Die gruwel en die Gotiese in drie hedendaagse tekste : Die nag het net een oog - Francois Bloemhof, Drif - Reza de Wet, Een hart van steen - Renate Dorrestein

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis contains the results of an investigation into the elements of the horror story andthe Gothic novel in three contemporary works. The investigation was conducted within thetheoretical framework of the original historical Gothic novel of the eighteenth century, incomparison with contemporary theorization on the Gothic, with specific reference to the studyof Eddy Bertin, and to some extent Hendrik van Gorp and Fred Botting. Four conventions ofthe Gothic genre were identified, and were applied to an Afrikaans novel and drama, as wellas a Dutch novel, to establish to which extent the Gothic manifests itself in thesecontemporary texts. The study focussed on The night only has one eye (1991) by FrancoisBloemhof, Crossing/ Passion (1994) by Reza de Wet and A heart of stone (1999) by RenateDorrestein.From these texts, which were read within a Gothic framework, it could be deduced that thereis a deviation from the conventional Gothic texts within both the Afrikaans and the Dutchtexts. This deviation especially occurs with regard to characterization, with specific referenceto the female character. The authors use the traditional Gothic characters as a point ofdeparture, but bring about renewal in the texts by making them part of a wider philosophicalfield. The portrayal of the themes of good versus evil, space and tension, also shows adeviation from the Gothic conventions.An important finding in this study is that the Gothic genre in its pure form can not successfullybe traced in contemporary literature. The three texts under discussion show the occurrence ofallogamy between the different sub-categories of horror. A further important conclusion is thatthese three texts cannot be merely categorized as Popular literature because of the renewal itbrings regarding the traditional Gothic conventions.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University