This dissertation attempts to investigate the intertextual modus operandi in the oeuvre of H.J. Pieterse, with specific focus on his volumes, Alruin (1989) and Die burg van hertog Bloubaard (2000). The overarching purpose of the investigation is to prove that the author not only uses intertextuality in the sense that one text (literary text) refers to another text (literary and non–literary), or that one text influences another. Pieterse engages in conversation with other texts and re–writes these texts by repositioning them in another context and by adding additional metaphoric meaning to them. The author allows these texts to exchange conversation, to mutually influence one another, and this has as a result that, in his poems, his poetry and his oeuvre, metaphoric lines come into being, which lend a layered meaning to these texts and enrich the possibilities of their interpretation. Thus, a play on multiple meaning develops, which moves between texts: written texts, literary texts, non–literary texts, the author, the reader and the context(s). The conclusion to which this dissertation comes, is that the above mentioned manifestations of meanings, which exist and come into existence within the physically confines of the text, expand this text to a less confined existence in terms of meaning, more unlimited and unbound than what is necessarily allowed by the physically confined nature of the written text. The question thus arises of how the physically limited text take possession of and draws into the texts what lies beyond its physical confines to produce meaning, and how this tension around the limits of the literary text is functionally used. Consequentially, the question that follows is how this happens in the oeuvre of H.J. Pieterse and how the author uses his poetic technique to go beyond the confines of the written text. / Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

阿蘭達蒂•羅依的第一部長篇小說(也是目前唯一一部)《微物之神》迄今已出版了八年之久。由於書中所觸及到的議題繁多，包括印度賤民階級所受到的不平等待遇，施加在婦女身上的肉體與精神上的暴力，或是在全球化下地方文化的邊緣化，所以至今仍贏得許多不同領域的研究者的關注。有些研究者將這本小說視為一個表現後殖民時期印度社會的文本；有些則將其視為將正規英文轉化為實驗性語言的絕佳典範；另外有些則將其視為一本宣揚女性權利的小說。 以上這些議題我在這本論文中或多或少都有所涉及，並以「純潔」典範的角度來探討。這裡所謂的「純潔」典範，指的是一種只接受特定受認可特質，並排斥任何在認可範圍外的存在，具將其視為「不潔」的系統。因此在文中「純潔」一字的指涉範圍含括衛生方面的乾淨，儀式上的潔淨，以至於在種族以及文化意含中的純淨。在第一章中，我會對文本做一個背景知識的介紹。在第二章，我將表明羅伊在小說中刻意破壞「大論述」的目的，並說明羅伊行文中表現出「大故事」的單薄度，以及這些大故事如何造成弱勢主體的隱没。在第三章中，討論將延伸到維魯沙這個角色上。首先我會解釋及解讀他賤民身份所被賦與的本質，接下來我會分析他所帶有的「不潔」意涵是如何及為什麼使他成為是代罪羔羊。在第四章中，我同樣的運用「純潔」與「不潔」間的對立關係來解讀小說中女性角色的處境。如同維魯沙一般，瑞海兒與阿慕也同樣在「純潔」符碼的宰制之下。它的標準支配了女性以及母性的合宜行止的內含。這些女性主角們也因此受限於「純潔」意涵的羅網之中。最後，我會在第五章中回頭總結前面幾章所提到的議題。此外，我會對於羅伊小說內容中所反映出來的當代印度社會與歷史的角度做一些討論，因為這點曾經引起爭議，並以此做為這本論文的尾聲。 / Arundhati Roy’s prestigious first novel (and maybe the only novel), The God of Small Things, has already come out for eight years. It contains such exuberance of topics, such as the inequality towards the untouchables, the physical and mental violence abuse upon woman, or the marginalization of the local culture under the influences of globalization, that it has earned the attention of many researchers from different fields even till now. Some of researchers consider the text as a fiction which presents postcolonial India, others find the book as a perfect demonstration of how proper English is transformed into a more experimental form; still others treat the novel as an assertion of female rights. In this thesis, I more or less touch all of the above topics, and investigate them in the light of “the model of purity,” the system which only recognizes the approved essence and wipes off anything that is not. Thus in this thesis the term purity refers to concepts of the hygienic purity, ritual purity, and also the purity in the ethnic and cultural aspect. I will give background knowledge to the book in Chapter One. Then, in Chapter Two I declare Roy’s intention to mime the grand narrative in her novel, and how Roy’s writing lays bare the fragility of The Great Stories and how they work to ensure the invisibility of the minor subjects. In Chapter Three, I extend my discussion to the character Velutha. Firstly I explain and interpret his essence by his untouchable background; then I will analyze how and why his impure essence makes him a victim of others’ irrational malice. In Chapter Four, I also apply the opposition of purity and impurity to read the situation of the female characters in the novel. Like Velutha, the heroines Rahel and Ammu are also under surveillance of the purity code. The criterion of purity dictates not only the context of decent womanhood but also motherhood. The female protagonists are thus caught in the inescapable network of purity. Finally, I will have a retrospective look on my thesis in Chapter Five. Apart from this, I will have a brief discussion about the social reality reflected in Roy’s text as this issue once brought about controversy. This small debate will serve as my finale.

