Masters Degrees (English)

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The changing face of erotica : a study of erotic literature in the works of Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin and Erica Jong
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-03) Gavera, Lucille; Hees, Edwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: For especially feminist critics, erotic literature depicts an area of human experience dominated by male principles. Until very recently, the rules of erotica dictated that men mostly produced and consumed it, and women played the props. Of course this implies that female subjectivity is constructed by the male gaze, and hence reified and commodified in terms of the male prerogative. To challenge and overthrow 'male-perspective' erotic language and tradition, it has been argued that we need a woman's point of view, definition and description of sexual experience. To attack the phallocentrism of erotica, recent erotic novels have tried to create empowering scenarios for female sexuality in which the female characters are placed in positions of equal sexual power to the male. The analyses of the erotic writing of Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin and Erica Jong in this thesis attempt to determine whether the texts discussed succeed in incorporating diverse styles and orientations of depicting the sexual to construct a new language for desire. During much of his lifetime, Miller's writing was branded obscene, his voice too vulgar and his use of autobiography too egocentric. But critics also came to see his style and voice as revolutionary, and his use of the obscene and the irreverent as literary devices to awaken the reader from a wretched sterility of mind and body. Many attempts have been made to explain what many critics have come to see as Miller's misogynist and patriarchal attitudes in his writing. Although Miller inventively portrayed a sense of people and of place, he seemed less successful at unravelling his attitudes toward sex and women. And so many reviewers do not see Miller playing an expansive role through his writing of the taboo by freeing us from our sexual neuroses, but find that the reader is abandoned within the limitation of a sexual mindset that is only named, not transformed. The limited insight critics see in Miller's writing of the sexual has been ascribed partly to the fact that the sexual odyssey in literature has for centuries been a male prerogative in which the female's only role was to provide material for the fictions the male would create. But as is clear from Nin's and Jong's erotic writing, more and more female writers have taken on this journey, and have succeeded at least to some degree in giving their characters the power and freedom to reach a fundamentally female sexual awareness and position. Great disagreement exists among critics over the literary value and importance ofNin's writing. Her work has been rejected as pointless explorations of erotic entanglements in which writing becomes nothing more than a solipsistic activity. On the other hand, it has been recognised as a new kind of writing of the female aesthetic which ignited the discourse around the issue of a genre of gender. Nin's erotica mostly displays a woman's sensibility by using a woman's language and seeing the sexual experience from a woman's point of view. This implies that Nin treats her female sexual characters as subject-matter rather than object-matter as is generally the case in erotica from the male point of view. Although opposing viewpoints exist of Nin's contribution to the development of a female voice in literature, Nin does seem to expand the boundaries imposed on the writing of the sexual woman by introducing a fluidity in her depiction of gender and of sex - especially through her erotic portrayal of the lesbian relationship and her candid writing of the ultimate taboo - the sexual relationship with her father. While Miller's and Nin's lives were unavoidably entwined with their autobiographical writing, Erica Jong's writing - and by implication her life - was moulded into a media product, and it has become difficult to approach her work except through complex layers of reputation and stereotype. Although Jong's Fear of Flying almost immediately topped the best-seller lists upon publication, the sheer scale of the novel's sales led some critics to think of her work as 'popular culture' rather than 'literature'. Jong's erotic writing has sparked similar criticisms to those lodged against Nin's, especially those which question whether Jong ever attempts to defme her women characters away from a (dominant) male sexual partner. Although Fear of Flying was supposed to be a celebration of female sexual autonomy, feminist critics were troubled by what they saw as the female protagonist's ultimate affirmation of patriarchal standards of female conduct. But despite the varied criticism of Jong's attempt to write an alternative narrative of the female body, some reviewers do see such a new story in her main female character's physical journey in that it coincides with the biological rhythms of her 28-day menstrual cycle. Jong is therefore seen to write into her text much more than a body that seeks and receives sexual gratification to become a body that tells a tale previously absent from American literature. Yet the winds of social, political, economic and cultural change where the sexual is concerned have blown across Miller's, Nin's and Jong's erotic writing, so that the conflicts and challenges that occupied their sexual writing now seem to strike readers as very much dated. In this regard it is important to note how an increasingly 'me-orientated' culture and society - endlessly portrayed and exploited by the media - has forever altered the contemporary view of the sexual. And so the erotic in contemporary society has become ineluctably connected to the sexual value that the commercial gaze bestows.
