This dissertation examines William Plomer's first novel,
Turbott Wolfe (1925), within its socio-political and
literary context, and also explores the crucial relationship
between the author's life and his work. Turbott Wolfe
at one level represents Plomer's complex responses to and
interpretation of the South African milieu during the
early 1920s. During this decade, the foundations of modem
Apartheid were being consolidated, and African Nationalism
emerged as a powerful challenge to the South African
state. Turbott Wolfe is informed by these political
developments, and the milieu and events portrayed in the
novel vividly express the author's feelings about and attitudes
towards the society he finds himself in.
Since its publication, ZiZ&stsJBal&a has suffered considerable
critical neglect The superficiality of much of
the existing criticism about the novel must be challenged,
since Turbott Wolfe is not only of tremendous intrinsic
literary merit, but also provides valuable insights into
the socio-political environment and historical moment in
which Plotter wrote. Thus one of the novel's main concerns
is the all informing "colour question", which dominated
political debate in the 1920s.
Plomer's appr< -• "colour question" is
unorthodox,« rajor question confronting the reader is
how this unusual novel cane to be written. An examination
of earlier fiction reveals that Turbott Wolfe is both influenced
b; and a reaction against existing literary
traditions, while the major themes show in what way and to
what extent the novel is engaged with contemporary sociopolitical
issues. The key to this crucial question,
however, lies in a detailed exploration of the author's
personal history.
Turbott Wolfe emerges as an important work within the
development of South African literature, a novel which encapsulates
some of the complexity and diversity of contemporary
South Africa, as perceived by its youthful author.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/15252 |
| Date | 26 August 2014 |
| Creators | Adler, Michelle |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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