The Story of an African Farm

Content Warning: This section discusses racist stereotypes, with outdated and offensive language used to describe indigenous peoples replicated only in explanations or direct quotations.

The Story of an African Farm takes place at the height of 19th-century colonialism. From the 1880s to the 1914 outbreak of World War I, the entire continent of Africa was engulfed in the so-called “Scramble for Africa,” when competing European nations battled over control of various African territories. Both the Dutch and the British laid claims on South Africa, where the novel is set, and fought wars over their sovereignty. The novel was published only two years after the First Boer War (1880-81), when the Dutch-speaking Boers triumphed over the British; however, that victory was only temporary, as the Second Boer War (1899-1902) resulted in a victory for the British Empire. While the specific politics of colonialism are mostly obscured throughout the novel, the setting is infused with its structures and inequities. Racism and racial or ethnic divisions are inherent in the project of colonialism, and their influence on social conventions is inescapable.

For example, the household on the farm encompasses multiple languages: Otto speaks German, Tant’ Sannie and Em speak Dutch, Lyndall speaks English, and the Black servants speak a variety of local languages and European tongues. All of this is the result of imperial incursions and the ensuing social arrangements. Servants are variously referred to by the obsolete and offensive terms “Kaffir” and “Hottentot,” which delineate what the colonists deemed a racial hierarchy: The “black Kaffir maids” are considered of lower status than the “yellow Hottentot maid” (51). Tant’ Sannie’s personal beliefs are steeped in the blend of scientific racism and religious bigotry perpetuated by colonialism: “Tant’ Sannie held they [the Black Africans] were descended from apes, and needed no salvation” (69). Off the page, it is clear that these prejudices have manifested themselves in violence. When Waldo speaks about the “Bushman-paintings” in Chapter 2, he notes that the people who made them are gone: “Now the Boers have shot them all” (50). This injustice and cruelty inform some of Waldo’s doubts about the sanctity of Christianity; the actions of the colonizers appear to be at odds with their stated beliefs.

Though primarily concerned with its white main characters, the novel offers glimpses into the experiences of its Black supporting cast, who engage in covert acts of resistance. When Otto preaches to the indigenous boys, for instance, they “wink[] at each other and work[] as slowly as they possibly [can]” (39). The wink underscores that the boys are not lazy, as colonialist rhetoric would have it; they challenge the German’s authority and indoctrination in small but meaningful ways.

Colonialism also influences the roles of women and the rules of marriage. Marriages occur quickly and mostly out of convenience: Running an isolated farm on the African plain requires the coordination of many, including an indigenous workforce. The colonizers rigidly uphold social “propriety” to both reinforce hierarchical power structures and claim moral superiority. Lyndall’s rejection of these proprieties, along with Waldo’s eventual dismissal of traditional religious belief, represent the author’s greatest criticisms of the colonial system. It is telling that Schreiner originally published the book under the male pseudonym Ralph Iron—a name that suggests masculine solidity. Coming from a woman, her critiques would not have been considered serious, legitimate, or even appropriate. The male name lends her authority, upending the traditional hierarchy while simultaneously reinforcing it.