M.A. (Afrikaans) / This study explores the nature, role and function of letters (i.e. epistolary communication) in Etienne van Heerden’s novels, In stede van die liefde (In love’s place) (2005) and 30 nagte in Amsterdam (30 nights in Amsterdam) (2008). Existing theoretical insights into the so-called epistolary novel (novel of letters), as well as the role of letters in literary texts, are used as point of departure for an in-depth analysis of each novel. Botha (1987:149) defines the epistolary novel as “a novel consisting entirely or in part of letters, diary fragments or other relevant documentation, while a foreword and/or conclusion by a fictional editor/publisher can also be included” (my translation – FB). Though neither In stede van die liefde and 30 nagte in Amsterdam at first sight seem to be epistolary novels, both meet with the requirements of Botha’s (1987:149) definition in the sense that they partly consist of letters. Botha’s (1987:149) definition also contains no specific indication of exactly how many letters or diary fragments a novel should include to be considered an epistolary novel. From a study of the letters in Van Heerden’s novels it becomes evident that In stede van die liefde and 30 nagte in Amsterdam do not display all the features of the epistolary novel. Some defining characteristics are deliberately deviated from or undermined, while other characteristics are identified in the novels that serve as supplement to existing theoretical approaches to the epistolary novel. In both novels, for example, letters function as catalysts for action, while they are sometimes used as part of the narration or to expose the inner life (thoughts) of characters. In addition letters are also used to provide background information and to act as historical documents. Among other things, it is indicated that most of the letters in In stede van die liefde and 30 nagte in Amsterdam do in fact not fulfil the traditional purpose of letters, as two-way communication is not established in all of them. It can justifiably be argued, therefore, that letters rather reveal something more symbolic about the psyche of the characters who act as letter writers in the novels. A textual analysis of the two Van Heerden novels clearly indicates that both In stede van die liefde and 30 nagte in Amsterdam should be considered innovative with regard to the use of letters. The complexity, richness and literary quality of these novels require many different interpretations, however, with the investigation into the role of letters as only one possible way in which insight can be obtained into these impressive literary achievements.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the possibility that there are other ways in which to represent the past, not just the traditional way as practised by historians. For instance, other forms such as historical fiction in the historical novel, and therefore, narrative, can act as an important conduit for conveying historical meaning. Through the examination of the historiographic metafiction of the South African writer, Etienne Van Heerden, this study has concluded that through a reading of both the author's belletristic and theoretical texts, readers interested in history and literature will gain some understanding of the problems that come with writing up the past. At the same time, they will gain some knowledge of a different way of writing about South African history, because the author portrays the historical events in a refreshing, vivid and imaginative way. However, it needs to be said from the outset that in no way is the writer of this thesis neglecting the merits of traditional history or advocating its abolition, which is, ultimately, the scientific way of representing the past and remains sacred and paramount for the historian, both amateur and professional. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek die moontlikheid dat die verlede volgens ander sienswyses voorgestel kan word en nie slegs volgens die tradisionele sienswyses van historici nie. Daar is byvoorbeeld ander vorme, soos historiese fiksie wat in historiese novelles gebruik word, en daarom kan die narratief as 'n belangrike kanaal dien om historiese betekenis mee oor te dra. Deur 'n ondersoek van die historiese metafiksie van die Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer, Etienne van Heerden, kom hierdie studie tot die gevolgtrekking dat deur die lees van beide die skrywer se belletristiese en teoretiese tekste, lesers wat in die geskiedenis en literatuur belangstel, 'n begrip sal kry van die problematiek wat gepaard gaan met die skryf van geskiedenis. Terselfdertyd sal hulle 'n begrip kry van 'n alternatiewe skryf van die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis, omdat die skrywer historiese gegewens in 'n verfrissende, helder en verbeeldingryke wyse oordra. Dit moet egter beklemtoon word dat die skrywer van hierdie tesis geensins die meriete van tradisionele geskiedskrywing negeer of die afskaffing daarvan voorstaan nie, aangesien die wetenskaplike voorstelling van die verlede kosbaar en van kardinale belang vir beide amateur en professionele historici bly.

The focus of this dissertation is a comparative study of Ingrid Winterbach's Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006) [The Book of Happenstance (2008)] and Etienne van Heerden's Asbesmiddag (2007) [Asbestos Afternoon] within an intertextual and socio-political framework. Both novels show strong links to the literary traditions of which they form part through a high degree of intertextuality with literary predecessors (intertexts from Afrikaans and South African English literature, but also classical intertexts emanating from the larger field of world literature). Both texts exhibit an overt metatextual consciousness. The protagonists in each of these novels are portrayed as novelists. One of the main aims of the study is to interrogate the implied ideological perspectives in both novels - the nature and extent of the reflection of the current South African socio-political system. Winterbach and Van Heerden‘s texts may both be read as fictionalised forms of "protest" against the extrinsic South African socio-political order. These forms of protest focus on the inevitable change from one stage/era to the next, the old South Africa to the new, in a quest for artistic (creative writing and literature) and cultural (Afrikaner identity and language) survival. Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (2006) and Asbesmiddag (2007) contribute to contemporary discourse by offering implied ideological insights into specific socio-political and metatextual phenomena. This is done in fictional guise - through the characters populating the fictional world of the novel, and also through the authors' implied ideological views. Both novels are intensely concerned with language issues, as well as the status of literature as cultural product. On the metatextual level theoretical issues concerning literature are in the focus, such as the precarious position of the novelist (and the academic) in contemporary South African society, and the status of literature and Afrikaans as a minority language. The purpose of this comparative study is to look at the metatextual, ideological and linguistic aspects of the novels through an extensive intertextual study, in order to interrogate and illustrate the socio-political discourse embedded in them.

