{"id":{"repo_id":"venda","oai_identifier":"oai:univendspace.univen.ac.za:11602/2934"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/venda/oai:univendspace.univen.ac.za:11602/2934","repository":{"repo_id":"venda","name":"University of Venda","base_url":"https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Family and Nation in Crises: Female characters in Selected Recent South African Novels","abstract":"Studies have shown that representations of young women are articulated through masculine perceptions, especially in recent South African novels. This is evident in many South African literary texts where black female characters are dependent on the writer’s knowledge and views about black women. As a result, many scholars have grappled with the phenomenon of black female representation where authors represent female characters in a biased manner. These representations are contested by many female writers with the call for balanced representations in literary texts. As a result, several female writers have taken to writing fiction in order to address these stereotypes in representation. The urge for balanced representation is an important aspect of novels by female black South African writers. This study examines representations of black female characters by three black female South African writers. The selected novels provide readers with insights into the contested representations of female characters as these intersect with the recent post-apartheid South African moment. The selected novels are Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2009) & Period Pain (2017), Angela Makholwa's Blessed Girl (2017) and Cynthia Jele’s The Ones with Purpose (2018).","abstract_html":"Studies have shown that representations of young women are articulated through masculine perceptions, especially in recent South African novels. This is evident in many South African literary texts where black female characters are dependent on the writer’s knowledge and views about black women. As a result, many scholars have grappled with the phenomenon of black female representation where authors represent female characters in a biased manner. These representations are contested by many female writers with the call for balanced representations in literary texts. As a result, several female writers have taken to writing fiction in order to address these stereotypes in representation. The urge for balanced representation is an important aspect of novels by female black South African writers. This study examines representations of black female characters by three black female South African writers. The selected novels provide readers with insights into the contested representations of female characters as these intersect with the recent post-apartheid South African moment. The selected novels are Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2009) &amp; Period Pain (2017), Angela Makholwa&#x27;s Blessed Girl (2017) and Cynthia Jele’s The Ones with Purpose (2018).","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chauque, Stanisokolo Kaunda"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Ndlovu, I.","Masete, Ditshego"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-09-05","date_published":"2025-09-05","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:57:24Z","subjects":["Female Characters","Family","Nation","Patriarchy","South Africa","Stereotype","Trauma","UCTD"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["University of Venda"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/handle/11602/2934","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Ndlovu, I.","Masete, Ditshego"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chauque, Stanisokolo Kaunda"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-09-15T08:19:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-09-15T08:19:50Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-09-05"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["PDF"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Female Characters","Family","Nation","Patriarchy","South Africa","Stereotype","Trauma","UCTD"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["University of Venda"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/handle/11602/2934"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["M.A. in English Literature","Department of English, Media Studies and Linguistics"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Studies have shown that representations of young women are articulated through masculine perceptions, especially in recent South African novels. This is evident in many South African literary texts where black female characters are dependent on the writer’s knowledge and views about black women. As a result, many scholars have grappled with the phenomenon of black female representation where authors represent female characters in a biased manner. These representations are contested by many female writers with the call for balanced representations in literary texts. As a result, several female writers have taken to writing fiction in order to address these stereotypes in representation. The urge for balanced representation is an important aspect of novels by female black South African writers. This study examines representations of black female characters by three black female South African writers. The selected novels provide readers with insights into the contested representations of female characters as these intersect with the recent post-apartheid South African moment. The selected novels are Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2009) & Period Pain (2017), Angela Makholwa's Blessed Girl (2017) and Cynthia Jele’s The Ones with Purpose (2018)."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Family and Nation in Crises: Female characters in Selected Recent South African Novels"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Ndlovu, I.","Masete, Ditshego"],"dc:creator":["Chauque, Stanisokolo Kaunda"],"dc:date":["2024"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-09-15T08:19:50Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-09-15T08:19:50Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-09-05"],"dc:description":["M.A. in English Literature","Department of English, Media Studies and Linguistics"],"dc:description.abstract":["Studies have shown that representations of young women are articulated through masculine perceptions, especially in recent South African novels. This is evident in many South African literary texts where black female characters are dependent on the writer’s knowledge and views about black women. As a result, many scholars have grappled with the phenomenon of black female representation where authors represent female characters in a biased manner. These representations are contested by many female writers with the call for balanced representations in literary texts. As a result, several female writers have taken to writing fiction in order to address these stereotypes in representation. The urge for balanced representation is an important aspect of novels by female black South African writers. This study examines representations of black female characters by three black female South African writers. The selected novels provide readers with insights into the contested representations of female characters as these intersect with the recent post-apartheid South African moment. The selected novels are Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2009) & Period Pain (2017), Angela Makholwa's Blessed Girl (2017) and Cynthia Jele’s The Ones with Purpose (2018)."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://univendspace.univen.ac.za/handle/11602/2934"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:relation":["PDF"],"dc:rights":["University of Venda"],"dc:subject":["Female Characters","Family","Nation","Patriarchy","South Africa","Stereotype","Trauma","UCTD"],"dc:title":["Family and Nation in Crises: Female characters in Selected Recent South African Novels"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:57:24Z"}