Probing Miscegenation as a Peace-building Mechanism in (South) Africa: a textual analysis of Nadine Gordimer’s No Time Like the Present

Abstract

The dethronement of the colonial regime that once engineered a policy of racially-segregating African people on their continent dispensed a democratic movement that conscientised Africans about the essence of unity. The compliance to this axiom engendered interracial marriages that serve as a strand of unity across racially-diverse Africans. This is a praxis that colonial brigades had forbidden during their rule in many African states. This noted, the resumption of interracial marriages becomes a manifestation of colonial opposition, democratic identity, African renaissance and inauguration of oneness. This qualitative study has examined interracial marriages as a catalyst for African unity from a literary perspective.  It is predicated on the textual analysis of Nadine Gordimer’s No Time Like the Present (2012) which reflects on the societal meaning, perception, experiences and hardships endured by interracial couples in the African democratic era. Furthermore, the study has asseverated interracial marriages as a milestone in promoting the African Union’s (AU) vision of unity and also pointed out the extremities that Africans still need to reach in order to accept, comprehend, and institutionalise interracial marriages in Africa.