Striving for a True Cultural Narrative

....we never stop following their disparate and meagre lives. We were happy when they were happy. And felt the pain when they were hurt.

Ways of Dying, Zakes Mda (12-13)

"Every human existence is a life in search of a narrative". (Gaylard, 1; quoting Kearny, 129). It can be reasonably proposed throughout the texture of Welcome to our Hillbrow that Phaswane Mpe is indeed searching for a narrative of his own, using a unique utilization of the first person narrative and god-like, (not un-ironic, considering that the narrator is telling the story from heaven; perhaps it is God himself; a god created in Mpe's own image), omniscient third person that is very reminiscent of the narrator from Zake Mda's Ways of Dying, reflected in the above quotation. Indeed, this blend of first and third person narrative, which is telling us, (or Refentse), the story firsthand but as an inactive observer or guide, evokes a feeling of a tribal consciousness; a native narrative -the voice of South Africa, telling us her story for the first time, after so many years of so many stories about apartheid and its evils.

Though the I/we pronoun is not used as frequently as in Mda's narrative, the constant utilization of the second person pronoun, "you", in speaking to Refentse, (and, perhaps on the sly, to us or any other third party eavesdropper), presents this image of an observer who is present, real, and telling the story of these people's lives firsthand. This gives a common thread to the narrative; we imagine some figure; perhaps, although rather stereotypically, an old, wizened and white haired Zulu man clad only in a robe or loincloth, telling this fireside tale on a metaphysical plane to those who experienced it when they were alive. Every time our narrator quotes, "If you were still alive, Refentse", you can imagine this metaphysical story-teller raising a shaking, bent finger to point at the recipient of his tale. Every time he says, "Welcome to our Hillbrow", we - especially those of us who have "accidentally" been caught up in the recounting of this tale along with Refentse - feel as if our wizened guide is leading us down a darkened, uncertainly twisted trail, gesturing at the path laid out before us.

The narrator's tone adopts several moods that create the image of an informal yet intimate storyteller. At times, our narrator is reflective of past everyday things, such as the remembering of the soccer championships (1). At others, he is wistful, wondering about all the stories Refentse could have written (29) - perhaps a meta-fictional musing about Mpe's own mortal plight? At some points in the narrative, the voice is somewhat reproachful and condemning, acting as an avatar of justice - such as his proclamation to Refentse that he was the one who killed Loreto with his suicide (47), but, just like a familiar or a friend, in a conciliatory gesture, the voice acts as a comforter when it reassures him, "you cannot say....you were happy when Loreto swallowed those tablets" (63). Finally, the narrator moves into a teaching and cautioning mode, when the story of Piet and Molori are presented to further illustrate the harmful potential of the story, just as Refilwe's rumors concerning Refentse's death were harmful.

The dominant tone or perhaps even purpose of the novel surrounds the act of telling the story. Our godlike narrator tells the story of Refentse and Refilwe; Refilwe tells many versions of the story of Refentse's demise back in Tiragalong, and it was a story to Molori by a bone thrower that sealed Piet's fate. Even Refilwe feels the 'boomerang' of her stories concerning that "Hillbrowan woman's" hand in Refentse's fate, when she returns home, sick with AIDS, and becomes the center of yet again another story. Our narrator leads us on a journey, beckoning us, but also warning us with the admonition that "...all of this that you have heard seen heard about felt smelt believed disbelieved shirked embraced brewing in your consciousness would still find chilling haunting echoes in the simple words.... Welcome to our Hillbrow" (62).

If a personal note could be allowed, I find the most connection with this purpose in the following passage; it is a sentiment that I find to be a central truth whenever I enter the creative worlds of my own inking, because I believe on some level, all of us creative writers write in a meta-fictional fashion. When we write, we create the ultimate space; a space that no one can alter or touch, and into this space a portion of ourselves will always bleed; because as the narrator says: "..home travels with you, with your consciousness as its vehicle" (55):

"Euphemism. Xenophobia. Prejudice. AIDS. You wrote your story to think about all these issues, child of Tiragalong and Hillbrow. But your story was neither long nor sophisticated enough. You realized when it was published that it would never be sufficient. You became keenly aware that no matter what other stories you might write, none of them would ever be sufficient to answer such imponderables. For to have these answers was to know the secrets of life itself. There would always be another story of love, betrayal, friendship, joy, and pain to add to your narrative granary. There would always be the need to revise, reinforce, contradict. For every new personal experience adds to our knowledge of life and living, death and dying. Every act of listening, seeing, smelling, feeling, tasting is a reconfiguration of the story of our lives" (61).

That Refentse found his story to be insufficient is by no means a failure. Life, by its very nature, is constantly changing, growing, shifting, and often times contradictory; therefore, so are the experiences fostered by it; life and its experiences are never done, and in return, neither are their stories. Mpe, perhaps in an act of self-consoling with the secretive knowledge of his own mortality, indicates that these stories do not end in death, but are continued in the "memories and the consciousness of the living" (124), ensuring their immortality and continued vitality and relevance.

Sources:

1. Gaylard, Rob. Stories and Storytelling in Phaswane Mpe's Welcome to Our Hillbrow. University of Stellenbosch. http://www.uwc.ac.za/arts/auetsa/gaylard.htm