Violence towards Mary

In the story, attitudes towards children and corporal punishment are means of controlling, teach-ing and punishteach-ing children. In the followteach-ing passage, the maid Mrs. Medlock has found Mary in a corridor where she is not allowed to be. Mrs. Medlock is angry and uses force as well as threatens Mary with a corporal punishment as she takes her back to the nursery:

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ST (41): ‘You didn’t hear anything of the sort,’ said the housekeeper. ‘You come along back to your own nursery or I’ll box your ears.’ And she took her by the arm and half pushed, half pulled her up one passage and down another, until she pushed her in at the door of her own room. (p. 48)

TT1 (42): –Vielä sinä mitä kuulit, sanoi taloudenhoitajatar. –Mene heti takaisin omaan kamariisi tai saat korvillesi. Ja hän puristi Marya käsivarresta ja puolittain tuuppi, puolittain veti häntä käytävästä toiseen, kunnes työnsi hänet ovesta sisään hänen omaan huoneeseensa (p. 46)

[–You most certainly did not hear, said the housekeeper. –Go back to your chamber or I will box your ears. And she squeezed her arm and half pushed, half pulled her from a passage to another until she pushed her in at the door of her own chamber.]

TT2 (43): ”Et taatusti kuullut”, rouva kiisti. ”Ja nyt sinä tulet takaisin omaan huo-neeseesi, tai muuten minä annan sinulle korvatillikan.” Rouva tarttui uudelleen Ma-ryn käteen, puolittain työnsi ja puolittain veti hänet ensin yhteen ja sitten vielä toi-seen käytävään ja tuuppasi hänet lopulta lastenkamariin. (p. 49)

[“You most certainly did not hear”, the madam disputed. “And now you will come back to your own room or I will give you a clip on the ear.” Madam grabbed Mary’s arm again, half pushed, and half pulled her to one and then another passage and finally shoved her to the chamber.]

TT3 (44): ”Hupsutusta, et sinä mitään kuullut”, taloudenhoitaja sanoi. ”Nyt mars takaisin omaan huoneeseesi tai saat korvatillikan.” Rouva Medlock talutti Marya käytäviä pitkin käsivarresta kiinni pitäen, kunnes he saapuivat Maryn huoneen luo.

Rouva Medlock tuuppasi tytön sisään. (p. 63)

[“Nonsense, you heard nothing” the housekeeper said. Now go on, back to your room or I will give you a clip on the ear. Mrs. Medlock walked Mary along the passages by holding her by the arm until they arrived at Mary’s room.

Mrs. Medlock shoved Mary in]

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In the passage above, Mrs. Medlock threatens to box Mary’s ears: You come along back to your own nursery or I’ll box your ears. This element is retained in all the Finnish translations. The description of how Mrs. Medlock uses force while she takes Mary to her nursery shows some diversity. Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) translation has to some extent toned down the use of force.

While it is described in the source text that she took her by the arm and half pushed, half pulled her up one passage and down another, until she pushed her in at the door of her own room, Emilia Numminen (TT3) has omitted the elements of pushing and pulling. Mr Medlock rather walks Mary along the passages by holding her by the arm: [r]ouva Medlock talutti Marya käytäviä pitkin käsivarresta kiinni pitäen, kunnes he saapuivat Maryn huoneen luo. In the last sentence, it is however described how Mrs. Medlock shoves Mary to her nursery: [r]ouva Med-lock tuuppasi tytön sisään. Thus, there is still an element of coercion present. Both Toini Swan (TT1) and Sari Karhulahti (TT2) have retained the elements of pushing and pulling of the source text in the translations.

Another example of violence is an incident during which the gardener Ben Weartherstaff threatens Mary, as he finds out she is the garden without permission. At first, Ben does not see Dickon and Colin who are both in the garden as well and he expresses his anger at Mary:

ST (45): ‘If I wasn’t a bechelder, an’ tha’ was a wench o’ mine,’ he cried, ‘I’d give thee a hidin’!’. He mounted another step threateningly, as if it were his ener-getic intention to jump down and deal with her; but as she came towards him he evidently thought better of it and stood on the top step of his ladder shaking his fist down at her (p. 166)

TT1 (46): – Jos sinä vain olisit minun kakarani, niin kyllä nyt saisit kyytiä, hän huusi.

