Abstract
The recent histories of South Africa and Brazil share many commonalities. Most
obviously, both have experienced a shared political history of democratic transition.
Two somewhat similar forms of socio-political oppression and manipulation --
military rule in Brazil (end 1985) and South African apartheid (end 1994) – have
been replaced by democratic regimes and exceedingly optimistic hopes for the future.
Yet neither transition has been as smooth as expected. Consequently, a liminal
situation has been created where past and present discourses compete for space. This
has recently been explored in each country’s respective literatures: K. Sello Duiker’s
The Quiet Violence of Dreams and Rodrigo de Souza Leão’s All Dogs Are Blue are
just two examples. This article will explore the common theme of madness in these
novels to highlight liminality. In particular, I argue the treatment of insanity denies
the patient’s individualism and replicates the identity politics of the colonial situation.
This I suggest reveals how postcolonial modernity in Brazil and South Africa relies on
a continuing and normalised psycho-politics of otherness. Further, I will consider
questions revolving around language, reliability and everyday emotions, focusing on
the uncomfortable juxtaposition of global, national and local in both countries as they
struggle to enter the modern world order. Ultimately, the only way we can alleviate
madness and harness the social benefits of modernity and globalisation comes...