ProZ.com global directory of translation services
The translation workplace
Ideas
KudoZ home » English » Poetry & Literature

Martha Stewart

English translation: a paragon of good (pure) taste


Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs
(or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:Martha Stewart
English translation: a paragon of good (pure) taste
Entered by: zmejka
Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

17:17 Feb 2, 2012
English to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: Martha Stewart
The winter streets are cold and dark as I walk down them now. Lights blink all around me for the gods of the holidays. Green and red for Santa. Blue for Judah Maccabee. White for Martha Stewart. The cold air on my face feels good. I am drained. I am calm. And I am not paying attention.

*
why is white for Martha Stewart?..
zmejka
Local time: 06:10
it's a bit abstract and random, but Martha Stewart is a paragon of good (pure) taste
Explanation:
That's my take on it, but I think that the distribution of colors is a bit serendipitous here. Martha Stewart is the queen of lifestyle. I have to admit that I have used her recipes for Christmas cookies. She has put out special issues of her magazine focused on how to create a perfect Christmas atmosphere.
Selected response from:

Jenni Lukac
Local time: 04:10
Grading comment
thanks a lot! this was very interesting!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6it's a bit abstract and random, but Martha Stewart is a paragon of good (pure) taste
Jenni Lukac
4represents false and impossible perfection
Stephanie Ezrol


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
martha stewart
it's a bit abstract and random, but Martha Stewart is a paragon of good (pure) taste


Explanation:
That's my take on it, but I think that the distribution of colors is a bit serendipitous here. Martha Stewart is the queen of lifestyle. I have to admit that I have used her recipes for Christmas cookies. She has put out special issues of her magazine focused on how to create a perfect Christmas atmosphere.

Jenni Lukac
Local time: 04:10
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 111
Grading comment
thanks a lot! this was very interesting!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jack Doughty: She's had her problems with the law too. http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/heminway0...
3 mins
  -> Thanks, Jack. . The joke is, she's not a WASP. She and Ralph Lauren are the arbiters of WASP tastes, but none of their ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. Yes, insider trading. I believe that she wrote a book about her prison experiences.
agree  Veronika McLaren: linens and bedding often being white...
40 mins
  -> Thanks, Veronika. Brides in white, white bedsheets, White Christmases...
agree  eski
58 mins
  -> Cheers and thanks, eski.
agree  missdutch: well done!
13 hrs
  -> Thanks, missdutch. Have a good weekend.
agree  British Diana: She is a "goddess" of the holidays for those who don't ascribe to religious feelings.
16 hrs
  -> Thanks, Diana. Have a good weekend. You're right. Her holidays are completely glitter.
agree  Phong Le
1 day14 hrs
  -> Cheers and thanks, Phong. Have a good weekend. It's FREEZING here in Spain!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

19 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
martha stewart
represents false and impossible perfection


Explanation:
I think it is very important to catch the sense of irony in the author's use of white here. While white can represent good, it can also represent a kind of nothingness or death, as in being devoid of color. In the same negative sense, white can represent a lack of passion or emotion.

A dead body looks white. A person can look as white as a ghost.

The author in the choice of three color sets, red & green for the somewhat commercialized image of a Christian celebration, blue for a rather fierce image of a Jewish celebration, and white, is using up a series of ironies to heighten the tension in the scene.

The following from an interview with the author sheds some interesting light on the author's view of Martha Stewart:

"BT: Life is too short to stuff a mushroom... That is an intriguing statement. Could you shed some light on that? :)

JD: I was whining away on my website once about never having enough time, not being able to get everything done, yada yada, and a reader wrote in and told me that her mother once said Life is too short to stuff a mushroom. It was a revelation to me. Very liberating. For a long time I was under the spell of Martha Stewart and believed I should be able to cook and garden and sew and wallpaper – and somehow also have a family and write. Oh, and work out every day and fit into Size 2. No more. I’m done. I have two priorities now: my family and my writing. The rest of it can go to hell. And pretty much has."
http://booktunes.net/interview/16813189-A-Child's-Heart

If you have time you may find the entire interview helpful. It's short and it is about the book.




Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 22:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 132
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




Return to KudoZ list


KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.



See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations

Terminology | Jobs and directories | Member activities | Education | Tools
About ProZ.com | ProZ.com basics | Advertising | Support | FAQ | Terms of use
ProZ.com social network linksFacebookLinkedInTwitterDiggStumbleUpondel.icio.us
Print page
Copyright © 1999-2012 ProZ.com - All rights reserved. Privacy