Writing and the Narrative

Abstract

This paper is initially concerned with a debate between Derrida and Deleuze and Guattari's accounts of "writing•, from which it proceeds to question the usefulness of these accounts within the field of literary "theory•. The paper argues that neither the process of writing, nor language, holds a sufficiently privileged position within modernity that one is able to construct epistemologically valid statements on literature, should we presuppose a de facto relation of continuity between writing, language and literature. The paper continues with an account of the literary narrative (as a form of literature constituted of "narrative elements• rather than weirds), as a text whose logic, and predisposition to pleasure, is a problem of reading rather than writing. Opsomming Hierdie referaat is aanvanklik gemoeid met 'n debat tussen Derrida en Deleuze en Guattari se weergawes van "skryfkuns•, waarna die bruikbaarheid daarvan op die terrein van die literl!re "teorie" vervolgens bevraagteken word. Daar word voorts geredeneer dat n6g die skryfproses as sodanig, n6g taal 'n genoegsame bevoorregte posisie in die moderniteit beklee dat op grond daarvan • sou 'n mens 'n de facto verwantskap aan kontinu"iteit tussen skryf, taal en letterkunde vaorveronderstel epistemies geldige uitsprake oor letterkunde gekonstrueer sou kon word. Daar word vervolgens gefokus op 'n vorm van literatuur bestaande uit "narratiewe elemente", eerder as woorde, as 'n teks waarvan die logika, en 'n neiging tot genot, as 'n lees­eerder as 'n skryfprobleem beskou sou kon word.