Truth - a different form of justice? Antjie Krog’s Country of my Skull
Keywords:
African literature, South Africa, apartheid, truth, justiceAbstract
La vérité, est-elle une forme différente de la justice? Antjie Krog La Douleur des mots*
Un livre d’Antjie Krog La Douleur des mots est devenu l’un des plus importants livres qui soit publié en RSA après apartheid parce qu’il tente de pénétrer, en détails et avec exactitude, dans les coulisses des activités de la Commission Vérité et Réconciliation. Bien que La Douleur des mots exploite largement de pièces juridiques originaux, il n’est pas une simple relation qui décrit ce qui s’est produit, mais c’est aussi un texte postmoderniste comportant également des éléments de la fiction, une autoanalyse metatextuelle d’un processus d’écrire sur la vérité et une analyse perspicace des fondations philosophiques et sociales de la Commission Vérité et Réconciliation. Le présent article commence par une présentation de différentes conceptions de vérité et de justice présentes au sein même de la Commission Vérité et Réconciliation pour présenter la complexité de ses fondations et les contradictions intrinsèques de celles-ci. Le livre d’Antjie Krog, mis dans ce contexte, est présenté comme ouvrage reflétant les questionnements et problèmes existant à l’intérieur de la Comission. Par ailleurs, ses expériences narratives variées font adhérer la voix de Krog dans un débat: comment écrire sur la vérité, avant tout sur celle d’un passé aussi trempé de douleur et d’injustice que le passé de la RSA du temps de l’apartheid.
* édition française: Antjie Krog, La Douleitr des mots, Actes Sud, Arles 2004
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