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Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613805556531200 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Cele, Andile Judith |
| author2 | Steiner, Tina |
| author_browse | Cele, Andile Judith Steiner, Tina |
| author_facet | Steiner, Tina Cele, Andile Judith |
| author_sort | Cele, Andile Judith |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135673 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:59.323Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135673 Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain Cele, Andile Judith Steiner, Tina Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Cele, A. J. 2026. Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/3042a912-1b2f-4520-bf78-0970f078e8e7 When apartheid concluded, South Africa demonstrated foresight in recognising the importance of healing and coming to terms with the country’s violent past. This was done through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and entailed victims detailing their traumatic experiences. It was an opportunity for the country and indeed the world, to bear witness to the victims’ trauma inflicted by the oppressive system of apartheid. However not all stories were heard at the TRC. In this study, I explore intergenerational trauma and reflections on healing in three contemporary novels, namely Grace (2019) by Barbara Boswell, The Yearning (2017) by Mohale Mashigo, and Period Pain (2016) by Kopano Matlwa. These texts all reckon with the wounds of the past, and the different ways in which one can arrive at a form of healing. In Grace, the protagonist reconciles with her traumatic past, after realising that she had begun repeating her parents’ mistakes. In The Yearning, the protagonist answers the Calling to become a traditional healer. African spirituality is offered as a way in which one can arrive at a form of healing. In Period Pain, the very act of writing becomes a healing pathway. The novel is presented as undated diary entries, and the protagonist wrestles with the Christian God to find life’s meaning within an unhealed post democratic South Africa. These fictional texts are examined within a theoretical framework that draws on trauma theory, narrative theory and literary criticism. I consider the traditional trauma model from theorists Cathy Caruth and Judith Herman but extend it by providing a historical context for each primary text and where it is situated. In my examination of the three fictional texts, I consider the limitations levelled against the traditional trauma model, that it does cater to the experiences of those who have experienced and still experience insidious trauma. Therefore, the traditional trauma model is extended by providing historical context for each text. I consider historical trauma and individual trauma, and the ways in which these traumatic experiences are transferred to future generations. Masters 2026-04-07T10:32:59Z 2026-04-07T10:32:59Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135673 en Stellenbosch University 108 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Cele, Andile Judith Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title | Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title_full | Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title_fullStr | Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title_short | Collective Woundedness: Exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in Barbara Boswell’s Grace, Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning and Kopano Matlwa’s Period Pain |
| title_sort | collective woundedness exploring intergenerational trauma and healing in barbara boswell s grace mohale mashigo s the yearning and kopano matlwa s period pain |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135673 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT celeandilejudith collectivewoundednessexploringintergenerationaltraumaandhealinginbarbaraboswellsgracemohalemashigostheyearningandkopanomatlwasperiodpain |