Body, history and mythicisation
Antjie Krog's South African novel,A change of tongue
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6030746 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jürgen Lieskounig (Massey University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 133-147 |
| Publication date | 2011-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Identities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1472-5843 • E-ISSN: 1472-5851 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14725843.2011.556790 |
| OpenAlex | W2033280439 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 4 |
Antjie Krog's autobiographical novel A change of tongue presents a diversified conglomerate of different genres and parts. One of the major thematic focal points is the evident aim of the I-narrator/protagonist to reconstitute her identity as a white Afrikaans woman so as to establish her claim to belong, as a ‘post-white’ African, to the land and its aboriginal people. This paper investigates this intent through an analysis of the depiction of the physicality of the novel's main figures, and especially that of the I-narrator. This analysis, in turn, reveals a significant tendency towards mythicising, which highlights some of the problematic of the text, along with the inner contradictions inherent in the I-narrator's desire to be assimilated unquestionably and legitimately into the new socio-political context of her country. It will be shown that her attempt to re-write her personal white identity into a native African one leads to the individualistic and subjective misrepresentation of an established historical reality and context by mythicising it
Aesthetics · Archaeology · Archetype · Art · Depiction · Individualism · Literature · Misrepresentation · Political science · Politics · Sociology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies · South African History and Culture
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,29 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2022 (11) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |