Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2
2. Enid Blyton.............................................................................................................................. 4
3. ‘Famous Five’ .......................................................................................................................... 6
4. Who are the ‘Famous Five’? ................................................................................................... 8
5. Reception.............................................................................................................................. 14
6. Children’s literature.............................................................................................................. 18
7. Translating children’s literature ........................................................................................... 24
8. Comparing translations ........................................................................................................ 32
9. Text analysis ......................................................................................................................... 37
10. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 81
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................. 85
Appendix................................................................................................................................... 88
1
1. Introduction
From the early 40s to the early 60s of the 20th century Enid Blyton wrote dozens and dozens
of children’s books. Even the Second World War did not stop her from writing books. The
‘Noddy’ books, the ‘Malory Towers’ series and the ‘Famous Five’ series are only a tip of the
iceberg. Blyton was a very prolific author; her ‘Famous Five’ series alone consists of twentyone books. George Greenfield, one of Blyton’s biographers, even mentions that she wrote
“anything up to 10.000 words a day of whatever book she was then working on (115).” This
thesis will focus on several books from the ‘Famous Five’ series: ‘Five go adventuring again’,
‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ and ‘Five have plenty of fun’ and their first and second
translations. I will look at and compare these English source texts and their respective Dutch
translations. Using examples from these texts, I will attempt to find an answer to the
following question: How were the aspects of the books that have suffered from much
criticism through the years been handled in the ‘Famous Five’ series and two Dutch
translations?
Enid Blyton has experienced a lot of criticism concerning her writing. She has been accused
of racism and sexism, her books are said to reflect stereotypes about class and more recently
the fact that Blyton’s books are old-fashioned has become an issue of criticism. In this thesis
I will look at the aforementioned books and cite some passages in which the notions of
sexism, racism, class stereotyping and so forth become apparent. I will then compare the
passages from the source text and the two Dutch translations.
I will start by introducing the author of the ‘Famous Five’ series: Enid Blyton. A short
biography will be given, after which I will give a brief introduction to the ‘Famous Five’ books
and the main characters. After that, I will discuss children’s literature in general and
2
adventure stories in particular, because the ‘Famous Five’ books are part of that genre
within children’s literature. After an introduction to the translation process, I will discuss the
process of translating children’s literature and some problems a translator might encounter
during that process. Finally, the comparing of various ‘Famous Five’ books and their
translations will be carried out. This comparison will centre on the criticism the series has
received over the years. In the final chapter, I will draw a conclusion from the case study,
concerning the question posed in this Introduction.
3
2. Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was born 11 August 1897 in London. Her parents were lower middle-class, her
father being a cutlery salesman. His name was Thomas Carey Blyton. Enid Blyton’s mother
was called Theresa Mary Harrison. She also had two younger brothers: Hanly (born in 1899)
and Carey (born in 1902). Even though he was not of high social standing, Blyton’s father
was an educated man, self-educated that is. He taught “himself languages, shorthand,
astronomy, music and painting, beside writing poetry, reading extensively and collecting
books” (Rudd 25).
The relationship between her parents was strained and just before Blyton’s thirteenth
birthday, her father left his wife and family, never to be heard of again. This was a
devastating experience for Blyton, considering she was very close to her father. It is said that
she never really recovered from that blow and that, emotionally, she remained twelve years
old forever.1 Blyton’s relationship with her mother, however, seems to have been difficult.
Her mother “found Enid uncongenial when it came to domestic chores”, because she
preferred “to be out with her father” instead of helping her mother (Rudd 25).
In 1924 Blyton married Hugh Pollock, an editor at Newnes publishing house where Blyton
published many of her works. According to Lisa Sewards, Pollock called Blyton “Little Bunny”.
He reportedly “adored her” and “helped launch her career”.2 The pair had two daughters:
Gillian (born in 1931) and Imogen (born in 1935). Initially, Blyton and her husband had some
trouble conceiving, because Blyton had an under-developed uterus. In fact, her uterus is said
1
‘Naked tennis, a lesbian affair with the nanny… there was more to Enid Blyton than midnight feasts
and ginger beer’, Daily Mail, 13 November 2009
2
‘Naked tennis, a lesbian affair with the nanny … there was more to Enid Blyton than midnight feasts
and ginger beer’, Daily Mail, 13 November 2009
4
to have been “the size of a girl’s of 12”.3 Before concentrating fully on her writing career,
Blyton was a teacher; a profession her father had suggested for her (Rudd 25). In September
1942, the first ‘Famous Five’ instalment appeared. Blyton’s success in not just the ‘Famous
Five’, but other (series of) books as well, allowed her to give up teaching. She reportedly told
George Greenfield “that she deliberately wrote for children of every age from three or four
to fourteen and fifteen. Her idea was to catch them young and keep them enthralled as they
grew older” (112). For decades now, Blyton’s name has been more than just the name of an
author; it has become a world-renowned brand. Nowadays, there are not only Blyton books,
but also television series based on her books, many kinds of merchandise based her
characters, theatre shows, video games and so on.
When the Second World War started, Hugh Pollock was summoned to the front and Blyton
stayed behind with their two daughters. The relationship deteriorated during the war and
they divorced in 1942. Blyton married her second husband, Kenneth Darrell Waters, the
following year. Apparently, the couple had already been seeing each other during Pollock’s
absence, when Blyton was still married to him. Waters was a surgeon. He died in 1967 and
Blyton died a year later, on 28 November 1968. The last years of her life she is said to have
suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
3
‘Hurrah! The sun never sets on Enid Blyton’, Independent on Sunday, 18 July 2004
5
3. ‘Famous Five’
In 1942 Enid Blyton published her first ‘Famous Five’ book, called ‘Five on a treasure island’.
Initially, she intended to write a series of six books about the ‘Famous Five’. However, the
series appeared to be so immensely popular that Blyton decided to continue writing about
the ‘Famous Five’. Ultimately, she wrote twenty-one ‘Famous Five’ books, a full list of which
can be found in the appendix, as well as an index of the Dutch equivalents.
As the first table in the appendix indicates, the last ‘Famous Five’ instalment appeared in
1963. According to research carried out by David Rudd “cumulative sales [of the ‘Famous
Five’ books are] now totalling over 500 million copies worldwide, and continuing sales [are]
over eight million a year” (24). Even today, the series remains enormously popular.
The title of the books refers to the five main characters: Julian, Dick, Anne and George and
Timmy, the dog. The first three children are siblings and George is their cousin. The fifth
member of the ‘Famous Five’ is George’s dog Timothy. George is actually a girl named
Georgina, who has always wanted to be a boy and therefore calls herself George dresses like
a boy. The four children are “decidedly upper-class” (Robinson) and they all attend a
boarding school. George is lucky enough to attend a school where children are allowed to
have their own pets, so she can have Timmy with her at school as well as at home. George
and Anne go to the same girls’ boarding school and Julian and Dick attend the same boys’
boarding school. During the holidays the children experience numerous adventures, where
they face criminals and solve mysteries. Most of these adventures take place in the vicinity
of Kirrin Cottage, where George and her parents live. The island off the coast of Kirrin
Cottage is suitably called Kirrin Island and used to be owned by George’s father, who passed
it on to George. Kirrin Island is also the scene of many of the children’s adventures. A
6
seemingly unimportant, yet recurring factor in the ‘Famous Five’ stories is food. Somehow
the home-made food, the lemonade and lashings of ginger beer seem to be a reminder of
the good British life. Food means comfort and security for the Five. In ‘Five have plenty of
fun’, Dick remarks the children should eat something and “[w]e shall all feel better then”
(127). Brandon Robshaw in the Independent on Sunday: “[F]ood is constantly consumed
(ham, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, salad, sandwiches, cakes, ice creams and of course lashings
of ginger beer), usually in the form of picnics or high tea”.4 It is also interesting that, even
though the twenty-one adventures take place during consecutive holidays, the children’s
“ages are inexplicably frozen in time” (Robinson). The children do not seem to age at all.
4
‘Hurrah! The sun never sets on Enid Blyton’, Independent on Sunday, 18 July 2004
7
4. Who are the ‘Famous Five’?
Without going into too much detail about the criticism the ‘Famous Five’ series has received,
I would like to give a short introduction to the main characters of the series: Julian, Dick,
Anne, George and Timmy. Even though the ‘Famous Five’ stories are plot-driven instead of
character-driven, many of the main characters of the series are portrayed in such
stereotypical ways that a description of these stereotypical characters is relevant for this
study. The stereotypical portrayal of some of the characters is one of the criticised parts of
the series. Therefore, this will be discussed in further detail later on in this thesis in the
paragraphs about sexism in the books.
4.1 Julian
Julian, the eldest of the Five, is Dick and Anne’s brother and George’s cousin. At the
beginning of the series, he is twelve years old. He is the archetype of a British boy: bright,
tall, responsible and kind. He is the leader of the group and he is very protective of his
brother and sister and his cousin. For instance in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ his
protectiveness towards Anne becomes apparent:
“Carrying baskets of primroses and violets, the girls began to climb up the steeep side
of the quarry. Julian took Anne’s basket from her, afraid she might slip and fall
(Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 80).”
In this passage it becomes clear that Julian is a sensible and protective boy. However, some
readers find this “1940s-style chivalry” annoying and even “condescending” (Robinson). This
fragment also illustrates the fact that Julian “frequently tells the girls they can’t do
something simply on the basis that they’re girls” (Robinson). He acts older than his actual
8
age. He could be seen as “demanding” and “domineering” and sometimes he “acts so stern
and grown-up that nasty adult characters are frequently struck speechless” (Robinson). It is
clear that Julian is the leader of the group. On top of representing the stereotype of the
intelligent, sensible leader, Julian also perpetuates the stereotypes of other main characters.
This becomes clear in the quote from ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ above.
4.2 Dick
Dick is the cheerful, cheeky one of the group. He is the same age as his cousin George, a year
younger than his brother Julian and a year older than his sister Anne. At the beginning of the
series Dick is eleven years old. Like Julian, he is very caring of Anne and he always tries to
cheer her up when she is upset. Dick is kind and reliable. Later in the series, “Dick takes a
more active role” (Robinson) than in the beginning of the series. He then tries to take over
the role of leader sometimes. He wants to be just as important as Julian. When Dick is the
one that finds a moveable panel at Kirrin Farm, he sticks up for himself instead of letting
Julian take the lead as usual:
“‘Golly!’ said Julian, trying to push Dick away from the open panel. ‘Let me see.’
‘No, Julian,’ said Dick, pushing him away. ‘This is my discovery. Wait till I see if I can
feel anything in the hole. It’s difficult to get at!’ (Blyton, Five go adventuring again
42)”
Out of the four children, Dick is the least detailed character. The only detail the reader
receives is the fact that he is “unafraid of anything that comes along” and that he is “the
character most likely to joke around and tease the others” (Robinson). Dick is the light
hearted one, who often saves the day, but otherwise remains in the background.
9
4.3 Anne
Anne is the youngest and most girly of the Five. She is only ten years old at the beginning of
the series. Anne is the only one who admits that she does not like adventures very much. For
example in ‘Five have plenty of fun’:
“’I’m not very keen on adventures either,’ said Anne. ‘We’ve had plenty, goodness
knows. I prefer adventures when they’re all over!’ (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun
44)”
Anne is a very domestic little girl, who generally takes care of the preparation of food, the
making of the beds and so on. She is “a regular Susie Homemaker”, as Robinson calls her.
Blyton made Anne into a female stereotype by letting her take care of all the domestic
chores. All the things Blyton hated so much in her own childhood, she lets Anne do: help the
mother (Aunt Fanny) in her daily chores. This is what is expected of her. The fact that Anne is
most easily frightened (Robinson even calls her a “wimp”) also contributes to this, as well as
her habit of giving away secrets because she forgot she was not to talk about them. Anne
talks a lot, even when she is not allowed to talk. These traits are all looked upon as weak and
feminine. Despite the fact that she is “the crème de la crème of Helpless Pathetic Girls” and
“everything that women sneer at today”, Anne is “sweet and loyal” and “she’s really a very
nice girl and the sort of person you’d hope your own daughter to turn out like one day”
(Robinson).
4.4 George
The last human main character of the ‘Famous Five’ series is George. She is Julian, Dick and
Anne’s cousin. At the beginning of the series, George is eleven years old, like her cousin Dick.
10
Although she is actually a girl named Georgina, she behaves and dresses like a boy and
makes everyone call her George.
“She would not allow anyone to call her Georgina, and now even the mistresses
called her George (Blyton, Five go adventuring again 7).”
Because of this behaviour, George is the only character to escape the gender stereotypes
most of the time. However, because of her defiance of the female stereotype, George’s
character draws even more attention to the characters that do fit this stereotype (e.g. Aunt
Fanny, Anne). Her character hates everything about that stereotype and she never fails to
make her aversion known. Because she has short hair, like boys do and wears boys’ clothes,
George is often mistaken for a boy. This pleases her very much. The opposite is also true:
“she takes an instant dislike to anyone who calls her Georgina” and treats her like a girl
(Robinson). This is why she immediately suspects her tutor, Mr. Roland, of stealing her
father’s research. George is fighting a “constant battle to prove she’s as good as any boy”
(Robinson).
George is a tomboy with a fiery temper, which she has got from her father. She is fierce and
sometimes completely unmanageable, which is troubling for her parents and her cousins.
However, George is extremely loyal to the ones she loves. The one creature she loves the
most is Timmy, her dog. He is a clever and loyal mongrel and often protects the children on
their adventures. George is very possessive of Timmy and states over and over again that he
is the best dog in the whole world; “she often refuses to like people simply because they
don’t care for dogs in general” (Robinson). An interesting fact that Enid Blyton revealed, is
that the character of George is actually modelled after herself. In fact, Blyton herself “liked
11
to be referred to as Richard, or ‘cabin-boy’” (Rudd 111), just like George wants people to call
her by a boys’ name.
4.5 Timmy
It has already become clear that Timothy the dog plays an important role in the ‘Famous
Five’ books. Not only does he protect the children on their adventures, he is also a loyal
friend and a valued part of the ‘Famous Five’. The brown mongrel with the unusually long
tail and the loving brown eyes might not be the best-looking dog in the world, but he is
definitely the sweetest, best dog in the world for Julian, Dick, Anne and most of all George.
