Living in the Interregnum: A Study of Select Fictional Narratives of Nadine Gordimer By Mrs. Geetha Shastri Sripad Bhat Guiding Teacher: Dr. A. Rafael Fernandes Professor of English GOA UNIVERSITY TALEIGAO PLATEAU, GOA. INDIA 403 206 March 2019 DECLARATION As required under the University Ordinance OA-19.8 (v), I hereby declare that the thesis entitled, Living in the Interregnum: A Study of Select Fictional Narratives of Nadine Gordimer is the outcome of my own research undertaken under the guidance of Dr. A. Rafael Fernandes, Associate Professor of English, Department of English, Goa University. All the sources used in the course of this work have been duly acknowledged in the thesis. This work has not previously formed the basis of any award of Degree, Diploma, Associateship, Fellowship or other similar titles to me, by this or any other University. Geetha Shastri Sripad Bhat Research Student Department of English Goa University Taleigao Plateau, Goa Date: 25 March 2019 CERTIFICATE In fulfillment of the provision of the Goa University Ordinance OA-19.8 (viii), I hereby certify that the thesis titled Living in the Interregnum: A Study of Select Fictional Narratives of Nadine Gordimer submitted by Mrs. Geetha Shastri Sripad Bhat for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the record of her own work done under my guidance and further that it has not formed the basis of any award of Degree, Diploma, Associateship, Fellowship or other similar titles to her. Dr. A. Rafael Fernandes Professor of English Research Guide Date: 25 March 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my guide Dr. A. Rafael Fernandes who encouraged and guided me in my research with invaluable inputs and suggestions. I cannot forget the support extended to me by Dr. Nina Caldeira, Head of the Department of English, Goa University. I am ever grateful to Dr. Prema Rocha, V.C’s Nominee for her valuable suggestions. The Management of my institution has always encouraged the pursuit of excellence and I would like to make a special mention of the Chairman of GVM’s Working Committee Mr Krishna Shetye who gave me NOC for the pursuit of Ph. D Degree. I am grateful to my friends Dr. Sandhya Nambiar, Dr. Deepa Mishra and Sonia Karkera for lending me books on various topics which helped fuel my research. I also thank my colleagues Dr. Shantanu Gauns for lending a hand with the technicalities of formatting my thesis and Mr Ramkrishna Bhat for all the support extended. I owe my thanks to my colleagues and friends who were ever eager to assist and kept encouraging me towards achieving my goal. I would like to acknowledge with gratitude my parents and in-laws for instilling in me the desire to excel. I am indebted to my loving children Ninada and Sathvik who shared my dream and facilitated in manifold ways its fruition. I owe my sincere thanks to my son-in-law Dr Ganesh Ammannaya for his consistent encouragement. I would like to make a special mention of my little grandson Saarthak whose birth enthused the final phase of completion of my thesis. Finally, I thank Sripad who constantly motivated and supported me in this endeavour thus enabling me to fulfil my longstanding dream. Geetha Shastri Sripad Bhat Still I Rise Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise Up from the past that’s rooted in pain, I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide Welling and swelling I bear in the tide Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear, I rise Bringing in the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise…. I rise…. I rise --------Maya Angelou TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I Introduction………………………………………… 1-46 1.1 Historical Background……………………………………. 1-7 1.2 Literary Background ……………………………………… 8-15 1.3 Life of Nadine Gordimer…………………………………… 15-20 1.4 Gordimer’s Novels and Short Stories: A Brief Introduction… 20-28 1.5 Critical Works of Nadine Gordimer………………………… 28-38 1.6 Critical Works on Gordimer………………………………… 38-42 1.7 Aims and Objectives………………………………………… 42-44 1.8 Plan of the Thesis …………………………………………… 45-46 Chapter II- Interrogating Race …………………………………... 47-114 2.1 Theorizing Race……………………………………………… 47-63 2.2 Tracing the Roots of Racism in South Africa………………… 63-70 2.3 Gordimer’s Depiction of Apartheid and Racism in Her Fiction 70-114 Chapter III- Interrogating Gender………………………………… 115-170 3.1 The Landscape of Feminism and Gender Studies…………… 115-123 3.2 Locating Gordimer’s Fiction against the Backdrop of Feminism 123-132 3.3 Black Women in Gordimer’s Fiction-Narratives of Exploitation 132-170 Chapter IV-Interrogating Violence………………………………… 171-231 4.1History of Violence……………………………………………… 171-174 4.2 History of Violence in South Africa……………………………. 174-181 4.3 Theorising Violence……………………………………………. 