Narratives, Identities, Selves: Intercultural Perspectives on Autobiography and First-Person Narrative

Abstract

Over the years an ever-growing number of studies on autobiography as a genre concerned with the Self of the author have appeared all over the world. Autobiography as a (mainly) first-person genre and first-person narrative in general (fictional and non-fictional) are not just a formal matter, but also seem to affect the text structure. Depending on the readers’ norms, the first-person narrative either underlines the authenticity of the story told, or it is used to reinforce the illusion of reality, as a realistic device in the first-person fictional and nonfictional narrative. In the paper three points are presented. First, some reflections are made on identity and the Self in relation to what is considered different, alterity. In the second part the question is asked how Self and Other have been imagined from African perspectives. In the third and last part of the paper some forms of first-person narrative in African oral and written literatures are being discussed. Serious intercultural studies will be needed to provide more insight into the complex ways Selves and stories are intertwined in first- person literary genres, from oral narratives to e-mail messages.

Opsomming

Oor die jare het ‘n steeds groeiende aantal studies oor outobiografie as ‘n genre wat gemoeid is met die Self van die outeur regoor die wêreld verskyn. Outobiografie as ‘n (hoofsaaklik) eerste-persoon genre en eerste-persoon narratief in die algemeen (fiksioneel en nie-fiksioneel) is nie slegs ‘n formele saak nie, maar affekteer oënskynlik die teksstruktuur. Afhangend van die lesers se norms beklemtoon die eerste-persoon narratief die outentisiteit van die storie wat vertel word, óf word dit aangewend om die illusie van realiteit te versterk as ‘n realistiese middel in die eerste-persoon fiksionele en nie-fiksionele narratief. In hierdie artikel word drie punte voorgehou. Eerstens word daar gereflekteer oor Self en identiteit met betrekking tot wat as verskillend, alteriteit, beskou word. In die tweede deel word die vraag gestel hoe Self en Ander voorgestel is vanuit ‘n Afrika-perspektief. In die derde en laaste deel van die artikel word ‘n aantal vorms van die eerste-persoon narratief in mondelinge en geskrewe letterkunde in Afrika bespreek. Deeglike interkulturele studies sal vereis word om meer insig te verkry in die komplekse maniere waarop Selwe en stories vervleg is in die eerste-persoon literêre genres, van mondelinge narratiewe tot e-posboodskappe.