Grant Andrews Supervisor

361 Pages·2016·2.18 MB·English

Representations of fatherhood and paternal narrative power
in South African English literature

Grant Andrews

A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor Philosophiae in the Department of English, University of the
Western Cape.

Supervisor: Professor Hermann Wittenberg
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Representations of fatherhood and paternal narrative power in South
African English literature

Grant Andrews

KEYWORDS
Fatherhood
Narrative power
South African Literature
Gender
Masculinities
Paternalism
Patriarchy
Post-Apartheid Literature
Queer Studies
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Declaration

I declare that “Representations of fatherhood and paternal narrative power in South
African English literature” is my own work, that is has not been submitted for any degree or
examination in any other university, and that all sources I have used or quoted have been
indicated and acknowledged by complete references.

Name: Grant Andrews
Student number: 3380240

Signed: _____________________

Date:
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Abstract
This study explores the different ways that South African novels have represented
fatherhood across historical periods, from the dawn of apartheid to the post-transitional
moment. It is argued that there is a link between narrative power and the father, especially in
the way that the father figure is given authority and is central to dominant narratives which
support pervasive ideologies. The study introduces the concept of paternal narratives, which
are narratives that support the power of the father within patriarchal systems and societies,
and which the father is usually given control of. This lens will be applied to prominent South
African literature in English, including early texts such as Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved
Country, Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter and J. M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the
Country, where the father’s authority is strongly emphasised, and where resisting the paternal
narratives often leads to identity struggles for sons and daughters. Later texts, published
during the transition from apartheid, often deconstruct the narrative power of fathers more
overtly, namely Mark Behr’s The Smell of Apples, Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying and K. Sello
Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams. More recent novels, published in “post-transitional”
South Africa, are radical in their approach to father figures: fathers are often shown to be
spectral and dying, and their control of narratives is almost completely lost, such as in Lisa
Fugard’s Skinner’s Drift, Mark Behr’s Kings of the Water, Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the
Light and Zukiswa Wanner’s Men of the South. Exploring these shifting representations is a
useful way to unearth how ideological and social shifts in South Africa affect the types of
representations produced, and how fatherhoods are being reimagined.
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Acknowledgements
The studies originated with a research project undertaken in my Honours studies at
Stellenbosch University in 2008, under the supervision of Professor Meg Samuelson, and
contains adapted sections of the original project. I am indebted to Professor Samuelson for
her guidance and mentorship in shaping my early academic career and for encouraging my
interest in representations of fatherhoods. You have had a profound impact on my ways of
thinking and my focus as a researcher, and you have helped me to take advantage of many
great opportunities; I cannot adequately express my gratitude for all of your generosity,
guidance and feedback over the years.
To a great academic influence in my life, and a true mentor in every sense, Professor
Shaun Viljoen, my supervisor for my MA research: you have helped me to be a sharper,
clearer thinker, and given me the space to be creative and to think outside of the box. You
have also been willing to give me holistic support and ceaseless encouragement to trust my
voice and express my ideas. You continue to be a valued, positive influence on me,
personally and professionally.
To my supervisor, Hermann Wittenberg: this has been a long, hard road. You have
been constantly encouraging, helping me to realise that I have something interesting to say. I
am grateful for your advice, and that you were willing to be placed under so much stress to
make my ideas come to life. I appreciate all of your feedback; you pointed me to the right
sources and gave me all of the information I needed to do this study well. I am very grateful
that you were willing to take on this project with me.
To the staff of the English departments at Stellenbosch University and the University
of the Western Cape: you all helped me to discover and nourish my academic voice. I am
grateful to those who shared ideas, whose research inspired me, who gave me their time and
who went for coffee breaks with me when we needed them.
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Thank you especially to those I love more than anything: my partner Malan, my sweet
goddaughter Clio, my family and friends. You have made me the person that I am, and you
have made this study possible.
Finally, to my father, the kindest man I know, who taught me to think critically about
my world and to be openhearted with everyone I meet. I love you.
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Table of Contents

Declaration ii
Abstract iii
Acknowledgements iv

Chapter 1: Theorising Narrative Power and Paternal Narratives in South
African Fiction 1
1.1 Theoretical Underpinnings and Overview of the Study 1
1.2 The Centrality of Narrative 9
1.3 Narrative and Power, and Narrative Power 16
1.4 The Paternal Narrative and the Father as Narrator 25
1.5 Masculinity and Fatherhood in the South African Setting 33
1.6 Paternal Narratives in South African Fiction 43

