“Intermolecular Mockery and Derision, an Inbred Superlaugh”

Due to its intertextuality and embedment in the reality of pre-war Poland, Ferdydurke is often considered untranslatable. According to Magdalena Heydel, the main difficulty, however, lies beyond the sphere of intertextuality and context-dependency: the style is the issue, and the literary impact of the novel—entrenched with overwhelming parody and mockery—is hidden in the intricacies of the author’s syntax and his use of wordplay. In her essay, Heydel analyzes Borchardt’s art of translating by tracing strategies employed by the translator to render the specificities of Gombrowicz’s style.