My visual art practice explores the point at which a sense of bodily humour and revulsion may intersect in the world of the monstrous-feminine: the female grotesque, presented as my own obese (and post-obese) body. This exegesis is a written elucidation of my visual art practice as research. As an artist I create performative photographic images featuring taboo or otherwise 'inappropriate' subject matter, situations, materials and behaviours including bodily fluids, offal, internal organs and my own post-obese body. Through these modes of working, I establish and investigate the subjectivity of flesh: Why are we repulsed by the female grotesque? How can this flesh be used to subvert readings of the female body? My research is informed by those understandings of the female body, sexuality and difference described in the work of feminist theorists including Julia Kristeva, Helene Cixous, Ruth Salvaggio and Elizabeth Grosz. I explore the work of influential artists such as Eleanor Antin, Carolee Schneeman, Cindy Sherman and Sarah Lucas. In this context, I present my own visual art practice as a point from which the monstrous-feminine can be given voice as sentient, intelligent flesh.

Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu / There has been considerable debate amongst feminist scholars as to whether the normalization of cosmetic surgery positively impacts women, empowers women by promoting agency and choice (Gimlin 2002, Kuczynski 2006), or oppresses women by propagating patriarchal ideologies that confine women’s bodies and consequently inhibit their voice (Blum 2003, Blood 2005, Heinricy 2006, Clarke and Griffin 2007, Tait, 2007). Rather than entering this debate my argument proceeds from a premise that the normalization of cosmetic surgery is a form of implicit and exclusive violence. Using a selection of post‐structuralist, feminist, and psychoanalytic theories, I analyze the manner in which this form of violence confines women’s bodies and structures the psyche. Using Jacques Lacan, Judith Butler, and Michel Foucault’s argument on pastoral power, I deconstruct the formation of the normalized self, the conscience, and the act of confession as it translates in the context of the cosmetic surgical body itself. Furthermore, I highlight liberal feminism’s role in this form of oppression. In so doing, I theoretically show the continual and effective functioning of pastoral power in the context of an individualization technique that oppresses women in the second decade of the twenty‐first century. I argue that the normalization of cosmetic surgery provokes a silencing of woman’s voices, an exploitation and oppression of the individual’s psyche, and an invalidation of the living body by a less visible, less explicit, mode of incarceration that is concealed by an aesthetic and moral veil. It is in this context that I present a counter discourse to the oppression that underlies the normalizing discourses promoted by the cosmetic surgical industry, a destabilization of patriarchal norms embedded within cosmetic surgical discourses, and a theoretical reconstruction that involves an inscription of what I refer to as an authentic feminist voice in contemporary consumer culture – a mode of intimate unconscious insurgence. I advocate a return to Julia Kristeva’s theory and the intimate revolt promoted by her ethical approach. Furthermore, I present a voice that demonstrates an intimate revolt – a voice that challenges patriarchal norms and is not exclusively confined by the mechanisms of normalization that shape the twenty‐first century woman with emphasis on the cosmetic surgical industry and its superincumbent discourses – the South African poet Antjie Krog. It is Krog’s skillfully structured poetic texts that facilitate my theoretical reconstruction. Applying Kristeva’s theory on semanalysis, I theoretically show that Krog’s work fabricates an excess to