Nadine
Gordimer refers to the last years of the apartheid as an interregnum
where political subtleties were often shut as to not undermine the
understood general goal (280). In her essay Living in the
Interregnum (1982) she addresses the need for the several voices to
not silence their different nuances. As, rather than to weaken the
cause, to deepen the debate for a new system.
Gordimer
cites in her essay a young black South-African woman : “I break the
law because I am alive” (271). Such a strong statement is based on
the casual daily racism of the Apartheid regime. Under this regime,
black people were, from birth, designated to an inferior standing. If
they wanted their human rights back they thus had to daily declaim
this situation and claim that their life was worth as much as any
other. On the other side, white people did not have to justify their
existence on a daily basis, as the system was made to justify their
position and rights. As such they had no incentives to raise their
voice and shout against the injustice.
Do not
take me wrong, part of the South-African white population was already
decrying the inherent racism of the regime. However,
as Gordimer critics it, most stayed silent dissidents; refusing to
put themselves in danger and unaware what the word struggle
truthfully meant (270).
Nevertheless,
it is necessary for this silent segment of the population to join the
scream of the black population for justice. It is needed to
answer one of the white population fear of a reversed regime. And
thus transit from a discriminatory capitalist regime to a social
nondiscriminatory system (265).
However,
if she longly address the evolution of the black demands, the
necessity of a joined struggle and the issue of the conflicted and
contradictory interregnum, Gordimer solely does so. She does not on
the contrary propose any solution to create the wanted reaction in
the passive dissidents. As a writer, her role may be to exclusively
expose the facts and leave to politicians and leaders this reflexion.
Yet, as an influential white South-African champion in the fight
against the apartheid, to learn from her experience would have been a
valuable addition. To listen to how she passed from spectator of this
interregnum to participant and major voice.
Gordimer, Nadine. “Living in the
Interregnum.” The Essential
Gesture: Writing, Politics, and Places.
272-284. 1988. London: Jonathan Cape. PDF
When I read Gordimer’s essay, I found it indeed very interesting to see how she did not propose any solution to create the wanted reaction in the passive dissidents. I think it tells us a lot about the particular time period in which this essay was written, 8 years before the end of apartheid.
ReplyDeleteThese silent dissidents would put themselves in danger if they were to speak up about the racism of the regime. In some way, Gordimer is not that different from them. Of course her works have been very valuable, but her role has been exclusively to expose facts and thus influence politicians as you pointed out. Would you rather have seen that she did come with solutions? Would you rather have her evoking a reaction from these passive dissidents? Because to some extent, I felt like she stayed between the lines with this essay. Instead of evoking a reaction from those who silently oppose apartheid, she often tried to speak for the black community, pretending to have a ‘black voice’.