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Migrant Aesthetics in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Fiction

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Migrant Aesthetics in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Fiction Encountering Strange Lands: Migrant Texture in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Fiction By Ezekiel Kimani Kaigai Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof Tina Steiner, Department of English, Stellenbosch University Co-supervisor: Dr. Tom Odhiambo, Department of Literature, University of Nairobi April 2014 Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this dissertation, I declare that the entirety of the work contained herein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. April 2014 Copyright © 2014 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved ii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za ABSTRACT This study engages with the complete novelistic oeuvre of the Zanzibari-born author Abdulrazak Gurnah, whose fiction is dedicated to the theme of migration. With each novel, however, Gurnah deploys innovative stylistic features as an analytic frame to engage with his signature topic. From his first novel to his eighth, Gurnah offers new insights into relocation and raises new questions about what it means to be a migrant or a stranger in inhospitable circumstances and how such conditions call for a negotiation of hospitable space. What gives each of his works a distinct aesthetic appeal is the artistic resourcefulness and versatility with which he frames his narratives, in order to situate them within their historical contexts. This allows him to interrogate the motives behind his characters’ actions (or behind their inaction). Gurnah, therefore, employs a variety of narrative perspectives that not only challenge the reader in the task of interpreting his complex works, but which also allow for the pleasure of carrying out this task. In its exploration of migrant subjectivities and their multiple and varied negotiations to create enabling spaces, this thesis shows how Gurnah’s fiction deploys various artistic strategies as possible ways of thinking about individual identity and social relations with others. In short, this thesis explores how Gurnah’s texts become discursive tools for understanding the complexity of migrancy and cultural exchanges along the Swahili coast, in Zanzibar, in the Indian Ocean, and in the UK. iii Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za OPSOMMING Hierdie tesis is ‘n studie van die geheelwerk van die Zanzibar-gebore skrywer Abdulrazak Gurnah, wie se fiksiewerk gewy is aan die tema van migrasie. Hoewel daar so ‘n deurlopende en kenmerkende tema in die geheelwerk is, ontwikkel die skrywer stilistiese vernuwing in elk van die individuele romans. Vanaf sy eerste roman tot en met sy agtste en mees onlangse, bied Gurnah se romans aan die leser nuwe insigte in die tema van verhuising, en die romans vra elkeen nuwe vrae oor wat dit beteken om ‘n migrant of vreemdeling te wees in onverwelkomende omgewings. Die romans wil ook vra wat die opsies is vir die individu om sulke omgewings meer verwelkomend te ervaar, of meer verwelkomend te maak. Wat Gurnah se werk so uitsonderlik maak en wat elke individuele roman ‘n kenmerkende estetiese eienskap gee, is sy vernuf en veelsydigheid as skrywer, en veral sy vermoë om sy verhale te historiseer. Hierdie historisering stel hom in staat om die beweegredes van sy karakters en hulle aksies (en dikwels ook gebrek aan aksies) te verken sowel as te bevraagteken. Gurnah maak gebruik van ‘n aantal estetiese perspektiewe wat nie alleen ‘n uitdaging stel aan die leser nie, maar wat terselfdertyd ‘n hoogs bevredigende leesaktiwiteit moontlik maak. Hierdie tesis is ‘n ondersoek na die aard van Gurnah se werk, en veral die verkenning van die innerlike wereld van die verhuisde, en die veelvoudige verskeidenheid van onderhandelings wat sulke individue het met hulle omgewing. Die tesis verken die maniere waarop Gurnah se tekste beskou kan word as kreatiewe handleidings met die doel om die kompleksiteite van verhuising en migrasie te begryp; en veral verhuising en kulturele wisselwerkinge aan die Swahili-kus, sowel as Zanzibar, die groter Indiese Oseaan-wereld en ook die Verenigde Koninkryk. iv Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Acknowledgements The greatest amount of gratitude goes to my primary supervisor, Prof Tina Steiner, who showed unwavering faith in my work and went beyond the call of duty to provide intellectual and moral support. Her mentorship and intellectual nourishment is my biggest debt. Thanks are due to my co-supervisor, Dr Tom Odhiambo, and earlier to Prof Meg Samuelson, for their patience with my optimistic and overly ambitious plans, even when they knew these needed to be cut down to realistic size. I would like to thank the Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Science of Stellenbosch University for the generous scholarship that enabled me to complete this PhD. The various training workshops, seminars and theory colloquia and a conference offered by the English Department in the course of my study at Stellenbosch have contributed greatly to my academic and intellectual development. I am further indebted to Dr Rob Gaylard who put aside his other plans and graciously agreed to edit the work, sometimes at terribly short notice. Many thanks to the members of the English department, and the members of the various reading and writing groups, for providing a hospitable academic atmosphere and intellectual stimulation. Immeasurable thanks to Prof Abdulrazak Gurnah for the special gift of Dottie and Pilgrims Way. Prof Grace Musila helped to soften my landing and make my arrival less enigmatic. To Prof Evan Mwangi and Dr Godwin Siundu, many thanks for motivating for me; their recommendations were of great assistance. Thanks also to Ziska Johnson, for making our tenancy such a homely affair. I can’t forget the different varieties of friends because of whom the pain and the pleasure of study and stay will always be worth remembering. Special thanks to Prof Annie Gagiano and Dr Carli Coetzee for helping with the Afrikaans version of the abstract. Edward Kaara and Joseph Muthui – the two Godfathers. The completion of this study was inspired by the love and support of my family, who, through their constant and unstinting support, allowed me the time and energy to continue, v Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za even when my spirits were low. I dedicate this thesis to Habi, my dear wife, who has long suffered the trials and tribulations of living with this ‘THING’ day and night for three years, and to little Eddy Said, who entered this world in my absence. A version of chapter four has appeared as ‘At the Margins: Silences in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Admiring Silence and The Last Gift’ in English Studies in Africa, 56, 1 (2013):128-140. vi Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za Contents Encountering Strange Lands: Migrant Texture in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Fiction ...................................................... i Declaration ............................................................................................................................................................. ii ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................................... iii OPSOMMING ....................................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ v Contents ............................................................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Locating Gurnah and his World .................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Embodied Entrapment and Self-determination in Gurnah’s Memory of Departure and Paradise ...................... 12 Embodiment and (Dis)empowerment in Paradise ........................................................................................... 17 “Look after this beautiful young man”: Conditional Hospitality and Embodiment in Paradise ....................... 31 Sexuality in Memory of Departure .................................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................................................. 61 Writing the Self, Reading the Self: Agency and the Navigation of Social Exclusions in Dottie and Pilgrims Way 61 Setting the Terrain ...........................................................................................................................................
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