Crossing Cultural Boundaries: The First Translation of Crime and Punishment in Italy

Abstract

Indirect translation, criticized for impurity, played a pivotal role in introducing Russian literature to fin-de-siècle Italy. Initial Italian translations of Russian classics stemmed from French translations, with France serving as a key hub for Russian literary reception in Europe. This article delves into the first Italian translation of "Crime and Punishment" to explore the nuances of this process. It examines the trade-offs—what was lost in translation—and highlights how the mediation through French translation paradoxically aided the reception of Dostoevsky in late 19th-century Italy.

Keywords

• Dostoevsky
• indirect translation
• Crime and Punishment
• literary reception