Older age in David Medalie's The mistress's dog

Abstract

The elderly are commonly perceived as one of the frailest and most vulnerable groups in society. This view could be attributed to a decline in their physical and mental strength, as well as the disengagement from society and the diminishing sense of futurity associated with older age. While the first democratic South African elections in 1994 heralded what many perceived as a period of cultural and political rebirth and renewal, this event for some also led to a profound re-evaluation of previously stable ideologies. Given the fact that identity in older age is in part reliant on the creation of a coherent and meaningful life-story that revolves around an engagement with the past, this radical reconsideration of the past implies that the democratization of South Africa may reconfigure the lifestory an ageing individual can claim as his or her own; this places a unique pressure on the configuration of identity in these older people. This article investigates the ways in which the advent of democracy in South Africa influenced the literary representation of older age, and examines this idea in relation to ‘Recognition’ and ‘Tussenfontein’, two short stories from David Medalie’s collection, The Mistress’s Dog (2010. Johannesburg: Picador Africa).