features in translated brazilian portuguese texts: a corpus-based research

8/9/2019 FEATURES IN TRANSLATED BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE TEXTS: A CORPUS-BASED RESEARCH

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82 Clia Mar ia Magalhes and Mar ia da Conceio Batista

Brazilian-Portuguese translations was chosen to be investigated.This novel was previously studied by Magalhes (1997) with thetheoretical support of cultural studies which enabled an analysis ofits monstrous narrative as representative of cultural issues. Thepresent study takes on board the corpus-based approach in an attemptto combine a linguistic with a cultural studies perspective intranslation studies. The sample chosen from thecorpuswas Chapter

V and its translations into Portuguese by Honkis (s/d) and Ferraz(1998). This chapter V was of interest for it could be considered asone of the most explicit examples in the novel of the monstrousnarrative: it depicts the birth of the monster, giving a full descriptionof the creature, of Frankensteins horror for creating it and ofthe whole process involved in this creation.

The second step in designing the corpuswas scanning andtransforming the texts into electronic format in order for them tobe saved and stored as Microsoft Worddocuments. The followingstep was the correction of these texts using the software mentioned.

They were then saved as txt format to be read by the softwareWordSmith Tools, a software developed by Mike Scott and marketedby Oxford University Press, which will be referred to later in thispaper.

The necessary theoretical ground for a corpus-based approach

to Translation Studies is provided in the following section.

Theoretical Ground

Baker (1993) points out that traditional discussions on translationhave most always been around the primacy of source texts and the

notion of equivalence. According to this paradigm, translationsshould be as equivalent as possible to their originals, in both semanticand formal aspects. Moreover, the author notes that studies ontranslation used to be focused to determine what an ideal translationshould strive to be in order to minimise its inevitable distortion of


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Features in translated Brazil ian.. . 83

the message, the spirit, and the elegance of the original (Baker,ibid:236).

Baker (1993) also emphasises that, nevertheless, changes in thenotion of equivalence and a shift from meaning to usage in languagestudies brought with them a necessity to explore not only sourcetexts but also large corporaof target texts in translation research.

These developments, Baker (ibid:248) stresses, create the need to

use computerised corporain translation studies.Terms such ascorpus and the plural corporaneed to be definedfor a better understanding of the process involved in the investigationproposed here. Baker (1995:226) uses the term corpus (...) tomean any collection or running texts (as opposed to examples/sentences), held in electronic form and analysable automatically orsemi-automatically (rather than manually).

The type of corpusanalysed as a basis for this paper is the parallelcorpus, which (...) consists of original, source language texts inlanguage A and their translated versions in language B (Baker,ibid:230). The other type of corpus, which will be referred to laterin this paper, is the comparable corpus. According to Bakersdefinition (ibid:234), a comparablecorpusconsists of two collectionsof texts: one composed of original texts in a given language, andanother composed of translated texts to that same language, provided

that the domain and time span of texts are the same.Baker (1993:243) stresses that the most important task thatawaits the application of corpustechniques in translation studies(...) is the elucidation of the nature of translated text as a mediatedcommunicative event. In order for translation to be studied as acommunicative event in the language, Baker (ibid) emphasises theneed to develop tools to identify universal features of translation,which are related to the nature of the translation process itself.

Looking (...) not just at the functional types of translation but atthe distinctive features of translated texts per se, Baker (1996:176)proposes the use of corpustechniques to test whether the featuresfound in acorpusof translated English texts, such as disambiguation


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or simplification, explicitation, normalisation orconservatism, and levelling out,can also be found in corporaoftexts translated into other languages. The author tries to define thesefeatures by investigating their various manifestations.

Baker (ibid:181) attempts to define simplification as thetendency to simplify the language used in translation. There canbe evidence for this tendency if we look for the average sentence

length in both original and translated texts. According to Baker,another area to be investigated is the punctuation in translated texts.Studies have suggested that there is a tendency to change thepunctuation to make things simple and clear in translation. Baker(1996:183) also asserts that there are other expressions ofsimplification which lend themselves particularly well to corpusanalysis. These include lexical densityand type-token ratio(Baker1995).

In order for the statement above to be clear, more elaboratedefinitions of lexical density and type-token ratio should beprovided. In Baker (1995) lexical density is referred to as related tothe relationship between lexical and grammatical words. Lexicalwords belong to categories such as nouns, adjectives and verbs,and grammatical words belong to categories such as determinersand prepositions. Lexical density is calculated by dividing the

number of lexical items by the total number of words in a text orcorpusand multiplying the result by 100 to arrive at a percentage(ibid:237).

Equally important is the definition of type-token ratio. A tokenis any sequence of letters with an orthographic space on eitherside (ibid: 236). For instance, each occurrence of the word dayina text is a token, and the word-form dayitself is a type. With thesoftware WordSmith Tools the type-token ratio of a given text orcorpusis calculated as a percentage: The percentage is always ofthe smaller in relation to the larger. The conventional type/tokenratio (...) is computed by the formula: (number of types x 100) number of tokens. (fromWordSmith Tools Help, 1998)


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The feature explicitation is defined as (...) the overalltendency to spell things out rather than leave them implicit intranslation (Baker, 1996:180). In order to define whether there isexplicitation in a text, Baker (1996:181) suggests text length andalso conjunctions should be regarded first: lexically, the tendencyto make things explicit in translation may be expressed through theuse or overuse of explanatory vocabulary and conjunctions (...).

Normalisation/conservatism is the tendency to exaggeratefeatures of the target language and to conform to its typical patterns(ibid: 183). This feature is evident in the use of typical grammaticalstructures, punctuation and collocational patterns or clichs.(ibid:183)

Levelling out is related to the tendency of translated text togravitate towards the centre of a continuum (ibid:184). As anexample of this feature, Baker points to the evidence of likenessamong individual texts in an English translation:

(...) there is some evidence that the individual texts in anEnglish translation corpus are more like each other in termsof features such as lexical density, type-token ratio and meansentence length than the individual texts in a comparable corpusof original English. (ibid:184)

Further developments of corpus-based research which stem fromBakers pioneering work include Maia (1998) and Santos (1998)which investigate differences and similarities in parallel corporaof English/Portuguese; Zanettin (2000), dealing with issues inparallelcorpusdesign such as representativeness, sampling criteria,diversification of corporaand corpusencoding; Kenny (2001),

investigating normalisation in a parallel corpusof German/Englishliterary texts and focusing on instances of creativity such as hapaxlegomena and writer-specific forms, and Baker (2000) whichattempts at outlining methodological procedures for investigatingliterary translators styles.


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As previously stated in this paper, the softwareWordSmith Toolsdeveloped by Mike Scott was used in the present work as the mainmethodological tool for the analysis carried out here. Mike Scottssoftware provides us with some tools to analyse texts: Wordlist,Keyword, Concord, and Viewer & Aligner. The following definitionsfor these tools were taken fromWordSmith Tools Help, available inthe software:

The Wordlist creates lists of the text(s) you are working on.The lists come in three different formats: alphabetical list (alphabeticorder), frequency list (frequency order), and statistic list (providesstatistic data about the text and includes type/token ratio andparagraph and sentence length). The Figures 1 and 2 below areexamples of the frequency and statistic lists obtained in the screenwhen the software was applied to the sample of Frankenstein:


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Figure 1


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Figure 2


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The Keyword makes a list of the key words of the text. Thistool demands a great number of texts. There should be another,larger and more varied corpusof texts saved in the computer tocompare with the text you are studying:

The purpose of this program is to locate and identify keywords in a given text. To do so, it compares the words in the

text with a reference set of words usually taken from a largecorpus of text. Any word that is found to be outstanding in itsfrequency in the text is considered key. (WordSmith ToolsHelp, 1998)

An example of the keyword list obtained with the application ofthis tool in the research work reported here is given in Figure 3:


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Figure 3


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The Concord creates a concordance using text files:

To use it you will specify a search word, which Concord willseek in all the text files you have chosen. It will then presenta concordance display, and give you access to informationabout collocates of the search word (WordSmith Tools Help,1998).

