South Africa, A Female Nation: Gender and Narrative in Sol Plaatje's Mhudi (1930)

Abstract

This paper analyses aspects of the historical novel Mhudi – An Epic of South African Native Life a Hundred Years Ago, published by Sol Plaatje in 1930, that are related to the impacts of the segregational policies intensified after the establishment of the South African Union in 1910. In his novel, the South African politician and journalist presents his main character, Mhudi, as a desired model to the black female protagonism in South Africa, also exploring aspects of the South African political memory in an attempt to suggest new possibilities for race relations in that country.

Keywords:
Literature; Gender; South Africa; Publishing Policies