"El vecino de abajo" e "Un amor": le ossessioni di due traduttrici

The figure of the female protagonist, a professional translator, is analyzed in two Spanish novels of the new millennium, El vecino de abajo (2007) by Mercedes Abad and Un amor (2020) by Sara Mesa, to explore how this profession shapes the ways in which the main female characters relate to the external reality and to others, and how translating defines their own identity, giving meaning to their existence and the world they inhabit. In light of the debate on the act of translating, it will be shown how the authors reach different, yet somehow similar, conclusions, envisioning an unexpected happy ending for their characters, who are obsessive and obsessed with words.