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How to cite this thesis

Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Index?site_name=Research%20Output (Accessed: Date). MAYA ANGELOU: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY

NADENE HARISUNKER

MA DISSERTATION

submitted in fulfilment of the

requirements for the degree

MASTER OF ARTS

PSYCHOLOGY (CLINICAL)

In the

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

at the

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

Supervisor: Dr. C.F. Saccaggi

2016

Acknowledgements I dedicate this to my parents, Brian and Maggie Harisunker, without whom nothing would be possible. Thank you for your love and support.

I want to thank Viren for his love and support. You have been there with me through every step of my journey and I am truly grateful.

To my supervisor, Carol, you are amazing. Your patience and hard work through this project really helped me through. I knew that you were dedicated to me and to this research and this would not have been possible without you.

To my best friends, Lara and Sam, thank you for your love and support. Your belief in me helped me through this project.

To my fellow Masters group, you are amazing and supportive family.

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Abstract: The main aim of this study was to explore and understand the life of Maya Angelou through the application of Frankl’s existential psychology using a psychobiographical method. Maya Angelou was an exemplary and highly influential individual who authored many books, wrote plays, poetry and starred in movies. Her life had difficult beginnings during times of racial prejudice and strife in the 1930s. The major themes within her life were aligned with the concepts inherent to Frankl’s theory. Frankl’s theory encompasses the notions of striving for a purpose where all human beings have a spiritual core that seek the discovery of meaning. The study revolved around these core themes and involved an exploration of the entirety of Maya Angelou’s life with the secondary aims of contributing to psychobiographical research as a whole and exploring and illuminating Frankl’s theory through the application of his concepts. Data was extracted, organised and analysed according to the methods set out by Miles, Huberman and Saldaña (2014), as well as saliences set out by Alexander (in Schultz, 2005b) and Schultz (2005b). The major findings of the study were that Maya Angelou was not open to the discovery of meaning during her childhood years. As she got older, she began to strive for purpose in her life and this opened her up to meaning moments. She wanted to help others, be creative and enjoyed the experiences that she had with other people. These fulfilled her and gave her meaning, allowing her to change and extend beyond herself to other people and to the further discovery of meaning. The major contributions of this study are the analysis of Maya Angelou’s life, the use of Frankl’s theory as an explanatory framework within a psychobiographical analysis and the development of the research method of psychobiography.

Table of Contents AFFIDAVIT: MASTER AND DOCTORAL STUDENTS ...... ii Acknowledgements ...... iii Abstract: ...... iv Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Chapter preview ...... 1 1.2 Orientation to the study ...... 1 1.2.1 The subject of study ...... 1 1.2.2 The psychobiographical method ...... 1 1.2.3 Theoretical framework...... 2 1.3 Aim of the research ...... 2 1.4. Structure of the study ...... 3 1.5 Summary of chapter 1 ...... 3 Chapter 2: The life of Maya Angelou ...... 4 2.1 Introduction ...... 4 2.2 Introduction of childhood ...... 4 2.2.1 Childhood ...... 5 2.2.2 Summary of childhood years ...... 9 2.3 Introduction to teenage years ...... 10 2.3.1 Teenage years (1941 – 1945) ...... 10 2.3.2 Summary of teenage years ...... 11 2.4 Introduction to early adulthood ...... 12 2.4.1 Early adulthood ...... 12 2.4.2 Summary of early adulthood ...... 17 2.5 Introduction to middle adulthood ...... 18 2.5.1 Middle adulthood ...... 18 2.5.2 Summary of middle adulthood ...... 22 2.6 Introduction to becoming a writer: The remaining years ...... 22 2.6.1 Becoming a writer: The remaining years ...... 22 2.6.2 Summary of becoming a writer: The remaining years ...... 24 2.7 Schultz’s prototypical scenes: ...... 24 2.8 Conclusion ...... 26 Chapter 3: Frankl’s existential psychology ...... 27 3.1 Introduction ...... 27

3.2 The roots of Frankl’s theory ...... 27 3.3 The history and development of Frankl’s existential psychology ...... 28 3.4 Frankl’s existential psychology ...... 29 3.5 The tri-dimensional view of human beings ...... 30 3.6 Development of neuroses ...... 31 3.7 Frankl’s triads ...... 33 3.7.1 The fundamental triad ...... 33 3.7.2 The meaning triad ...... 36 3.7.3 The tragic triad ...... 37 3.7.4 Summary of the triads ...... 39 3.8 Critique of Frankl’s theory and therapy ...... 39 3.9 The contributions of Frankl’s theory ...... 40 3.10 Conclusion and applications to psychobiography ...... 41 Chapter 4: Psychobiography ...... 42 4.1 Introduction ...... 42 4.2 Qualitative research ...... 42 4.3 Psychobiography: A definition ...... 43 4.4 History and development of the field of psychobiography ...... 44 4.5 Value and contribution of psychobiography...... 45 4.6 Criticism of psychobiography ...... 47 4.7 Methodology: how to go about doing a psychobiography ...... 48 4.7.1 Sample and subject choice ...... 49 4.7.2 Choice of theory ...... 49 4.7.3 Data collection ...... 49 4.7.4 Data analysis ...... 50 4.7.5 Quality ...... 51 4.7.6 Ethics ...... 53 4.8 Conclusion ...... 53 Chapter 5: Method ...... 54 5.1 Introduction: ...... 54 5.2 Subject choice and timeline ...... 54 5.3 Theory chosen ...... 54 5.4 Data collection ...... 55 5.5 Data extraction...... 57

5.6 Data analysis ...... 58 5.7 Quality ...... 59 5.8 Ethics ...... 60 5.9 Reflexivity ...... 60 5.10 Conclusion ...... 61 Chapter 6: Analysis and discussion ...... 62 6.1 Introduction ...... 62 6.1.1 The discovery of meaning ...... 62 6.2 Understanding the various phases of Maya’s life: Applying Frankl’s theory to Maya ...... 62 6.2.1 Childhood (1931-1940) ...... 62 6.2.2 Teenage years (1941-1945) ...... 68 6.2.3 Early adulthood (1945 – 1955) ...... 70 6.2.4 Middle adulthood (1955 – 1965) ...... 75 6.2.5 Remaining years (1965 – 2014) ...... 78 Table 1: Themes across various phases of Maya's life ...... 82 6.2.6 The awareness of meaning ...... 84 6.3 A succinct view through the life: Applying Maya to Frankl ...... 85 6.3.1 Tri-dimension view of human beings ...... 85 6.3.2 Neuroses ...... 86 6.3.3 Fundamental triad...... 87 6.3.4 Meaning triad ...... 90 6.3.5 Tragic Triad ...... 93 6.4 Summary and conclusion ...... 96 Chapter 7: Conclusion ...... 97 7.1. Chapter preview ...... 97 7.2 Aims of the study ...... 97 7.3 Summary of findings ...... 97 7.4. Value of the study ...... 98 7.5 Limitations of the study ...... 99 7.6. Recommendations for future research ...... 99 7.7. Summary ...... 100 References: ...... 101 Appendix A :Alexanders Saliences: (Angelou, 2004; 2013) ...... 107 Appendix B: Major themes within Alexander’s Saliences:...... 129

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Appendix C: Chronology...... 134

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Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Chapter preview Maya Angelou was the first Black female to recite a poem for a presidential inauguration in America and to win an award for her autobiographies. She was known for her kindness, influence, resilience and being an individual who wanted to make positive changes in the world (Challener, 1997; Winfrey, 2000). She was a creative individual who contributed to the genres of autobiography, art and the civil rights movement in America (Carlson, 1988; Lupton, 1998). This study involves an understanding of the life of Maya Angelou and this chapter includes an overview of the study. The aim of the study is first set out and then an orientation to the study is given. This gives information about the type of study, the subject under study and the theoretical framework. Thereafter, a structure of the study is provided.

1.2 Orientation to the study 1.2.1 The subject of study The subject under study is Maya Angelou (hereafter referred to as Maya). Maya (1924-2014) was a world renowned African American female poet, author, playwright and teacher who experienced numerous struggles throughout her lifetime. These are chronicled in her extensive autobiographies that contain personal commentary and a reflexive engagement with her socio-historical milieu (Angelou, 2004). The books, beginning with I Know why the Caged Bird Sings (Angelou, 2004), span over 40 years of her life beginning with her move to her paternal grandmother’s home at the age of 3. Maya was blatantly honest and transparent within her books and her contextualising enabled an understanding of the social and political climate during her life (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her writing inspired many people worldwide as she was able to engage with her struggles and change her attitude to overcome them (Agins, 2013).

1.2.2 The psychobiographical method This research utilised the psychobiographical method. Psychobiographies are valuable in contributing to the field of psychology through understanding human behaviour and personality, application and illumination of theory, and an interpretation of a unique life (Ponterotto, 2013, 2014; Runyan, 2005, 2006; Schultz, 2005a). Psychobiographical studies are qualitative in their approach and fall into the case study and narrative life history research categories (Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010; Kőváry, 2011; Schultz, 2005a). This type of research entails the use of a psychological theory to fully and deeply understand a human life

1 as it allows for subjective engagement and understanding. Psychobiographical studies involve an in-depth exploration of the nuances across and within an individual’s entire lifespan (Ponterotto, 2013, 2014).

1.2.3 Theoretical framework Frankl’s existential psychological theory was chosen because of the alignment to the nuances and themes of Maya’s life (Frankl, 1985). Frankl developed his therapy called logotherapy or ‘meaning through therapy’ based on his view of human nature where people are constantly striving for a ‘will to meaning’ (Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1985, 2011). His theory is based on the concepts within his therapy. The ‘will to meaning’ is a direct result of the spiritual core within all human beings. This forms the basis of Frankl’s ontological approach: the noogenic (human spirit) dimension was a pivotal tenet of Frankl’s theory as it is what differentiates humans from animals. People exist, but what is most important is the how and why of their existence (Crumbaugh, 1971).

According to Frankl (2011), meaning is a search and has to be discovered through actively engaging with life (Meyer, 1997). Individuals can either choose to allow external factors to determine their life, or have the courage to face life’s challenges and become an active participant. To discover meaning is to transcend and be guided by the spiritual self, it is the essence of human beings and encapsulates the main elements of Frankl’s ontology (Esping, 2010; Shantall, 1997).

1.3 Aim of the research The primary aim of this study was to gain an in-depth holistic psychological understanding of the entire life of Maya Angelou using the lens provided by Frankl’s theory. This was attempted through engaging with her complexities in order to understand her journey towards becoming a fulfilled individual who was able to make many contributions (Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998). As a secondary aim, the application of psychological theory also allowed for the understanding of theoretical concepts and their applications (Schultz, 2005a). These aims were addressed by meeting the following specific objectives: 1. To expand the knowledge on and develop a psychological portrait of Maya Angelou through the application of Frankl’s existential theory; 2. To contribute to the understanding of influential individuals through the application of the psychobiographical method;

3. To illuminate Frankl’s psychological existentialist theory through the application of the psychobiographical method

1.4. Structure of the study Chapter 1: Introduction: The first chapter provides an overview of the study including aims, methodology and theoretical framework. Chapter 2: Maya Angelou: This chapter provides a chronological description of her life, paying special attention to the main psychological themes and salient issues. Chapter 3: Theoretical framework: This chapter will describe the history and development, and the concepts germane to Frankl’s theory, especially with regards to his view of human nature. Chapter 4: Psychobiography: The fourth chapter introduces the reader to the psychobiographical method including the history and development of the field, value and contribution and criticisms of the field. Chapter 5: Method: This chapter includes an explanation of methodological techniques used for selection, analysis and interpretation of data, quality assurance and ethical considerations within this study. Chapter 6: Findings and Discussion: involves the application of the psychobiographical method within the framework of Frankl’s theory to the life of Maya Angelou with the aim of reaching an understanding of the themes within her life. Chapter 7: Conclusion: conclusions drawn from the study as well as any limitations of the study and recommendations for further study.

1.5 Summary of chapter 1 This chapter introduced the major aim of the research. It detailed the subject under study, the method of study and the theoretical framework applied. The chapter that follows provides a chronological overview of the life of Maya Angelou.

Chapter 2: The life of Maya Angelou 2.1 Introduction This chapter provides a psychological historical overview of the life of Maya Angelou. Her life is presented in a chronological manner and includes her context (political, social, cultural) and various awards, accolades and publications. The contextualisation of Maya’s life assists in providing a holistic presentation of her life. The chapter is interspersed with various quotes from Maya to incorporate her voice and presence. The life overview is not an attempt at a new biography but uses information from other sources to provide a chronology while highlighting psychologically prominent themes or events (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). This chapter is organised in sections to account for the transitions which defined many phases of Maya’s life. The manner in which these phases were identified are explained in the method chapter. Saliencies are integrated into the sections and prototypical scenes close off the chapter (Schultz, 2005b). To allow for consistency, the name Maya was used throughout the chapter as it was the name she used for publications, and Guy was used for her son as this was the name he chose to be called (Angelou, 2004). This chapter is split into several sections which are different from the way that Maya split her life within her autobiographical series. There is a lot of information within her books and it made sense to split her life into even smaller sections to illustrate the various nuances within her life. The sections are as follows: childhood, teenage years, early adulthood, middle adulthood and remaining years/becoming a writer. These sections are further split into phases of her life to account for the movement within her life. Each section is introduced with the aims of contextualising the subsequent phases and concludes with a summary of themes. The first section is Maya’s childhood which is contextualised within her family life.

2.2 Introduction of childhood Maya’s childhood involved a lot of movement and conflict. The childhood phase of her life is covered in her first autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (Angelou, 2004). Her family was very influential in her life and it is necessary to understand their dynamic. Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St Louis, Missouri on the 4th of April 1928 to parents Vivian Baxter and Bailey Johnson Senior. Maya had a brother, Bailey, who was a year older than her (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). Maya’s first memories began at the age of 3 when her parents’ tumultuous marriage ended in divorce and she and Bailey were sent to live with their paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2013; Lupton, 1998). The ‘Deep South’, as Stamps was known, was entrenched in

4 racism where there was a lack of rights and privileges for Black people. Stamps was divided by train tracks splitting the town and “the segregation was so complete that most Black children didn’t really, absolutely know what whites looked like” (Angelou, 2004, p. 24).

2.2.1 Childhood 2.2.1.1 Life in Stamps (1931-1934) Maya and Bailey lived in Stamps with their grandmother for four years. Those years were pivotal to her development as it had much influence over her involvement against racism. The siblings lived in the ‘Black part’ of town behind the William Johnson General Store, which their grandmother owned. They were raised by their strict and religious paternal grandmother and her son, Uncle Willie (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998).

Maya remembered her grandmother, or Momma, and Uncle Willie fondly, although she was aware of the lack of expressive love – both physical and verbal (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Maya was never hugged or held and Momma was especially embarrassed by any show of emotion that was not directly linked to religion. Maya recalled that her grandmother would have “been more surprised than I had she taken me in her arms…Her world was bordered on all sides with work, duty, religion” (Angelou, 2004, p. 47). Bailey was the closest person to Maya. She adored him and loved him enormously and this was reciprocated. Maya believed that her “pretty Black brother was my Kingdom Come” (Angelou, 2004, p. 23) and despite the difference in their looks “he loved me” (Angelou, 2004, p. 21). Maya had low self-esteem and thought of herself as ugly. She was painfully aware of the disparity in physical appearance between herself and Bailey. She was a very shy child and Bailey was her only friend (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

Momma and Uncle Willie were important figures in Maya’s life (Lupton, 1998). Uncle Willie played a father figure to Maya and she “would have pretended to be his daughter if he asked me to” (Angelou, 2004, p. 15). She was especially protective of him when there was a threat from the Klu Klux Klan – an elitist group that were against Black people. The event terrified and angered Maya. But she was afraid to voice her concerns and anger because Momma believed in passive acceptance of the racial system (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). A prominent theme throughout her life was Maya’s awareness and difficulty in accepting this which contributed to her active involvement against racism later in her life (Schultz, 2005b). Lupton (1998) stated that Momma had a great influence on Maya’s development of self and

5 identity in her younger years and she admired her for her strength and power. However, Momma’s reliance on religion and her submission to White people seemed to bother Maya (Lupton, 1998). She also noticed that the neighbours, tired from a day’s work, would never complain but unquestioningly be grateful to God. She called them “a race of masochists and that not only was it our fate to live the poorest, roughest life but that we liked it like that” (Angelou, 2004, p. 95). She thought of religion with some cynicism and could not understand people’s devotion. Maya’s questioning spirit served to contribute towards her burgeoning identity as she attempted to figure out who she was and where she belonged (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Schultz, 2005b). The most difficult aspect at this point was the reality of her parents which Maya found difficult to acknowledge.

