Killing the Father
Childhood and Renewal of Self-Narrative in Dambudzo Marechera's Fiction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3633180 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Muponde (University of the Witwatersrand, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 14-27 |
| Publication date | 2004-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Dynamics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0253-3952 • E-ISSN: 1940-7874 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02533950408628659 |
| OpenAlex | W2068809020 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 12 |
The contradictory impulses that characterise writing on Dambudzo Marechera's life and times were foreshadowed a long time ago in 1971 in an obligatory testimonial by his high school principal, Father Daniel Pearce, an Anglican priest. I discuss briefly the ways in which he maps Marechera's life, and suggest that he prefigured so much of its seeming intricacy and mythical qualities. Subsequent critics of his writing have only elaborated the contradictory templates of Father Pearce's hagiographic writing. What his critics have often missed in these writings and readings is Marechera's own effort at renewing his own self-narrative in the face of such readings of himself. The source of this narrative regeneration is in his recollection and uses of childhood to reflect on a longing for self-capitalisation, which is achieved by setting aside the narratives of the father (in multiple symbolic senses). His ideas of self-writing should be gleaned from his understanding and uses of childhood
Aesthetics · Art · Aside · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Reflexive pronoun · Testimonial · Autobiographical and Biographical Writing · History · Irish and British Studies · Philosophy · Psychology · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |