on retranslation practice as an editorial means of rediscovery of literary works, in particular those belonging to the fantastic genre. The selected case studies consist of the Italian translations of Scottish author George MacDonald’s (1824-1905) The Light Princess. Its more recent retranslation was carried out by the publishing house flower-ed, the only publisher currently rediscovering and promoting MacDonald’s fantasy texts in Italy. More specifically, the paper examines how retranslation is helpful in the recovery of this pivotal work, by highlighting MacDonald’s nonconformist treatment of female characters and gender issues. The study will start with a theoretical introduction to the theme of retranslation, followed by a literary analysis of The Light Princess, and then move on to the translational contrastive analysis of some excerpts from the source text and its Italian translations. Ultimately, the present study aims at raising awareness around the promotion and dissemination of classics of the fantastic through the practice of retranslation.