Generic engineering : a study of parody in selected works of Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Tom Stoppard
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-04) Van der Merwe, Stephen Gareth; Heyns, M. W.; Hees, Edwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The following thesis develops a theory of parody as a multifunctional practice in relation to selected works of Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Tom Stoppard. The study discusses parody as a mode of generic engineering (rather than a genre itself) with ideological ramifications. Based on an understanding of literary and non-literary genres as social institutions, this thesis describes the practice of parody as one of engineering generic or discursive incongruity with a particular cultural purpose in mind. In refiguring generic conventions, the parodist simultaneously reworks their implicit ideological premises. Parody hence comes to serve as a means of negotiating with "the world" through generic modification, and the notions of parodic social agency and cultural work are consequently central to this thesis. Focusing on The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest respectively, Chapters Two and Three discuss Wilde's use of parody, and especially parodic "word-masks", for subverting the aesthetic and social conventions of Victorian England, and covertly propagating a gay subculture through parodic injokes. Word-masks - central to Wildean parody - entail the duplicitous use of an object text / genre as a cover under which a parodist hides other meanings. If Wildean parody might be described as claiming a covert agency, Joycean parody must, in contrast, be acknowledged as expressing deep-seated political ambivalence. Chapters Four and Five of this thesis discuss Joyce's Ulysses with specific reference to his use of parody to conflate, relativize and problematize the dominant aesthetic and Irish nationalist discourses of the early twentieth-century. Joycean parody also demonstrates parodic ambivalence and this is especially evident in what might be called his "parodic patriotism". In contrast to Wilde's and Joyce's use of parody for the expression of subversive or progressive political views, Stoppard's parodies confirm conservative English values not only in their reification of the English canon but also in terms of the ideological premises with which they invest their hypotexts. Chapters Six and Seven examine how parody can serve as one of the ways in which modem artists have managed to come to terms with tradition. Focusing on Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Travesties respectively, these chapters explore parody's capacity to function as tribute or homage to the writers of the past being parodied. Ultimately this thesis aims to demonstrate the continuum of parodic cultural work or effects of which parody, as a mode of generic engineering, is capable.
Love between the lines : paradigmatic readings of the relationship between Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey
(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007-12) Loedolff, Janine; Viljoen, S. C.; Hees, Edwin; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
This thesis focuses on the relationship between Dora Carrington and Lytton Strachey and offers three models for reading their unconventional relationship. Carrington was in love with the homosexual Strachey and the two lived together at Tidmarsh, and later Ham Spray House, for more than fourteen years. The three models make extensive use of primary sources, namely the letters and diaries of Carrington and Strachey. Furthermore, I draw on two seminal biographies of Carrington and Strachey written by Gretchen Gerzina and Michael Holroyd respectively. The first model I examine is a form of pederasty. I argue that, soon after they met, Carrington and Strachey began a friendship which was based on his educating her in a variety of ways. He served as a mentor both intellectually and sexually. Strachey was familiar with the concept of pederasty as a result of his involvement with the Cambridge Conversazione Society, better known as the Apostles, and used his knowledge to induct a rather naïve Carrington into new ways of thinking. This pederastic relationship also allowed Carrington a certain amount of freedom as it enabled her to pursue her art without the demands a heterosexual male would make of her. The second model for reading their relationship is that of parody. While Carrington and Strachey’s relationship resembles a heteronormative relationship, it can, at times, be read as parodic. I argue that they both subvert heteronormativity in humorous ways as a means to critique their parents’ Victorian marriages and to interrogate notions of masculinity vi and femininity. I discuss the roles they played within their domestic environment, and pay particular attention to how this intersected with Carrington’s