“A Talent for Wonder”

The Performatist Double Frame and Characters with Autistic Traits in Marlene van Niekerk’s Short Story Oeuvre

Abstract

This article explores Raoul Eshelman’s concept of the performatist double frame as it manifests in Marlene van Niekerk’s short story oeuvre, with a particular focus on her depiction of characters with autistic traits in two volumes of short stories: Die vrou wat haar verkyker vergeet het (1992) and Die sneeuslaper (2010). Eshelman’s theory, which hinges on the use of narrative framing to compel readers to adopt a single interpretive stance, provides a lens through which Van Niekerk’s narratives can be analysed. In Van Niekerk’s short stories these characters are integral to the construction of framed scenarios where the reader is drawn into accepting the story’s fantastical elements as plausible, thereby suspending scepticism. The article argues that this narrative strategy facilitates a performative engagement with the text, allowing the reader to momentarily experience the world of the story as real, and to consequently feel a sense of enchantment. Furthermore, the article identifies a significant shift in Van Niekerk’s short story oeuvre, wherein earlier portrayals of characters with autistic traits emphasised their marginalisation and expulsion from society, while later works position these characters as central figures who drive the narrative’s engagement with themes of belief, perception, and inspiration. This evolution reflects a nuanced approach to the depiction of characters who display intellectual “otherness” as well as the use of narrative framing, and highlights Van Niekerk’s contribution to contemporary Afrikaans (and South African) literature as a space for reimagining the boundaries of storytelling.