Gender and culture in the Xhosa novel

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This study examines gender and culture in L.L. Ngewu's novel, Koda kube nini na? Theaim is to examine the influence of culture on how women and men as characters areportrayed. The study is motivated by the fact that despite the new democraticdispensation in South Africa since 1994, there is still a lot of gender discrimination in theXhosa society. This is the result of the old traditional practices that severely discriminatedagainst women on the bases that they are women.Chapter 2 of the study presents theoretical aspects of gender and culture. Chapter 3analyses character and space in Ngewu's novel, Koda kube nini na? It is found that thecharacters of the novel are well-rounded. They are complex and dynamic. Space in thenovels is concrete, but it also assumes symbolic significance in the way it represents abigger picture: South African that is still in the legacy of apartheid. Chapter 4 deals withgender, and the concentration is on male and female characters. It is observed from theanalyses that men dominate women. Women are subordinates of men by virtue of beingwomen. In Chapter 5 we examine culture and find that culture can be used as aninstrument in the patriarchal Xhosa society to oppress women.Our conclusion is that Ngewu's novel, Koda kube nini na? does not present democratisedimages of men and women. The images still depict in traditional Xhosa culture.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University