My understanding is that the richness of language leaves the universe of "The Fables" bare, exposed, for those who can read behind the colourfulness of the words. I selected a link, maybe you want to have a look there, then click on "ne pas souffler mot", you might get few ideas there. Good luck!

There are at least two options, hinging on the meaning of même here. Is it "the same" or "the very". I tend to think it's "the very".

So while "baroque" (outrageous in terms of characters and events), the fables are short and sweet when it comes to words. If "short and sweet" is what is meant, I feel the French is somewhat OTT, but I've tried to reflect that OTT-ness in my proposal above.

Otherwise, to inject some Anglo-Saxon practicality into things, something like "The Fables evoke the baroquest of worlds in paradoxically few words" might do the trick.

I have been wrangling over this one for a bit, and like Matthew, I think that dépouillé is associated with "univers" and the following clause is separate. It gives quite a different sense of the sentence. "Souffle" can also mean "inspiration", usually in the creative sense. So this could give something along the lines of "The Fables involve plunging into a world made Baroque and sparse by the same verbal inspiration,... " The second half of the sentence also suggests that the fables contain other oppositional elements. It's a bit of a leap in interpretation from what immediately seems to be the reading, but to me it makes more sense.

Hello,

I don't think that "dépouillé" is directly connected to the expression "du même souffle de mot", which seems to be modifying "plonger". Yes, "de" usually follows "dépouillé", but it's not be read that way here.

du même souffle de mot = in the same breath of word = in the same utterance (natural English), referring to the world "fables".

All that said, I could also possibly understand this to mean "at the same time", but then that would make the punctuation incorrect in the original French sentence. It would have to read like this: Les Fables, c'est plonger dans un univers baroque et dépouillé, ET du même souffle de mot, c'est visiter...

So the two possibilities are:

1) Fables, is to plunge into a world that is both baroque and bare in the same utterance of the word

2 Fables, is to plunge into a world that is both baroque and bare, and at the same time, it is a visit with bizarre...

My final point I would like to make, is that "dépouillé", imho, is not directly related to "du même souffle de mot". It's either modifying "plonger" (first part of sentence), or or it's directly connected to the "c'est visiter..." (second part of the sentence).
At any rate, I think that you need to stop connecting the "du" with "dépouillé" (just "univers baroque et dépouillé).


I hope this all helps.

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Note added at 1 day37 mins (2011-03-15 21:08:06 GMT)
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In fact, it would be best to say this way in English (if it means "in the same utterance of the word" (I don't think the French is very well-written, but...)

Fables, in the same utterance of the word, is to enter into a world both baroque and bare; it also brings us to visit bizarre...