Bessie Head

Bessie Head (1937-1986)

African Writing in English

South African writer, whose works express the struggles for individual identity within a community and in the face of a variety of difficult social conditions.Head is best known for her novel A Question of Power (1973), the first part of which is autobiographical. The novel describes the experiences of its protagonist, Elizabeth, a native of South Africa who lives alone in Botswana. The book follows Elizabeth's attempts to make sense of the world around her, a world that poses itself as rational, despite apartheid and masculine dominance. The book's themes include madness, exile, sexuality, and the nature of good and evil, all of which are treated within a metaphysical world influenced by Head's blend of Hindu philosophy and Christianity. The novel is rich in symbolism and can be read with psychoanalytic theories in mind. Head's other works include When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), The Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales (1977), Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind (1981), and A Bewitched Crossroad: An African Saga (1984).