Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | This paper presents a first literary analysis of one of the key concepts under examination in the doctoral study entitled De drang naar literaire categorisering: vloek of zegen? Een receptie- en analytisch onderzoek naar de literaire productie van zogenaame ‘migrantenschrijfsters’. The concept in question is Heimat and the article wishes to offer – after stating the broader context of the doctoral project – insights into the terminological and conceptual complexity of Heimat – especially in relation to migration. In order to attain this goal, the article focusses on a comparative literary analysis of two novels that are part of the doctoral project’s corpus – namely Vrouwland by Rachida Lamrabet and Naima El Bezaz’ De verstotene. The study compares and looks into the novels protagonists’ understanding and handling of the concept and investigates different aspects influencing the shaping of Heimat, such as religion, gender roles and ethnicity. These aspects’ concrete workings in the (inter)personal relations in particular are analyzed in order to show the multi-layered dimension of Heimat as well as its formability and ununiformed character. By doing so, the article sheds light on the complexity of the concept – especially in relation to migration –, hints at another key concept, which is identity (quest), and implicitly links the complex nature of Heimat with the disputable concept of categorization. |