Concord provides us with buttons like dispersion plot whichshows where the search word appears in each file, and clusterswhich shows repeated clusters of words (phrases), etc. Results ofa search for a simple concordance list obtained from the sample ofFrankensteinare given in Figure 4:


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Figure 4


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The tool Viewer & Aligner aligns two texts, the original andthe translation selected:

Viewer is a utility which enables you to examine your textfiles in various formats. (...) Viewer can also be used simplyto produce a copy of a text file with numbered sentences orparagraphs or for aligning two versions of a text, showing

alternate paragraphs or sentences of each. (WordSmith ToolHelp, 1998)

Once more, for the purpose of illustration, the screen obtainedusing this tool with the corpus analysed is reproduced in Figure 5:


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Figure 5


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Having provided the important definitions for categories whichgrounded the present work, the next step is describing the methodused for analysis and providing some data of analysis.

A Corpus Based Analysis of Frankenstein

This is acorpus-based translation research, that is, mainly basedon quantitative analysis, even though a qualitative refinement ofquantitative data is also carried out. The tools used for the quantitativeanalysis of the corpus are the ones available in the softwareWordSmith Tools,which were mentioned earlier in this paper. Thefirst tool used was Wordlist. The Frequency List created by Wordlist

also allows us to calculate lexical density of each text analysed.Below, there is a list of some data extracted from the FrequencyList generated from Chapter V in the original and the twotranslations analysed. The criterion for selecting the following listwas the frequency of some of the lexical items related to therepresentation of monstrosity in the book, and also some of theconjunctions that are the most frequent cohesive devices in theconstruction of the monstrous identities in the texts.

Frequency List


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Original(199

4)

Hon

kis(s/d)translation

Ferrazs(1998)translation

Word

Freq%

Word

F

req

%

Word

Freq

%

That/who/who

m/

73

3,09

Que

8

3

4,19

Que

82

3,78

which/what/than

Was/Were

36

1,64

Estava(m)/Era(m)/Fui/

3

4

1,55

Estava(m)/E

ra(m)/

36

1,60

Esteve/Foi/Fora/Foram

Estvamos/

Fui/Foi/Este

ve/Fora/

Eye/Eyes

9

0,34

Olho

/olhos

6

0,27

Olho/olhos

8

0,35

Hand/Hands

6

0,25

Mo

/mos

5

0,23

Mo/mos

4

0,18

Horror

5

0,21

Horr

or

5

0,23

Horror

4

0,18

Life

5

0,21

Vida

6

0,27

Vida

8

0,36

Night/nights

6

0,25

Noite/noites

5

0,23

Noite/noites

6

0,40

Street/Streets

5

0,21

Rua/Ruas

4

0,18

Rua/ruas

4

0,18

Monster

4

0,17

Mon

stro

4

0,18

Monstro

4

0,18

Good

4

0,17

Boa/

Bom/Bons/

6

0,27

Boas/bom

6

0,26

Bondoso

Ill

4

0,17

Doente

4

0,18

Doente

5

0,22

Wretch

4

0,17

Run

a/desgraado/destroo/4

0,18

Desgraado/infeliz

4

0,18

Mon

struosidade

Frankenstein

3

0,13

Fran

kenstein

2

0,09

Frankenstein

2

0,09

Creature

2

0,18

Criatura

2

0,09

Criatura

2

0,09

Corpse

2

0,18

Cadver

2

0,09

Cadver

2

0,09


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There is not a significant difference in the frequency of mostwords in the original and the translations; in fact, when there is anydifference at all it can be attributed to differences in each languagesystem. However, it is worth mentioning that a word such aswretch, repeated throughout the original in an effort to representthe creators feelings of abjection (cf. Kristeva, 1982) towards hiscreation, is translated as four different lexical options in one

translation, and at least as two different choices in the other, afeature to which we shall return later.The Statistic List provides the type-token ratio and data to calculate

the lexical density of texts. The following list was also taken from theStatistic List created by the Wordlist. Data are expressed in the numberof words that compose each topic of the list, except the type/tokenratio, which is expressed in % (percentage).

Statistic List

Original Honkis (s/d) Ferraz (1998)

Tokens 2.360 2.194 2.244

Types 843 924 922

Standardized 44,50% 50,30% 50,15%Type/Token

Sentences 89 90 89

Sentence length 26,21 23,44 25,21

Paragraphs 26 28 29

Paragraph 90,77 78,36 77,38Length

In the list above, standardized type-token ratio calculatedaccording toWordSmith Toolsis higher in the two translations thanthe one in the original. In Baker (1995:236) we find that:


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A high type-token ratio, for instance, may be interpreted asa consequence of the process of lexical simplification whichhas been reported as taking place in a variety of mediatedcommunicative activities, including translation. (from Blum-Kulka and Levenston 1983).

This statement, however, could be counterargued since a high

type-token ratio (which reveals that there are more types in relationto tokens in the translated texts as compared to the original) can beinterpreted as a more varied vocabulary being used in translations,which in turn should not be interpreted as a consequence of lexicalsimplification. Another possible explanation for the issue is thatreference for calculation of type-token ratio in Baker (1995) comesfrom a different source than the one available inWordSmith Tools.

In the statistic list, we can also see that the average sentence

length in both translations is lower than the one in the original. Thisfeature could be taken as evidence of simplification in translationas stated before in this paper.

In explaining lexical density as one expression ofsimplification, Baker stresses:

Lexical density relates to the proportion of lexical as opposed

to grammatical words in a corpus: using more grammaticaland fewer lexical words is a way of building in more redundancyand making a text easier to process. There is some evidencethat lexical density is generally lower in translated vs. originalEnglish text (Laviosa-Braithwaite, in prep.) (Baker, 1996:183)

Lexical density, calculated by data from the frequency list, is80,66% in the original, 82,90% in Honkis (s/d), and 84,60% inFerraz (1998), providing evidence of higher lexical density in thetwo translations as compared to the one in the original.

Thus research using a sample of Frankenstein and its twotranslations suggests that a different trend might be found in


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translations from English into Brazilian-Portuguese. Hence, a highertype/token ratio and a higher lexical density in the sample analysedcontradicts, as it were, the process of lexical simplification. Theseresults may be otherwise interpreted as a tendency to avoidrepetitions in standard Brazilian-Portuguese writing, which is likelyto influence Brazilian-Portuguese translators. This tendency isconfirmed for instance by the frequency of the lexical item

wretch, rendered as different lexical options in Portuguese ratherthan repeated as in the original, which certainly produces a differentreading for a feature of monstrosity and is likely to signalconformation to norms of written texts in the target culture.

The other tool which was most used in the present analysis wasthe Viewer & Aligner. The texts analysed were aligned sentenceby sentence. This alignment makes the investigation of the choicesmade by the translator in the process of translation possible. Itsfurther pros are that it allows you to check whether there is evidenceof additions and omissions, word order preferences, changes inpunctuation, among others. This close analysis of texts is essentialfor the identification of the features proposed by Baker, one of theaims of this paper.

Due to the purposes of the present paper, the features ofdisambiguation or simplification and explicitation will be

focused on. Passages from the alignment taken from the originalEnglish text, Honkiss (H) and Ferrazs (F) translations weretranscribed here to exemplify each feature analysed. The followingexamples illustrate disambiguation and simplification, the firstfeature to be analysed:

S 12- Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created,

I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversingmy bedchamber,unable to compose my mind to sleep.

(H) Incapaz de suportar o aspecto do ser que eu havia criado,sa correndo do aposento, e continuei durante muito tempo a


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andar pelo meu quarto, sem poder dormir.

(F) Sem poder suportar o aspecto do ser que eu criara, sacorrendo da sala e fiquei andando de um lado para outro emmeu quarto, incapaz de acalmar minha mente para dormir .

S 23 -A mummyagain endued with animationcould not be so

hideous as that wretch.

(H)Uma mmia revivida no seria to horrorosa quanto aqueledestroo.

(F)Uma mmia trazida de volta vida no seria to hediondaquanto aquele infeli z.

S 51- I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune couldhave befal len me, but when I became assured that my enemyhad indeed fled, I clapped my hands for joy and ran down toClerval.

