Ruth in Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat

Abstract

Summary Marlene van Niekerk's Agaat (2006), which was translated from the Afrikaans into English by Michiel Heyns, examines the relationship between a dying white woman and her Coloured carer. In the course of the novel it becomes clear that the themes of (post)colonialism, race relations and gender dynamics are being explored; however, the means through which they are conveyed are through the complicated, distressing and moving relationship between the two protagonists, which exemplifies the relationship between white Afrikaners in particular (and by extension whites generally in South Africa) and Coloureds in particular (and by extension the racial other). Religion is a crucial aspect of the changing dynamics between these two representative characters. In this paper I examine the striking parallels between the novel and the Book of Ruth, particularly with regard to the relationship between the two female protagonists. I analyse van Niekerk's critique of supremacist religion, especially during apartheid, and her representation of the necessity for ruth, or compassion, in contemporary South Africa. I employ concepts raised by a number of feminist postcolonialist scholars of theology to illustrate the radical nature of van Niekerk's representation of religion and spirituality in the novel. In particular, I examine the implications of applying Marcella Althaus-Reid's controversial concept of the Bi/Christ to the text.