Tracing Jo March in China

This book explores Jo March's portrayal in Chinese translations of Little Women over the past century, using narratology, gender studies, cognitive stylistics, and descriptive translation studies to analyze her representation across surface structure, text base, and situation model.

The findings reveal the diachronic evolution of Jo March's characterization, from a masculine-coded figure to a hyperfeminine subject, and finally to a more individualistic heroine. This illuminates the interaction between ideologies, patronage, and the agency of translators in different historical contexts. The theoretical expansion and triangulated, mixed-method approach open up new avenues for interdisciplinary research into translated fiction, shedding new light on protagonists in the bildungsroman genre. The book has implications for translation practice, literary pedagogy, and cross-cultural studies.

It is intended for scholars, researchers and students of translation studies, comparative literature, gender studies, narratology, cognitive stylistics, and Descriptive Translation Studies. It will also be of interest to readers of children’s literature.