(H)Mal podia crer em tanta sorte, depois que me assegurei de

que o meu inimigo havia, realmente, desaparecido. Bati palmasde alegria, e desci ao encontro de Clerval.

(F) Mal podia acreditar que tamanha sorte me acontecera,mas ao me assegurar de que meu inimigo tinha de fato fugido,bati palmas de alegr ia e desci correndo atClerval.

It is interesting to note that complex clauses or phrases in Englishwere simplified in Honkiss translation but not so much in Ferrazstranslation, which could be taken as a more literal rendering of theoriginal. Unable to compose my mind to sleep, for instance, wastranslated as sem poder dormir in the first and as incapaz de


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acalmar minha mente para dormir in the second. Likewise, againendued with animation became revividain Honkiss version andtrazida de volta vida in Ferrazs. And finally, the expressionI could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could havebefallen me was simplified to mal podia crer em tanta sorte byHonkis but rendered as Mal podia acreditar que tamanha sorte meacontecera by Ferraz.

Some of the following examples illustrate changes in punctuationin translations:

S 14- But it was in vain;I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed bythe wildest dreams.

(H) Tudo, porm, foi em vo.Na verdade, dormi, mas fui

perturbado pelos sonhos mais violentos.

(F)Mas foi em vo; dormi, de fato, mas fui perturbado pelossonhos mais alucinados.

S 42- But, my dear Frankenstein, continued he, stopping shortand gazing full in my face, I did not before remark how very

ill you appear; so thin and pale;and look as if you had beenwatching for several nights.

(H)Mas, meu caro Frankenstein - continuou ele, parando eolhando-me em cheio -, no tinha reparado como vocparecedoente, to magro e to plido. Voc tem o aspecto de quempassou muitas noites acordado.

(F)Mas, meu caro Frankenstein -continuou ele, detendo-se eme encarando por inteir o -, no tinha notado o quanto vocparece estar doente; to magro e plido; parece ter passadomuitas noites em claro.


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S 42- You have guessed right;I have lately been so deeplyengaged in one occupation that I have not allowed myselfsufficient rest, as you see;but I hope, I sincerely hope, that allthese employments are now at an end and that I am at lengthfree.

(H)Vocacertou.Ultimamente, tenho estado to ocupado num

trabalho, que no tenho repousado suficientemente conformevoc v.Espero porm, espero com toda a sinceridade, quetudo agora tenha terminado e que eu esteja finalmente li vre.

(F) - Voc acertou; ul timamente tenho estado to envolvidonuma atividade que no me sobrou tempo suficiente paradescansar, como voc pode ver; mas espero, sinceramenteespero, que essa ocupao toda esteja chegando ao fim e que

dela esteja afinal livre.

S 42- I trembled excessively; I could not endure to think of,and far less to allude to, the occurrences of the precedingnight.

(H)Eu tremia muito.No podia sequer pensar, e muito menos,

aludir aos acontecimentos da noite anterior.

(F)Eu tremia incessantemente; no tinha coragem de pensar,e muito menos de falar, sobre o que ocorrera na noite anterior.

Again changes in punctuation were introduced in Honkissversion but not in Ferrazs: in the former semicolons were

replaced by periods. According to Baker (1996:182), whenpunctuation is strengthened periods replacing semicolons, andsemicolons replacing commas it is (...) part of a subconsciousstrategy to make things easier, simpler, by making them more


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clear-cut.The following examples can be analysed in terms of

explicitation, the second feature of translated texts mentionedearlier in this paper:

S 5- His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected hisfeaturesas beauti ful. Beautiful!

(H) Seus membros eram bem proporcionados,e eu haviaescolhido e trabalhado suas feiespara que fossem belas.Belas!

(F) Seus membros eram proporcionais, e eu lhe haviaselecionado feies belas.

S 7- His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of musclesand arteriesbeneath;

(H) Sua pele amarela mal cobria o relevo dos msculos e dasartriasque jaziam por baixo;

(F) A pele amarela mal cobria a trama de msculos e artriaspor baixo;

S 8- The differentaccidents of lifeare not so changeable asthe feelings of human nature.

(H)Os diferentesfatos da vida no so to variveis quanto os

sentimentos humanos.

(F)Os diferentesincidentes que ocorrem na vidano so tosujeitos mudana como as emoes da natureza humana.


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Whereas in S5 and S7 above Honkiss versions could be taken asexamples of explicitation inasmuch as phrases or words weretranslated as causal or relative clauses (as beautiful = paraque fossem belas and beneath= que jaziam por baixo), in S8Ferrazs version is the one which seemingly chose to be more explicitinasmuch as accidents of life was rendered as incidentes queocorrem na vida. Further examples of explicitation are shown next:

S 10 - For this I had deprived myself of rest andhealth.

(H) Para isso eu comprometera meu repouso e minhasade.

(F) Privei-me de descansoede cuidar da sade.

S 45- I dreadedto beholdthis monster, but I feared still morethat Henry should see him.

(H)Eu me apavoravaante a perspectiva de enfr entaraquelemonstro, mas temia ainda mais que Henry o visse.

(F) Temiaencontrar

o monstro, mas me apavorava ainda maisque Henry o visse.

S 3- It was already one in the morning; the rain pattereddismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burntout, when,by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I sawthe dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, anda convulsive motion agitated its limbs.

(H)Era j quase uma hora da madrugada; a chuva batiatristemente nas janelas, e minha vela estava quase consumidaquando,ao lusco-fusco da luz bruxuleanteprestes a extinguir-


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se, vi abrir-se o bao olho amarelo da criatura. Ela respiravacom dificuldade, e um movimento convulsivo agitava seusmembros.

(F) Era j quase uma da manh; a chuva tamborilava sombrianas vidraas, e minha vela estava quase no fim quando, sob aluz bruxuleanteda chama quase extinta, eu vi o bao olho

amarelo da criatura se abrir; respirou fundo, e um movimentoconvulsivo agitou seus membros.

In some of these examples, words were added as if in an effortto make ideas more explicit in translation. Ferraz chose theexpression de cuidar da sade as translation of health in S10;Honkis, on his turn, chose to add the expression ante a perspectivabefore the verb enfrentar, and both added (Ferraz less thanHonkis) to the phrase by the glimmer in an effort to explainnuances of the word glimmer as in sob a luz bruxuleante andao lusco-fusco da luz bruxuleante.

From the analysis above some conclusions can be drawn on thethesis stated earlier in this paper, based on which we set out toidentify the general tendency to simplification or disambiguationand explicitation in translated Brazilian Portuguese texts.

Conclusions

Investigation carried out here served not only the purpose ofidentifying the tendency to simplification or explicitation in translatedtexts, but also to test each feature through the use of tools available

on the softwareWordSmith Tools, which made such kind of analysispossible.The tendency towards simplification can be verified if we look

at the average sentence length in the two translations, which is lower


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than the one in the original. As pointed out by Baker (1996:181):translators, for instance, may be inclined to break up long sentencesin translations, so we might look at average sentence length in bothsource vs. target texts, and in original vs. translated language.

As for the punctuation in translated texts, there is evidence ofsimplification in examples taken from one of the two translations,in which punctuation is altered from a weaker to a stronger mark,

with semicolons replaced by periods.In the analysis of type-token ratio, which is a measure of therange of vocabulary that is used in a text or corpus (...) (Baker,1996:183), there are important clues related to simplification.Whatever the way it is calculated it should show whether translatedtexts use less or more varied vocabulary than originals. The use ofa less varied vocabulary should be interpreted as a process of lexicalsimplification. Contrary to what is expected, in the texts analysedthe number of typesas related to tokens in the two translations ishigher than the one in the original (see statistic list), providingevidence for the use of a more varied vocabulary in translations.

Moreover, lexical density in the two translations is higher thanthe one in the original. This fact contradicts the general tendencytowards simplification, stated in Baker (1996), when examininglexical density in translated texts. A higher lexical density in Brazilian

Portuguese translations could be explained as a tendency to avoidrepetitions in translations, a feature also mentioned by Bakerelsewhere (1993:244), quoting system theorists:

A tendency to avoid repetitions which occur in source texts,either by omitting them or rewording them (Shlesinger1991,Toury 1991a). Toury (ibid:188) reports this feature as one ofthe most persistent, unbending norms in translation in alllanguages studied so far.