As Robinson puts it:
“Lassie eat your heart out. Whereas Lassie would go and fetch help to rescue the (...)
children, Timmy would go several steps farther and make the villains tie each other
up and lock themselves in a room, and then recover the stolen [goods], find a lost
cave full of treasure, and finally go off to the police station to ask for CID rather than
bother with the useless bobby on the front desk.”
4.6 Other recurring characters
Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy are not the only characters that feature in the
‘Famous Five’ books. There are also some secondary characters who keep recurring. The
most obvious examples of such characters are George’s parents: Uncle Quentin and Aunt
Fanny. Uncle Quentin is a scientist and his job plays an important role in many of the
children’s adventures. He has little patience with the children, because they make too much
noise. The sound of children in the house disturbs him in his work. Even though he comes
across as an unpleasant man at first, he is not as heartless as he seems. More than once he
12
states his admiration of and love for George. Uncle Quentin’s brother is Julian, Dick and
Anne’s father. Aunt Fanny is the only maternal figure displayed in the books. Julian, Dick and
Anne’s parents are only mentioned fleetingly and never play a role in the books.
The Five almost never let anyone join in their adventures, but Jo the gypsy girl was somehow
accepted into the group. She sometimes takes part in the adventures of the Five, for
example in ‘Five have plenty of fun’. Like George, she is a tomboy. She is street wise and
helps the Five out of a few tight spots.
13
5. Reception
The ‘Famous Five’ series and Blyton’s other works have received some rather harsh criticism
over the years. The books were written in the 1940s to the 1960s and therefore reflect the
social system of that time. This means that the books contain elements that are now looked
upon as sexist, racist or snobbish. At the time they were written, however, those elements
were part of everyday life and it was all completely acceptable. Translations of children’s
books, and literature in general, pass on prejudices and foreign behaviour patterns, either in
an overt or in a covert way. This can give an unpleasant ring to the text (Ghesquière,
Jeugdliteratuur in perspectief 120).
According to theatre critic Phyllis Hartnoll, Blyton’s thieves always seem to be ‘foreigners’
and the fact that they are foreign “seems to be regarded as sufficient to explain their
criminality”.5 Hartnoll calls this “old-fashioned xenophobia”, considering such racist notions
have been unacceptable for decades. It has recently become known that Blyton may even
have been a Nazi sympathiser, which only underpins the accusations of racism in her books.6
On top of this racism, Blyton has often been accused of sexism as well as portraying negative
stereotypes about class in her books.
It has already become clear that Blyton depicted the world that she knew. However, the fact
that her stories “reflect the time in which they were written”7 does not account for the weak
story lines and the flimsy characters. According to Hartnoll the “characterizations are
5
‘When Blyton fell out of the good books’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2005
6
‘Revealed: Enid Blyton and the Hitler appeasers’ country-house dinner’, The Independent on Sunday, 3
January 2010
7
‘Row faster, George! The PC meddlers are chasing us!’, Mail Online, 26 June 2006
14
painfully thin and the plot does not stand up to examination.”8 Penelope Dening quotes
Carolyn Wade when she writes that Blyton “perpetuates gender stereotypes, portrays a
middle class landscape with vocabulary that is repetitive and unchallenging.” 9
Blyton, however, was never much concerned about all this criticism. Tony Summerfield (of
the Enid Blyton Society) says: “Enid did not give a [***] about what the critics said. All she
cared about was what the children thought.”10 Blyton wrote for the children, not for the
critics. “The prose style might be pre-digested, the stories themselves simple and the
morality old-fashioned but they were narrated with gusto and complete confidence”
(Greenfield 112). Interestingly, George Greenfield goes on to say that “Enid was not
knowingly a snob or a racist and she was hurt by the somewhat far-fetched attacks on her”
(Greenfield 113), while in Tony Summerfield’s opinion Blyton could not care less about what
adults thought of her work. It must also be kept in mind that Enid Blyton wrote her books in
a different time. In her article in The Express, Anna Pukas puts it like this: “[S]he was writing
what she knew.”11 At the time Blyton wrote her books, the challenged parts of her books
were completely normal. Kirsty Cranitch even calls Blyton’s books a “valuable source of
historical information”, because they show “how children were viewed and how they related
to the world”, as well as showing how different the world was then from today’s world.12
Blyton’s books, in fact all literature, give the reader access to a certain culture. For the target
text reader this is a foreign culture, whereas for the source text reader this is their personal
8
‘When Blyton fell out of the good books’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2005
9
‘What Enid did’, The Irish Times, 3 September 1997
10
‘When Blyton fell out of the good books’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 November 2005
11
‘Storyteller everyone loves’, The Express, 19 August 2008
12
‘Telling the bad from the Blyton’, The Australian, 20 December 2001
15
culture. It is interesting to see what translators have done with the books over the past
decades. That is what I will look at in a later chapter, when I conduct a case study comparing
some ‘Famous Five’ books to two of their translations. Before looking at the translations
themselves, it can already be said that especially the second translation has been widely
discussed by the Dutch press. NRC Handelsblad mentioned the fact that, in the past, critics
have been very harsh on Blyton’s work, calling it “simplistic” and “sexist”. 13 However,
despite the old-fashioned ideas about differences between men and women portrayed in
her books, it is the excitement and the atmosphere that rightfully keep the books in print,
according to Karel Berkhout.14 In her article in De Volkskrant, Marieke Henselmans first asks
the question whether it is possible for any book to survive for sixty years. She then answers
her own question by saying that yes, the idea behind the ‘Famous Five’ stories is timeless.15
Clearly, the books are loved no matter the sexist, racist, old-fashioned, or class related parts.
However, around sixty years after the first ‘Famous Five’ book was published Dutch
publisher H.J.W. Becht decided to retranslate the entire series in order to make them appeal
to their modern audience. The publisher found that the books were dated and tried to
weaken the children’s arrogance towards the help and the sexism portrayed in the series.
Marieke Woortman, from the Dutch publisher, says that the fact that Anne is told, not only
by adults but by the other children as well, to cook and make the beds was not acceptable to
the publisher any more. The dialogues have also been freshened up and the racist remarks
13
‘De Vijf in cartoon’, NRC Handelsblad, 28 May 2005
14
‘Aan het eind van de gang; De kracht van het geheim in het goede kinderboek’, NRC Handelsblad, 5 October
2007
15
‘Valse streken’, De Volkskrant, 1 March 2002
16
concerning gypsies, circus people and foreigners have been deleted.16 Marja Boonstra,
however, was not impressed. Even after the language update and the deletion of the
adjectives that stress the gender differences a bit too much, the books still seem dated to
her and the fact that these dated books have now been given a modern touch only has an
alienating effect.17 Boonstra’s judgement is rather harsh and it seems as if the books have
been changed extensively. This is, however, not the case. H.J.W. Becht decided that the
books, even after six decades, were still appealing to children. In fact, the stories about the
four children and their dog were still exciting enough to entertain today’s spoiled youth with
both books and films.18 Enid Blyton knew how to tell exciting stories and create characters,
but when read closely her ideas turn out to be cringe worthy, snobbish, sexist and
sometimes even racist. Of course, this is understandable considering the time the books
were written in, but H.J.W. Becht did not think that this was acceptable in the 21st century.19
16
17
18
‘De Vijf zijn terug’, De Telegraaf, 22 February 2002
‘’De Vijf’ in de revisie’, Leeuwarder Courant, 22 March 2002
‘De Vijf zijn terug’, De Telegraaf, 22 February 2002
19
‘Annie is geen sloofje meer; Nieuwe ‘De Vijf’ is geschoond van seksisme en racisme’, NRC Handelsblad, 15
February 2002
17
6. Children’s literature
The term ‘children’s literature’ is very broad. It can mean any of the following three things:
-
Literary texts written by children
-
Literary texts written for children
-
Literary texts read by children (Ghesquiere 9-10)
Writers of children’s books, like writers of other kinds of literature, have to adhere to literary
requirements. On top of that, however, children’s authors must meet pedagogical
requirements as well as the requirements of the child readers, according to D.L. Daalder (De
Vries 169). Daalder concludes that only a great artist can fulfil these three criteria.
De Vries mentions that Daalder repeatedly states the importance of giving children books
that suit their ages (De Vries 171). It is evident that an author of children’s books must have
the talent to express him/herself in such a way, that children understand him/her. There is,
however, a fundamental rift between the adult author and the child reader. Adults usually
possess better speaking and listening skills than children. After all, adults have lived longer
lives than children and have therefore had the opportunity to gain more knowledge and
experience. It is understandable that adults underestimate the fact that children do not have
the same level of experience and knowledge. Basically, the problem comes from the
difference in verbal competence between adults and children. According to Ghesquière (Het
verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 105) it is very difficult for adults to put the higher level of verbal
competence and the surplus of literary knowledge between brackets. It is, therefore,
important that the author takes into consideration the way his/her youthful readers see the
world, their understanding and their vocabulary (De Vries 225). In this respect, it is
interesting to note that Ghesquière (Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 111) finds that
18
children’s literature, more so than literature written for adults, takes its audience into
account.
The rift between the adult and the child causes a dichotomy in attitudes towards the way
the author is supposed to write his/her books. Ghesquière (Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur
90) mentions E. Linde’s Kunst und Erziehung (1901), in which Linde states his preference for
the adaptation of the shape and content of children’s books in order to touch the innocent,
naïve world of children’s minds. However, Ghesquière also mentions a different opinion,
based on Jean Piaget’s ideas. This opinion states that authors should not be condescending
towards children. The adaptation Linde proposes should be avoided, because it will only
isolate the child reader. Children are flexible and capable of adapting to new and unknown
situations.
Zohar Shavit’s opinion is that “the translator of children’s literature can permit himself great
liberties regarding the text (...). That is, the translator is permitted to manipulate the text in
various ways by changing, enlarging, or, abridging it or by deleting or adding to it.” There is
only one condition: these actions must be “conditioned by the translator’s adherence to the
following two principles on which translation for children is based: an adjustment of the text
to make it appropriate and useful to the child, in accordance with what society regards (at a
certain point in time) as educationally ‘good for the child’; and an adjustment of plot,
characterization, and language to prevailing society’s perceptions of the child’s ability to
read and comprehend” (112/113). This is a good summation of the two standpoints
mentioned above. The way Shavit summarises it, the rule seems simple. However, when
studied closer the two principles are found to not always be complementary. In fact, they
often contradict each other. Shavit’s rule also stresses the driving forces behind any way of
19
altering a source text: society’s view of what is suitable for children and society’s view of
what children are capable of. According to Shavit, nowadays, the second principle is most
important: “the source of constraints in the canonized children’s system is mainly
educational” (115).
It is interesting to note that, according to Shavit, “it can (...) be formulated as a rule that
when it is possible to delete undesirable scenes without damaging the basic plot or
characterizations, translators will not hesitate to do so” (123). Clearly, the plot and the
characters are the most important elements of the story; they need to be retained.
Everything else is disposable.
Children are a special kind of readers in that they experience everything the hero of the
story experiences, according to Louise Boerlage. The child is no observer of the story, it is
one with the hero and it therefore feels what the hero feels. This way it can explore feelings
it cannot yet experience in real life, which is why fantasy and reading contribute to the
child’s development (De Vries 181). Literature in general advances the child’s identification
process, according to Ghesquière (Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 115). She says that
children are looking for their true identity and that they can gain better insight into their
own world of emotions and experience by recognition of those feelings in books.
Children’s literature does not only involve any genre, it also involves any kind of text that
falls into any of the categories above. Children’s literature is a very broad concept. However,
in this thesis I will only focus on one small part of this wide spectrum. The ‘Famous Five’
series falls into the genre of adventure stories. Therefore, I will talk about this genre of
literature, before discussing the act of translating children’s literature.
20
6.1 Adventure stories
In the 1920s and 1930s the adventure story became popular among young readers. Children
took to the excitement and suspense offered in this kind of literature and so far they have
not let go yet. The adventure story is still a very popular genre in children’s literature. This
can be seen in the popularity of adventure writers such as Thea Beckman, C.S. Lewis and J.K.
Rowling. The ‘Famous Five’ series can be classified as adventure stories. But what exactly are
adventure stories and why do the ‘Famous Five’ books classify as adventure books?
The word ‘adventure’ comes from the vulgar Latin word ‘adventura’, which means
‘unexpected event’ (Ghesquiere, Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 144). In adventure stories,
the action and suspense take precedence over character sketches. The reader’s interest is
grasped by the action, not by the intriguing characters. Adventure stories are always
constructed according to roughly the same pattern, according to Ghesquiere (Het
verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 169): after a short introduction the main character(s) is/are
confronted with a challenge. The main character(s), in the case of the ‘Famous Five’ the four
children and their dog, then set(s) out to overcome this challenge. Resourcefulness and
sometimes even courage is needed for a “safe return to normality” (Marshall 71). Once the
solution is found, the story concludes with a happy ending. This is also called ‘das
Märchenglück’ and is said to give shape to every person’s dreams of freedom and fortune
(Ghesquière, Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 116). Apart from the ‘unexpected events’, what
characterises adventure stories is the unusual, the almost impossible aspect of the genre
(Heimeriks et al 332). Most adventure stories take place in a seemingly realistic world. For
example, the ‘Famous Five’ stories take place in the England of the 1940s to the 1960s, when
the books were written. Within this realistic setting, extraordinary things become possible
21
(Ghesquiere, Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 144). The adventures the Famous Five
experience all take place during the holidays, never during their time at boarding school. This
gives the opportunity for extraordinary events to take place, such as meeting the most
outrageous, new people and going on trips. Also, because the boys go to a boys’ boarding
school and the girls and the dog to a girls’ boarding school, the holidays are the only time the
Five can spend time together.
The popularity of adventure books, and in this case the ‘Famous Five’ series, with children
ages 5 to 13 (Marshall 116) can partly be explained by the fact that the heroes are children.
These children solve problems that are only handled by adults in the ‘real world’. This gives
the child readers a sense of superiority over the adults in their own lives: apparently, the
world is not ruled by grown-ups alone (Ghesquiere, Het verschijnsel jeugdliteratuur 169).
Also, adventure stories give young readers the possibility to escape the reality of their own
lives. In the books, the young heroes always win, there is always a happy ending (Heimeriks
et al 319). This might not be the case in the lives of the readers, but adventure stories at
least give them the illusion that the world is not completely against them.
