The Complete Romanian Editions of Les Fleurs Du Mal

Abstract

This article analyzes the complete Romanian editions of Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal, focusing on the main editions published to date and the challenges involved in translating this emblematic work in full. It starts from the observation that the intention to produce a complete version of Baudelaire’s work has often been expressed, but rarely carried out, due to aesthetic, technical and interpretative difficulties. The first anthological efforts are discussed at length - in particular the significant contribution of Geo Dumitrescu, who, in the absence of a single translation, coordinated a composite edition, brought together from variants belonging to several translators. Subsequently, three major editorial projects from 1991 - signed by Al. Cerna-Rădulescu, C. D. Zeletin and Radu Cârneci - are analyzed, which represent the first successful attempts to offer the public a complete translation made by a single author. Each translator is presented both through the prism of their selection and organization of poetic material, and by reflecting their own vision of translation as an act of creation and aesthetic reconfiguration. The article also pays special attention to the recent edition signed by Octavian Soviany (2014), remarkable for its completeness, but lacking adequate critical reception, despite the artistic quality recognized by informed readers. In parallel, the conceptual difficulties related to the notion of “complete edition” are discussed, which vary depending on the French sources consulted by the translators and the delimitations imposed by the publishers. Peritextual resources (prefaces, introductions, translator's notes) are also highlighted as relevant tools in shaping the translation profile. The comparative analysis of these volumes shows that the complete translation of The Flowers of Evil is not a simple exercise in textual fidelity, but a complex form of dialogue between the original poet and the poet-translator, which simultaneously requires deep identification, critical distance and technical mastery of lyrical language.