artistic endeavours. This parodying of heteronormativity was, I suggest, also one of the only ways they could find of expressing the love they felt for one another. The last model I offer draws on theories of kinship. I examine how Carrington and Strachey resorted to familial constructions of descent as a means to veil the love they had for one another and to avoid criticism and ridicule from the Bloomsbury group and beyond. When they established a home at Tidmarsh, they altered their form of kinship to utilise principles of alliance. However, another shift took place with the introduction of Ralph Partridge, Carrington’s husband, and I argue that the terms they used to address each other changed to constructions, once again, of descent, at least until the dissolution of the Carrington-Partridge marriage. Carrington and Strachey’s relationship is often viewed as unconventional and she is often depicted as being utterly subservient towards him. However, the three models I have used demonstrate that their love was mutual. The models also reveal their relationship to be quite conventional in the manner in which Carrington and Strachey expressed their love for one another and how these expressions of love developed during the different phases of the life they spent together.
Magical words & iceberg territory : an exploration of the multifunctionality of language in dramatic dialogue, with specific reference to selected Fugard plays
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000-03) Cunliffe, Rozanne Mary; Hees, Edwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Most critics and academics have concentrated on the referential function of Fugard's dramatic dialogue. In this thesis I' argue that to notice just one way in which the language functions tends to limit the text. My aim, therefore, is to look at the other ways in which language functions in selected Fugard plays. I explore the way in which Fugard uses dialect and sociolect to establish a stage world that looks and sounds recognisably South African to South Africans. I investigate how .certain assumptions (on the part of the audience) accompany the acceptance of the stage world as 'real' and how Fugard uses subtextual inferences to force the audience to critically re-evaluate these assumptions. I argue that the way to consciously understand and evaluate the sub text is through a detailed investigation of the different ways in which language functions in dramatic dialogue. Therefore, by applying Pfister's theories on the multi functionality of dramatic dialogue to selected Fugard plays, I look at how characters reveal themselves to the audience through the choice of specific words, subject matter and language variant. I also investigate, by applying Quigley's observations regarding Pinter's plays to Fugard's characters, the way in which language reveals characters striving to negotiate their status within relationships. My argument is that as far as characterisation and relationships are concerned the actual referential function of the words reveals only the tip of the iceberg - the rest lies beneath this and is to be uncovered by looking at the other ways in which the language functions. Finally I look at the way in which language as the medium of communication per se is foregrounded in Fugard's plays and how this accentuates the role that language plays in communication, as well as the failure of communication, in the South African context. Related to this metalingual function of dramatic dialogue I investigate the idea, put forward by Ibitokun, that language can be used as a 'mask' behind which a person can hide his true identity. I agree with Ibitokun that this is not only a strategy for survival but that, when consciously adopted, it is also a means for challenging the status quo. The Fugard plays I have selected are Master Harold ... and the boys, Boesman and Lena, Sizwe Bansi is Dead and The Island.
The narcissistic masculinity of Travis Bickle : American "Reality" in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver
(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006-12) Pauw, Waldemar; Hees, Edwin; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
In this thesis, I examine the way in which Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver can be read as a critical investigation of post-World War II American masculinity. Drawing on Susan Faludi’s arguments regarding the post-World War II American ‘masculinity crisis’, I highlight specifically how Taxi Driver addresses American masculinity in the context of ideals of heroism, of the myth of the Wild West, of the Vietnam era, and of the increasingly influential role that the popular media play in shaping conceptions of masculinity. In the process I indicate that Taxi Driver exposes, and critiques, an association in modern American society between masculinity and what analysts have termed the ‘myth of regeneration through violence’.
