The representation of water in selected Southern African fiction

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dc.contributor.advisorSteiner, Tinaen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMbingo, Seluliwe Feliciaen_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-19T14:05:20Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T08:52:40Z
dc.date.available2024-02-19T14:05:20Z
dc.date.available2024-04-26T08:52:40Z
dc.date.issued2024-03
dc.descriptionThesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: Water, in all its forms, is essential to human life. This thesis offers a study of the representation of water in selected novels from Southern Africa, namely Bessie Head When Rain Clouds Gather (1969), Karen Jayes For the Mercy of Water (2012) and Unconfessed: A novel (2007) by Yvette Christiansë. The thesis explores the trope of water in these selected texts and highlights how water in its absence and abundance represents fundamental human experiences, while in a political discourse it represents inequality and dispossession, frequently as a response to colonial violence. I analyze both the material reality of the element of water as well as its metaphorical meanings as depicted in the three narratives. I argue that the representation of water articulates the intricate traits of water as it affects social and ecological concerns. In my exploration of water, I adopt the idea of water as a literary device which enables dialogues across different times, cultures, and contexts. I focus in particular on the way in which characters experience the presence or absence of water. I am interested in the context in which water or bodies of water appear and how this is used to represent social realities as well as abstract qualities. The three main chapters focus on how human nature is connected and reliant on watery resources of nature. Through close reading of the selected novels in each chapter, the discussions within this study involves a selective emphasis on how the narratives explore human nature and the theme of water. The watery reading of texts invites us to explore the interaction of the political, social, and ecological frame.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Water, in al sy vorme, is noodsaaklik vir menslike lewe. Hierdie tesis bied 'n studie van die voorstelling van water in geselekteerde romans uit Suider-Afrika, naamlik Bessie Head se When Rain Clouds Gather (1969), Karen Jayes se For the Mercy of Water (2012) en Unconfessed: A novel (2007) deur Yvette Christiansë. Die tesis verken die watertroop in hierdie geselekteerde tekste en beklemtoon hoe water in sy afwesigheid en oorvloed fundamentele menslike ervarings verteenwoordig, terwyl dit in 'n politieke diskoers ongelykheid en ontneming verteenwoordig, dikwels as 'n reaksie op koloniale geweld. Ek ontleed beide die materiële werklikheid van die element water sowel as die metaforiese betekenisse daarvan soos uitgebeeld in die drie narratiewe. Ek argumenteer dat die voorstelling van water die ingewikkelde eienskappe van water artikuleer soos dit sosiale en ekologiese bekommernisse raak. In my verkenning van water neem ek die idee van water aan as 'n literêre instrument wat dialoë oor verskillende tye, kulture en kontekste moontlik maak; ek fokus veral op die manier waarop karakters die aan- of afwesigheid van water ervaar. Ek stel belang in die konteks waarin water of waterliggame voorkom en hoe dit gebruik word om sosiale realiteite sowel as abstrakte kwaliteite voor te stel. Die drie primêre hoofstukke fokus op hoe die menslike natuur verbind is en afhanklik is van waterige hulpbronne van die natuur. Deur die geselekteerde romans in elke hoofstuk noukeurig te lees, behels die besprekings binne hierdie studie 'n selektiewe klem op hoe die narratiewe die menslike natuur en watertema verken. Die waterige lees van tekste nooi ons om die interaksie van die politieke, sosiale en ekologiese raamwerk te verken.af_ZA
dc.description.versionMastersen_ZA
dc.format.extentv, 88 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/130198
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshWater in literatureen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshWater -- Symbolic aspectsen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshMemory in literatureen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshSouthern African fiction (English) -- Women authors -- History and criticismen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshJayes, Karen -- Criticism and interpretationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshHead, Bessie, 1937-1986 -- Criticism and interpretationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshChristiansë, Yvette -- Criticism and interpretationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshMetaphor in literatureen_ZA
dc.subject.nameUCTD
dc.subject.otherColonial violenceen_ZA
dc.titleThe representation of water in selected Southern African fictionen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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