CHARMAIN NAIDOO: The great and tragic assault on the mother archetype
What could make your life so utterly pointless that you would give yourself up to die in a suicide that takes the lives of those whose lives have not yet begun?
There’s something about small towns that inspires folklore and the wide-eyed suspended disbelief of townsfolk. Think Little Red Riding Hood, or any Grimms Fairy Tale for that matter. Think dragon slayers and mythical beasts and stories that really are superstition told with a fervent conviction in their authenticity… My mother used to think that the naivety of small towns was built around trying to relieve the boredom of seeing the same people every day. My lovely dad was more pragmatic – he thought that the stories told were often rooted in truth, embellished and couched in mystery to protect the innocent.Small towns are also rife with stories that reek of hyperbole. So I learnt from early on to take every fanciful tale with a large dose of tongue-in-cheek. But one story, from a hamlet near the northern KwaZulu Natal little town of Dundee, that has always struck me as not only possible, but also probable, was that of a young mother who developed a super power, super strength. I don...
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