Die tekstuele gesag in Marais se Dwaalstories

Abstract

This article concentrates on Marais’s use of textual authority and on the status of the authorial instance in his Dwaalstories. These aspects invite investigation. In the introduction to the Dwaalstories, Marais as extradiegetic authority mentions that these stories are not his creations but written representations of oral originals by a very old Bushman, a certain Hendrik from the Walerberg. In these stories, African space and culture and European representation combine in an unusual way. This mixture foregrounds the possibility of a conscious duplication of authorial instances. This article investigates the possible effects that such duplication could have on the reading of these stories: verification appears to be the most promising likelihood.