Echoes of ‘bygone’ divisions within the context of democratic changes in Northern Ireland and South Africa. A comparative analysis on the basis of selected novels by Lucy Caldwell and Zoë Wicomb Cover Image

Echa ‘dawnych’ podziałów w kontekście demokratycznych przemian w Irlandii Północnej i Republice Południowej Afryki. Analiza porównawcza na podstawie powieści Lucy Caldwell i Zoë Wicomb
Echoes of ‘bygone’ divisions within the context of democratic changes in Northern Ireland and South Africa. A comparative analysis on the basis of selected novels by Lucy Caldwell and Zoë Wicomb

Author(s): Ryszard Bartnik
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature
Published by: Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: ‘bygone’ divisions; Northern Ireland; South Africa; Lucy Caldwell; Zoë Wicomb

Summary/Abstract: The 1990s saw significant political changes in countries like South African or Northern Ireland. Prior to the revolutionary transformation, the structure of those societies was marked by a rigid bipolar configuration. However, after the political watersheds, what could be observed in the public domain was a turn towards reconciliation. Regardless of its traumatic character, the past was to yield to ‘prospect for the future’. It quickly transpired, however, that the key to deconstruct- ing the walls dividing the societies lay nowhere else but in the past. And it was the local literary field where a discussion on the weight of remembering what has seemingly come to an end was initiated. This paper tries to illustrate that debate by a comparative analysis of two novels represen- tative of the respective cultural contexts: Playing in the Light (2006) by Z. Wicomb and Where They Were Missed (2006) by L. Caldwell.

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 24
  • Page Range: 171-192
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish