Toevalligheid in Ingrid Winterbach se Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat : interpretasies van die roman met die fokus op die tema van kontingensie

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a study of Ingrid Winterbach‟s novel, Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat. The premise of the thesis is that a study of the theme of contingency or chance can lead to a heightened insight into the novel. The novel is approached from different perspectives, but in each perspective the way in which the theme of chance is developed in the novel, is illuminated. By way of introduction the history of the term 'contingency in the Afrikaans language and Western philosophy is broadly traced. This is the background to a reading of the novel as a reaction to contingency. This is followed by a reading of the novel from the perspective of the sociology of religion. The focus is on the nominizing function of religion; the role of language in this process and the way in which Helena Verbloem‟s shells become symbol of man‟s search for meaning and order. In the third chapter the novel is read from the perspective of popular science with the focus on the part of chance in the history of evolutionary thought and the way the novel interprets this. A reading of the novel from the perspective of the philosophy of language follows: the arbitrary and contingent nature of language is discussed and the way the novel underlines this, is brougth to the attention. In the last chapter the novel is read from the perspective of literary theory, focusing on the traditional narrative structure and the way in which it is undermined, undermining also in the process a teleological reading of the novel. Following the reading of the novel from these different perspectives, the conclusion is made that Ingrid Winterbach acknowledges contingency and makes it her own to such an extent that she meets Nietzsche‟s criteria for a 'brave poet. She is indeed a brave and poetic novelist.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University