Verskyningsvorme van estetisisme en dekadensie in Sy kom met die sekelmaan en Kaapse rekwisiete

Abstract

Manifestations of aestheticism and decadence in Sy kom met die sekelmaan and Kaapse rekwisiete
This article offers a new perspective on the novels of two well-known Afrikaans authors, namely Hettie Smit's Sy kom met die sekelmaan (1937) and Wilma Stockenstrom's Kaapse rekwisiete (1987). Both literary works are read within the framework of late nineteenth-century Western European and British aestheticism and decadence. Characteristic elements of aesthetic and decadent literature, such as an emphasis on artificiality - especially the tendency towards the fictionalization of reality narcissism, sexual perversity, and the utilization of a flowery style are identified in both novels. Stockenstrum 's novel can, however, also be read from a feminist point of view, as is already indicated by the fact that everything is seen through the eyes d f a female character, and by the negative projection of male characters and heterosexual relationships. Lefebvre's Jungian-based search for the Self is a further indication of the feminist character of this novel, as the psychological views of Jung with his accent on identity and individualisation form a myth in its own way in feminist literature.