181-191 4.4 Violence in Gordimer’s Fiction………………………………… 191-231 Chapter V- Conclusion……………………………………………… 232- 254 Notes………………………………………………………………… 255 Bibliography………………………………………………………… 256-273 Chapter I INTRODUCTION Some are born to sweet delight, some are born to endless night —William Blake 1.1 Historical Background Africa—the Dark Continent, mysterious to some, romantic to the others, often inviting to explore its depths has nevertheless been a continent vastly exploited, subjugated and trodden upon. A glance at the history of Africa highlights the fact that colonialism radically changed its destiny forever. The first phase of the modern period in Africa, as Ngugi wa Thiong’o sees it, is the stage of colonial conquest. He describes this stage in the following words: Economic and political institutions are moulded on those of the metropolitan power. The aim is to create the good docile native –a willing source of raw material and cheap labour. And if he is not willing? One can always rely on the police and the army to do a little pacification. So that through fear of the Bible or the sword the native at first acts as if he accepts the situation…. The native is a clean slate on which anything can be scribbled. (Homecoming 55) Ngugi points out that the motive behind colonisation was to get cheap labour and economic resources for the mother country. The conquest not only took place by the use of arms but also by the spread of Christian faith by the Church. He goes on to point out the differences between French and 1 British methods of colonisation: “France went further than Britain: she wanted so to scribble on the slate that all the black surface would be covered with the white chalk of French culture" (Homecoming 55). Initially, the Dutch, German, French, Portuguese and British colonisers established centres of trade as early as the seventeenth century which resulted in exploitation of the people and economic resources. Instances of slave trade were rampant. While speaking about the devastating impact of colonisation on Africa’s economy, Joshua Dwayne Settles observes: To the British, French and German, the primary colonising nations, the individual needs of their colonial subjects were not important. Instead the desire to “vertically integrate” the colonies of Europe by controlling production from start to finish became the overriding goal of colonial agents…. Colonialism completed the process of fully integrating Africa into the world economic system. (182) Gradually, there was a decline in the slave trade due to the initiative taken by Britain. However, Africa was still looked upon as a continent which abounded in adventures for the explorers. These explorers also acted as agents for their rich philanthropist masters by collecting information about availability of resources, markets etc. They identified trade routes, located manpower, set up plantations with cash crops to benefit European economy and navigated rivers exploring for new markets. Steam engines and hulled boats, medical advances to quell malaria and invention of breech loading rifles and percussion caps incorporated into cartridges gave the colonisers an edge over the natives and helped explore the continent to their advantage. 2 The commercialization of land in Africa also led to many of the natives becoming landless labourers. Women and children were forced to get into the production system which laid the foundation for work and gender roles in Africa. The commercialisation also sounded the death-knell for the growth of local crops and produce of the natives. The once self- sufficient economy was made to rely heavily on imports from Europe and forced the demise of the African industry. Thus, the development of Africa was severely retarded by colonialism. South Africa in particular, moved through various stages of history. In 1488, the Portuguese under the leadership of Bartholomeu Dias sailed by the coast of South Africa and discovered the tip of Africa and went on to name it as the Cape of Good Hope. They did not have their colonies there. Later, the Dutch East India Company came to the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 with the intention of setting up a staging post from wherein the Dutch ships could replenish their supplies and continue on their journey. They were led by General Jan Van Riebeeck. The Dutch settled in this area and became farmers known as the Burghers. The ethnic group which descended from these settlers were popularly known as Afrikaners. By 1700, the Cape Town population swelled with coloureds who were the progeny of the Dutch-settlers, and Khoikhoi tribals. These mixed races of people were known as Griqua people who later migrated north to form Griqualand. In Cape Town, the settlers spoke Dutch and expanded their territory by fighting with Xhosa and Khoikhoi tribes. Soon, the Dutch felt threatened due to the advent of the British colonisers who brought along with them vast numbers of people willing to settle in South Africa.