Abstract: | The subject of the present article is the history of European debut of
the infamous Indian treaty of the sage Vatsyayana, Kama Sutra. Special
attention has been directed at circumstances connected with the translation
of the work into the Polish language, presenting the most important
editions announced from the year 1922 to 1985. The translator of the
first Polish edition is still unknown, what is more, in the version prepared
by him, following the pattern of the German copy, the text was
partially written in Latin. This fact, together with earlier interferences in
the plot performed by other translators, is an example of problems not
only with censorship, but also with language. By means of modification
to language structure, a boundary was drawn between a text accessible
and a text inaccessible to the reader. Moreover, each translator adopted
different methods and selected different fragments. The article demonstrates
the scope of this phenomenon, and its influence on the present
form and status of Kama Sutra. Also, the issue of transgressing the borders
of custom has been dealt with, which is related to the publication of
the work in richly illustrated editions. |