La traduction des Liaisons dangereuses d'István Örkény

Abstract

Liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos was first published in 1782 and deals with three different love affairs around the two main characters, Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont. The marquise challenges the vicomte to seduce pious Madame de Tourvel; the vicomte then challenges the marquise to seduce one of the marquise’s former lovers who is to marry Cécile Volanges; as a reward, the two libertines should be resuming their former affair. István Örkény’s translation, Veszedelmes viszonyok, was first published in 1973. Inasmuch as Örkény translated Liaisons dangereuses in the 20th century, how can he possibly render the spirit of Laclos’s work, with the same purposes and same intensity as were displayed in the novel? In this paper, I will first consider the importance of this translation in Örkény’s works, why he chose that particular title, the question about the characters and their specific language, the time and space background of the story, then I will analyse the editor’s foreword, the writer’s note and the translator’s personal afterword.