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The voice of cloth: interior dialogues and exterior skins

The voice of cloth: interior dialogues and exterior skins
The voice of cloth: interior dialogues and exterior skins
Jessica Hemmings proceeds from Jane Schneider's understanding of the impermanent nature of cloth and how it reflects 'the impermanence of social relations'. She illustrates how 'the production of cloth, its presence on the body, and its role within the home' manifests itself in Vera's work. She argues that in each instance cloth exposes the true nature of the unspoken social relations that occur in its presence. For instance, Mazvita's choice of an apron in Without A Name suggests how she perceives herself as 'part of a torn social fabric encased in a body that is worn to the bone through years of unrelenting hostility'. Cloth in Vera's work signifies the abscences and inadequacies of social relations; it also plays the multiple but complementary functions of hiding and revealing the body, and thus the socio-political status of the novel's characters.
0779220049
57-62
Weaver Press
Hemmings, Jessica
21e2ab3b-386a-46c2-8be2-12c78fe4cc22
Muponde, Robert
Maodzwa-Taruvinga, Mandivavarira
Hemmings, Jessica
21e2ab3b-386a-46c2-8be2-12c78fe4cc22
Muponde, Robert
Maodzwa-Taruvinga, Mandivavarira

Hemmings, Jessica (2003) The voice of cloth: interior dialogues and exterior skins. In, Muponde, Robert and Maodzwa-Taruvinga, Mandivavarira (eds.) Sign and Taboo: Perspectives on the Poetic Fiction of Yvonne Vera. Oxford, UK. Weaver Press, pp. 57-62.

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

Jessica Hemmings proceeds from Jane Schneider's understanding of the impermanent nature of cloth and how it reflects 'the impermanence of social relations'. She illustrates how 'the production of cloth, its presence on the body, and its role within the home' manifests itself in Vera's work. She argues that in each instance cloth exposes the true nature of the unspoken social relations that occur in its presence. For instance, Mazvita's choice of an apron in Without A Name suggests how she perceives herself as 'part of a torn social fabric encased in a body that is worn to the bone through years of unrelenting hostility'. Cloth in Vera's work signifies the abscences and inadequacies of social relations; it also plays the multiple but complementary functions of hiding and revealing the body, and thus the socio-political status of the novel's characters.

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Published date: 2003

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 41069
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/41069
ISBN: 0779220049
PURE UUID: 5ea574e5-a8fa-4183-91e0-6a1494277ea5

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 14 Jul 2006
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 15:51

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Contributors

Author: Jessica Hemmings
Editor: Robert Muponde
Editor: Mandivavarira Maodzwa-Taruvinga

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