To appreciate fully the ethical dimensions inherent in the literature of the eighteenth century it is necessary to understand the moral bias of an author, a bias often best ascertained by a study of the treatment he accords good nature and prudence. Although several scholarly articles and portions of longer studies recognize the importance of these virtues for individual writers, no single work has appeared which traces fully the history of the idea of good nature and prudence as complementary virtues in the eighteenth century. The present study provides a systematic analysis of these virtues as treated in theology, ethical philosophy, and fiction from the later seventeenth century to about 1800.

This thesis is an exegesis of the portrayal of deviance in selected post-independence Shona fictional works. The analysis is done within the context of moralisation in Shona literature. The forms of deviant behaviour discussed include prostitution, homosexuality, crime and violence and negligence of duty within families. The fictional works are Mapenzi (1999), Totanga Patsva (2003), Ndozviudza Aniko? (2006), Ndafa Here? (2008), and Makaitei? (2008). All the fictional works are set during the period of the Zimbabwe Crisis and this becomes the context of the criticism of the manner in which deviance is handled by the writers. Particular attention is paid on the causes and solutions to deviance, images of deviants and the implications of such images in attempting to understand the realities of deviant behaviour. The research adopts an eclectic approach through a combination of literary and sociological theories to unpack issues concerning the litigious subject of deviance. The research fully acknowledges that deviance is a fluid and controversial concept as it varies with cultural frameworks and historical periods of certain societies. Thus the research has endeavoured to locate deviance with the ambit of Shona existential philosophy and the period of the Zimbabwe crisis. The research advances the argument that no human being is inherently deviant but there are certain circumstances and eventualities that are responsible for the development of such a personality. Therefore deviance herein is viewed as a response to the situation and in the case of this research it is the crisis which then is responsible for nurturing the people into deviance. In most of the situations, deviance is shown to be essentially a survival strategy by those who engage in it. Prostitution, homosexuality and crime have been shown to be largely economic necessities as the collapsing economy during the period of the crisis came with amorphous challenges and people resorted to anti-social behaviour in an attempt to live contenting lives. With regards to prostitution, homosexuality and crime, the writers have to a larger extent been able to contextualise deviance in terms of the crisis although Mabasa has been shown to display some ambivalence in his treatment of prostitutes in Mapenzi and Ndafa Here? There are instances he castigates prostitutes as social renegades which somehow weakens his vision. Apart from this, it has also been argued that deviant behaviour can be a result of the frustrations people face as they battle the vagaries of life. Violence and negligence of duty within families is argued to be a consequence of the frustrations from the poverty brought by the crisis and the movement into the diaspora as this has its own challenges that disempower people to carry out their duties as sanctioned by culture. Also, the research advances the argument that oral literature continues to impact on written literature and one such area is that of moralisation which continues to be a major priority of the writers. Except for the authors of the short stories in Totanga Patsva, moralisation on issues to do with deviance has been done in an enlightening way as the writers unearth the underlying causes of deviant behaviour and these are found in society and not individuals. The writers of the short stories have shown to be largely influenced by feminism and erroneously blame male deviants for the problems faced by women instead of explaining men`s behaviour in the context colonialism and neo-colonialism which brought various challenges related to gender relations in Africa not experienced hitherto. The direction in terms of qualitative development which Shona literature is taking in post-independence era is positive as the writers are shown to be tackling sensitive political, social and economic issues and their impact on the human condition. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

