How effective is Mujajati’s use of introspection by his characters?

THE question which emanates from the above is whether the characters in The Sun Will Rise Again introspect, that is, do they undergo some self-examination? Introspection is the examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings. From a psychological point of view, the process of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one’s mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one’s mind.

Having said this, it is clear that such a question is too wide to be covered in one episode or one lesson in class. We first meet Fatima in a confused state of mind. She tries to visualise life from two perspectives — from a blind point of view and from when her eyes are open and she can see everything. There is no hope in what she sees — frozen images of graves. Graves store dead bodies and for Fatima to visualise images of graves shows hopelessness on her part.

Fatima is at a dead end. Hope for survival has vanished. She says, “All the doors are closed and locked. The space, both within and without, is closing in. No single atom of light can penetrate such terrible darkness and survive. Nothing can pass through such solid darkness and live.” There is no difference between what she sees now with open eyes and what she sees from inside with her eyes closed. She says she can feel the inner core of her voice trembling, like the last flickers of a dying flame.

She asks, “Is this all that life can offer? Futile dreams?” There is a darkness pressing her down, pinning her to the bitter memories of her past. She hangs on the shreds of hope. She is near hopelessness as I stated earlier. She wants to end her life as a cold bottle of malaria pills lies by her pillow. Her hand reaches out, but, immediately she can feel the frightened arm withdrawing. Her conscience stops her from carrying out the heinous act of ending her life.

There is a hidden force which stops an individual from causing damage to herself or himself just like the one which protects infants from harm at times. This could be divine power which stops Fatima from killing herself by taking an overdose of malaria pills. She asks herself whether she will be able to find the strength and courage to take her life. These pills have become a lethal weapon. Questions begin to rattle through her mind.

Fear of the unknown; the uncertainties about heaven. She is uncertain about such things, “Could the Bible underneath my pillow provide me with the assurance of going to Heaven? What about the pain of dying? Is death such a painless event after all? Why then do we tremble at the very mention of the word? Now Fatima has come to a realisation. She has come to an understanding about herself. She says she now knows what pain is all about:

“Pain is a woman. Pain is a woman watching her son being burnt to death while people sing and dance to songs of freedom. Pain is when your six-year-old daughter disappears never to be seen again. Fatima though on the verge of committing suicide as well, she says she is sure pills would be less painful than hanging oneself with barbed wire, as Takundwa did. There is no better way of dying between the two forms of suicide as they are both condemned in the Holy book.

The only advantage Fatima has over Takundwa is that she has not committed the act but is hesitant to carry out the act. She is held back by a hidden hand she cannot see. She is pained by the death of her two children, Lovemore and Tabitha. Sofia, her only surviving child is languishing in a remand cell, awaiting trial for the murder of her husband. She has heard that they cut off the heads of murderers, and throw them to the dogs.

This is too much to bear for Fatima. Life is unbearable while carrying such a heavy burden inside her heart. How could she live on knowing that she was a mother of a child whose head and dreams were cut off and thrown to the dogs? All these feelings and thoughts are coming from Fatima. She has bitter feelings about her late husband, Joseph Takundwa. Fatima says she will always curse the day she met her late husband. His incurable greed has been the source of all her problems.

Fatima is in total darkness ever since she met Takundwa. The chain of events that have triggered off this darkness according to her can be traced back to Takundwa’s insatiable lust for money. We are told he spent his whole life in pursuit of wealth. Yet for all his efforts, he left behind nothing except this chain of graves that have been dug very close to her heart. Fatima cannot forget problems that have been brought upon her ever since she met Takundwa.

Despite enduring all these problems brought upon her by Takundwa’s desire for wealth, she remains human. She describes the sight of Joseph Takundwa when she found him hanging from the rafters. “That should be the darkest corner of the room, the corner where I found him hanging from the rafters, fresh blood pouring out of his gaping mouth. The sharp thorns of barbed wire had sunk deep into the now swollen neck muscles. I will never forget the conflict of emotions that I had to endure at that moment.

“One part of me wanted to spit at him, dead as he was. However, the other more human side, the side where the tenderness of motherhood lies, felt sorry for this pitifully wasted . . . Will Fatima end her life? ‘Life must be the most precious gift from God’, my voice whispers, as my hand hesitantly touches the cold bottle again.” She says Sofia’s trial is the one and only meaningful event that is now left in her life. She decides to kneel down and pray for Sofia.

All this is just part of the answer of the given question. As stated earlier it is a very wide question which can be addressed in many sessions. Learners are at liberty to add more views as well as tackle other characters.

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