André Brink, Dissenter

Abstract

This thesis provides a survey of the novels written in English by Afrikaans author, André Brink. It contextualises these texts in terms of the political and social issues of the era in which each was written. Specifically, it examines the ways in which the novels stand as a dissenting body of work against a particularly prescriptive and preclusive environment, challenging the racially prejudiced practices of apartheid South Africa and, later, challenging other forms of oppression in the post-apartheid nation. One of the most interesting aspects of Brink's work, I argue, is that his challenge comes from within the Afrikaner community. Discussion of the novels is concerned not merely with the literary treatment of a range of themes, but also with the worldly implications of this treatment, the ways in which Brink considers his questions about, and challenges to, authoritarianism. I argue that the oeuvre demonstrates Brink's developing social and political conscience, a series of 'rebirths' in which the artist is prompted to reconsider his role as an artist. I examine Brink's works from a number of perspectives and in relation to a number of central themes. My approach in looking at the oeuvre from different angles is highly suggestive of the problem as it plays out for Brink: he is unable to straightforwardly resolve the themes he treats, but refuses to concede defeat or retreat from the central issues. This, I suggest, is one of the most significant aspects of Brink's work - his willingness to continually reassess his environment and his response to it. He returns to favourite themes and considers the same issues from new perspectives and with new knowledge. The irresolution which defines his treatment allows the possibility for future investigation, a further dialectic interrogation of the issues in a new context. The works also trace the author's 'cultural conversation', a dialogue which both records and challenges the prescriptive and preclusive environment of apartheid South Africa. I extend this examination to include the post-apartheid novels, discussing the situation of the dissenting artist for whom the most obvious forms of authoritarianism have become defunct. Essentially, the thesis investigates the politics of writing as dissident politics and considers whether Brink's dissident project is a success and, indeed, whether dissent itself is viable.