the confines of the law of the Father and the mechanisms of normalization itself. In addition, I present an “originary attachment” as an adaption of Kristeva’s argument on the chora and my proposal of an “originary ideal” challenges Kristeva’s emphasis on phonetic grams in the context of that which underlies the realm of the paternal metaphor. Using Louise Viljoen’s analysis of Krog’s work and Bridget Garnham’s research on emerging designer cosmetic surgical discourses as support, I then present Krog’s poetic texts as a counter discourse to the “moral” cosmetic surgical discourses that exploit the ageing individual in the second decade of the twenty‐first century. In addition, applying Kristeva’s theory on paragrams to Krog’s poetic text(s), I present a destabilization of the patriarchal norms implicit within cosmetic surgical discourses. Furthermore, I extend Kristeva’s theory on the principle of negativity to present a re‐translation of the act‐of‐confession in Krog’s poetic text(s), an extension of Foucault’s pastoral power and Butler’s argument on the exclusivity of normalization, and a reclamation of her ageing body in Verweersrkrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / Feministiese geleerdes voer al geruime tyd 'n warm debat oor die kwessie of die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie vroue positief beïnvloed, vroue bemagtig deurdat dit volmag en keuse vir hulle in die hand werk (Gimlin 2002; Kuczynski 2006), of vroue onderdruk deurdat dit patriargale ideologieë voorstaan wat die vroueliggaam inperk en gevolglik die vrou inhibeer om haar stem te laat hoor (Blood 2005; Blum 2005; Clarke en Griffin 2007; Heinricy 2006; Tait 2007). In plaas daarvan om by hierdie debat betrokke te raak, gaan ek van die veronderstelling uit dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie 'n vorm van implisiete en eksklusiewe geweld is. Aan die hand van post-strukturalistiese, feministiese en psigoanalitiese teorieë ontleed ek die manier waarop hierdie vorm van geweld vroue se liggaam onderwerp en hul psige vorm. Ek dekonstrueer die vorming van die genormaliseerde self, die bewussyn en die daad van belydenis, soos dit in die konteks oorgebring word, aan die hand van Jacques Lacan, Judith Butler en Michel Foucault se beskouings van herderlike oftewel pastorale mag. Hierbenewens onderstreep ek die rol wat liberale feminisme in hierdie vorm van onderwerping speel. Sodoende demonstreer ek teoreties hoe die voortdurende en effektiewe funksionering van pastorale mag in die konteks van ’n individualiseringstegniek vroue in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu onderdruk. Ek maak die aanname dat die normalisering van kosmetiese chirurgie daartoe bydra dat vroue die swye opgelê word, die individu se psige uitgebuit en onderdruk word en die lewende liggaam ontkragtig word deur middel van ’n inkerkering wat minder sigbaar en minder eksplisiet is en agter ’n estetiese en morele sluier verdoesel word. In hierdie konteks bied ek ’n teendiskoers aan vir die onderwerping wat onderliggend is aan die normaliseringsdiskoerse wat die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf ondersteun, en ek bepleit dat die patriargale norme wat in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie vassit, gedestabiliseer word. Ek demonstreer verder ’n teoretiese rekonstruksie wat ’n inskripsie insluit van wat ek ’n geloofwaardige feministiese stem in die eietydse verbruikerskultuur noem – ’n modus van intieme, onbewuste opstandigheid. Ek bepleit 'n terugkeer na Julia Kristeva se teorie en die intieme oproer wat deur haar etiese benadering voorgestaan word. Afgesien hiervan stel ek ’n stem voor wat ’n intieme opstand demonstreer – ’n stem wat patriargale norme uitdaag en nie uitsluitlik onderdruk word deur die normaliseringsmeganismes wat vorm gee aan die vrou van die een-entwintigste eeu nie, waar die klem op die kosmetiesechirurgiebedryf