Tolkienists.org

This article deals with the translation of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. It investigates the possibility that translation may represent a potential weapon, in the hands of tolkien’s patronizing critics, to transform ​“from the inside”, id est through misrepresentation, what could not be incorporated or ​“normalized” ​“from the outside”, i.e. by traditional criticism. The basis for these considerations is a case-study related to the Italian context. Recently (2019), the previous Italian translation of The Lord of the Rings was withdrawn from the market by the publisher, in order to replace it with a different one. The way in which this operation was conducted and its results have caused severe perplexity in many Italian readers of Tolkien.