Maya had never heard from her parents for most of her four years in Stamps. However, during the Christmas of 1933 when Maya was 6, Bailey and she received presents from their parents. The gifts were difficult to deal with because it made her acknowledge the existence of her parents and question the reasons for their abandonment. Maya blamed herself and believed that it was her fault that they were sent away. According to Lupton (1998, p. 12), “Maya’s absent mother made her feel abandoned and victimised”. Maya never understood why her parents sent her and Bailey to live with Momma. A frequent theme at this stage was Maya’s insecurity at becoming attached to people because of a sense that she might be abandoned again (Schultz, 2005b). A few months later when Maya was 7, her father came to visit and Maya was afraid of him. She remembered him as being large and very cynical, and her polarised feelings for him caused tension within her. Her father decided to take them back to live with her mother in St Louis. The only home that Maya knew was in Stamps, she did not know her mother and was terribly afraid of the unfamiliar (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013).

2.2.1.2 The Baxter clan (1934 – 1935) Vivian Baxter lived with her mother and three brothers. The family welcomed the children and Vivian loved and cared for them. St Louis was different from Stamps with its fast paced nature, “gamblers and bootleg whiskey salesmen” (Agins, 2013, p. 15). Maya found the move strange and she had difficulty sleeping at night (Agins, 2013). She described her mother as an indomitable presence, a “hurricane in its perfect power” (Angelou, 2004, p. 49) because despite being a small and beautiful woman she had a large and fierce personality.

Maya noticed the disparity in looks when comparing herself to her family. Bailey, her father and her mother were beautiful and she considered herself awkward and ugly. Her body image was a major issue during this time and she believed that her mother had abandoned them because she was too beautiful to be a mother (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). A frequent occurrence in Maya’s life at this time was her incessant need to dress well and be presentable to others (Schultz, 2005b). This was especially evident as she opened her first autobiography with a memory from Easter. She was going to wear a beautiful purple dress which she believed would transform her into a beautiful blond blue eyed girl, however, when she wore the dress she remained the same (Angelou, 2004). This saliency reveals many of Maya’s core conflicts: image, physical appearance, identity, racial tension and insecurity as her peers would often laugh at her (Schultz, 2005b).

Maya and Bailey attended Toussaint L’Ouverture Grammar School and were both academically ahead of their peers. She called her peers ignorant and “shockingly backward” (Angelou, 2004, p. 52). A year after they moved to St Louis (1935), Vivian, Maya, Bailey and Vivian’s boyfriend, Mr Freeman (Mr F) moved into their own home. Maya was very wary of her mother and could not understand her open affection and leniency. But her difficulty sleeping alone at night often forced her to share a bed with Vivian and Mr F (Angelou, 2004, 2013).

One morning when Vivian left the house early, Mr F sexually abused Maya. She was confused but enjoyed the physical intimacy and longed for it. Maya “felt at home” (Angelou, 2004, p. 59), protected, safe and believed that Mr F might be her real father. Mr F did not speak to her or touch her for months after this but she constantly tried to please him and thought that she had done something wrong. The nature of their relationship would define Maya’s relationships with men through most of her adult years. Maya did not receive much overt expressions of love or physical intimacy during her childhood. She therefore desperately sought love and affection from her family members and people around her and this was a major theme for most of her life (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Schultz, 2005b).

Mr F raped Maya a few months after he had first sexually abused her. She remembered the event as physically intense “there was the pain. A breaking and entering when even the senses are torn apart…I thought I had died” (Angelou, 2004, p. 63; Poetry Foundation, 2014). Agins (2013) states how jarring the event must have been on Maya’s development. Mr F

7 threatened Maya to remain silent or he would kill Bailey. Maya was devastated because she was in physical, emotional and mental pain. Her confession of what happened led to her uncles beating Mr F to death. Maya was distraught and believed that her voice was deadly and poisonous and decided to never speak again. She did not speak for the next five years. Her guilt and disgust were introjected because she believed that she was evil. She would only speak to Bailey because her love for him would protect him. The Baxter clan believed that Maya was sullen. The doctor said that she was physically healed therefore she was expected to return to normalcy. Her family beat her and tried without success to get her to speak. Maya and Bailey were sent back to Stamps in 1935, a year and a half after leaving (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). The rape of Maya was a major incident in her life as it was a tragedy which she believed that she could not resolve and the physical implications remained throughout her life as she associated love with physicality and submission.

2.2.1.3 Return to solitude (1935 – 1940) Maya was not upset at the abandonment by her mother and appreciated the quiet in Stamps. She went back to her old school and did well academically. But she was still scared to speak. The entry of Mrs Bertha Flowers into her life changed this. Maya would visit Mrs Flowers often for her “lessons in living” (Angelou, 2004, p. 79). She learnt about poems and began to speak because Mrs Flowers insisted that poems were meant to be recited aloud. She planted the seeds for Maya’s love of literature. Mrs Flowers was influential as her attention influenced Maya appreciation of herself. Their meeting also led to Maya’s interest in poetry and she began writing poems from the age of 9 (Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Poetry Foundation, 2014).

A year later, in 1938, Maya had her “most painful and confusing experience” (Angelou, 2004, p. 26) involving her grandmother. A group of poor White girls mocked her Momma, and while Maya sat in the house and cried, Momma hummed and sang spirituals. The scene portrayed Momma’s inner strength and determined attitude to a difficult situation. However, it was also an indication of Maya’s anger against the difficulties experienced by Black people. She wanted to act out and found Momma’s passivity difficult to accept. A few weeks later, Maya began working as a cleaner for a White lady, Mrs Cullinan. She was very unhappy about this as she believed that it was beneath her. Maya was upset at the political climate at the time and did not believe that passive submission was acceptable. Her employer was disrespectable and Maya could not accept this. She did not accept the status quo and

8 wanted change. This contributed to Maya’s sense of self – she felt trapped by circumstance and wanted to escape to become her ‘true’ self away from being Black, poor and female (Schultz, 2005b).

Maya graduated at the top of her class from Lafeyette County Training School in 1940 at 12 years old (Agins, 2013). She was very proud of herself and started to accept herself. During her graduation, a guest speaker at the ceremony provoked feelings of anger and hopelessness in Maya with his speech about the lack of opportunities available to Black people. She thought that “it was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life” (Angelou, 2004, p. 140). This was short-lived. Once the valedictorian led the choir in singing the “Negro national anthem” (Angelou, 2004, p. 142), Maya thought that Black people had been through many difficulties but had always overcome and this stuck with her and gave her hope. After graduation, Maya worked at the store during the week and attended church on Sundays. However, Momma decided that Stamps was no longer safe for them after Bailey was ordered by a White man to carry a dead Black man into the county jail (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013).

2.2.2 Summary of childhood years Maya’s childhood involved a lot of movement and difficulty accepting herself. The constant during this phase of her life was her family as they were a major influence in her life. Maya’s difficulties had begun with her parents’ abandonment of her which led to her resentment and insecurity. This in turn impacted on her physical insecurity as she was aware of the differences between herself and her parents. Both these themes were evident in the major trauma she experienced when she was raped where she felt let down by her mother and hurt by an adult figure that she loved. The rape would affect her conceptualisation of love relationships until her middle to late adulthood years. Another major theme was of racial tensions which was a major factor within Stamps. Maya refused to be passive to the system as her grandmother and many others had been. She also believed that Momma was religiously dependent which Maya could never understand. Although she was exposed to religion on a daily basis, she did not identify with it. Another theme was love and affection which Maya craved. While living with Momma she did not receive any overt expressions of love, however, living with her mother exposed her to both physical and verbal expressions (Angelou, 2004).

2.3 Introduction to teenage years Maya spent her teenage years reacquainting herself with her mother. These years are described within her first autobiography. During the five years that encapsulate her teenage years, Maya moved from Los Angeles, to San Francisco and also spent a few months in San Diego with her father. Her life during this phase revealed her sense of belonging in her family, her career sense and her awareness of herself and her body. Her evolving identity and sense of insecurity began when she was separated from the sanctity of Stamps (Angelou, 2004).

2.3.1 Teenage years (1941 – 1945) In 1941, Maya and Bailey moved with their mother and her new husband into a house in San Francisco (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Maya was still very wary of her mother and did not fully trust that she would not abandon them again especially because of the “many difficult experiences and changes in her life, [Maya] did not trust the relationship to be safe and secure” (Agins, 2013, p. 22). But she soon grew to like her because her mother tried very hard to continually reassure her (Angelou, 2013). According to Lupton (1998), Maya learnt about love through her relationship with her mother and this resulted in a strong relationship with her. Maya also liked Daddy Clidell – her stepfather. She referred to him as the “first father I would know” (Angelou, 2004, p. 161). Maya was happy with her family and with San Francisco. Her love and care for family was a major saliency across her life as they were of utmost importance to her (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). Maya attended George Washington High School where she was one of three Black students. For the first time, Maya found it difficult to accept that she was not at the top of her class. A year later, at 14 years old, she got a scholarship to attend California Labour School where she also studied drama and dance. Maya enjoyed these classes and wanted to excel at them (Angelou, 2004; Agins, 2013).

In 1943, when Maya was 15, she spent a summer with her father in San Diego. She did not connect with her father and both she and her father’s girlfriend did not like one another. After a heated argument one night, Dolores stabbed Maya with a kitchen knife. Maya was stitched up and left to stay with her father’s friends. She was not comfortable with this and decided to run away. Maya spent a month living in a junkyard. It was a time of acceptance and belonging where the “unquestioning acceptance by my peers had dislodged the familiar insecurity” (Angelou, 2004, p. 195). Maya did not reflect much about her feelings towards

10 her father and how he had treated her. It seems strange that she would spend a summer with him, be injured by his girlfriend and find solace in being homeless. Their relationship was difficult to comprehend and seemed to be tense and undefined. A frequent salience across most of Maya’s life was her yearning for acceptance and belonging. She sought this from family and later from friends as she had done with her fellow homeless friends (Schultz, 2005b). After six weeks of living in the junkyard, she began missing home and called her mother to send her a ticket home (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013).

When Maya turned 16 she realised that she was bored with school. Academics came easily to her and she wanted to earn her own money. In 1944, Maya made history as the first ever Black female street car conductor (Agins, 2013; Poetry Foundation, 2014). However, despite the eagerness to develop a career, and her excellent academic record, she began to struggle with her sexuality (Angelou, 2004). Maya believed that she was not feminine, thought that she might be lesbian and was therefore terrified at becoming attracted to females. In an effort to test her sexuality out, she propositioned her teenage neighbour, Babe. She thought that if she was “going to venture into sex, I saw no reason why I shouldn’t make my experiment with the best of the lot” (Angelou, 2004, p. 215). He agreed and three weeks later, she discovered that she was pregnant (Angelou, 2004).

Bailey supported her and Maya described her fear but she believed that it was her responsibility as she had “brought my new catastrophe upon myself” (Angelou, 2004, p. 218). Maya often assumed blame for events that occurred to her: her parent’s abandonment, her rape, and her pregnancy. Her sense of responsibility sometimes took on a victim role where she passively accepted the events and this was salient during the first phases of her life (Schultz, 2005b). The father of the child refused to be involved and Maya never saw him again (Angelou, 2013). She remained in school on the advice of Bailey and graduated in June 1945. Three weeks before she was due, Maya told Daddy Clidell about the pregnancy and was supported by him and her mother. At 17 years of age, Maya gave birth to her first and only child, a boy – Clyde Bailey Johnson (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998).

2.3.2 Summary of teenage years Maya’s teenage years were a time of discovery and conflict. She had begun to feel more secure and relaxed around her family. This did not apply to her relationship with her father which was tense and provided a lot of conflict for her. She also felt more secure about herself

11 with regards to her academic achievements. It led to her seeking purposeful work outside of school. Her insecurity about her body still remained. Maya had always felt unfeminine and ugly. Her need to test the boundaries of her identity led to her becoming pregnant. Her teenage years were a display of the circular nature of her life: it had begun with her attempting to integrate herself into her mother’s home and ended with her becoming a mother and attempting to integrate her son into her life (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

2.4 Introduction to early adulthood Maya had just become a mother but she had also graduated from high school. She spent the next eight to ten years of her life navigating the tensions between the roles of lover, mother and career woman. This phase of her life was detailed in her second and third autobiographies. Maya sought love and affection from her boyfriends and purpose and actualisation from her career. She moved many times in service of her career – out of her mother’s home, to San Diego, Stamps, San Francisco, Stockton and then back to San Francisco. She found it difficult to assimilate the mother role into her identity and this phase of her life was defined by this (Angelou, 2004).

2.4.1 Early adulthood 2.4.1.1 Becoming a mother (1945- 1946) When Guy was two months old, Maya decided to move out of her mother’s home, search for a job and care for Guy. She wanted to be independent and responsible (Agins, 2013). According to Lupton (1998, p. 73), “Although she is still fearful and dependent, she shows signs of being able to control her life as a black woman”. Her identity became flexible to suit the situation and the next two years proved to be an unsettled time as Maya moved frequently and was unable to find a sense of purpose in her life (Schultz, 2005b).

For the next two years Maya would work in various jobs – fry cook, waitress, saleswoman. Her many jobs meant that she could not be available to Guy and had to leave him with babysitters. This was a time when Maya was discovering who she was as an individual and as a mother. There was a conflict between her roles as a young adult and mother which created a fragmented character seeking holism. Her burgeoning identity was a major theme throughout her life as she traversed many roles and selves (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). Her earlier life was defined by family. During this phase of her life, Maya wanted to have intimate relationships and focus on her career (Angelou, 2004).

Maya may not have had “the necessary power over events and now the plot is in control, squeezing her into the unpleasant situations that are her life” (Lupton, 1998, p. 80). She remembered shifting and changing how she presented herself to people because she “had spent so many years being people other than myself” (Angelou, 2004, p. 240). Most of the jobs she worked at did not satisfy her and she often believed that they were beneath her. She believed that she had “become a snob on all levels, racial, cultural and intellectual. I was a madam and thought myself morally superior to the whores. I was a waitress and believed myself cleverer that the customers I served. I was a lonely unmarried mother and held myself to be freer than the married woman I met” (Angelou, 2004, p. 271).

Not long after she turned 18, Maya got into business with two prostitutes by funding the home they worked from. She enjoyed the power she felt at running a brothel for two and a half months however, she was fearful of the law. She decided to leave San Diego for the comfort of Stamps and “the protective embrace of …Momma…she had what I lacked most at the moment. Courage” (Angelou, 2004, p. 279). A key theme in the early stages of Maya’s life was seeking the comfort, belonging and sanctity of Stamps. It was a place of refuge because Maya was taken care of there after being abandoned by her parents. One event was prominent during Maya’s stay. She had a difficult encounter with a sales attendant in a clothing store in the town. Maya thought that she should always be well dressed. It was very important for her to be impressionable and she thought that she needed to teach Black people how to demand respect from White people (Schultz, 2005b). Maya believed that the store assistant was rude to her despite her being well dressed therefore Maya insulted her. Momma was extremely upset because she believed in rules and Maya believed in fighting for justice. These two did not align. Maya was extremely upset and agreed when Momma suggested that she return to San Francisco to stay with her mother (Angelou, 2004).

2.4.1.2 Dancing and daddy (1946- 1948) Desperate for a job, in 1946, Maya decided to join the army with her mother’s advice and support. However, her application was unsuccessful (Agins, 2013). Maya was lost and felt hopeless. She felt like a failure. Her “life had no centre, no purpose” (Angelou, 2004, p. 308). However, her old dance teacher befriended a famous dancer, R.L Poole, and sent him to meet Maya. Maya took the stage name Rita for the purposes of dancing. She loved her short sojourn into dancing as it gave her the greatest sense of belonging and freedom (Angelou, 2004; Agins, 2013). It felt as if she had found her niche. She “loved it. I was a hungry person

13 invited to a welcome table for the first time in my life” (Angelou, 2004, p. 316). She was therefore extremely upset when Poole’s ex-wife returned to continue dancing with him. Maya packed her bags at her mother’s suggestion and left for Stockton where her mother had secured a job for her (Angelou, 2004).

