Die vyfvoudig versterkte vertellersfunksie in die dagboeke van Anne Frank

Abstract

A five-fold strengthened narrative function in the diaries of Anne Frank
In assuming that the total communication situation in the true diary has a character of its own, it is suggested that the narrative situation is studied, on the one hand, from the viewpoint of the autobiographical contract claiming a bond of identity between the real author, the I-narrator and the I-persona, and on the other hand from the poststructuralistic view asserting that these instances are not identical to one another and that the implicit author should be duly recognised. A close textual analysis of the narrative situation in the original diaries of Anne Frank leads to our identifying five instances strengthening the narrative function - the real author, the I-narrator, the I-persona, the implicit and the explicit author. While these instances can be distinguished from one another, the bond of identity between them is so tight that the textual construction is a testimony to reality. The five-fold narrative corpus functioning in the diaries persuasively conveys a message of truth. A remarkable characteristic of the narrative situation is the persistent explicitising of the implicit author, which can be seen as a concretisation of the intention of truth and sincerity posed by the autobiographical contract.