Vroueruimte: Die onderwêreld en die labirint in Ursula K. Le Guin se Earthsea-narratiewe
Literator
Field | Value | |
Title | Vroueruimte: Die onderwêreld en die labirint in Ursula K. Le Guin se Earthsea-narratiewe Womanspace: The underground and the labyrinth in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea narratives | |
Creator | Douglas, Lynette Byrne, Deirdre | |
Description | Ursula K. Le Guin se beroemde Earthsea-reeks, wat strek oor 20 jaar en vyf tekste, is alombekend as ’n tekstuele ruimte vir die kreatiewe eksplorasie en kritiese ondersoek van gender. Die twee ruimtes in die titel – ‘aarde’ and ‘see’ – word in ekwilibrium gehou, beide deur die outeur se skeppingsvermoë en deur die bonatuurlike magie. Ongelukkig, het min kritici egter aandag gegee aan hoe hierdie ruimtes in die narratiewe funksioneer. In hierdie artikel ondersoek ons die voorstelling van ondergrondse ruimtes en labirinte as betekenisvolle landskappe in dieEarthsea-reeks Hierdie ruimtes word deurgaans in Le Guin se Earthsea-fiksie aangetref, maar word in die volgende vier narratiewe vooropgestel: ’The finder‘ en ’The bones of the earth‘ (Tales from Earthsea), The tombs of Atuan en The other wind. Le Guin se skryfwerk identifiseer konsekwent die aarde as vroulik ooreenkomstig die argetipe van ‘Moeder Aarde’. Voorts vind ons dat ondergrondse ruimtes en labirinte uitgebeeld word as posisies van mag en bemagtiging vir vroue. Nogtans, argumenteer ons dat Le Guin se affiniteit met gender-gelykheid en -balans verhoed dat hierdie trope maar net nog ’n uitgeputte hersiening is van ’n maklike gelykstelling van aardse kragte en ’die vroulike‘. Vir Le Guin, is die ondergrondse netwerke eerder ruimtes vir die vereniging van die manlike en die vroulike elemente en karakters deur die bemagtiging van die vroulike. Ursula K. Le Guin’s renowned Earthsea cycle, spanning 20 years and five texts, is often acknowledged to be a textual space for the creative exploration and interrogation of gender. The two spaces in the title – ‘earth’ and ‘sea’ – are held in equilibrium, both by the author’s craft and by magic. Unfortunately, though, few critics have explored how these spaces function in the narrative. In this article, we explore the representation of underground spaces and labyrinths as meaningful landscapes in the Earthsea cycle. These spaces are found throughout Le Guin’s Earthsea fiction, but are foregrounded in four narratives: ‘The finder’ and ‘The bones of the earth’ (Tales from Earthsea), The tombs of Atuan and The other wind. Le Guin’s writing consistently identifies the earth as feminine, in keeping with the archetype of ‘Mother Earth’, and we find that subterranean spaces and labyrinths are depicted as sites of power and empowerment for women. Nevertheless, we argue that Le Guin’s affinity for gender equity and balance prevents these tropes from becoming another tired revisioning of an easy equation of earthy forces and ‘the feminine’. Rather, for Le Guin, the underground and the labyrinth are sites of union between masculine and feminine elements and characters, through the empowerment of the feminine. | |
Publisher | AOSIS | |
Date | 2014-08-22 | |
Identifier | 10.4102/lit.v35i1.1070 | |
Source | Literator; Vol 35, No 1 (2014); 8 pages Literator; Vol 35, No 1 (2014); 8 pages 2219-8237 0258-2279 | |
Language | eng | |
Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1070/1550
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1070/1551
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1070/1552
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1070/1549
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/downloadSuppFile/1070/10
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