ABSTRACT
The second chapter discusses the significance of the position of being an outsider in Marechera’s utopianism. It addresses the fact that the main characters in Marechera’s work are cast as outsiders who constantly yearn for an escape from the society in which they live. For Marechera, if the individual wants to retain the capacity of examining society critically and independently, they must become one of society’s “outsiders”. That is to say, this yearning to stand outside of every social, historical or political discourse is a necessary prerequisite to imagining an alternative way of being. As a result, this chapter deals with the intriguing relationship between Marechera’s “outsider” figures and the utopian visions projected in his work. It argues that, for Marechera, the outsider is the only position that allows one to look at society from a perspective free of the subterranean influences of prevalent ideologies.
