Elsa Joubert has been a prominent author of Afrikaans novels since the 1950's and has received several important literary prizes. This dissertation is a study of issues of identity and the experience of the female characters in the following five novels by Joubert: Ons wag op die Kaptein, Die Wahlerbrug, Bonga, Die swerfiare van Poppie Nongena and Die reise van lsobelle. It is clear from the analyses of the novels that geographical. ideological and political matters greatly influence the identity of the characters. Interpersonal relations within the family and with a loved one, also play a crucial role in the development of a personal identity. Theoretical concepts from feminism and female writing, postmodernism, New Journalism and travel literature as genre are used as points of departure for the discussion of the novels. A brief overview of Joubert's oeuvre is provided. The main focus of the study is the way in which the main characters in the selected novels (Leonora, Agnes, Isobelle, Leo, Lottie, lnacia Maria, Ana-Paula and Poppie) experience a sense of identity. It becomes clear that there is a close relation between identity and space and therefore it is necessary to analyse cultural contexts, spatial relations (the country and the continent as place) and the love of travel in the novels. The lives of all these female characters are influenced deeply by experiences of love and falling in love often brings about a radical change in their sense of identity. Most of the female characters in the selected novels many men from other cultures. Often they experience an identity crisis as a consequence of being confronted with a strange culture. They might long for the comfort of what is well-known and loved, but they also want to accept and conform to the new circumstances as is expected from them by a beloved. The emotional pain resulting from being tom between their cultural inclination and love, affect their self-esteem and sense of identity. Initially the love relationship is a way to develop a new self-contained identity and is part of a personal rebellion and a quest for freedom. Often however, they have to conform to the norms of society and of the cultural context. It is remarkable that many of these characters never experience true love and they are torn between their own cultures and the 'love' for a man who expects them to conform to a new way of living and a new identity. Therefore many of these characters experience themselves as outsiders. The women in Elsa Joubert's novels do not have easy lives. They have to struggle against odds, they have to make difficult choices, they have little power and fulfillment often evades them. Joubert, however, does not present a pessimistic view of either the prospects of women in general or of life in Africa. Die reise van lsobelle ends in a positive way as the character Leo takes control of her life and makes her own decisions. She is not a victim, but a liberated woman, a victor. She is the personification of the new, emancipated woman who will survive and find a place in Africa. / Thesis (MA (Afrikaans en Nederlands))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Elsa Joubert has been a prominent author of Afrikaans novels since the 1950's and has received several important literary prizes. This dissertation is a study of issues of identity and the experience of the female characters in the following five novels by Joubert: Ons wag op die Kaptein, Die Wahlerbrug, Bonga, Die swerfiare van Poppie Nongena and Die reise van lsobelle. It is clear from the analyses of the novels that geographical. ideological and political matters greatly influence the identity of the characters. Interpersonal relations within the family and with a loved one, also play a crucial role in the development of a personal identity. Theoretical concepts from feminism and female writing, postmodernism, New Journalism and travel literature as genre are used as points of departure for the discussion of the novels. A brief overview of Joubert's oeuvre is provided. The main focus of the study is the way in which the main characters in the selected novels (Leonora, Agnes, Isobelle, Leo, Lottie, lnacia Maria, Ana-Paula and Poppie) experience a sense of identity. It becomes clear that there is a close relation between identity and space and therefore it is necessary to analyse cultural contexts, spatial relations (the country and the continent as place) and the love of travel in the novels. The lives of all these female characters are influenced deeply by experiences of love and falling in love often brings about a radical change in their sense of identity. Most of the female characters in the selected novels many men from other cultures. Often they experience an identity crisis as a consequence of being confronted with a strange culture. They might long for the comfort of what is well-known and loved, but they also want to accept and conform to the new circumstances as is expected from them by a beloved. The emotional pain resulting from being tom between their cultural inclination and love, affect their self-esteem and sense of identity. Initially the love relationship is a way to develop a new self-contained identity and is part of a personal rebellion and a quest for freedom. Often however, they have to conform to the norms of society and of the cultural context. It is remarkable that many of these characters never experience true love and they are torn between their own cultures and the 'love' for a man who expects them to conform to a new way of living and a new identity. Therefore many of these characters experience themselves as outsiders. The women in Elsa Joubert's novels do not have easy lives. They have to struggle against odds, they have to make difficult choices, they have little power and fulfillment often evades them. Joubert, however, does not present a pessimistic view of either the prospects of women in general or of life in Africa. Die reise van lsobelle ends in a positive way as the character Leo takes control of her life and makes her own decisions. She is not a victim, but a liberated woman, a victor. She is the personification of the new, emancipated woman who will survive and find a place in Africa. / Thesis (MA (Afrikaans en Nederlands))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Text in Afrikaans / ’n Merkbare opbloei in die publikasie van literêre niefiksietekste wêreldwyd het gelei tot die klassifikasie van sodanige tekste as ’n vierde genre. Die politieke oorgang in Suid-Afrika in 1994 het gelei tot ’n soortgelyke toename in outobiografiese tekste waarin kommentaar gelewer word op die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke werklikheid deur die vertel van sowel persoonlike as kollektiewe geskiedenisse. Daymond en Visagie (2012) identifiseer outo-etnografie, apologie en belydenis as kenmerke van die Suid-Afrikaanse outobiografie ná 1994. In hierdie navorsingsverslag word enkele resente skrywersoutobiografieë van onderskeidelik Elsa Joubert (’n Wonderlike geweld: jeugherinneringe (2005); Reisiger (2009)), André P. Brink (’n Vurk in die pad (2009)) en Koos Kombuis (Seks & drugs & boeremusiek: die memoirs van ‘n volksverraaier (2000); Die tyd van die Kombi’s: ‘n persoonlike blik op die Afrikaanse rock-rebellie (2009)) gemeet aan die kriteria wat deur Daymond en Visagie voorgestel word. Die beskrywing en interpretasie van verskeie outo-etnografiese merkers lei daartoe dat hierdie outobiografieë as ’n vorm van kulturele introspeksie beskou kan word. / A marked proliferation in the publication of literary nonfiction globally led to the classification of such texts as a fourth genre. The political transition in South Africa in 1994 caused a similar increase in autobiographical texts in which commentary is offered on the South African political reality through the telling of both personal and collective histories. Daymond and Visagie (2012) identify autoethnography, apologia and confession as characteristics of post-1994 South African autobiographies. In this research report some contemporary writers’ autobiographies, respectively those of Elsa Joubert (’n Wonderlike geweld: jeugherinneringe (2005); Reisiger (2009)), André P. Brink (’n Vurkin die pad (2009)) and Koos Kombuis (Seks & drugs & boeremusiek: die memoirs van ‘n volksverraaier (2000); Die tyd van die Kombi’s: ‘n persoonlike blik op die Afrikaanse rock-rebellie (2009)) are evaluated using the criteria proposed by Daymond and Visagie. The description and interpretation of various autoethnographical markers confirm that these autobiographies can be considered a form of cultural introspection. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)

This dissertation is a report on a study about autobiography as genre, focusing on the voice of the white, Afrikaans-speaking woman. The point of departure for this study was a survey of the number of autobiographies written in Afrikaans by these women. With the focus on the limited number of such autobiographies three autobiographies were studied, namely, Met die Boere in die veld (Sarah Raal), My beskeie deel (M.E.R.) and 'n Wonderlike geweld (Elsa Joubert). Within the framework of the complexity systems theory the role of the observer (author/reader) was studied to determine the possibility of demonstrating that when reading/writing an autobiography, some epistemological changes may occur, manifesting as conceptual changes in the mind of the observer. It could be demonstrated that because of women's sensitivity to interpersonal relationships they are capable of acting as unique registers of the complexity of individual existence, while remaining aware of the constant influence, effect and needs of the other. / AFRIKAANS & THEORY OF LIT / MA (AFRIKAANS)

This dissertation is a report on a study about autobiography as genre, focusing on the voice of the white, Afrikaans-speaking woman. The point of departure for this study was a survey of the number of autobiographies written in Afrikaans by these women. With the focus on the limited number of such autobiographies three autobiographies were studied, namely, Met die Boere in die veld (Sarah Raal), My beskeie deel (M.E.R.) and 'n Wonderlike geweld (Elsa Joubert). Within the framework of the complexity systems theory the role of the observer (author/reader) was studied to determine the possibility of demonstrating that when reading/writing an autobiography, some epistemological changes may occur, manifesting as conceptual changes in the mind of the observer. It could be demonstrated that because of women's sensitivity to interpersonal relationships they are capable of acting as unique registers of the complexity of individual existence, while remaining aware of the constant influence, effect and needs of the other. / AFRIKAANS and THEORY OF LIT / MA (AFRIKAANS)