en die boliggende diskoerse daarvan val – Antjie Krog, Suid-Afrikaanse digter. Dit is juis Krog se kunstig gestruktureerde digterlike tekste wat my teoretiese rekonstruksie fasiliteer. Aan die hand van Kristeva se teorie oor semanalise toon ek teoreties dat Krog se werk ’n ruimte daarstel wat "uitstyg" bo die grense wat die wet van die Vader en die normaliseringsmeganismes stel. Hierbenewens stel ek ’n "originêre gehegtheid" as aanpassing van Kristeva se beskouing van die chora voor, en my voorstel van ’n "originêre ideaal" daag Kristeva se opvating oor paragramme uit in die konteks van dit wat ten grondslag lê aan die gebied van die paternalistiese metafoor. Op grond van Louise Viljoen se ontleding van Krog se werk en Bridget Garnham se navorsing oor opkomende diskoerse oor ontwerpers- kosmetiese chirurgie bied ek Krog se digterlike tekste aan as ’n teendiskoers vir die "morele" diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie wat die verouderende individu in die tweede dekade van die een-en-twintigste eeu uitbuit. Daarby, deur Kristeva se teorie oor paragramme op Krog se digterlike teks(te) toe te pas, demonstreer ek 'n destabilisering van die patriargale norme wat implisiet in diskoerse oor kosmetiese chirurgie teenwoordig is. Hierbenewens brei ek Kristeva se teorie oor die negatiwiteitsbeginsel uit deur middel van ’n heroorsetting van die belydenisdaad in Krog se digwerk(e), ’n uitbreiding van Foucault se pastorale mag en Butler se opvatting oor die eksklusiwiteit van normalisering, en ’n opeising van Krog se verouderende liggaam in Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / Sekubekhona izingxoxo-mpikiswano eziningi kwizifundiswa zama-feminist ukuthi ngabe ukwenza isurgery yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwemvelo (cosmetic plastic surgery) kunomphumela omuhle yini kwabesimame, ngabe kuhlinzeka ngamandla kwabesimame ngokuphakamisela phezulu ukuthi umuntu azenzele akufunayo kanye nokuzikhethela (Grimlin 2002, Kuczynski 2006) noma kuyinto ecindezela abesimame ngokuqhubela phambili indlela nama-idiyoloji abekwa ngabesilisa ukuthi imizimba yabesimame kumele ibukeke kanjani, kanti lokhu kucindezela izwi labesimame (Blum 2003, Blood 2005, Heinricy 2006, Clarke and Griffin 2007, Tait, 2007). Kunokuthi iphuzu nami ngingenele kule ngxoxo-mpikiswano, elami iphuzu lona liqhubeka ukusukela kwisimo sokuthi ukwamukela uhlujzo olungajulile lokuzitshintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame (cosmetic surgery) kuyindlela yodlame olungaqondile ngqo kanye nolukhipha inyumbazane abesimame. Ngokusebenzisa amathiyori epost-structuralist, awe-feminist kanye nawepsychoanalytical, ngihlaziya indlela le nhlobo yalolu dlame ecindezela ngayo imizimba yabesimame kanye nokuhlela indlela okumele bacabange nokuzibona ngayo. Ngokusebenzisa iphuzu likaJacques Lacan, Judith Buttle kanye noMichel Foucault lamandla okukhokhela ngokomoya, ngiqhaqha indlela okubumbeka ngayo isithombe sokuzibona, unembeza kanye nomoya wokuhlambulula ngokuzidalula (confession) lapho kubhekwa izinto ngaphansi kwesimo somzimba wokuhlinzwa okungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka ngokwakho. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngigqamisa indima ye-liberal feminism ngokwayo kule nhlobo yencindezelo. Ngokwenza lokho, ngikhombisa ngokwethiyori ukuqhubeka nokusebenza kwamandla esikhokhelo ngokomoya ngaphansi kwethekniki yokuzazi komuntu eyedwa okucindezela abesimame kwiminyaka elishumi yesibili, yesenshuri yamashumi amabili nanye . Ngiqhubela phambili iphuzu lokuthi ukwenziwa kohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka kuqala umoya wokucindezela izwi labesimame, ukuxhashazwa kwabo, kanye nendlela umuntu azibona ngayo ngokwengqondo, kanye nokucindezela umzimba ophilayo ngezindlela ezingazibonakalisi obala, ezifihlekile, indlela yokubopha efihlwa yindlela yokubukeka kanye nokwembozwa umoya. Kungaphansi kwalesi simo