Loss and grief are central to the oeuvre of Lettie Viljoen/Ingrid Winterbach. Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006), Winterbach’s latest novel, may be seen as a synthesis of the various experiences of loss that are mentioned in her previous prose texts: material loss; the temporary and permanent parting of loved ones; the death of significant others; more vaguely defined forms of loss, such as melancholy, yearning, psychological uneasiness and malaise; as well as a growing realisation of transience and mortality. In this study the various embodiments of loss and grief in the oeuvre of Lettie Viljoen/Ingrid Winterbach are investigated, in order to comment on the role of loss in Afrikaans literature, as well as on loss as a general human experience. Attention is not only given to the role of experiences of loss and reactions to grief in the narrative, but also to the way in which loss is portrayed in the structure, language use and style of the various prose texts. One of the main goals of the study is to question the concepts loss, grief and the processing of grief in the context of the Viljoen/Winterbach oeuvre. Despite its popularity in current “loss literature”, this study does not assess loss and grief from a psychotherapeutic perspective. An important reason for this is that psychotherapeutic loss assessments have a limited relevancy value in literature; they often reduce the data of a novel to psychological casework and, consequently, do not do justice to the complexity of the phenomena they are trying to explain. The psychoanalytical views of Freud, Lacan, Abraham and Torok regarding loss and grief, as well as the poststructuralist beliefs of Derrida regarding loss and grieving are rather used as points of departure, seeing that these authors mostly developed their thoughts on the basis of literary narratives. The complexity of the concepts loss and grief is acknowledged and explained by their views, while language plays a decisive role in their views on grief. The concept processing of grief is specifically discussed and it is indicated that a traditional, psychotherapeutic view of processing as “healing” is increasingly questioned in the Viljoen/Winterbach oeuvre. Further, the over-optimistic view of researchers, such as Abraham and Torok, that the conversion of loss into language is already an indication that the loss experience is accommodated by the psyche and processed to a significant extent is refuted on the basis of Lacanian psychoanalysis. At first glance, it seems as though most of the characters in the Viljoen/Winterbach oeuvre hold an opinion on grief similar to Freud’s initial belief regarding loss. Consequently, “normal” grief is seen as an active process, during which the libido is gradually detached from the lost love object and, in time, invested in another love object, with the view that there would eventually be a conclusive and spontaneous end to the grief (and thus also to the loss). If processing of loss means a complete severance of the libido from the lost love object and a spontaneous end to grief, the oeuvre of Lettie Viljoen/Ingrid Winterbach clearly illustrates unresolved grief across novel-borders. Few characters successfully find comfort in replacements or substitutes for their lost love objects. The grief of these characters rather displays characteristics similar to Freud’s later (revised) view on “melancholic” grief – a view according to which grief does not end conclusively and spontaneously, but rather constitutes a prolonged, even endless, process. According to Derrida such an “unresolved” and prolonged grief is, however, the more appropriate and ethical form of grief or mourning after a loss. Despite their desire to overcome their loss and grief and to let the lost other go, most characters in the Viljoen/Winterbach oeuvre realise that they also have a certain ethic responsibility towards the lost other. They eventually affirm the Derridian idea that the possibility of the impossible is the basis of the rhetoric of grief as a whole and that success implies failure and failure implies success. Should you, in one way or another, accomplish a successful internalisation of the other (but it is impossible), you fail, in fact, because the other is then no longer the other. And, vice versa, should you fail (and you are doomed to fail), you succeed, in fact, because that way you retain respect for the other as other. Viewed in this light, all the novellas and novels of Lettie Viljoen/Ingrid Winterbach essentially deal with the question of how mourning could and should take place through words. / Prof. W.D. Burger

Ingrid Winterbach's novels especially the latest novels since Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat are characterised by an unconventional sense of humour. Although the comic aspects of her work are frequently referred to, no systematic research of the specific comic aspects of her work has been undertaken to date, despite humour being a striking part of her work. Almost everyone who conducts research on the comical reflects on the issue that any scientific study of humour usually negates the humour of the subject matter. The many divergent attempts to create a theory of humour in literature were split into three useful groups by Perks (2012). Some theories address incongruency, others degradation, and the third group of theories discusses the relief associated with the comical. This interpretation of the theories of humour is used in this study to discuss the humour in three of Winterbach's novels. Although it is possible to discuss many of the situations that arise in the novels in terms of incongruency, degradation, or relief (often by using all three theories), it is readily apparent that Winterbach's unique sense of humour is not sufficiently captured by using just these theories. To investigate the effect of humour in Winterbach's novels, the interpretation of humour, as suggested by Milan Kundera in Testaments betrayed (1993), is used, wherein the Czech writer describes humour as a specific species of the comic that renders ambiguous everything it touches. This ambiguity that is created by the comical plays a central part in Winterbach's work. / Ingrid Winterbach se romans veral die laaste romans sedert Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat word deur 'n aweregse humorsin gekenmerk. Hoewel daar dikwels na komiese aspekte van haar werk verwys word, is geen stelselmatige ondersoek van spesifiek die komiese aspekte van haar werk tot dusver onderneem nie, terwyl dit 'n besonder opvallende kenmerk van Winterbach se werk is. Byna almal wat oor die komiese navorsing doen, wys op die probleem wat daarmee ontstaan aangesien 'n wetenskaplike studie juis dikwels die komiese ondermyn. Die talle uiteenlopende pogings om die komiese in letterkunde te teoretiseer, word deur Perks (2012) op 'n nuttige wyse in drie groepe gedeel. Sommige teorieë fokus op onversoenbaarheid, ander op degradasie, en 'n derde groep teorieë is gemoeid met die ontlading wat die komiese sou bied. Hierdie verdeling van teorieë rakende die komiese word in hierdie studie benut om die komiese in drie Winterbach-romans te beskryf. Hoewel dit moontlik is om talle komiese situasies in die drie romans deur middel van onversoenbaarheidsteorieë, degradasieteorieë, en ontladingsteorieë te beskryf (dikwels kan dieselfde situasie trouens deur al drie teorieë beskryf word), blyk dit gou dat Winterbach se kenmerkende humor nie genoegsaam daardeur beskryf kan word nie. Om die effek van humor in Winterbach se romans te ondersoek, word aangesluit by Milan Kundera se beskouing van humor in Testaments betrayed (1993), waarin die Tsjeggiese skrywer humor beskryf as 'n spesifieke "spesie" van die komiese wat meerduidigheid veroorsaak. Hierdie meerduidigheid wat deur die komiese bewerkstellig word, speel 'n sentrale rol in Winterbach se werk. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Afrikaans / MA / Unrestricted