Search for Female Space in Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People

Abstract

Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People tells the story of Maureen Smales, a white lady fleeing Johannesburg with her family during the civil unrest of the 1980s that uprooted apartheid in South Africa. Maureen and her family are under the mercy of their black servant, July, who now is their only saviour and hope for life. However, during her stay in the countryside, she discovers that the female’s space in the society was much more restricted than it was actually supposed to be. Thereby, who starts Maureen’s next venture, besides safety of her family; search for female’s space in the traditional society restricted by orthodox norms and values. While staying in July’s house at ‘hard times,’ she realizes the fact that as July’s wife and mother, she has been commodified not only by her husband Bam, but also by July because of her economic dependency upon the male. As a result, to create her own female space via economic independence, she abandons her family including her three children and her husband Ban, as Nora in A Doll’s House does without caring about the uncertain future.