Abstract
This article focuses on postcolonial melancholia in Ronelda S. Kamfer’s poetry collection, Hammie (2016). The research question explores the nature of identity formation of the poetic speaker in Hammie against the backdrop of a postcolonial South Africa, including the impact of the traumatic loss of her mother and the associated losses that resurface as a result. The mourning process, or lack thereof, of these losses are also examined. The poetic speaker, a coloured woman, and her community are enveloped in a pervasive melancholia that is passed down from generation to generation and continues to be fed by discrimination based on skin colour and gender that she experiences in the present. The poetic speaker in Hammie suffers from loss, triggered by the profound effect of the death of her mother. The study focuses on the postcolonial aspects evident in the melancholic nature of the poems in Hammie. The work of, amongst others, Anne Anlin Cheng, Ranjana Khanna, and Paul Gilroy are included in the discussion to create a framework to analyse postcolonial melancholia in several of the poems in Hammie.
The article examines how loss affects the poetic speaker in Hammie on various levels. The loss the speaker experiences is initially that of her mother. When the circumstances of the mother’s life and the speaker’s relationship with her are examined more closely, it becomes clear which associated aspects of the mother’s identity the speaker also loses. The death of the mother brings traumatic events to the surface and as a result the speaker must carry remnants of the colonial past with her, just as her mother and grandmother had. The loss of her mother and the associated remnants of her colonial past, such as racial discrimination and inequality, have not been processed, and the burden rests on the poetic speaker and her daughter to try to heal from this postcolonial melancholia in the present. The article thus reports how melancholia shapes the poetic speaker’s subjectivity regarding her race and gender, due to the oppression she experiences as a coloured woman in postcolonial South Africa.
Studies on loss, mourning, and melancholia exist, yet all aspects of this subject haven’t been explored in Afrikaans literature. Some reflective literary studies in Afrikaans utilising psychoanalytic theory on melancholia include Louise Viljoen’s study “Die hart ’n droë blaar”: Verlies, rou en melancholie in Olga Kirsch se Afrikaanse poësie (2014). Other studies focusing more on loss include Thys Human’s articles on loss and its processing in the works of Ingrid Winterbach, encompassing themes such as consolation, melancholia, and “impossible” grief. This article narrows the themes of loss, mourning, and melancholia, focusing on postcolonial melancholia and subject formation as it is manifested in Ronelda S Kamfer’s poetry collection Hammie. Kamfer’s work portrays the poet confronting marginalisation due to discrimination based on her race and gender, navigating experiences of past discrimination in contemporary contexts. Postcolonial melancholia theory provides a useful lens for interpreting Kamfer’s poetry, particularly in unpacking themes of loss, race, gender, inequality, and discrimination. Hammie is described as a reflection on the loss of Kamfer’s mother through autobiographical poems. Elements such as the use of her mother’s actual name, Gertruida Kamfer, and the photo of her mother on the cover contribute to the autobiographical nature of the collection, along with themes of mother-daughter relationships. While elements of loss and melancholia are present in Kamfer’s earlier works, they are more foregrounded in Hammie, especially regarding race, class, and gender melancholia. The tone in Hammie reflects a greater self-awareness in relation to others compared to Kamfer’s previous collections.
In Hammie, the inner pain and struggle with the death of the poet’s mother are visible, alongside a critical examination of societal issues. The speaker navigates the loss of her mother while navigating the social circumstances of her life. The poems illustrate the experiences of racial and economic inequality faced by the female, coloured, postcolonial, post-apartheid subject. Through analysing Hammie, loss and mourning can be studied to understand how postcolonial melancholia functions. Melancholia is a subjective social condition or position that transcends specific political groups. Studies on postcolonial melancholia shed light on how marginalised identities experience loss and melancholia, revealing the shadow of unresolved loss carried by marginalised individuals. Melancholia influences the identity formation of marginalised groups, contributing to subject formation. Postcolonial melancholia describes how colonised African people cope with loss and mourning to survive in a present tainted by the past. Unlike Sigmund Freud’s approach, postcolonial melancholia doesn’t lead to a spiritual death but compels black or coloured people to resist decline and choose life.
Different forms of melancholia are integral to the theory of postcolonial melancholia, including aspects of race, gender, colonialism, and postcolonialism. After outlining the theory, it is applied to analyse selected poems from Hammie through the lens of postcolonial melancholia, demonstrating how the poet’s further subject formation is influenced by the discrimination she faces based on her skin colour and gender.
In Hammie, issues of social and economic inequality often surface, intertwined with discussions around race and gender. To trace inequality as depicted in Hammie, it’s necessary to examine the hierarchies that perpetuate racial and gender discrimination. The remnants of the apartheid era are carried into the present, with economic and social inequality remaining unaddressed. Kamfer’s work reveals the psychological impact of the colonial system from the perspective of the marginalised individual. In Hammie, the poet must process the loss of her mother on the surface. However, when considering postcolonial melancholia, this loss can be more precisely examined to determine what exactly the poet lost in her mother. From an intersectional perspective, the mother, as a coloured woman, is doubly marginalised. Therefore, the poet in Hammie not only loses her mother but also various aspects of her mother’s identity as both a coloured person and a woman. Beyond grieving her mother as a mother, the poet must also process the colonial past and the oppression her mother experienced. This contributes to the melancholia experienced by the poetic speaker, influencing her subjectivity.
Through close reading of poems like “Lae lewens” (20), “Apartheid” (71–2), and “Troupanne” (33–4), it becomes clear that South Africa, even after the suspension of apartheid, is still in the process of socio-economic transformation. The remnants of the colonial order can still be seen in contemporary postcolonial society. Social and economic inequalities caused by colonisation are still melancholically carried into the present, akin to a societal ailment.
Postcolonial melancholia loses its pathological mask, as it applies to groups rather than individuals. The pain experienced by the speaker is thus comparable to the suffering of larger marginalised groups. Healing from melancholia appears almost impossible, as the ideals of a multicultural society remain utopian and unattainable. The psychological impact of colonialism on women and colonial subjects can be examined through postcolonial melancholia, utilising psychoanalysis as a framework to understand the psychological impact of colonialism. Kamfer’s poetry gives voice to previously silenced, marginalised people, especially coloured people and women. Through her poems, Kamfer highlights the losses experienced by marginalised people, shedding light on their struggle for identity and healing. The strategic methods used in coping with loss can be compared to the obstacles faced by other oppressed groups, such as queer people. While there are differences in the marginalisation of these groups, the similarities in the losses they experience in their daily lives can be illuminated. Melancholia can help them survive, endure, and heal.
Keywords: gender; Hammie; loss; marginalisation; melancholia; mourning; postcolonial melancholia; postcolonialism; race; Ronelda S Kamfer; subjectivity; trauma
- This article’s featured image consists of a background photo by StockSnap (source: Pixabay) and the book cover of Hammie by Ronelda S Kamfer (Kwela, 2016).
Lees die volledige artikel in Afrikaans
Postkoloniale melancholie in Ronelda S Kamfer se Hammie (2016)