Feminist Aesthetics: Aspects of Race, Class and Gender in the Constitution of South African Short Fiction by Women

Abstract

This essay focuses on the history of short stories by South African women of all races in an attempt to elucidate existing concepts pertaining to race, class, and gender. It transpires that the first phase of modern feminist criticism was directed at exposing patriarchal tendencies prevalent in language and literature, while the second phase assessed the meaning and value of writing by women. The writer postulates that a perspective is imperative that both recognises and articulates intrinsic differentiation. Simultaneously, there should be an awareness of existing interrelationships allowing for different identities, divergent politics, and dissimilar struggles.
'Woman," per se, cannot be regarded as a stable identity because of diversification related to politics, culture, and customs. The writer maintains that differences within ourselves have to be understood first before we can come to grips with differences inherent in others.
Differentiation of identity is discussed with reference to three instances, namely, precolonial narrative art manifesting in historical documents, journals, letters, diaries, and other forms. White Afrikaans-speaking women were, due to British imperialism, alienated from white English women and regarded as being superior to Black South African women. This status quo was maintained until the fifties, when Black women began making themselves heard. Several examples of writing are cited, leading to the conclusion that identity cannot be dealt with perfunctorily, as it possesses both negative and positive facets to be explored by future feminist writers.

Opsomming
Hierdie artikel fokus op die geskiedenis van kortverhale deur Suid-Afrikaanse vroue van alle rasse in 'n poging om bestaande konsepte te belig met betrekking tot ras, klas en geslag. Dit blyk dat die eerste fase van moderne feministiese kritiek gerig was op die blootlegging van die patriargale inslag wat taal en letterkunde oorheers het, terwyl die tweede fase die betekenis en waarde van skrywe deur vroue evalueer het. Die skryfster stel voorop dat 'n perspektief noodsaaklik is wat intrinsieke differensiasie erken en artikuleer. Gelyktydig moet daar 'n bewustheid van bestaande interverhoudinge wees wat toelaat vir verskillende identiteite, uiteenlopende politiek en ongelyksoortige stryd.
"Vrou," per se, kan nie as 'n stabiele identiteit beskou word nie vanweë 'n diversifikasie verwant aan politiek, kultuur en gebruike. Die skryfster beweer dat verskille binne onsself eers verstaan moet word voordat die verskille inherent aan ander met begrip hanteer kan word.
Differensiasie in identiteit word bespreek aan die hand van drie fases, naamlik die voorkoloniale verhalende kuns soos gemanifesteer in historiese dokumente, joernale, briewe, dagboeke, en so meer. Blanke Afrikaanssprekende vroue was, as gevolg van Britse imperialisme, vervreemd van blanke Engelse vroue en as meerderwaardig teenoor swart Suid-Afrikaanse vroue beskou. Die status quo is gehandhaaf tot die vyftigerjare toe swart vroue begin het om hulle teenwoordigheid te laat geld. Verskeie voorbeelde van skryfwerk word aangehaal, wat tot die slotsom lei dat identiteit nie sonder meer afgemaak kan word nie, aangesien daar negatiewe sowel as positiewe fasette is wat deur toekomstige skryfsters ondersoek sal word.