DOCSLIB.ORG

Thesis Presented in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (English Stud- Ies) at the Stellenbosch University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

“Epochal Weaving”: Metaphors of Narrative and Metafiction in Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf and Agaat David Reiersgord Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (English Stud- ies) at the Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Dr Mathilda Slabbert December 2015 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration: By submitting this thesis, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein 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. December 2015 Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved 1 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Acknowledgements: None of the following words, sentences, paragraphs and pages would have been possible with- out Dr Mathilda Slabbert. Her continued patience, enthusiasm and guidance never failed to stimulate new ideas, which I tended to take too far. But I usually learned something worthwhile in these moments about books, writing, this wonderful and strange country and myself, and through Tilla’s open-mindedness, I figured how to match the following thoughts with the right words. Thanks to the English Department at Stellenbosch, which has been my academic home for the past three years, and an environment that exposed me to so many wonderful things for the mind. Thank you to Lizelle Smit for translating the abstract into Afrikaans. Thank you to Maria Geustyn for her technical eyes. Thanks are also due to Bernard Fortuin for his guidance and patience, and for so many conversations about some of the ideas in these pages. Thanks is due to my first academic home in Lawrence, Kansas—especially Dr Byron Caminero-Santangelo. Thanks also to Dr Beverly Mack, Dr Stephen Evans and Dr Paul Outka for continued conversations, their creative minds for exposing me to new and exciting infor- mation. A special thanks to Mike Ford, a good friend in Kansas to whom I owe so much for opening my eyes to the history of my country and the state of Minnesota, where I am originally from. Thanks always and forever to my parents, for everything. I do not think they saw any of this coming—certainly not from that old picture on the bus, or the way I used to worry about the dog when I believed he was lost. Finally, thanks to Ma & Bapa for showing me what is truly good in this life. The ideas in these pages are rooted in my relationship with them and a particular lake in Minnesota, where they live. 2 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract: This thesis examines the use of specific narrative strategies, metafiction and metaphor in Mar- lene van Niekerk’s Triomf (2004) an Agaat (2010). Each of these expansive novels are set in South Africa during the period of national transition to democracy in the 1990s, and explore issues related to ideological aspects of space, race, class and land dispossession. Throughout the thesis I highlight and refer to illustrations of “epochal weaving”, a literary framework that is used to trace historical overlap between the narrative past and present. These depictions of “epochal weaving” in each novel suggest thinking about the capacity for literature to represent the multi-layered nuances informing national and historical contexts in South Africa and be- yond in relation to personal, and lived experiences. My reading of metaphors in relation to the depiction of social space in Triomf focuses on city streets and the significance of repositioning marginalised spatial histories. The alternative landscape of Johannesburg’s western suburbs that Van Niekerk recreates, evokes, in turn, the former history of Sophiatown, and seems to advocate imagining new ways for addressing the issues of neglected urban space. My close examination of Agaat traces specific metaphors of narrative and the novel’s display of notions of metafiction, and Van Niekerk’s reinterpretation of the literary history of the plaasroman from a post-apartheid perspective. In the final chapter I put Triomf and Agaat into conversation to display how Van Niekerk appears to weave national histories, embedded in each text, to- gether through the physical and domestic space of the family homes. Through the metaphorical significance of mirrors, an object which overlaps in these texts, various images reflected in mirrors produce multi-layered reconsiderations of national and sociopolitical issues embodied in the lived experiences and memories of the characters. Framing my reading, this thesis adopts an international gaze to consider not only how the literary features and narrative strategies in Van Niekerk’s fiction illuminate local issues related to cultural, historical, political and social contexts, but also create awareness about similar concerns that transcend national borders. In short, what South African literature, such as Van Niekerk’s work, stimulates in a reader who encounters it in translation. 3 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstrak: Hierdie tesis ondersoek die gebruik van spesifieke narratiewe strategieë soos metafiksie en metafoor in Marlene van Niekerk se Triomf (2004) en Agaat (2006). Beide van hierdie omvattende romans neem plaas in Suid-Afrika gedurende die periode van nasionale oorgang na demokrasie in 1990, en verken kwessies verwant aan ideologiese aspekte soos spasie, ras, klas, en landontneming. Deurlopend belig hierdie tesis en verwys na uitbeeldings van “epogale verwewing”, ʼn literêre raamwerk wat gebruik word om historiese sameval na te trek tussen die narratiewe verlede en hede. Hierdie uitbeeldings van “epogale verwewing” in beide romans dui na ʼn kapasiteit van literatuur om veelvoudige lae van betekenis en nuanse voor te stel, in verwantskap met die persoonlike en geleefde ondervinding, wat nasionale en historiese kontekste in Suid-Afrika en selfs wyer inlig. Ek interpreteer metafoor in verwantskap met die uitbeelding van sosiale spasie in Triomf en fokus op die stadspaaie en die belang daarvan om gemarginaliseerde historiese spasies te herplaas in nuwe kontekste. Die alternatiewe landskap van Johannesburg se westelike woonbuurte wat van Niekerk herskep in fiksie herroep in beurt, die geskiedenis van Sophiatown, en blyk om nuwe maniere aan te voer om kwessie aan te spreek aangaande verontagsame en dus vergete stedelike spasie. My nasporing van spesifieke metafore van narratief in Agaat raak ʼn tentoonstelling van die roman se begrip van metafiksie asook van Niekerk se herinterpretasie van die literêre geskiedenis van die plaasroman vanuit ʼn post-apartheid perspektief. In die finale hoofstuk plaas ek Triomf en Agaat in ʼn gesprek om te vertoon hoe van Niekerk nasionale geskiedenisse verweef en beide tekste word bespreek deur die fisiese - en huislike spasie van die familiewonings. Deur die metaforiese belang van spieëls, ʼn voorwerp wat opduik in beide tekste, word vele afspieëlings weerkaats wat veervuldige heroorwegings produseer aangaande die nasionale en sosio-politiese kwessies vergestalt in die geleefde ervarings en herinneringe van die karakters. Wat my interpretasie ook raam is my internasionale posisie en oogpunte. Ek oorweeg nie net hoe die literêre funksies en narratiewe strategieë in van Niekerk se fiksie plaaslike kwessies verwant aan die kulturêle, geskiedkundige en sosiale kontekste belig nie, maar ook hoe hierdie strategieë bewusmaking bevorder oor soortgelyke probleme in ander kontekste oor nasionale grense heen. Ek vra: wat stimuleer Suid-Afrikaanse fiksie, soos byvoorbeeld van Niekerk se werk, in ʼn leser wat dit in vertaling teëkom? 4 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Table of Contents Declaration................................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Abstrak...................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction: Encountering Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf and Agaat at the University of Kansas ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter One: A Carnivalesque Revision of Social Space in Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Chapter Two: Metaphors of Narrative and Metafiction in Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat .... 48 Chapter Three: Mirroring the Past, and “Epochal Weaving” in Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf and Agaat ................................................................................................................................. 81 Conclusion: Reflections on “Epochal Weaving” .................................................................. 104 Works Cited .......................................................................................................................... 109 5 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Introduction: Encountering Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf and Agaat at the
Recommended publications
  • South African Literature's Russian Soul

