Tydskrif vir Letterkunde (Apr 2017)

Hybridische zelfpositionering en performance in Breytenbachs reisverhalen

  • Jihie Moon

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 48, no. 2

Abstract

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This article focuses on the hybrid self-representation and liminal self-positioning of Breyten Breytenbach as presented in his two travelogues, Return to Paradise (1993) and Dog Heart (1998). Firstly, the form of travel writing is shown to be a suitable genre for the manifestation of a nomadic or ‘travelling’ subject. Secondly, his liminal self-positioning toward Afrikaner society reflects the problem of identity in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as the writer’s performance of a future agency for rehabilitating the collective self within a new South African community. Breytenbach is seen to manifest his cultural identity on the one hand, while attempting to position this identity within the multicultural society on the other. Key words: autobiography, Breyten Breytenbach, hybridity, identity, self-positioning.