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‘The man I could have been’: masculinity and uncanny doubles in selected novels of Damon Galgut
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-03) Beyer, Carola; Mbao, W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis I examine the portrayal of masculinity in selected works of Damon Galgut. Masculinities are read through the lens of the double and the uncanny as conceived by Freud and other scholars. The selected novels include The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs (1991), The Quarry (1995), The Good Doctor (2004), The Impostor (2008) and In a Strange Room (2010). In the introduction theoretical issues relating to masculinities, the double and the uncanny are discussed and a broad framework for the thesis is outlined. Subsequently each chapter discusses the representation of men and masculinities in the selected novels. Issues such as masculinity in the military, friendship amongst men, relationships with women, masculinity and apartheid, masculinity and whiteness and heterosexuality and homosexuality are discussed and explored through the lens of the double and the uncanny. Questions that emerge from this study are: What perspectives does Galgut offer of masculinities before and after apartheid? How do the men experience their political and social environment? How do the male characters in the novels interact with the female characters? What obligations do men and women have towards each other?: