'n Diskursiewe ondersoek van enkele verteenwoordigende Afrikaanse en Nederlandse historiese romans

Abstract

English: The preceding study is an exploration of the interdisciplinary and inter-discursive “dialogue” between the historical novel, historiography and the philosophy of history. A rigid distinction between the discourses of literature and historiography is questioned in the contemporary literary criticism and the contemporary philosophy of history. In the work of the narrativist philosophers of history like Hayden White and Frank Ankersmit the narrative features of historiography is analysed. In contemporary literary criticism the historical novel is not studied in an autonomous manner. The emphasis in the work of Linda Hutcheon and Elisabeth Wesseling is on the close ties between historiography, the historical novel and the philosophy of history. Developments in the philosophy of history and historiography from the nineteenth century until the late twentieth century has been related to developments in the genre of the historical novel in this study. Although the developmental phases of the philosophy of history does not correlate completely with the developmental phases of the historical novel, it can be alleged that the Classical historical novel can be associated with empiricism in nineteenth century historiography and philosophy of history and that the new historical novel has a close affiliation with the contemporary philosophy of history. The poststructuralist problematisation of history has had a big influence on the contemporary philosophy of history, as well as on the new historical novel. It appears that the deconstruction of empirical approaches to historiography has a great deal in common with the contemporary critique on the historical novel in which confidence in the objective representability of the historical reality is undermined. Historiography ( like fiction ) is seen as a subjective, ideological and rhetorical construct which cannot represent the past in a transparent manner. History is viewed as a text which is constantly rewritten from new points of view and new ideological perspectives. Each attempt to reconstruct a reliable image of the past is undermined by limitations like the fact that archival material does not provide a complete picture of the past, the fact that each archival document was written from an ideological perspective or that the archive is institusionalized. The idea that history can be viewed as an ideological construct was proposed by Hutcheon and Wesseling in their work and it was especially this aspect of the historiographical discourse that was analysed in this study. Foucault’s association of discourse with a form of power was applied to the manner in which the historiographical discourse took part in the colonial discourse in the past, but also the manner in which a principally male perspective on history was favoured in the historiographical discourse in the past. With reference to contemporary historical novels like Eilande ( 2002 ) by Dan Sleigh as well as the novels of Hella Haasse like Heren van de Thee ( 1992 ), Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter ( 1978 ) and Een gevaarlijke verhouding of Daal-en-Bergse brieven ( 1976 ) the ways in which the new historical novel represents an alternative form of historiography than formal historiography was investigated. It appears that new historical novels provides an alternative perspective on history than the Western and androcentric historiographical tradition. The existing historical record is supplemented in these novels with the perspective of marginal subjects such as women, indigenes, or the micro-histories of unimportant historical figures. The novelist Haasse enters the domain of the historian through the re-valuation of “apochryphal” historical sources such as the letter, diary, marriage certificate or will, whereby an alternative perspective is given on history than in the traditional, political historiography.

Afrikaans: Die voorafgaande studie is ‘n verkenning van die interdissiplinêre en interdiskursiewe “gesprek” tussen die historiese roman, die historiografie en die geskiedenisfilosofie. ‘n Streng skeiding tussen die diskoerse van die historiografie en die letterkunde word binne die eietydse literêre kritiek, maar ook binne die eietydse geskiedenisfilosofie bevraagteken. Die narrativistiese geskiedenisfilosowe soos Hayden White en Frank Ankersmit analiseer byvoorbeeld in hul werk die narratiewe eienskappe van die historiografie. Binne die literêre kritiek word die historiese roman eweneens vandag nie meer op ‘n outonomistiese wyse bestudeer nie, maar val die klem binne benaderings soos dié van Linda Hutcheon en Elisabeth Wesseling op die noue verbintenis tussen die historiografie, die historiese roman en die geskiedenisfilosofie. Ontwikkelinge binne die geskiedenisfilosofie en die historiografie vanaf die negentiende eeu tot die laat twintigste eeu is in die studie in verband gebring met ontwikkelinge binne die historiese romangenre. Alhoewel ontwikkelingsfases binne die geskiedenisfilosofie nie volkome korreleer met ontwikkelingsfases binne die historiese roman nie, is dit wel aantoonbaar dat die Klassieke historiese roman in sekere opsigte aansluit by die negentiende eeuse empirisisme binne die historiografie en die geskiedenisfilosofie en dat die nuwe historiese roman ook beïnvloed is of in ‘n “dialoog” gewikkel is met die eietydse geskiedenisfilosofie. Die poststrukturalistiese geskiedeniskritiek het nie net ‘n groot invloed gehad op die eietydse geskiedenisfilosofie nie, maar ook op die nuwe historiese roman. Dit het geblyk dat die dekonstruksie van empiriese benaderings tot die historiografie in die geskiedenisfilosofie vandag geweldig baie deel met die eietydse kritiek op die historiese roman waarin ‘n vertroue in die objektiewe representeerbaarheid van die historiese werklikheid ondergrawe word. Die historiografie word, soos fiksie, beskou as ‘n subjektiewe, ideologiese en retoriese konstruk wat geensins die verlede op ‘n transparante wyse kan representeer nie. Die geskiedenis word beskou as ‘n teks wat konstant uit nuwe gesigspunte en uit nuwe ideologiese uitgangspunte herskryf word. Enige poging om ‘n getroue beeld van die verlede te herskep, word gekortwiek deur beperkinge soos die feit dat argivale materiaal geensins ‘n volledige beeld op die geskiedenis bied nie, elke dokument in die historiese rekord uit ‘n sekere ideologiese gesigspunt opgestel is en die argief institusioneel van aard is. Die idee dat die historiografie ‘n ideologiese konstruk is, word binne Hutcheon en Wesseling se kritiek geopper en dit was veral hierdie aspek van die historiografiese diskoers waaraan daar aandag geskenk is binne die studie. Foucault se assosiasie van diskoers met ‘n vorm van magsuitoefening is van toepassing gemaak op die wyse waarop die historiografiese diskoers in die verlede meegedoen het aan die koloniale diskoers, maar ook op die wyse waarop ‘n hoofsaaklik manlike perspektief op die geskiedenis in die verlede in die historiografie bevoordeel is. Met verwysing na eietydse historiese romans soos Eilande ( 2002 ) deur Dan Sleigh en Hella Haasse se Heren van de Thee ( 1992 ), Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter ( 1978 ) en Een gevaarlijke verhouding of Daal-en-Bergse brieven ( 1976 ) is ondersoek ingestel na die wyses waarop die nuwe historiese roman ‘n alternatiewe vorm van geskiedskrywing verteenwoordig as die formele historiografie. Dit het geblyk dat nuwe historiese romans ‘n alternatiewe perspektief bied op die geskiedenis as die Westerse en androsentriese historiografiese tradisie. Die bestaande historiese rekord word in die romans onder bespreking gesupplementeer met die perspektief van marginale subjekte soos vrouens, indigene of die mikro-geskiedenisse van onbelangrike historiese figure. Haasse betree ook as skrywer die domein van die historikus deur haar herwaardering van “apokriewe” bronne van geskiedskrywing soos die brief, dagboek, huwelikskontrak of testament waarmee ‘n alternatiewe perspektief op die geskiedenis gebied word as die tradisionele, politieke geskiedskrywing.