Norma Barratt
Women and Colonial Rule in Africa Final Paper
The book Sometimes When It Rains is a collection of short stories that are all written by South African women. Throughout all of these stories, different aspects of the system of the apartheid are shown. In "What Were You Dreaming?" written by Nadine Gordimer, the imbedded feeling of segregation in the minds of African people is shown through their various interactions. This story also explains the segregation being furthered because of the language barriers and the way that the African people spoke as making them look and feel as less. "The Toilet" written by Gcina Mhlope shows the discrimination against African people happening directly through labor and working directly under the ruling of a white person, directly pertaining to the class level of these people as well. This story also expands the discrimination against women and their education not being accepted as their expected way of life. Lastly, "The Notion of Sisterhood" written by Bernadette Mosala adds a finalizing piece to touch on how the segregation of the races is truly imbedded in the minds of the African people and forces them to never see a future where this could possibly be changed.
"What Were You Dreaming?" written by Nadine Gordimer explains many issues created by the apartheid system and the quality of life the Africans were exposed to because of this. Nadine Gordimer's story discusses segregation of races in Africa. Also talking about the detachment of language and gender. The story starts with narration in first person by a black South African man hitchhiking, complaining about how white people never stop for the black people in this country. It then shows his surprise when white man and woman in a car stops to pick him up. The white woman clearly sees understands the system of apartheid but clearly does not stand on the side of the white people because as they continue their drive, she continues to stop to pick up other hitchhikers. This allows for there to finally be a space where it seems white and black people can exist in a space, even within the walls of a car, together without this system crawling into their conversation. But it becomes clear that this may be only the way that the white people are viewing it. The white man is trying to make conversation with the men they have picked up, but there is a language barrier between them, so they respond the only way they have been taught to speak to a white man, "Some grin with pleasure, and embarrass him by showing it the way they've been taught is acceptable, invoking him as baas and master when they get out and give thanks," (Oosthuizen 22). Throughout this time, that was just the teachings they were received, black people were taught to see every white person as their master and make sure they expressed that to them. This part of the story is very important because it shows that at this time, even when white people were not purposefully acting in a harsh way to oppress the black people, it was already ingrained in the minds of the black people that they were the lesser race.
Gordimer uses the moment where the black men do not understand the Englishman's English to show the way that language was a site of oppression as well. When the black man first enters the car, the same issue happens: "The man driving smiles over his shoulder and say something – I can't hear it very well, it's the way he talk English. So anyway I say what's all right to say, yes master, thank you master, I'm going to Warmbad. He ask again, but man, I don't get it – Ekskuus? Please?" (Oosthuizen 19-20). This part shows the way that the African people spoke and how it was seemingly considered as a lesser way to speak. Throughout the story the words that the African man is saying are spelt different to demonstrate the little amount of English the black man knew. The difference of spelling and the confusion by the white people shows that the way that the Africans spoke made them come off as less educated. This assumption and the way that white people would normally respond to them, made them feel ashamed of their speech and that they were the minority. Later in the story, when the African man wakes up from a nap, the white man asks him about his dream, and he replies saying that it was nothing, which may have been a way to avoid having to speak to the white man more than he needed to because of the shame linked with the way he spoke.
"The Toilet" written by Gcina Mhlope takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa. This story is narrated by a girl named Mholo. It explains South Africa at this time as a patriarchal and racialized society. Mholo becomes very aware of this racial oppression because her sister, Irene, is a servant in a house belonging to a white couple, the wife is named the Madam throughout the story. The first sign of this exploitation that Mholo's sister is accepting by working for this family is that she allowed them to give her an English name. One that would be more probable to fit in with them. Mholo begins to spend more time at this house, hiding of course, but seeing the different ways that her sister is oppressed by this family. Mholo gets used to the conditions of the "non-European" toilets and how much dirtier they are than the ones the white people get to use. Through this and other forms of mistreatment shown throughout this story, it becomes clear that the oppression of black women in Africa was not only done by black and white men, but by the women of both races as well. Mholo is constantly being told by other women in her life that the role of women is strictly being a wife or being a mother. But Mholo has other goals for herself, she dreams to be a nurse or a teacher. Her mother does not see these as acceptable jobs for a woman to hold, therefore oppressing Mholo and making it clear that women are not meant to be successful. Mholo is very different than Irene because Irene has chosen to follow in the path that her mother wants her to be on. She did not choose to get educated the way that Mholo did and spends her time working for the "Madam". "Madam" is constantly described as living her life very easily, which is only made possible because of Irene's work. Since Irene has put herself into this place of oppression and has made a life from it, she does not understand or accept the way of life Mholo has chosen to live.
This aspect of the story is very important because throughout many stories of Africa's colonial period and before, it is clear that African women were seen as people who were meant to serve the men of the society, providing them with food, shelter, and children. But the judgement that Mholo is receiving from her mother and sister is based on her choice to gain education. Mholo's mother and Irene do not see the purpose of her time being spent getting educated, they do not see how this could possibly benefit her in the future when she wants to start a family, because that is the only type of future they can possibly envision for her. Mholo would stay locked in Irene's room so that "Madam" would not see her. Since she could not make any noise at all, she spent a lot of time reading, but Irene commented on how she is beginning to read too much. "'What kind of wife will you make if you can't even make baby clothes, or knit yourself a jersey? I suppose you will marry an educated man like yourself, who won't mind going to bed with a book and an empty stomach'" (Oosthuizen 1). Mholo is surrounded by other women that see her desire to go to school and get a career that makes her happy as a waste of time and as something that will keep her from finding a man to be with. One of Mholo's own colleagues at work expresses that she thinks the fact that Mholo is constantly reading trying to grow her knowledge is not something that is worth her time. Even throughout all of this, Mholo decides to not listen to any of these women in her life and continue to do what she truly wants to do: educate herself and get a job that is worth her time, not just expected of her because of her race.
"The Notion of Sisterhood" written by Bernadette Mosala tells the story of a black girl, Tizzy, and a white girl, Jean, who are college roommates. They have grown very close as roommates but have been stuck in this bubble of college. When they graduate and leave the bubble of the university, they are exposed to the racialized oppression that is now a normal part of the South African culture. Their friendship begins to disintegrate because the different parts of life they are able to access because of their races. And Tizzy comes to this realization: "'What does it matter, Jean? You are white and I am black. That's what matters in this country and it looks like life can never be lived on a human level in this land.'" (Oosthuizen 85). This story further shows the effects of the apartheid effecting gender and race directly. People of the time had given up on trying to change the ways of things, not because they did not care, but because it seemed like it was just going to be stuck that way. Black people were always going to be harshly discriminated against by white people, and the possibility of people of the different races being able to coexist as more than just acquaintances seemed like a dream.
The rest of the stories within the collection Sometimes When It Rains continue to show the effects of apartheid in many different ways through various different types of narratives. In the book The Mirror at Midnight, Adam Hochschild writes, "'Looking into South Africa,' writes Breyten Breytenbach, 'is like looking into the mirror at midnight… A horrible face, but one's own," (Hochschield 244). This quote shows the remorse that one from the other side of the apartheid may feel when realizing the great amount destruction they have caused. The western countries that invaded Africa and created this system of apartheid will hopefully look at Africa and see that it is has become a horrible, oppressive place that they had created to be that way. These stories give a useful view to learning about the ways this system of apartheid personally effected every African life.
Oosthuizen, Ann. Sometimes When It Rains: Writings by South African Women. London; New York: 1987.
Hochschild, Adam. The Mirror at Midnight: A South African Journey. New York: 1991.