White women without weapons: an analysis of women’s voices in Border War dramas

Abstract

This article examines the representation of female characters in four plays about the Border War. Female characters are discussed using three archetypes: that of the Virgin, the Mother and the Whore. Aside from giving an overview of female characters in the Border War drama canon, the article also critically analyses whether these representations serve to strengthen or destabilize the hegemonic view of the conscript as a hero which was perpetuated by the apartheid government. The article’s findings are that some plays’ female characters, such as Christine in Deon Opperman’s Tree Aan! (2011), represent an uncomplicated archetype of a Virgin. This woman is largely passive, apolitical and needs to be protected by a heroic conscript. In this sense, the playwright uses the female character to portray a restorative nostalgic view of the past. Other plays, such as Malan’s Johnny is nie Dood nie, Leach’s Die Spinner and Fourie’s Boetman is die Bliksem in!, have female characters that serve to subvert restorative nostalgic views of the past. The article found that contrary to Tree Aan!, these plays use female voices to question and destabilize the conscripts’ master narrative of the Border War as a singularly heroic war against communism. The Volksmoeder (Mother) archetype is used by Fourie as a commentary on the role mothers played in upholding the old regime. In this way, female guilt and complicity in past wrongdoing is also examined. Female agency during this era, albeit limited, is thus acknowledged and passivity is critically examined. The article concludes with its central finding: that there is a significant lack of Whore characters; rebellious women who question men. The author posits that this lack of insubordinate women reflects the masculine world of the Border War.