This chapter sought to critically analyse a novel named Evening Primrose (2016) by Kopano Matlwa. The section explores the notion of intersectionality and explored how black women are oppressed in the autobiography by addressing the following aspects:
colour, culture, gender, and class. This chapter has provided an overview of the novel Evening Primerose. Through the characters, place, and themes that depict the identity
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problem of black South Africans, the author showed the xenophobia and racism that exist in post-apartheid South Africa.
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
This chapter summarises the findings of the preceding chapters, which demonstrated the pretext of identity-crisis in Kopano Matlwa's novels. This quandary was depicted via female characters who desire to identify and know themselves in order to build a sense of self-worth, African dignity, and self-respect.
According to the research, the protagonists of all three novels are (South) African female characters seeking to distinguish themselves from the Other, which is the dominant culture other, from academic institutions Other, from political space Other, from fashion space Other, from economic space Other. As a result, many Africans today are unaware of their identity. These female characters are frequently cast in stereotyped positions that oppress them. These portray them unfavourably and demean them in the society in which they live.
Civilisation and modernity have also contributed to the identity dilemma, which is the reason for speaking one thing while meaning another. One example of misconception is that 'democracy' involves adherence to British, French, or German monarchs. The pretext of 'democracy' is that a country such as South Africa is democratic on the surface, but the underlying 'pretext' is an economy founded on European royalty. The royal houses of European countries ranging from Germany to the Netherlands to the United Kingdom and the European Commonwealth.
When African countries are promised 'democracy' on the front end, the back end or pretext of the democracy is that the royal dynasty that runs the British also runs the Democratic system. When an African abandons his or her own culture and African aristocracy. Under the guise of democracy or monarchy, Africans end up following European royalty.
The research addressed the consequences of forsaking African culture to follow and be subjects of other civilisations. Being a subject has economic, cultural, political, and religious responsibilities. Democracy brings with it all the elements that culturally
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intoxicate the faithful African monarchy. When Africans are loyal to British monarchs, their culture 'mimics' that of the British. For example, if Africans mimic how Europeans consume their meals, they will likewise eat with forks and knives, have wedding and funeral customs, worship, fashion, taste, and preferences. Africans migrated from their native civilisations into colonial culture.
The study revealed that female characters in the novels are represented as puppets of colonial power, because of which they are frequently humiliated, deceived, used, and despised. They are represented as inferior because they are not seen to be intelligent enough to make definite and sensible judgments since they are women, the inferior beings. This can be seen in the novel Coconut as Ofilwe asks herself a rhetorical question of her own Princess Di “Does my royal family still exist, Please, do tell me about their dynasty” P11. Black women are more effective only at learning a white mask, where they want to mimic the western identities and deny their own African identity. It is here where they are also expected to put up with their hybrid.
Coconut is split into two parts, the first part is narrated through the protagonist's viewpoint, Ofilwe who is a rich young black girl who comes from a rich family and lives with both of her parents and her brother. The second part is the story of Fikile who is poor and lives with her uncle, as she does not have both parents. These two characters come from two different socio-economic backgrounds, but they both face the same type of identity crisis. The antagonist from the first part is called Tshepo who tries to conscientise her while the second part of the novel`s antagonist is called Ayanda, these two antagonists try to decolonise the minds of the protagonists.
In “Spilt Milk”, Matlwa exposes this identity crisis through the protagonist Mohumagadi as she is the principal of a new black school called Sekolo sa ditlora. She is trying to conscientise her learners with identity, but her objectives are twisted by the antagonist father Bill, he is a white priest who Mohumagadi accepted to be placed into her school to facilitate the Afternoon detention classes. The priest plays a significant role in the resistance of the decolonisation of the mind.
In “Period Pain”, Matlwa uses characters like Nyasha the antagonist to conscientise the protagonist Masechaba. The novel introduces the story of Masechaba in her early life and then continues as she goes into her adult life. She started living in with her
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mother until she found an apartment and moved out. We get to see the personal life of Masechaba at home and her professional life at work.
Kopano Matlwa was able to mirror her novels with reality, so all her novels reflect the reality of (South) Africa's current crisis. Period Pain also reflects South Africa's ongoing xenophobic crisis. Matlwa utilized a hospital to reveal the South African health department's xenophobic issue.
Recently, there was a trending topic of Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba who was recorded talking to a foreign patient and the conversation drew public attention as some saw it as a xenophobic act while others supported her view on foreign nations who come to South Africa undocumented with the intention of receiving free medical attention from public hospitals.
This is related to the novel because the hospital personnel, including security guards, nurses, and doctors, were disrespectful to foreign people who arrived at the hospital without identification and demanded free care; this female patient was from Zimbabwe.
The findings indicate that when women from other African nations seek medical assistance in South Africa, they are abused by South African health staff.