Chapter 2: Paternal Narratives at the Dawn of Apartheid: Alan Paton’s
Cry, the Beloved Country 49
2.1 The Context of Paton’s Novel 49
2.2 The Paternal Narrative Power of Kumalo and Jarvis 62
2.3 Disrupted Urban Fatherhoods 76
2.4 Religion as Paternal Narrative 81
2.5 The Paradoxes of Rural “Tribal” Culture and Urban Capitalism As Patriarchal Structures
85
2.6 Violence and Crime as Routes to Power 91
2.7 The Father’s Power Represented Through His Voice 94
2.8 The Possibility for Maternal Narratives and Destabilising Power Structures 97
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Chapter 3: The Stifled Narrative Power of Daughters in Burger’s
Daughter and In the Heart of the Country 110
3.1 South African Literature During Apartheid 110
3.2 J. M. Coetzee’s In the Heart of the Country 116
3.2.1 Critical Perspectives 116
3.2.2 Women and Subjectivity 122
3.2.3 Magda’s Transgressive Narratives and Inhabiting Masculine Symbols of Power 129
3.2.4 The Deconstruction of Language and Paternal Narrative Power 135
3.3 Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter 143
3.3.1 Gendered Narrative Power 143
3.3.2 The Legacy of the Father and the Name 155
3.3.3 Women and the Voice 156
3.3.4 Symbols of Masculine Power 160
3.3.5 Rosa’s Assertion of Narrative Power 166

Chapter 4: The Deconstruction of Paternal Narratives in the Transition
From Apartheid: The Smell of Apples, Ways of Dying and The Quiet
Violence of Dreams 174
4.1 South African Literature from 1990 - 2001 174
4.2 Mark Behr’s The Smell of Apples 181
4.2.1 Perpetuating Apartheid Ideology 181
4.2.2 Symbols of Masculinist Dominance and Power: Sport, the Phallus, Heterosexuality and Religion 184
4.2.3 The Father Reflects the Nation 193
4.2.4 The Daughter’s Counternarratives 195
4.2.5 Performing Masculinity Through Violence, and the Unspoken Violence of the Father 198
4.3 Zakes Mda’s Ways of Dying 201
4.3.1 Mourning After the Fall of Apartheid 201
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4.3.2 The Father’s Creative Dominance 205
4.3.3 The Destruction of the Father Figure As Linked To Social Injustices 210
4.3.4 Maternal Narratives in the Novel 216
4.4 K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams 223
4.4.1 New South African Identities 223
4.4.2 Nurturing Maternal Narratives As Forms of Self-Reflection 225
4.4.3 Trauma and the Paternal Legacy 229
4.4.4 Symbols of Masculine Power and Male Bonding: Sport and the Phallus 233
4.4.5 Paternal Control of Money 237
4.4.6 Homosexuality and Freedom 241
4.4.7 Oppressive Fathers and Gender Modelling 247

Chapter 5: ‘The Declining Patriarch’: Deconstructed Fatherhoods in
Post-Transitional South African Novels 252
5.1 The Post-Transitional Moment 252
5.2 Lisa Fugard’s Skinner’s Drift 256
5.2.1 Voicing the Father’s Silences 256
5.3 Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light 266
5.3.1 The Father’s Narrative Control 266
5.3.2 The Father’s Fiction of Whiteness 270
5.3.3 The Deconstruction of Race 274
5.3.4 The Image of the Mermaid 279
5.3.5 The Role of Literature in Reconciling the Past and Present 282
5.4 Mark Behr’s Kings of the Water 285
5.4.1 The Heritage of Power 285
5.4.2 The Father’s Fading Power 290
5.4.3 Closeness with the Mother, and Women’s Role in Reconciliation 293
5.4.4 Exile and Whiteness 297
5.4.5 Violence and Masculinity 299
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5.4.6 Benjamin as Paternal Successor 302
5.4.7 Gay Men as Outsiders 305
5.4.8 Challenging the Father and Creating New Narratives 311
5.5 Zukiswa Wanner’s Men of the South 316

Chapter 6: Conclusion 327
List of References 336