This tendency should be investigated further for there is someevidence in the sample analysed that this could also be the case in


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translations into Brazilian-Portuguese (the word wretch, repeatedthroughout the original, rendered as four different words runa,desgraado, destr oo, monstruosidade in Honkiss translation,and as two different words desgraado, infel iz in Ferrazstranslation).

Concerning explicitation, the second feature analysed, if welook at text length in the two translations, as suggested by Baker,

we will find that both translations are shorter than the original (seestatistics list). According to Baker (1996:180) for a long time,many people have suggested, without carrying out any empiricalresearch, that translations are usually longer than their originals,irrespective of the language concerned. The sample taken fromthe parallel corpusstudied here clearly contradicts this belief.

However, if we look at conjunctions or pronouns which functionas relative conjunctions, in the frequency list previously given inthis paper, we clearly notice that the number of conjunctions ishigher in the two translations than in the original. In fact, if we alsocompare the examples provided for explicitation in translation suchas as beautiful = para que fossem belas, and beneath =que jaziam por baixo, in which words were translated as causalor relative clauses, we can expect that a high number of conjunctionsin translations, be they causal or whatever, might provide evidence

for explicitation.It should be emphasised, on the one hand, that these conclusionsare drawn from a sample of a subcorpus of translated texts, whichcannot be taken as representative of the overall population of literarytexts translated into Brazilian-Portuguese. Research work reportedhere points nevertheless to the relevance of an investigation of featuresof translated texts using comparablecorporaof Brazilian-Portuguesetexts. The availability of such representative translational corporainCORDIALL, would allow the features suggested by Baker to befurther tested and, consequently, either refuted or confirmed.

On the other hand, quantitative data should not be taken at facevalue but as one of the steps for the interpretation of translated texts


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as social practices. Concerning the research reported here, analysisof quantitative data would be a clue to an investigation of aspects ofthe social practice of translation in Brasil at the time these textswere translated which certainly influenced similarities ordifferences in the representation of monstrosity in translated texts.

Bibliography

Baker, M. (1993) Corpus linguistics and translation studies: implications andapplications, in Mona Baker, Gill Francis and Elena Tognini-Bonelli. Text andTechnology: In Honour of John Sinclai r. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins

Publishing Co, pp 233-250.

Baker, M. (1995) Corpora in translation studies: an overview and some suggestionsfor future research, Target International Journal of Translation Studies, 7:2,223-243.

Baker, M. (1996) Corpus-based translation studies: the challenges that lie ahead,in Harold Somers (ed.) Terminology, LSP and Translation: Studies in languageengineer ing in honour of Juan C. Sager. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John BenjaminsPublishing Co, pp 175-186.

Baker, Mona (2000) Towards a methodology for investigating the style of aliterary translator, Target International Journal of Translation Studies, 12:2,241-266.

Bassnett, S. (1994) Translation Studies. London/New York: Routledge.

Batista, Maria da Conceio (1999) Laboratr io de Leitura, Produo e Traduode Textos em Lnguas Clssicas e Modernas. Unpublished report to PROGRAD/UFMG.


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Kenny, Dorothy (2001)Lexis and Creativity in Translation: a Corpus-based Study.Manchester, UK/Northampton, MA: St. Jerome Publishing.

Kristeva, Julia (1982) Powers of Horror: an Essay on Abjection. New York:Columbia University Press.

Maia, Belinda (1998) Word order and the first person singular in Portuguese andEnglish, Meta Translators Journal, 43:4, 589-601.

Magalhes, Clia Maria (1997). Os Monstros e a Questo Racial na LiteraturaPs-colonial Brasi leira. Unpublished doctoral thesis.

Magalhes, Clia M. (2001) Pesquisas textuais/discursivas em traduo: o uso decorpora, in Adriana Pagano (org.) Metodologias de Pesquisa em Traduo. BeloHorizonte: POSLIN/FALE/UFMG .

Santos, Diana (1998) Perception verbs in English and Portuguese, in Stig Johanssonand Signe Oksefjell (eds.)Corpora and Cross-l inguistic Research: Theory, Method,and Case Studies. Amsterdam/Atlant, GA: Rodopi, pp 319-342.

Shelley, Mary (1994)Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus.London: Penguin.

Shelley, Mary (s/data)Frankenstein o Moderno Prometeu.Traduo de Micio

Araujo Jorge Honkis. So Paulo/Rio de Janeiro: Distribuidora Record.

Shelley, Mary (1998)Frankenstein, ou o Prometeu moderno.Traduo de GeraldoGalvo Ferraz. So Paulo: Editora tica.

Scott, Mike (1990-1996) WordSmith Tools Help. Microsoft Corp. V. 2.0, &Oxford University Press.

Zanettin, Federico (2000) Parallel corpora in translation studies: issues in corpusdesign and analysis, in Maeve Olohan (ed.) Intercultural Faultl ines: ResearchModels in Translati on Studies I Textual and Cogniti ve Aspects. Manchester, UK/Northampton, MA: St. Jerome Publishing, pp 105-118.


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APPENDIXMARY SHELLEYS FRANKENSTEIN(1994)

Chapter V

It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accom-plishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted toagony. I collected the instruments of life around me, that I mightinfuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. Itwas already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally againstthe panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmerof the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature

open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how

delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I hadendeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I hadselected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellowskin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath;his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly

whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid con-trast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colouras the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelledcomplexion and straight black lips.

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelingsof human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for thesole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I haddeprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour

that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beautyof the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled myheart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, Irushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my


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bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At lengthlassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured, and I threwmyself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few momentsof forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I wasdisturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in thebloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted andsurprized, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her

lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appearedto change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother inmy arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-wormscrawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep withhorror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, andevery limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light ofthe moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheldthe wretch - the miserable monster whom I had created. He heldup the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called,were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered someinarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He mighthave spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out,seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. Itook refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited,where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down

in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearingeach sound as if it were to announce the approach of the daemoniacalcorpse to which I had so miserably given life.

Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. Amummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous asthat wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then,but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion,it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.

I passed the night wretchedly. Sometimes my pulse beat so quicklyand hardly that I felt the palpitation of every artery; at others, Inearly sank to the ground through languor and extreme weakness.Mingled with this horror, I felt the bitterness of disappointment;


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dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a spacewere now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, theoverthrow so complete!

Morning, dismal and wet, at length dawned and discovered tomy sleepless and aching eyes the church of Ingolstadt, its whitesteeple and clock, which indicated the sixth hour. The porter openedthe gates of the court, which had that night been my asylum, and I

issued into the streets, pacing them with quick steps, as if I soughtto avoid the wretch whom I feared every turning of the street wouldpresent to my view. I did not dare return to the apartment which Iinhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by therain which poured from a black and comfortless sky.

I continued walking in this manner for some time, endeavouringby bodily exercise to ease the load that weighed upon my mind. Itraversed the streets without any clear conception of where I wasor what I was doing. My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear,and I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me:

Like one, that on a lonesome roadDoth walk in fear and dread,

And having once turned round walks on,And turns no more his head;

Because he knows, a frightful fiendDoth close behind him tread.*

Continuing thus, I came at length opposite to the inn at which thevarious diligences and carriages usually stopped. Here I paused, Iknew not why; but I remained some minutes with my eyes fixed ona coach that was coming towards me from the other end of the

street. As it drew nearer I observed that it was the Swiss diligence;it stopped just where I was standing, and on the door being opened,I perceived Henry Clerval, who, on seeing me, instantly sprungout. My dear Frankenstein, exclaimed he, how glad I am to seeyou! How fortunate that you should be here at the very moment of


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my alighting!Nothing could equal my delight on seeing Clerval; his presence

brought back to my thoughts my father, Elizabeth, and all thosescenes of home so dear to my recollection. I grasped his hand, andin a moment forgot my horror and misfortune; I felt suddenly, andfor the first time during many months, calm and serene joy. Iwelcomed my friend, therefore, in the most cordial manner, and

we walked towards my college. Clerval continued talking for sometime about our mutual friends and his own good fortune in beingpermitted to come to Ingolstadt. You may easily believe, said he,how great was the difficulty to persuade my father that all neces-sary knowledge was not comprised in the noble art of bookkeeping;and, indeed, I believe I left him incredulous to the last, for hisconstant answer to my unwearied intreaties was the same as that tothe Dutch schoolmaster in The Vicar of Wakefield: Ihave tenthousand florins a year without Greek, I eat heartily without Greek.But his affection for me at length overcame his dislike of learning,and he has permitted me to undertake a voyage of discovery to theland of knowledge.

It gives me the greatest delight to see you; but tell me how youleft my father, brothers, and Elizabeth.

Very well, and very happy, only a little uneasy that they hear

from you so seldom. By the bye, I mean to lecture you a little upontheir account myself. But, my dear Frankenstein, continued he,stopping short and gazing full in my face, I did not before remarkhow very ill you appear; so thin and pale; and look as if you hadbeen watching for several nights.

You have guessed right; I have lately been so deeply engaged inone occupation that I have not allowed myself sufficient rest, asyou see; but I hope, I sincerely hope, that all these employmentsare now at an end and that I am at length free.

I trembled excessively; I could not endure to think of, and farless to allude to, the occurrences of the preceding night. I walkedwith a quick pace, and we soon arrived at my college. I then


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reflected, and the thought made me shiver, that the creature whomI had left in my apartment might still be there, alive and walkingabout. I dreaded to behold this monster, but I feared still more thatHenry should see him. Intreating him, therefore, to remain a fewminutes at the bottom of the stairs, I darted up towards my ownroom. My hand was already on the lock of the door before I re-collected myself. I then paused, and a cold shivering came over

me. I threw the door forcibly open, as children are accustomed todo when they expect a spectre to stand in waiting for them on theother side; but nothing appeared. I stepped fearfully in: the apart-ment was empty, and my bedroom was also freed from its hideousguest. I could hardly believe that so great a good fortune could havebefallen me, but when I became assured that my enemy had indeedfled, I clapped my hands for joy and ran down to Clerval.

We ascended into my room, and the servant presently broughtbreakfast; but I was unable to contain myself. It was not joy onlythat possessed me; I felt my flesh tingle with excess of sensitiveness,and my pulse beat rapidly. I was unable to remain for a singleinstant in the same place; I jumped over the chairs, clapped myhands, and laughed aloud. Clerval at first attributed my unusualspirits to joy on his arrival, but when he observed me more at-tentively, he saw a wildness in my eyes for which he could, not

account, and my loud, unrestrained, heartless laughter frightenedand astonished him.My dear Victor, cried he, what, for Gods sake, is the matter?

Do not laugh in that manner. How ill you are! What is the cause ofall this?

Do not ask me, cried I, putting my hands before my eyes, forI thought I saw the dreaded spectre glide into the room; he cantell. Oh, save me! Save me! I imagined that the monster seizedme; I struggled furiously and fell down in a fit.

Poor Clerval! What must have been his feelings? A meeting,which he anticipated with such joy, so strangely turned to bitter-ness. But I was not the witness of his grief, for I was lifeless and


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did not recover my senses for a long, long time.This was the commencement of a nervous fever which confined

me for several months. During all that time Henry was my onlynurse. I afterwards learned that, knowing my fathers advancedage and unfitness for so long a journey, and how wretched mysickness would make Elizabeth, he spared them this grief by con-cealing the extent of my disorder. He knew that I could not have a

more kind and attentive nurse than himself; and, firm in the hopehe felt of my recovery, he did not doubt that, instead of doing harm,he performed the kindest action that he could towards them.

But I was in reality very ill, and surely nothing but the unboundedand unremitting attentions of my friend could have restored me tolife. The form of the monster on whom I had bestowed existencewas forever before my eyes, and I raved incessantly concerninghim. Doubtless my words surprized Henry; he at first believedthem to be the wanderings of my disturbed imagination, but thepertinacity with which I continually recurred to the same subjectpersuaded him that my disorder indeed owed its origin to someuncommon and terrible event.

By very slow degrees, and with frequent relapses that alarmedand grieved my friend, I recovered. I remember the first time Ibecame capable of observing outward objects with any kind of

pleasure, I perceived that the fallen leaves had disappeared andthat the young buds were shooting forth from the trees that shadedmy window. It was a divine spring, and the season contributedgreatly to my convalescence. I felt also sentiments of joy andaffection revive in my bosom; my gloom disappeared, and in ashort time I became as cheerful as before I was attacked by thefatal passion.

Dearest Clerval. exclaimed I, how kind, how very good youare to me. This whole winter, instead of being spent in study, asyou promised yourself, has been consumed in my sick room. Howshall I ever repay you? I feel the greatest remorse for thedisappointment of which I have been the occasion, but you will


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forgive me.You will repay me entirely if you do not discompose yourself,

but get well as fast as you can; and since you appear in such goodspirits, I may speak to you on one subject, may I not?

I trembled. One subject! What could it be? Could he allude to anobject on whom I dared not even think?

Compose yourself, said Clerval, who observed my change of

colour, I will not mention it if it agitates you; but your father andcousin would be very happy if they received a letter from you inyour own handwriting. They hardly know how ill you have been andare uneasy at your long silence.

Is that all, my dear Henry? How could you suppose that myfirst thought would not fly towards those dear, dear friends whom Ilove and who are so deserving of my love?

If this is your present temper, my friend, you will perhaps beglad to see a letter that has been lying here some days for you; it isfrom your cousin, I believe.

FRANKENSTEIN

Traduo de Ferraz (1998)

CAPTULO 5

Foi numa lgubre noite de novembro que eu contemplei o

resultado de meus esforos. Com uma ansiedade muito prxima daagonia reuni os instrumentos da vida em torno de mim, com osquais infundir uma centelha de vida a coisa inerte que jazia a meusps. Era j quase uma da manh; a chuva tamborilava sombria nasvidraas, e minha vela estava quase no fim quando, sob a luz


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bruxuleante da chama quase extinta, eu vi o bao olho amarelo dacriatura se abrir; respirou fundo, e um movimento convulsivo agitouseus membros.

Como posso descrever minhas emoes em face dessacatstrofe, ou como delinear o desgraado que com to infinitasdificuldades e cuidados eu me esforara em criar? Seus membroseram proporcionais, e eu lhe havia selecionado feies belas. Belas!

Pelo amor de Deus! A pele amarela mal cobria a trama de msculose artrias por baixo; seus cabelos eram de um negro lustroso, elisos; os dentes, de um branco perolado; mas essas exubernciasapenas faziam um contraste ainda mais horrvel com seus olhosdiludos, que pareciam ter a mesma cor das rbitasbranco-pardacentas, e com sua tez enrugada e seus duros lbiospretos.

Os diferentes incidentes que ocorrem na vida no so to sujeitos mudana como as emoes da natureza humana. Eu tinhatrabalhado duramente por quase dois anos, com o nico objetivo deinfundir vida a um corpo inanimado. Privei-me de descanso e decuidar da sade. Era algo que eu desejava com um ardor que excediaem muito qualquer moderao; mas agora que tinha terminado, abeleza do sonho se desvanecera, e horror e desgosto sufocantesenchiam meu corao. Sem poder suportar o aspecto do ser que eu

criara, sa correndo da sala e fiquei andando de um lado para outroem meu quarto, incapaz de acalmar minha mente para dormir. Afadiga enfim venceu o tumulto por que eu passava, e atirei-me cama vestido, esforando-me para conseguir alguns momentos deesquecimento. Mas foi em vo; dormi, de fato, mas fui perturbadopelos sonhos mais alucinados. Eu via Elizabeth, na sade mais per-feita, andando nas ruas de Ingolstadt. Encantado e surpreso, eu aabraava, mas ao dar o primeiro beijo em seus lbios, estes ficavamlvidos, com a cor da morte; suas feies se modificavam e euagora segurava em meus braos o cadver de minha me; umamortalha envolvia o seu corpo, e eu via os vermes nas dobras dotecido. Acordei num sobressalto, horrorizado; minha testa estava


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coberta de um suor frio, meus dentes batiam, todos os membrostremiam em convulso; foi quando, pela luz tnue e amarelada dalua que forava sua passagem pelas venezianas fechadas, percebio infeliz -o miservel monstro que eu havia criado. Ele segurava odossel da cama; e seus olhos, se assim se pode cham-los, estavamfixos em mim. Sua boca se abriu e ele murmurou uns sonsinarticulados, enquanto um sorriso franzia seu rosto. Talvez ele

tenha dito alguma coisa, mas eu no entendi nada; tinha uma moestendida, como que para me deter, mas eu escapei e corri escadaabaixo. Refugiei-me no ptio da casa em que morava, e l fiqueitodo o resto da noite, andando para l e para c na maior dasagitaes, escutando atentamente cada som, temendo que fosse oanuncio da vinda do cadver demonaco a que eu to miseravelmentedera vida.

