Canine agents in two South African short stories
Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Van Schaik Publishers
Abstract
This article explores the role of the figure of the dog in two contemporary South African short stories. It considers the metaphorical-cum-allegorical significance of the textual animal in these texts, asking how the writers use dogs as imaginative devices to draw attention to issues of gender, human emotions or psychoses, and the avowal or disavowal of (human and animal) agency. The aim is to engage with the writers’ evident wish both to comment on human-animal relationships and encounters in contemporary South African society, and to emphasise how these become effective, affective means of commenting on the continued inequities of post-apartheid society.
Description
CITATION: Slabbert, M. 2018. Canine agents in two South African short stories. Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, 55(3):134-151, doi:10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i3.5509.
The original publication is available at https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl
The original publication is available at https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl
Keywords
Human-animal relationships in literature, Dogs in literature, Van Niekerk, Marlene -- Triomf -- Criticism and interpretation, Coetzee, J. M., 1940- -- Disgrace -- Criticism and interpretation
Citation
Slabbert, M. 2018. Canine agents in two South African short stories. Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, 55(3):134-151, doi:10.17159/2309-9070/tvl.v.55i3.5509