'n Strukturele en verteltegniese ondersoek na die representasie van die vroulike subjek in Marlene van Niekerk se Agaat

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the representation of the female subject in Marlene van Niekerk'snovel, Agaat (2004). The female subjects, Milla and Agaat, are the focus of this study.Both women are subjected to drastic situations, which not only influence theirrelationship, but also their respective identities. This turn of events lead up to a powerstruggle between Milla and Agaat, which eventually gets reversed throughout the courseof the narrative. The focus is essentially on the complex structure of the novel, where aprologue and epilogue serve as a framework for the four different story lines, each withits own narrative technique.A number of theoretical approaches will be employed in order to explore the discussionof the female subject. The novel, which is presented throughout by a single narrator,leads the study to concepts such as representation, subjectivity and identity. In an attemptto understand 'the other, the central role of language and mirrors with regard torepresentation is explored. Van Niekerk's reinvention and even subversion of the farmnovel of the late twentieth century involves ideologies of the Afrikaner such as land andreligion, gender, politics and culture. This strategy results in the focus on concepts likesubjectivity and identity. Both these processes will be explored in an attempt to gaininsight into the characters.Key elements such as displacement, substitution and revenge give momentum to thechain of events in the story and lead up to introspection by both women. It is especiallyMilla's terminal illness that induces introspection and preparation, for both Milla andAgaat, towards death. The influence of all these events, Milla and Agaat's mutualdependence on each other, as well as the way in which they position themselves in theface of death, prompt this study. This study explores the influence of these events onwomen, the power struggle that developed out of this and the way in which theirrespective roles are reversed.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University