Po cichu. Po polsku. Po łacinie. O debiucie Kamasutry

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.