Both historiographical and literary practices have undergone revision in recent years in attempting to address the inheritance of nineteenth-century realism. Since the object of realist stylistics, employed in both the writing of fiction and history, is to render authorship authoritative or even invisible, the ideological import of these narratives is often such that the constructedness of the historical record and its absences are veiled. In developments beginning in the 1980s with the advent of ‘New Historicism’ and with the emergence of postmodern literary techniques, the interface of literature and history became of seminal importance, since both were now credited as being products of narrative and discourse, and hence, to varying degrees, of the literary imagination. This movement intersects interestingly with developments in postcolonial studies, since it is the voices of the marginalized and disempowered colonized peoples that are routinely co-opted and excised from nineteenth-century realist histories. These concerns are now being fully explored in the literature of the contemporary post-transitional South African moment, since authors in this country seemingly now feel freed up to look back to histories that precede the immediate traumas of apartheid. The concern, in relation to apartheid developments but also on a broader universal scale, is this: if history is viewed as perpetual emergences of modernities, then one of the great absences in the record is the historical determinants of any given epistemology. The attempt to recreate such an epistemological genealogy is thus simultaneously postcolonial, historiographical, and literary. Russel Brownlee’s Garden of the Plagues (2005), Ingrid Winterbach’s To Hell with Cronjé (2010), and Etienne van Heerden’s The Long Silence of Mario Salviati (2002) attempt to bridge this gap in the recorded sensibilities of any historical moment by representing a ‘lived experience’ of the past, and in the process imaginatively recreating the cultural, historical and psychological locations of the proponents of an emerging modernity. This study concerns itself with the ways in which these authors address the influence of realist historiography through the use of literary innovations that allow for the departure from realist stylistics. Most commonly, all three authors draw on forms of magic realism, but multiple refigurings and recombinations of notions of temporality, narrative, and characterization likewise work to defamiliarize the once stable discourse of history.

Text in Afrikaans / Abstracts in Afrikaans, English and seSotho / Die ikoniese konsep van die spelende mens (homo ludens) - soos verwoord deur Johan Huizinga – verkry opnuut trefkrag weens ʼn hedendaagse bekoring met virtuele spel. Nel (2014; 2015a; 2015b), Burger (2013), Viljoen (2011; 2013), Anker (2011) en Barnes (2014) bevind dat die eietydse fassinasie met ludieke spel uitdrukking vind in die narratiewe struktuur van verskeie Afrikaanse literêre tekste. Hierdie navorsingsverslag fokus op drie kritieke ontwikkelingsfases van spel: pre-Huizinga, Huizinga en post-Huizinga. Rigtinggewende antieke Griekse spelkonsepte van Heraklitus en Plato, waarop voortgebou is deur Huizinga (1949; 1951), asook die revisionistiese idees van Caillois (1961) word benut as teoretiese steierwerk vir ʼn lesing van die literêre speldiskoers in Klimtol (Van Heerden 2013); Afstande (Sleigh 2010) en Sirkusboere (Loots 2011). Die beskrywing en interpretasie van spelmerkers lei daartoe dat nie net die narratiewe struktuur ín die romans nie, maar ook die romans sélf, as vorm van kultuurskeppende spel beskou kan word. / Due to contemporary fascination with virtual games, the seminal concept of the playing person (homo ludens) − as articulated by Huizinga – has regained prominence. Nel (2014; 2015a; 2015b), Burger (2013), Viljoen (2011; 2013), Anker (2011) and Barnes (2014) observe a preoccupation with ludics in the narrative structure of various Afrikaans literary texts. This report focuses on three critical developmental stages of play: pre-Huizinga, Huizinga and post-Huizinga. Classic hypotheses by Heraclitus and Plato that manifested in Huizinga's (1949; 1950) notions on the play-element in culture as well as revisionist ideas by Caillois (1961) will be utilised as theoretical framework for an exploration of the ludic discourse in Klimtol (Van Heerden 2013), Afstande (Sleigh 2010) and Sirkusboere (Loots 2011). The description and interpretation of various play markers signify that not only the narrative structure of the novels, but the novels themselves, might be regarded as ludic play that shapes culture. / Ka ntlha ya kgatlhego ya ga jaana ya metshamekopono, mogopolo wa boitshimololedi wa motho yo o tshamekang (homo ludens) - jaaka o tlhalositswe ke Huizinga – o boetse o botlhokwa. Nel (2014; 2015a; 2015b), Burger (2013), Viljoen (2011; 