Sonde en Mistiek in Kroniek van Perdepoort (Anna M. Louw)

Abstract

When one keeps in mind the religious nature of Kroniek van Perdepoort, the idea of the presence of mysticism, which has been called the “rehgion of the elite” in this novel is not strange at all any more.

The basic meaning of mysticism is a “yearning for unity” , a unity with something greater than oneself. Man can progress on his way to his spiritual objective by means of four steps, viz. purging, purification of the will, illumination of the soul and unification (of the being with the deity).

These steps are all to be distinguished in the text of Kroniek van Perdepoort, and in this article the mystical elements in the novel are traced.