Translation as a Manifestation of the Paradox of the Veil in ṭawq al-ḥamām (The Dove’s Necklace) by Raja Alem

This thesis develops a theoretical approach grounded in psychoanalysis and semiotics for the analysis of the symbol of the veil in Raja Alem’s ṭawq al-ḥamām (The Dove’s Necklace). It explores how such an approach can help us to better understand the processes of translation as a manifestation of the paradox of the symbol of the veil: (i) that the veil, whether understood in a physical or more abstract sense, simultaneously involves concealing and revealing; and (ii) that translation is an act of both undressing (unveiling) and re-clothing (re-veiling) the text.
A semiotic approach is employed both to analyse the symbolism of the veil in the ST and its translation in the TT and to examine how the metaphor of the veil can help us understand the complex process of literary translation. The metaphor of the veil accentuates the complexity of the literary text as a multi-layered text.