Ukko kiipesi uhkaavasti askelman ylemmäksi tikapuillaan ikään kuin olisi aikonut hypätä alas kurittamaan tyttöä. Mutta kun Mary astui askeleen lähemmäksi, hän malttoi mielensä ja tyytyi heristämään nyrkkiään tikapuittensa päästä. (p. 163)

[If you only were my child, you would be in for it, he yelled.

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The old man climbed threateningly one step up the ladder as if he had intended to jump down to discipline the girl. But when Mary took a step closer, he kept his temper and settled for shaking his fist from the top step of the ladder.]

TT2 (47): ”Jos minä en olis poikamies ja sinä olisit minun likka, minä löylyttäisin sinut!” hän huusi.

Hän nousi vielä yhden askelman uhkaavan näköisenä aivan kuin olisi lujasti päättänyt hypätä maahan ja ryhtyä sanoista tekoihin mutta tuli sitten selvästi toi-siin ajatuktoi-siin ja jäi tikkaitten ylimmälle askelmalle heristämään nyrkkiä lähesty-välle Marylle. (p.174–175)

[“If I wasn’t a bachelor and you were my daughter, I would give you a hiding!”

he yelled.

He climbed another step looking threatening as if he had sturdily decided to jump on the ground and move from words to actions but then he clearly had second thoughts and stayed on the top step to shake his fist at Mary who was approaching.]

TT (48): ”Jos en olisi poikamies ja sinä olisit minun kersani, niin kyllä minä si-nulle taivaan merkit näyttäisin!” mies huusi. Mies astui askeleen korkeammalle tikapuillaan aivan kuin hänen tarkoituksensa olisi hypätä alas ja kurittaa Marya.

Maryn mennessä lähemmäs mies näytti tulevan toisiin ajatuksiin. Hän jäi keikku-maan ylimmälle askelmalle ja pui yhä nyrkkiään tytölle. (p. 212)

[“If I wasn’t a bachelor and you were my child, I would show my rage at you!”

the man yelled. The man climbed a step up on the ladder as if his intention was to jump down and to discipline Mary. As Mary went closer, he seemed to have changed his mind. He stayed rocking on the top step and still shook his fist at Mary]

In this passage, Ben says to Mary that if she were his daughter, he would give her a hiding, which again reflects a world view according to which parental corporal punishment is allowed.

All the Finnish translations have retained the threat of violence, although it can again be inter-preted that the first sentence of both Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) and Toini Swan’s (TT1) trans-lation contains euphemisms that do not directly refer to a violent act, such as hitting. Emilia Numminen’s translation has the expression kyllä minä sinulle taivaan merkit näyttäisin! (~ I

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would show my rage at you; literally: I would show you the signs from heaven) whereas Toini Swan’s (TT1) translation uses the expression that kyllä saisit kyytiä (~you would be in for it).

Sari Karhulahti’s (TT2) translation has the expression löylyttää, (to give a hiding) which indi-cates to violence more directly but can also be interpreted to be somewhat metaphorical.

In the translation of the source-text expression, as if it were his energetic intention to jump down and deal with her both Toini Swan’s (TT1) and Emilia Numminen’s (TT3) trans-lations express how Ben’s intention is to discipline Mary, which again is a reference to corporal punishment. While the expression in the source text is indirect, the verb kurittaa (to discipline) is a more direct reference to corporal punishment. Sari Karhulahti’s (TT2) translation, on the other hand, uses a more implicit expression ryhtyä sanoista tekoihin (turn words into action) which refers back to the expression löylyttää. To sum up, it could be said that the all the trans-lations retain the violent elements of the source text, despite the occasional usage of implicit or even euphemistic expressions.