“Enid Blyton’s characters live in a world of endless sunny days and zero interference
from parents. Children disappear from home for days and all adults do (unless they’re
a baddie) is lay on cake and lashings of ginger beer when they come home again.
Children today can’t even play unsupervised outside their own gates”
says Anna Pukas a little scathingly in ‘Storyteller everyone loves’.20 The world Blyton
sketches in her books does not resemble the reality of today’s world. It gives the child reader
the opportunity to escape the oppressiveness of their own lives. As a former reader of
20
‘Storyteller everyone loves’, The Express, 19 August 2008
22
Blyton’s books, Kirsty Cranitch states that her reading of the books did, in fact enable her to
escape from her own reality:
“So, like many of my friends, I found those books to be a fantastical world into which
I could escape from adults, siblings and the drudgery of homework”.21
Clearly, Enid Blyton’s adventure stories speak to girls as well as boys and give them a way to
cope with the strains of everyday life. Especially fantasy stories and adventure stories are
said to function as a compensation for the deficiencies and insufficiencies of the real world.
These books play a fulfilling and escapist role in children’s books (Ghesquière,
Jeugdliteratuur in perspectief 116).
It has become clear that adventure stories always have a hero (or multiple heroes) and a
villain (or multiple villains). There is always a clear distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and
it portrays a fundamental vision of responsibility and justice. A. Hölder (1967) says that this
is a necessary step in the development of a child’s own norms and values (Ghesquière,
Jeugdliteratuur in perspectief 122).
21
‘Telling the bad from the Blyton’, The Australian, 20 December 2001
23
7. Translating children’s literature
Like the name suggests, children’s literature is written for children. The intended readers of
children’s books are, however, not only children. Obviously they are the main audience, but
an important part is played by adults. After all, it is the adults “who buy, give and
recommend books”, who read to the children and sometimes even read children’s books
“for their own pleasure” (O’Sullivan, Comparative Children’s Literature 16). It has already
been said that there is a significant difference between the way children perceive the world
and the way adults perceive the world. This gap may cause problems in the reception of
children’s books. The series of books central to this thesis provides a clear example of this
fact: children love the ‘Famous Five’, but for years adults have criticised the series. Most of
the time, however, the only way to reach child readers is through their parents or other
adults in their lives. Most importantly, the authors of children’s literature are generally
adults. This dichotomy in children’s literature and the fact that a translator will have to deal
with that, will be discussed in greater detail later on. First, I will briefly discuss the translation
process in general.
7.1 Translation process
In order to be able to describe adequately the translation process and the possible problems
that occur during that process, I will first discuss the models of this process posed by Emer
O’Sullivan (Narratology meets Translation Studies). O’Sullivan based her models on a model
of the writing process, proposed by Chatman (1978):
24
Narrative text
Real author  implied author  narrator  narratee  implied reader  real reader
It can be seen in this model that the ‘real author’ and the ‘real reader’ are not part of the
narrative text. The ‘real author’ transmits the message (‘narrative text’) to the ‘real reader’.
Neither of “[t]hese parties are to be found within the book itself, nor does the real author
communicate directly with the real reader, the communication takes place between the
constructed pairs within the narrative text” (O’Sullivan, Narratology meets Translation
Studies 199). The ‘implied author’ (that part of the author that lies within the text itself)
conveys the message to the ‘implied reader’ (the image of the intended reader the author
has in mind when (s)he wrote the story). The last pair in Chatman’s model is that of the
‘narrator’ and the ‘narratee’. The ‘narrator’ tells the story to the ‘narratee’. The ‘narratee’ is
not to be confused with the ‘implied reader’. The ‘narrator’ addresses the ‘narratee’,
whereas the ‘implied reader’ is addressed by the ‘implied author’.
O’Sullivan put the translator into Chatman’s model (O’Sullivan, Narratology meets
Translation Studies 201). It now describes the narrative communication in translation (‘...’
means narrator and narratee):
Real author  implied author ... implied reader  translator as real reader
/
real
translator of source text  implied translator ... implied reader of the translation  real
reader of the translation
The model essentially consists of two communication processes that occur consecutively. In
the first of these processes (up until the ‘/’), the translator is the real reader of the text.
However, “[a]s an adult, the translator does not belong to the primary addressees of most
children’s books. S/he has to negotiate the unequal communication in the source text
25
between adult (implied) author and child (implied) reader in order to be able to slip into the
latter’s role” (O’Sullivan, Narratology meets Translation Studies 201). In the second part of
the communication process in translation (from the ‘/’ onwards), the translator takes on the
role of author. He/she now acts “as a counterpart to the real author of the source text”
(O’Sullivan, Narratology meets Translation Studies 201). The translator creates the target
text, with a different ‘implied reader’, namely a reader who understands the target
language. The ‘implied reader’ of children’s literature is based on the translator’s
assumptions as to what the future readers of the text can handle, the image he/she has of
children. This does not only go for translators though. The original author also has a specific
child image to which he/she directs his/her book: the ‘implied reader’ of the source text. The
child image of the translator might very well differ from that of the author of the source text.
After all, child image and ideas about childhood (what do children want to read, what is
suitable for them to read and so on) vary over time and place and is often culturally
determined. This may cause a great rift between the two. It is the translator’s job to bridge
the gap between the adult author (whatever his/her child image may have been) and the
child reader of the target text. Communication between the ‘real author’ and the ‘real
reader of the translation’ can only occur through the mediation of the translator. The
translator “is positioned outside the text” (O’Sullivan, Narratology meets Translation Studies
202). However, the translator’s presence can definitely be felt within the text. O’Sullivan
calls this presence “the voice of the translator” and she divides it into two categories: the
presence of the translator “as author of paratextual information” and the presence of the
translator “on the level of the narration itself” (O’Sullivan, Narratology meets Translation
Studies 202). I will only concentrate on the latter of these categories, because it applies to
26
the ‘Famous Five’ series and the translations of this series of books. The former category
does not apply, because there is no paratextual information. The presence of the translators
of the ‘Famous Five’ series in the books becomes clear by studying the shifts that have
occurred during the translation process. This is exactly what will be done in a later chapter.
7.2 Translating for children
So far, I have only given a general outlook of the translation process. This thesis is, however,
about the translation of a children’s series: the ‘Famous Five’. Therefore, I will now focus on
the process of translating for children. This will help explore the problems a translator is
likely to face in the process of translating children’s literature in general. By looking at the
process, it will hopefully become clearer how a translator is to handle the different obstacles
he/she faces.
In the previous paragraph, I have already mentioned some aspects of translating children’s
literature. The difference between the adult author and the child reader, for example, has
already been discussed. The term ‘child image’ has also been introduced in the previous
paragraph, but I will now discuss this notion in more detail. Riitta Oittinen describes ‘child
image’ as
“a very complex issue: on the one hand, it is something unique, based on each
individual’s personal history; on the other hand, it is something collectivized in all
society. When publishers publish for children, when authors write for children, when
translators translate for children, they have a child image that they are aiming their
work at” (4).
27
Every person, young and old, carries a set of prejudices within themselves. This set of
prejudices is marked by a person’s own history and culture, as well as their personality and
reading experience. These prejudices determine the way readers read stories, the way
authors write stories and the way they look at their target audience. The double nature of
‘child image’ (personal and collective) has been hinted at in the chapter above when it was
stated that both the author and the translator have their own image of childhood, but that
this image also depends on time, place and culture. The ‘child image’ towards which authors
(and translators) direct their work makes up the ‘implied reader’. Therefore, an author’s
work reflects the time and place it was written in. This will also become clear in the following
chapters, when I discuss the ‘Famous Five’ series.
The ‘implied reader’ of children’s literature is the child. Therefore, it is natural that the
translation is directed towards children as well. Identifying the ‘implied author’ and the
‘implied reader’ is the first step for a translator in the process of bringing a source text to a
target language audience, bridging the gap between the source and the target. The ‘implied
author’ and the ‘implied reader’ can be found within the text. Naturally, the first step for the
translator is to start reading.
O’Sullivan’s model (in the previous chapter) indicates that the translator starts out as the
‘real reader of the source text’. The translator’s own reading experience, therefore,
contributes to the translation. The reader, the child, cannot boost his/her competence in
order to be able to read a certain book. Therefore, the only one who can bridge the gap
between the adult author and the child reader is the author himself/herself. According to
Ghesquière (Jeugdliteratuur in perspectief 95) the author will have to adjust to the intended
reader in order to prevent miscommunication because of vocabulary and syntax. Tiina
28
Puurtinen’s opinion is that the “tolerance for strangeness is much lower in children’s
literature than in books for adults” (Oittinen 33). This means that, even though a book is
completely acceptable in a certain culture, it can at the same time contain a lot of elements
that are perceived as strange by a different culture. Part of the process of translating
children’s literature is, therefore, making sure that the text does not contain any of these
‘speed bumps’. Readability is a key issue. This means that a translator sometimes has to
expand certain topics, explain a little bit more about certain notions than the source text
does. After all, children might not be familiar with some elements of the book. Of course, the
opposite can also be true. Sometimes the source culture will need a bit more explanation on
certain topics, whereas the target culture might already be familiar with those topics. In that
case some elements of the book are redundant. Because strangeness is much less
acceptable in children’s literature, the translator must make the strange elements accessible
to the young reader. In the translation of children’s books, it is important to take the
expectations and the capabilities of the future child readers into account. “[C]ompared to
literature written for adults, children’s literature tends to be more directed toward its
readers” (Oittinen 61) and, therefore, the translation of these children’s books should also
be directed toward the readers. It is only natural that the reader has to understand the
book, even the ‘foreign’ parts, to be able to appreciate it. This is what Lawrence Venuti calls
‘domesticating’. By this term he means the process of adapting the text to suit the readers’
expectations and cultural framework; it is bringing the text closer to the reader as opposed
to bringing the reader closer to the text (which Venuti calls ‘foreignizing’). There are several
reasons for ‘domesticating’ children’s literature. The most obvious one, the one that has
been discussed above, is that children will understand the text better. Oittinen mentions
29
another important reason as well: sometimes children’s books are adapted in order to make
them “more appealing to national and international audiences” (77). Another major reason
why children’s literature is ‘domesticated’, is to “conform with adult pedagogic ideals”
(Oittinen 82). Naturally, this has nothing to do with what children want and look for in
books. This last reason is based purely on what adults think is suitable for children. For
children’s books, it is important to interest adults as well as children, because adults decide
what kinds of books are published (or translated for that matter) and bought. It is,
consequently, important to speak to adult readers of children’s literature too. Adapting
children’s books to the values of adults can, however, prevent children from learning about
anything other than their own world. This can involve any cultural, religious or scary or any
other kind of ‘unwanted’ elements in the story. Some people try to rid children’s books of
anything that can be considered “sexist, racist, politically unfavourable” (Marshall 17),
religiously tinted and so on, because they think these elements might in some way be
harmful to the readers. What is suitable for children to read and what should they not read?
This often means different things in different countries and cultures. Adult intervention in
children’s literature can be a negative thing when it keeps children from contact with other
cultures and ideologies. This is especially true, since “in many Western countries children no
longer lead the sheltered lives common to earlier generations” (Marshall 16). Because they
lead less sheltered lives, children nowadays are much more familiar with other cultures and
countries than children from older generations. The need to explain each and every ‘foreign’
element of a book, or even eliminating such elements from a book, has therefore become
less important. However, the question is: have adults noticed this change? Perhaps some
light can be shed on this question at the end of this thesis, when I compare two translations
30
of some ‘Famous Five’ books to their source texts. One way or the other, it should always be
the translator’s aim to create a credible world for the reader.
31
8. Comparing translations
The criticism discussed in the previous chapter will now be explored further. In this chapter I
will look at each aspect of criticism separately. I will look out several examples in the
‘Famous Five’ books, which I will then compare to the translations. What did the translators
do with the denounced passages? Did they leave them in, or did they somehow alter them?
Every paragraph will deal with a different aspect and therefore every paragraph might have
a different outcome. However, before the actual comparing of the source text to the two
translations begins, I will first explain how I will go about it.
8.1 Methodology
In the following paragraphs, a couple of ‘Famous Five’ books and their respective
translations will be examined. This will loosely be done according to Kitty van Leuven’s
method of translation analysis. This method is based on Holmes’ and Toury’s methods. Van
Leuven (1992) takes the best from both methods and turns it into her own theory.
Therefore, I will first briefly discuss Holmes’ and Toury’s methods of translation analysis
before I will turn to Van Leuven.
James Holmes wants to create insight into the translation process at two levels: the serial
level and the structural level. The first is the level at which the word-for-word and sentencefor-sentence translation happens. Holmes mentions two ‘maps’ that can be made at the
structural level: one of the original text (this ‘map’ consists of the interpretation the
translator gives to the text after reading it) and one of the translation-to-be (this ‘map’
consists of the translation strategies the translator uses in order to achieve the set goal of
the translation). By analysing the similarities and the differences between a source text and
32
its translation, Holmes hopes to be able to find out the translator’s poetics, how the
translator worked. There are two possible ways to go about this process. The first one is to
derive the linguistic, literary and socio-cultural aspects of both the source text and the
translation from the respective texts themselves. This is, however, a rather ad hoc method.
Van Leuven states that the ‘blank spaces’ in the ‘map’ of the translator can be discovered,
but that the ‘blank spaces’ in the ‘map’ of the researcher go unnoticed (Van Leuven 72). The
second manner of discovering the translator’s poetics Holmes proposes is using a
predetermined inventory and only examining the texts looking for the elements contained in
that inventory. However, Van Leuven also mentions a downside to this procedure. In order
to be able to guarantee a certain degree of completeness, the inventory must be incredibly
elaborate and complex, she says (Van Leuven 73). Sadly, Holmes only phrases the basic
principles of his method of translation analysis. He does not provide a practical
interpretation of this procedure. Toury and Van Leuven both boast of giving a more practical
interpretation.
Gideon Toury proposes research that is aimed at the product of translation: the target text.
