Country Lovers

I denne study guide får du hjælp til at analysere novellen “Country Lovers” af Nadine Gordimer. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af novellen samt forslag til at fortolke og perspektivere den.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Country Lovers” (1980)
Forfatter: Nadine Gordimer
Genre: Short story

Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014) var en sydafrikansk forfatter, der skrev romaner og noveller. De fleste af disse handler om sociale problematikker i relation til Sydafrikas apartheid. Nadine Gordimer modtog Nobelprisen i litteratur i 1991.

Uddrag

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Title

The title of “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gordimer immediately gives readers hints about what the text is going to be about. The words “country lovers” suggest that the narrative is going to present a love story which takes place somewhere in the countryside.

More specifically, the title refers to the love story between Paulus Eysendyck, a white young man, and Thebedi, a black girl from the Eysendyck farm. This kind of interracial relationship was forbidden during the apartheid system in South Africa, and the two are forced to hide it.

The title could suggest that the rural setting makes it easier for the two to hide their relationship for a long time. However, since someone reports their situation, the countryside cannot remain a safe setting indefinitely. The title could also suggest that the relationship between Paulus and Thebedi is something natural, contrary to the misconceptions of their society.

The title of the story is misleading because it makes us expect a romantic love story. Instead, it ends in court, with a baby dying.