A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker's Novels

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A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker's Novels DREAMS, SEXUALITY AND FANTASY: A PSYCHOANALYTIC READING OF K. SELLO DUIKER’S NOVELS by Teneille Kirton-Els 200429353 A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities University of Fort Hare, for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy Supervisor: Dr. Jabulani Mkhize East London, 2013 ABSTRACT The primary aim of this thesis is to provide a text-based literary study exploring the characters and themes created by K. Sello Duiker in the three novels, Thirteen Cents, The Quiet Violence of Dreams and The Hidden Star. Duiker’s work is significant because it highlights prominent societal challenges prevalent in post-apartheid society. By analysing Duiker’s novels one acquires a better understanding of this author, an understanding of the world that contributed to the creation of his texts and his contribution to South African literature. Insight into Duiker’s fictional world allows for a careful investigation of the prominent societal issues prevalent in Duiker’s work - a world riddled with violence, issues of sexuality and psychological distress. For this purpose this thesis is premised on the notion that underpinning K. Sello Duiker’s oeuvre is a central focus on dreams, sexuality and fantasy. Logically, therefore, the main focus of the study is specifically on the inner working of the characters’ minds and how they deal/ or are unable to cope with contemporary social concerns, often resulting in psychological turmoil and dysfunctionality. For this reason, prominent themes examined in this study are the interpretation of dreams, an exploration of sexuality and an examination of fantasy in the three novels. Psychoanalytic literary theory, with the main focus being specifically on the theories presented by Sigmund Freud is used as an analytic tool to read Duiker’s texts. Psychoanalytic theory is arguably the most appropriate for analysing Duiker’s novels as it allows one to investigate the characters’ psyches and the psychological effect of i societal influences on these characters. In addition, one is also able to examine how the characters are able/ unable to deal with the trauma caused by the contemporary issues in society – issues of violence, sexuality and psychological distress. Thus, one is able to grasp an overall understanding of the characters’ behaviour and actions. Furthermore, the characters’ experiences are based on the behaviour and incidents of real people, people suffering from psychological dysfunctionality, sexuality issues and identity crisis. The first chapter discusses post-apartheid literature, and provides a brief background on Duiker, his works and his conception as a writer. Chapter two provides an overview of psychoanalytic theory and on the relevant theories of Sigmund Freud. Chapter three offers a reading of Thirteen Cents, a novel that pays particular attention to the lives of children living on the streets of Cape Town. In the next chapter The Quiet Violence of Dreams is examined with a special focus on Duiker’s experimentation with form in the construction of this novel. Aspects pertaining to sexuality and dreams are also examined. Chapter five pays particular attention to magical realism and fantasy in The Hidden Star. Key Words: K. Sello Duiker Psychoanalytic literary theory post-apartheid society Sigmund Freud dreams sexuality fantasy trauma violence ii DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this thesis is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in any part submitted it at any university for a degree. ........................... Signature ………………… Date iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my husband, Clinton Els, my parents, Kevin and Emré Kirton and my sister, Tallyn Kirton iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor Dr. Jabulani Mkhize. I am grateful for his dedication, support and continuous interest in my study. I also want to convey my heartfelt gratitude for Dr. Mkhize’s guidance and enthusiasm throughout the research process. I am grateful for the financial support of a grant from NRF, The National Research Foundation. I also wish to thank the English Department, especially Dr. Dianne Shober who has been my mentor throughout my post-graduate years. I wish to thank my husband, Clinton Els whose love and patience has motivated me throughout this process. His interest in my work and his continuous encouragement has also helped me along the way. Lastly, to my parents, Kevin and Emré and my sister Tallyn Kirton for being my support system and for standing beside me every step of the way. Their care and motivation has been my driving force. v TABLE OF CONTENTS: Abstract i Declaration iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER TWO: LITERARY THEORY 37 CHAPTER THREE: THIRTEEN CENTS 76 CHAPTER FOUR: THE QUIET VIOLENCE OF DREAMS 121 CHAPTER FIVE: THE HIDDEN STAR 192 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION 229 REFERENCES 239 vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION South African society continues to undergo an array of societal changes, thereby forcing South African authors to adapt the style and themes of their texts in order to incorporate these socio-political changes into their writing. Post-apartheid literature is a genre of literature that has evolved concurrently with post-apartheid South Africa, as this field of literature presents the problems of a more modern South African life. In response to the socio-political changes writers have logically shifted their focus from apartheid political issues to a wider dimension of other issues faced by South Africans in the era of democracy. In line with the democratic ethos ushered in by the new dispensation, the writer has more freedom in the creation of his/her texts as he/she does not have to conform to the conventional requirements of cultural production dictated by the apartheid era. Killam and Kerfoot sum up the characteristics of post-apartheid writing in the Student Encyclopedia of African Literature: Just as apartheid defined South African writing during its predominance on the political scene, so post-apartheid writing is influenced and defined by the political past experiences after apartheid that led to a more forward-looking perspective. Post-apartheid writers focus both on the past, on the present, and the new challenges and promises of the post-apartheid era. (2008, p. 24) As a result of the changing of the political landscape, a new generation of writers has emerged since 1994. As Motuba points out: “New writers are not writing about Dreams, Sexuality and Fantasy: A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker’s Novels Page 1 apartheid the system, but about how it still affects a now-free South Africa. Writers have the power to show us who we truly are: they are the prophets who reveal the real state of a society” (2005, p. 4). This emergence of this generation of writers has generated vigorous debates on both the content and form of post-apartheid literature. In their article “Introduction: South African Fiction After Apartheid” David Attwell and Barbara Harlow examine the subject of literature after the apartheid era in South Africa. In this article the following question is raised: “If apartheid was the main theme of South African literature, what was it going to do when apartheid was gone?” (2000, p. 3) This was the prominent question posed by many critics during the time of transition in South Africa as most authors had to grapple with the problem of racial oppression as the central thrust in their works during the apartheid era. In most texts written during the apartheid era, South African authors arguably provide the reader with a reflection of the apartheid society in terms of which the writings mirror issues faced by both black and white South Africans. The transition in the South African political landscape has ushered in a period of change in the focus and writings of South African authors, as they now had more freedom with regard to the choice of themes and content of their texts. This point is emphasised by Attwell and Harlow: “Under apartheid, writers were expected to address the great historical issues of the time, whereas now they are free to write in a more personal key” (2000, p. 4). Dreams, Sexuality and Fantasy: A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker’s Novels Page 2 According to Attwell and Harlow, the period of transition challenged writers, but it did not silence them. Instead, these literary critics continue to argue that: South African literature since 1990 emphasizes the imperative of breaking silences necessitated by long years of struggle, the refashioning of identities caught between stasis and change, and the role of culture – or representation - in limiting or enabling new forms of understanding. (Attwell & Harlow, 2000, p. 3) Thus, in line with the period of political transition came a new period in South African literature. Jabulani Mkhize expands on the debate concerning the prospects of post-apartheid writing in his article: “Literary Prospects in ‘Post-Apartheid’ South Africa.” His paper deals with the question: Now that politics of oppositionality have been displaced by ‘the rainbow nation’ how are writers who have seen themselves (and have indeed been regarded) as representatives of the ‘masses’ likely to deal with the predicament of the role which has been constructed for them? (2001, p. 171) In exploring this issue he demonstrates how the end of the apartheid era will not silence white and black writers, but will instead offer new possibilities, in terms of form and content for writers, more especially for the black writers (Mkhize, 2001, p. 183). Dreams, Sexuality and Fantasy: A Psychoanalytic Reading of K. Sello Duiker’s Novels Page 3 Mkhize distinguishes between ‘black South African writing’ and ‘white writing’ even though the ideal South African nationhood is in the process of construction (2001, p.
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