Oh! Nenhum mortal poderia suportar o horror daquela face.Uma mmia trazida de volta vida no seria to hedionda quantoaquele infeliz. Eu o vira constantemente enquanto ainda no estavapronto; era feio, ento, mas quando seus msculos e juntas setornaram capazes de se movimentar, tornou-se uma coisa que nemmesmo Dante teria sido capaz de conceber.

Passei a noite miseravelmente. Por momentos, meu pulso batiato forte e to rpido que eu sentia todas as artrias palpitando;

noutros, eu quase desfalecia dados meu cansao e extrema fraqueza.Em meio a esse horror todo, sentia tambm a amargura dadecepo; os sonhos que por tanto tempo tinham sido meu alimentoe meu conforto eram agora o inferno para mim; e a mudana haviasido to rpida, a derrocada to definitiva!

A manh, sombria e mida, afinal chegou, revelando para meusolhos insones e doloridos a igreja de Ingolstadt, seu campanrio e orelgio, que indicava as seis da manh. O porteiro abriu os portesdo ptio que havia sido meu abrigo naquela noite, e eu sa para asruas, atravessando-as a passos rpidos, como se quisesse evitar oinfeliz, que ao virar cada esquina eu temia encontrar. No ousavaretornar ao apartamento em que morava, sentia-me mesmo impelido


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a continuar andando, ainda que encharcado pela chuva que vertiade um cu escuro e implacvel.

Continuei caminhando assim por algum tempo, tentando fazercom que o exerccio do corpo aliviasse o peso que eu tinha naconscincia. Atravessava as ruas sem qualquer noo de ondeestava ou do que fazia. Meu corao palpitava com a nusea domedo, e eu me apressava em passos irregulares, sem ter coragem

de olhar para trs:

Era eu como quem vai, com medo e com temor,Por deserto lugar,

E, tendo olhado pressa para trs, prossegueSem nunca mais olhar,

Porque bem sabe que um demnio assustadorPisa em seu calcanhar*.

Continuando assim, acabei indo dar em frente hospedaria ondeas carruagens e diligencias usualmente param. Ali me detive, semsaber por qu; mas fiquei por alguns minutos com os olhos fixosnum coche que vinha em minha direo do outro lado da rua. Aochegar mais perto percebi que era uma diligncia sua; parou bemonde eu estava e, ao ser aberta a porta, pude ver Henry Clerval

que, ao dar comigo, imediatamente saltou.- Meu caro Frankenstein - exclamou -, que bom ver voc! Que

sorte voc estar aqui bem no instante de meu desembarque!Nada podia se igualar ao meu deleite em encontrar Clerval; sua

presena trouxe de volta as lembranas de meu pai, Elizabeth, etodas essas cenas do lar to caras a minha memria. Apertei-lhe amo, e num instante esqueci meu horror e infortnio; senti de

repente, pela primeira vez em muitos meses, paz e uma serenaalegria. Dei as boas-vindas ao meu amigo, ento, do modo maiscordial, e caminhamos juntos em direo a universidade. Clervalprosseguiu um bom tempo falando sobre nossos amigos comuns esua prpria felicidade em ter tido a permisso de vir para Ingolstadt.


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- Voc pode imaginar facilmente - disse - o tamanho dadificuldade em convencer meu pai de que nem todo o conhecimentonecessrio se encontra na nobre arte da contabilidade; alis, acre-dito que no fim ele continuava no acreditando, pois sua respostaeterna as minhas incansveis splicas era a mesma do mestre-escolaholands em The vcar of Wakefield* : Ganho dez mil florins porano sem saber grego, como quanto quero sem saber grego. Mas a

afeio que ele tem por mim acabou superando sua averso aoconhecimento, e ele me permitiu que eu fizesse essa viagem dedescoberta a terra do saber.

- E um grande prazer v-lo de novo; mas conte-me como estomeu pai, meus irmos, e Elizabeth.

- Muito bem, muito felizes, s um pouco preocupados por recebernotcias suas to raramente. Alis, tenho o meu prprio sermopara fazer sobre o assunto. Mas, meu caro Frankenstein -continuouele, detendo-se e me encarando por inteiro -, no tinha notado oquanto voc parece estar doente; to magro e plido; parece terpassado muitas noites em claro.

- Voc acertou; ultimamente tenho estado to envolvido numaatividade que no me sobrou tempo suficiente para descansar, comovoc pode ver; mas espero, sinceramente espero, que essa ocupaotoda esteja chegando ao fim e que dela esteja afinal livre.

Eu tremia incessantemente; no tinha coragem de pensar, emuito menos de falar, sobre o que ocorrera na noite anterior.Andava com pressa, e logo estvamos em minha universidade. Entome ocorreu, e pensar isso me deu um arrepio, que a criatura queeu deixara em meu apartamento poderia ainda estar l, viva,andando por toda parte. Temia encontrar o monstro, mas meapavorava ainda mais que Henry o visse. Pedi-lhe ento que eleesperasse alguns minutos no comeo da escada, e precipitei-meat meu quarto. Minha mo estava j na maaneta da porta antesque eu pudesse me recompor. Parei por um instante, e um calafriopercorreu meu corpo. Escancarei ento a porta, como as crianascostumam fazer quando temem haver um espectro espera delas


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do outro lado; mas nada apareceu. Entrei temeroso: o apartamentoestava vazio, e tambm em meu quarto no encontrei mais meuabominvel hspede. Mal podia acreditar que tamanha sorte meacontecera, mas ao me assegurar de que meu inimigo tinha de fatofugido, bati palmas de alegria e desci correndo ate Clerval.

Subimos para o quarto, e o criado nos trouxe um caf da manh;mas eu no conseguia me conter. No era s a alegria que me

tomava; sentia minha pele arrepiar-se num excesso desensibilidade, e meu pulso acelerar-se. No conseguia ficar paradoum instante que fosse em lugar algum; pulava de uma cadeira paraoutra, batia palmas, ria alto. Clerval inicialmente atribuiu meuestado de esprito alegria por sua vinda, mas, ao me observarcom mais ateno, pde ver em meus olhos um desvario alem desua compreenso, e as minhas sonoras, incontidas, frouxasgargalhadas o assustavam, deixando-o perplexo.

- Meu caro Viktor - exclamou -, o que, pelo amor de Deus, estacontecendo? Pare de rir desse jeito. Voc est mesmo muitodoente! Qual a causa disso tudo?

- No pergunte a mim - gritei, cobrindo os olhos com as mos,porque acreditei estar vendo o temido espectro insinuando-se noquarto -, ele pode responder-lhe. Ah, me salve! Socorro!

Imaginei que o monstro me agarrara; lutei para me soltar dele e

fui ao cho com um ataque.Pobre Clerval! O que ele estaria sentindo? Um encontro queimaginara com tanta alegria tornava-se assim amargo e de umamaneira to estranha. Mas no pude testemunhar seu pesar, poisestava desmaiado e demoraria muito, muito tempo para recobraros sentidos.

