Women and Classical Translation in the Eighteenth Century

Women in Germany first began to take up their pens in substantial numbers during the eighteenth century. One area where they apparently did not leave their mark was in the translation of classical literature, despite a wave of interest in the classics in the literary world at large. However, this article sheds new light on women's involvement in this field. It focuses on a handful of women who translated from Greek or Latin, namely Luise Gottsched (1713–62), Fräulein von Erath (?–1776) and Ernestine Christine Reiske (1735–98). It looks at the conditions in which they did so, at their presentation of the texts, and at contemporary reactions to their work. It shows that women could only make their way in this area in exceptional cases, and that they usually exercised a considerable degree of caution. Yet, in some rare instances, translation gave women a new freedom. A translator could put her name to works of a surprising nature, such as philosophy and erotica. Adopting the detached stance of translator meant she could publish texts which women at the time would probably never have dared to write themselves. Thus, the act of translation could open up new spheres of literary activity for women.