    South African Literature's Russian Soul

    South African Literature’s Russian Soul Narrative Forms of Global Isolation Jeanne-Marie Jackson Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY 9781472592996_txt_rev.indd 3 01/07/15 12:01 PM 1 Russia in the South African Imaginary In South Africa, as in Russia, life may be wretched; but how the brave spirit leaps to respond! —J.M. Coetzee, Diary of a Bad Year (2007) In 1825, the Russian Tsar Nicholas I suppressed an uprising of 3,000 army ofcers against his assumption of the throne, following its surprising renunciation by his brother Constantine. Te members of the group in which the revolt was seeded, called simply the “Decembrists” in what is considered a defning event of the Russian intelligentsia’s formation, divided their aims across two main factions: the moderate Northerners sought a constitutional monarchy and the serfs’ liberation, while a more radical Southern contingent sought the end of the monarchy and mass redistribution of land.1 Tsar Nicholas’s response was more direct. Beset by logistical mishaps over a day-long stand- of, the Decembrists eventually faced open fre by around 9,000 tsarist troops. Many of the rebels were shot and then dumped in Saint Petersburg’s icy Neva River, and those who survived were executed, lashed, or exiled to Siberia.2 It is a story of tragic proportions, chronicled most famously in the poetry of Alexander Pushkin, the so-called Father of Russian Literature. In the background of this lofy act of rebellion, though, is a macabre fecklessness that infects Russia’s legacy no less than its nobler aspects do.
  • A Poetics for the Anthropocene Lecture and Poetry