Of discourse and dialogue : the representation of power relationships in selected plays by Shakespeare
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004-04) Du Toit, Seugnet; Hees, Edwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English .
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis I will look at the way in which power relationships are presented in Shakespeare's dramas, with specific reference to the so-called ''Henriad'', Measure for Measure and The Tempest. Each play consists of a network of power relationships in which different forms of power interact on different levels. Different characters in the above-mentioned plays have access to different forms of power according to their position within these networks. The way in which the characters interact could also cause or be influenced by shifts and changes in the networks of power relationships that occur in the course of the action. I will use Michel Foucault's theories on the relationship between power, knowledge and discourse as a guide to my analysis of Measure for Measure. I will also use selected aspects of Mikhail Bakhtin's theories on language and literature, with specific references to the concepts of "dialogism" and "heteroglossia" or "manyvoicedness", as well as his concept of carnival, which implies a temporary inversion in power relationships in an unofficial festive context, as a guide to my analysis of the Henriad. I will use a combination of the theories of Foucault and Bakhtin in my analysis of The Tempest. I have chosen the terms "discourse" and "dialogue" as key terms in the title of this thesis not only because they play an important role in the theories of Foucault and Bakhtin respectively, but also because they play an important role in the analysis and representation of power relationships. According to Robert Young, Foucault relates ''the organisation of discourse ...to the exercise of power" (10). One could also say that the power relationships in a society are reflected in the portrayal of a dialogue between different voices representing different sections of or classes in that society as in Bakhtin's principles of dialogism. I will explain the overall importance of these terms in more detail in the Introduction and the other relevant chapters. In the introductory chapter I will first provide a theoretical background for the thesis as a whole. Then I will look at the specific theoretical principles that are relevant to each chapter. In the chapter on the Henriad I will look at the way in which an alternative perspective on power relations and the role of the king are created by looking at them from the perspective of Bakhtin's concept of carnival. In the next chapter, I will show how Measure for Measure presents us with an evaluation of different strategies of power, which I will look at from the perspective of Foucault's theories on power, knowledge and discourse. In my chapter on The Tempest I will combine aspects of both theories in my analysis of a play that presents us with a complex analysis of power relationships as a social phenomenon. In the concluding chapter I will look at the different perspectives on power relationships that emerged from my previous chapters and attempt to see what its implications are for the representation of power relationships in Shakespeare's work and perhaps as a social phenomenon.
The perpetrator's narrative and myth : a study of Country of my skull and Ubu and the Truth Commission
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002-12) Malherbe, Lisa Susan; Hees, Edwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The reconstruction of history from individual narratives heard by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) urged society to reconsider the meaning of history as a construction based on personal memory. In fact, the TRC's attempt to unveil the past in order to encourage social reconciliation raised many questions of this nature. As a result, the socio-political issues associated with the hearings inspired a movement in literature that addressed these issues specifically. This thesis investigates the depiction of perpetrators in Country of My Skull and Ubu and the Truth Commission as examples of Truth and Reconciliation literature. Apart from functioning as important sources of commentary on the socio-political debate surrounding the TRC, these texts explore a range of questions concerning the relationship between memory, history and narrative. I wish to argue that the perpetrators portrayed in the texts are deluded by myths concerning power and masculinity. Comforting self-deceptions underlie their reconstructions of history, complicating the notion of truth and effecting the construction of history in the wider TRe context. The perpetrator's narrative, as a significant component of the testimony of the IRC hearings reveals a manipulation of the truth which results in perpetrators evading responsibility for their actions. This occurrence has implications for victims as well as they try to reconcile their personal versions of the truth with alternative versions. I conclude that the conflict between the narratives of the victim and the perpetrator is often a confrontation of cultures that exposes the myths underlying the perpetrator's manipulation of the truth.

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Browsing Masters Degrees (English) by browse.metadata.advisor "Hees, Edwin"

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