Abstract
P.P. Fourie’s debut novel, ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis (2021), originally published in English as The heart is the size of a fist, possesses various characteristics which are typical of the bildungsroman. The bildungsroman’s preoccupation with the main character’s initiation into adulthood, his construction of an identity, as well as his experience of trauma during this process, makes this genre highly appropriate for psychoanalytical interpretation. In this article Fourie’s novel is interpreted by using both Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytical theories. The narrator in the novel does not revolt only against his “castrating” father who physically and emotionally abuses both him and his mother, but also against a variety of other patriarchal institutions. The narrator realises that his personal experience of domestic violence extends to the wider socio-political milieu in which his life story takes place. He therefore rebels against familial patriarchy, patriarchal violence against women and children, the heterosexual patriarchy, the patriarchy of apartheid, and the patriarchy of the church. When the various subtexts are explored according to Lacanian psychoanalysis as the “unconscious” of the text, it becomes apparent that the narrator also revolts against the “male” text’s chronological structure, against Lacan’s Law of the Father, as well as against the patriarchy of the narrator’s “predecessor” – his father, the writer.
The psychoanalytical interpretation of the novel was accomplished by focusing mainly on the text itself and not on the author or reader. Using Freudian psychoanalysis, various “classical” psychoanalytic concepts were scrutinised within the text, for example phallic symbols, the Oedipus complex, the talking cure, trauma, dissociation and projection. By means of Lacanian psychoanalysis it was established how and why the novel came into existence – the text is a reaction against patriarchy in its various guises, particularly, as mentioned above, against the patriarchal language of the Law of the Father, the power of the literary patriarchy, and the structure of the traditional “male” text. Instead of being chronologically structured like the conventional bildungsroman, Fourie’s novel is fragmented, repetitive and circular. It is, however, also possible that this deviation can be attributed to the trauma the narrator experienced as a child, as trauma victims can often not provide a coherent account of traumatic events.
Fourie’s text challenges what Klages (2006:118) refers to as “phallogocentric Western discourse”. This encompasses all patriarchal institutions and stances which are “centred around the phallus”, whether it is the government, Western culture, the concept of “God the Father” or Lacan’s Name of the Father. The phallus is central to both Freud’s and Lacan’s theories pertaining to the child’s early development. According to Freud’s Oedipus complex the young boy wants to commit incest with his mother to make up for the lack (of a penis) she experiences. The Oedipus phase is ended when the father becomes aware of this “incestuous” bond between mother and son and threatens to “castrate” his son. According to Lacan, however, it is not the father who poses the threat of castration, but rather the idea that lack induces the use of language. The “father” therefore represents linguistic structure as well as the child’s entry into the symbolic order where he becomes a talking subject. Lacan, in other words, replaces Freud’s “castrating” father figure with the Law/Name of the Father – linguistic rules to which the child has to adhere in order to become a cultured, normative individual. When Derrida’s theories are considered, language is at the centre of the system. Lacan also refers to this centre as “the phallus” to emphasise the patriarchal nature of the Symbolic.
The narrator in ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis undermines the patriarchy of the Law of the Father by using “semiotic” (Kristeva 1980:157) language to express his trauma. The semiotic is a lyrical, rhythmic (maternal) register which overthrows the patriarchy of unemotional logic and clear-cut meaning. The semiotic is an instinctive language which utilises the deviations of poetic language, rather than the irrefutable meaning of acquired language. The narrator of ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis uses the semiotic to resist the patriarchy of the symbolic order, as well as the traditional structure of “male” texts. According to Punday (2003:viii), textual structure is influenced by an author’s “corporeality”, and the traditional, chronological narrative is based on the idealised male body. This conventional structure of “beginning, middle and end” is therefore seen as phallocentric and is often challenged by feminist and queer writers through the creation of a more “female” textual structure which is repetitive, circular and contains more than one climax (De Lauretis 1984:118–9).