lapho ngethula khona i-discourse yencindezelo eyenza ukuthi imboni yohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka kwabesimame kube yinto ephakanyiswayo nokubonwa iyinhle, ukuphazamiseka kwama-norm endlela yengcindezi yabesilisa, ngaphansi kwama-discourse okuhlinzwa okungajulile ukushintsha ukubukeka, kanye nokwakha ithiyori ebandakanya ukubona izinto ngendlela ethize, engikuchaza njengezwi okuyilo elifanele le-feminism, kwisimo sosiko esiphila ngaphansi kwaso samanje - okuyindlela abantu abazibuka ngayo ezingqondweni ngendlela engekho obala. Ngigcizelela ukubuyela kwithiyori kaKristeva, kanye nokuthi abantu babhoke indlobana ngezindlela eziphansi, okuyinto ayiphakamisayo yenkambiso yokwazi okulungile nokungalunganga (ethical approach). Naphezu kwalokho, ngiveza izwi elibonisa ukubhoka indlobana kwabesimame ngendlela engekho sobala - izwi elifaka inselele kuma-norm okubhozomelwa ngumqondo wokulawula kwabesilisa, kanti futhi leli zwi aligcinanga nje kuphela umumo wabesimame ngendlela ejwayelekile njengowesimame wesenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye ngokugcizelela kwimboni yohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, kanye nendlela lokhu okuyisihibe ngayo – ngokusho kukasonkondlo waseNingizimu Afrika, u-Antjie Krog. Imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog ezinobungcweti yiyo eyenze ukwakha kwami kabusha ithiyori. Ngokusebenzisa ithiyori kaKristeva ye-semanalysis, ngibonisa ngokwethiyori ukuthi umsebenzi kaKrog uqambe okweqele ngaleya kwizihibe zomthetho kubaba kanye nezindlela zokwenza izinto zibukeke ngendlela evamile noma zingavamile. Nangaphezu kwalokho, ngifakela i-"originary attachment" njengokwenza ukuthi kube kwesinye isimo, iphuzu likaKristeva ku-chora kanti isiphakamiso sami se-"originary ideal" sifaka inselele kusigcizelelo sikaKristeva ngamagremu efonethiki ngaphansi kwesimo esigcizelela umfanekiso ngasohlangothini lobaba. Ngokusebenzisa ukuhlaziya kukaLouise Viljoen kumsebenzi kaKrog kanye nocwaningo lukaBridget Garnham ngokuvela kwama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka njengesisekelo, ngase ngethula imibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog njenge-discourse yokuphikisa ama-discourse e-"moral" yama-discourse ohlinzo olungajulile lokuzishintsha ukubukeka, elixhaphaza abantu abagugayo ngeminyaka eyishumi yesibili kwisenshuri yamashumi amabili-nanye. Naphezu kwalokho, ngisebenzise ithiyori kaKristeva kumapharagramu kwimibhalo yezinkondlo zikaKrog, ngaphazamisa imibono yokuphatha kwabesilisa equkethwe kuma-discourse ohlinzo ulungajulile ukuzishintsha ukubukeka. Ukuqhubekela phambili, nginwebe ithiyori kaKristeva ngesimiso se-negativity ukwethula ukuhumusha kabusha umoya wokuzihlambulula ngokuzidalula otholakala kwizinkondlozikaKrog, ukuwukunweba amandla umbono kaFaucault wamandla okuthi abantu bazibone ngenye indlela kanye nephuzu likaButler wlkuthi into engavamile engaphandle ibonwe njengento efanele, kanye nokwamukela umzimba ogugayo kwinkondlo ye- Verweerskrif/Body Bereft (Krog 2006). / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.(Theory of Literature)

Unter dem Begriff des Poststrukturalismus wird eine disparate, auf den Axiomen des Strukturalismus aufbauende und diese zugleich überwindende Strömung verstanden, die sowohl innerhalb der Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften als auch in interdisziplinär organisierten Feldern wie den Gender Studies von großer Tragweite ist. Geteilt wird die Auffassung, dass kulturelle Phänomene allgemein sprachlich strukturiert sind. Seine Tendenz, unter die Oberfläche vermeintlich stabiler, monolithischer Strukturen zu schauen, qualifiziert den Poststrukturalismus für eine Anwendung auf genderwissenschaftliche Kategorien wie Weiblichkeit und Männlichkeit, deren Bedeutung nicht aus sich selbst erwächst, sondern die als Signifikate innerhalb eines (phallokratischen) Systems zu denken sind.

