Mistranslation In The Lathe Of Heaven

The Significance of Mistranslation in The Lathe of Heaven Mistranslation is responsible for several plot points in Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel, The Lathe of Heaven. It catalyzes the events that follow, and it is the reason why George is seeking help for his dreams in the first place. This idea is true for Dr. Haber as well, whose mistranslated view of George’s powers is what incites further catastrophe. In addition, there are many small details in the story where one misjudges or mistranslates another person’s traits and changes their mind later on, which may affect future events in the story. This novel illustrates how mistranslation can lead to varying consequences, both in the major plot points and in the minor details of character interactions

George, about sixteen at the time, was receiving unwanted sexual advances from his aunt, Ethel, and began to build animosity towards her, leading to her showing up in many of his bad dreams (12). As this event went on, George suddenly had his first effective dream, causing the death of Ethel (13). As George states in the text, “Dreams are incoherent, selfish, irrational—immoral,” and to further build on his argument, he asserts that dreams come from the “unsocialized part of us”(14). It is evident from the text that Ethel’s death was driven by George’s unconscious mind mistranslating his wish to not have Ethel around, to him wanting her out of the picture

An example can be seen in Heather Lelache's introduction in Chapter 4, where she describes herself as a “black widow”, with her prey being George whom she characterizes as “a born victim” (42). Her introduction into the story leaves a strong impression on us, the readers, who may start out believing Heather would be a worse antagonist than Haber. However, after continuing to read further it becomes evident that she isn’t someone who attacks but instead defends others as their lawyer. This once again supports the idea that mistranslation is a significant part of The Lathe of