According to Toury, there is always equivalence; the question is, however, what kind of
equivalence. A translator could achieve equivalence on the basis of generalisation,
specification or modification. At the beginning of the translation process, the translator
makes a choice (Toury calls this the ‘initial norm’) between two ways of translating. The
translator either strives to achieve adequacy (the ‘adequacy principle’), or acceptability (the
‘acceptability principle’). When a translator translates according to the ‘adequacy principle’,
he/she will try to maintain as many of the source text’s properties as possible. Elements
from the source culture will be maintained in the translation, as well as any elements from
33
the source text that are culturally bound. This kind of translating will bring the reader closer
to the source culture and can be compared to Venuti’s ‘foreignizing’. Translating according
to the ‘acceptability principle’ means that the target culture is considered more important
than the source text. The translator will try to bring the text closer to the reader. The target
language and the target culture determine the extent to which ‘foreign’ elements are to be
maintained or deleted. The main goal of this kind of translation is to produce a text that
reads as if it were an original text and not a translation. It can be compared to Venuti’s
‘domesticating’. Toury says that the first choice the translator must make is the choice
between adequacy and acceptability. The basis for the analysis of translation is the source
text, according to Toury, because the source text is primary to the target text. Toury starts
by seeking out the ‘common ground’ between the source text and the translation. This socalled ‘tertium comparationis’ consists of the elements that the source text and the target
text have in common and is considered to be ‘invariant’. Because the source text is primary
to the target text, Toury suggests that the comparing of the two is to begin with an analysis
of the source text. The result of this analysis is called the ‘Adequate Translation’ (AT). The AT
will then have to be compared to the target text and this way any shifts that have occurred
during the translation process will become apparent. Van Leuven (77), however, spots a few
pitfalls in Toury’s method of translation analysis. For example, she mentions the fact that it is
unclear exactly how the shifts are to be determined and that it is also unclear how one is to
determine the nature of these shifts.
Whereas Toury’s comparison takes the source text as its starting point, Van Leuven’s
‘integral comparison’ takes a comparison of the entire translation and its source text as its
starting point. Van Leuven’s goal is to obtain a systematic and verifiable description of the
34
relationship between the translation and the source text (Van Leuven 79). After this
comparison, the researcher can phrase a hypothesis on the translator’s poetics. The shifts
that become clear in the comparison give the researcher clues as to the strategies adopted
by the translator and the interpretation he/she has given to the text. Van Leuven
distinguishes between two different levels at which shifts can occur: the ‘microstructural
level’ (sentences and groups of words) and the ‘macrostructural level’ (meaningful units at
higher levels, such as characters, time and place). Because of these two levels, Van Leuven’s
method of translation analysis consists of a ‘comparative model’ and a ‘descriptive model’.
The first model represents a detailed comparison of the source text and the translation in
order to track down any shifts that have occurred at the ‘microstructural level’. The first step
in this procedure is to divide “selected passages into ‘comprehensible textual unit[s]’ called
‘transemes’” (Munday 64). The next step is to define the ‘Architranseme’ (ATR), “which is
the invariant core sense of the [source text] transeme” (Munday 64). The last step in the
comparative model is to compare each transeme with the ATR in order to discover the
relationship between the corresponding transemes of the source text and the target text.
The ‘descriptive model’ examines the consequences these shifts at the ‘microstructural level’
have at the ‘macrostructural level’. Van Leuven distinguishes two different attitudes
translators can have. On the one hand, a translator can adopt an ‘objective’ interpretation.
This means that he/she will try to reduce his/her presence in the translation as much as
possible. On the other hand, a translator can adopt a ‘subjective’ interpretation. This means
that he/she will pay more attention to the aspects that appeal to him/her and that he/she
will neglect the aspects that appeal less to him/her. This will increase the translator’s
presence in the text. Van Leuven strives to achieve equilibrium between adequacy and
35
acceptability. The goal is that the text reads as if it were an original text that brings its
readers closer to the source text and the source culture. The intended function of the
translation determines the strategy the translator will use for translating the text.
I will take this last method of translation analysis, the one proposed by Van Leuven, as my
starting point for the case study in the following paragraphs. However, I will not define the
transemes and Architransemes in the ‘Famous Five’ books. Instead, I will read the books
thoroughly and side by side, comparing the source text with the two translations. In Holmes’
fashion I have chosen several topics for which I will scan the books (the inventory). These
topics follow from the criticism that Enid Blyton has suffered for decades. They are ‘racism’,
‘sexism’, ‘class distinction’ and the ‘outdatedness’ of some aspects of the books. These will
be discussed in the following paragraphs. There are three source texts (‘Five go adventuring
again’, ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ and ‘Five have plenty of fun’) that I will use for this
purpose. Each of these books will be examined, looking for any elements that fit into the
categories mentioned above. The same will be done with the translations of those three
books. The findings that follow from this examination will then be compared.
36
9. Text analysis
In the following paragraphs, the source texts will be compared to their translations. Because
I will use quotes from the books, I will give a short introduction to the three books I will use
as examples: ‘Five go adventuring again’, ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ and ‘Five have plenty of
fun’. I will also briefly discuss the circumstances under which these books were published.
For each of the books, both the source text and the target texts, the points of criticism will
be discussed and some examples will be given. The analysis of the source text and the
analyses of the translations will then be compared.
9.1 Publication information
The English ‘’Famous Five' books were published by Hodder & Stoughton. This publication
agency was founded in 1968, but has its roots in the 1840s when Matthew Hodder started
working for the Congregational Union, owned by Jackson and Walford. In 1861, the company
was renamed Jackson, Walford & Hodder. Seven years later, Jackson and Walford retired
and T.W. Stoughton joined the company, resulting in the following name change: Hodder &
Stoughton. In the early beginnings, Hodder & Stoughton published mostly religious works,
sometimes adding some secular books to their list. According to their website
(http://www.hodder.co.uk/) “Hodder & Stoughton’s style has always been to launch big
authors with top level campaigns to create tomorrow’s brand names and iconic bestsellers”.
Enid Blyton is one of those brand names/iconic bestsellers published by Hodder &
Stoughton.
Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ series was published in the 1940s through the 1960s. It has
already been said that even the Second World War did not stop her from producing ‘Famous
37
Five’ books. Even though paper was scarce during the War, Blyton kept writing. The books
reflect the time they were written in. This has provided a source for a lot of criticism.
The first Dutch translation of the ‘Famous Five’ came out only a year later than the original.
‘Five on a treasure island’ was published in 1942 and its Dutch translation, ‘De Vijf en het
gestrande goudschip’ was published in 1943, by a publication agency called H.J.W. Becht.
This agency was founded by Herman Johan Wilhelm Becht in 1892. Nowadays, it is part of a
larger company, Gottmer Uitgevers Groep, but still retains its name on the wider known
books (e.g. De Vijf). These first Dutch translations came out during the same period as the
English books and therefore reflect the same time period as these books.
The second and most recent Dutch translations came out around the year 2004 and were
published by the same publishing agency as the first series of translations. The aim of this
second translation series was to modernise the books and to eliminate many criticised
elements. Once again, the books reflect the time they were translated in, only now the time
differs greatly from the first translation and the original, English books. This causes a
difference between these older books and the more recent translations. This difference will
be examined in the following chapters.
9.2 ‘Five go adventuring again’
The second book in the ‘Famous Five’ series is called ‘Five go adventuring again’ and was
written in 1943. The story takes place during the Christmas holidays, when the Five all come
to Kirrin Cottage. They were all supposed to go to Julian, Dick and Anne’s parents, but at the
last moment they received a letter saying that their parents had scarlet fever and that the
children could not come home from boarding school. Therefore, the four children and
38
Timmy spend the Christmas holidays at Kirrin Cottage. Due to their bad grades, the children
are assigned a tutor (Mr. Roland) who is to teach them during the holidays and is to live in
the house with them and George’s parents. Someone steals some papers of Uncle Quentin’s
research and the children want to find out who did it. They suspect Mr. Roland, but there is
no proof. The Five searched his room, but there was nothing there. How could Mr. Roland
have gotten the papers out of the house when nobody could get in or out with all the snow?
Then they discover a secret panel in the hall of Kirrin Farmhouse (where Mr. and Mrs.
Sanders live), inside of which they find a map. They also find a secret panel in a cupboard at
the Farmhouse that leads to a secret passage. The passage connects Kirrin Farmhouse to
Kirrin Cottage. This is the answer to the question how Mr. Roland was able to get Uncle
Quentin’s papers out of the house: he used the secret tunnel to leave Kirrin Cottage and
hide the stolen papers. Eventually, the Famous Five are able to expose Mr. Roland and the
thief and have him arrested by the police.
9.2.1Racism in ‘Five go adventuring again’
Despite critic’s allegations of racism in ‘Famous Five’ books, ‘Five go adventuring again’ does
not contain any racist elements. The criminals are white, educated men (especially Mr.
Roland, who is a tutor) and Uncle Quentin states his trust in Mr. Roland more than once.
There is nothing about the criminals’ backgrounds and appearances that would make them
suspicious. None of the other characters in this instalment can be deemed as portrayed in a
racist manner. However, the fact that all characters in this book are strictly white can also be
seen as racism. Why can there be no good, coloured characters? Every single character in
this instalment is white.
39
9.2.2 Sexism in ‘Five go adventuring again’
‘Five go adventuring again’ does not contain many instances of sexism. This aspect becomes
especially clear in the portrayal of Anne. Whenever something frightening happens, she is
most likely to start crying. Even the sound of Timmy’s howling makes Anne cry at some
point:
“’Shut up, Tim!’ said Julian.
Tim howled again, and the weird sound echoed round and about in a queer manner.
Anne was terrified, and she began to cry. Timothy howled again and again. Once he
began to howl it was difficult to stop him.” (Blyton, Five go adventuring again 174)
Blyton hereby portrays Anne as the weak female, who is easily scared and handle these
scary situations by crying. It is interesting that boys never cry in ‘Five go adventuring again’
and even tomboy George does not cry or even shows any fear. In this respect, George can be
seen as one of the boys.
9.2.3 Class in ‘Five go adventuring again’
Another point of criticism involves the portrayal of the (British) class system in the ‘Famous
Five’ series. The most striking example of this is the presence of a cook, who is first
introduced in ‘Five go adventuring again’ when the children come home from boarding
school and Timmy finds her in the kitchen:
“He ran into the kitchen but soon came out again because someone new was there –
Joanna the cook – a fat, panting person who eyed him with suspicion.” (Blyton, Five
go adventuring again 16)
40
The presence of Joanna, the cook, is completely normal at Kirrin Cottage. In fact, Joanna is
the one who takes care of everybody in the house. When the Five and Aunt Fanny go
Christmas shopping in ‘Five go adventuring again’, Joanna is clearly supposed to be taking
care of Uncle Quentin and the children’s tutor, Mr. Roland. When the children and Aunt
Fanny come home, Aunt Fanny, therefore, goes to check on the two men to see whether
Joanna has taken good care of them:
“Aunt Fanny went to see if the cook had given the two men their tea.” (Blyton, Five
go adventuring again 65)
Joanna is the centre of the household, who holds everything together and makes sure
everybody is taken care of and the household is run properly.
The difference in class between several characters becomes extra apparent, because Blyton
refers to the upper class characters as Master and Miss. In Blyton’s time, this was a common
way to address members of the upper class and it can therefore be safely said that this
stressing of class differences was not done on purpose. However, the distinction is still there.
For example:
“’Why, if it isn’t Master George!’ said the old fellow with a grin. George grinned too.
She loved being called Master instead of Miss.” (Blyton, Five go adventuring again 34)
9.2.4 Outdatedness of ‘Five go adventuring again’
There are two kinds of outdatedness that become clear in the ‘Famous Five’ books: obsolete
language and obsolete ideas. One of the most noticeable examples of outdated language is
the use of the words ‘gay’ and ‘queer’. At the time when Blyton wrote the ‘Famous Five’
series, these words were completely normal. Nowadays, their equivalents ‘cheerful’ and
41
‘strange’ are preferred, because ‘gay’ and ‘queer’ now have homosexual connotations that
prevail. For example, when the children and Aunt Fanny go Christmas shopping, Blyton
mentions that:
“[t]he shops looked very gay and bright.” (Blyton, Five go adventuring again 64)
Some of the exclamations the characters in the books cry, are considered old-fashioned
language nowadays. For example the word ‘golly’:
“’Golly, it’s snowing!’ [George] said suddenly, sitting up.” (Blyton, Five go adventuring
again 129)
The word ‘golly’, which was an innocent alternative to swearwords at the time Blyton wrote
the ‘Famous Five’ series, is now considered outmoded and even racially biased. It is
associated with the white upper-class22.
From examining the outdated aspects of this second book in the ‘Famous Five’ series, it
becomes apparent that it does not contain any outmoded ideas, but there are many
instances of outmoded language. Some of the examples given provide language that is
frowned upon nowadays or has received a new meaning.
9.2.5 Racism in the first translation of ‘Five go adventuring again’: ‘De Vijf en
de geheime doorgang’ (1955)
Like the source text, ‘Five go adventuring again’, this first translation does not contain any
strikingly racist elements. Once again, the criminals are as white as the Five and their family,
as are all the other characters mentioned in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (1955). The
22
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=golly
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first translation of ‘Five go adventuring again’ does, however, contain some covert racism.
The source text, as well as this translation is devoid of any coloured characters. This can be
seen as a discrimination against this kind of characters and a preference for white, educated
characters.
9.2.6 Sexism in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (1955)
The passages in this translation that can be deemed as ‘sexist’ focuses mainly on one thing:
the weakness of women versus the strength of men. When the Five have found a sliding
panel at Kirrin Farmhouse, Anne is going to fetch a candle, in order to be able to look inside.
Everybody wants to look inside, but of course Julian feels that he should look first. After all,
he is the oldest.
“Als de wind ging Annie die halen. Julian stak haar aan en zette haar in de nis achter
het paneel. De anderen duwden hem weg om er ook in te kijken.
‘Uit de weg! Riep Julian geërgerd. ‘Je beurt afwachten! Laat mij eerst eens secuur
kijken!’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 33)
When she is talking about the fact that Timmy is to sit outside in the cold, as a punishment
for attacking Mr. Roland, she is on the verge of tears. Even though she is always described as
one of the boys, she is now called a ‘little girl’:
“Het kleine meisjes wended haar hoofd af, want zij was bang, tranen in haar ogen te
krijgen.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 88)
This fact plays with the notion that it is all right for girls to cry, whereas boys should be
strong and tough.
