Lucky Marais: Die verpersoonliking van kameleontiese manlikheid

Abstract

Lucky Marais: The epitome of chameleontic masculinity. This article focuses on the representation of masculine images in Eben Venter’s novel Santa Gamka (2009) and more specifically on the multifaceted representation of masculinity in the main character Lucky Marais. The effectivity of the cognitive narratology as literary approach is also tested by identifying cognitive frames and scripts in the novel. The spaces in which events take place and the manner in which actions and events are represented are interpreted according to known frames and scripts. The premise is that textual information is initially understood within the frameworks of known cognitive scripts and that certain fixed masculine images have the potential to be projected onto the male main character. These projections can however be undermined by the narrative. According to the cognitive theory there are potential processing possibilities that can be activated during the reading of a narrative. Firstly, the narrative manipulates or entices the reader to reject existing ideas and perceptions and to create a space for new ideas and perceptions in concordance with the representation in the narrative; secondly existing ideas can be altered by the cognitive processing of information in the novel; and thirdly it can happen that new ideas, underlying the actions and events in the narrative, are completely rejected. The possibility therefore exists that, regardless of the extent to which it takes place, the cognitive processing of information in the novel will have an effect on the reader. In this case the representations of masculinity in the novel may have a potential effect on the manner in which the reader experiences masculinity in future real-world situations. Venter demonstrates sensitivity and compassion for all the characters in his novels and the hypothetical expectation is that the author succeeds in the development of a similar sensitivity and compassion for the main character in Santa Gamka. The novel can thus lead to a better understanding of both humanity and masculinity because of the way in which masculinity is represented. The goal of the article is to show that cognitive narratology can be used to focus the attention on the manner in which the novel undermines existing and established frames and scripts with regard to the representation of the complex personality of Lucky Marais.