‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification

The aim of this paper is to examine the concept of ‘in-betweenness’ as a potential frame of reference for Zoë Wicomb’s writing, particularly her latest novel October. Hence, my primary intent is to focus on the novelist as equipped with a faculty for crossing over separate cultural traditions and em...

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Main Author: Bartnik Ryszard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2023-01-01
Series:Studia Anglica Posnaniensia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.14746/stap.2024.58.08
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author Bartnik Ryszard
author_facet Bartnik Ryszard
author_sort Bartnik Ryszard
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this paper is to examine the concept of ‘in-betweenness’ as a potential frame of reference for Zoë Wicomb’s writing, particularly her latest novel October. Hence, my primary intent is to focus on the novelist as equipped with a faculty for crossing over separate cultural traditions and embracing different formative experiences. Interestingly enough, in this case, the notion of indeterminate identity begins from, yet is not limited to, a South African version of racial profiling. Therefore, the author’s interest in adaptable identities might be discussed apropos of skin color, but also in terms of oscillating between different geographical, cultural locations. In light of the above, a perspective accommodated here examines Wicomb’s thematization and confirmation of transitional experiences elaborated on a story of two females as becoming autonomous coloureds as well as mutable/unfixed/migrating characters. And, on top of that, this singular focus coincides with a broader pattern, filtered through the author’s aggregate account. As a person of South African descent, yet currently living in Europe, Wicomb acknowledges a specific adaptive domain, which in turn serves as a fitting backdrop for construing contemporary South African-ness from a more nuanced, in-between/cosmopolitan position.
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spelling doaj-art-45a5861bc0f843f58683bdd6dc97bf1a2025-02-10T13:24:00ZengSciendoStudia Anglica Posnaniensia2082-51022023-01-0158114317010.14746/stap.2024.58.08‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National IdentificationBartnik Ryszard0Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. Grunwaldzka 6, 60–780 Poznań, PolandThe aim of this paper is to examine the concept of ‘in-betweenness’ as a potential frame of reference for Zoë Wicomb’s writing, particularly her latest novel October. Hence, my primary intent is to focus on the novelist as equipped with a faculty for crossing over separate cultural traditions and embracing different formative experiences. Interestingly enough, in this case, the notion of indeterminate identity begins from, yet is not limited to, a South African version of racial profiling. Therefore, the author’s interest in adaptable identities might be discussed apropos of skin color, but also in terms of oscillating between different geographical, cultural locations. In light of the above, a perspective accommodated here examines Wicomb’s thematization and confirmation of transitional experiences elaborated on a story of two females as becoming autonomous coloureds as well as mutable/unfixed/migrating characters. And, on top of that, this singular focus coincides with a broader pattern, filtered through the author’s aggregate account. As a person of South African descent, yet currently living in Europe, Wicomb acknowledges a specific adaptive domain, which in turn serves as a fitting backdrop for construing contemporary South African-ness from a more nuanced, in-between/cosmopolitan position.https://doi.org/10.14746/stap.2024.58.08zoëwicombin-betweennesscosmopolitanismfemale identityfemale writingpost-apartheid south africa
spellingShingle Bartnik Ryszard
‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
Studia Anglica Posnaniensia
zoë
wicomb
in-betweenness
cosmopolitanism
female identity
female writing
post-apartheid south africa
title ‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
title_full ‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
title_fullStr ‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
title_full_unstemmed ‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
title_short ‘In-Betweenness’ Declared and Confirmed: Zoë Wicomb’s October in the Untightened Grip of Ethnic and National Identification
title_sort in betweenness declared and confirmed zoe wicomb s october in the untightened grip of ethnic and national identification
topic zoë
wicomb
in-betweenness
cosmopolitanism
female identity
female writing
post-apartheid south africa
url https://doi.org/10.14746/stap.2024.58.08
work_keys_str_mv AT bartnikryszard inbetweennessdeclaredandconfirmedzoewicombsoctoberintheuntightenedgripofethnicandnationalidentification