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George secretly takes Timmy inside one night and goes to her father’s study to let him sit by
the warm fire. The next morning three pages of Uncle Quentin’s research appear to be
missing. Anne is the only one who knows about George’s being in the study during the night,
but she does not want to betray George. However, she is having trouble keeping her mouth
shut. Julian sticks up for her against the adults.
“Nog steeds zei Annie niets. Haar ogen stonden vol tranen. Julian legde zijn hand op
haar arm.
‘Vallen jullie Annie niet lastig,’ zei hij tegen de grote mensen. ‘Als zij vindt, dat ze het
niet kan vertellen, dan heeft ze daar een heel goede reden voor.’
‘Ik denk dat ze George wil sparen,’ zei de heer Roland. ‘Is het niet zo, Annie?’
Annie barstte in tranen uit. Julian sloeg zijn arm om zijn zusje heen en zei weer tegen
de grote mensen: ‘Vallen jullie Annie toch niet zo lastig! Zien jullie dan niet, hoe erg
ze van streek is?’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 103)
The Five search the Secret Way. On their way they decide to rest, because it is a fairly long
and exhausting walk. At a certain moment, Julian decides they have rested long enough and
encourages the rest to continue their walk.
“’En nu, doorlopen!’ commandeerde Julian een paar minute daarna.” (Blyton, De Vijf
en de geheime doorgang (1955) 135)
He is the leader of the group and this becomes especially clear by the use of the word
“commandeerde”. This word indicates that Julian is somehow superior to the rest of the
group.
Julian considers how dangerous the criminals could be, which frightens Anne.
“’Denk je werkelijk, dat zij gevaarlijk zijn?’ vroeg Annie een beetje bang.
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‘Volgens mij zijn ze dat zeer zeker,’ zei Julian. ‘Maar je hoeft er niet over in te zitten,
Annie. Je hebt altijd mij en Dick nog, om je te beschermen.’
‘Ik kan haar óók beschermen,’ zei George verontwaardigd. ‘Ik ben evenveel waard als
een jongen, als het op beschermen aankomt.’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime
doorgang (1955) 137)
Anne is once again the one who is scared of the possible danger. Julian clearly states that she
has nothing to worry about, because her two brothers will protect her. George indignantly
tells him that she can also protect Anne. However, that is not because girls can protect
others as well as boys, but because George thinks she is as good as any boy.
Another example of Anne’s fear can be found in the following passage:
“’Koest, Tim!’ gebood Julian.
Wéér jankte Tim en het griezelige geluid werd op een beangstigende manier
weerkaatst door de hele gang. Annie kreeg de schrik te pakken en zette het op een
schreien. Tim huilde telkens weer. Als hij het eenmaal op een janken had gezet, was
hij bijna niet stil te krijgen.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 148)
This time, there is not really any reason to cry, because the sound is only produced by
Timmy. However, Anne is frightened by the sound and it does not matter what causes it; she
is scared and therefore cries.
9.2.7 Class in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (1955)
The class distinctions that are made in this translation can, like in the source text, be divided
into two categories: the presence of servants and the use of titles for upper-class characters.
45
As mentioned in a previous paragraph, ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ introduced Joanna,
the cook. Timmy is the first of the Five to discover her:
“Hij rende de keuken in, maar kwam er al gauw weer uit, omdat daar iets onbekends
was: Johanna, het keukenmeisje – een dik, amechtig vrouwtje, dat hem argwanend
bekeek.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 14)
Joanna is the spill of the Kirrin household. She takes care of everyone and when Aunt Fanny
takes the children to the city to do some Christmas shopping, she is to make sure that Uncle
Quentin and Mr. Roland are taken care of. When she comes home, Aunt Fanny immediately
checks up on the gentlemen:
“Tante Fanny liep meteen door naar de studeerkamer om te kijken, of Johanna goed
voor de thee van de beide heren had gezorgd.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime
doorgang (1955) 57)
In the source text, the words “Master” and “Miss” are used by old Mr. Sanders to greet
George. This translation uses the Dutch equivalents of these words:
“’Kijk eens aan – daar hebben we warempel Jongeheer George!’ zei de oude man
grinnikend. Ook George grinnikte. Zij vond het fijn, Jongeheer George genoemd te
worden inplaats van Jongejuffrouw.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955)
29)
The use of these words stresses the difference between George and the old man.
Julian, Dick and Anne want to go out exploring at Kirrin Farmhouse, but they are told not to
go through two rooms. These two rooms are occupied by two artists. Julian considers
himself quite the artist and would like to talk to them, but he can’t because Mrs. Sanders
tells him that they are out.
46
“’Nou ja – gaan jullie je gang maar met dat snuffelen naar wat je nog hoopt op te
sporen. Maar vandaag kun je niet met die twee kunstenaars praten, jongeheer Julian,
ze zijn uit.’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 80)
Once again, the difference in class between Julian and Mrs. Sanders is stressed by one little
word: “jongeheer”.
9.2.8 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (1955)
This first translation of ‘Five go adventuring again’ does not have any problems with the
homosexual connotations that the words ‘queer’ and ‘gay’ have. Their translations do not
have these connotations and, therefore, the problem dissolves naturally. For example:
“[t]he shops looked very gay and bright” (Blyton, Five go adventuring again 64)
becomes:
“Daar waren de etalages vrolijk en schitterend.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime
doorgang (1955) 56/57)
However, the natural dissolving of this problem does not mean that no old-fashioned
language is used in this translation. The first exclamation in the following quote is now
considered old-fashioned language:
“’Grote Griet! Wat sneeuwt het!’ zei ze opeens en ging overeind zitten.” (Blyton, De
Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 112)
An exclamation like that is not used anymore, either in writing or in speech.
George tells Anne that she is happy to have met her and her brothers:
“Sedert ik jou en de jongens ken, heb ik het veel leuker gehad.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de
geheime doorgang (1955) 14)
Instead of ‘sedert’ it is now more common to use the word ‘sinds’.
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After celebrating Christmas, everybody is tired.
“’Het zal niet lang duren, eer ik slap,’ zei Annie gapend. ‘O, George, wat is het enig
geweest, hè? Ik vond de Kerstboom prachtig.’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime
doorgang (1955) 72)
The word ‘eer’ in this context is usually substituted with the word ‘voor’ nowadays. The
word ‘eer’ is considered old-fashioned.
Timmy is punished for attacking Mr. Roland and is sent to sit outside in the cold. The next
day, everybody suggests to let him back in after his punishment, but Mr. Roland does not
agree and eventually Uncle Quentin decides to go along with Mr. Roland’s decision and
Timmy is to stay outside in the snow for a whole week. When Julian, Dick and Anne tell
George, she gets very upset.
“’O, wat een mispunt is het toch!’ riep ze.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang
(1955) 93)
The term of abuse that is used here (‘mispunt’) is not used anymore. Nowadays, the terms of
abuse are much stronger and more graphic.
When George is punished for going into her father’s study at night and for missing lessons
with Mr. Roland, Julian remarks:
“’Die arme, beste George,’ zei Julian. ‘Wat een nare wanbof voor haar, hè?’” (Blyton,
De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 114)
George and Anne pick Julian and Dick up at the train station. Suddenly, George is gone.
“’Waar is onze beste George?’ vroeg Julian. ‘Ik heb haar toch gezien, toen ik uit het
raam hing te wuiven.’
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‘Zij is stellig naar de hit,’ zei Annie. ‘Zeg tegen de kruier, dat hij de koffers op het
wagentje zet, Julian. Kom mee! – We gaan George opsnorren.’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de
geheime doorgang (1955) 16)
Today, there are no longer ‘kruiers’ (porters) at the train station to pick up travelers’
luggage.
Dick mentions that there are two little rooms that are still to be searched.
“’Kijk, Julian, in het rommelkamertje en in de pronkkamer zijn beide betimmeringen!
Allebei moeten we doorzoeken.’” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (1955) 81)
Modern houses do not have a so-called ‘pronkkamer’ anymore. This is really a thing of the
past that only older houses have.
9.2.9 Racism in the second translation of ‘Five go adventuring again’: ‘De Vijf
en de geheime doorgang’ (2004)
‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (2004), like its source text and the translation made in
1955, does not contain any overt racism. Once again, one could assert that this book is,
however, racially biased. Like the source text and the first translation, this second translation
does not have any coloured characters.
9.2.10 Sexism in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (2004)
The passages that can be seen as sexist are almost completely erased from the book in this
second translation. The only thing that is still in this translation is the fact that Anne is easily
scared:
“’Foei, Tim!’ siste Julian.
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Weer jankte Tim en het griezelige geluid werd op een angstaanjagende manier
weerkaatst door de hele gang. Tim bleef janken. Als hij het eenmaal op een janken
zette, was hij bijna niet stil te krijgen.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang
(2004) 137/138)
Anne is still the only one who cries when she is scared. The stereotype of the scared, little
girl is still there.
9.2.11 Class in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (2004)
Joanna the cook is once again discovered by Timmy when the Five come home from
boarding school:
“Daarna rende hij de keuken in, maar kwam er al snel weer uit: er was daar iemand
die hij niet kende!
Het was Johanna, het nieuwe keukenmeisje. Ze bekeek hem argwanend.” (Blyton, De
Vijf en de geheime doorgang (2004) 13)
Even in this more modern translation, the cook is still present. Joanna is such an important
part of the household at Kirrin Cottage, that she cannot be deleted from the books.
However, in this second translation the significance of Joanna’s taking care of everybody is
toned down a bit. She is not mentioned in the following respect:
“Tante Fanny liep meteen naar de studeerkamer om te vragen of oom Quentin en
meneer Roland een fijne middag hadden gehad.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime
doorgang (2004) 54)
There is no mention of the cook or tea in this second translation. By here and there
eliminating the cook and her importance within the family, the class distinction in the books
is made less obvious.
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Whereas Blyton used “Master” and “Miss” and the 1955 translation used “Jongeheer” and
“Jongejuffrouw”, the second translation does not employ any of these words, simply
because they are now considered old-fashioned and are not used anymore:
“’Kijk eens aan, daar hebben we George!’ zei de oude man met een glimlach op zijn
gezicht. Ook George keek vrolijk.” (Blyton, De Vijf en de geheime doorgang (2004) 28)
Sadly, Blyton’s joke is hereby lost. In the source text, Blyton played with the male title for
George. This way, she was able to show that the old man at Kirrin Farmhouse and George
had some history together and that he understood George’s desire to be treated as a boy.
Because the male title is no longer used in this translation, this underlying piece of
information cannot be conveyed.
9.2.12 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf en de geheime doorgang’ (2004)
The outdated elements of the source text are eliminated in the 2004 translation, ‘De Vijf en
de geheime doorgang’. It has already become clear that some old-fashioned language from
the source text that has been given negative connotations over the years do not have these
connotations in the Dutch language. These problems dissolved naturally, whereas some
other problems were taken care of by the translator. Every single obsolete element was
deleted and turned into something more modern.
9.3 ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
In 1947 Enid Blyton published the sixth instalment of the ‘Famous Fives’ series, called ‘Five
on Kirrin Island again’. It has already been stated that Blyton initially intended to write only
six ‘Famous Five’ books. That means that this book would have been the last one of the
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series. It is clear that this is how Blyton first intended this book, because at the end of the
story, the Five say goodbye to the readers:
“’We’ve had a lot of adventures together,’ said Julian. ‘More than most children. They
have been exciting, haven’t they?’
Yes – they have. But now we must say good-bye to the Five, and to Kirrin Island too.
Good-bye Julian, Dick, George, Anne – and Timmy. But only Timmy hears our
goodbye, for he has such good ears” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 187/188).
At boarding school George receives a letter from her parents, informing her of the fact that
her father has taken over Kirrin Island (which belongs to George) to carry out his research
there. George is not pleased with that at all, because it is her island and nobody can come to
her island without her permission. Throughout most of the beginning of the book, George is
in a bad mood, because her father took possession of her island without asking her. Julian,
as a good British boy is supposed to, reminds George that her father is
“a remarkably clever ma, one of the finest scientists we’ve got – and I think that
those kind of fellows ought to be allowed as much freedom as they like, for their
work. I mean – if Uncle Quentin wants to work on Kirrin Island for some peculiar
reason of his own, you ought to be pleased to say ‘Go ahead, Father!’” (Blyton, Five
on Kirrin Island again 18).
When the Five come to Kirrin Cottage during the holidays, Uncle Quentin is already on the
island, doing his research. The following day the children, Timmy and Aunt Fanny go over to
see him and bring him some food. However, Uncle Quentin is nowhere to be found and only
shows up at the very last moment. He does not understand what the problem is. Why did
they all come to visit him when he clearly does not have time to be with them? Aunt Fanny is
52
worried about him and together with Julian she works out a plan to check on Uncle Quentin
without having to come to the island every time: Quentin is to send signals from the top of
the tower that he built on the island. That way, the rest of the family will know that he is
alright.
The next day, a new character called Martin Curton is introduced. Martin recently moved
into the neighbourhood and he tries to become friends with the Five. At first, the Five shun
him a bit, but gradually, they take to him and he is accepted into the group. Particularly
George warms to him (mainly because Martin thinks she is a boy at first), whereas Dick
remains sceptical. George tells Martin about the arrangement they have with her father
about the signalling. Later in the story, Uncle Quentin fails to send the signals and that is
how George knows that something is wrong and she goes over to the island to see what is
going on. She finds her father in a tunnel under the sea that links the island to the mainland.
He is being kept there by two armed men, who want Uncle Quentin’s research. The man
everybody was told was Martin’s father, turns out to be his guardian, who forces Martin to
help him in his illegal activities. Mr. Curton is also involved in the scheme to steal Uncle
Quentin’s work and Martin eventually tells all to the Five. At the end, the criminals are
arrested and Uncle Quentin and George can go home safely. Martin is taken care of as well.
All is well that ends well.
9.3.1 Racism in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
The sixth book about the ‘Famous Five’ does not contain any overtly racist elements. Just
like the criminals in ‘Five go adventuring again’ the criminals in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
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are white, as are all the other characters in the book. Once again, one might say that this is a
kind of racism as well.
