Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel hoe die Afrikaner in literere
tekste van die veertiger- en tagtigerjare uitgebeeld word, en of 'n vaste beskouing
oor die begrip Afrikanerskap by die skrywers van die verskillende
tekste bestaan. Omdat die verhouding tussen die gekose tekste en die geskiedenis
telkens ondersoek is, is die Nuwe Historisistiese benadering as geskikte
teoretiese model gevolg. Waar hierdie benadering die klem op die realiteit
plaas, stel die lmagologie die beeld voorop, en die lmagologiese werkswyse
is dus aanvullend gevolg. Omdat die tekste van veertig hoofsaaklik as
koloniale literatuur beskou kan word, en die tekste van tagtig as postkoloniaal
van aard, is die koloniale en postkoloniale literatuur in Afrikaans
kortliks ondersoek. Die studie het verder gepoog om deeglik verkenning van
die begrippe Afrikaner en Afrikanerskap te doen aan die hand van verskillende
narratiewe tekste wat nie noodwendig literer van aard is nie. Alhoewel daar
by die herlees van die vier en twintig literere tekste van die veertigerjare gevind
is dat die tekste hoofsaaklik nog as koloniale literatuur beskou kan word, is die
interessante insig verwerf dat sekere tekste wat nie deel van die kanon vorm
nie, 'n ander realiteit oor die Afrikaner en oor Afrikanerskap aan die leser
voorhou as wat tradisioneel die geval was. So is byvoorbeeld bevind dat die
strukture wat die Afrikanermaghebber sedert die veertigerjare geskep het, die
belange van die Afrikanerdom moes dien. Deur die herlees van die tekste kon die gegewe opnuut ge'interpreteer word en kon nodige aanpassings dus by
aanvaarde opvattings gemaak word. Die ondersoek het verder aan die lig gebring
dat veral die tekste uit die tagtigerjare verruimend ingewerk het op
bestaande, geykte opvattinge oor die Afrikaner en Afrikanerskap en dat sulke
opvattinge deur die tekste ondermyn, ontluister of bloot ontken word. Ten
slotte het dit duidelik geword dat daar geen eensydige of stabiele betekenis oor die begrippe Afrikaner en van Afrikanerskap uit die verskillende tekste afgelei
kon word nie
The purpose of this study was to determine how the Afrikaner was depicted in the
literary texts of the forties and the eighties, and to determine whether the authors
of the different texts expresses fixed views of the concept Afrikanerskap. As the
relationship between the chosen texts and history had been investigated several
times, the New Historisistic approach was adopted as a suitable theoretical model.
As this approach places the emphasis on reality, and the lmagology sees the image
as the most important, lmagological procedures were used additionally. Because the
texts of the forties can be seen as mainly colonial of nature and the texts of the
eighties as post colonial, the colonial and post colonial literature in Afrikaans was
briefly investigated. The study further attempted to thoroughly investigate the concepts
Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap with reference to different narrative texts which
are not necessarily literary of nature. Although the rereading of twenty four literary
texts of the forties confirms that the texts could mainly be seen as colonial literature,
the interesting conclusion was made that certain texts not included in the
canon gave the reader another reality of Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap than was traditionally
the case. It was found, for example, that structures created by Afrikaner
authorities since the forties were created to serve the needs of the Afrikanerdom.
The rereading of these specific texts led to new interpretations and the necessary
adaptations could be done to previously accepted views. The research further indicated
that texts from the eighties especially had a broadening effect on existing hackneyed conceptions of Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap and that such views are
undermined, clouded or simply ignored by the texts. In conclusion it became clear
that no onesided or static interpretation of the concepts Afrikaner and Afrikanerskap
could be derived from the different texts