Uppsatsens problemställning rör frågan om det är möjligt att utröna hur tystnaden framställs i Nelly Sachs sena lyrik och vad den säger, och huruvida det är möjligt att relatera denna tystnad till en medveten kontra omedveten uttrycksform. Min avsikt är alltså att undersöka de strukturer eller mönster – medvetna som omedvetna – som står att finna i Sachs lyrik som kan kopplas samman med denna tystnad, inte för att fastställa en dikts betydelse utan för att undersöka hur tystnadens närvaro tar sig uttryck och låter sig urskiljas i hennes dikter. Jag gör detta dels genom att i uppsatsens del ett redogöra för hur tystnaden som tema och problem uppfattas i den tidigare forskningen. I del två försöker jag fördjupa dessa rön genom en vidare koppling till Sachs modernistiska formspråk, och med hjälp av bland annat psykoanalytisk teori görs ett antal närläsningar av hennes senare dikter. Den teoretiska ramen för diskussionen hämtar jag alltså främst från psykoanalysen som på olika vis uppmärksammar lakuner, trauman och omedvetna dimensioner i språket, vilket jag menar kan öka förståelsen för tystnadens problematik hos Sachs. Undersökningen genomförs närmare bestämt i linje med Julia Kristevas teoribildning. Kristeva är psykoanalytiker och även professor i lingvistik och har formulerat teorier om det poetiska språket som visat sig fruktbara i min läsning av det ”ordlösa språket” hos Sachs. Kathrin M. Bower refererar träffande till Kristevas arbete som ”Kristeva’s distinctive brand of psychoanalytic semiotics”.

Trees, as threshold beings, effectively blur the line between the real world and fantastical alternate worlds, and destabilise traditional binary classification systems that distinguish humanity, and Culture, from Nature. Though the presence of trees is often peripheral to the main narrative action, their representation is necessary within the fantasy trope. Their consistent inclusion within fantasy texts of the twentieth century demonstrates an enduring arboreal legacy that cannot be disregarded in its contemporary relevance, whether they are represented individually or in collective forests. The purpose of my dissertation is to conduct a study of various prominent fantasy texts of the twentieth century, including the fantasy works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert Holdstock, Diana Wynne Jones, Natalie Babbitt, and J.K. Rowling. In scrutinising these texts, and drawing on insights offered by liminal, ecocritical, ecofeminist, mythological and psychological theorists, I identify the primary function of trees within fantasy narratives as liminal: what Victor Turner identifies as a ‘betwixt and between’ state (1991:95) where binaries are suspended in favour of embracing potentiality. This liminality is constituted by three central dimensions: the ecological, the mythological, and the psychological. Each dimension informs the relationship between the arboreal as grounded in reality, and represented in fantasy. Trees, as literary and cinematic arboreal totems are positioned within fantasy narratives in such a way as to emphasise an underlying call to bio-conservatorship, to enable a connection to a larger scope of cultural expectation, and to act as a means through which human self-awareness is developed. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)