Maya, aged 19, worked as a fry cook in Stockton. Although her career played a major role in this phase of her life, she was lonely and sought comfort in relationships with men. She caught the attention of a man more than twice her age and began to date him. She enjoyed his attention and tried hard to impress him. Maya also seemed to use her body and sex to show her affections to the men in her life. This seemed to be a theme across all her relationships with men especially at this stage. It seemed that she sacrificed her sense of self to be loved (Schultz, 2005b). Her fragmentation of self was evident as she sought love and assurance and was willing to submit (Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). She began to dress as he suggested she should. Soon she discovered that he was bankrupt and because she did not want him to leave she decided to take his advice and work as a prostitute to help him. She tried not to feel ashamed and believed that she was better than the other women. Maya’s superior nature could have been a mask for her insecurity especially since her life was unsettling involving constant movement across place, jobs and relationships (Schultz, 2005b). She worked as a prostitute for two weeks and left when she found out that her mother was in hospital in San Francisco. Maya left Guy with a babysitter and was assured that he was safe. She returned to find that her mother was fine after a simple operation. Bailey, however, was distraught after the death of his wife. He did not allow Maya to comfort him and she was extremely upset by his rejection and worried about his health. When she revealed that she was working as a prostitute, she was happy to see that Bailey was concerned about her and told her to return to fetch Guy and come home (Angelou, 2004).

2.4.1.3 The importance of Guy (1948 – 1951) In 1948, Maya returned to Stockton. However, when she went to fetch Guy she found that the house of the babysitter was deserted. Maya was shocked and horrified, “paralysed, literally struck dumb” (Angelou, 2004, p. 363). She felt lost and hopeless. Maya found Guy later that day. This event had a major impact on Maya’s relationship with Guy (Lupton, 1998). She had perceived him as a possession of hers, similar to an appendage that she could never lose. However, his kidnap made her realise that he was separate from her and she wanted to be more involved in his life (Schultz, 2005b). Maya and Guy returned to San Francisco and

14 lived with her mother. Maya was without a job. She was alone and felt overwhelmed but promised not to lose herself again (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998).

She continued to work at various jobs and by the age of 22 was working two jobs as a waitress to support Guy and herself. He developed a rash that would not go away after medical attention. Maya tried to spend as much time with him between jobs, often taking him to a record store to listen to music. She had a passion for music and the next few years of her life were influenced by music and dance. The owner of the store, Louise, noticed her interest and offered Maya a job. Maya was instantly suspicious. She had never had a White person be friendly to her (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Her time at the job changed her perception of the divide between Black and White. She found a friend in Louise and felt equal to and respected by a White person for the first time in her life. Maya questioned her entrenched racial assumptions. She was very suspicious of all White people but their friendliness broke through her preconceived notions of race which had been structured through decades of racial tensions (Schultz, 2005b). Maya began to be more accepting towards White people and while it made her question her preconceived beliefs, she held onto them by rationalising her friendships – the people were either foreign or of a different religion, therefore never played a role in slavery’s history (Angelou, 2004).

2.4.1.4 Love and marriage (1951 – 1953) Maya noticed a customer, Tosh Angelos, who was interested in the same kind of music that she was. Maya and Tosh went out a few times and she especially liked his affections for Guy. When Tosh asked Maya to marry him a few months later, she accepted his proposal (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). She wanted a father figure for Guy and often had fantasies about marriage and family – a common theme in her musings (Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). In 1951, at the age of 23, Maya married Tosh in a simple ceremony (Angelou, 2004).

The family of three rented a small apartment and Maya left work to become a full time housewife. Guy was happy to have a father figure and called Tosh ‘dad’ (Angelou, 2004). The marriage began to tear at the seams a year in. Maya did not like Tosh’s absolute control over her life. He also did not believe in religion and this upset Maya greatly. She disliked that “he forced me to defend my basic beliefs” (Angelou, 2013, p. 118). The saliency of religion and belief was prominent as her beliefs were reaffirmed and she was able to personally identify with her spirituality (Schultz, 2005b). She would secretly visit church once a month

15 and felt renewed as she was “deeply religious and spiritual” (Agins, 2013, p. 27). Although she used to be cynical about religion in her childhood, and had not visited church regularly prior to this, Maya found comfort in the familiarity of her religion (Angelou, 2004).

Tosh found out about Maya’s secret church visits and was furious. Tension began mounting in the marriage and Maya wanted to leave. In trying to define her identity, Maya was in conflict between embracing certain aspects of herself and denying others. Her marriage to Tosh took away her sense of self and suppressed her identity which was a continuation of her submissive identity in relationships with men (Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). Amongst the turmoil of their deteriorating marriage, Maya discovered that Momma had died (Agins, 2013, Angelou, 2004). She was distraught, her “mind staggered out of balance” (Angelou, 2004, p. 430). It seems strange that Maya’s description within her autobiographies of Momma’s death and her response to it were short and contained. Momma was a very prominent and influential figure and it would be expected that Maya’s emotional response be heightened and prolonged. Shortly after Momma’s death, in 1953, Tosh and Maya amicably ended their marriage of two and a half years (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

The most difficult part of this decision was the impact on Guy. He was angry and hurt (Agins, 2013). Maya blamed herself and felt extremely guilty. She believed that neither Guy nor she could forgive herself. He could not understand that adults could fall out of love and his greatest fear was that Maya would stop loving him. But Guy soon accepted the change and Maya and him moved to a small apartment. She knew that she had to get a job urgently as she was running out of money. Thus began Maya’s journey into music and dance (Angelou, 2004).

2.4.1.5 Around the world (1953 – 1955) Maya decided that she wanted to work in dance again. On the advice of a friend, she auditioned at a club called the Garden of Allah (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). A discrepancy is evident across her work again here as she referred to the club as Bonne Nuit Dance Club in her later work (Angelou, 2013). It could be that the club changed its name or that perhaps the memory of being a strip dancer was difficult for Maya to recall. Another reason could be that Maya found the religious connotations of the name distasteful and may have distorted this information. In 1953, aged 25, Maya got the audition and danced at the club for six weeks. She began to enjoy her body and was more confident in herself (Schultz, 2005b). After two

16 months, Maya moved on and signed a three month contract to perform at a nearby club called the Purple Onion (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004).

Maya and her White friends helped put together a routine and chose a stage name for her. She was again wary of the friendliness of White people. She was being treated as an equal and her “world was spinning off its axis, and there was nothing to hold on to…The historically oppressed can find not only sanctity but safety in the state of victimization” (Angelou, 2004, p. 461; Schultz, 2005b). But she soon accepted their help (Angelou, 2004). After a brainstorming session, she settled on the name Maya Angelou. Maya was a mispronunciation of her name. Bailey, when they were very young, could not say Marguerite. The best he could do was say ‘My’ or ‘Mya’ sister and this stuck (Agins, 2013). Maya also chose to keep her married name but drop the ‘s’ to make it sound exotic (Angelou, 2004).

Maya enjoyed her performances at the Purple Onion. According to Agins (2013, p. 32), “For the first time, her life had a stable routine”. She was very popular and also had many regulars. She began to write and perform her own material. When her contract reached its end, she was offered a role in a play called Porgy and Bess (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). The cast would be gone for over a year and Guy would have to remain behind with her mother. This was difficult for both Maya and Guy. But Maya rationalised that she would be doing it to make things better for their future. In 1954, at 26 years old, Maya travelled across Europe and parts of Africa to perform in the play. She felt belonging and acceptance amongst her cast members and she especially enjoyed the attentions of the public. A saliency across most of Maya’s life, but especially at this stage, was of belonging and being accepted by her peers (Schultz, 2005). However, Maya felt extremely guilty at leaving Guy especially because she was “revelling in the freedom from the constant nuisance of a small child” (Angelou, 2004, p. 598).

2.4.2 Summary of early adulthood The major themes that defined this phase of Maya’s life were relationships, career and the mother role. Maya’s insecurity of self was projected onto her relationships. She often had to prove herself and impress her lovers. She proved her love for her boyfriends through sex and submission of herself such that they could claim ownership over her body and her identity. This was evident across all her relationships, especially with her marriage. Her inability to accept herself and her changing identity led to a suppression of self in order to please others.

She also faced conflict with regards to her mother role because she wanted to experience life and felt burdened by having to be responsible for Guy. Maya did, however, find her sense of self in her dance and singing career. Her constant movement revealed a search for purpose and meaning in her life.

2.5 Introduction to middle adulthood Maya’s search for purpose continued and was concentrated on her creative nature. She described this phase of her life across two of her autobiographies, namely, The Heart of a Woman and All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes. She moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles and then to New York for her career. She became more involved in writing and activism and her interest and need for a family grew.

2.5.1 Middle adulthood 2.5.1.1 Writing and activism (1955-1960) Maya returned to San Francisco towards the end of 1955. Guy clung to her and her guilt at having left him coupled with the removal from her world of excitement and adventure took its toll on Maya. She felt depressed and irritable. She “was maddened by the helplessness of my situation” (Angelou, 2013, p. 134). She felt suicidal so she went to see her old voice coach who made her write down everything that she was grateful for in her life. This caused a shift in her attitude and she decided from then on to work hard and take extra care of Guy (Angelou, 2004). The theme of conflict between motherhood and her career was evident at this point as she was trying to be a good mother but at the same time, she sought self- actualisation in her career and she believed that it would fulfil her (Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). However, after her return, Maya ensured that Guy was her top priority and was determined to be a good mother (Lupton, 1998). In an attempt to assert his sense of self, the 10 year old decided that he was changing his name to Guy (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004).

Maya and Guy moved around for the next two years (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). However, Maya wanted to become more serious about her career (Angelou, 2004). In 1956, Maya and Guy move to LA and she worked as a singer (Agins, 2013). She was becoming more interested in writing and, in 1957, she decided to move to New York to join the Harlem Writers Guild. She felt guilty about moving Guy but she knew that she could not refuse the offer to develop as a writer. She “felt that she had to trust life. She believed that life loved the person who dared to live it” (Agins, 2013, p. 40).

The Harlem Writers Guild was composed of many writers who would meet often to critique and offer support for one another’s work. Maya’s first reading did not go well. However, she was determined to prove herself and become a good writer writing because it gave her purpose. The theme of meeting challenges and seeking purpose would define most of her life from this stage onwards (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b). Guy began to become more independent from Maya. The theme of abandonment moved from Maya being abandoned, to Maya abandoning Guy and to Guy ‘abandoning’ her as he became independent from her (Schultz, 2005b). Maya was reluctant to accept Guy’s independence and believed that she was responsible for him, a common theme across the next few years of her life (Angelo, 2004; Schultz, 2005b).

Maya’s friendship with the members at the Harlem Writers Guild led to her interest in contributing to Black Activism because they were all involved in it. Maya’s interest in racial tensions resulted in her involvement in politics which was prominent during the next two years of her life (Schultz, 2005b). In 1960, Maya and her friend wrote, produced and performed in their play, Cabaret for Freedom. All the proceeds from the play went to Martin Luther King’s organisation called the Southern Leadership Christian Conference (SCLC). Maya, at 32, was later offered the position of coordinator at SCLC (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Poetry Foundation, 2014). She was, however wary of accepting. She was again faced with White people being friendly and offering her an opportunity. Her preconceptions which were developed during her childhood in Stamps “with its dust and hate and narrowness” were difficult to break through (Angelou, 2004, p. 702; Schultz, 2005b). But she decided to accept because her involvement in politics gave her purpose and a sense of fulfilment (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b).

2.5.1.2 The African identity (1960-1962) Activism against racism was especially important to Maya and she enjoyed her work (Angelou, 2004). However, her fiancé at the time, Thomas Allen, did not support her beliefs. She agreed to marry him because she wanted a father figure for Guy and not so much a lover for herself (Angelou, 2004). Maya imagined that life with him would be quiet and homely (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). She often fantasised about having a family and more children, where she would be a housewife cooking and baking and her husband would play outdoors with their children (Schultz, 2005b). However, Maya was not entirely satisfied with Thomas. She was unhappy with their lack of conversation and especially his lack of interest in her

19 cause. When Maya met Vusumizi Make (Vus) a few months after meeting Thomas, her reaction was intensely physical and she felt electricity and faint as if she were “sinking into a warm black and friendly pool (Angelou, 2004, p. 726). Maya was very confused. She wanted to be with Thomas because she felt settled with him. But Vus represented her African identity and she was excited by him (Angelou, 2013; Lupton, 1998). Vus asked her to marry him and she accepted. In 1961, Vus stated that they were married and they verbally agreed on it. There was no formal or legal ceremony (Angelou, 2004).

However, Maya soon began to chafe under Vus’s control (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). She “was unemployed but I had never worked so hard in all my life” (Angelou, 2004, p. 754). She had confused love with physical intimacy but after a few months, sex no was no longer able to fulfil her in their relationship (Angelou, 2004). She especially did not like that 16 year old Guy turned to Vus for advice (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). However, she remained with Vus because she was afraid of removing another father figure from Guy’s life (Angelou, 2004). In 1962, Vus, Maya and Guy moved to Cairo, Egypt. Maya and Guy were happy about the move. However, she had become increasingly dissatisfied in their marriage and suspected that Vus was being unfaithful (Agins, 2013). She was also afraid that Guy would grow up to treat women as beneath him (Angelou, 2004).

There was a discord between Maya’s independent nature (her American self) and wanting to be a good African wife. Being African meant that she had to be completely submissive to her husband. However, Maya had always worked hard and taken care of herself and was feeling ‘useless’. Her “position had always been that no one was responsible for my life except me. I was responsible for Guy only until he reached maturity, and then he had to take control of his own existence” (Angelou, 2004, p. 755). She could not accept her passivity and decided to leave Vus (Angelou, 2013; Lupton, 1998). She realised that she “wasn’t strictly an African and, after all, … I was a black American” (Angelou, 2004, p. 859). A salient theme was the tensions that Maya navigated within her identity. She wanted love but believed that she had to sacrifice her character for it to happen. However, she could no longer do this as she discovered the difficulty in supressing herself (Schultz, 2005b). In July 1962, Maya, aged 33, made plans to leave Egypt for Ghana where Guy would be going to university (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Poetry Foundation, 2014).

2.5.1.3 Confronting the African identity (1962-1965) Guy was in a car accident two days after they got to Ghana (Angelou, 2004). Maya was distraught and blamed herself. She sank into a depression worrying about him, “if he was going to die, and wondering how I could go on, where I could go, what I would have to live for if he died” (Angelou, 2004, p. 872; Lupton, 1998). She did not care about her looks and drank excessively (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Maya’s friends became concerned with her and forced her out of her depression (Angelou, 2004).

Maya cared for Guy for the next few months until he was well enough to attend university. It was extremely difficult for Maya to let go. But she understood that Guy was becoming independent and that they both had to have a life separate from one another (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton 1998). Their dynamic relationship continued its shifting and changing. Maya’s love for friends and family was a pervasive theme throughout her life. Being away from family and Guy’s independence led her to focus on belonging and her identity (Schultz, 2005b).

Maya had expected belonging and acceptance from Ghanaians – “we had come home, and if home was not what we had expected, never mind, our need for belonging allowed us to ignore the obvious” (Angelou, 2004, p. 901). However, she realised that her notions were idealised and there was a difference between her expectations and reality (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). She desperately wanted to belong somewhere. There was extreme conflict in her identity during this phase of her life and Maya had to grapple with her sense of self (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005b).

After three years in Ghana, Maya decided to return to the US to assist in Malcolm X’s cause. Her relationship with Guy was tense. Maya found that she no longer had a mother role and was upset with Guy’s search for independence and questioned - “How could his life be separate from my life? I had been a mother of a child so long I had no preparation for life on any other level” (Angelou, 2004, p. 1005). The mother and child dynamic had shifted. Guy no longer needed her, and her abandonment of him shifted into his need to be separate from her (Schultz, 2005b). In February 1965, Maya moved back to the US (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004).

2.5.2 Summary of middle adulthood Identity definition formed the crux of this phase of Maya’s life. Family and career were of utmost importance to her. Maya had become more comfortable in her mother role. She did, however continue to experience tensions within her relationships with men where she continued to suppress herself. She wanted to please them and belong. However, Maya has begun to experience tension as she defined her identity and became more assertive. This phase was defined by these internal struggles and a need for holism within herself. Maya had always sought external validation but her time in Ghana had led her to a path of self- awareness and discovery (Angelou, 2004).

2.6 Introduction to becoming a writer: The remaining years Maya’s mid to late adulthood and remaining years were more settled when compared to her early life. Her search for purpose was realised to some extent. She greatly loved her work and appreciated family and friends. She had established herself as a major influence in the world after some struggles in singing and activism. She covered this phase of her life within her last two autobiographies: A Song Flung up to Heaven and Mom & Me & Mom.

2.6.1 Becoming a writer: The remaining years 2.6.1.1 Becoming famous (1965-1968) Maya, 36, landed in New York but wanted to visit her mother in San Francisco before joining Malcolm. Three days after Maya went to San Francisco she learned that Malcolm had been shot dead. She was shocked, her life “ripped apart…feet forget their purpose and my tongue is no longer familiar with the inside of my mouth” (Angelou, 2004, p. 1071). Maya felt lost therefore she decided to return to Hawaii with Bailey. She sang at a club, Encore, for six months then decided to move back to the U.S. and focus on her writing career. She was aware that “life was waiting for me and it wasn’t wise to test its patience” (Angelou, 2004, p. 173).

Maya moved to LA in the spring of 1965. She worked on her writing and a year later decided to move to New York. However, before she could leave, she discovered that Guy had returned to the U.S. two weeks ago and had been in an accident. Maya was extremely upset and blamed herself (Angelou, 2004; Schultz, 2005b). Once Guy recovered, Maya moved to New York in 1967 where she focused on her writing for the next two years. In 1968, shortly before her 40th birthday, Maya was distressed to hear that Dr King had been shot to death. She wandered the streets hugging friends and strangers alike (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004).

This was a time of great change for Maya: Guy had left to travel the world and her time in politics was over. She was more relaxed and accepting of herself. She identified as an American, as independent and as being in control of her life (Schultz, 2005b). Maya turned her focus over to her writing career (Angelou, 2004).

2.6.1.2 Story of her life (1968-2014) Maya’s 40th year was important for her career. She was asked to write a screenplay for a TV series. She taught herself about film and TV and wrote Blacks, Blues, Black. While busy with this, she began writing her first autobiography. She wanted to write about the rise and fall of the human spirit. In 1970, at 42 years of age, I know Why The Caged Bird Sings was published and Maya “became the first African-American woman to make the non-fiction bestseller list” (Agins, 2013, p. 90; Angelou, 2004)

Maya continued to win many awards: she was a Poet in Residence at the University of Kansas and a Fellow at Yale. She was awarded over fifty honorary degrees (Lupton, 1998). She published her first volume of poetry Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Diie in 1971 and it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. A year later, she produced a screenplay, Georgia Georgia, about the struggles of an inter-racial couple. The movie was filmed in Sweden and Maya became the first African American to have a screen play produced. Later that year, Maya met Paul Du Feu in London and they married in 1973 in San Francisco. He was very supportive of her career and advised her to be open in her writing (Lupton, 1998). She also acted in a Broadway play in that year and received a Tony nomination. In 1974, Maya published her second autobiography Gather Together in My Name (Agins, 2013).

In 1975, she was appointed to the American Revolution Bicentennial Council and later that year published her second volume of poems Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well. Her third autobiography Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas was published in 1976. She also directed two films and had an Emmy nomination for her role in the movie Roots that same year. In 1978, her third volume of poems was published And Still I Rise, and her fourth autobiography The Heart of a Woman was published four years later in 1981. Maya was becoming famous and travelled a lot. Her marriage began to deteriorate and Maya and Du Feu divorced in 1981. Soon after this, she was appointed as Reynolds Professor in American Studies at the Wake Forest University. She moved to North Carolina in 1982, aged 55 to take up this position and published her next book of poems Shaker, Why Don’t You

Sing? as well as her fifth autobiography All God’s Children Need Travellin’ Shoes. Maya continued to write and in 1987 another book of poems Now Sheba Sing the Song was published with I Shall Not Be Moved following in 1990. In that same year, Maya’s mother was diagnosed with cancer and died two years later (Agins, 2013). Maya was sad to have lost her mother but happy that she had lived a good life (Angelou, 2013).

On June 20th 1993, Maya made history as the first Black female to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration. Her poem On the Pulse of the Morning was about hope for the future despite the difficulties of the past (Poetry Foundation, 2014). Oprah Winfrey hosted Maya’s 65th birthday aboard a boat in 1993 and later Maya dedicated her book of essays, Won’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now, to Oprah. Between 1994 and 1997 Maya published a succession of books (see Appendix C). Her sixth autobiography, A Song Flung up to Heaven, was published in 2002 and a cookbook in 2004. In December 2005, Maya recited her poem Amazing Peace at the White House (Agins, 2013). Maya published her final book, Mom and Me and Mom, in 2013. She died on May 28th 2014 at 86 years of age. She was frail and had heart problems for the past two years (Leopold, Fantz, Basu, & Karimi, 2014). She was described as warm and kind, generous, powerful and phenomenal (Cadet, 2014; Snow, 2014; Wake Forest University, n.d.) and her main message was that “People must work to overcome their hardships with dignity and view the world with hope and love” (Agins, 2013, p. 101).

2.6.2 Summary of becoming a writer: The remaining years Singing and dancing were left behind as Maya applied her creative mind to writing. Her active involvement in politics had become painful after losing her close friends. She found that she could still express her concerns through her writing and used this to educate people. Maya mostly wanted to spread a message of hope through troubled times. She had discovered who she was and had found her niche. She was comfortable with herself and did not need external validation (Winfrey, 2010). Maya had learnt to love and accept herself and she sought to teach other people that they could so the same.

2.7 Schultz’s prototypical scenes: Maya’s life was filled with many themes such as internal conflicts, identity issues, family and movement. There were a few salient events within her life that may have had a significant psychological impact on her. This is evidenced by her emphasis in describing certain scenes

24 within her autobiographies. According to Schultz (2005c), a few saliences meet the criteria for prototypical scenes. The criteria are described in the psychobiography chapter. The following three scenes are considered to have met the criteria and are prototypical scenes within the life of Maya.

2.7.1 Maya’s parent’s abandonment This scene encapsulated all of the prominences that Schultz (2005) referred to. It was described vividly, with emotional intensity and it was mentioned across almost all of the books. It also consisted of a developmental crisis as Maya found it difficult to adjust and grow beyond it. It was the result of a family conflict between her parents, and resulted in conflict between Maya and her mother where Maya found it difficult to trust her, and Bailey also had enormous difficulties in forgiving his mother. Maya was jarred by the event and their subsequent reunion with her mother (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). 2.7.2 The rape Maya also mentioned this across a few books and while the scene was emotionally intense, it was lacking in detail. However, Maya did mention, many times, that her mutism was a result of her guilt and evil nature. Therefore the emotional intensity was transferred into that event. It constituted a developmental crisis and created a major impact on the rest of her life: her first experience of love and sex was forced and caused guilt, it also led to her wariness when being with men. The event was jarring for her and also created family conflict as her mother ended her relationship with Mr Freeman and her maternal family were unhappy with her sullenness (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). 2.7.3 Guy’s accident The accident had a massive impact on Maya and merged all of her insecurities, guilt and fears over Guy into one scene. Maya described the scene in detail across two books and also mentioned it in two other books therefore it interpenetrated most of the autobiographies. It was described in extreme detail and she was very emotional, even sinking into a depression. The developmental crisis was the impact that it created on her role as a mother and added on to the many years of guilt she experienced over abandoning Guy for her career. It was a pivotal scene as it completely jarred her and caused a shift within their relationship (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005).

2.8 Conclusion This chapter explored the life history of Maya Angelou. Her life was multi-faceted and involvement a lot of movement (Lupton, 1998). The prominent themes that have remained throughout most of her life included: family, love, self-esteem and self-awareness, career, racial politics, travel and identity. Maya did not remember much of her life before Stamps. The move to Stamps informed much of her life. It resulted in two important concerns for Maya: race and family, and it contributed to her identity. Maya was very close to and strongly protective of Black people, especially towards her friends and family. She learnt the importance of family from her grandmother (in Stamps), her brother and mother. They were mentioned many times as influential figures within her books. Her relationship with her son became her most important and conflictual relationship. She was able to navigate her conflicts with the support of family and friends (Angelou, 2004, 2013).

Maya’s love and care extended beyond family and into her many friendships, most of which she made after her teenage years. She grew up shy and insecure but once she began accepting herself and her body, she was able to engage with other people. Maya grew up being in fear of and in awe of white people. Her fear grew to dislike and then, later, into understanding and acceptance. These various conflicts and relationships contributed immensely to Maya’s identity, she believed that her strength and determination came from her mother and grandmother. Her self-love developed through the love and support from family and friends. Her ability to look beyond negativity and search for blessings and gratitude was learnt through her involvement in racial politics as well as her career in dance and writing (Angelou, 2013).

Maya believed that everything was a lesson to learn from and continued this practise until the end of her life. She always appreciated life and wanted to explore and experience as much as possible (Lupton, 1998). Maya’s life history created the impression of a woman’s search for self. Her life was a teleological representation of a woman discovering herself through her travels, career, love, family, race and friends (Angelou, 2004, 2013). The chapter that follows provides a discussion of Frankl’s theory which is used to understand the life of Maya.

Chapter 3: Frankl’s existential psychology 3.1 Introduction A psychobiographical study entails the use of a psychological theory to generate a deep understanding of an individual’s life (Elms, 2005). Frankl’s existential theory was chosen because of its potential to address the aspects that appear to be prominent in Maya’s life. However, arriving at an understanding of her life involves a thorough understanding of Frankl’s theory (Frankl, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1985).

Frankl’s existential psychological theory comprises of a value and care for the individual and a deep interest to truly know the human self (Thompson, 2004). Frankl’s theory is based on a strong focus on the core of individuals: their motives, goals, agency and the reasoning behind their being (Ponsaran, 2007). Logotherapy derives from Frankl’s understanding of humans as ontologically active and seeking beings. People are ontologically active because they are motivated to strive for meaning and are therefore seeking meaning moments throughout their life. Ontologically active is in reference to the individual’s ability to seek the core of their human nature and be active in this process. Logotherapy derives from the words ‘logos’ and ‘therapie’ and literally translates to therapy through meaning (Ponsaran, 2007). The foundational base of his theory and therapy is the awareness and discovery of meaning (Meyer, Moore, & Viljoen, 2008).

This chapter offers a review of Frankl’s major concepts which are inherent to his theory. This is vital to the research because his concepts will be applied during the analysis phase. His theory is largely based on the events of his life which he drew on to further develop and refine his major concepts therefore a basic chronology is provided. His major concepts are also elucidated to provide an understanding of his theory. His theory was not without its limitations and therefore various criticisms are given and are balanced with the many contributions of his theory (Yalom, 1980). First, however, it is imperative to give a brief description of the roots of Frankl’s theory.

3.2 The roots of Frankl’s theory Logotherapy grew out of a philosophical heritage marked by the works of theorists such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. This philosophy, which is generally referred to as existentialism, concerns itself with attempting to understand the basis of human existence and how this existence occurs within lived experience (Thompson, 2004). Existential psychology and logotherapy have appropriated the major tenets of existentialism, such as reason for

27 being, meaning, death and anxiety, and applied them to psychological theory and therapy (Pervin, 1960). This school of thought is considered to be a merging of humanistic psychology and phenomenology because of its interest in people as humans and because of the need to bracket out external forces to reveal the essence of the individual and their motivations (Lewis, 2011; Schulenberg, Hutzell, & Rogina, 2008). Phenomenology is a theory which attempts to understand human phenomena through individual experiences (Lewis, 2011). Humanistic psychology emphasises the worth of the individual and their active ability to be responsible in their growth process (Meyer et al., 2008). There are various proponents of this school of thought: Ludwig Binswager, Rollo May, Irvin Yalom and Roland Kuhn, to name a few (Yalom, 1980). However, Frankl’s existential psychology and logotherapy stands out with their specific focus on a striving to meaning and meaning through struggle (Bruner, 2012). His theory attempts to understand each individual holistically by attending to every human dimension. He developed his theory and therapy through learning from his own life experiences and used this to understand human functioning and behaviour (Ponsaran, 2007).

3.3 The history and development of Frankl’s existential psychology Viktor Emil Frankl was born on the 26th of March 1905 in Vienna to Jewish parents. He was fortunate to live near and study under two great minds of the time: Alfred Adler and Sigmund Freud. In his early years, Frankl wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and become a doctor. He was later drawn into philosophy and was therefore torn between his two interests. He discovered that psychiatry provided a good fit between the two fields (Burger, 2007). In 1930, Frankl received his medical degree, specialised in neurology, and later went into private practice.

Frankl avidly followed the teachings of Freud and published an article in Freud’s Journal of Psychiatry before the age of twenty (Pattakos, 2004). However, Frankl later became disenchanted by Freud’s view of human nature as determined by psychological drives. He then joined Adler’s organisation but was again disappointed because, within this theory, which was similar to Freud’s with regards to uncontrollable forces, individuals were externally determined by a will to power. Frankl was soon expelled from Adler’s school for proposing that there was more to life than a social drive for power. He therefore sought a theory which allowed for human freedom in being (Burger, 2007; Lewis, 2011). Frankl had an interest in meaning from a young age, and even questioned a teacher in class about the

28 meaning behind human existence (Frankl, 1965; Meyer et al., 2008; Pattakos, 2004). Frankl’s focus shifted from theory to therapy and in the late 1920s he developed logotherapy which was based on his observations of depressed and suicidal patients (Burger, 2007).

When the war entered Austria, Frankl and his family were initially overlooked due to his prestigious position in psychiatry. However, shortly after his wedding earlier that year, Frankl and his family were arrested in September 1942 and taken to a concentration camp. He survived three years in these camps (Pattakos, 2004; Yalom, 1980). Frankl’s brother, parents and his wife lost their lives in the concentration camps. His experiences in the camps had a massive impact on his theory. It provided validation for his basic concepts and knowledge about meaning in life regardless of the circumstances faced (Fabry, 1987). After his release, Frankl joined the Vienna Neurological Policlinic and remained with them for twenty-five years (Pattakos, 2004). He wrote over thirty books, disseminated his therapy world-wide and received many honorary degrees (Lantz, 1998; Schulenberg et al., 2008). Logotherapy has since been widely received, accepted and researched. Frankl worked tirelessly until his last days in September 1997, when he passed away at age ninety-two due to heart failure (Burger, 2007; Lantz, 1998; Pattakos, 2004).

Frankl’s logotherapy or existential analysis was developed in the 1920s and is still used in therapy today. His book, Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl, 1985), is one of the most influential books in America (Pattakos, 2004). He has inspired many people and his work has allowed for an awakening to an awareness of another dimension within humans (Yalom, 1980). His theory has provided a way to understand human choice and behaviour which aids in understanding a human life (Meyer et al., 2008).

3.4 Frankl’s existential psychology Despite the many positive contributions of his ontology, Frankl never developed a structured theory which can be easily applied to understand human behaviour. His therapeutic modality utilises techniques that are not well explained and his concepts were never well structured (Yalom, 1980). However, these concepts, which are germane to his theory, provide an understanding of an individual’s personality in terms of their growth, development, dynamics and responses to life (Meyer et al., 2008). Frankl’s disillusionment with both Freud and Adler’s theories led him to seek out a deeper understanding of human existence. Frankl refused to believe that existence was based solely on the psychologism’s or sociologism’s of Freud and Adler’s theories respectively. Freud’s theory is based on psychological drives that

29 are innate, or a will to pleasure, whereas Adler’s theory is based on a social drive, or will to power (Cowen, 2005). Frankl was averse to these drives as being uncontrollable, calling them pan-deterministic, and believed rather that individuals were defiant beings who have control over their lives (Ras, 2000). Frankl therefore sought to supplement Freud and Adler’s theories and identified another dimension to human life (Schulenberg et al., 2008).

3.5 The tri-dimensional view of human beings Frankl’s view of a human is tri-dimensional: there is the biological/physical body, the psychological/inherited self and finally, a noetic dimension. Frankl used the term ‘noos’ to describe the spirit of a human being. The term noos is the Greek term for mind, however, Frankl used it to define the very being of humans: their noetic dimension (Wong, 2014). This is not to be mistaken with the soul of an individual and in addition, is not meant to have any religious connotations. The spirit is the conscience of the individual, the morals and the values that motivate to meaning (Lewis, 2011; Meyer et al., 2008). The noetic dimension is a “man’s capacity for a sense of awe, wonder, and mystery, even reverence, in one’s assessing the meaning, value, and purpose of one’s own personal life” (Morgan, 2012, p. 100).

The noetic dimension is a reference to the transcendence from physical and psychological dimensions. All three dimensions are essential to understand a human, both holistically and comprehensively (Frankl, 1967). Frankl argued for the existence of the noetic dimension as “that dimension in which uniquely human phenomena are located” (Frankl, 1969, p.17). The noetic dimension is the most fundamental tenet within Frankl’s theory as it was the conceptualisation of this dimension within humans that led to the development of his theory.

