Record Details

‘Uitgesprokenheid’ en ‘stilswye’ in die memoirs van Petronella van Heerden

Literator

 
 
Field Value
 
Title ‘Uitgesprokenheid’ en ‘stilswye’ in die memoirs van Petronella van Heerden ‘Speaking’ and ‘silence’ in the memoirs of Petronella van Heerden
 
Creator Smit, Lizelle
 
Subject English; Afrikaans; Cultural Studies; History Petronella van Heerden; Queer identity; Feminist historiography; South African literature; Women's Life Writing — Dissident Afrikaner-identiteit; Suid-Afrikaanse twintigste eeu lesbianisme; Suid-Afrikaanse feminisme; memoirs se Suid-Afrikaanse vroue
Description Petronella van Heerden’s memoirs have received little academic attention. This article aims to contribute to the limited archive of research on her work to highlight women’s involvement in South African and Afrikaner (de/colonial) politics. It will also explore her manipulation of the autobiographical genre to impart what she considered as important to the Afrikaner youth. My investigation considers Van Heerden’s paradoxical shifts between ‘speaking’ and ‘silence’ regarding feminist issues and her lesbian sexual identity. The article illustrates Van Heerden’s employment of certain writing strategies to critique gender inequality implicit within hegemonic and patriarchal discourses - a central issue of her young life that arguably formed her dissident identity. An examination of the ‘opacity’ pertaining to her portrayal of a lesbian identity in the memoirs is also considered. Gegewe die beperkte akademiese navorsing aangaande die memoirs van Petronella van Heerden, poog hierdie artikel om ’n bydrae te lewer tot die gesprek rondom haar werke. Dit belig ook verder vroue se betrokkenheid by die (de/koloniale) politiek van Suid-Afrika en Afrikaners. Van Heerden se manipulasie van die outobiografiese genre om sodoende gekose inligting betreffende geslagongelykhede oor te dra aan die Afrikaansprekende jeug, word ondersoek. Verder oorweeg ek Van Heerden se teenstrydige wisseling tussen ‘uitgesprokenheid’ en ‘stilswye’ met betrekking tot die onderwerp van feminisme en lesbiese seksuele identiteit. Hierdie artikel illustreer Van Heerden se aanwending van sekere skrywerstegnieke om sodoende genderongelykhede, implisiet in hegemoniese en patriargale diskoerse, te kritiseer - ’n sentrale aspek van haar jong lewe wat moontlik aanleiding gegee het tot die vorming van ’n andersdenkende identiteit. Van Heerden se ‘vaagheid’ met betrekking tot die uitbeelding van haar lesbiese identiteit in die memoirs, word asook bespreek.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Stellenbosch University —
Date 2017-04-28
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — — — Literary Analysis; Historical Inquiry
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/lit.v38i1.1298
 
Source Literator; Vol 38, No 1 (2017); 11 pages Literator; Vol 38, No 1 (2017); 11 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/1298/2326 https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1298/2325 https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1298/2327 https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1298/2311
 
Coverage South Africa South African colonial and decolonial periods; Nineteenth and Twentieth Century South Africa Birth to Death; Female; Caucasian — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2017 Lizelle Smit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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