Power, dominance and discursive control in O.K. Matsepe’s Megokgo ya Bjoko: A critical discourse analysis of the character Leilane

Abstract

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) offers a valuable lens for examining how literary discourse constructs and legitimises power relations. The article applies CDA to O.K. Matsepe’s novel, Megokgo ya Bjoko, to show how the character Leilane produces and sustains dominance through language and interaction. Using a qualitative text-based design, the study purposively selects discourse events in which the character, Leilane, engages his wife (Mohlatša), kinship authorities, and the royal institution. Drawing primarily on Fairclough’s three-dimensional model, supported by Van Dijk’s view of discourse and power, the analysis traces how dominance is enacted through discursive closure (rhetorical questions and minimal responses that foreclose dialogue), legitimation strategies (reframing and blame-shifting that normalise coercion), and strategic narrative control (selective disclosure and misrepresentation when appealing to institutional authorities). The findings show that Leilane’s power operates across domestic, communal and institutional spheres and is maintained not only through physical force but also through the management of meaning, accountability and legitimacy.
Contribution: The article contributes to Sesotho sa Leboa literary discourse scholarship by demonstrating how character interaction and institutional talk in the novel function as sites where patriarchy is reproduced and contested through discourse. It also contributes to literary CDA by illustrating dominance as an interactional achievement maintained through closure, legitimation and narrative control.