A Specific Kind of Violence: Insanity and Identity in Contemporary Brazilian and South African Literature

Tom Penfold

Journal of Southern African Studies, 2017, vol. 43, issue 5, 1049-1067

Abstract: The recent histories of South Africa and Brazil share many commonalities. Most obviously, both have experienced a shared political history of democratic transition. Two somewhat similar forms of socio-political oppression and manipulation – military rule in Brazil (ended 1985) and South African apartheid (ended 1994) – have been replaced by democratic regimes and exceedingly optimistic hopes for the future. Yet neither transition has been as smooth as expected. Consequently, a liminal situation has been created, where past and present discourses compete for space. This has recently been explored in each country’s respective literatures: K. Sello Duiker’s The Quiet Violence of Dreams and Rodrigo de Souza Leão’s All Dogs Are Blue are just two examples. This article will explore the common theme of madness in these novels to highlight liminality. In particular, I argue that the treatment of insanity denies the patient’s individuality and replicates the identity politics of the colonial situation. This, I suggest, reveals how postcolonial modernity in Brazil and South Africa relies on a continuing and normalised psycho-politics of otherness. Further, I will consider questions revolving around language, reliability and everyday emotions, focusing on the uncomfortable juxtaposition of global, national and local in both countries as they struggle to enter the modern world order. Ultimately, the only way we can alleviate madness and harness the social benefits of modernity and globalisation comes through accepting difference and understanding the specific individual circumstances of those we call ‘mad’.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2017.1356028

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