Abstract
This dissertation examines two of Henrietta Rose-Innes’s novels: Nineveh (2011) and Green Lion (2015). It argues that the novels, with their intersection of ecocritical and speculative writing, occupy a significant position in contemporary South African fiction. The dissertation contends that a central theme of both novels is the liminal journey, which is both a personal and systemic response to the ecological crisis in a commercialism-driven city. Drawing on Arnold van Gennep’s concept of rites of passage and Victor Turner’s theory of liminality, the dissertation explores various facets of liminality in Rose-Innes’s fiction. It argues that the novels depict Cape Town as a dystopic setting whose traditional fabric has been destroyed by a system that is typical of late capitalism, as described by Fredric Jameson. Paradoxically, the destruction sets up unusual liminal spaces that are integral to the liminal journey. The protagonists of Rose-Innes’s novels are themselves liminal subjects whose inherent ferality sets them apart from mainstream society and aligns them with displaced humans and non-human animals. This dissertation proposes that by invoking the classic phases of the liminal journey – separation, initiation, and return – the novels present a strong ecocritical message...
M.A. (English)