2013), Anker (2011) le Barnes (2014) ba ela tlhoko metshamekwane ya popego ya puo mo dikwalong di le mmalwa tsa Afrikaans. Pegelo eno e totile dikgato di le tharo tsa botlhokwa tsa go gola ga motshameko: pele ga Huizinga, ka nako ya Huizinga le morago ga Huizinga. Tiori ya tlelasiki ya ga Heraclitus le Plato e e tlhageletseng mo megopolong ya ga Huizinga (1949; 1950) e e malebana le elemente ya motshameko mo setsong gammogo le megopolo ya poeletso ya ga Caillois (1961) di tlaa dirisiwa jaaka letlhomeso la tiori go sekaseka puisano e e ka ga motshamekwane mo Klimtol (Van Heerden 2013), Afstande (Sleigh 2010) le Sirkusboere (Loots 2011). Tlhaloso le thanolo ya batlhami ba ba farologaneng ba metshameko e bontsha gore fa se fela popego ya kanelo ya dipadi e e bopang setso, mme dipadi ka botsona di ka tsewa e le metshamekwana e e bopang setso. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie word die verbandhoudende teoretiese begrippe van trans-liggaamlikheid, kriptosoölogie en dieresiele ondersoek met verwysing na drie magies-realistiese Afrikaanse romans, naamlik Kikoejoe (Etienne van Heerden, 1996), Die olifantjagters (Piet van Rooyen, 1997) en Dwaalpoort (Alexander Strachan, 2010). Die gewaande dualisme tussen kultuur en natuur word in die tekste bevraagteken en vrye interaksie tussen biologiese, klimatologiese, ekonomiese en politieke magte vind plaas in die onderskeie romanruimtes. Die toenemende druk op die omgewing word uitgebeeld en in hierdie opsig sluit die romans aan by ʼn eietydse tendens in die (Afrikaanse) letterkunde waar die klem op ekologiese kwessies val. Hierdie drie kontemporêre romans reflekteer voorts die komplekse interaksie tussen menslike en niemenslike diere en kan beskou word as dierenarratiewe (met ’n mitiese onderbou) waar tradisionele beskouings oor diere in die samelewing deurentyd ondermyn word. / In this research report, related theoretical concepts such as transcorporeality, cryptozoology and animal souls will be explored with reference to the magic-realistic Afrikaans novels Kikoejoe (Etienne van Heerden, 1996), Die olifantjagters (Piet van Rooyen, 1997) and Dwaalpoort (Alexander Strachan, 2010). The perceived dualism of nature versus culture is undermined in the respective novels and the environment is exposed as a space where the interaction between biological, climatological, economical and political forces takes place freely. The novels portray the increasing demands on the environment and in this respect these texts become representative of a current trend in (Afrikaans) literature to reflect ecological issues. The three contemporary novels further reflect the complex interaction between human and nonhuman animals and can be described as animal narratives (underpinned by myths) where traditional perspectives on animals in society are constantly subverted. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie studie word die verbandhoudende teoretiese begrippe van trans-liggaamlikheid, kriptosoölogie en dieresiele ondersoek met verwysing na drie magies-realistiese Afrikaanse romans, naamlik Kikoejoe (Etienne van Heerden, 1996), Die olifantjagters (Piet van Rooyen, 1997) en Dwaalpoort (Alexander Strachan, 2010). Die gewaande dualisme tussen kultuur en natuur word in die tekste bevraagteken en vrye interaksie tussen biologiese, klimatologiese, ekonomiese en politieke magte vind plaas in die onderskeie romanruimtes. Die toenemende druk op die omgewing word uitgebeeld en in hierdie opsig sluit die romans aan by ʼn eietydse tendens in die (Afrikaanse) letterkunde waar die klem op ekologiese kwessies val. Hierdie drie kontemporêre romans reflekteer voorts die komplekse interaksie tussen menslike en niemenslike diere en kan beskou word as dierenarratiewe (met ’n mitiese onderbou) waar tradisionele beskouings oor diere in die samelewing deurentyd ondermyn word. / In this research report, related theoretical concepts such as transcorporeality, cryptozoology and animal souls will be explored with reference to the magic-realistic Afrikaans novels Kikoejoe (Etienne van Heerden, 1996), Die olifantjagters (Piet van Rooyen, 1997) and Dwaalpoort (Alexander Strachan, 2010). The perceived dualism of nature versus culture is undermined in the respective novels and the environment is exposed as a space where the interaction between biological, climatological, economical and political forces takes place freely. The novels portray the increasing demands on the environment and in this respect these texts become representative of a current trend in (Afrikaans) literature to reflect ecological issues. The three contemporary novels further reflect the complex interaction between human and nonhuman animals and can be described as animal narratives (underpinned by myths) where traditional perspectives on animals in society are constantly subverted. / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)