Trompe L Veil Short Story

Superior Essays
In 1994, the 50 year old South African system of apartheid collapsed after decades of resistance. Not only a system that operated through racial oppression, apartheid also relied on gender discrimination keep the government functioning. Despite many efforts to change the government, the legacy of racial and gender discrimination lives on in post-apartheid South Africa. The evidence of this lingering trauma can be seen in the narratives of South Africa that have emerged in this new landscape. What role do women play in the post-apartheid world and how is this reflected in SA writing? The beginnings of an answer can be found in two short stories, Trompe L’Oeil and Friends and Goffels, that explore womanhood and silence in South Africa. Both of these stories offer a unique perspective on the significance of gender and its role in post-apartheid writing. Though South African women play an integral part in the family, they are usually cast behind male presence and silenced by their masculinity. The Trompe L’Oeil is the story of Gavin and Bev, a couple who has been married for 30 years, and the intricacies of their relationship with each other and a writer they meet by the name of Roddy. Though the story is from …show more content…
Unlike Julie, Dot is not silenced. She is unfettered by masculinity and vocal in her opinions. In contrast to Julie’s response, Dot is “enraged….[driving] her to bluntness” (103). She rails against Alistair and unabashedly shares her feelings. Dot provides a counterpoint to Julie’s silence. Unlike Julie, Dot is not tolerant of her oppression and silencing; “she’ll have no truck with wishy-washy tolerance” (107). Friends and Goffels contrasts two perspectives of womanhood in South Africa: one of a woman who does not bow and woman who does. The relationship between Julie and Dot in the story opens the possibility of more than one type of womanhood in South

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