A comparative analysis of the English translations of Sibilla Aleramo’s Una Donna

Despite the vast research on Sibilla Aleramo and her novel Una Donna, little has been done about how and when she has been translated in the English language. Different studies have highlighted her character and how it was shaped by her socio-political background, as well as her reception within different countries and societies. Nonetheless, it was difficult to find research that could demonstrate the link between Sibilla Aleramo and the several languages within which she was translated. This paper recovers some of the research on Aleramo as a woman and author, with a particular focus on her masterpiece Una Donna, using it as an example for women’s struggles for equality during the beginning of the 20th century in Italy. After a brief introduction of previous research on translation studies and its relation with gender, the main part of the study focuses on the comparison and contrast of three English translations of Una Donna, published in 1908, 1980 and 2020. The aim of this paper is to find connections between the translations considered, with a particular focus on time and gender issues. Indeed, the three translations, anchored in different cultural and social backgrounds, showed interesting results both in chronological terms, and through the investigation of the male and female constituent of translators. It is possible to state, then, that translation is not detached from personal and cultural elements which, instead, play an important role in the final outcome of translation.