‘A story of a magnificent savage’: interrogating alterity in Joseph Conrad’s Karain: a memory

On 7 February 1897, Conrad wrote to Edward Garnett: “I am thinking of a short story. Something like the [sic] Lagoon but with less description. A Malay thing. It will be easy and may bring a few pence” (Karl & Davies 198 : 338). Despite some early criticism of its lush exotic evocations of the Malayan jungle, Karain: a memory occupies an important place in Conrad’s short fiction. In the twenty-first century, the story’s appeal lies in its anatomy of alterity, or otherness. This article seeks to explore the religious, cultural and gender dimensions of the story, which give it a postcolonial resonance. The story functions as a catalyst for the deconstruction of stereotypes and affirms the view that despite inherent differences, humankind shares basic goals and dreams

Distopie voor oë: Eben Venter se duister kuns

Sedert die verskyning van Joseph Conrad se novelle, Heart of Darkness, uitgegee as vervolgverhaal in 1899, was daar al verskeie pogings om Conrad se teks te ‘herskryf’, al was die verwantskap met die meesterteks dikwels gering of selfs twyfelagtig. Nog ’n herskrywing van Conrad se teks is Eben Venter se roman Trencherman, aanvanklik in Afrikaans uitgegee as Horrelpoot. Hierdie teks volg die meesterteks baie nougeset na, nie slegs deur aanhalings daaruit as motto’s vooraan elke hoofstuk te gebruik nie, maar ook deur beelde en woorde uit die oorspronklike teks op ooglopende of bedekte wyse in die narratief in te weef. Die vrae waarmee ’n leser soos ek, wat nie vertroud is met Afrikaans nie, gekonfronteer word, is of dit ’n geval van plagiaat is of ’n oefening in intertekstualiteit en ofdie boek eerder ’n poging is om sensasie te wek ten einde meer boeke te verkoop. Hierdie vraevorm die basis vir ’n intertekstuele verkenning van die twee tekste, wat neerkom op ’n stiplees van Conrad se teks langs Trencherman ten einde die intertekstuele skakels tussen die twee tekste te identifiseer. Teoreties is die artikel gebaseer op die werk van Kristeva en Barthes. Die ondersoek het bevestig dat Trencherman inderdaad ’n oefening in intertekstualiteit is, nie slegs as intertekstualiteit nie, maar eerder as ’n in-gesprek-tree met Conrad se meesterteks. Daaruit volg die slotsom dat Trencherman ’n geldige intertekstuele antwoord is op Heart of darkness wat Conrad se beroemde novelle dekonstrueer en die draaiboek daarvan transponeer na ’n distopiese, post-demokratiese Suid-Afrika

‘A story of a magnificent savage’: interrogating alterity in Joseph Conrad’s Karain: a memory

On 7 February 1897, Conrad wrote to Edward Garnett: “I am thinking of a short story. Something like the [sic] Lagoon but with less description. A Malay thing. It will be easy and may bring a few pence” (Karl & Davies 198 : 338). Despite some early criticism of its lush exotic evocations of the Malayan jungle, Karain: a memory occupies an important place in Conrad’s short fiction. In the twenty-first century, the story’s appeal lies in its anatomy of alterity, or otherness. This article seeks to explore the religious, cultural and gender dimensions of the story, which give it a postcolonial resonance. The story functions as a catalyst for the deconstruction of stereotypes and affirms the view that despite inherent differences, humankind shares basic goals and dreams