The biological and psychological levels are closed systems which are determined by inside forces whereas the noetic dimension is an open system which is fluid and interacting (Meyer et al., 2008). Frankl accepts that there are drives within humans based on biology and psychology, but the spiritual self is in control over and above these (Morgan, 2012). In addition, social circumstances do have an impact on individuals but acknowledging the spiritual dimension allows control over the responses to these circumstances. The spiritual dimension is therefore a defiant power within humans which provides for transcendence from both instinctual/internally and externally determined sources (Lantz, 1998; Ras, 2000). Humans have the biological and psychological dimensions in common with other animals; however, it is their spiritual dimension that separates man from animal (Frankl, 1967). Frankl

30 conceptualised the noetic dimension in trying to understand his patients and explaining their striving for life as opposed to being controlled by biological and psychological drives. He also noted the striving and self–transcendence amongst his fellow inmates in the concentration camps. They were able to transcend biological, psychological and circumstantial restraints through being active participants in their lives (Frankl, 1969).

Humans who are able to practise self-transcendence through their life circumstances become aware of their spiritual self and are therefore connected to a striving for meaning. Closely focusing in on the self makes the discovery of meaning difficult as the individual has a much smaller perspective on life (Yalom, 1980). Frankl believed that individuals are goal orientated and seek to fulfil meaningful lives and are therefore orientated to the future (Devoe, 2012; Fabry, 1987; Frankl, 1965; Ras, 2000). It is only through the noetic dimension that meaning can be realised and discovered. The spirit provides the motivating force behind meaning and is unlike Freud and Adler’s drives which are an uncontrollable force (Wong, 2014). The noetic dimension provides a sense of connectivity and direction to something deeper in life: to the self, to other people, to the past, present and future (Morgan, 2012). The noetic dimension is an inherent part of every human, however, there are many people who are not aware of its functioning and tend to ignore their striving and will therefore experience tensions within themselves (Ras, 2000).

3.6 Development of neuroses Psychic and physical neurosis may develop when tensions in the noetic dimension are not engaged with. Engaging with tensions indicates an acknowledgement of the spiritual dimension and enables the individual to live a meaningful life. A person will experience tension as a result of their present way of being and their orientation to a future self. A present way of being indicates the manner in which the individual engages with life currently. A future orientated self is what the individual still wants to achieve from life. The tension results from the how far the individual perceives he/she is from achieving future goals. These tensions are necessary for growth and provide a purpose to goals (Devoe, 2012; Lewis, 2011; Ras, 2000).

The tensions eventually develop into existential frustrations when the individual refuses to acknowledge them. Tensions are a discomfort within the noetic dimension while frustrations are more symptomatic – a person will feel restless, bored, apathetic, emotional and/or even experience physical illnesses. Existential frustrations function on a deeper level to alert the

31 individual to the tension. A person may experience conflict in thoughts, feelings and behaviour since they are not following a purposeful path to meaning (Shantall, 1997). The frustrations may lead to a vacuum or sense of emptiness within the individual. Tensions are necessary for an individual to discover meaning and grow in life, but frustrations are an indication of an individual not engaging with life and not accepting the existence of meaning. Awareness of meaning gives rise to opportunities to experience meaning and a lack of awareness results in a vacuum (Lantz, 1998). The individual will seek to fill this vacuum, either by seeking purpose in their life, or through further ignoring the spiritual inclination for meaning and therefore developing existential neuroses. These neuroses can be collective/shared and/or individualistic. A collective neurosis results from individuals in a society conforming to a way of being and mechanically doing as they believe they should. Individual neuroses develop from existential frustrations such as boredom and apathy with life that come as a result of pursuing pleasure and power (Meyer et al., 2008).

Modern capitalist society adheres to a search for pleasure and power where “society is plagued by a new neurosis – one that, instead of affecting the psyche, damages the human spirit” (Burger, 2007, p. 131). Authors such as Burger (2007) refer to a modern capitalist society without indicating the changes in society since the time of Frankl’s writing. However, the intention here is to provide for an understanding of the way in which society influences individuals and leads to passive participation in their lives. People are trying to fulfil their existential vacuum through substance abuse, food, wealth, status and power (Crumbaugh, 1971; Ras, 2000). A search for meaning has given way to a search for hedonism. A collective neurosis results from this: people are either conforming to societal expectations or else following orders from those in higher power. Therefore, by succumbing to either conformism or totalitarianism respectively, an individual is not exercising their free will inherent to being human (Frankl, 2011; Lewis, 2011). Neurosis can therefore result from being part of a collective mass and not claiming uniqueness. It could also result from individual conflict and frustrations due to pursuing hedonistic goals (Frankl, 1965; Wessels, 2013).

Individuals are often hyper intent upon achieving a goal which is meaningless or hedonistic. This sometimes results in two types of dynamics: hyper-intention and hyper-reflection, which eventually develop a neurotic focus. Hyper-intention is an incessant avoidance of a thought, feeling, behaviour or physiological response. The obsession with avoidance results in exactly that which the individual is trying to avoid or anticipatory anxiety. Hyper-reflection involves

32 awareness of thoughts, rituals or situations and an attempt to bring about a certain effect (Frankl, 1969). The reflection results in self-absorption and as a result the desired effect is never achieved. Individuals therefore develop neuroses surrounding these core concepts and are drawn further into their existential vacuum (Frankl, 1965; Yalom, 1980).

Attempts to numb or ignore the vacuum result in aggression, depression and/or addiction (Yalom, 1980). Individuals are unable to transcend this vacuum to an awareness of their spiritual dimension and the motivation to meaning (Frankl, 1985). Self-transcendence involves an awareness of the spiritual dimension and of moving towards growth and meaning. When an individual is able to accept that meaning exists, transcend from self- absorption into extending outside of the self and fully engage in life, then there is growth and life becomes purposeful (Ras, 2000).

3.7 Frankl’s triads Frankl’s triads stem from his view of human nature and it mainly focuses on the noetic dimension while situating the individual in context. This section provides an overview of the three triads within his theory and how they function with one another.

The overarching triad is the fundamental triad. It is based on the tenets of the existence of meaning, the will to meaning and the freedom to will. Once individuals are aware of their noetic dimension, this triad becomes imperative to their existence and healthy functioning as they become aware of the existence of meaning, the will to discover meaning and realise that they are both free and responsible to do so. The second triad falls under the umbrella of the fundamental triad and is concerned with achieving meaning. This meaning triad is based on experiential, creative and attitudinal values which an individual must have in order to discover meaning. Experiential and creative values refer to mostly positive and happy moments. Attitudinal values refer to changing one’s attitude to difficult experiences and links to the final triad – the tragic triad, where the individual has to grow through and discover meaning through difficult experiences or troubling times such as those related to guilt, suffering and death (Frankl, 1965, 1969, 1985). Each triad is a component of a system which can be used as a framework to understand human behaviour and healthy human functioning.

3.7.1 The fundamental triad The fundamental triad is the first step towards healthy functioning. This triad forms the basis of meaning: meaning exists, there is a will to meaning and there is a freedom to will. These

33 are all inherent to the noetic dimension of human beings and are all interlinked. When an individual acknowledges their noetic dimension then they are able to discover meaning through their freedom to will and will to meaning (Mun, 2005).

3.7.1.1 The existence of meaning The spiritual core enables the process of seeking meaning therefore awareness of its existence makes the discovery of meaning possible. Once there is awareness of a spiritual sphere within the self, there is a striving for meaning and therefore a realisation that meaning exists in the world. Meaning can never be created but only discovered through indirect means. Meaning exists in the world and is meant to be discovered but the individual can never know what can directly give them meaning. Therefore, all that people can do is pursue what fulfils them and gives them a greater purpose. In addition, the discovery of meaning comes as a result of extending beyond the individual self through the acknowledgement of social reality and others within it. Meaning is not an exchange or a direct give and take as with a hedonistic way of life. It is the result of transcendence or a giving of the self. Meaning exists in every moment of an individual’s life; it is the individual’s responsibility to discover these meaning moments. These moments contribute to a totality of an ultimate or supra-meaning which is the all-encompassing level of meaning (Frankl, 1969; Meyer et al., 2008).

The ultimate meaning is a notion of a bigger plan for the individual; their life and eventual death contributes to a greater whole which can never be fully understood. Frankl asserts that we trust and have faith in the process that each meaning moment contributes to something greater (Lewis, 2011). These situational meanings, where the individual can appreciate the moment, are based on experiences, memories, dispositions and understandings which evoke thought and emotions (Swanepoel, 1997; Wong, 2014). Individuals have to aim for self- awareness which therefore opens them up to discover meaning. Meaning is an objective reality which becomes subjective through unique human perceptions and understanding of events. It is objective because it exists ‘out there’ waiting to be discovered however each discovery of meaning is subjective because while one person may discover meaning in the experience of a setting sun another may not (Marseille, 1997; Shantall, 1997; Wong, 1997).

3.7.1.2 Will to meaning The unique nature of every individual is a result of a feature inherent to every human: the will to meaning or the conscience which alerts the individual to their will to discover meaning in

34 life. A pivotal tenet of Frankl’s theory is the motivating and striving force of the human spirit. Frankl argues for the existence of a will to meaning through individuals being actively engaged with their lives as opposed to being slaves to their biological and psychological drives (Frankl, 1967, 1969). The will is a driving force, however, it is not uncontrollable like Freud and Adler’s drives which are stymieing and create unnecessary tension. It is defined by its future orientatedness, its inclination away from self-absorption and the movement towards experiencing meaning outside of the self (Meyer, 1997).

The will to meaning is defined by self-awareness and a way of being which is inclined towards growth. Tensions are created but they are necessary and contribute to the discovery of meaning. An awareness and acceptance of the existence of meaning shows an acknowledgement of the conscience and the will to meaning. The “conscience is the vehicle through which we detect meaning: the one right thing to do in any particular situation or moment in life” (Meyer et al., 2008, p. 441). An individual will therefore carry out tasks and relationships in a fulfilling and purposeful manner. The will to meaning is never static and changes across the lifespan, it is unique to every individual as different tasks, experiences and relationships will provide purpose to different individuals (Wong, 2014). An individual can be understood through the situations and experiences which they find meaningful and in the way they direct their energy to discover meaning. A will to meaning is an awareness of meaning and the subsequent awareness of the freedom to discover meaning (Frankl, 1967).

3.7.1.3 The freedom to will Every individual has the freedom to make choices in their lives which will lead to the discovery of meaning. Freedom to will lies in the responsibleness of a person. Frankl (1965) refers to responsibleness as opposed to responsibility. Responsibleness is within the internal locus of control of the individual while responsibility entails an obligation that is imposed from outside the individual (Fabry, 1987). An individual is not driven to meaning but is free to make choices, exist and have certain attitudes which will fulfil them. However, the freedom is linked to being responsible for the consequences of one’s choices. People have a choice to face life and have to be responsible in their choices (Wong, 2014). An awareness of freedom releases the individual from a victim role and provides the power to be an active participant in their own life. Freedom provides choice and release from social and circumstantial determinants and empowers the individual to live a fulfilling life. Therefore, an individual who realises their freedom to will may discover meaningful moments, while an

35 individual who allows circumstances to have control over their life and takes a victim role makes a choice against the discovery of meaning. Individuals are often unaware how allowing their circumstances to control them is making a choice to not choose freedom. However, meaning exists and no matter what the situation, whether it is positive or negative, the individual can make a choice to be active and be fulfilled through this (Fabry, 1987; Frankl, 1965, 1985, 2000).

3.7.2 The meaning triad Individuals are able to discover meaning through various means and these can be categorised into three values: experiential, creative and attitudinal. These values can only be realised once there is awareness of meaning and once the individual aims to be in control of their life. Values are consistent with the conscience or spiritual dimension of humans and have to be aligned with an individual’s dispositional abilities and interests (Esping, 2010). However, the values always extend beyond the self into nature, relationships and community. The purpose is to be of service to others and in turn fulfil the self. These can be concretely carried out or experienced through reflection (Lantz, 1998).

3.7.2.1 Experiential values People observe situations daily both in nature and with other people. These can give meaning based on people’s awareness and ability to reflect on current and past situations (Lantz, 1998). Experiences exist in every moment of life and contribute to a sense of wonder and awe. Meaning can be experienced through encounters with individuals who share similar values. Often, relationships give meaning to an individual’s life by giving them a reason to live. According to Ras (2000), Frankl frequently paraphrased Nietzsche’s idea that – those who have someone to live for, can live through any condition. Frankl (1985, p. 57) was also fond of stating that “love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire … the salvation of man is through love and is love”.

3.7.2.2 Creative values Experiences and encounters involve engagement with the environment and people. Meaning can also be discovered through being creative. Life asks questions and people respond by being responsible and engaging in tasks that make a contribution to society. Tasks involve paid work, volunteering, painting and writing. We may experience tension if we are working in an unfulfilling job (Wong, 2014). This tension motivates the individual to engage in tasks

36 that are aligned with his/her values (Pattakos, 2004). Engaging in tasks involves transcending self-obsessed needs and realising the will to meaning. These tasks can be carried out in any circumstance whether it is in situations that are in the individual’s control or those that are imposed on a person (Wong, 2014). Frankl (1985) recalls men in the concentration camp who would go around giving other people, who were becoming disheartened, pieces of their own bread rations. These men chose to have a positive attitude and help others in a situation that was otherwise unbearable.

3.7.2.3 Attitudinal values Attitudinal values occur when an individual is faced with an unchangeable situation, but still recognises that there is freedom to choose their attitude (Pattakos, 2004; Wong, 2014). People face many struggles: war, racism, poverty and crime. However, there are always two choices to make: one can choose to look at the negatives and allow their circumstances to impact on them, or, one can choose to learn and grow from the situation, thereby changing their attitude to show the defiant or resilient power of the spirit (Ras, 2000). Changing attitude and perception helps to discover meaning inherent in any situation as the individual chooses to never give up despite the odds. Facing life and struggles courageously empowers the individual and allows them control over their life (Frankl, 2011).

3.7.3 The tragic triad Meaning can be discovered through both positive and negative circumstances. The perceptions of these circumstances are highly subjective and unique to each individual. Struggles are most often perceived as negative life experiences and as difficult to handle. Individuals experience various kinds of struggles and these can be grouped into the three categories of the tragic triad: guilt, pain and suffering, and death. The tragic triad are conditions which present the individual with meaning in life through often negative circumstances. Guilt and suffering are common experiences of individuals and may occur at many times in a life. Death is a consequence of the finiteness of life. The tragic triad are inevitable conditions of life, and while not necessary for meaning, they inspire growth through an awareness of and engagement with these situations (Frankl, 1965, 1985).

3.7.3.1 Guilt People experience guilt often in life as a result of failing in self-awareness and not aiming for meaning in life. Guilt is experienced through lack of congruence with goals and values. An

37 individual may experience shame and tension because of guilt. The individual has not been actively engaging with life and has lost opportunities for discovering meaning (Ponsaran, 2007). The feeling of guilt alerts the individual to the existence of meaning, and when there is awareness and acceptance of this, the individual is able to learn from unused opportunities and search for them in the future (Frankl, 1967). The condition of guilt is a motivating factor in the discovery of meaning as is the situation of pain and suffering (Devoe, 2012).

3.7.3.2 Pain and suffering Pain and suffering are unique conditions based on an individual’s perception and understanding of events. Suffering is usually viewed as negative as people are considered to be healthy when they are free of suffering (Sharp, Schulenberg, Wilson, & Murrell, 2004). Suffering is often a result of struggles in life which are either externally or internally determined. When people accept their struggle as unchangeable and have a positive outlook then they are able to grow. People can handle struggles through love, religion, humour and nature. Suffering is not an inhibiting force but rather helps people grow stronger as they develop. Growth and the discovery of meaning occurs throughout the lifespan and through struggles, however, it can also be experienced through awareness of the finiteness of life (Frankl, 1985).

3.7.3.3 Death Death signals the end of life. The realisation of death could result in pain and guilt if the person has not discovered meaning in their life. Death is inevitable and individuals who are able to grapple with this are those who ensure that they live life to its full potential. They live in the moment and reflect on past memories, appreciating a life well lived (Morgan, 2012). However, there are those who ignore death and search for unsustainable pleasures and power foregoing the discovery of meaning. Some may become depressed at the finiteness of life, especially when faced with the imminence of their own or another’s death. They may attempt to ignore it or else become passive to the oncoming death. Often individuals may believe that they no longer have control over their lives and therefore frantically attempt to discover meaning during their final moments. There are others though who are motivated by death and become more aware of life; they choose to be active in their reflection of the past and the present (Frankl, 1965). These conditions contribute to a discovery of meaning through active participation in life despite the difficulty of the circumstance. When an individual is

38 determined, they are always able to live a meaningful life through various ways (Frankl, 1985).

