“Break and Be Broken”, She Said, “That is the Law of Life”: Loss and Racial Melancholia in Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat

Abstract

Yvette Christiansë (2003: 373) argues that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission neglected daily narratives of loss in favour of an attempt of a nationwide process of mourning and a subsequent closure of the apartheid past. One account of quotidian losses certainly is Marlene van Niekerk’s novel Agaat (2004), which focuses on the relationship between the white farm owner Milla and her coloured servant Agaat. Throughout the story, Milla attempts to turn Agaat into a “refined” coloured, maintain control over her body and sexuality. This alienation leads to losses on Milla’s part, especially the emotional loss of a potential mother-daughter bond. Because the story is told from Milla’s perspective, Agaat’s voice is largely silenced. It has often been noted that Agaat uses mimicry in order to subvert Milla’s rule. However, critics have largely overlooked Agaat’s discriminatory behaviour towards the other coloured farm workers. By drawing on Anne Cheng’s concept of racial melancholia, I argue that this behaviour can be seen as Agaat’s attempt to melancholically repress a part of her coloured identity which she has to negate in order to gain acceptance by Milla. The latter’s melancholia manifests through the incorporation of Agaat as her lost object of love and the simultaneous rejection of Agaat’s racialised body.

 Opsomming

 Yvette Christiansë (2003: 373) beweer dat die Waarheid-en-versoeningskommissie daaglikse narratiewe van verlies verwaarloos het ten gunste van pogings van ’n nasiewye proses van rou en ’n daaropvolgende afsluiting van die land se apartheidsverlede. Een beskrywing van daaglikse verliese is ongetwyfeld Marlene van Niekerk se roman Agaat (2004), wat fokus op die verhouding tussen die blanke plaaseienaar Milla en haar kleurlingbediende Agaat. Deur die hele verhaal probeer Milla om Agaat in ’n “verfynde” kleurling verander deur beheer oor haar liggaam en seksualiteit te behou. Hierdie vervreemding lei tot verliese aan Milla se kant, veral die emosionele verlies van 'n potensiële moeder-dogter-band. Omdat die storie vanuit Milla se perspektief vertel word, word Agaat se stem grootliks stilgemaak. Daar is al dikwels opgemerk dat Agaat spottende nabootsing of mimiek gebruik om Milla se heerskappy te ondermyn. Kritici het egter grootliks Agaat se diskriminerende gedrag teenoor die ander kleurlingplaaswerkers oor die hoof gesien. Met verwysing na Anne Cheng se konsep van rassemelancholie voer ek aan dat hierdie gedrag beskou kan word as Agaat se poging om op melancholiese wyse ’n deel van haar kleurlingidentiteit te onderdruk, wat sy moes prysgee ten einde deur Milla aanvaar te word. Hierdie melancholie manifesteer deur die inkorporasie van Agaat as haar verlore liefde en die gelyktydige verwerping van Agaat se rasgedefinieerde liggaam.