Abstract
The purpose of this article was to examine the use of colour in Karel Schoeman’s two “Irish diaries”, Berig uit die vreemde: ’n Ierse dagboek (1966) (Report from afar: An Irish diary) and Van ’n verre eiland: ’n Tweede Ierse dagboek (1968) (Of a distant island: A second Irish diary), to determine whether the overwhelming use of colour in the two diaries was merely “finger exercises” as Schoeman claimed in his autobiography, and to investigate whether there are notable similarities between Schoeman’s use of colour and that of Virginia Woolf, whom he refers to as the “greatest single literary influence” in his life. The article provides a summary of Karel Schoeman’s advanced reading habits as a child, the influence of Catholicism, his stay in Ireland, and his impressions of Virginia Woolf’s writing. After this, the influence of the development of theories of light and colour is briefly described, with a focus on the relationship between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Roger Fry, Marcel Proust, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and their possible influence on Virginia Woolf and through her on Karel Schoeman. Content analysis is used to extract words, themes, or concepts in texts and qualitatively analyse them, while comparative research is used to quantify the data.
As a child, Schoeman already read books too advanced for other children his age. At the age of eleven, he read religious books that attracted him to Catholicism and would later lead him to Ireland. At sixteen, he discovered Virginia Woolf’s novels and he describes it as the “greatest single literary influence” in his life. It was also at this age that he started writing and applied her word choices and prose rhythms in his own writing. He underwent training in Catholicism at the Franciscans in Pretoria and travelled to Ireland in August 1961 with the aim of going through the novitiate in Killarney. Schoeman was struck by the colours of Ireland and writes that he became aware of light as an essential element in a landscape in Ireland. He started keeping a diary of his daily experiences and later published the two Irish diaries from these notes.
Virginia Woolf published her first book, The Voyage Out, in 1915. As a writer, Virginia Woolf is known for the unusual themes of her books and her experimental writing style. Because she wanted to depict nature descriptions similar to an impressionistic painting with words, she studied the use of colour and light in painting and the philosophies of colour and light in science. She was influenced by Roger Fry and Ludwig Wittgenstein, who in turn were influenced by Goethe. She was overwhelmingly impressed by the books of Marcel Proust, who also studied the effect of light and colour and applied it in his prose. Schoeman, as an obsessive reader, also read the books of these philosophers and was aware of their theories.
From the content and comparative analyses, it was found that Schoeman excessively uses colour in the Irish diaries and that there are many similarities between his colour descriptions and those of Virginia Woolf. Green, white, grey, and blue play an important role in the books of both writers, but it should be noted that Schoeman’s two diaries are measured against Virginia Woolf’s total prose works.
In summary, it was found that with the writing of the Irish diaries, Schoeman was able to practise his language and writing abilities and that he probably did so under the influence of Virginia Woolf’s writing since several similarities were found in the use of colour terms and descriptions. However, Schoeman’s ability to paint with words since his early twenties cannot be disputed. The Irish diaries may be lyrical and characteristic of idealizing impressionism (Minnaar 1964:15), but for writers and emerging writers, the Irish diaries can still serve as a guide in the use of light, colour, and shade to paint scenes and atmosphere using words.
Keywords: comparative analysis; content analysis; Roger Fry; Irish diaries; Marcel Proust; Karel Schoeman; theories of colour; theories of light; use of colour in novels; Ludwig Wittgenstein; Virginia Woolf
Lees die volledige artikel in Afrikaans:
Karel Schoeman, Virginia Woolf en die kleure in die Ierse dagboeke: ’n vergelykende ondersoek