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Head of Darkness: Representations of “Madness” in Postcolonial Zimbabwean Literature

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Head of Darkness: Representations of “Madness” in Postcolonial Zimbabwean Literature HEAD OF DARKNESS: REPRESENTATIONS OF “MADNESS” IN POSTCOLONIAL ZIMBABWEAN LITERATURE By YULETH CHIGWEDERE Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the subject of ENGLISH At the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROFESSOR JESSICA MURRAY SEPTEMBER 2015 DECLARATION Student Number: 49133632 I , Yuleth Chigwedere, declare that “Head of Darkness: Representations of ‘madness’ in postcolonial Zimbabwean Literature” is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ________________________ _____________________ SIGNATURE DATE SUMMARY ii This study critically explores the numerous strains of “madness” that Zimbabwean authors represent in their postcolonial literature. My focus is on their reflection of “madness” as either an individual state of being, or as symptomatic of the socio-political and economic condition in the country. I have adopted insights from an existential psychoanalytic framework in my literary analysis in order to bring in an innovative dimension to this investigation of the phenomenon. I consider this an appropriate stance for this study as it has enriched my reading of the literary texts under study, as well as played a crucial role in providing me with effective conceptual tools for understanding the manifestations of “madness” in the texts. The literary works that I critique are Shimmer Chinodya’s Chairman of Fools (2009), Mashingaidze Gomo’s A Fine Madness (2010), Brian Chikwava’s Harare North, Petina Gappah’s An Elegy for Easterly (2009), Tsitsi Dangarembga’s The Book of Not (2006) and Yvonne Vera’s Without a Name (1994) and Butterfly Burning (1998). These selected texts offer me an opportunity to analyse the gender dynamics and discourses of “madness”, which I do from a peculiarly indigenous and feminist perspective. My study reveals that these authors’ representations are located in and shaped by very specific temporal and spatial contexts, which, in turn, shed light on the characters’ existential reality, revealing aspects of their relationship with the world around them. It demonstrates that their notions of “madness” denote different markers of identity, such as race, class, gender, and religion, amongst others. Significantly, my literary analysis illustrates the varied permutations of “madness” by exposing how these authors characterise the phenomenon as trauma, as alienation, as depression, as insanity, as subversion, as freedom, and even as a sign of the state of affairs in Zimbabwe. This investigation also reveals that because “madness” in these authors’ fiction is intricately linked to the question of identity, it manifests in situations where the characters’ sense of ontological security is compromised in some way. What emerges is that “madness” can either signify a grapple with identity, a loss of it, or a struggle for its re- definition. iii KEY TERMS . Madness . Insanity . Trauma . Depression . Identity . Postcolonial literature . Existential psychoanalysis . Imperialism . Colonialism . Ontological insecurity . Subversion . Gender . Zimbabwean literature iv DEDICATION This academic growth is dedicated to my late mother, Margaret Chideke-Sala. Although no longer of this realm, she beats forever in me. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The fruition of this thesis has been made possible through the valuable support of a number of individuals and institutions. First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Professor Jessica Murray, for her sterling and unwavering mentorship throughout the years of my study. She tirelessly steered and encouraged me to a point where I felt my academic prowess strengthen. I am truly indebted to her “warm”, yet professional guidance, her accessibility, as well as to her effort to avail relevant literature to me. I am also thankful to those people who took the time to read through this research, which has benefited from their input. I would like to also extend my gratitude to the UNISA Financial Bureau for funding this study. Additionally, I appreciate the resource support that I got from UNISA library staff, especially from Dawie Malan. I thank all my colleagues and friends from CUT and WUA who continually prodded me throughout my “madness” mission, as well as the institutions themselves, which allowed me the time to study. Special thanks go to my friend, Janice, from across the Atlantic, on whose couch I was able to “wind up” my thesis. Lastly, to my husband, Humphrey (Nyamasvisva) and four children Chido, Tinaye, Tanatsa and Ayana, thank you for your love, support and understanding; for giving me the space and time to accomplish this feat. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration............................................................................................................................ (ii) Summary............................................................................................................................... (iii) Key Terms............................................................................................................................. (iv) Dedication............................................................................................................................ (v) Acknowledgements............................................................................................................... (vi) Table of Contents................................................................................................................. (vii) CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background.................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Defining “Madness”..................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Philosophical Insights Harnessed............................................................................... 11 1.4 Literary Criticism Strategies........................................................................................ 14 1.5 Chapter Delineation.................................................................................................... 15 1.6 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND FRAMEWORK 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….. 19 2.2 History of “Madness”……………………………………………………………….. 20 2.3 “Madness” and Colonialism………………………………………………………… 21 2.4 Literature and “Madness”…………………………………………………………… 24 2.5 Psychoanalysis and Postcolonialism………………………………………………… 29 2.6 Creativity and “Madness”…………………………………………………………… 33 2.7 Critical Scholarship on Madness in African Literature…………………………….. 36 2.8 Zimbabwean Literature and Literary Criticism…………………………………….. 37 2.9 Feminism and “Madness”…………………………………………………………. 40 2.10 Women and “Madness”……………………………………………………………. 41 2.11 Zimbabwean Traditional and Cultural Beliefs on “Madness”……………………… 45 2.12 Postmodernism and “Madness”…………………………………………………….. 47 2.13 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….. 51 vii CHAPTER THREE: THE CENTRE CANNOT HOLD: PARANOIAC DISPLACEMENT IN SHIMMER CHINODYA’S CHAIRMAN OF FOOLS 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 53 3.2 Chairman of Fools as a Psychotic Text...................................................................... 54 3.3 National Insanities - Intertextual “Madness” in Chairman of Fools........................... 56 3.4 The Nexus between Creativity and “Madness”........................................................... 61 3.5 Far from the Madding Marriage.................................................................................. 64 3.6 Farai’s Mental Washing Away into Paranoia.............................................................. 68 3.7 Returning to the Source: Shona Cultural Beliefs on “Madness” and Its Treatment..................................................................................................................... 81 3.8 The Twilight World of the Fools and Their Chairman................................................ 85 3.9 Conclusion................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER FOUR: LIBERATING “MADNESS” IN THE ANTI-IMPERIALIST DISCOURSE OF MASHINGAIDZE GOMO’S A FINE MADNESS 4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................. 90 4.2 Linguistic Miscegenation as a Cultural Vehicle.......................................................... 96 4.3 Re-membering Africa: Breaking the Colonial Mirror.................................................. 99 4.4 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 115 CHAPTER FIVE: THE WRETCHED OF THE DIASPORA: TRAUMATIC DISLOCATION IN BRIAN CHIKWAVA’S HARARE NORTH 5.1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 117 5.2 Turncoating “Madness”: Making Language and Form Sweet.................................... 120 5.3 Diasporan Identity: Cultural “Madness” and the Trauma of Belonging..................... 124 5.4 The Shattering of Self: Diasporic Displacement, Trauma and the Nameless Narrator......................................................................................................
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