    A Poetics for the Anthropocene Lecture and Poetry

    Farewell to the Beautiful Soul: A Poetics for the Anthropocene Lecture and poetry discussion by prof.dr. Marlene van Niekerk Time: 13 to 14h, 23 September 2016 Locatie: VOC Zaal, Bushuis, University of Amsterdam (map) The question here is whether and how certain forms of augmented, patterned and foregrounded language known as “poetry” matter in times of extreme crisis. The crisis of the Anthropocene involves a paradigm shift of the notion of the “human” itself and also the relationship of the “human” to “Nature”. Since 1950 humans have become a marked geophysical force that has changed earth systems to such a degree that several planetary boundaries are already seriously violated. In her response (climate warming, biodiversity loss, acidification of the seas, the disturbance of the nitrogen/phosphate cycles), the earth, now understood as a secular Gaia, has revealed herself as a finely tuned reactive entity – not only wholly materially transcendent but also utterly indifferent to us. We now relate to her, not necessarily as exceptional human beings but as one type of earthbound critter amongst others that need to survive in the severely damaged and increasingly dangerous conditions of our own making, the ravenous excesses of the Capitalocene. As poets we have to find radical and critical alternatives to our Beautiful Soul habits of aesthetic distancing from/objectification of and immersion in “Nature”. We have to face Gaia with a new respons-ability. What kind of ethos, modes and voices, what kinds of political interventions, can one try to map for the earthbound poet? And who cares? Marlene van Niekerk is one of South Africa’s most influential and thought provoking writers.
  • The Content of the Form and Other Textual Politics. Configurations of Nationhood and Citizenship in Disgrace and Agaat

    The Content of the Form and Other Textual Politics. Configurations of Nationhood and Citizenship in Disgrace and Agaat

    RCCS Annual Review A selection from the Portuguese journal Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 3 | 2011 Issue no. 3 The Content of the Form and other Textual Politics. Configurations of Nationhood and Citizenship in Disgrace and Agaat Rosemarie Buikema Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/rccsar/295 DOI: 10.4000/rccsar.295 ISSN: 1647-3175 Publisher Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra Electronic reference Rosemarie Buikema, « The Content of the Form and other Textual Politics. Configurations of Nationhood and Citizenship in Disgrace and Agaat », RCCS Annual Review [Online], 3 | 2011, Online since 01 October 2011, connection on 01 May 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/rccsar/295 ; DOI : 10.4000/rccsar.295 © CES RCCS Annual Review, 3, October 2011: 86-99 Rosemarie Buikema Utrecht University, the Netherlands The Content of the Form and other Textual Politics. Configurations of Nationhood and Citizenship in Disgrace and Agaat* This text seeks to rethink the relationship between literature and citizenship or, more generally, identity. It does so by analysing two recent South-Afia oels i.e. J.M Coetzees Disgrace (1999) and Marlene van Niekerks Agaat (2006). Both Disgrace and Agaat are examples of how the singularity of great literary works needs an interdisciplinary approach that does justice to the way in which a novel is part of, and simultaneously co-constructs, the discourses on history, identity and citizenship. Keywords: literature; identity; difference; citizenship; representation; literariness; J.M Coetzee; Marlene van Niekerk. In outlining the relationship between literature, community building and citizenship, two South African novels will guide my course: Disgrace (1999) by J.M.
  • Illuminating the Darkness: the Naturalistic Evolution of Gothicism in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel and Visual Art

    Illuminating the Darkness: the Naturalistic Evolution of Gothicism in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel and Visual Art

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English English, Department of 8-2013 Illuminating the Darkness: The Naturalistic Evolution of Gothicism in the Nineteenth-Century British Novel and Visual Art Cameron Dodworth University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Dodworth, Cameron, "Illuminating the Darkness: The Naturalistic Evolution of Gothicism in the Nineteenth- Century British Novel and Visual Art" (2013). Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English. 79. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/englishdiss/79 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research: Department of English by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. ILLUMINATING THE DARKNESS: THE NATURALISTIC EVOLUTION OF GOTHICISM IN THE NINETEENTH- CENTURY BRITISH NOVEL AND VISUAL ART by Cameron Dodworth A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: English (Nineteenth-Century Studies) Under the Supervision of Professor Laura M. White Lincoln, Nebraska August, 2013 ILLUMINATING THE DARKNESS: THE NATURALISTIC EVOLUTION OF GOTHICISM IN THE NINETEENTH- CENTURY BRITISH NOVEL AND VISUAL ART Cameron Dodworth, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2013 Adviser: Laura White The British Gothic novel reached a level of very high popularity in the literary market of the late 1700s and the first two decades of the 1800s, but after that point in time the popularity of these types of publications dipped significantly.
  • An Examination of Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat (2006)