9.3.2 Sexism in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
In ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’, Blyton deals with the segregation between ‘what is suitable
for boys to do’ and ‘what is suitable for girls to do’. The following passage is an example of
this segregation:
“’Well, while the boys are looking for arrow-heads we’ll look for primroses,’ said
Anne, pleased.” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 70)
The girls (in this case Anne and George) are going to pick flowers for Aunt Fanny, while the
boys (Julian and Dick) will look for arrow-heads for themselves.
A few pages onwards the four children and Timmy are joined by Martin, a boy their age, and
the source text shows a picture of two boys looking for arrow-heads and two girls picking
flowers, being joined by a third boy. The text that goes with the picture mentions:
“Martin came over and began to scrape about with the boys. They had trowels with
them, but he had only his hands.” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 73)
The dichotomy between ‘boys’ things’ and ‘girls’ things’ is not only expressed in statements
about behavioural matters, however. Women and girls in the ‘Famous Five’ books are
portrayed as weaker than men and boys and prone to succumb more easily. For example,
when there is even the slightest hint of danger or heightened emotion, Anne starts to cry.
This has already been discussed in the paragraph about sexism in ‘Five go adventuring
again’. When George discovers that her father is in danger on Kirrin Island, she runs away
from home in the middle of the night and rows her boat to Kirrin Island. However, when she
54
does not come back, the other three children become anxious and Anne’s reaction is as
follows:
“Anne began to cry. She didn’t like the idea of George lying hurt in that dark
passage.” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 162)
Once again, Anne is portrayed as the weak, female character.
9.3.3 Class in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
Joanna, the cook, is also mentioned in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’. Again, when the children
come home they find Joanna:
“They clattered into the house, and, to their great delight, found Joanna, the old
cook there.” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 23)
In this sixth book Blyton uses titles for the upper-class characters as well. For example, when
Aunt Fanny tells Joanna that the family have already had lunch and that she therefore need
not worry about preparing something, this is expressed in the following way by Blyton:
“’Oh no, Joanna – we’ve had our picnic lunch,’ said her mistress, (…).” (Blyton, Five on
Kirrin Island again 103, my underlining)
The use of these kinds of titles makes the difference in class between the family and
characters such as Joanna very distinct.
9.3.4 Outdatedness in ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’
On top of the old-fashioned language, ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ faces another obstacle of
outdatedness: the newness of the television. Mr. Curton, Martin’s father, invites the Five to
come see his television some time and George’s reaction is interesting in this respect:
55
“’Come and see us as soon as you can,’ said the man. ‘I’ve a fine television set that
Martin here would like to show you. Any afternoon you like!’
‘Oh thanks!’ said George. She seldom saw television. ‘We’ll come!’” (Blyton, Five on
Kirrin Island again 62)
It is obvious that the fact that Mr. Curton has a television is exceptional. Televisions were
rare things at the time the ‘Famous Five’ series was written.
When Uncle Quentin explains to George what his investigation is about, it becomes apparent
that he is trying to create nuclear power:
“’I’ll tell you what my experiments are for, George – they are to find a way of
replacing all coal, coke and oil – an idea to give to the world all the heat and power it
wants, and to do away with mines and miners.’” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again
140)
However, nuclear power has been in use for many years now. The idea of creating this kind
of power is, therefore, obsolete.
When Anne is trying to attract Julian’s attention at the train station, Blyton has her say the
following:
“’Hie, Julian!’ she yelled. ‘Here we are! Hie, Dick, Julian!’” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island
16)
The word ‘hie’ is no longer used to attract somebody’s attention.
The tower that Uncle Quentin builds on Kirrin Island to be able to do his research there is a
rather strange one and Dick remarks as follows:
“’Isn’t it queer?’ said Dick. ‘Look at that little glass room at the top – like a look-out
room! I wonder what it’s for?’” (Blyton, Five on Kirrin Island again 29)
56
This is another instance of the example mentioned in the previous chapter. The word
“queer” has acquired a homosexual connotation and is not used for the non-homosexual
meaning.
9.3.5 Racism in the first translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’: ‘De Vijf
weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (1957)
Like the source text, the first translation, ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ does not contain any
overt racism. The same reasoning that applies to the books discussed in previous chapters,
applies to this book: the lack of any coloured characters can also be seen as racism.
9.3.6 Sexism in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (1957)
In this first translation, Julian is once again the strong, sensible young man who acts older
than he is. For example, Julian admonishes George, concerning her attitude towards her
father taking possession of her island:
“Julian keek zijn nicht eens aan. ‘Maar m’n beste George,’ zei hij, ‘je bent toch niet
van plan om je die kwestie met Kirrin Eiland al te veel aan te trekken? Je moet toch
inzien, dat jouw vader een zeldzaam knappe man is – een van de grootste geleerden
die we hebben – en ik vind, dat men zulke mensen zoveel vrijheid voor hun werk
moet geven, als ze wensen. Ik bedoel – als Oom Quentin om een of andere reden, die
alleen aan hem bekend is, op Kirrin Eiland wil werken, dan moet jij van ganser harte
zeggen: ‘Ga je gang, Vader!’
George keek een beetje opstandig na die lange redevoering, maar ze was erg op
Julian gesteld en meestal legde ze zich neer bij wat hij zei. Hij was de oudste van hen;
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hij was een grote, knappe jongen, had een vastbesloten blik in de ogen en een
wilskrachtige kin.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 15)
And when George and Dick are fighting, Julian is sensible enough to intervene:
“George liep met zo’n woedend gezicht op Dick toe, dat Julian haastig tussen hen in
ging staan. ‘Kom, geen ruzie,’ zei hij. ‘Jullie zijn allebei te groot, om mekaar in de
haren te vliegen als kleuters uit een kinderkamer. Maar dat kan ik je wel vertellen,
jullie gedragen je allebei als babies, niet als jongens, noch als meisjes!’” (Blyton, De
Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 52)
The compliment Julian pays George can be seen as gender-biased:
“Julian gaf George een zachte klap op de rug. ‘Die goeie, ouwe George! Ze heeft
werkelijk geleerd toe te geven en dat zelfs met een opgewekt gezicht! George, je lijkt
meer op een jongen dan ooit, als je zo bent.
George kreeg een kleur van genoegen. Ze vond ’t heerlijk, als Julian zei dat ze net een
jongen was. Ze wilde niet kleinzielig en kattig zijn en mokken, zoals zoveel meisjes
deden. Maar Annie keek een beetje verontwaardigd.
‘Het zijn niet alleen jongens, die kunnen leren met een opgewekt gezicht toe te
geven,’ zei ze. ‘Een heleboel meisjes kunnen dat ook.Om je de waarheid te zeggen, ik
hoop van mezelf dat ik dat ook kan!’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 19)
Anne recognises the bias too and is indignant about Julian’s remark.
Julian and Dick discuss career possibilities, but George is not interested. This could hint at
the fact that women were not supposed to have a career, whereas men were.
“’Oom Quentin heft eigenlijk een tamelijk opwindend leven, nietwaar? Ik zou ook wel
een geleerde willen zijn. Ik wil iets worden, wat werkelijk de moeite waard is, als ik
58
groot ben – ik ben niet van plan zomaar ergens op kantoor te gaan zitten. Ik zal mijn
eigen baas zijn.’
‘Ik denk dat ik dokter word,’ zei Dick.
‘Ik ga m’n boot halen,’ zei George, die het gesprek helemaal niet interessant vond.”
(Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 22)
This edition of ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ also deals with the difference between ‘what is
suitable for boys’ and ‘what is suitable for girls’. In the following fragment, the girls (in this
case Anne and George) are going to pick flowers for Aunt Fanny, while the boys (Julian and
Dick) will look for arrow-heads for themselves:
“’Oh, terwijl de jongens naar pijlpunten zoeken, zullen wij crocussen gaan plukken,’
zei Annie tevreden.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 58)
Martin’s drawings are described as being too feminine:
“Het waren eigenlijk helemaal geen tekeningen voor een jongen, want het waren
allemaal afbeeldingen van bloemen en bomen, van vogels en vlinders – allemaal
volmaakt getekend en gekleurd. Tot in de kleinse bijzonderheden was het onderwerp
weergegeven.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 99)
The fact that drawing is not for boys/men is stressed again by the fact that Martin’s ‘father’
thinks being an artist is not for boys/men:
“’Hij haat mijn tekeningen,’ zei Martin bitter. ‘Ik ben van school weggelopen en ging
naar een tekenschool om een cursus te volgen – maar hij vond me en verbood me,
ooit nog te tekenen. Hij vindt het een zwak, kinderachtig iets voor een man. En dus
doe ik het nu in het geheim.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 100)
59
9.3.7 Class in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (1957)
As in the source text, Joanna the cook, is present in this translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island
again’. However, the difference in class between her and the other characters is less
distinct. Sometimes, the title for an upper-class character is dropped, e.g.
“’Oh nee, Johanna – we hebben al gegeten,’ zei Tante Fanny, (...)” (Blyton, De Vijf
weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 86)
Aunt Fanny is not called Joanna’s “mistress” anymore. However, not all the titles have been
eliminated.
Now that it seems likely that there is somebody who wants to steal Uncle Quentin’s
research, Aunt Fanny is glad that Timmy is on the island with her husband to protect him.
“’Je bent een goeie ziel, Joanna,’ zei de moeder van George. ‘Ik ben zo blij, dat we
Timmy daar hebben achtergelaten. Ik maak me nu niet zo ongerust meer over
mijnheer.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 87)
9.3.8 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (1957)
George tells Julian and Dick Timmy’s misbehaviour during their stay at boarding school. One
of the things she mentions, is ‘overschoenen’:
“’Ik bedoel, hij heeft maar een keer iets uit de provisiekast gehaald – en dat kussen,
dat hij te pakken kreeg, heft hij niet zo erg beschadigd – en als mensen overal hun
overschoenen laten slingeren, kunnen ze Timmy niet kwalijk nemen, dat hij er een
gezellig spelletje mee gaat doen.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 14/15)
These are not very common at school anymore.
Aunt Fanny comes to pick up the Five from the train station:
60
“Tante Fanny kwam hen met de ponnywagen van het station halen.” (Blyton, De Vijf
weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 16)
One usually does not pick people up from the train station in a “ponnywagen”, even if one
lives in the country like the Kirrin family. Besides the fact that the “ponnywagen” is
outdated, the spelling of the word is also outmoded. The word is now spelled with one ‘n’.
The names George uses for her parents can nowadays be considered old-fashioned:
“’Moeder, waar zou Vader kunnen zijn?’ vroeg George. ‘Waar is zijn werkplaats – in
die oude kamer daar?’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 26)
Parents are no longer spoken to by their children in this way. In fact, many children call their
parents by their first names nowadays.
Mr. Curton invites the Five to come visit sometime and tells them that he owns a television:
“’Kom ons gauw eens opzoeken, als je kunt,’ zei de man. ‘Ik heb een mooi
televisietoestel, dat Martin, mijn zoon, je graag zal laten zien. Kom maar als je zin
hebt!’
‘Oh, dank u!’ zei George. Ze had nog nooit een televisie gezien. ‘We zullen zeker
komen!’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 51)
For some reason the first translator found it necessary to add some extra lines to the
passage that deals with the Five coming to watch television with Martin:
“Martin was bezig het televisietoestel in te stellen. Toen begon het programma en
Annie gaf een gilletje van verbazing, toen ze eensklaps ’t gezicht van een man op het
verlichte scherm zag verschijnen. ‘Ik kan hem horen en zien,’ fluisterde ze tegen
Julian. Mijnheer Curton hoorde haar en lachte.
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‘Maar jullie hond kan hem niet ruiken, anders zou hij op hem afvliegen,’ zei mijnheer
Curton.
Het was leuk, om naar het televisieprogramma te kijken.
Toen het afgelopen was, nodigde mijnheer Curton hen uit, thee te blijven drinken.”
(Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (1957) 69)
Apparently, this scene cannot be deleted and is therefore expanded in order to explain the
strangeness of the television for the children. The fact that this scene cannot be deleted
might have something to do with the way it describes the establishing of a relationship
between Martin and the Five. That friendship is an important part of the story and can
therefore not be erased.
Uncle Quentin’s experiments are focused on finding some kind of nuclear power. This kind of
power has already been in use for years.
9.3.9 Racism in the second translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’: ‘De Vijf
weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (2004)
The second translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island’ is as devoid of clearly racist elements as its
source text and the first translation. For this text goes that the absence of coloured
characters can be seen as racism too.
9.3.10 Sexism in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (2004)
The sexism in this second publication of ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ mainly centres on the
superiority of the male characters over the female characters (even George). For example,
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George’s reaction to Julian telling her that she should let her father use her island, because
he is an important scientist is striking:
“George werd een beetje opstandig van de lange verhaal, maar ze keek toch een
beetje tegen Julian op, en vaak was ze het wel eens met wat hij zei. Hij was de oudste
van de groep. Hij was een lange, knappe jongen die precies wist wat hij wilde. George
aaide over Timmy’s kop en zei zachtjes: ‘Oké, ik zal niet meer zeuren, Julian. Ik was
gewoon een beetje teleurgesteld, dat is alles. Ik wilde namelijk deze vakantie met z’n
allen naar Kirrin Eiland gaan.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland 2004 (2004) 15)
The boys carry the suitcases into the house when the children come home from boarding
school:
“Julian ging terug naar de voordeur om zijn tante met hun koffers te helpen. Hij en
Dick droegen samen alles naar boven.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland 2004
(2004) 20)
When talking about possible future professions, the boys aim high, whereas George doesn’t
say anything at all. This might hint at the fact that girls were expected to become stay-athome mums instead of getting a job. Julian begins:
“’Oom Quentin heeft eigenlijk best wel een spannend leven. Ik zou ook best
wetenschapper willen worden. Ik wil later in elk geval iets doen dat echt belangrijk is
– ik ben niet van plan om zomaar ergens op een kantoor te gaan zitten. Ik wil mijn
eigen baas zijn.’ ‘Ik denk dat ik dokter word,’ zei Dick.
‘Ik ga m’n boot halen,’ zei George, die het gesprek helemaal niet interessant vond.”
(Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 22)
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Of the two boys, it is especially Julian who acts as the responsible, strong, sensible one.
When George and Dick are fighting, Julian intervenes using the following words:
“George keek zo woedend naar Dick dat Julian snel tussen hen in ging staan.