Foi o comeo de uma febre nervosa que me deixou invlido pormuitos meses. Durante todo esse tempo Henry foi meu nicoenfermeiro. Depois eu ficaria sabendo que, considerando a idadeavanada de meu pai e sua falta de condies para uma viagem tolonga e o quo miservel ficaria Elizabeth com minha doena, elepoupou-os desse sofrimento e no os informou da gravidade de


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minha doena. Sabia que cuidados mais atenciosos e gentis que osdele eu no encontraria; e, tendo a firme esperana de que eu merestabeleceria, no teve dvida de que nada de mal havia nisso,era, ao contrrio, a atitude mais gentil para com eles.

Mas, na realidade, eu estava muito doente e, no fossem oscuidados ilimitados e ininterruptos de meu amigo, certo que nadame teria feito voltar vida. A forma do monstro ao qual eu dera vida

aparecia sem parar diante de meus olhos, e eu deliravaincessantemente sobre ele. Sem dvida minhas palavrassurpreenderam Henry; no inicio acreditou que eram os desvarios deminha imaginao perturbada, mas a persistncia com que eucontinuamente voltava ao mesmo assunto acabou convencendo-o deque meu distrbio tinha como origem algum evento incomum e terrvel.

Pouco a pouco, e com freqentes recadas, que preocupavam edesconsolavam meu amigo, fui me recuperando. Lembro-me deque da primeira vez em que pude de novo observar os objetos domundo exterior com alguma espcie de prazer, vi que as folhascadas j haviam desaparecido e que os novos brotos j nasciamnos galhos das rvores que sombreavam minha janela. Foi umaprimavera divina, e a estao contribuiu muito para minhaconvalescena. Sentia reviverem em meu interior a alegria e osafetos; minha depresso se fora, e em pouco tempo eu estava to

animado quanto antes de ter sido acometido por aquela paixo fatal.- Carssimo Clerval - exclamei -, como voc tem sido gentil,bom para mim. O inverno inteiro, em vez de estudar, o que vocprometera a si mesmo, voc gastou em meu quarto de doente. Comopoderei algum dia retribuir-lhe? Sinto um enorme remorso peladecepo que fui para voc, mas voc me perdoar um dia.

- Retribuio mais que suficiente sua j ser se voc no ficaragitado, e tratar de ficar bom o mais rpido que puder; e j quevoc parece estar de to bom humor, posso-lhe falar de um certoassunto?

Eu tremi. Um certo assunto! Que poderia ser? Estaria ele sereferindo aquilo em que eu no ousava nem sequer pensar?


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- Acalme-se - disse Clerval, que percebera a mudana em mim-, no me estenderei se for para voc motivo de agitao; mas seupai e sua prima ficariam muito contentes se recebessem uma cartasua, de seu prprio punho. Eles mal sabem quo doente voc estevee esto preocupados com seu silncio.

- s isso, meu caro Henry? Como voc pode imaginar queminha primeira preocupao no seria em relao a essas pessoas

to caras, que eu amo tanto e tanto merecem meu amor?- Se esse o seu estado de esprito agora, meu amigo, talvezfique feliz em ler uma carta que h alguns dias espera sua ateno; da sua prima, creio.

FRANKENSTEINTraduo de Honkis (s/d)

CAPTULO 5

Foi numa sombria noite de novembro que eu contemplei arealizao de minha obra. Com uma ansiedade que quase tocava asraias da agonia, tomei dos instrumentos que estavam a minha volta,a fim de que eu pudesse infundir uma centelha de vida na coisa inerteque jazia aos meus ps. Era j quase uma hora da madrugada; achuva batia tristemente nas janelas, e minha vela estava quase

consumida quando, ao lusco-fusco da luz bruxuleante prestes aextinguir-se, vi abrir-se o bao olho amarelo da criatura. Ela respiravacom dificuldade, e um movimento convulsivo agitava seus membros.

Como posso descrever minhas emoes ante aquela catstrofe,como reescrever aquela runa que eu, com esforo infinito e zelo,


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havia tentado formar? Seus membros eram bem proporcionados, eeu havia escolhido e trabalhado suas feies para que fossem belas.Belas! Meu Deus! Sua pele amarela mal cobria o relevo dosmsculos e das artrias que jaziam por baixo; seus cabelos eramcorridos e de um negro lustroso; seus dentes alvos como prolas.

Todas essas exuberncias, porm, no formavam seno umcontraste horrvel com seus olhos desmaiados, quase da mesma

cor acinzentada das rbitas onde se cravavam, e com a peleencarquilhada e os lbios negros e retos.Os diferentes fatos da vida no so to variveis quanto os

sentimentos humanos. H dois anos que eu vinha trabalhando como nico objetivo de insuflar vida num corpo inanimado. Para issoeu comprometera meu repouso e minha sade. Eu o havia desejadocom um ardor que excedia moderao, mas agora, que haviaterminado, desvanecera-se a beleza do sonho, e meu corao seenchia de horror e asco. Incapaz de suportar o aspecto do ser queeu havia criado, sa correndo do aposento, e continuei durante muitotempo a andar pelo meu quarto, sem poder dormir. Por fim, aqueletumulto cedeu lugar a uma grande lassido, e eu me atirei na cama,vestido como estava, tentando alguns momentos de esquecimento.

Tudo, porm, foi em vo. Na verdade, dormi, mas fui perturbadopelos sonhos mais violentos. Julguei ver Elizabeth estuante de sade,

caminhando pelas ruas de Ingolstadt. Deliciado e surpreso,abracei-a, porm ao beij-la nos lbios eles se tomaram lvidoscom a cor da morte; suas feies mudaram, e eu tive a impressoque segurava em meus braos o cadver de minha me; um sudrioenvolvia-lhe o corpo, e eu via os vermes rastejando pelas dobras dopano. Acordei cheio de horror; um suor frio cobria minha testa,meus dentes batiam, e todos os meus membros se convulsionaramquando, luz plida e amarela da Lua - que forava a passagempelos vidros das janelas - vi o desgraado, o infeliz monstro que eucriara. Ele afastara o reposteiro da cama, e seus olhos, se queassim podiam ser chamados, estavam fixados em mim. Seusmaxilares abriram-se, e ele murmurou alguns sons inarticulados,


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enquanto uma careta enrugava seu rosto. Talvez ele tenha falado,mas eu no ouvi; uma mo se estendeu como se quisessesegurar-me, porm eu fugi correndo pelas escadas. Refugiei-meno ptio da casa onde eu morava, e ali passei o resto da noite,andando de um lado para o outro na maior agitao, escutandoatentamente qualquer som, como se ele fosse anunciar aaproximao do cadver demonaco ao qual to desgraadamente

eu havia dado a vida.Oh! Nenhum mortal seria capaz de suportar o horror daquelerosto. Uma mmia revivida no seria to horrorosa quanto aqueledestroo. Eu o contemplara antes de terminar meu trabalho; ele erafeio, porm quando aqueles msculos e articulaes passaram a semover, ele se tornou uma coisa que nem Dante poderia ter concebido.

Passei a noite arrasado. Ora minha pulsao era to rpida eforte que eu sentia a palpitao de todas as artrias, ora, eu quasecaa no cho, enlanguecido por uma fraqueza extrema. Misturadoa esse horror, eu experimentava a amargura do desapontamento;sonhos que durante tanto tempo foram um alimento e um descansose haviam transformado num verdadeiro inferno para mim; e amudana fora to rpida, a subverso to completa!

Por fim, o dia nasceu triste e mido descobrindo para meusolhos insones a igreja de Ingolstadt, cujo relgio do campanrio

branco indicava seis horas. O porteiro abriu os portes do ptio quefora o meu asilo noturno, e eu me esgueirei para as ruas, andandocom passo rpido como se procurasse evitar a monstruosidade queeu temia ver surgir a cada esquina. No ousava retornar aoapartamento que eu habitava, mas me sentia impelido a correr,embora encharcado pela chuva que caa de um cu negro e desolado.