This thesis is an exegesis of the portrayal of deviance in selected post-independence Shona fictional works. The analysis is done within the context of moralisation in Shona literature. The forms of deviant behaviour discussed include prostitution, homosexuality, crime and violence and negligence of duty within families. The fictional works are Mapenzi (1999), Totanga Patsva (2003), Ndozviudza Aniko? (2006), Ndafa Here? (2008), and Makaitei? (2008). All the fictional works are set during the period of the Zimbabwe Crisis and this becomes the context of the criticism of the manner in which deviance is handled by the writers. Particular attention is paid on the causes and solutions to deviance, images of deviants and the implications of such images in attempting to understand the realities of deviant behaviour. The research adopts an eclectic approach through a combination of literary and sociological theories to unpack issues concerning the litigious subject of deviance. The research fully acknowledges that deviance is a fluid and controversial concept as it varies with cultural frameworks and historical periods of certain societies. Thus the research has endeavoured to locate deviance with the ambit of Shona existential philosophy and the period of the Zimbabwe crisis. The research advances the argument that no human being is inherently deviant but there are certain circumstances and eventualities that are responsible for the development of such a personality. Therefore deviance herein is viewed as a response to the situation and in the case of this research it is the crisis which then is responsible for nurturing the people into deviance. In most of the situations, deviance is shown to be essentially a survival strategy by those who engage in it. Prostitution, homosexuality and crime have been shown to be largely economic necessities as the collapsing economy during the period of the crisis came with amorphous challenges and people resorted to anti-social behaviour in an attempt to live contenting lives. With regards to prostitution, homosexuality and crime, the writers have to a larger extent been able to contextualise deviance in terms of the crisis although Mabasa has been shown to display some ambivalence in his treatment of prostitutes in Mapenzi and Ndafa Here? There are instances he castigates prostitutes as social renegades which somehow weakens his vision. Apart from this, it has also been argued that deviant behaviour can be a result of the frustrations people face as they battle the vagaries of life. Violence and negligence of duty within families is argued to be a consequence of the frustrations from the poverty brought by the crisis and the movement into the diaspora as this has its own challenges that disempower people to carry out their duties as sanctioned by culture. Also, the research advances the argument that oral literature continues to impact on written literature and one such area is that of moralisation which continues to be a major priority of the writers. Except for the authors of the short stories in Totanga Patsva, moralisation on issues to do with deviance has been done in an enlightening way as the writers unearth the underlying causes of deviant behaviour and these are found in society and not individuals. The writers of the short stories have shown to be largely influenced by feminism and erroneously blame male deviants for the problems faced by women instead of explaining men`s behaviour in the context colonialism and neo-colonialism which brought various challenges related to gender relations in Africa not experienced hitherto. The direction in terms of qualitative development which Shona literature is taking in post-independence era is positive as the writers are shown to be tackling sensitive political, social and economic issues and their impact on the human condition. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

This dissertation considers the development of an ethics stemming from the Augustinian revival of early modern England, and the subsequent effect of this ethics on the literary culture of the period. The Preface claims that religious and textual communities operate according to a “cultural mobility” that eludes conventional neo-historicist approaches to literary culture, and Paul Ricoeur’s aphorism, “the symbol gives rise to thought,” serves as a model for thinking through this mobility. Augustinian ethics is a cultural phenomenon in the period, because people are thinking about Augustine, giving new life to his works through their own expressions of thought. After exploring the ways in which the Augustinian revival was brought about during the early modern period in the Introduction, one such expression of thought, John Donne’s relationship with early modern print culture, is examined in Chapter One. Following the theoretical outline of Augustine’s Christianization of Ciceronian rhetoric in his De Doctrina Christiana, it is suggested that though Donne’s aversion to the print publication of his poetry may have begun as a result of his “gentlemanly disdain” of the press, it ultimately found its sustenance in the form of an Augustinian ethic. Chapter Two examines the possibility of a metaphorical acquisition of Augustinian hermeneutics in the metadrama of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This hermeneutics ultimately calls into question the epistemological framework of Theseus’s skeptical aesthetics, suggesting that a more inclusive aesthetics based on charity can elevate the stage to its proper dignity. The last chapter turns from the communal implications of Augustinian ethics to its subjective implications by examining Augustine’s inner light theology and the role it plays in John Milton’s late poetry. Instead of falling in line with criticism that sees the simultaneous publication of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes as a dialectical meditation on the virtues of pacifism and the evils of religious violence, this reading suggests that the late poetry asserts the ethical rights of those who attend to the inner light, whether they be peaceful or violent. / text

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished