An additional theme in the story is the way in which the anti-apartheid struggle allowed women to challenge traditional gender roles and become empowered through political activity. Initially, it’s Sonny who’s the political activist in the family, leading his students in a demonstration at school.
But after Sonny is subsequently sent to prison for his role in the demonstration, his wife Aila and his daughter Baby pick up the baton and actively involve themselves in the anti-apartheid movement. This gives them, and many other women like them, the chance to pursue a role in life that isn’t solely concerned with catering to the needs of their menfolk. It’s notable that as Aila and Baby become more deeply involved in the anti-apartheid struggle, Sonny’s role within his own household diminishes significantly. In fighting to end apartheid, Aila and Baby are also fighting to change women’s lives in South Africa.
The anti-apartheid...
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struggle also proves to be an empowering experience for Hannah, the White woman who becomes Sonny’s lover. Though a member of the privileged White minority, Hannah’s still held back in this male-dominated society simply by virtue of being a woman. Campaigning for the destruction of apartheid gives her a rare opportunity to stand up as a woman and loudly proclaim her voice.
I would argue that there are two prevailing themes in this great novel of Gordimer's: the plight of Black South Africans under Apartheid, and the effects of marital infidelity on families.
Sonny's actions in becoming involved with the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa sheds a spotlight on the barbarism and hatefulness of this regime. The fact that he, and many others, had to fight for the liberty of their people and then spent time in jail for it, highlights the fate of black South Africans of the time. The unfairness of Apartheid is further highlighted by the fact that the family is unwelcome in the white neighborhood of Johannesburg into which they move. Aila's later arrest, also for her participation in the struggle, adds yet another layer to this theme.
The other prevailing theme I mentioned relates to the effect of Sonny's unfaithfulness to Aila. While he is in jail, he falls in love with another woman, Hannah, and as he fights his urge to leave Aila for Hannah, his attitude towards both Aila and their children deteriorates—and this does not go unnoticed by anyone. While he is able to somewhat repair his relationship with his son later in the story, the anger that Will feels towards him for his unfaithfulness never really disappears.
One of the most dominant themes in the Gordimer short story revolves around the intensely unsettling reality of Apartheid. The racial condition that facilitates Apartheid is the backdrop to the story. Racial prejudice impacts all of the characters in some form or another. This theme underscores and undercuts the relationships in the story. It is Apartheid and racial injustice that moves Sonny into a realm of political activism, causing the emotional disruption to his family.
In an intricate move, Gordimer also uses the issue of race as a social construct to help explain human interactions. The impact of race on personal relationships becomes evident when Will describes Hannah: “Of course she is blonde. The wet dreams I have, a schoolboy who’s never slept with a woman, are blonde. It's an infection brought to us by the laws that have decided what we are, and what they are- the blond ones." Such a statement painfully reflects how race and ethnicity are social constructs that have manifested themselves within the psyche of the individual. The issue of race brought on by the social prejudice of Apartheid is a significant theme in the novel.
From this, Gordimer is able to pivot to the complexity within human relationships. This complexity within the emotional realm is another theme in My Son's Story. No relationship in the novel is direct, as each one is the result of complex intersections of other ones. For example, the relationship between Sonny and Aila might seem direct and traditional. Yet, as Sonny becomes more political, its alienating qualities makes it complex. A force of social unity ends up becoming more divisive. In Aila's embrace of political activism, greater human complexity is seen. The simplicity that she once craved in her traditional relationship with Sonny becomes supplanted with a revolutionary fervor that makes Sonny's activism tame by comparison.
Sonny struggles to find emotional contentment with his revolutionary activities, his relationship with Hannah, and his role as a husband and father. Sonny struggles with this aspect of his identity, reflective of the complexity within his being. Political activism and personal disenchantment becomes a part of Sonny's identity, adding to even more complexity to his characterization. Part of this complexity is seen in how the women in Sonny's life become the political force that he intended to be. The theme of complexity within human relationships is integral to the thematic understanding of My Son's Story.