Illustration by Quentin Blake for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, by Roald Dahl. www.bridgemanimages.com/Bridgeman Images
INTERVIEW – Hedwige Pasquet, director of Gallimard youth editions, reacts to the controversy aroused by the revisions made to the texts of the British writer.
Will the writers of tomorrow have to be politically correct? The Roald Dahl Company called on “inclusive readers” to review Roald Dahl’s work and ensure that nothing could shock contemporary readers. The redacted version was published by the English publisher Puffin, children’s department of Penguin. So any word “related to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race” was cut, as reported by The Telegraph. Exit also the terms “white”, “black” and “fat”. Hundreds of such changes have been made. In addition, paragraphs have been added. Some writers were moved by these revisions, including Salman Rushdie who sees in this revision a “absurd censorship”. Hedwige Pasquet, director of Éditions Gallimard jeunesse, reacts to the controversy.
LE FIGARO. – The English publisher Penguin has published a watered down, even redacted version of Roald Dahl’s texts. Will Gallimard jeunesse change its translation?
Hedwig Pasquet. – The rights holders contacted a society of “inclusive readers”, Inclusive Minds, a group of people passionate about inclusion and accessibility in children’s literature. They are the ones who reviewed the author’s texts. Subsequently, there was a transmission between the Roald Dahl Company and the publisher Penguin, the publisher of Roald Dahl. We have not modified our versions in the Junior Folios and we do not intend to change the texts. We have respect for the work of the author. If there was, at the limit, something to do, it would be to contextualize the work of Roald Dahl, that is to say, the time in which his texts were written. On this account, why not change fairy tales? All texts should be revised…
Do you think Roald Dahl would have accepted these changes?
No, because it makes his texts lose their flavor. However, the spirit of Roald Dahl is a little ironic, very lively, amusing. Nevertheless, Roald Dahl himself had made a change in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The pygmies had become the little orange characters of the Oompas Loompas. If the author makes a change, it must be respected. But changing a whole text today without his consent? No.
So do you understand the controversy aroused by these changes? Salman Rushdie was able to speak of “censorship”.
This event takes place in the era of cancel-culture. In this context, the controversy swells. The Roald Dahl Company admitted having worked for the English market. They wish to respect the culture of each country.
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