Tyd in samewerking met ander struktuurelemente, geïllustreer aan enkele Afrikaanse prosawerke

Abstract

In this dissertation I have not tried to present all the theories and problems concerning time. My main premise was to study time only in its literary context and then also primarily as it is found in the prose of today. My contention is that time in the novel is of such supreme importance, that it must be acknowledged as a fundamental element of all prose works. The first part of my dissertation is devoted to a theoretical investigation of literary time. In this section I endeavour red to show that time is present in all the major elements of the novel, namely in the theme, the events, the characters, the narrator and in space. I concentrated in the following chapter on a study of time itself - its sequence (chronology and achronology), tempo and duration. In the second part of my dissertation three prose works were studied to determine in how far my theoretical views were supported. My study of A.P. Brink's Die Arnbassadeur (The Ambassador) centered on the relationship between time and the characters. This study revealed that the characters not only lived in time, but that they also experienced time in such ways, that they could even be characterized by their various attitudes to and experiences of time. The changing of narrators throughout this novel was seen in conjunction with time, as were the events. Not only did time influence all three these fundamental aspects of the novel - characters, narrators, events - but it acted as an integrating link between all these different elements. The second work to be studied was the novel Na die geliefde land (Promised Land - translated by Marion Friedman, 1979) of Karel Schoeman. The discussion of this work centered on the characters - their various perspectives on the past (memories) and the present (reality) - and on the influence of time on space. The third work studied was Wilma Stockenstrom's Die Kremetartekspedisie (The Baobab Expedition – my translation.) In this example the workings of time were discerned in the thematical allusions to it and in the unique way in which the slave woman's memory structured the events. A study of time brought new insights to all three these diverse works. The conclusion reached by this dissertation is that time, as an important structure element of the novel, should not be studied in isolation, but that it must always be seen in connection with the other prose elements. The novel can be fully appreciated and enjoyed only when this underlaying interaction between time and the other elements is laid bare.