Appropriating Space and Transcending Boundaries in The Africa House by Christina Lamb and Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda

Abstract

The appropriation of space and construction of shelter is part of the human endeavour to conceptualise being in and of the world. Places are defined spaces that serve as points of orientation, with the implication that space exists where humans are and vice versa. Houses, in particular, feature as places or sites that occupy and define personal space; they are not only adapted to a person’s lifestyle and indicative of his/her identity but also serve as metaphors of certain periods and value systems. A comparison of The Africa House (2000) by Christina Lamb and Ways of Dying (1995) by Zakes Mda explores the concept of houses as constructs of identity and illustrates how they could be perceived to identify and reflect the cultural boundaries and imaginative worlds of their periods of origin and authors.

Opsomming

Die toe-eiening van ruimte en oprigting van skuilings vorm deel van die menslike poging om sy/haar bestaan in en verbintenis tot die wêreld te begryp. Plekke vorm duidelik omlynde ruimtes wat dien as oriënteringspunte, met die veronderstelling dat ruimte bestaan waar mense is en ook andersom. Huise word spesifiek as plekke of terreine beskou wat persoonlike ruimte beset en definieer; hulle word nie slegs aangepas by ’n persoon se leefstyl en is betekenend van sy/haar identiteit nie, maar dien ook as metafore van spesifieke periodes en waardesisteme. ’n Vergelykende studie van The Africa House (2000) deur Christina Lamb en Ways of Dying (1995) deur Zakes Mda, verken die konsep van huise as konstruksies van identiteit en dui aan hoe hulle terselfdertyd interpreteer kan word om die kulturele grense en denkbeeldige wêrelde van hulle tye van oorsprong, en hulle skrywers te reflekteer.