The function of genocide in post-apocalyptic fiction : 'Ondergang van die Tweede Wêreld' ('Destruction of the Second World') by Eugene N. Marais (1933)

Abstract

In an effort to gain greater clarity about the purpose of the deployment of genocidal elements in what is probably the earliest post-apocalyptic text written in Afrikaans, entitled ‘Ondergang van die Tweede Wêreld’ (‘Destruction of the Second World’), this article offers a careful reading of the story against the background of the larger oeuvre of author Eugène N. Marais. Although the story develops as a thought experiment drawing on racial tensions that existed in South Africa during Marais's lifetime (1871–1936), an environmental disaster that threatens all life on Earth with extinction finally connects local exigencies with global concerns. With reference to the work of Norman Angell, who argued that violent interventions often merely lead to the perpetuation of the political injustice that they aim to eradicate, Marais introduces a ‘spectroperiscopic’ vision in his story that challenges the logic that underlies the genocidal motivations of his characters and, also, projects local concerns onto a global canvas. The emphasis on the survival of human life and the preservation of written testimonies finally function as counterpoints to the disconcerting view of an indifferent natural world that apparently fosters a relentless and cruel competitiveness among humans in their battle for survival in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Ultimately, in defence of Marais's story, the article challenges the arguments of earlier critics about the presumed dark subconscious urges of a morphine-addicted writer to account for the shocking scenes of genocide in ‘Destruction of the Second World’.