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Black South African Women Writers: Narrating the Self, Narrating the Nation

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Black South African Women Writers: Narrating the Self, Narrating the Nation ABSTRACT Title of Document: BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN WRITERS: NARRATING THE SELF, NARRATING THE NATION Barbara-Anne Boswell Doctor of Philosophy, 2010 Directed By: A. Lynn Bolles and Deborah Rosenfelt, Professors, Department of Women’s Studies This dissertation examines the ways in which Black women writers construct the South African nation in their fiction. Based on analyses of four novels, Miriam Tlali’s Muriel at Metropolitan (1979), Lauretta Ngcobo’s And They Didn’t Die (1989), Zoë Wicomb’s David’s Story (2000), and Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother (1998), it examines how those most disenfranchised by the policy of apartheid in South Africa articulated, configure and re-imagine the nation through their writing. It also investigates how these women writers construct themselves as writing subjects in a society that has historically denied them creative and personal agency. I view Black women’s writing as a form of activism and resistance to apartheid, and situate the production of their novels within the larger political context of twentieth century South Africa. The dissertation thus focuses on the ways in which the apartheid doctrine affected Black women’s lives politically and as producers of writing. Drawing theoretically on Mamphele Ramphela’s conceptualizations of space, Carole Boyce Davies’ formulation of Black women writers as “migratory” subjects, and life course theory, I analyze life history interviews with four writers in an attempt to map the ways they transcended their “received” identities as laborers and reproducers of labor for the apartheid nation, to become authors of their own lives and works. I expand traditional feminist definitions of agency, arguing that, for these women, writing became an act that was cumulatively agentic, instilling in them increased personal agency. This outcome was the opposite of the apartheid’s state intended goal of oppressing and silencing these writers. I further argue that in writing, the authors were engaged in creative re-visioning - a subject’s ability to re-envision or reimagine what is possible for her to achieve within her lifetime. The dissertation then goes on to examine four novels produced by Tlali, Ngcobo, Magona, and Wicomb, emphasizing the ways in which these texts undermine unitary, masculinist forms of nationalisms, be these apartheid or emerging African nationalisms. I conclude by proposing a Black South African feminist literary criticism as a means for producing literary texts about Black women and as a methodology for interpreting such texts. BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN WRITERS: NARRATING THE SELF, NARRATING THE NATION By Barbara-Anne Boswell Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Professor A. Lynn Bolles, Chair Professor Deborah Rosenfelt, Chair Professor Elsa Barkley Brown Professor Merle Collins Professor Angel David Nieves © Copyright by Barbara-Anne Boswell 2010 Dedication For my mother, Una Boswell, and son, Jesse Meintjes ii Acknowledgements I am grateful for the financial support of the Fulbright Foundation, the University of Maryland’s Graduate School, and the Ann Wylie Fellowship, and the time and space these afforded me in order to focus on my research. Thank you to Lora Lempert, Lindsay Clowes, Eronini Megwa, and Freek Robinson for believing in my potential as a scholar and writer. The faculty members of the Department of Women’s Studies have been outstanding in their support of my developing academic career. I will never be fully able to express the depth of my gratitude to Claire Moses, who facilitated my smooth transition from South Africa to the USA; Katie King, who opened up for me new ways of seeing the world, and with her outstanding feminist pedagogy, made me feel welcome in an alien academic setting; Seung-kyung Kim, my first U.S.-based teacher of feminist theory, whom I credit for my excellent grounding in U.S. feminist theory; and Elsa Barkley Brown, who taught me the most rigorous methods in feminist archival research, and who has unstintingly supported my progress through the program. I am additionally indebted to Dr. Barkley Brown, Angel Nieves, and Merle Collins for serving on my dissertation committee. Their intellectual rigor has shaped me as a scholar, and their guidance in conducting my fieldwork and other research has been invaluable. I am also grateful to Bonnie Thornton Dill, who has been an excellent mentor in developing my teaching skills, and Michelle Rowley, who, on several occasions, generously reviewed my work in progress. Ruth Enid Zambrana has been a source of support since my first year, and I value her willingness to strategize about my progress. My gratitude to my academic advisors, Lynn Bolles and iii Deborah Rosenfelt, knows no bounds. Both have been exceedingly generous with their time and intellectual gifts. I am thankful for the many hours spent in Dr. Bolles office, mulling over ideas, taking copious notes, and above all, for her unshakable faith in me. Thank you for your encouragement and for keeping me on track. Dr. Rosenfelt has been a most supportive advisor, and I am grateful for her wisdom and kindness, her consistent support, and her skill in helping me organize my thoughts on paper. Her revisions have strengthened this project and have made me a better scholar. Life as a graduate student can be difficult, but its burdens have been greatly lightened by the staff in our department. Annie Carter has helped me through many challenging situations, and was often my first point of contact. Cliffornia Howard has been a great help in navigating some of the more bureaucratic aspects of university life. She always did this with great cheer and a big smile. Ms. Nichols has been a great support and a wise counselor in times of need. Their seemingly small gestures of kindness alleviated much of the anxieties that were a part of the graduate experience. I am also indebted to Pumla Dineo Gqola from the Witwatersrand University for assistance with my research, words of encouragement, and faith in my project, and Drs. Renetta Garrison Tull and Wendy Carter from the Promise AGEP for Maryland, who supported me through several writing retreats. I want to acknowledge my South African friends in the U.S.: Carol Corneilse, Roy Gentle, Jillian and Matt Newby, Samantha and Craig Ellis, Arlene Maree, Nokwenza Plaatjies, Kaye Dirks, Neo Ramoupi, and the late Chunku Ramoupi. Their iv hospitality, delicious cooking, endless cups of tea, and warm hearts made me feel at home in a foreign country, and for that I am truly thankful. Angel Miles, Jing Song, Bianca Laureano, Rajani Bhatia, and Kimberlee Staking have my eternal gratitude for their intellectual insights, friendship, love, and support. I am especially grateful to Bianca for reading and commenting on drafts of this work. Similarly, Kimberlee has been invaluable in editing, commenting on drafts, and helping me conceptualize this study. I have deep appreciation for years of Kimberlee’s Monday morning check-ins, for her kind words and deeds, and unfailing encouragement. I am thankful, above all, for the support of my family. My siblings, Nina and Manfred McKenzie have encouraged me all the way. My son, Jesse Meintjes, consistently brings grace, humor, and joy into my life, and made the task of writing less arduous; his father, Robert Meintjes has been supportive, spending many hours providing his excellent editing skills. To my mother, Una Boswell: I am grateful for your support and faith in me, for the weekly doses of laughter, for teaching me early on the value of education, and for expecting a great deal of me. My partner, Ranetta Hardin has been unwavering in her love and encouragement, and has sustained me through this process. She has helped me clarify my thinking through many conversations, and has provided valuable comments on work in progress. Thank you! Finally, this work would not have been possible without the generosity of the writers interviewed. I am thankful to Miriam Tlali, Lauretta Ngcobo, Sindiwe Magona, and Gladys Thomas for granting me access to their lives. It has been a privilege to meet you and learn from you. v Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Theoretical Framing: The “Nation,” Postcoloniality, and Black South African Women’s Writing...................................................................................................... 6 The Politics of Citation in Feminist Literary Criticism: Engaging with the Other . 14 Race and Subjectivity: Defining Black Women ..................................................... 22 Locating Myself Within This Research Project ...................................................... 28 Organization of Chapters ........................................................................................ 38 Chapter 2: Locating Black Women Writers in South African History: Black Women’s Activism and Writing .................................................................................................
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