LES « TACHES BLANCHES » DANS LA CARTOGRAPHIE DE LA TRADUCTION: OEUVRES JAMAIS OU PEU TRADUITES, TRADUCTIONS SANS SUCCE ̀S D’OE UVRES PRESTIGIEUSES

Historiographers of translation have made great efforts to identify translations of more or less famous works, to sift through them and to give precise descriptions, which quite often involve value judgements. The history of translation is – with a few exceptions – a history of success. What interest us here, on the other hand, are the failures and shortcomings that can be observed in this field, a dangerous subject of investigation insofar as it leads to risky speculations. Why have certain works, considered to be an integral part of the original literature, found little or no response from readers of other languages? Is this due to intrinsic characteristics of the works in question or, at least partly, to unpredictable reactions of the translation market? Is there a literary production that is less suitable for translation than another, or do translators, with their specific predilections and skills, influence the balance of exchange between different literatures, often unintentionally? The focus of this article is on classical French tragedy and a few German authors who are appreciated by German speakers but little known elsewhere.