Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

This study focuses on the representation of masculine imagos in the South African novelist Eben Venter’s novel oeuvre and more specifically on the multifaceted nature of Venter’s delineation of masculinity. His novels Foxtrot van die Vleiseters (1993), Ek stamel ek sterwe (1996) (translated into English as My beautiful death ((2004)) and Santa Gamka (2009) were selected to represent Venter’s novel oeuvre. The male protagonist in each novel may be viewed as typical representations of masculine imagos in his novels. The workability of cognitive narratology as a literary approach to analyse and interpret novels is tested by identifying the frames and scripts within the selected novels. Cognitive frames in narratives are those backdrops against which the events take place, while the actions executed by the characters are read as cognitive scripts. These scripts create the projected masculinity imagos of the male protagonists. When reading the novels, the reader is confronted with various cognitive choices of which three are especially important. The first is the choice to discard existing ideas and perceptions in order to make room for new ideas and perceptions. The second choice is to modify existing ideas and adjust them by means of the cognitive processing of information in the novels. The last choice entails the total rejection of the new ideas. Irrespective of the cognitive processes that occur during the reading process, the representation of masculinity in the novels will inevitably have an effect on the way in which the reader will experience masculinity in future. In the characters of Petrus Steenekamp (Foxtrot van die Vleiseters), Konstant Wasserman (Ek stamel ek sterwe) and Lucky Marais (Santa Gamka) Venter illustrates the complexity of the masculinity issue due to the cultural, social and political frames with which people are encoded. This encoding is also reflected in the scripts that are determined by the characters’ behaviour and actions. Venter demonstrates sensitivity and compassion for all the characters in his novels and his representation of masculinity instils sensitivity and compassion in readers. This instilment will most probably create a better understanding of masculinity, as well as humanity, within the cognition of the reader. The most important finding is that it is indeed possible to use cognitive narratology as literary approach to analyse and interpret the chosen novels in order to make valid conclusions – in this case with regard to the complex delineation of multifaceted masculine imagos within Eben Venter’s novel oeuvre. Further deductions include those made about the appearance of different images of masculinity within Venter’s novel oeuvre and especially how the farm frame and the father/son relationship frame manifest prominently in Venter’s novels. / MA (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study focuses on the representation of masculine imagos in the South African novelist Eben Venter’s novel oeuvre and more specifically on the multifaceted nature of Venter’s delineation of masculinity. His novels Foxtrot van die Vleiseters (1993), Ek stamel ek sterwe (1996) (translated into English as My beautiful death ((2004)) and Santa Gamka (2009) were selected to represent Venter’s novel oeuvre. The male protagonist in each novel may be viewed as typical representations of masculine imagos in his novels. The workability of cognitive narratology as a literary approach to analyse and interpret novels is tested by identifying the frames and scripts within the selected novels. Cognitive frames in narratives are those backdrops against which the events take place, while the actions executed by the characters are read as cognitive scripts. These scripts create the projected masculinity imagos of the male protagonists. When reading the novels, the reader is confronted with various cognitive choices of which three are especially important. The first is the choice to discard existing ideas and perceptions in order to make room for new ideas and perceptions. The second choice is to modify existing ideas and adjust them by means of the cognitive processing of information in the novels. The last choice entails the total rejection of the new ideas. Irrespective of the cognitive processes that occur during the reading process, the representation of masculinity in the novels will inevitably have an effect on the way in which the reader will experience masculinity in future. In the characters of Petrus Steenekamp (Foxtrot van die Vleiseters), Konstant Wasserman (Ek stamel ek sterwe) and Lucky Marais (Santa Gamka) Venter illustrates the complexity of the masculinity issue due to the cultural, social and political frames with which people are encoded. This encoding is also reflected in the scripts that are determined by the characters’ behaviour and actions. Venter demonstrates sensitivity and compassion for all the characters in his novels and his representation of masculinity instils sensitivity and compassion in readers. This instilment will most probably create a better understanding of masculinity, as well as