‘Comrades' as a metaphor at home and on the road

Abstract

This paper is concerned specifically with couples that run the comrades marathon in South Africa together. The aim of this study was to explore how the metaphor of “comrades” informs these couples' relationships at home and on the road. A qualitative research method was used within a social constructionist epistemology. Interviews were done with the two couples that were selected through purposive sampling. A discourse analysis was carried out to identify the discourses that appeared important in these couples' construction of the “comrades” metaphor at home and on the road. In the case of couple A, they had constructed the “comrades” metaphor at home and on the road completely differently. On the contrary, couple B had extended their construction of the “comrades” metaphor at home and on the road.


Key words: Comrades, coupleship, social constructionism, discourse analysis.


(Af. J. Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance: 2003 9(2): 263-276)