Abstract
The aim of this article is twofold: firstly, to explore the picaresque elements present in Nadine Gordimer’s A Sport of Nature and secondly, to relate them to her more pronounced stance on feminism which has evolved since the 1980s. I suggest that an appropriate reading strategy would not only foreground these issues but also highlight A Sport of Nature as one of her most underrated novels. Following the example of the Latin American authors Isabel Allende and Elena Poniatowska, Cordimer has appropriated the picaresque tradition as an ideal vehicle to depict the elements of social critique and feminist assertion which characterize A Sport of Nature. The ironic retrospective stance on society, conventionally represented by a picaro as a social outcast, is reinforced by the introduction of a picara, thereby underlining the double marginalization of women as subjects and sexual objects. I propose that a feminist-oriented reading of the text which recognizes this subversive quality, would lend a different dimension to its interpretation. The character of Hillela serves as an implicit example of female ingenuity which attains political equality through devious means despite, and as a result of, the constraints of a hypocritical society and an entrenched patriarchal system. Seen from this perspective, the seemingly disparate elements of the novel coalesce to present a damning picture of contemporary society.
Highlights
T h is a rticle explores N adine G o rd im e r’s innovative ap p ro p riatio n o f the picaresque m ode in A Sport o f Nature and proposes that it can be related to her m ore pronounced stance on fem inism, w hich has evolved since the 1980s.1 T he a rg u m en t is based on the close re la tio n sh ip b etw een literary con v en tio n o r m ode and context (F o w ler, 1985) and it underlines the interactive role of these elem ents in the interpretation of a text
In th eir w ork (Hasta no verte Jesús mio and Eva L una respectiv ely) as in G o rd im er’s, the picaresque is used as social critique o f a co rru p t society in general, but the introduction of a picara instead of a picaro as the victim of society is a change in the traditional role and serves as a subtle but undeniable emphasis of the marginal condition of the fem ale protagonist
T hree basic issues have been addressed in this article: the significance of m odal and con tex tu a l in te ra c tio n ; its re le vance to G o rd im e r’s w ork andher sta n ce on fem inism and, the effect o f these issues on the in te rp reta tio n o f A Sport o f Nature
Summary
T h is a rticle explores N adine G o rd im e r’s innovative ap p ro p riatio n o f the picaresque m ode in A Sport o f Nature and proposes that it can be related to her m ore pronounced stance on fem inism , w hich has evolved since the 1980s.1 T he a rg u m en t is based on the close re la tio n sh ip b etw een literary con v en tio n o r m ode and context (F o w ler, 1985) and it underlines the interactive role of these elem ents in the interpretation of a text. A lthough P arker (1989:211) interprets the italic script in A Sport o f Nature as a visual rep resen tatio n of the m etalanguage, he sees it as a negative m echanism which "confers opacity in certain key sections in w hich it occurs" (Parker , 1989:216) a n d he doesnot re c o g n iz eSasha ’s ro le in th edualpe rs p e c tiv e represented in the discourse This dual perspective proves an effective device in som e of the contem porary w om en’s p icaresque and constitutes, to g eth e r with th e m ore p ronounced em otional involvement of the picaras, a significant adaptation to the mode. T h e im plication is th at in as m uch as the a u th o r feels a responsibility to interpret experience, the reader has a responsibility to translate or decode it within the relevant context
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