3.7.4 Summary of the triads The triads form a system which defines the functioning of the noetic dimension. The fundamental triad reveals the meaning inherent in every situation, that individuals are free to make their own choices, to discover meaning in moments and, that the discovery of meaning is unique to every individual. Individuals can discover meaning using their meaning values by engaging in life using their creative values, by appreciating various moments and people and, by changing their perceptions of situations such that they take back control and live life responsibly. The tragic triad involves the notion of life events which are usually perceived as negative. Despite this, individuals are still able to discover meaning when faced with suffering, guilt and death. Frankl’s concepts aim to holistically explore and understand an individual in their attempts at fulfilling the motivations within their spiritual dimension (Frankl, 1965, 1985).

3.8 Critique of Frankl’s theory and therapy Frankl attempted to holistically explain human behaviour through the discovery of a spiritual dimension and the various triads inherent to this. Despite this, his theory and therapy are relatively unstructured and difficult to apply. Frankl developed his therapy from various unstructured concepts therefore many critiques apply to his therapy and this impacts on the concepts within his theory. It is extremely difficult to differentiate between his theory and therapy as there is an overlap suggesting an amalgamation of the two therefore, this in itself is a critique and the many critiques apply to both therapy and theory.

Frankl’s theory is difficult to situate in a specific field (Yalom, 1980). Existential psychology derives from a philosophy and, while Frankl firmly roots his therapy in the psychology field, his concepts are relatively unstructured and mystical (Zaiser, 2005). He focussed more on therapy development as opposed to theory development; therefore neither can be fully understood due to the lack of structure. His theory and therapy become difficult to test and assess since it lacks the scientific nature of other psychological theories like Skinner’s and Boring’s (Runyan, 2006; Wong, 1997). The empiricism is implied in Frankl’s lived experiences in the concentration camps and was never otherwise tested or developed. Frankl validated his theory through the behaviours of himself and his fellow inmates (Coetzer,

1997). It is therefore flexible and applicable to many areas of life, but the difficulty arises in not only its philosophical similarity but also in its religious connotations (Cowen, 2005).

Frankl meant for his theory to apply to all people: atheists, agnostic and religious. The result of this is a theory which is left open-ended and incomplete. Religious writers, such as Bulka (1969) argue that Frankl’s theory holds no meaning if it does not account for a God or a transcendental being toward which human conscience and values are geared. A sense of responsibility must be inclined to an external force; one that asks the questions from life (Cowen, 2005). There were also flaws in Frankl’s meaning in suffering and in death because religion provides a reason and a motivation to meaning: being rewarded in a good afterlife (Bulka, 1969; Mun, 2005). Frankl however, in an interview with Bulka (1971), was aware that his theory was incomplete and difficult to apply. He stated that meaning exists in an objective reality and is meant to be discovered and suggests that people have faith in this. While this suggests that people blindly follow a pre-determined path, Frankl actually meant to show how difficult ultimate meaning was to comprehend and therefore it is simpler to follow smaller meaning moments than to attempt to grasp the full meaning of life (Frankl, 2000; Yalom, 1980). His aim in developing the concepts for his theory was for it to be open- ended so that it may apply to any person regardless of their beliefs (Meyer et al., 2008).

In its shortcomings, Frankl’s theory is intended to be flexible and adaptable to all people due to its vast applications (Yalom, 1980). Therefore, for the purpose of this study, his triads have been applied to an individual in an attempt to holistically understand a human life. There are various authors (Burger, 2007; Meyer et al., 2008; Pattakos, 2004) that have applied Frankl’s concepts to practical situations, however Frankl’s triads on their own seemed to provide the perfect fit as his basic concepts are well rounded and easily understandable (Bruner, 2012).

3.9 The contributions of Frankl’s theory Frankl’s theory is opened ended as he never sought to create a structure which applies to certain cases but allowed flexibility to understand each unique individual (Piccirillo, 2010). Understanding Frankl’s concepts provides an understanding of the real world and the essence of an individual as unique, striving and motivated to meaning (Frankl, 1965; Morgan, 1983; Yalom, 1980). The simplicity in his theory aids in its application to life, its truth is evident in the real world, it is built on universal concepts and values therefore applicable to love, responsibility, experience and attitudes of the individual in all their uniqueness (Frankl, 1965;

Wessels, 2013). The uniqueness of an individual is imperative to psychology as it accounts for differences in behaviour and way of being, and an understanding of this helps in explaining behaviour (Esping, 2010). Frankl’s theory involves a holistic explanation of humans as a multidimensional system where all parts are considered together (Ponsaran, 2007). Creating awareness of the existence of meaning and of human’s inherent motivation toward discovering meaning explains human behaviour as an internal locus of control (Yalom, 1980).

Individuals are considered to be in control of their own lives and attitudes, they are defiant in the face of adversity and their lives and attitudes are not externally determined (Frankl, 1985). Therefore, the manner in which an individual responds to life is an indication of their self-awareness and ability to cope. The major contribution of Frankl’s theory is in providing a glimpse into understanding a human life through their choices, their responses and their behaviours (Meyer et al., 2008). In human development, Freud’s pleasure principle can be applied to childhood, Adler’s power principle to adolescence and finally, Frankl’s will to meaning as a major feature of adulthood. His concepts can be applied to an individual and explain the reasons for their way of life: if there is emptiness, if there is meaning and the manner in which they respond to both (Yalom, 1980).

3.10 Conclusion and applications to psychobiography The main purpose of psychobiographical research is to understand a human life and Frankl’s theory will help illuminate the behaviour and functioning of a unique individual. There has been an extensive use of psychoanalytic theories within psychobiographical research; however, non-psychoanalytic theories such as phenomenology, humanistic and existential approaches have much to offer in the understanding of a human life (Runyan, 1988a, 1988b, 2003).

Frankl’s theory was selected for this psychobiography of Angelou because the themes within her life are consistent with the main theoretical underpinnings of Frankl’s view of human nature (Frankl, 1985). It is therefore hoped that Frankl’s theory will explore and illuminate the deeper mysteries of Maya Angelou’s life (Lupton, 1998; Schultz, 2005). Frankl’s theory has been discussed at length and it’s appropriateness for this study and psychobiography in general is elaborated on in the methods section. The next chapter provides a review of psychobiography as a field of research.

Chapter 4: Psychobiography 4.1 Introduction Psychobiography is a developing qualitative research methodology that involves the rich exploration of an individual’s entire life (Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010; Kőváry, 2011; Ponterotto, Reynolds, Morel, & Cheung, 2015). This section outlines the various nuances of psychobiography: its links to qualitative research, how it is a form of case study research, the definitions of psychobiography, the history and development of the field worldwide and within South Africa, its major contributions to psychology, the various criticisms, the method to carry out a psychobiography and finally, issues of quality and ethics.

4.2 Qualitative research Research in the social sciences was, and to some extent still is, dominated by a quantitative paradigm with an emphasis on positivist, empirical and scientific design where results are used to generalise from small groups to wider populations. Research of this nature involves a reliance on concrete facts, highly structured methods and distance between researcher and participants. Despite the focus on research as hard science, there has been a shift towards qualitative research since the twentieth century (Carlson, 1971; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005; Trafimow, 2014).

Qualitative research is seen as a soft science which studies subjects in context, with the aims of describing, explaining, exploring and/or interpreting behaviour (Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011; Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005; Trafimow, 2014). Qualitative research can be defined as “the study of the empirical world from the viewpoint of the person under study” (Krefting, 1991, p. 1). Therefore the researcher fully immerses him/herself in the participant’s world, samples are small, and certain types of research (case study, psychobiography) are idiographic in their approach (Burnell, 2013; Howitt, 2010; Kerrin, 2015; Ritchie, 2009). This approach involves in-depth personal studies with groups or individuals with a focus on exploration and holism (Elms, 1994; Janesick, 2000). Individuals are considered to be unique and cannot be grouped and homogenised according to structures of personality and general laws (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009). There are a few types of research methodologies that are idiographic in their approach that fall within a qualitative approach. There are however, two major types that are important to mention within the context of this study. They are case study research and narrative or life history research.

The case study “is a transparadigmatic and transdisciplinary heuristic that involves careful delineation of the phenomena for which evidence is being collected” (VanWynsberghe & Khan, 2007, p. 80). Case study research displays the entire life of a bounded unit to allow for an indepth understanding. Information about the unit is taken from various sources and is situated in context and explored holistically (Burnell, 2013; Creswell, 2007; Flyvbjerg, 2006; Kőváry, 2011; McAdams, 2009). A bounded system can be more than one site or individual and therefore involves the investigation of a phenomenon or event (Rosenberg & Yates, 2007). It involves multiple perspectives which can be understood from many different viewpoints and is always evolving (Cousin, 2005; Maree, 2007; McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 1983).

Narrative/life history research involves the use of individual life stories or the individual’s reality as consisting of factual events as well as the person’s constructions and perceptions of those events. These are analysed to understand individual experiences and are usually chronologically ordered (Creswell, 2007). People are natural story tellers therefore construct their life through narration. An example of this are autobiographies, where the writer makes an effort to organise information and make sense of it. People’s life stories involve more than situational influences and are mostly about their interactions and perceptions (McAdams, 2006). An individual’s life story is heavily nuanced as there are many characters or roles they play throughout life and there is also the interplay of social and cultural context, religion and history. Life should therefore be studied longitudinally before arriving at the ‘narrative truth’ or best fit explanation (McAdams, 2009).

4.3 Psychobiography: A definition Psychobiography aims to develop an understanding of an individual life through the application of a theoretical framework (Ponterotto, 2013, 2014; Runyan 2005, 2006; Schultz, 2005a). It also involves both case study and narrative research (Schultz, 2005a). Narratives are considered to be constructed within a context. The subject tells a story with a specific structure therefore imbueing the story with meaning. Interpretation is never straight forward as meanings are often concealed and the subject may not even be aware of the meanings within their story (McAdams, 2009). Narratives are subjective and phenomenological involving the individual’s own experiences within their cultural context. The construction, organisation and internalisation of a life story leads to sense making. The narrative identity is the integration and consolidation of past, present and future selves (McAdams & Manczak,

2015). The individual narrative is the psychological truth for that subject and the organisation of the story reveals information about the individual’s psychological process which is investigated through psychobiographical research (Elms, 2005; Runyan, 1983; Siegel, 1996).

The major characteristics of psychobiography are the idiographic and hermeneutic approach to the study of an individual (Connor, Tennen, Fleeson, & Barrett, 2009). Idiographic, as defined above, with its focus on the individual as unique, and hermeneutic because of the focus on making sense and understanding the meanings behind individual action and behaviour (Elms, 1994; Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010; Kőváry, 2011). Psychobiography is also morphogenic because it involves the analysis of the entire life span including changing and developing personality. It is also important to view the individual in context (Burnell, 2013). Understanding an individual life refers to an understanding of their life history which includes all the events across the life span (Elms, 1994)

Psychobiography also entails applying a psychological theory for the understanding of a person’s life history or biography. The theoretical framework provides an analysis of biography and, probes and makes connections in an attempt to understand the life (Burnell, 2013; Elms, 1994). The field was initially dominated by psychoanalytical applications but has faced many criticisms and has recently branched out as more researchers have acknowledged the need to diversify the field. The field has come far despite its difficult beginnings and to contextualise its progress, a history of the field is necessary (Elms, 1994).

4.4 History and development of the field of psychobiography During the Roman Empire, the ancient Greeks, such as Plutarch, were famous for documenting the lives of influential individuals, such as Caesar, and providing some psychological insight in their writing (Burnell, 2013; McAdams, 2009; Ponterotto & Reynolds, 2013). During the Middle Ages biographies about saints, or hagiographies, were written. In the 17th century biographies were considered to be a literary art. In 1908, Isidor Sadger published a psychoanalytical psychobiography and from 1910 till around 1930 there were analyses of many famous lives such as Shakespeare, Richard Wagner and Socrates (Runyan, 2005).

Freud revolutionised the field of psychobiography in 1910 with his essay on Leonardo da Vinci, which had great influence and received much attention (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 2005). Thereafter, a few tentative attempts were made by psychologists such as

Henry Murray, Abraham Maslow and Gordon Allport in the 1920s (Elms, 1994). Following this, Erik Erikson wrote about the lives of Ghandi (Erikson, 1970) and Martin Luther (Erikson, 1958). From the 1920s to the 1940s the field struggled to gain acceptance and received much criticism (Burnell, 2013; Kőváry, 2011; Runyan, 1983, 2005). From the 1950s onwards, the quantitative paradigm dominated social science research (Carlson, 1984; Kőváry, 2011). But, in the 1980s there was a reignited interest in the field and many psychologists, such as William Runyan, Irving Alexander, Alan C. Elms and Dan McAdams began writing psychobiographies (Burnell, 2013; Kőváry, 2011; Runyan, 2005). There have since been publications of psychobiographical research in psychological journals (Kőváry, 2011).

Psychobiography has made slower progress within South Africa. One of the first psychological analyses of an individual life was carried out in 1939. The psychobiography was written by M Burgers and the subject was Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven (Burnell, 2013). Between 1995 and 2004, there was an increased interest in the field however, most, if not all, psychobiographies were aimed at understanding white male subjects who were often popular or influential because of their roles in sports, politics, art or religion. The theories used were mostly psychoanalytic or developmental theories such as Erikson’s. Psychobiographical research had not been encouraged in universities, but since 2005, there has been an increase in students carrying out research on individual lives however, there have been limited publications in local journals (Burnell, 2013; Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010). Despite this, the study of lives is a resilient research methodology which has evolved through the history of psychology (Runyan, 2005).

4.5 Value and contribution of psychobiography Psychobiographical research is the very definition of what psychology is because the entire focus in on the various nuances of the subject under study (Schultz, 2005a). The value and contribution of psychobiographical research lies in the ability to test theory, train future psychologists, it helps in the understanding and prediction of the development of psychological disorders and it puts the individual back as the focal point of psychological research. Each of these points are elaborated on briefly below.

Research of this nature allows the researcher to generate questions and test theories and their constructs through their application to the data and a real life (Elms, 1994; Kerrin, 2015). It

45 may also provide understanding to theoretical constructs, for example, Freud tested his ideas on sublimination in his analysis of da Vinci’s life (Schultz, 2005a). It could also lead to the unification of various theories within psychology as more than one theory may be required to make interpretations (Runyan, 2006). Therefore, psychobiography can play a major role in illuminating the practicality and applicability of a theory to a real life case where the individual is understood within their context (Burnell, 2013; Elms, 1994; Kerrin, 2015; Schultz, 2005a).

Understanding the life of another individual and how they function can help to understand ourselves as, within the uniqueness, there are similar experiences and struggles. Studies with a psychobiographical approach could help to train future psychologists as the researcher attempts to understand a human life in its entirety through full engagement with the subject, their perceptions and experiences. This could result in the student psychologist enhancing both their self-awareness and empathy because psychobiography acknowledges that understanding an individual life can provide an understanding and knowledge about our own lives (Burnell, 2013; Kőváry, 2011).

Studying an individual life provides insight into and could also help the student and qualified psychologists, parents and educators understand developmental problems and how they might play out in later life (Ponterotto & Reynolds, 2013; Runyan, 1988a). Psychobiographical research could help illuminate patterns within individual personality that could inform psychology and help predict behaviour (McAdams, 2009). The life is studied in its entirety, often from birth till death therefore the range of personality development can be seen (Carlson, 1971). Therefore, the study of a life may help psychologists gain a better understanding of psychological disorders and the actual experience and perception of it (Runyan, 2005).

Psychobiography is a shift away from the rigidity and control of laboratory experiments because it allows the researcher “to look at a real life because of the sheer interest and individual value in that life” (Elms, 1994, p. 16). The individual is put back as the focal point of psychological research and that individual exists within a real life which has been lived and is being analysed by a researcher (Flyvbjerg, 2006; Schultz, 2005a). Psychobiography is a scientific endeavour, or a historical science, which uses many sources of information and

46 the application of a psychological theory to reach an empirical interpretation (Runyan, 2005). However, despite its value within psychological research, it has had a fair share of critique.

4.6 Criticism of psychobiography Psychobiography as a field has received much negative attention mostly for its lack of a structured methodological approach, but the reasons for the critique are understandable and are delineated below. The field has been critiqued for being unscientific, a lazy genre, for the study of an absent subject, the use of biased documents, the dominance of psychoanalytic theory and the lack of contextualisation required for holism (Elms, 1994; Schultz, 2005a).

