Ideas of Zhang Yi, Translator of the Chinese Version of Therabbi’scat
Many first-time readers of The e Rabbi’scat are stunned by the work’srk’s rough and casual style. Sfar’s comicscs style is by no means “beautiful” in the traditional sense. At first glance,e, the lines are messy, and the pictures seem hastily drawn. Every page is divided into six frames of the same size, seemingly without any focus. This random style is a salute to the writings of Jean de la Fontaine, a renowned French fabulist of the 17th century. The deceptively simple and natural style is hard to forget, and cuts deep into human nature to reach lofty artistic levels.
Although The Rabbi’scat is a graphic novel, Joann Sfar treats the story as a serious literary work. He hopes the book provides readers with plenty of food for thought while promoting more flexibility in rigid value systems.
Sfar’s creations are heavily influenced by Swiss linguist and semiotician Ferdinand de Saussure, whose ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiology in the 20th century. Linguistic activity is unique to human beings and plays a big role in constructing reality and building connections between man and the world. The plot device of using a talking cat to set the story in motion is well worth pondering over. The author starts with a linguistic problem. He first questions the effectiveness of language, which makes his readers think about language itself and eventually realize the greatest significance of language: It distinguishes human beings from animals.
It was an absolute pleasure for me to translate this work, and I find the novel fascinating, especially in how it discusses the meaning of happiness. The rabbi gained happiness through his faith. Readers get a sense of the power of faith through the rabbi, because his faith has enriched his life so much. However, if we look at the rabbi from a secular perspective, his life is very typical. While already quite a capable man, he still must pass an arbitrary qualification exam to get a promotion. He accepts this demand even though it is so absurd. He also gets into trouble, which is likely to touch different readers in different ways. The author uses the rabbi to explore how various people find inner peace and come to terms with their own individual realities.