Durante algum tempo, continuei a caminhar assim, procurandocom aquele exerccio fsico aliviar a carga que pesava em minhamente. Eu atravessava as ruas sem noo alguma de onde estavaou do que estava fazendo. Meu corao batia atormentado pelomedo, e eu corria com passos irregulares, no ousando olhar minha volta:


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Como algum que numa estrada solitria,Caminha temeroso e aterrorizado,E, tendo olhado em derredor, avana,Sem virar mais a cabea;Por saber que um terrvel inimigoAproxima-se por trs dele. (*)

Assim continuando, cheguei ao outro lado da estalagem onde asvrias carruagens e diligncias costumavam parar. Ali estaquei,sem saber por qu; mas permaneci alguns minutos com o olharpousado num coche que vinha em minha direo, da outraextremidade da rua. Quando ele chegou mais perto, vi que era adiligncia da Sua. Parou bem onde eu estava e, quando a porta seabriu, enxerguei Henry Clerval que, ao me ver, saltouimediatamente.

- Meu caro Frankenstein - exclamou ele -, que satisfao emrev-lo! Que sorte encontrar voc aqui no justo momento em queeu ia apear!

Nada poderia igualar o prazer de ver Clerval; sua presenatrouxe-me a lembrana de meu pai, Elizabeth, e de todas as cenasdomsticas, to queridas minha memria. Apertei sua mo e,por um momento esqueci o meu horror e a minha infelicidade;

senti-me de repente, e pela primeira vez durante muitos meses,invadido por uma alegria calma e serena. Foi, portanto, da maneiramais cordial que eu dei as boas-vindas ao meu amigo e, caminhamospara o meu colgio. Clerval continuou falando sobre nossos amigoscomuns e da sua boa sorteem ter conseguido permisso para virpara Ingolstadt.

- Voc bem pode imaginar como foi difcil - disse ele -persuadir meu pai de que todo o conhecimento necessrio no se

restringia nobre arte da contabilidade; e, com efeito, acreditoque o deixei meio abalado, pois suas respostas aos meus constantesrogos eram as mesmas que as do mestre-escola holands no Vigriode Wakefield: Eu ganho 10 mil florins por ano sem saber grego, e


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como muito bem sem grego. Sua afeio por mim, porm, acabouvencendo sua relutncia contra o aprender, e assim ele permitiuque eu fizesse uma viagem terra do conhecimento.

- com a maior satisfao que o vejo; mas fale-me de meu pai,de meus irmos e de Elizabeth.

- Todos muito bem e muito felizes, apenas um pouco preocupadospor terem notcias suas to raramente. A propsito, eu mesmo

quero falar-lhe sobre o que eles pensam. Mas, meu caroFrankenstein - continuou ele, parando e olhando-me em cheio -,no tinha reparado como voc parece doente, to magro e to plido.Voc tem o aspecto de quem passou muitas noites acordado.

- Voc acertou. Ultimamente, tenho estado to ocupado numtrabalho, que no tenho repousado suficientemente conforme vocv. Espero porm, espero com toda a sinceridade, que tudo agoratenha terminado e que eu esteja finalmente livre.

Eu tremia muito. No podia sequer pensar, e muito menos ,aludiraos acontecimentos da noite anterior. Eu caminhava depressa, elogo chegamos ao colgio. Ento refleti, e esse pensamento metrouxe calafrios, que a criatura que eu deixara em meu apartamentoainda podia estar ali, viva e andando. Eu me apavorava ante aperspectiva de enfrentar aquele monstro, mas temia ainda maisque Henry o visse. Pedindo-lhe, portanto, que esperasse um pouco

no patamar da escada, corri para o meu quarto. Antes que dessepor mim, j estava com a mo no trinco da porta. Parei, ento,trespassado por um calafrio. Abri a porta com violncia, comofazem as crianas, quando ,esperam que um fantasma as estejaesperando do outro lado, porm nada apareceu. Entrei receoso; oapartamento estava vazio, e meu quarto de dormir tambm se achavalivre daquele hspede horrvel. Mal podia crer em tantasorte, depoisque me assegurei de que o meu inimigo havia, realmente, desapa-recido. Bati palmas de alegria, e desci ao encontro de Clerval.

Subimos para o meu quarto, e o criado trouxe o caf, mas euno me podia conter. No era apenas a alegria o que me invadia;eu sentia minha carne vibrar com um excesso de sensibilidade, e o


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pulso bater mais rapidamente. No podia ficar parado um instantenum mesmo lugar; eu pulava por sobre as cadeiras, batia palmas eria alto. Primeiro, Clerval atribuiu aquela excepcional disposio sua chegada, mas, quando me observou mais atentamente, notouum selvagem brilho no meu olhar que ele no podia explicar, ficandoassustado e espantado com meu riso frouxo, alto e contnuo.

- Meu caro Victor - gritou ele -, pelo amor de Deus, que que h?

No ria assim. Voc est muito doente! Qual a causa de tudo isso?- No me pergunte - clamei eu, cobrindo os olhos com as mos,pois eu julguei estar vendo o horroroso espectro esgueirar-se paradentro do quarto. - Ele pode lhe dizer. Oh! Salve-me! Salve-me! -Eu imaginava que o monstro estava me agarrando; luteidesesperadamente e ca desmaiado.

Pobre Clerval! Que no estaria imaginando? Um encontro, queele antecipara com tanta alegria, transformava-se numa. verdadeiraamargura. Eu no entanto no testemunhei sua dor, pois me achavasem sentidos, s voltando a mim muito tempo depois.

Este foi o incio de uma febre nervosa que me reteve no. leitovrios meses. Durante todo esse tempo, Henry foi meu nicoenfermeiro. Soube depois que, considerando a idade avanada demeu pai que o impedia de fazer uma viagem to longa, e sentindo oquanto Elizabeth ficaria abalada com a minha. doena, ele lhes

poupou esta dor, escondendo-lhes a extenso do meu mal. Clervalsabia que eu no podia contar com um enfermeiro mais bondoso eatento do que ele, e firme na esperana de me recuperar, no tevedvidas de que, em vez de causar mal, praticava uma boa ao,assim agindo para com eles.

Mas, na realidade, eu estava muito doente, no restando, dvidade que s os ilimitados e constantes cuidados de meu amigo foramcapazes de me restituir a vida. A forma do monstro a que eu tinhadado vida estava sempre diante de meus olhos, e eu vociferavasem cessar contra ele. Sem dvida, minhas palavras devem tersurpreendido Henry. Primeiro ele achou que se tratava de um delrioda minha imaginao perturbada, mas a constncia com que eu me


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referia ao mesmo assunto persuadiu-o de que, com efeito, a minhadoena se devia a um acontecimento terrvel e anormal.

Muito vagarosamente, e com freqente recadas que alarmavame entristeciam meu amigo, eu me recuperei. Recordo que a primeiravez que fui capaz de observar os objetos exteriores, com um certoprazer, percebi que as folhas do outono tinham desaparecido e dadolugar a jovens botes que brotavam das rvores que ensombreciam

minha janela. Era uma primavera divina, e a estao contribuiupara minha recuperao. Experimentei, tambm, renascerem emmeu peito sentimentos de alegria e de afeio. A tristezadesaparecera e, em pouco tempo, tornei-me to animado quantoantes de ser atacado pela paixo fatal.

- Querido Clerval - exclamei -, como voc bom para mim.Todo este inverno, em vez de estudar, conforme prometeu a simesmo, voc passou no meu quarto de doente. Como podereipagar-lhe tudo isso? Sinto um grande remorso por ter sido causadessa desiluso, mas voc h de me perdoar.

- Eu me sentirei inteiramente recompensado se voc no fizerextravagncias e procurar se restabelecer o mais depressa possvel;e desde que voc parece estar com uma to boa disposio, possofalar-lhe sobre um assunto, posso?

Eu tremi. Um assunto! Que seria? Iria ele aludir a um assunto

sobre o qual eu nem ousava pensar?- Acalme-se - disse Clerval que reparou na alterao da minhacor. - Eu no tocarei nele, se isso o faz ficar agitado, mas seu paie sua prima sentir-se-iam muito felizes se recebessem uma cartaescrita por sua prpria mo. Eles ignoram o quanto voc estevemal, e esto muito preocupados com o seu longo silncio.

- Ah, isso, Henry? Como pde voc imaginar que os meusprimeiros pensamentos no iriam para aqueles amigos queridos,que eu amo e que tanto so dignos do meu amor?

features in translated brazilian portuguese texts: a corpus-based research

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