    An Examination of Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat (2006)

    THE NOVEL AS CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ARCHIVE: AN EXAMINATION OF MARLENE VAN NIEKERK’S AGAAT (2006) Alyssa May Carvalho Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Magister Artium in English (South African) literature in the Faculty of Arts at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Supervisor: Prof H.E. Janse van Vuuren 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University for a generous Postgraduate Research Scholarship. To Professor Helize van Vuuren, thank you for the multiple revisions. I believe the project turned out the better for it. Above all, my deepest gratitude to my mother, who fought many battles for me. This journey was less lonely with you by my side. DEPARTMENT OF ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATION EXAMINATION SECTION – NORTH CAMPUS PO Box 77000 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Port Elizabeth 6013 Tel. +27 (0) 41 504 3206 / 504 3392 Fax. +27 (0) 41 504 9206 / 504 3064 APPENDIX II DECLARATION BY CANDIDATE NAME: Ms Carvalho, A.M. STUDENT NUMBER: 204013143 QUALIFICATION: Magister Artium by dissertation in English (South African) literature TITLE OF PROJECT: The Novel as Cultural and Historical Archive: An Examination of Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat (2006). DECLARATION: In accordance with Rule G4.6.3, I hereby declare that the above-mentioned dissertation is my own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another university or for another qualification. SIGNATURE: ……………………………….. DATE: ……………………………….. ABSTRACT This research engages with a contemporary theoretical debate in the literary field, namely the ability of fictional texts to contribute to archival records. Contemporary research in archival discourse suggests that there are many intersections between fiction and the archive.
  • Revisiting American Indians in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books

    Revisiting American Indians in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books

    "Indians in the House": Revisiting American Indians in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Fatzinger, Amy S. Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 22:15:14 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195771 1 “INDIANS IN THE HOUSE”: REVISITING AMERICAN INDIANS IN LAURA INGALLS WILDER'S LITTLE HOUSE BOOKS by Amy S. Fatzinger _________________________ Copyright © Amy S. Fatzinger 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the GRADUATE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM IN AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2008 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Amy S. Fatzinger entitled "Indians in the House": Revisiting American Indians in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House Books and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/16/2008 Luci Tapahonso _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/16/2008 Mary Jo Fox _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/16/2008 Joseph Stauss _______________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________________________________________________________ Date: Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College.
  • Emerging Futures from a Fading Past: Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat As a Rewriting of the Plaasroman

    Emerging Futures from a Fading Past: Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat As a Rewriting of the Plaasroman

    Università degli Studi di Padova DipartimentoDipartimento di Studidi Studi Linguistici Linguistici e Letterarie Letterari Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Lingue e Letterature Europee e Americane Classe LM-37 Tesi di Laurea Emerging futures from a fading past: Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat as a rewriting of the plaasroman Relatore Laureando Prof. Annalisa Oboe Giulia Signorato n° matr.1034067 / LMLLA Anno Accademico 2012 / 2013 1 A Paolo, che ha saputo trovare il modo più bello – e il più esasperante – di sostenermi e spronarmi nel portare a termine questo lavoro 2 What I am mainly interested in as a writer is to complicate matters … in such a densely patterned way that the text will not stop eliciting questions and that it will refuse to provide any definite answers... I was hoping to write something that would confound me. Marlene van Niekerk 3 Index Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................6 1.1 The author.......................................................................................................6 1.2 The novel........................................................................................................7 1.3 The South-African farm novel: a struggle between old and new.................10 1.4 Characteristics of the genre..........................................................................12 1.5 Landownership and identity..........................................................................15 Chapter 2: Representing the land you own................................................................17

