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3.1 Geographical Space:South Africa in the mid-18th Century....................21

3.2 Wagon as a Symbol for Their Swaying Love.......................23

Chapter Four Social Space and the Tragic Romance.................29

4.1 Cape Town.............................30

4.2 House of Power........................31

Chapter Five Mental Space and the Tragic Romance...................36

5.1 The Irreconcilable Conflict in Elisabeth’s Mind..................36

5.2 The Overwhelming Loneliness in Adam’s Heart.......................39

Chapter Five Mental Space and the Tragic Romance

5.1 The Irreconcilable Conflict in Elisabeth’s Mind

The hero and heroine in the novel are of different races and classes and inevitably bearthe imprint of their respective communities.As their emotional relationship deepens,twodistinct ideas constantly clash and collide,with contradiction and irresolution being the twowords that best sum up the mental space characterizing Elisabeth and Adam.

Elisabeth is undoubtedly the archetypal figure of double consciousness.Originally adelicate flower bred in a conservatory,Elisabeth’s parents try to raise her as an obedientaristocratic lady against the standards of an“angel in the house”,but Elisabeth has a strongsense of self and does not want to live her life as a caged bird in the light of her parents’wishes,so she chooses to marry Larsson and goes on an expedition together to the vastAfrican interior.The expedition is in a sense an escape,as life at home is depressing andsuffocating.Elisabeth’s father is a typical feudal patriarchal figure with androcentrism attributes,while her mother is a housewife who complains about her husband but has noalternative but to live under his authority and power.Living in such a household,with herfather’s incessant lectures and her mother’s endless complaints about life’s failings,Elisabeth feels no warmth whatsoever.The decision to marry Mr.Larsson is a reflection ofElisabeth’s desire for a warm family life,but it does not touch her ideologically.She is stillbrought up to behave in the same way as her father had said.“Never trust a slave,my child.You can treat him as well as you can,you can bring him up with the Bible,you may thinkhe’s civilized,he may seem as tame as any house-dog.But sooner or later he suddenlyshows his teeth and then you discover he’s just a wild animal after all”(Brink,2007:90).Elisabeth bears the imprint of deep-seated racial prejudice that is hard to erase,so that whenshe first meets Adam,she always speaks ill of him,even calling him a“slave”,which showsthat at the very beginning of the story Elisabeth does not even see Adam as a human being,let alone as a lover to achieve happiness in life together.

Chapter Six Conclusion

An Instant in the Wind appears to be a purely romantic novel,but it is in fact rich inthemes,including a critique of apartheid.By qualifying the identity of the hero and heroine,the author subtly raises the sensitive issue of ra本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。