Martha(martyr)dom: Compassion, Sacrifice and the Abject Mother in Marlene van Niekerk's Triomf

Abstract

Marlene van Niekerk's first novel, Triomf (1994; English translation by Leon de Kock, 1999), satirises Afrikaner nationalism's desire for racial purity by exposing its abject core, the poor white Afrikaner family, exemplified by the Benades. Much of the pleasure of the text comes from Treppie's irony and cynicism. He is the primary voice of satire and the dominant perspective in critical reception of the novel. However, the Benades do not only evoke attitudes of amusement, contempt or indignation typical of satire, they also evoke deep pathos. In this article I aim to explore a character who is the object of much of Treppie's humour, a particularly pathetic character: Martha Benade, otherwise known as Mol. I explore Mol's depiction as a composite Christ/Mary-figure, a sacrificial and abject mother who, through her (perverse) compassion, offers her body to her brothers and son. Mol also demonstrates hospitality at a peace rally the Benades accidentally arrive upon. Utilising the theoretical lens of Luce Irigaray's writings on female mysticism and spirituality, Mary Douglas's writings on purity and an Irigarayan critique of Jacques Derrida's view on hospitality, I argue that abjection, paradoxically, enables spiritual transcendence and ‘pure’ hospitality. Finally, I explore Mol's role as mystic, which enables her partial escape from patriarchal subjugation through the creation of her own cosmology, and consider the extent to which this alternative theology breaks with Afrikaner patriarchy's dereliction of the feminine and offers a positive re-signification of sacrifice.

Keywords:

• Marlene van Niekerk
• sacrifice
• compassion
• abjection
• Virgin Mary
• hospitality

Notes

This article arises from research supervised by Prof. Cheryl Stobie as part of Jean Rossmann's PhD degree in the School of Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus.