Abstract
Die sideboard (2014), Simon Bruinders’s first novel, is about Abraham de Bruin who grows vegetables on his mother’s rented plot near George in 1939. His dream of owning land is crushed by the political system of the time. An interesting aspect of the novel is the role that Abraham’s farming with vegetables, even on a small scale, plays in his life. It becomes clear that the crops Abraham grows have a much more profound influence on his psyche than on his income. The portrayal of nuanced or meaningful relations with plants is rare in Afrikaans narratives. The influence of plants as portrayed in Die sideboard involves a form of positive contribution to Abraham’s (and later his whole family’s) life and well-being, on a psychological level as much as regarding their physical needs. Relational aspects emerge that highlight the importance of plants to people in a way that’s different from the anthropocentric perspective of nature’s being a passive servant of man. This novel offers fertile ground to explore the real roles given to man and plant.
As a theoretical framework for studying the plant-people relationships in Die sideboard the principles of ecocriticism are used. Ecocriticism can be described as “a cross-disciplinary initiative that aims to explore the environmental dimensions of literature and other creative media in a spirit of environmental concern not limited to any one method or commitment” (Buell, Heise and Thornber 2011:418). Marijke van der Veen’s article “The materiality of plants: plant-people entanglements”, published in World Archaeology in 2014, emphasises the central place of plants in man’s life and forms the theoretical basis for studying Die sideboard. Van der Veen uses the concept of materiality and the idea of “plant agency” to investigate man-plant relationships. The focus of her research falls on intricate forms of entanglement or meshworks that are created, often unintentionally, when plants and people interact.
Van der Veen’s research is supported by the new materialism as a theoretical field within which the concept of materiality is rethought. Matter is viewed as including “human and nonhuman bodies, organic and inorganic substances and forces” (Oppermann 2013:71), so that the strict dualisms of living/non-living, human/non-human are discarded, and also the idea that elements of nature are passive social constructions. Oppermann (2013:72) states: “The new materialists perceive nature as an active, signifying force; an agent in its own terms [...]. Being thus liberated from its previous conceptualizations as a blank, silent source for the exploits of culture [...] nature is discussed as a significant participatory force field in the entanglement of meaning and matter.”
Van der Veen (2014:799) stresses the fact that the concept of materiality has changed over recent years in terms of its precise definition and use: “(It) has changed from an initial focus on the agency of objects, that is the recognition of material and non-human agency, to a greater emphasis on relationships, networks and meshworks, rather than on the individual agency of either person or object.” This observation is endorsed by several other researchers. Robb (2016:505) describes the property of agency as always relational and contextual: “(I)t is always defined in the context of a relationship between an agent and a recipient. Hence material things can be agents as long as humans interact meaningfully with them. [...] The idea of material [...] makes perfect sense within a relational view of agency; people act within relationships with things as much as with other individuals and groups.” Coole and Frost (2010:9) also pertinently include the aspect of relationality in their description of matter as “a force, vitality, relationality”. Ingold (2016:14) sees the environment as a world that is continually unfolding in relation to the beings who make a living in it. He is convinced that “its reality is not of material objects but for its inhabitants”. Ingold (2016:14) concludes: “Thus the properties of materials, regarded as constituents of an environment, cannot be identified as fixed, essential attributes of things, but are rather processual and relational.”
This study follows the most recent trend in the new materialism approach to the understanding of the agency of plants. The purpose of this investigation is the tracing, analysis and description of relational characteristics in the depiction of the plant-people interactions in Die sideboard. It is guided by a sharp focus on the phenomenon of interdependent relationships in this novel, on the ways in which man becomes entangled with plants in body and mind, and how people are influenced by plants at the levels of the psyche and identity. This is an attempt to find confirmation for the theoretical view that plants act as agents, as forms of an active force, within the context of dynamic relationships with man.
If approached from the latest premise that matter should be viewed within the context of networks and relationships, Die sideboard becomes a fascinating text for the purpose of literary investigation. It is clear that Abraham’s dream of a patch of land becomes much more than the mere desire to manage a piece of land profitably. Several dimensions of the relationship between farmer and plant are revealed in this novel. These relationships are portrayed in a way that challenges anthropocentric control as the accepted point of departure in the handling of plants and offers a new perspective on the role of plants. Van der Veen (2014:806) refers to “webs of relationality” between man and plant, and explains: “Both plants and humans become caught up or trapped in the relationships: humans get caught up in a double-bind, depending on things (plants) that depend on humans.”
The results of the unravelling and description of the plant-people relationships in Die sideboard are instructive. This novel illuminates in a nuanced way the phenomenon that is the focal point of the investigation: the literary embodiment of the idea that man and plant influence each other and function in a strong relational context. Aspects of plant-people interdependence and of the interwovenness of human and non-human existence are powerfully illustrated in this novel. These are central concepts in the contemporary way of thinking about and emphasising the relational dimensions that have recently begun to emerge in the field of the new materialism.
It becomes evident that Abraham grows vegetables not only for his family’s use, or to earn something. There are relational elements that come into play. A form of devotion to the processes of planting and witnessing growth is portrayed. In addition to that, an obvious dependency on plants as well as signs of the subtle influencing by plants of the character’s mind, life and attitude towards life are depicted. Being busy with planting and harvesting also has an impact on Abraham’s realisation and confirmation of his identity. He finds it possible to express himself through pampering his plants. The novel also clearly illustrates how this self-interpretation manifests in the demonstration of his self-esteem, beliefs, pride and behaviour. Abraham’s interaction with plants and an awareness of his life’s intertwinement with the rhythm and routine that plants and caring for them require, inspire the will to rise above personal misfortune and disruption. This is of vital importance in the process of adaptation after each episode of uprooting in his life.
The novel opens new perspectives on opinions about the place and role of plants in man’s life. This is particularly significant in an era in which anthropocentric views are influencing us to see plants in their subservient role with regard to people: as passive objects within the context of farming, trade and nutritional needs. The findings from this study support Van der Veen’s (2014:799) argument that “concepts such as materiality and entanglement help us not only to foreground the vital importance of plants in human life, but to appreciate that these plants are best studied within the complex webs of relationships that exist between plants, environments and people”. Between the pages of Die sideboard man and plant indeed live as if interwoven in a web of relationality.
Keywords: Die sideboard; ecocriticism; new materialism; plant-people relationships; Simon Bruinders; the agency of plants
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