The new English editions of the books by the British writer Roald Dahl are plagued with changes that consist of deleting phrases and words that have been considered discriminatory, as well as altered expressions or even the gender of some secondary characters, which has been seen evaded or subverted. The mockery of ugliness, baldness or physical defects, the usual resources of Dahl’s scathing irony, have been largely limited.
‘Matilda, the musical’, a song to the rebellion that Netflix wants to turn into a Christmas ball
Further
These corrections, of which the Daily Telegraph newspaper alerted last weekend, have generated a wide debate about the relevance of such changes and the legitimacy to alter the work of a deceased author, although in this case it was his heirs who have promoted the review, for which they have had a consulting company focused on inclusiveness in literature.
This Wednesday, the publisher that publishes most of his works in Spain, Alfaguara (owned by Penguin Random House), has reported that “after conversations with the Roald Dahl Society Company, Alfaguara Children and Youth will maintain its editions with the classic texts of the author without modifying his publications in Spanish”, reports Carmen Lopez.
In France, where the Gallimard publishing house is the holder of the copyright of the Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory o The witches, The changes in the translations will not be implemented either, as reported by the newspaper Le Figaro.
The news of dozens of alterations in each work has raised a debate in the cultural world about the relevance of these changes, which for the British publisher that has made them, Puffin, are justified by the fact that “we can all continue to enjoy today” the works. , that is, an adaptation to the sensitivity of current readers. The debate oscillates between positions that interpret these changes as “censorship” —as expressed, for example, by Salman Rushdie— and those that consider that the changes are not essential and help transmit more inclusive values.