Magister Artium - MA / This thesis considers introspection and female consciousness in the novels Woman At Point Zero and Two Women In One by Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian writer and So Long A Letter and Scarlet Song by Mariama Bâ, a Senegalese writer. This study looks at how narrative technique impacts on questions of self and identity, subjective experience, coherence and transformation. The form of the novel is also highly significant because it shows the connection between form, individualism and
consciousness of experience and this is important in understanding these questions of self and identity, subjective experience, coherence and transformation. It allows insight into the internal workings of the individual. The form of the novel is therefore
particularly relevant because of the focus on the individual, subject and the
consciousness of the individual. Pertinent to the discussion in this thesis is how
narrative provides a creative space to enable the reflexive process and also how
narrative contributes to the construction and understanding of the self and identity. The dynamic between narratology and novel form, on the one hand, the modes of confession and letter writing, on the other are considered both of which use first person narration.Confession as a genre of personal narrative enables the subject to move inward as part of the self reflection process which allows knowledge of the self. Letter writing a form of personal narrative plays an important role in the exploration of the self and identity.The novel in letter form forces the introspective process through the act of writing and the character reaches a realisation about events and experiences which have shaped her present consciousness. By contrast third person narration in Scarlet Song and Two Women In One foregrounds the social context which shapes the characters‟ sense of self and identity and worldview. The narrative which is rebellious and resistant in form,although quietly so, enables a “revolution” in the character‟s self- and world view.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/3996 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Erfort, Paulene |
| Contributors | Moolla, Fiona |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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