Abstract
M.A.
This dissertation explores On The Contrary by Andre P. Brink against the backdrop of creative reading with emphasis on interpretation of the text as a process rather than as a product. The title On The Contrary is already indicative of the author's intention to unlock a myriad of interpretative possibilities in stead of tangibilitating a conclusion. The title also illuminates the principle that what is written is not necessarily what is said, that none of the content is cast in concrete and that the work concerns itself with the offering of contrasts: truth and untruth, imagination and reality, guilt and innocence. A symbiosis of dualism and parallelism is portrayed in order to enrich the potential for multiple text interpretations.
Various texts are incorporated into the text of On The Contrary on an inter-textual basis, for the purpose of facilitating the interpretative process in an explicit and/or implicit manner. This study investigates and discusses the following three specific texts:
• Don Quijote by Cervantes. Several explicit references are made to this canonised novel of Western literature, but it is the subtle, implied similarities between the lives of the characters
Estienne Barbier and Don Quojote that serve as interpretative keys.
• Jeanne d' Arc and her history.
• The life history of Estienne Barbier, the historical 18 th century Cape figure.
Remarkable documented similarities between the historical characters, Barbier and Jeanne d'Arc invite the analytical reader to try and establish the extent and purpose of incorporating the Jeanne d'Arc text into On The Contrary. Through the process of creative reading, the reader's assessment and understanding of Estienne Barbier, as a character in the novel, is moulded and formed by the life story and philosophy of Jeanne d'Arc. Barbier is constructed from a compound of historical facts and fictitious incidents. Historical "gaps" in the life of Estienne Barbier are compensated for through the introduction of elements from the life history and philosophy of Jeanne d'Arc. To that extent Barbier is a consequential character whose life and philosophy inextricably reflects examples derived from Jeanne d'Arc.
The inter-textual process imbues a linear Estienne Barbier with depth in regard to the events that effect him and allows him to grow in the eyes of the reader, through fruitful application of parallels between the histories of Jeanne d'Arc and Estienne Barbier. The use of Jeanne d'Arc inter-textually and the virtual "retelling" of Jeanne, profoundly tell the story of a rebellious Barbier's "crusade" in pursuit of righteousness. In similar fashion the historical character Estienne Barbier is "told" into the romantic character Barbier in an attempt to transcend from imagination to reality. The reinterpretation of history, with the view of arriving at an alternative historical interpretation, becomes possible through the use of fiction.
In primary instance this study investigates the manner in which the abovementioned three texts are incorporated inter-textually in the novel On The Contrary. Secondly an attempt is made to identify the narrative strategies that are used to arrive at a possible interpretation of the text and lastly it indulges in an exploration of the healing effect that the process of (imaginary) storytelling has in the lives of characters such as Don Quijote and Estienne Barbier.