humanity, within the cognition of the reader. The most important finding is that it is indeed possible to use cognitive narratology as literary approach to analyse and interpret the chosen novels in order to make valid conclusions – in this case with regard to the complex delineation of multifaceted masculine imagos within Eben Venter’s novel oeuvre. Further deductions include those made about the appearance of different images of masculinity within Venter’s novel oeuvre and especially how the farm frame and the father/son relationship frame manifest prominently in Venter’s novels. / MA (Afrikaans and Dutch), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Hierdie proefskrif bied ʼn nie-empiriese ondersoek en ʼn konseptuele analise van die verhouding tussen ruimte en identiteit in Eben Venter (1954-) se oeuvre binne die konteks van ballingskapliteratuur die postkoloniale diskoers. Die manifestasie van die ruimte- identiteitdialektiek, soos wat dit uitgebeeld word in Venter se skryfkuns, word beskryf aan die hand van postkoloniale teorieë en insigte wat verband hou met aspekte soos ruimte, plek, ballingskap, diaspora, ruimtelike verplasing, seksuele migrasie, intra-nasionale migrasie, internasionale migrasie, empiriese en kulturele landskappe, identiteit as sosio-kulturele konstruksie en Suid-Afrikaanse outobiografieë. Vir die doel van hierdie ondersoek is die volgende vertellings geselekteer: Ek stamel ek sterwe (1996), Twaalf (2000), Horrelpoot(2006) en Brouhaha (2010). In ʼn tydsgewrig van grootskaalse migrasie, globale onsekerheid, transnasionale kapitalisme en radikale dekolonisering in die vorm van geweldsmisdaad, gewelddadige betogings by universiteite, plaasmoorde, grondhervorming, haatspraak, arbeidsonrus, xenofobie en die aftakeling van minderheidsregte, sny Venter in sy verhale en outobiografie ʼn verskeidenheid van kwessies aan. Dit sluit in: die naweë van apartheid, die Afrikaner-diaspora, grondeienaarskap, die ideologiese toeëiening van grond, rassisme, homofobie, queer-migrasie, die haalbaarheid van ʼn inklusiewe Afrika-identiteit en die veranderde rol, plek en identiteit van Afrikaners sedert 1994. Die outobiografiese inslag van Venter se skryfkuns is opvallend en word bespreek deur te verwys na die verhouding tussen fiksionele en reële ruimtes en na outobiografie as hibridiese genre en kreatiewe projek. Hierdie studie bied ook ʼn krities-analitiese besinning van Venter se bemoeienis met skryftemas soos selfopgelegde ballingskap, die vervreemding tussen plek en self, globale plekloosheid en “exile as a discontinous state of being” (Said 2000: 177). Een van die belangrikste insigte wat Venter in sy skryfkuns demonstreer, is dat ruimte, soos identiteit, nie ʼn essensialistiese konsep is nie, maar ’n onvoltooide en vloeibare konstruksie wat voortdurend verander na gelang van sosio-politieke ingrepe, internasionale migrasiepatrone en die individu se subjektiewe gewaarwording van plekke, / This dissertation presents a non-empirical and a conceptual analysis of the relationship between space and identity in the works of prose of Eben Venter (1954) within the context of the postcolonial discourse and exile literature. The manifestation of the space-identity dialectic, as portrayed in Venter’s writing, is described on the basis of postcolonial theories and insights related to terms and concepts like space, place, exile, diaspora, spatial displacement, sexual migration, intra-national migration, international migration, empirical and cultural landscapes and identity as a social-cultural construction. For the purpose of this study the following narratives were selected: Ek stamel ek sterwe (1996), Twaalf (2000), Horrelpoot en Brouhaha (2010). At a juncture of mass migration, global uncertainty, transnational capitalism and radical decolonization in the form of violent crime, violent protests at universities, hate speech, farm murders, land reform, labour unrest, xenophobia and the dismantling of minority rights, Venter addresses an assortment of social issues. This include: the aftermath of apartheid, the Afrikaner-diaspora, landownership, the ideological appropriation of land, racism, homophobia, queer-migration, the viability of an inclusive African-identity and the altered role, place and identity of Afrikaners since 1994. The autobiographical element is evident in Venter’s writing and is discussed by referring to the relationship between fictional and real spaces and to autobiography as a hybrid genre and creative project. This study also presents a critical-analytical reflection of Venter’s involvement with writing topics such as self-imposed exile, estrangement between place and self, global displacement/non-belongingness and “exile as a discontinuous state of being” (Said: 2000: 177). One of the key insights Venter demonstrates in his writing, is that space, like identity, is not an essentialist concept, but an incomplete and diffuse construction that is constantly changing depending on socio-political interventions, international migration patterns and the individual's subjective perception of places. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / D. Litt. et Phil. (Afrikaans)