Tradisie en vernuwing - Hierdie lewe van Karel Schoeman
Date
1996-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Since the sixties generalizations have frequently been made
regarding the difference between old (older, traditional) and new
(newer, "modem") Afrikaans prose. Karel Schoeman’s novel
Hierdie lewe (1993), however, shows the relativity o f the dichotomy
old vs. new prose. The theme o f this novel is fairly traditional: a
reminiscence o f a life o f hardship and loneliness in the South African
platteland. Nevertheless the formalization o f this theme is not that o f
the "gemoedelike lokale realisme" (a genial local realism) which
N.P. van Wyk Louw referred to.
The on-going process o f "making strange/making unfamiliar ” (Victor
Shklovsky) is achieved by a specific style o f writing. The novel’s
merit lies in the fa c t that Schoeman, within the linguistic options
available to him, within the focus o f the chosen narrative perspective,
and within the time frame o f the 19th century, exhibits considerable
creative mastery o f the language - despite the constraints
presupposed by each o f these contexts. It is an outstanding
achievement that Schoeman could fin d so many parallels and
synonyms and integrate them in a diffuse but systematic way in his
comprehensive novel.
Description
CITATION: Du Toit, P. A. 1996. Tradisie en vernuwing - Hierdie lewe van Karel Schoeman. Literator, 17(1): 43-56, doi: 10.4102/lit.v17i1.578.
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
The original publication is available at http://literator.org.za
Keywords
Schoeman, Karel -- Criticism and interpretation, South African fiction -- Criticism and interpretation, Schoeman, Karel. Hierdie lewe
Citation
Du Toit, P. A. 1996. Tradisie en vernuwing - Hierdie lewe van Karel Schoeman. Literator, 17(1): 43-56, doi: 10.4102/lit.v17i1.578