A major critique is that the field is generally seen as unscientific because of the assumed subjectivity involved with a single case where there is a substantive amount of interpretation over experimentation (Elms, 1994; Flyvbjerg, 2006; Runyan, 1988a; Schultz, 2005a). It does not apply rigid and controlled methods to produce results and therefore is judged as having no value to research (McAdams, 2005; Runyan, 2005). Interpretations and conclusions cannot be generalised, and there are no quantifiable results which can be used to test hypotheses and develop general laws. In addition, the research focuses on a single individual. Within scientific research, this implies an impracticality of studying every single individual where there is often a lack of information on their lives resulting in inaccuracies and weak interpretations which delegitimises the field (Burnell, 2013; Friedman, 1994).

Another criticism is the emphasis on heroes, influential people and historical figures, implying a neglect of the ordinary. The study can only be on subjects who are well known as there has to be documentation on their lives (Elms, 1994; Flyvbjerg, 2006; Runyan, 1988a). Therefore, studying individuals entails the use of documents such as autobiographies and letters that are often written by the individual. These are biased pieces of information which are often based on the individual’s view of his/herself and could present a distorted view of the subject (Elms, 1994). Therefore, another criticism is the difficulty in analysing a person through the data as opposed to in person (Runyan, 1988a). Due to this, psychobiography has often been seen as a lazy endeavour because it seems easier to review documents than work with actual people (Kerrin, 2015; Runyan, 1988a). Research is focussed on an absent subject therefore there are no member checks making it easier to make assumptions (Kerrin, 2015; McAdams, 2009). In addition, interpretations are based on the psychological theory which is applied to understanding the individual. The researcher has to choose the theory and it may

47 not account for a holistic understanding of the subject’s life, especially with regards to the use of psychoanalytic theory which has dominated the field of psychobiography.

Freud’s analysis of Leonardo da Vinci posed questions about the researcher’s own agenda and received harsh criticism for its reliance on pathography, the inclination for reductionism and lack of holistic understanding of the subject (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009; Ponterotto & Reynolds, 2013; Runyan, 1988a; Schultz, 2005a). The heavy reliance on psychoanalytic theory often led to its rigid application to data where the data was forced to fit theory and interpretations could not stand alone. In addition, psychoanalytic theory focused specifically on individual biology and psychology to the detriment of contextual impacts (Howe, 1997). Interpretations are tied to the context of the individual at the time of the event therefore the individual cannot be isolated and viewed solely in terms of their biology or psychology without considering external impacts (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 1981, 1988a, 2006; Schultz, 2005a). Psychobiographies have therefore been criticised for being ethnocentric and temporo-centric for viewing the subject in isolation. This is also evidenced by the theories that are applied. They are often westernised and not entirely applicable to the subject in terms of the context – both historically and culturally. Therefore, psychobiographical research faces many inaccuracies in terms of the historical time period and cross-cultural context (Runyan, 1988a; Burnell, 2013; Chéze, 2009; Perry, 2012).

Psychobiography has proven to be a shift away from nomothetic applications and is still developing despite its many critiques. Progression within the field refers to accounting for the critiques above, improving methods, having strong arguments, using structured theories, and moving from the study of white male subjects to women and members of other race groups (Elms, 1994; Runyan, 1988a).

4.7 Methodology: how to go about doing a psychobiography Psychobiography involves using certain methods or techniques to collect the data (Grix, 2002). There are guidelines set out by authors such as Ponterotto (2014), Schultz (2005b), Cara (2007) and Howe (1997) however, due to the unique nature of the field, it is not possible to rigidly apply these guidelines and a level of creative intuition is required. The main elements of the research are in the choice of subject, data collection, choice of theory, data analysis, ensuring quality of interpretations and ethical considerations (Kőváry, 2011).

4.7.1 Sample and subject choice The sample for a psychobiography is one individual who is considered interesting in and of themselves. The subject under study is identified as anonymity is not a requirement (Fouché & van Niekerk, 2010). The subject often chooses the researcher and is often someone that has grabbed the researcher’s attention (Cara, 2007; Schultz, 2005b). However, the subject should not be intensely liked or disliked as this bias could lead to the distortion of data and lack of objectivity in interpretation (Schultz, 2005b). It is therefore important to ensure researcher reflexivity where intentions are made transparent (Ponterotto, 2014).

4.7.2 Choice of theory Theory choice is often a difficult endeavour (McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 1988b). Data cannot be forced to fit the theory, nor can the theory be rigidly applied to make sense of the data as there is the danger of distorting interpretations. Both must relate to one another elegantly and easily where there is mutual influence and equality (McAdams, 2009). The subject’s story has to lead to a theoretical choice as there are no set standards or guidelines for theory choice (Elms, 2005). The main research aims are to understand individual dynamics from the subject’s point of view and share this with readers through the guidance of a psychological theory (Strouse, 1988; Weinstein, 1988). The researcher must be comfortable and well-versed in their theoretical choice to allow for a comprehensive and holistic application (Ponterotto, 2014).

4.7.3 Data collection The methods of data collection and analysis are simultaneous and must be stated and detailed to illustrate that sound methods were used. There should be sufficient data to help demystify and clear up the mysteries within the subject’s life therefore evidence should be substantive and as accurate as possible. Data should be continuous, tracing the subject’s life from birth to death, where possible. There should be information about the context including culture, history and environment to provide for holistic interpretations (Ponterotto, 2014). Data must also include first person narratives, such as autobiographies, to provide for the subject’s perception of themselves, others and events or context (Howe, 1997). Data could be from publicly available or from private archives. Publicly available data are often published information or data that are freely accessible, private data could be personal diaries or letters which could be requested from immediate family and friends. Data sources include: videos, interviews, poems, autobiographies, letters and biographies (Cara, 2007; Ponterotto, 2014).

4.7.4 Data analysis Qualititative research produces rich text which enables an understanding of the data and lives of the subject. There are many types of data analysis methods such as content analysis, critical analysis and hermeneutical analysis (Cara, 2007). The difficulty inherent in psychobiographical research is the many interpretations that can be derived from a single aspect of a life therefore interpretations should be as detailed and descriptive as possible (Runyan, 1981). People are multidimenstional and can be interpreted in many different ways, therefore the challenge is to attempt to understand and have coherence in arguments to make sense of the life (Howe, 1997; Schultz, 2005a). Data analysis and interpretation must be approached objectively, however, narrating history is never completely factual because there will always be some of the researcher’s subjectivity. But there should never be an agenda, research should be carried out accurately, ethically and holistically (Weinstein, 1988). There should be a question in mind or a mystery to solve, to be understood or to be explored (Burnell, 2013; Elms, 1994). Schultz (2005b) sets out guidelines to select prominences or saliences within the data. He details Alexander’s primary indicators of saliences (cited in Schultz, 2005b), where certain aspects within the data provide overarching concentrations of the major themes within the subject’s life. These include:

 Frequency: these are repetitions, issues, events, memories that are mentioned often. This recurrance signals core conflicts because the subject is compelled to repeat it, it could be a defence or a preoccupation  Primacy: earliest memories or experiences mentioned, or what is mentioned first in a story, these may have had an impact on later experiences. This is especially important with regards to the autobiography. The writer had to make a decision on how to start their story. This then shapes the story and sets the foundation for later themes  Emphasis: including over, under and misplaced emphasis. Something that is explained in excessive detail although it seems ordinary. Or something which should have caused an impact but is narrated without emotion and not in detail. The subject wants the reader to take note of something which seems ordinary but has had an impact to the subject. Misplaced emphasis refers to an emphasis that seems irrelevant.  Instance of isolation: information that seems prominent and does not fit in, an event with a major impact that seems out of context, stands out to the reader and is

confusing. It could be a defence to cover something up or to make it difficult for the reader to make connections.  Uniqueness: information important to the individual, may seem odd or out of place on its own. May be isolated but it is also unique, it stands out to the individual. It does not only refer to an event, but also to the subject’s response  Incompletion: failing to complete a story, begins a story and switches to another topic.  Error: includes any mistakes, distortions and ommissions. Changing the details of the story. Mistakes mean something, they are motivated missteps which happen for a reason  Negation: excessive protestation, denying or opposing an event almost vehemently (McAdams, 2009; Schultz, 2005b)

In addition to Alexander’s method (cited in Schultz, 2005b), Schultz (2005b) states that some scenes comprise prototypes for the major elements within the life. Some scenes are focal points in the subject’s life where the personality is illuminated. These scenes have potency, are rich with information and they may encapsulate many conflicts. The scenes should comprise the following elements:

 vividness, specificity and emotional intensity: describing a scene in detail, there is a lot of focus when remembering  interpenetration: transmission of scenes into other contexts, permeates other scenes, the story seems to always be on the subject’s mind  Developmental crisis: involves a scene that has made an impact during a developmental age  Family conflict: any conflict between family members, including the subject  Throwness: against the norm, jarring, creates disequilibrium and anxiety, is an anomaly and is difficult to make sense of (Schultz, 2005b).

4.7.5 Quality Quality in qualitative research can be assured through credibility or the truth value of the research – the extent to which the interpretations are aligned with the individual’s perceptions and experiences, or how accurately the subject’s reality is percieved (Krefting, 1991). Applying quality assurance techniques will ensure that the interpretation and conclusions

51 drawn will be “the best possible integrative explanation (at this time) and brings insight into the subject’s experience” (Ponterotto, 2014, p. 87). Trustworthiness and credibility are essential to qualititative studies which involve evaluation of data to ensure quality (Cara, 2007):

 Cogency: a clear and convincing argument which will persuade the reader. There is a problem with alternative explanations for any life event, therefore there is no single truth but the interpretation given should be the most plausible in light of all the evidence (Ponterotto, 2014; Schultz, 2005a).  Narrative structure: conclusions will follow logically from evidence provided and be consistent with reality. Labels and diagnoses are an example of bad psychobiography with a reliance on pathography as opposed to interpretation of behaviour in context (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 1988b; Schultz, 2005a).  Comprehensiveness: explanations account for many aspects of the behaviour at once as opposed to behaviour being reduced to one phenomena or experience. An example of this is originology where an experience or trauma that occurred during the subject’s childhood is used to explain the behaviour of the subject as an adult (Elms, 1994; McAdams, 2009; Ponterotto & Reynolds, 2013; Runyan, 1988a; Schultz, 2005a).  Data convergence: data will support and be consistent with arguments which will flow logically from evidence provided. A marker of bad psychobiography is that of reconstruction – where the researcher fabricates an earlier life event based on an experience in the subject’s adult life rather than comprehensively using data to support arguments (McAdams, 2009; Runyan, 1988b; Schultz, 2005a).  Sudden coherence: explanations clarify a mystery and interpretations make sense and are aligned with the data rather than arguments that are built around one piece of evidence (Schultz, 2005a).  Logical soundness: arguments complement one another as opposed to contradict (Schultz, 2005a).  Viability: arguments will be able to withstand critique, interpretations are not reductionist but comprehensive, highlighting and illuminating aspects of the data. The researcher is also an individual working with this data and may have his or her own agenda for doing the psychobiography – to get recognition, or to share their admiration or dislike for the subject and therefore may look for evidence to

substantiate their arguments (Elms, 1994; Friedman, 1994; Kapacinskas, 2014; Schultz, 2005a).

4.7.6 Ethics Quality and ethics are important components and should remain throughout the research process (Janesick, 2000). There are no clear structured guidelines for ethical considerations (Elms, 1994; Ponterotto, 2013). Psychobiographical research is defined by its fluid and explorative nature which involves a subjective engagement with the data. The focus should be on trustworthiness and ensuring personal reflexivity (Burnell, 2013). Dealing with the exploration of the life of a recently deceased individual is a sensitive issue. There should not be any invasion of privacy of surviving relatives. Data used should be publicly available and should be interpreted respectfully (Elms, 1994; Ponterotto, 2013). The main ethical issues revolve around the choice of subject and their representation which must be as unbiased and as objective as possible. There should be no intended harm to the subject and the research should be a meaningful contribution to the field of psychology (Elms, 1994). Overall, the researcher has to use their “own ethical judgement and moral compass” in providing a balanced and comprehensive representation of the subject (Ponterotto, 2013, p. 24).

4.8 Conclusion This chapter explored the multifaceted history of psychology and its movement between nomothetic and idiographic approaches. The main focus was the introduction of psychobiography into psychological research. It is situated as a qualitative research methodology related to the traditions of case study and life history research. It has had a difficult past with many criticisms but overall, psychobiography has much to offer. Psychobiography has shown a movement toward growth in psychology. Academic psychology was primarily involved with studying to generalise and not with the specificities within individuals’ – their thoughts, feelings, behaviour, motives and aspirations. There was safety with rigour in methods, formulae and distance between the participant and researcher (Allport, 1962; Carlson, 1971). Psychobiography has taken a courageous step into the life of the subject. It gives back individual choice as opposed to seeking commonalities across personalities in a horizontal manner. Researchers look at traits and how they apply within an individual life. Psychobiographical research especially focusses on the freedom that the individual has within their life despite the set recipe of traits and external circumstances (Allport, 1962). The chapter that follows provides a description of the methods used for this psychobiographical study.

Chapter 5: Method 5.1 Introduction: Rigorous “methods of data collection and interpretation” and analysis as well as the application of psychological theory are the foundations of psychobiographical research (Elms, 1994, p. 243). This psychobiographical study was aimed at understanding the life of Maya Angelou and was both a rigorous and creative process. This section covers the methods used to carry out this psychobiography in terms of sample selection, collection of data, analysis, interpretation, and finally methods to ensure quality.

5.2 Subject choice and timeline The subject is one individual, Maya Angelou. A life story is a phenomenon to be explored and examined and is unique in and of itself (Kőváry, 2011). Maya Angelou’s entire life was explored as it is most beneficial to analyse the entire life span of the subject to provide for comprehensive and holistic understandings (Ponterotto, 2014). The richest material comes from her autobiographies which only cover a short timespan – from age 3 years until 40 (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Information from the rest of her life was taken from biographical sources (Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Poetry Foundation, 2014).

5.3 Theory chosen Psychobiography uses theory in an attempt “to accurately understand the life experience, personality, and character of a historical or public figure” (Ponterotto, 2014, p. 81). Theory choice was not a straightforward endeavour but involved much creative intuition and familiarity with the subject and the theory (Cara, 2007). I first looked at the major themes in Maya’s life which included struggle, overcoming, spirituality, meaning in life and growth. Frankl’s existential psychology was chosen because I believed that it would give these themes justice and comprehensively showcase the nuances of Maya’s life. I believed that it would provide for a holistic exploration and understanding of her life (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985). The concepts within Frankl’s theory align with some of the main aims within psychobiographical research:  It attempts to understand the complexities of an entire life: there are various nuances within Angelou’s life, including positive and negative experiences. Her autobiographical reasoning – how she made sense of her life or her subjective understandings were investigated through the application of the many concepts inherent to Frankl’s theory (McAdams, 2006).

 Narrative identity: related to this was the investigation of Angelou’s narrative identity as well as how she made sense of this. Psychological maturation was shown through facing her struggles and growing from them. The various triads were helpful in their application to her life through identification with the prominent themes within her life that linked to her narrative identity (Frankl, 1969, 1985; McAdams, 2006).  Agency: this related to active or passive engagement with life. Active engagement leading to the discovery of meaning and passive engagement leading to frustration. In addition, I was able to use the theory to view the changes in her will to meaning across her lifespan where childhood is about pleasure, teenage years and early adulthood about power and thereafter there was a search for meaning (Frankl, 1969, 1985; McAdams, 2006; Yalom, 1980).  Contextual and longitudinal analysis: psychobiographical research situates and understands the subject in context (Runyan, 2003). Frankl was adamant about viewing the individual in context because meaning is discovered through interaction with the environment and other people (Devoe 2012; Elms 2005; Frankl, 1965). The focus is longitudinal as well as contextual because the subject’s life was analysed from birth till death (McAdams, 2009).  Progression of psychobiography: This study hoped to expand on current research within psychobiography through the application of a psychobiographical method with an overarching logo-theoretical framework where the subject is treated as unique and an active participant in her life (Frankl, 1985).

