Essay Questions

Do you think the author is implying that the pregnancies were caused by an immaculate conception? Do you think this is also what the authorities were trying to imply?

There are certain elements in the way that the author has written the novel that imply that the births were not caused by a sexual encounter at all but were an immaculate conception. Despite an investigation by the authorities, only one man was actually found to have had sex with the women who gave birth and even he denied ever having had any sexual contact with them. Of course, this might have been because it was an offense and he was attempting to exonerate himself from charges; however, the women also denied the charge. It is unlikely that one man, however virile, could impregnate that many women in such a short space of time, on his own, and however unenthusiastic the investigation might have been, no evidence of sex with any other men was discovered. The author does not come out and state that these pregnancies and births were "miracles" but it is nonetheless implied by what he doesn't say, and the simple statements about no evidence of an affair substantiate this.

The authorities did investigate the pregnancies and births, especially once the children born were clearly very pale, of mixed race (termed "colored" by the South African system of classification of the races) but despite their investigation they only found one man who might potentially have fathered any of the children. Ultimately they covered up the entire episode, but they had no reason to do so before the trial of the accused man; after all, the law that forbade sex between white people and any people of color was put in place to weed out the whites who transgressed it. If inter-racial sex was just something to cover up there would have been no law preventing it. The only reason that the authorities might have preferred to put these pregnancies down to immaculate conception was the fact that rape might have occurred, but since it is unlikely that they would have charged a white man with the rape of a black woman (in the 'seventies, there were precious few rights for white women in this regard, and they were seen as "equal" to white men) and so there was really no incentive or reason for them to attribute this to a "miracle".

In what ways did the black characters in the novel anticipate change in the country once the "New South Africa" was born? Which of their expectations were not met, and why?

The basic, nominal changes that the black characters in the novel anticipated were met. They expected segregation to end, and it did, so they were able to live the same life as the white people in that they went to all the same beaches, parks, shops and public areas, and had theoretical access to the same public services. This all happened as they anticipated. However, what they had not anticipated was the reluctance of some South Africans to embrace the New South Africa. They had assumed that apartheid was a tool of the government and that with a change in the law, there would be a change in the mindsets of the whites who had voted for them. This did not happen; old feelings were slow to change, if they changed at all, and although state sponsored racism had ended, social racism had not. People still had the same opinions of each of the races that they had always had.

The other changes that did not turn out the way they had expected were changes within themselves. They had always believed that they would be happy if they had what they perceived as the trappings of being given the same opportunities as whites - the right to participate in the corporate jungle, and the opportunity to get for themselves the commercial products, fashion items and other symbols of success that they had equated with happiness. They were surprised to find that although they were allowed to chase these things for themselves, achieving them did not actually make them happy. This was the biggest difference in what they had anticipated and what actually happened.

Although one of the themes of the novel is racism, the book also speaks more quietly about the rights of women. Did these rights change at all as time progressed in the storyline?

Although the rights of non-whites changed as the novel progressed, and they received equal rights, the rights of women really did not change or improve at all. During the 'seventies, a woman was still seen as the property of her husband, be she white or black. A woman of any color was seen as inferior to a man and needed his permission to do many things herself. Although gradually "permission" was not legally needed, women's rights were still not improving at the same pace as rights based on racial grounds. The rights of people of color improved much faster, as the blatant discrimination against them was very obvious. The discrimination against the women, including the Madonna of Excelsior, is much more of an undercurrent and was neither highlighted or spoken of much. The women were still responsible for childcare, responsible for giving up any of their own opportunities once a child came along, and judged just as much on their appearance as they ever were even if not along racial lines. However, in this discrimination the New South Africa was really no different to any other country and therefore the discrimination was not highlighted on an international scale so much.