‘Jongens, hou nou op met dat geruzie,’ zei hij. ‘Wat een kinderachtig gedoe! En ik
maar denken dat jullie oud genoeg zijn om te weten dat je helemaal niks opschiet
met katten, maar blijkbaar vergis ik me, want jullie gedragen je allebei als baby’s.’”
(Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 53/54)
It is almost as if Julian takes on the role of the father in this passage.
In the following passage, Julian’s superiority becomes clear as well as the difference
between men and women. It starts with Julian’s reaction to George, when she tells her
mother she won’t complain about her father taking her island anymore:
“ Julian gaf George een gemoedelijke klap op haar schouders. ‘Nou, George, het lijkt
erop dat je geleerd hebt om af en toe ook eens toe te geven, en dan nota bene nog
met een lach op je gezicht! Je bent een topgozer, George!’
George kreeg er een kleur van. Ze was altijd hartstikke trots als Julian zei dat ze op
een jongen leek. Maar Annie keek een beetje verontwaardigd.
‘Nou ja! Alsof dat nou typisch iets voor jongens is,’ zei ze. ‘Dat kunnen meisjes ook
best. Ik wil niet opscheppen of zo, maar ik kan het net zo goed toegeven als ik fout zit
als George.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 19)
First, Julian’s reaction is once again almost fatherly. Then Anne counters, drawing attention
to Julian’s sexism and denying it.
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9.3.11 Class in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (2004)
The second translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’ mentions Joanna again. However, she
is now given an entirely different job. Whereas she used to be the cook, she is now referred
to as the “oude hulp in de huishouding”:
“Ze stormden het huis in en tot hun grote blijdschap zagen ze Johanna, hun oude
hulp in de huishouding.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 20)
Like the first translation of ‘Five on Kirrin Island again’, this second translation omits the
titles. Neither of the translations refers to Aunt Fanny as Joanna’s “mistress” in the following
quotation:
“’Nee hoor, Johanna, we hebben al gegeten,’ zei tante Fanny, (...)” (Blyton, De Vijf
weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 88)
The effect, whether it was intentional or not, is that the class distinction between the cook
and Aunt Fanny fades away, simply because the text does not stress that distinction.
9.3.12 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (2004)
‘De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland’ (2004) contains many elements that can be deemed as
outdated. This is interesting, because this most recent translation was published only six
years ago. However, this book still contains a number of outdated aspects. These can also be
found in the first translation of this book.
Mr. Curton invites the Famous Five to visit his house some time:
“’Ik heb een hele mooie televisie. Martin laat hem je graag zien!’
‘Bedankt voor de uitnodiging!’ zei George. Ze had nog nooit een televisie gezien. ‘We
komen zeker een keer langs.’” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 53)
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The second translation also uses the addition the first translation uses:
“Martin zette de televisie aan. Een minuutje later begon het programma, en Annie
werd helemaal stil van verbazing toen ze plotseling het gezicht van een man op het
verlichte scherm zag.
‘Je kan die man gewoon horen en zien!’ fluisterde ze tegen Julian. Meneer Curton
hoorde haar en lachte.
‘Maar jullie hond kan hem niet ruiken, anders zou hij hem misschien wel aanvallen,’
zei meneer Curton.
Ze vonden het hartstikke leuk om naar de televisie te kijken.
Toen het programma afgelopen was nodigde meneer Curton ze uit om thee te blijven
drinken.” (Blyton, De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 70)
When Aunt Fanny comes to pick up the children from the train station, she does not come
by car:
“Tante Fanny kwam de kinderen met paard en wagen van het station halen.” (Blyton,
De Vijf weer op Kirrin Eiland (2004) 16)
Nowadays, this is looked upon as old-fashioned. Even in rural places, people usually use their
car to pick someone up at the train station.
Uncle Quentin is experimenting with nuclear power, which is already in use nowadays.
However, Uncle Quentin’s experiments are a vital part of the story and can therefore not be
eliminated from the story. Another option for the translator would have been to change the
objective of the experiments, but that would have involved a lot of re-writing for the
translator.
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9.4 ‘Five have plenty of fun’
The last book of the ‘Famous Five’ series that I will look at is the fifteenth instalment: ‘Five
have plenty of fun’. This book was published in 1955.
The Five are staying at Kirrin Cottage once again and Uncle Quentin is working on a very
important, secret scientific project and one day two American scientists come over to talk to
him about the project. One of the scientists likes the children and is very impressed by them.
A few days later, that same American (Elbur) comes to the house once more to talk to Uncle
Quentin. It is all very mysterious, especially when Aunt Fanny sets up an extra bed in
George’s and Anne’s room. It is then explained that Elbur’s daughter, Berta, will come to
stay at Kirrin Cottage for a while, because there is reason to believe that she might me
kidnapped in order to make her father tell secrets about the scientific project he and Uncle
Quentin are working on. Berta is going into hiding at Kirrin Cottage. George does not like this
at all, and things get even worse when she finds out that Berta has brought her own dog into
the house: Sally, the poodle. However, after a while they all got on splendidly. The Five and
Berta have a lot of fun at the beach together every day and plan many a picnic together. One
day, Uncle Quentin receives a letter from Elbur, saying that Berta is to be disguised as a boy
immediately and that her name should also be changed into a boy’s name. Berta does not
want this at all and makes quite a fuss about it. However, when she is turned into a boy (hair
cut, new clothes etc) she looks quite convincing. This evokes some jealousy in George,
considering she used to be the only girl trying to look like a boy and now Berta (who is now
called Leslie) takes over from her and actually does a better job at it than she does. George
and Berta (Leslie) swap dogs, so that Leslie is protected by big, smart, strong Timmy. Sally,
however, has some trouble settling in George’s and Anne’s room, and in the middle of the
67
night George decides to take the poodle out to the kennel. The kidnappers see her come out
of the house, holding Berta’s (Leslie’s) dog and mistake her for Berta (Leslie). Sadly, this all
happens when George’s parents are out visiting Elbur and the children are home alone with
only the cook to look after them. Julian then takes on the role of the responsible parent. He
decides that it is best to let Elbur know that it was George who was kidnapped, not Berta.
That way, Elbur will not be tempted to tell any secrets about his scientific project. Julian also
decides to send Berta (Leslie) somewhere else, where (s)he will be safer: she will be staying
with the cook’s cousin, who is also taking care of another of the Five’s friends: Jo. Berta
(Leslie) is renamed again, this time she becomes a girl once more and is called Jane. Jo is a
gypsy girl and Berta/Leslie/Jane is not taken with her; that feeling is mutual. This makes Jo
determined to help the Five, so that Berta/Leslie/Jane will leave as soon as possible. Luckily,
George has been able to leave little clues as to her whereabouts behind for Julian, Dick,
Anne and Jo. They follow the clues and finally find George locked up in an old mansion. As
usual, the story has a happy ending: the bad guys lose and the children win.
9.4.1 Racism in ‘Five have plenty of fun’
It has become clear that racism is not overly striking in the ‘Famous Five’ books. ‘Five have
plenty of fun’ does, however, contain one instance of racism that can be discussed. When
Berta is to go into hiding after George is kidnapped, she is told that she will live with a cousin
of the cook (Joanna) for a while. That cousin is already taking care of a gypsy girl called Jo,
because Jo’s parents (who were in the circus) are in prison. Berta’s reaction to Julian about
this news is typical:
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“I’ll do what you say – but what’s this Jo like? Joan said she was a little gypsy girl. I
don’t like gypsies.” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 122)
In this fragment from the source text Berta clearly states her dislike for gypsies in general.
The fact that Jo happened to be born in a gypsy family immediately makes Berta dislike Jo,
even though she has not even met the girl.
Blyton has Jo write a note to Julian when Jo goes to see her friend Spiky in the middle of the
night. He might be able to help find George, who has been kidnapped.
“Julian, I saw Spiky, he’s coming to the beech at levven I took Dick’s bike to go home
on I will bring it back at levven, don’t be too cross. Jo.” (Blyton, Five have plenty of
fun 141)
It is also mentioned that Berta and her father are Americans, but no prejudices come from
that fact. Blyton merely makes fun of the American accent once or twice. For example, when
George tells Berta that Kirrin Island belongs to her, Berta replies in her American accent and
George makes fun of that:
“’That’s Kirrin Island,’ said George, proudly. ‘It belongs to me.’
Berta laughed, thinking that George was joking. ‘Belongs to you! I bet you wish it did.
It’s really wunnerful!’
‘Wunnerful’ said George imitating her. ‘Can’t you say “wonderful”? It’s got a D in the
middle, you know.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 45/46)
9.4.2 Sexism in ‘Five have plenty of fun’
The difference between men and women also becomes clear through the way Blyton assigns
job-related and domestic chores. Women take care of the household and girls are supposed
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to help them with that. Men were free to spend their free time as they pleased; they were
only to provide the food on the table. This fact is clearly portrayed in all ‘Famous Five’ books.
Uncle Quentin explains to the Five why Berta is coming to stay with them for three weeks.
Aunt Fanny thinks she is perfectly capable of telling the children herself, but Uncle Quentin
disagrees:
“’Quentin, I could have told the children,’ began his wife, but he silenced her with a
scowl (…).” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 26)
Aunt Fanny is worried about the whole situation with Berta and Julian goes over to her to
comfort her. It is interesting that, even though he is in the room with his wife and the Five,
Uncle Quentin does nothing to make Aunt Fanny feel better.
“She paused and looked at the four, a harassed expression on her face. Julian went
over to her.
‘Don’t you worry!’ he said. ‘We’ll look after Berta.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun
29)
When everybody has had breakfast, Aunt Fanny tells the girls to clear everything away and
help her with the making of the beds. This stresses the rift between ‘what is suitable for girls
to do’ and ‘what is suitable for boys to do’.
“’You girls can clear away and wash up the breakfast things for Joan,’ she said. ‘Or
two of you can and the other can make the beds with me.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty
of fun 52)
When Berta is putting her foot down about keeping her dog with her at night, Julian puts her
in her place:
70
“’But I don’t want to …’ began Berta, and then felt a firm hand on her arm. It was
Julian.
‘Come on, kid,’ he said. ‘Be your age! Remember you’re a guest here and put on a
few of your best manners. We like American children – but not spoilt ones!’” (Blyton,
Five have plenty of fun 56/57)
Julian tells George to calm down, when she scolds Timmy for not being there to go after a
man who looks in through the window:
“’Shut up, George,’ said Julian. ‘Your temper gets us nowhere. Calm down and let’s
hear what you saw. CALM DOWN, I say.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 111)
On the morning the children and Joanna the cook discover that George has been kidnapped,
Uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny are visiting Berta’s father. When Joanna takes Berta to her
cousin, to go into hiding, Julian, Dick and Anne are home alone. They find out that they have
not had breakfast yet:
“’Gosh – we forgot all about breakfast!’ said Dick staring at the clock. ‘And it’s almost
ten o’clock now! What have we been doing all this time? Come on, Anne – get us
some food, there’s a dear. We shall all feel better then.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of
fun 126/127)
It is clear that, even though there are three people, there is only one person who is to
prepare breakfast: Anne. The reason for this is the fact that Anne is the only girl present.
After breakfast, Anne does the washing up and she makes the beds, whereas the boys are
once again free to do what they want:
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“After breakfast Anne went to wash up and make the beds, and the boys went
outside to have another look at the place where George’s dressing-gown girdle had
been found.” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 127)
9.4.3 Class in ‘Five have plenty of fun’
Aunt Fanny explains Berta’s presence to Joanna, the cook:
“’Joan, you have always known what important work the master does,’ she said.
‘Well, Miss Berta’s father does the same kind of work in America, and he and the
master are working on a great new scheme together.’
‘Oh yes, Mam,’ said Joan, very much interested.
‘Berta’s father has been warned by the police that it is possible Berta may be
kidnapped and held to ransom, not for money, but for the scientific secrets that he
knows,’ went on Aunt Fanny. ‘So she has been sent to us to be kept safe for three
weeks. By that time the scheme will be finished and made public. Berta is going to
the same school as Miss Anne and Miss George, and it is a good idea to let them
know one another first.’
Joan nodded. ‘I understand that, Mam,’ she said. ‘I think we can keep Miss Berta safe,
don’t you?’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 60)
The excessive use of formal titles (e.g. ‘Miss’, ‘Mam’, ‘master’) stresses the difference in class
between Joanna and the other characters. Striking is the way in which Aunt Fanny addresses
Joanna. It is almost as if she is speaking to a child, somebody who does not understand her
own ‘grown-up’ language. Every detail is discussed in order to make everything clear for
Joanna.
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9.4.4 Outdatedness in ‘Five have plenty of fun’
Interestingly, not many examples can be given of outdated language, ideas or behaviour
described in ‘Five have plenty of fun’, even though this book was published over half a
century ago.
The following utterance that Dick makes when he sees someone on Kirrin Island looking at
them through binoculars, is not used anymore:
“’I say! Look, all of you!’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 89)
The phrase ‘I say’ is now only used in mock-expressions and caricatures of posh British
people.
The use of the word ‘queer’ has already been discussed. This word is also used in ‘Five have
plenty of fun’. For example in the following sentence, uttered by Dick:
“’I suppose it will be all right to take Lesley with us when we go to the island this
afternoon? I mean – it’s just a bit queer that anyone should be using the island to spy
from.’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 90)
Once again, it is Dick who uses the word ‘queer’ when Anne is worried about George:
“’Anne, you look queer – are you all right?’” (Blyton, Five have plenty of fun 126)
9.4.5 Racism in the first translation of ‘Five have plenty of fun’: ‘De Vijf als
detectives’ (1955)
Whereas the source text of ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (1955) mentions Jo as being a gypsy girl,
this first translation merely calls her a vagabond:
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“Ik zal doen wat je zegt – maar wie is die Jo, over wie jullie het hadden? Een
zwerverskind? Ik houd niet van zwerverskinderen!” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives
(1955) 102)
The letter Jo left on the doorstep for Julian to find, is even more flawed than the one in the
source text:
“Julian, ik hep Spiky gesien hij komt om elluf naar het strant ik nam Dicks viets mee
en bring die om elluf terug. Ben je boos? Jo.” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955)
120)
Not only does this note contain more spelling errors than the one in the source text, there is
also barely any punctuation.
However, in this fragment, Berta’s distaste for and abhorrence of the girl Jo becomes just as
clear as in the source text.
