Die reise van Isobelle (1995) van Elsa Joubert : reise deur 'n eeu Suider-Afrikaanse geskiedenis

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Elsa Joubert initially acquired her reputation for her travel writing which is mainly about Africaduring the fifties. In her texts she not only focusses on the curiosities and visually attractive sites ofthe countries she tours, but also conveys her extensive knowledge of the history and her specialinterest in the intimate human aspects of the people.Ons wag op die kaptein (1963) established her name as startling novelist of Southern-Africanthemes. Missionaris (1988) and Die reise van Isobelle (1995) are based on identifiable SouthernAfricanhistorical information and subtly place historiography under scrutiny. In these textsJoubert thematizes and problematizes historiography, which she finds lacking in its ability toconvey a true representation of events. Photo's, recorded visions or other images of an experienceof reality still only remain representations of that reality. Through the process of fictionalization(as in a novel) a truth comes to the light, but at the same time the one-sided and relative natureof canonised history is exposed.Through this critical glance at the status quo and canonised white history, which originated underthe pressure of anti-colonialism, Joubert has sided with writers such as Jan Rabie and Andre P.Brink in their opposition to Apartheid and desire to contribute toward the constitution of a newSouth-Africa.In Die reise van Isobel/e Joubert comments, through the use of characters in a family cronicle, onthe manner in which people are affected and shaped by their context. The author, through the useof Leonora as sceptical narrator, focalisator and manipulator, ironises for example the steadfastconvictions of the patriotic Josias and Agnes, and thereby confers a critical view of politicalideologicalproblems. The romance between Belle, as group bound Afrikaner girl, and theinteresting foreign Indian Hussein Badir, which ends in his death, illustrates the discord whenracist prejudice clashes with personal experience. Leo serves as a model of freedom and hopewhich coincides with detachment from conventional political convictions.Different kinds of journeys can be identified in coherence with the characters, e.g. physical, literaljourneys, religious journeys and political journeys. The family chronicle eventually becomes anexample of Afrikaner society's emancipation or journey from a patriarchal to a free independentway oflife.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University