Deformity, disability and marginality in Zimbabwean literary discourse

Abstract

In this article, I attempt a seamless explanation, categorisation and discussion of the twin concepts of deformity and disability as they are imagined in Zimbabwean orature and literary discourse. I suggest that the two aberrations manifest themselves physically and psychologically and that, generally, Zimbabwean society exhibits ambivalence towards the two. This ambivalence is manifested through fear and anxiety, especially when such afflictions assail one's loved ones, particularly children. Silence over such realia was, and continues to be, an unwritten behavioural coda, and to a large extent, this silence has become not only an interregnum in discourses on deformity and disability, but also a terminus ad quem even in the wake of political afflictions. Such psychological and political madness has become the bane of Zimbabwean society in the 30 years of its fre(ak)dom.

Keywords:

• marginality
• silencing
• fre(ak)dom
• grotesque
• normative
• ambivalence