エクトール・マロ原作, 五来素川訳『家庭小説未だ見ぬ親』の研究

Abstract

『家なき子』の邦題で有名なフランス児童文学作品, エクトール・マロ原作Sans Famille(1878)は, 五来素川が『未だ見ぬ親』の題で初めて翻訳し, 明治36年に出版された. Sans Familleはどのような価値を見出され, 付加されて日本に紹介されたのか. 本稿ではこの問いについて, この作品が「家庭小説」とされたことを手がかりとし, また原作と翻訳の比較, 他の五来の文章の読解を通して検討する. 五来は道徳を含む小説で読者を教化しようとし, 『未だ見ぬ親』には日本の「家庭」で基準とされるべき家族の道徳, 特に親子道徳が含まれたと考えられる. 原作に見出されたのは個人主義に基づく親子関係であり, 親子間の情愛と子の人格形成を目指す教育が評価された. その一方で『未だ見ぬ親』には, 五来が日本の家族主義の道徳の基礎と見なした, 子から親への報恩の観念も付加された. 五来は当時の日本の社会を家族主義から個人主義の過渡期にあると理解しており, 『未だ見ぬ親』には, 個人主義を基本としつつ, 当時の日本の「家庭」にふさわしい親子道徳が込められたと言える.

Sans Famille (1878), written by Hector Malot, is a popular work in French literature for children, andit was first translatedandad aptedin Japan by Sosen Gorai. This adaptation was entitled'Mad a Minu Oya' andit was publishedin 1903. Considering that this novel was categorizedas a home novel (Katei Shosetsu), this article explores the question of 'what particular values were foundin the original andwhich ones were added in the adaptation?' This article considers this question by comparing the original and the adaptation, and by considering Gorai's other writings. Gorai tried to enlighten the readers through this didactic novel, and 'Mada Minu Oya' seems to contain information on family morals, particularly, moralities concerning parent-childrelationships, that ought to be followedin Japanese 'homes'. The value of individualism in parent-childrelationships can be foundin the original, andparticularly, mutual affection between parents andchild ren anded ucation aimedat building a child's character were appreciated by Gorai. On the other hand, the concept of gratitude, felt by the child toward the parent, was added in the adaptation, as Gorai considered it a fundamental principle of Japanese familism. According to him, Japanese society was in transition from familism to individualism, and therefore, family morals that were considered to be suitable for Japanese 'homes' at that time seem to be included in 'Mada Minu Oya'.