  • Saugus Parents Get Say on School City of Peabody

    TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016 Lynn pair is charged with attempted murder By Thomas Grillo ing of Peter Parsons. Police say the ITEM STAFF 23-year-old was shot in the abdomen and the arms. He was rushed to Mas- LYNN — Two men are being held sachusetts General Hospital where he without bail following their arraign- is in critical condition. ment Monday after they were charged The Essex County District Attor- with trying to kill a Lynn man last ney’s of ce said police were called to ITEM PHOTO | OWEN O’ROURKE weekend. the front of a single-family home Sat- Yeison Reynoso, left, and Joell Yeison Reynoso, 23, and Joell Sosa, urday afternoon on Union Court on a Sosa were arraigned in Lynn 19, both of Lynn, face charges of as- report of a shooting. sault with intent to murder and a se- District Court on assault with ries of rearm violations in the shoot- ARRAIGNMENT, A7 intent to murder charges. ITEM PHOTO | JIM WILSON Lynn’s Arthur Brown found this 1976-77 Babson College student ID card. budget DO YOU KNOW gap not BABSON’S JEAN as bad as MATHIESON? expected By Thor Jourgensen ITEM NEWS EDITOR By Thomas Grillo ITEM STAFF LYNN — When Arthur Brown glanced LYNN — City of cials down at a rubble pile and saw a young say it’s too early to tell woman smiling up at him from a college whether there will be lay- identi cation card photograph, he knew offs as department heads he needed to reunite the 39-year-old card are urged to trim costs with its owner.
  • The Midlands Essential Entertainment Guide

    The Midlands Essential Entertainment Guide

    Midlands Cover - Feb_Mids Cover - August 28/01/2013 18:00 Page 1 MIDLANDS WHAT’S MIDLANDS ON WHAT’S THE MIDLANDS ESSENTIAL ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE ISSUE 326 FEBRUARY 2013 www.whatsonlive.co.uk £1.80 ISSUE 326 FEBRUARY 2013 MICKY FLANA TOURS THEG REGIONAN INSIDE Harry Hill back on the circuit THE DEFINITIVE interview inside LISTINGS GUIDE Tara Fitzgerald on making her RSC debut interview inside Sheila Reid Benidorm actress leaves her scooter behind... interview inside PART OF MIDLANDS WHAT’S ON MAGAZINE GROUP PUBLICATIONS GROUP MAGAZINE ON WHAT’S MIDLANDS OF PART What’sOn MAGAZINE GROUP Hot Right Now and appearing in Brum... ISSN 1462-7035 GRAND_FP- Feb13_Layout 1 28/01/2013 14:51 Page 1 Great Theatre at the Grand! MON 4 - SAT 9 FEB TUES 12 - SAT 16 FEB SUN 17 - TUES 19 FEB ‘BRILLIANT! ITEXPLODESLIKEGLITTERINGFIREWORKS’ Russia’s acclaimed ballet company BILL KENWRIGHT BY ARRANGEMENT WITH THE REALLY USEFUL GROUP PRESENTS returns to Wolverhampton following a sensational season in 2012 The Nutcracker Coppélia Swan Lake Performed by LYRICS BY MUSIC BY TIM RICE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER The Russian State Ballet & Orchestra of Siberia STARRING KEITH JACK WED 20 FEB FRI 22 FEB TUES 26 FEB - SAT 2 MARCH SPOT © Eric Hill / SalSPOT lTd, 2012 licEnSEd by SalSPOT lTd. funwiTHSPOT.cOm WED 6 - SAT 9 MARCH ALSO BOOKING TUES 19 - SAT 30 MARCH SAT 23 FEBRUARY THE BILLY FURY YEARS TUES 12 - SAT 16 MARCH WOLVERHAMPTON MUSICAL COMEDY COMPANY FOOTLOOSE TUESDAY 2 - WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL HORMONAL HOUSEWIVES SAT 6 APRIL JIM DAVIDSON SUNDAY 7 APRIL THE SOLID SILVER 60s SHOW
  • Agaata Novel Marlene Van Niekerk

