| dc.description.abstract | The critical-reflective component of the novel The Buried Chameleon explores the
background to the writing of the novel, how I conducted my research, the challenges of
writing a historical and contemporary dual narrative, why I chose the romance genre and the
application of the theory of romance as national allegory in a South African context to my
work. The objective is to consider how slavery shaped love relations in early South Africa
while indirectly continuing to influence the construction of contemporary identities. My
novel positions itself in relation to a number of local and international intertexts about
slavery. Local intertexts comprise five historical novels, namely, Islands (2000) by Dan
Sleigh, Turning Wheels (1937) by Stuart Cloete, An Instant in the Wind (2008) by André
Brink, Unconfessed (2007) by Yvette Christiansë and The Slave Book (1998) by Rayda
Jacobs, all of which highlight romantic relationships in ways that read history through
concerns contemporary with the writing of the novel. | en_US |