This article does not only link up with previous studies regarding the application of psychoanalytical theory to Afrikaans literature, but also expands on the use of literary psychoanalysis to examine Afrikaans texts, especially concerning the analysis of the bildungsroman. Bakhtin (1986:21) refers to the bildungsroman as “the novel of human emergence” and to the bildungsroman’s protagonist as “[the] image of man in the process of becoming”. It is therefore obvious why the bildungsroman lends itself to psychoanalysis: It is about the gradual development of the central character’s identity, his conquering of life’s challenges, the impact of the environment on his development, and his Oedipal resistance against “castrating” figures of authority.
The main character in ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis, Paul, develops into an individual with his own identity who seeks answers to life’s issues. Owing to the complexity of the issues that come into play in this novel, there are, however, no obvious answers to all these questions. No conclusion is provided concerning the main character’s ability to successfully engage in romantic relationships by the end of the novel. Furthermore, no reconciliation takes place between father and son; on the contrary, the son can have a balanced life only by not having a relationship with his father. The narrator also realises that he is incapable of constructing an “ideal ego”, and that he can only claim an “authentic image” of himself – no ideal worldview is achieved, as is often the case with the main character in the traditional bildungsroman.Because this study applies both Lacanian and Freudian psychoanalytical models to a relevant text, this article can serve as a practical example to students of how psychoanalytical theory can be implemented within literature studies.
The following findings were established by applying psychoanalytical theory to Fourie’s text:
• Due to the narrator’s experience of trauma, the “abject” (Kristeva 1982:9–10) enters into his life as “the dark man” – a monstrous entity which becomes a psychic embodiment of his abusive father. The ineffable is given a name and brought to words by the narrative about the dark man, which represents the mother and son’s shared trauma.
• By means of “scriptotherapy” (therapeutic writing) the author was able to transform his trauma into word art in order to be relieved from his childhood anxieties, as it is no longer suppressed in the unconscious, but brought to the surface by the use of language.
• Because the narrator becomes a writer himself, he overthrows the “castrating” power of his literary predecessor – his father, the playwright.
• Although it was confirmed within this article that ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis is a bildungsroman, it is also important to consider how this novel deviates from the traditional bildungsroman’s structure, as it is fragmented and has an open ending.
• In this novel the patriarchal language of the Law of the Father is frequently undermined by the use of poetic, “semiotic” language.
• By originally writing this text in English and not in Afrikaans, the author did not resist only the language of the oppressor, but also the patriarchy of the Afrikaans literary system.
• With this novel the author eradicates preconceived ideas and established boundaries between concepts such as normal/abnormal; man/woman; heterosexual/homosexual. He therefore challenges the reader’s conceptions of what is considered “male” and “female”.
By applying psychoanalysis to ’n Hart is so groot soos ’n vuis, the author of this article (re)confirmed the significance of psychoanalytic theory as a means of text interpretation. This article also confirms the value of P.P. Fourie’s novel within the Afrikaans literary system, as it confronts current issues concerning gender and violence against women and children, as well as the experience and processing of trauma, in an authentic, unsentimental way. It is, however, important to note that in terms of Lacanian theory this article is only one interpretive option, as Lacan’s psychoanalysis opens up various interpretive possibilities, not only one single meaning of a text.
The article is structured as follows: First, a theoretical overview is provided; secondly, Freudian and Lacanian theories concerning the phallus are compared; thirdly, the bildungsroman is discussed. In conclusion, Fourie’s text is interpreted by applying psychoanalytic criticism.
Keywords: bildungsroman; castration complex; Freudian psychoanalysis; Lacanian psychoanalysis; Law of the Father; maternal language; mirror phase; Oedipus complex; patriarchal structures; phallocentric; psychoanalytic literary criticism; Real; semiotic language; subtext; Symbolic; trauma; unconscious
- The featured image of this article is used with the kind permission of Pieter P. Fourie.