Facing the Wall of Babylon: A Contrastive Analysis of the Transfer of Biblical Allusions in Two Spanish Translations of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Resumen

This paper investigates the translation of biblical quotations and intertextual allusions in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in two Spanish versions published in the early 1960s by Amando Lázaro Ros and Fernando Gutiérrez. Drawing on Mendoza’s framework of the reading intertext and Canetti’s distinction between explicit and implicit quotations, the study examines how fidelity to the 1960 Reina-Valera Bible is affected by translator ideology, literary competence, and contextual constraints such as Francoist censorship. Each analyzed fragment is evaluated in terms of the translators’ ability to preserve theological meaning, allegorical nuance, and narrative function. The findings indicate that Gutiérrez’s strong Judeo-Christian background facilitated more accurate and nuanced renderings of biblical allusions, while Ros, whose atheist stance and self-censorship conditioned his approach, frequently simplified or neutralized original references. These results reveal how ideological orientation and encyclopaedic competence intersect with translational choices, influencing not only textual fidelity but also the reception of religious and moral dimensions in the target culture. Furthermore, the study highlights the broader significance of intertextual and theological awareness in literary translation, suggesting that translator background plays a critical role in mediating cultural and religious content. By combining intertextual and translational analysis, this research contributes to Translation Studies and Stevenson scholarship, offering insights into the complex dynamics between source text, translator, and socio-historical context.