Paton's novels and the liberal ideal: A construction of the “liberal ideal” out of the life and work of Alan Paton

Abstract

Alan Paton has left an imprint on literature and social consciousness; but his contribution is increasingly relegated to an historic one, rather than as a living model – the assumption is that Paton is dated in a post-apartheid world. In our article we challenge the assumption that there remains a large divide between the novels of Paton and the Black Consciousness writings of many other authors, and from that premise we seek to determine the place of Paton's tragic liberalism in the twenty-first century. We have explored the novels with reference to the conception of “the Liberal Ideal” as defined in the article. Our basic conclusion is that there is a natural merger of the Liberal Ideal and Black Consciousness writing as literature which relates to the Liberal Ideal is written within a particular context which shapes the work. It is our view that the Liberal Ideal is found both in Paton's “tragic liberalism” and in Black Consciousness writing from the same time and that the separation of Black authors from the liberal literary tradition is inherently wrong. As our article provides only a starting point of exploring a convergence of the Black Consciousness movement and the Liberal Ideal in the twenty-first century, a great deal of further research is necessary.