Margaret Atwood
The Handmaid’s Tale demeure incontournable près de 35 ans après sa publication. L’oeuvre suscite même des vocations militantes auprès d’une nouvelle génération déterminée à déjouer sa sombre prophétie. A l’occasion de la sortie de Les Testaments, retour sur ce monstre sacré de la littérature canadienne : Margaret Atwood.
Origins
She was born in 1939 in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Her mother was a dietician and nutritionist and her father an entomologist who focused on trees. She is herself an outspoken advocate for environmental issues.
entomologist entomologiste (spécialiste des insectes) / to focus on se concentrer sur, se spécialiser dans / outspoken ardent / advocate défenseur(-se) / issue question, cause.
Education
She spent most of her young life in the forest and only really attended school as a teenager. She earned a master’s degree in English literature from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1962.
to spend, spent, spent passer / to attend aller à / to earn ici, obtenir / master’s degree maîtrise.
The Handmaid’s Tale
She started writing her best-selling novel in West Berlin in 1984. As a Canadian, she was allowed to cross into East Berlin, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Iron Curtain countries and the news clippings she collected were a major source of inspiration. She had one rule: if it didn’t have a precedent in real life it would not be in the book.
The Handmaid’s Tale (VF) La servante écarlate / best-selling à succès, le plus vendu / novel roman / to cross into pénétrer, entrer dans (en franchissant une frontière) / Iron Curtain rideau de fer / news clipping coupure (de presse) / rule règle.
Not science fiction
Atwood is frequently asked about her thoughts on science fiction, but she prefers the term “speculative fiction” to describe her work. Not only are her stories mostly based on reality, but they also have a lasting impact. The TV adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale has prompted a series of global marches, with women donning the costumes described in the book.
thought ici, perspective, point de vue / mostly principalement / lasting durable / to prompt ici, donner lieu à / series ici, série télévisée / global mondial / march manifestation / to don revêtir, arborer.
A maverick
She has won countless literary prizes and been awarded dozens of honorary degrees, while continuing to push the boundaries of her craft. In 2014, she wrote an opera and in 2016 published her first graphic novel.
maverick non-conformiste / countless innombrable / to be awarded se voir décerner, recevoir / dozens of (des) dizaines/(une) multitude de / honorary degree diplôme honoris causa / to push the boundaries of repousser les limites de / craft art / graphic novel bande dessinée (généralement pour adulte), roman graphique.
Spellcheck
Atwood admits to being a terrible speller: “I could spell fairly complicated words. I would screw up on words like weird. I still have to think about that. It’s «e» before «i» because otherwise it would be wired.”
spellcheck correcteur/vérificateur d’orthographe / terrible calamiteux, très mauvais / speller personne qui épelle un mot / fairly assez / to screw up (vulg.) merder, foirer / weird étrange, bizarre / otherwise autrement, sinon / wired câblé.
Children’s books
Atwood has been writing for younger audiences since 1978. Her latest story, Wandering Wenda and Widow Wallop’s Wunderground Washery, has been made into a cartoon series.
audience ici, lectorat / wandering en errance / widow veuve / wallop impact, choc / wunderground mot inventé à partir de underground (souterrain ; ici, clandestin, secret) et to wonder (s’émerveiller, admirer) / washery lavoir / to be made into ici, être adapté en / cartoon series dessin animé.