Abstract
M.A. (English)
This study approaches a much neglected area, not only of English literary research in
South Africa generally, but also more specifically of Nadine Gordimer's writing career.
Over the last fifty-one years Gordimer has produced approximately 126 short stories.
These have variously been taken up in twelve collections, ranging from Face to Face in
1949 to Jump in 1991.However, most of the recognition she has received pertains to her
novels which are frequently praised for their historical awareness and their commitment
to the disfranchised in South Africa. Yet the short stories are a significant part of
Gordimer's output - altogether eight original collections of short stories exist, as
compared to ten novels. Nor are the short stories of any less historical significance.Even
a cursory glance at the periodization of the stories as reflected in this dissertation
unquestionably reveals a developing historical perspective in Gordimer's short fiction.
What is most remarkable about this unfolding perspective is Gordimer's ability from time
to time in the stories to break out of the limitations imposed on her consciousness by her
position in South African society as a white, upper middle-class woman.
The most important reason for the dearth of research on the historical
consciousness in Gordimer's short fiction seems to be the choice of literary-critical
approaches adopted in previous works. Broadly these may be classified as either formalist or new critical. Given the importance to these approaches of the autonomy of the text
vis-a-vis the life history of the authoress or the wider socio-political environment within
which the work exists, it is not surprising that these works have rather limited their focus
to such aspects as theme, structure, short story development and imagery. By examining
the interaction of race, gender and class in Gordimer's short stories this dissertation pins its exploration of the developing historical consciousness of these texts not only to specific
issues, but to issues with which Gordimer clearly concerns herself. This dissertation
therefore asserts that the structures of race, gender and class are indeed pertinently
explored in the short stories, not only individually but often with an understanding of
their intertwined aspect, and that using this approach a more subtle and appropriate
reading of the stories and of their development may emerge.