Berta’s American accent is also made fun of, but in a different manner than the source text
does. George remarks:
“’Je spreekt met een Amerikaans accent,’ zei George kritisch. ‘Kun je niet gewoon
praten?’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 38)
9.4.6 Sexism in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (1955)
Much of the sexism of the source text is retained in this first translation of ‘Five have plenty
of fun’. The men/boys are still the stronger characters and the women/girls must still obey
them and take care of the household. For example, when Uncle Quentin is going to tell the
Five about Berta coming to stay with them for three weeks his wife makes clear that she
could have told them herself, but Quentin does not like that:
74
“’Quentin, ik had het de kinderen ook wel kunnen vertellen,’ begon zijn vrouw, maar
hij maakte haar duidelijk dat ze zwijgen moest (...).” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives
(1955) 22)
When Aunt Fanny is worried about the situation with Berta, it is Julian who soothes her and
not Uncle Quentin. This is strange, because he is there in the same room and yet he does
nothing to make his wife feel better.
“Ze zweeg en keek de vier kinderen met een zorgelijk gezicht aan. Julian ging naar
haar toe.
‘Maakt u zich maar niet ongerust!’ zei hij. ‘We zullen wel op Berta letten.’” (Blyton,
De Vijf als detectives (1955) 24)
Aunt Fanny is happy to have Julian in the house now that scary and exciting things are
happening at Kirrin Cottage.
“Tante Fanny hield veel van Julian. ‘Ik kan altijd op hem rekenen!’ dacht ze (...).”
(Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 42)
Aunt Fanny is not the only female character Julian takes under his wings. When Berta wants
to force through her decision about keeping her dog with her at night, Julian warns her
about her behaviour.
“’Maar ik denk er niet aan om haar ...’ begon Berta – en voelde een hand op haar
arm. Van Julian.
‘Kom meisjes,’ zei hij, ‘gedraag je niet als een baby. Vergeet niet dat je hier te gast
bent en laat zien dat je manieren geleerd hebt. We mogen Amerikaanse kinderen
graag – maar niet als ze zo verwend zijn.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 47)
75
And he calms George down when she yells at Timmy for not being there to go after a
suspicious man who was looking in through the window.
“’Houd je mond, George,’ zei Julian. ‘Met jouw scheldpartij schieten we niet op.
Kalmeer een beetje en vertel ons wat je gezien hebt. Houd je kalm, zeg ik.’” (Blyton,
De Vijf als detectives (1955) 91)
In the following passage, the rift between ‘what girls should do’ and ‘what boys should do’
becomes just as clear as in the source text:
“’De meises ruimen de tafel af en wassen af voor Joanna,’ zei Tante Fanny toen
iedereen genoegen gegeten had. ‘Of misschien kan een van de meisjes me helpen
met beddenopmaken.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 43)
It is expected of the girls to fulfill their duties, whereas no chores are being assigned to the
boys. The same goes for the passage that deals with the morning Julian, Dick and Anne
discover that George has been kidnapped.
“’Wel verdraaid – we vergeten helemaal te ontbijten!’ riep Dick uit, naar de klok
kijkend. ‘Het is al bij tienen! Kom, Annie – ga wat voor ons klaarmaken. Als we
gegeten hebben, voelen we ons een heel stuk beter.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives
(1955) 106)
It is clear that, even though there are three people, there is only one person who is to
prepare breakfast: Anne. The reason for this is the fact that Anne is the only girl present.
76
9.4.7 Class in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (1955)
Once again, Joanna the cook is present in this book. When Aunt Fanny explains to her why
Berta is coming to stay at Kirrin Cottage, she uses a lot of titles for the upper-class
characters:
“’Joanna, je weet dat mijnheer heel belangrijk wetenschappelijk werk doet,’ zei ze.
‘De vader van juffrouw Berta doet net zulk werk in Amerika en hij en mijnheer Kirrin
werken samen aan een heel belangrijk nieuw plan.’
‘Ja, mevrouw,’ zei Joanna belangstellend.
‘De politie heeft Berta’s vader gewaarschuwd dat bandieten misschien zullen
proberen Berta te ontvoeren en haar vast te houden tot haar vader bepaalde
wetenschappelijke geheimen aan hen prijsgegeven heeft,’ ging Tante Fanny verder.
‘Daarom hebben wij haar bij ons genomen; ze moet drie weken goed bewaakt
worden. Daarna zal het plan af zijn en zullen de bijzonderheden bekend gemaakt
worden. Berta zal naar dezelfde school gaan and juffrouw Annie en George en het
komt dus mooi uit dat ze elkaar vast een beetje leren kennen.
Joanna knikte. ‘Ik begrijp het, mevrouw,’ zei ze. ‘Ik geloof dat we wel kunnen zorgen
dat juffrouw Berta niets zal overkomen.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 49/50)
9.4.8 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (1955)
It is interesting that, even though this translation came out many years ago, it barely
contains any outdated elements. The only instance of old-fashioned language that can be
identified is the use of the word “zusters” in the following passage:
“’Ik heb geen broers. Geen zusters ook.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (1955) 39)
77
Nowadays, the word ‘zussen’ is more common than ‘zusters’. However, this is the only
example of anything that might be considered outdated in this translation.
9.4.9 Racism in the second translation of ‘Five have plenty of fun’: ‘De Vijf als
detectives’ (2004)
The source text of this translation does not contain much racism, but even the minor parts of
the book that could be understood as racist have been erased from the book. For example,
the fact that Jo is a gypsy girl is no longer a reason for Berta to fear her. Now, she is just
curious to know who this Jo is:
“’Ik doe wat je zegt, maar wie is die Jo eigenlijk?’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives
(2004) 105)
9.4.10 Sexism in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (2004)
Every time Blyton made the girls do the washing up, or the making of the beds and so on,
this second translation includes the boys in that activity as well. When Aunt Fanny tells the
girls to “clear away and wash up the breakfast things for Joan” and “make the beds with” her
in the source text, this translation says the following:
“’Jongens, helpen jullie allemaal even met afruimen en afwassen?’ vroeg tante Fanny
toen iedereen genoeg gegeten had. ‘En maken jullie straks je bed op?’” (Blyton, De
Vijf als detectives (2004) 43)
Anne is no longer the only one of the Five who is capable of preparing food. When Julian,
Dick and Anne are home alone at Kirrin Cottage after George has been kidnapped, Anne
remarks that she is hungry and they decide to prepare some breakfast together:
78
“Dick keek naar de klok. ‘Ja, dat is ook niet zo gek, we zijn door al die toestanden
helemaal vergeten te ontbijten. Het is al bij tienen! Kom, dan gaan we iets
klaarmaken. Als we gegeten hebben, voelen we ons een heel stuk beter.’” (Blyton, De
Vijf als detectives (2004) 109)
When they have had breakfast, they now clear away the breakfast things together and the
three of them make their beds, instead of letting Anne take care of that on her own. It is
only after doing their chores that Julian and Dick go to examine the place where they found
a clue about George’s kidnapping.
“Na het ontbijt wasten ze af en maakten hun bedden op. Dick en Julian liepen daarna
nog even naar buiten om de plek waar het koord van Georges ochtendjas gevonden
was opnieuw te bekijken.” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (2004) 109)
9.4.11 Class in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (2004)
Even though her presence implies the existence of a class system, Joanna the cook is still a
part of the Kirrin household. However, the titles that are used in both the source text and
the first translation of this book are not used anymore. For example, Aunt Fanny no longer
talks to Joanna about ‘her master’ and does not refer to Berta as ‘Miss Berta’ in the following
passage:
“’Johanna, je weet dat mijn man wetenschappelijk onderzoek doet,’ zei ze. ‘De vader
van Berta doet net zulk werk in Amerika en hij en Quentin zijn samen bezig met een
belangrijk project.’” (Blyton, De Vijf als detectives (2004) 50)
This helps to blur the difference in class between the cook and the other characters.
79
9.4.12 Outdatedness in ‘De Vijf als detectives’ (2004)
This most recent translation of ‘Five have plenty of fun’ does not contain any element that
can be seen as old-fashioned. All these elements that were in the source text have been
eliminated.
80
10. Conclusion
The previous chapters have illustrated the way some denounced aspects of the ‘Famous
Five’ series have been handled in translation. Using a comparative study, I have attempted
to bring to the surface any shifts that have occurred in the translation process. It has become
clear that both translations differ slightly from the source text, most notably the most recent
translation. The age-gap between this second translation and the source text is, naturally,
bigger than the age-gap between the first translation and the source text. Therefore, it is
understandable that today’s readers are even further removed from the situation of the
source text. The second translation is, even more than the first translation, adapted to the
intended readers and their own reality. However, there is a significant difference in the
extent to which both translations contain shifts compared to the source text. This much has
become clear. In chapter 7.2 (‘Translating for Children’) I asked the following question: do
adults understand that it is not always necessary to ‘censor’ children’s literature in
translation? The case study that has been carried out in this thesis shows that the answer to
this question is ‘no’. The translator’s interference has become greater with each round of
translations of the ‘Famous Five’ series. Now, the series has been rid of “the rigid gender
divisions which allowed the boys and tomboy George to catch the smugglers while Anne
stayed home to wash the dishes.”23 These gender divisions make up the most striking aspect
of the book that has been criticised. The fact that the way men and women were viewed at
the time Blyton wrote the series differs from the way they are looked at nowadays, is one of
the reasons to change the books in a minor way. These changes have been executed in such
23
‘First it was Golliwog, now PC brigade hits more Blyton books’, The West Australian, 27 June 2006
81
a manner that the reader of the translation would not know that the source text used to be
a little bit different.
It has become clear that there are two ways of looking at the altering of books in the
translation process. The first way of looking at this suggests that so-called ‘political
correctness’ is even more important in books for young readers than it is in books for adults,
because child readers have less insight into shifts that occur within the social system and
they cannot put the work into its historical context as easily as adults (Ghesquière,
Jeugdliteratuur in perspectief 120). The other point of view takes a more critical look at
using the translation process to censor books. Their opinion is that Blyton’s books were
written in a certain time and place that should not be compared to today’s time and place.
Barbara Stoney, one of Blyton’s biographers, is one of the people who agree with this: “I just
don’t see why people can’t accept that [Blyton’s books] were written in a particular period
and are a product of that.”24 In their opinion there is no need to adjust the books to the
readers, because the readers are capable of handling the ‘strange’ parts. Or, as Kristy
Cranitch says: “Memo to storybook censors: Children can decide for themselves, thanks very
much”.25 Despite these different opinions, the fact is that changes have been made in the
first translation and that the second translation contains even more changes.
It is interesting that, even though critics have criticised the racism in Blyton’s books for
years, the case study carried out in this thesis showed barely any racism in the three books
examined. This corresponds to Mark Duursma’s quoting David Rudd’s ‘Enid Blyton and the
Mystery of Children’s Literature’ (2000) where Rudd says that the amount of racism in the
24
‘First it was Golliwog, now PC brigade hits more Blyton books’, The West Australian, 27 June 2006
25
‘Telling the bad from the Blyton’, The Australian, 20 December 2001
82
books is not as bad as the critics make it seem.26 The little racism that is displayed in the
books that have been examined was not erased in the first translation, whereas it was in the
second translation.
Sexism is the biggest concern that the case study has discovered. Once again the second
translation contains the most radical changes, whereas the first translation is much closer to
the original.
Joanna the cook is present in the original as well as in both translations, although her
importance is downplayed a little in the second translation. The use of titles for the upperclass characters is deleted in the second translation, but present in both the original text and
the first translation. The class differences are therefore slightly less clear in the second
translation than in the first translation and the source text.
The last part of criticism that was discussed in the case study is the fact that Blyton’s books
are said to be old-fashioned. Outmoded ideas concerning the roles of men and women in
the household are discussed in the chapters about sexism. The chapters about the outdated
aspects of the books mainly deal with old-fashioned language. It is interesting that the first
translation sometimes contains even more old-fashioned language than the original. The
second translation contains, once again, the most changes. This can be explained by the fact
that this translation is the furthest removed from the source text. The first translation came
out nearly simultaneously with the original and the elements that are now looked upon as
outdated were still completely normal then.
26
“Annie is geen sloofje meer; Nieuwe ‘De Vijf’ is geschoond van seksisme en racisme”, NRC Handelsblad, 15
February 2002
83
All in all, it can be said that more and more changes have been made through the years.
Because the first translation was published so closely to the original not many changes were
needed. The second translation, however, came out decades later and was published in a
different time that condemned some aspects of the books. Therefore, the translations had
to be adjusted to the demands of the time.
84
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87
Appendix
A full list of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ series and the publication dates:
1. Five on a treasure island (1942)
2. Five go adventuring again (1943)
3. Five run away together (1944)
4. Five go to Smuggler’s Top (1945)
5. Five go off in a caravan (1946)
6. Five on Kirrin Island again (1947)
7. Five go off to camp (1948)
8. Five get into trouble (1949)
9. Five fall into adventure (1950)
10. Five on a hike together (1951)
11. Five have a wonderful time (1952)
12. Five go down to the sea (1953)
13. Five go to mystery moor (1954)
14. Five have plenty of fun (1955)
15. Five on a secret trail (1956)
16. Five go to Billycock Hill (1957)
17. Five get into a fix (1958)
18. Five on Finniston Farm (1960)
19. Five go to Demon’s Rocks (1961)
20. Five have a mystery to solve (1962)
21. Five are together again (1963)
88
The Dutch translations of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ series:
1. De Vijf en het gestande goudschip
2. De Vijf en de geheime doorgang
3. De Vijf gaan er vandoor
4. De Vijf op de smokkelaarsrots
5. De Vijf in een kampeerwagen
6. De Vijf weer op Kirrin eiland
7. De Vijf en de spooktrein
8. De Vijf in de knel
9. De Vijf op avontuur
10. De Vijf of trektocht
11. De Vijf en de verdwenen geleerden
12. De Vijf en het geheim van de oude toren
13. De Vijf en het geheim van de zigeuners
14. De Vijf als detectives
15. De Vijf en het geheimzinnige spoor
16. De Vijf en de verdwenen piloot
17. De Vijf en de schat in de bergen
18. De Vijf op de oude boerderij
19. De Vijf en de schat van de strandjutter
20. De Vijf en de schat op het Fluistereiland
21. De Vijf en het circusmysterie
89