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Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa
This thesis examines representations of post-apartheid Black womanhood in the selected novels of South African authors, Kopano Matlwa (2006 & 2016) and Angela Makholwa (2017/2018) by placing them within the context of the changes in South Africa from the time of apartheid to the present. This st...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
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Department of English Language and Literature
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613458341560320 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Dass, Sadie |
| author2 | Boswell, Barbara-Anne |
| author_browse | Boswell, Barbara-Anne Dass, Sadie |
| author_facet | Boswell, Barbara-Anne Dass, Sadie |
| author_sort | Dass, Sadie |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis examines representations of post-apartheid Black womanhood in the selected novels of South African authors, Kopano Matlwa (2006 & 2016) and Angela Makholwa (2017/2018) by placing them within the context of the changes in South Africa from the time of apartheid to the present. This study shows how these women interpret, through writing, the experiences of women and how women are positioned both in the home, and out, as agents of change in a changing society. The key question driving this research is: In what way do the works of Matlwa and Makholwa illustrate the issues of class and race in relation to women in post-apartheid South Africa? The study aims to fill the gaps in the literature concerning the representation of women's experiences in contemporary South Africa. Previous work has not yet fully addressed the degree to which women writers manage to convey the ideas and realities of gender and social construction in a society recovering from apartheid. In response to the research question this thesis employs a textual analysis in order to study the selected literature. This thesis assesses how the respective authors and their bodies of work, Matlwa's Coconut (2006) and Period Pain (2016) and Makholwa's The Blessed Girl (2017/2018), construct the identities of their characters. To this end, in this way the study discusses the problems faced by these women in society. The evidence suggests that Matlwa and Makholwa, to a certain extent, represent women's lives and perspectives from the angles of struggle against patriarchy and systemic oppression, as well as demonstrating the agency of women and their resilience and strength of character as can be seen from the text. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42221 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:28.195Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Department of English Language and Literature |
| publisherStr | Department of English Language and Literature |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42221 Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa Dass, Sadie Boswell, Barbara-Anne Post-apartheid Womanhood Angela Makholwa Kopano Matlwa This thesis examines representations of post-apartheid Black womanhood in the selected novels of South African authors, Kopano Matlwa (2006 & 2016) and Angela Makholwa (2017/2018) by placing them within the context of the changes in South Africa from the time of apartheid to the present. This study shows how these women interpret, through writing, the experiences of women and how women are positioned both in the home, and out, as agents of change in a changing society. The key question driving this research is: In what way do the works of Matlwa and Makholwa illustrate the issues of class and race in relation to women in post-apartheid South Africa? The study aims to fill the gaps in the literature concerning the representation of women's experiences in contemporary South Africa. Previous work has not yet fully addressed the degree to which women writers manage to convey the ideas and realities of gender and social construction in a society recovering from apartheid. In response to the research question this thesis employs a textual analysis in order to study the selected literature. This thesis assesses how the respective authors and their bodies of work, Matlwa's Coconut (2006) and Period Pain (2016) and Makholwa's The Blessed Girl (2017/2018), construct the identities of their characters. To this end, in this way the study discusses the problems faced by these women in society. The evidence suggests that Matlwa and Makholwa, to a certain extent, represent women's lives and perspectives from the angles of struggle against patriarchy and systemic oppression, as well as demonstrating the agency of women and their resilience and strength of character as can be seen from the text. 2025-11-14T06:35:41Z 2025-11-14T06:35:41Z 2025 2025-11-14T06:31:47Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters Masters http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42221 en eng application/pdf Department of English Language and Literature Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Post-apartheid Womanhood Angela Makholwa Kopano Matlwa Dass, Sadie Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| title_full | Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| title_fullStr | Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| title_short | Representations of post-apartheid black womanhood in the novels of Angela Makholwa and Kopano Matlwa |
| title_sort | representations of post apartheid black womanhood in the novels of angela makholwa and kopano matlwa |
| topic | Post-apartheid Womanhood Angela Makholwa Kopano Matlwa |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42221 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dasssadie representationsofpostapartheidblackwomanhoodinthenovelsofangelamakholwaandkopanomatlwa |