Mise en abyme en Ander Lewens van André P. Brink

Abstract

This article discusses the use of the mise en abyme as a technique in the novel Ander lewens by André P. Brink. The theory about the mise en abyme is reviewed mainly according to the work by Lucien Dällenbach, The Mirror in the text (1989). Other articles about the modern novel are also part of this discussion. The integration of different aspects of the novel through the use of the mise en abyme and the duplication and reflection between the three shorter texts is the core of this interpretation of the novel. The emphasis is also on the metatextual theme in this novel and the relevant identification between character-narrators and the implicit author. The unity of this fragmented and reflective text is partly also as a result of leimotivs like the mirror, the sexual, identity and a technique like the trompe-l’oeil. Some of the functions of the use of the mise en abyme that are evident during the discussion of this novel are the undermining of representation, the tension between reality and illusion, the absence of final meaning and the inherent intertextuality of all texts.