Abstract: Unable to deliver her own genetic file, for personal or cultural reasons, the translator gives a « genetic file of substitution ». Can this « almost », according to Umberto Eco, this « semblance » or « mimetism », justify the translator’s choice and reveal the author’s hard work? This paper refers to Paul Valéry’s poem « La Jeune Parque » and its translation by Édouard Tabaray that keeps on questioning.
