Finding the Lost Boys; Translating Peter Pan for a dual audience

Abstract

“The ambivalent text is deliberately aimed toward two different groups of readers: children and adults” (Shavit, Ambivalent Texts 78). Many children’s novels are written for both children and adults. The phenomenon is also called crosswriting. It is an upcoming trend and happening more and more, but it is not a new phenomenon. Peter Pan is a prime example of a crosswritten work as it is often considered to be much more than a children’s book. Both the subject and style reflect how the novel is written for both children and adults. The dual nature of the novel has consequences for the way the text is translated. One the one hand the novel is often seen as children’s literature and the strategies that are commonly used for this also play a role in the translation of Peter Pan. However the novel is also a classic, and attracts an adult audience as well, this requires a different approach. This thesis deals with the restrains that are caused by the dualistic nature of Peter Pan; different problems are discussed and solutions to these problems are considered in order to find a balance between the two sides of Peter Pan. As a conclusion to this an annotated translation is made of two different excerpts of the novel in which different aspects of the text manifest. The translation is made in reference with existing translations and adaptations.