    Agaata Novel Marlene Van Niekerk

    AGAATA NOVEL MARLENE VAN NIEKERK Translated by Michiel Heyns ∏ıın House Books Portland, Oregon & New Yo rk, New Yo rk Copyright © by Marlene van Niekerk 2004 Translation copyright © by Michiel Heyns and Marlene van Niekerk 2006 © First published in Afrikaans in trade paperback in South Africa by Tafelberg Publishers, 2004 © First published in English in trade paperback in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers (PYT) Ltd, 2006 First U.S. edition published by Tin House Books 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any man- ner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, contact Tin House Books, 2601 NW Thurman St., Portland, OR 97210. Published by Tin House Books, Portland, Oregon, and New York, New York Distributed to the trade by Publishers Group West, 1700 Fourth St., Berkeley, CA 94710, www.pgw.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Van Niekerk, Marlene. [Agaat. English] Agaat / Marlene van Niekerk ; translated by Michiel Heyns. -- 1st U.S. ed. p. cm. First published in English in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers under the title The way of the women (2006). Translated from the Afrikaans. ISBN 978-0-9825030-9-6 1. Women farmers--South Africa--Fiction. 2. Women domestics--South Africa- -Fiction. 3. South Africa--Social life and customs--Fiction. I. Heyns, Michiel. II. Title. PT6592.32.A545A6513 2010 839.3636--dc22 2009039476 Interior design by Janet Parker Printed in Canada www.tinhouse.com For Lou-Marié TRANSLATOR’S NOTE Agaat is a highly allusive text, permeated, at times almost subliminally, with traces of Afrikaans cultural goods: songs, children’s rhymes, chil- dren’s games, hymns, idiomatic expressions, farming lore.
  • Vol. 59, No. 2 • June 2015

    Vol. 59, No. 2 • June 2015

    (ISSN 0149-4910) Vol. 59, No. 2 • June 2015 a publication of the NORTH AMERICAN COLLEGES AND TEACHERS OF AGRICULTURE 2014 - 2015 NACTA Officers President Secretary-Treasurer Membership Director Bonnie Walters Marilyn B. Parker Ron Hanson University of Wisconsin-River Falls 151 West 100 South, Rupert, ID 83350 University of Nebraska, 204A Filley Hall 410 S 3rd St, River Falls, WI 54022 Ph: 208.436.0692, Fax: 208.436.1384 PO Box 830922, Lincoln, NE 68583-0922 Ph: 715.425.3704, Fax: 715.425.3785 Email: [email protected] Ph: 402.472.2055, Fax: 402.472.3460 Email: [email protected] Journal Editor Email: [email protected] Immediate Past President Rick Parker Co-Membership Director Jeff Hattey 151 West 100 South, Rupert, ID 83350 Jeannette A. Moore Ohio State University, 100 Ag Admin Bldg, Ph: 208.957.7001, Fax: 208.436.1384 Department of Animal Science 2120 Fyffe Rd, Columbus, OH 43210 Email: [email protected] North Carolina State University Ph:614.688.5612 Historian Room 226A Polk Hall Email: [email protected] Box 7621, Raleigh, NC 27695-7621 Kevin Donnelly President Elect Ph: 919.515.4010 Kansas State University, Dept of Agronomy Email: [email protected] Tracy S. Hoover 3107 Throckmorton Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506 College of Agricultural Sciences Ph: 785.532.5402, Fax: 785.532.6094 101 Agricultural Administration Building Email: [email protected] The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802-2602 Ph: 814.865.7521, Fax: 814.863.7277 Email: [email protected] Regional Directors Committee Chairs Stephanie McKenna, California State - Fresno Canadian Director Journal Awards: Douglas Malo, South Dakota State University Kent Mullinix Crystal Allen, University of Illinois Erdogan Memili, Mississippi State Greg Miller, Iowa State University Kwantlen Polytechnic University Membership & Public Relations: Kimberly Moore, University of Florida 12666 72nd Ave, Surrey, BC, Canada Ron Hanson, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Jeannette Moore, NC State University Ph: 604.612.1252 Jeannette A.
  • Quest and Creativity in Marlene Van Niekerk's Triomf, Agaat And

    Quest and Creativity in Marlene Van Niekerk's Triomf, Agaat And

    Orion, Ram’s-horn and Labyrinth: Quest and Creativity in Marlene van Niekerk’s Triomf, Agaat and Memorandum Jean Rossmann Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (English Studies) in the School of Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg. November 2014 Supervisor: Professor Cheryl Stobie Declaration Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Graduate Programme in English Studies (School of Arts) at the University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermartizburg, South Africa. I, Jean Rossmann, declare that 1. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This thesis does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. b. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed inside quotation marks, and referenced. 5. This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the References sections. ________________ __________________ Jean Rossmann Prof. Cheryl Stobie _______________ __________________ Date Date ii Acknowledgements I should like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Cheryl Stobie, for her continued guidance and support in the process of this study.