Translating Neruda: Femininity and Sensuality ... - Triceratops Home

Mueller 30
we see how clarification according to English grammatical rules can result in a loss of or
change in meaning from the source text. In addition to this loss of ambiguity, however, is
the loss of Neruda’s specific vocabulary choice that works to enhance the sense of
femininity in Spanish. He uses the word “vientre,” which has two possible translations.
While “belly,” used by all four translators, is an accurate literal translation, this choice
neglects the potential extension of the feminine identity of the onion with the alternate
meaning, “womb.” This second meaning also fits with the birth narrative in the
beginning of the poem, supporting Neruda’s description of the “milagro” of the onion’s
development and the birth of the onion’s leaves.
The connotation of certain words, both in Spanish and in English, serves to either
build or lessen the femininity of the poem. Neruda’s sexualized description of the
cooking process—“deshaces / tu globo de frescura / en la consumación / ferviente de la
olla”— is a good example of this. Mitchell’s translation maintains the visceral, physical
action of Neruda’s phrase, with “you undo / your globe of freshness / in the fervent
consummation / of the cooking pot.” Jacketti maintains the concept of cooking as union
with “you break / your fresh globe / in sizzling marriage / with the stew pot,” but
“sizzling marriage” lacks the explicit sexuality of the original and refocuses the reader on
the culinary aspect of the image with its stovetop connotation. Krabbenhoft directly
translates “consumación” as “consummation,” like Mitchell, but again relates it more
closely to the culinary realm by choosing “boiling” for “ferviente.” Additionally, his
translation of “globo” as “balloon” destroys the sensuality of the phrase by using an
overly specific and illogical translation of the word that does not fit with the context of
the poem. Finally, Lozano gives us “you undo your bulb of freshness / in the hot