Pierre Menard as logocentric translator: a reappraisal of Rosemary Arrojo’s analysis of “Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote”

Abstract

This article revaluates Brazilian theorist Rosemary Arrojo's reading of "Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote", by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, proposing that her claims might be excessive, and calling into question the extent to which "Pierre Menard" can be read as a piece on translation. The first section briefly sketches deconstruction's view on language and Arrojos' own work; the second summarizes Arrojo's analysis as contained in Oficina de tradução; the third exposes its limitations: its allegorical nature, its drawing upon a problematically amalgamating take on reading, interpretation and translation, the story's difficult alignment with certain logocentric tenets and internal limitations of logocentrism's take on language; the final section evaluates the role of George Steiner's commentary on the short story as formative of the opinion that "Pierre Menard" is about translation.