The Wisdom of Madness: A Post-Colonial Reading of Selected Novels by Bessie Head
Heba Mohamed Mahmoud El-Koussey;
Abstract
The present thesis attempts to probe into the wisdom of
madness, or rather the reasons which lead to neurosis as revealed
in the fiction of Bessie Head, the South African writer. Many
Africans knew that they could change their reality and resist the
white master who controlled their lives. Many others however
fell victims to mental and psychological disorders which are
logical consequences to the horrors of colonial racist regimes.
Neurosis can be accompanied with hallucinations when the
patient imagines either good or bad things in his mind. Head‟s
novels are the most remarkable articulation of such hallucinations
and neurotic manifestations. These novels are A Question of
Power (1973), When Rain Clouds Gather (1969) and The
Cardinals (1993). A Question of Power is an autobiography of
Head‟s own life under mental and psychological disorders. Both
When Rain Clouds Gather and The Cardinals also feature
neurotic characters who barely tolerate Apartheid and exile.
In WRCG, Head shows how Makhaya, the hero of the
novel, suffers psychologically due to white colonialism. White
colonialism causes Makhaya, Paulina and other characters in the
novel to suffer from an identity crisis. Head indicates the relation
between these psychological disorders and the racism of the
white colonialists.
QP, the second novel this thesis analyses, is a
representation of neurosis. Head is particularly a neurotic patient,
and she represents her mental illness through Elizabeth, the
protagonist of the novel. The white colonial evil powers are
143
symbolized in Dan, Medusa and Sello, three imaginary characters
that appear in Elizabeth‟s hallucinations. They humiliate
Elizabeth and oppress her.
The Cardinals is the third novel that describes the
traumatic effect of racial discrimination on South Africans.
Mouse, the silenced protagonist of the novel deals with white
oppression by resorting to silence. Mouse suffers from an
identity crisis. Mouse is an expressive name for her because she
madness, or rather the reasons which lead to neurosis as revealed
in the fiction of Bessie Head, the South African writer. Many
Africans knew that they could change their reality and resist the
white master who controlled their lives. Many others however
fell victims to mental and psychological disorders which are
logical consequences to the horrors of colonial racist regimes.
Neurosis can be accompanied with hallucinations when the
patient imagines either good or bad things in his mind. Head‟s
novels are the most remarkable articulation of such hallucinations
and neurotic manifestations. These novels are A Question of
Power (1973), When Rain Clouds Gather (1969) and The
Cardinals (1993). A Question of Power is an autobiography of
Head‟s own life under mental and psychological disorders. Both
When Rain Clouds Gather and The Cardinals also feature
neurotic characters who barely tolerate Apartheid and exile.
In WRCG, Head shows how Makhaya, the hero of the
novel, suffers psychologically due to white colonialism. White
colonialism causes Makhaya, Paulina and other characters in the
novel to suffer from an identity crisis. Head indicates the relation
between these psychological disorders and the racism of the
white colonialists.
QP, the second novel this thesis analyses, is a
representation of neurosis. Head is particularly a neurotic patient,
and she represents her mental illness through Elizabeth, the
protagonist of the novel. The white colonial evil powers are
143
symbolized in Dan, Medusa and Sello, three imaginary characters
that appear in Elizabeth‟s hallucinations. They humiliate
Elizabeth and oppress her.
The Cardinals is the third novel that describes the
traumatic effect of racial discrimination on South Africans.
Mouse, the silenced protagonist of the novel deals with white
oppression by resorting to silence. Mouse suffers from an
identity crisis. Mouse is an expressive name for her because she
Other data
| Title | The Wisdom of Madness: A Post-Colonial Reading of Selected Novels by Bessie Head | Other Titles | حكمة الجنون: قراءة ما بعد كولونيالية لبعض روايات بيسي هيد | Authors | Heba Mohamed Mahmoud El-Koussey | Issue Date | 2014 |
Recommend this item
Similar Items from Core Recommender Database
Items in Ain Shams Scholar are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.