5.4 Data collection The difficulty in dealing with an accomplished and highly influential subject is the inexorable interest in her life. Angelou’s life has been subjected to examination in various ways, including biographies (Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998), numerous interviews (Angelou & Elliot, 1989; Neubauer & Angelou, 1987) and other analyses of her life (Assefi, 2012; Du, 2014; Ghani & Naz, n.d; Jamali & Nouri, 2011). An exploration of Angelou’s life was an endeavour which involved the selection of material that contributed to the illumination and understanding of the various facets within her life (Burnell, 2013). A small volume of data was analysed extensively therefore ensuring familiarity with the data without discounting any aspects of her life (Strouse, 1988). Interviews were not used because a chronology is covered by her autobiographies and biographies (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

Maya wrote more than twenty books in her lifetime. These include essays, poems, autobiographies, children’s books and cookbooks (see Appendix C). The essays reiterated most of the content within the autobiographies and the poetry would involve a literary analysis. Therefore, these were not used as they would further complicate analysis without adding value.

All seven autobiographies, six of which are collated into one edition, were reviewed as they provide a retrospective first person narrative (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her first book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was published in 1970 and covers her life from ages 3-17. Her next book Gather Together in My Name was published in 1974 and covers the ages 17 to 19. Maya’s third autobiography Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas covers ages 19 to 26 and was published in 1976. The Heart of a Woman was published in 1981 and covers the ages of 28 to 33. Published in 1986, Maya’s fifth autobiography All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes continues from the previous book where she was 33 until 39. Her final autobiography A Song Flung up to Heaven was published in 2002 and covered a year or two of her life until she was 40. It also recapped a few earlier life events. The final book that Maya wrote about her life, Mom & Me & Mom, was published in 2013. It was a reminiscent appreciation of and an ode to her mother.

Angelou’s writing style reflected her individuality and therefore an analysis of her autobiographies revealed underlying motives, concerns and conflicts which contributed to an appreciation and further understanding of her as an individual. The selected books encapsulate, chronicle and/or analyse Angelou’s life and work (Schultz, 2005c). The autobiographies are extremely detailed and are contextualised historically, culturally and racially. An autobiography expresses the author’s inner world and experiences which may not be entirely factual but portray an image of how the individual represents herself and her view of the world. Narration of negative events, such as struggles, reveals something about the subject’s identity, themes and conflicts in their lives, but most importantly, how they make sense of their life (McAdams & Manczak, 2015). The writing might have had some inner psychological function – to express the self, reach out to others or share experiences. Autobiographies, irrespective of their function in the writer’s life, provide a view into the author’s perspective and is a reflection of their personality and character (Elms, 1994). However, authors writing about their lives may be prone to bias in telling their stories therefore biographies were also reviewed.

Biographies may corroborate or provide a different view of events and may provide a slightly more objective account (Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998). However, the authors may also have their own agenda. Lupton (1998) called her an icon. Her book is a portrayal of the life of Maya from age 3 until 40 with a critical thematic analysis of her books. Agins (2013) admired Maya greatly and her biography gives a chronological description of her entire lifespan situated within the historical and political climate. Triangulation of every fact is almost impossible as each author has a different focus in their work resulting in a few gaps/inconsistencies in the data. It was important to acknowledge this and then attention had to be given to prominent themes within the data.

5.5 Data extraction Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014) detail a three phase empirical and systematic method of elicitation, organisation and interpretation of data. They provide general guidelines for working with qualitative data and their method has been applied for the purposes of carrying out this psychobiographical study. The first phase, data condensation, is a technique used to minimise data through the selection of certain pieces of information which encapsulate the larger elements of the subject’s life. It allows the researcher to focus, simplify and transform the data to make sense of it in the context of the participant’s life (Miles et al., 2014).

Data condensation (elicitation) is the most rigorous stage because coherent and valid patterns and analyses are only able to evolve through the selection of salient pieces of information (Miles et al., 2014). Two methods were selected to condense data into meaningful units: Alexander’s indicators of psychological saliency and Schultz’s prototypical scenes (Schultz, 2005b). Data was seen as meaningful if it met the criteria for these saliences. I read through all data sources a few times before making notes on the chronology of Maya’s life and highlighting prominent themes (see Appendix A). The saliences were further reduced by making decisions and judgements about what may have had a psychological impact or caused a change to occur within Maya’s life. Certain factors “shape a person and, in combination, form a major component of personality” (Schultz, 2005b, p. 43). I had to consider which saliences had a degree of psychological influence on Maya’s life as a whole and aligned somewhat with the conceptual theoretical framework of Frankl’s theory (see Appendix B). Only some saliences met the criteria for prototypical scenes therefore the data was further analysed to find instances of Schultz’s prototypical scenes. Both techniques comprised a

57 framework used to elicit the salient aspects present within the data to ensure that valid conclusions were drawn (Perry, 2012; Schultz, 2005b).

Once data had been sifted through, minimised and saliences selected, it had to be organised to identify prominent patterns. Saliencies were added to Frankl’s triad in an attempt to organise and make sense of the data (see Chapter 6). The chapter on Maya’s life was organised into sections. These sections highlighted different phases within her life. I split her life in this way because her childhood, teenage years and early adulthood involved a lot of movement across places and the phases involved a lot of identity navigation. The main aims within data condensation were to identify patterns and search for underlying meanings to events that seem important to the subject (Miles et al., 2014; Schultz, 2005b, 2005c).

5.6 Data analysis Drawing and verifying conclusions, was the last stage which ensured consistency between data extraction, analysis and interpretation. This stage entailed the search for patterns while ensuring consistency (Miles et al., 2014). The first step was to look over saliences and themes in Appendix A and B. Thereafter, I read through chapters 2 and 3. I decided to set out the analyses and interpretation in two parts. First I set out the phases of Maya’s life as I had done in chapter 2. I set out the major themes within each phase (see Table in Appendix B) and did a basic discussion on it following on from chapter 2. I did this by making short notes on these themes and aligning them to concepts within Frankl’s theory (see Chapter 6). I then analysed the data based on the information in chapter 3. The principles within Frankl’s theory were used as a perceptual tool when applied to themes within the table. Each of the concepts set out in chapter 3 were applied to the different phases and were discussed if there was a fit. Thereafter, a further analysis was done through the application of Frankl’s triads (1965, 1985) to provide a more comprehensive understanding. I set out the triads and compared the nuances across her lifespan as per triads in Chapter 6. However, I was aware that Frankl’s theory is only one way of analysing her life and there are difficulties in providing a holistic interpretation. I therefore had to question and critique each explanation, and a holistic interpretation met the following criteria: it was logical, it fully accounted for all aspects of the event, it held under tests to refute the argument, and it fit with all the evidence (Runyan, 1981). The entire process was cyclical. Valid conclusions were ensured through continuous testing of its plausibility within the life and context and confirmation against data. There was

58 a continuous vacillation between data and conclusions reached to ensure trustworthiness and quality of the research (Miles et al., 2014).

5.7 Quality It is essential that quality is ensured throughout the research process. Triangulation was applied through the use of many data sources, ensuring vacillation between data, analyses and conclusion, and ensuring familiarity with data over a period of time (Maree, 2007; Schultz, 2005a). The following measures where taken to ensure quality:

 Thick description was essential in analysis and interpretation with the aim of verisimilitude and transparency. Evidence was provided for all interpretations – which were considered to be the most plausible as substantiated by the evidence (Ponterotto, 2014). All analyses were based on the saliences and quotes which substantiated themes and analyses. These saliences are provided in Appendices A and B (Runyan, 1988b). The analyses also drew on information in chapters 2 and 3, and the triads in Chapter 6.  To provide for comprehensive and holistic understandings, Maya’s life was contextualised within her greater social, cultural and political environment. This included her life in Stamps, St Louis, San Francisco, Europe, Ghana, New York, and Los Angeles. Descriptions of the racial climate within these areas were crucial to an understanding of Maya’s life as racial tensions had a major influence on her. The inclusion of the socio-cultural and historical context within interpretations allows for a deeper and more holistic understanding of the subject (Runyan, 1988a).  Both the theory and the life of the subject where engaged with to ensure familiarity thereby preventing flimsy application of theory. Maya’s life was foremost in the analysis. It was important that Frankl’s concepts were applied to Maya’s life themes to provide for an understanding of her life. If anything was not aligned it was made transparent and not forced to fit. The theory guided the process of analysis (Ponterotto, 2014).  Logical and coherent arguments were ensured through continuous vacillation between interpretations and data. I read through the autobiographies many times to ensure familiarity, and as interpretations were made I ensured that I made notes of evidence from the data to substantiate the analysis (see Appendices) (Schultz, 2005a).

5.8 Ethics Psychobiographical research has allowed a window into viewing and understanding the life of Maya Angelou and rigorous yet ethical methods were used throughout the process. In order to ensure that this study was kept within ethical parameters, only published and publicly available data were used (Kőváry, 2011). It was ensured that the data are freely accessible. Maya Angelou’s books and the information on her life were engaged with in a sensitive and respectful manner. All information used was represented in interpretations that are as accurate as possible and are sensitively and respectfully presented (Burnell, 2013; Chéze, 2009). Maya was an artist and was transparent in her own writing. She was open to an exploration of her life. She believed in honesty and in being open without demeaning another’s character. It was important for her to use information to educate others (Winfrey, 2010). These considerations were an essential component of ethics within this research endeavour. I ensured trustworthiness, respect of the subject, empathy and non-maleficence. I ensured reflexivity throughout the process in order to avoid any bias and to make my intentions apparent.

5.9 Reflexivity Psychobiography is a researcher constructed project and the subject impacts on the researcher in some way (Cara, 2007). I became interested in Maya Angelou many years ago when I read her autobiographies. She struck me as a strong woman who underwent and overcame the many struggles that she faced within her life. I admired her and found her life fascinating. When I had the option of carrying out psychobiographical research for my dissertation, a few famous individuals crossed my mind, but Maya Angelou was the one that grabbed me. However, I became aware that doing research of this nature entailed not identifying too much with the subject as this may lead to bias. I therefore had to understand my reasons for choosing her – it was her life that enthralled me, over and above my fascination for her. I knew that I wanted to understand how she became the influential woman that she turned out to be despite her upbringing in a small, rural town.

Once I began to read through her autobiographies for the purposes of my research, my admiration of her waned, I saw her as an individual and a human being who was experiencing various life changes and difficulties, especially with regards to her family. I saw her conflicts and her desire to be loved and admired because of her insecurities. Writing the chapter on her life was extremely difficult. I felt frustrated trying to present her life objectively as it was

60 especially difficult to organise the data factually and chronologically. There were a few mistakes with dates and it was sometimes difficult to figure out what year an event happened or how old Maya was. I was aware of my changing views of her and ensured that I interpreted data as objectively as possible. My supervisor also made me aware of how I viewed her. I saw Maya as an older woman who inspired others but in doing that I was ignoring her physical self. I had to readjust and reflect on this during the analysis. I am sure now, at the conclusion of this study, that I have a different understanding of Maya Angelou. I started off with an admiration of a woman I did not know, and now have an understanding of an individual who was human, real and living. She was an individual who experienced life and was transparent about these experiences. Her transparency and extreme detail in her books enabled an immersement into her life which contributed to a holistic understanding and interpretation. I am glad that I chose Maya as a subject, her story made it easier to ensure familiarity with data because of my sheer interest in it, and her openness ensured that I handled the data as ethically and objectively as possible.

5.10 Conclusion Psychobiographical research is an unstructured and qualitative approach to the study of an individual life, while there are guidelines to the research; it is mostly the researcher’s imperative and creative intuition that guides the research process (Ponterotto, 2014). This chapter covered the process within this research which was aimed at an understanding of the life of Maya Angelou. The first step of the research involves subject choice. The subject must be an individual who has grabbed the attention of the researcher and was not intensely liked or disliked. Maya fit this profile as while I admired her; it was her life that fascinated me which enabled a more objective analysis of data. Frankl’s theory was chosen as the theoretical application in the understanding of her life as it aligned with the prominent themes in Maya’s life. Data collection, extraction and analysis were processes designed by Miles et al (2014) and also included the selection of saliences in the condensation of data. Quality was ensured through various processes elucidated by Schultz (2005a) which should be carried out to write a good psychobiography. Ethics was as essential part throughout the research process, especially when dealing with a recently deceased subject. Maya Angelou led a fascinating life and the methods applied during the research hopefully uncovered and explored the mystery of her movement from an insecure girl living in a small rural town entrenched in racism to an individual who influenced lives world-wide. The next chapter provides an analysis of her life.

Chapter 6: Analysis and discussion 6.1 Introduction This chapter provides an integration of chapters 2 and 3 in a two part process: first, Maya’s life themes were set out and Frankl’s theoretical conceptual framework was applied to develop an understanding of these themes; second, Frankl’s triads were set out and Maya’s life was applied to these in an attempt to understand the changes across her lifespan. All the information used was from chapters 2 and 3, as well as Appendices A, B, C and the diagrams and tables within this chapter. Appendices A and B include the saliences extracted from Maya’s life and Appendix C has a table with the various themes listed. This chapter includes an analysis of the periods from Maya’s life set out in the chapter on her life. Thereafter, the summary section includes an analysis across her lifespan. First, it is important to situate and contextualise the analysis within Maya’s autobiographical writing.

6.1.1 The discovery of meaning Life stories are an indication of an individual’s reality where there is fact situated within the individual’s constructions and perceptions of events. Most of the analyses below were based on Maya’s autobiographical accounts. Maya was a story teller and the autobiographies fulfilled a function of allowing her to construct her life story, organise it and make sense of it. The entire exercise of writing was meaningful as she used her creative values to discover meaning within her life (Frankl, 1985; McAdams, 2009). The autobiographies are retrospective accounts and are more than situational influences because they also involve interactions and perceptions of events (McAdams, 2006). Maya was making sense and discovering meaning through reviewing and retelling her life story. Her memories were subjective and phenomenological and the stories are a reflection of her narrative identity which is a consolidation of her past, present and future selves. Her narrative allowed a means to explore the themes, conflicts and struggles within her life. This has provided a way to have an in-depth analysis of her life within the context of this study (McAdams & Manczak, 2015).

6.2 Understanding the various phases of Maya’s life: Applying Frankl’s theory to Maya 6.2.1 Childhood (1931-1940) There were a few major conflicts or themes that defined Maya’s childhood. These include: Image, insecurity, love and belonging, abandonment, movement, religion, racial tensions, creative interest, family and blame/guilt. Each of these conflicts contributed to the major

62 theme of her identity development. The themes are grouped into superordinate themes and discussed below. Each theme will be discussed individually and then a summary section will provide an understanding of the contribution of these themes to Maya’s identity development (Angelou, 2004). Frankl’s concepts will be applied to provide for an understanding throughout each theme (Frankl, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1985). It is important to mention here that Maya was a child and many of her responses to the conflicts and struggles faced were age appropriate. Children often seek immediate pleasure, love and security during their childhood, power and independence during their teenage years and purpose and meaning in their later lives (Yalom, 1980). Maya’s life definitely fit this profile.

6.2.1.1 Feelings towards the self and others The following themes are grouped under this category to show how Maya felt about herself and other people. These include the perceptions she had about herself and her interactions with other people. 6.2.1.1.1 Image: Image was a major concern for Maya throughout her childhood years. Maya believed that she was ugly and therefore unworthy of being loved (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). According to Frankl’s theory (1965, 1969, 1985), Maya’s concerns were rooted in the biological dimension of human nature (Frankl, 1965). She believed that physical appearance was of value and therefore did not value herself. Her concerns were wholly focussed on herself without the ability to extend beyond the biological realm because of her perceived physical differences (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998; Morgan, 2012). 6.2.1.1.2 Insecurity Maya was very insecure about herself. Her insecurity led her to be wary of people and to try to impress others by being as perfect as possible (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). Maya’s insecurities were rooted in the psychological dimension of human nature (Frankl, 1969; Ras, 2000). She needed to impress others so that she may use the external validation to prove her worth and value. She used hyper-reflection because she wanted to be perfect and the best at everything. An example of her using hyper-reflection was to be perfect when serving in Momma’s store. Her intense focus on being perfect led to her becoming absorbed with herself which meant that she was unable to transcend to others. This can be considered appropriate for a child of her age as children are often absorbed by their own activities without the ability to extend to others (Frankl, 1969; Pattakos, 2004). Maya sought

63 desperately to fit in and belong somewhere because she could not accept herself (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). 6.2.1.1.3 Love and belonging Unworthiness coupled with insecurity led Maya to seek love, affection and belonging from her family members (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Her need for love and belonging were based on the psychological dimension of Frankl’s tri-dimensional view of human nature (Frankl, 1969, 1985). Maya’s need was based on her psychological insecurities. She was an undefined individual who desperately needed the attention of her family to provide her with a sense of self. Her insecurities also situated her within the biological dimension because they were focussed on her physical self and how she was unworthy. She believed that her family could reject her because of her looks and she was aware that she was disliked by her peers (Lupton, 1998). 6.2.1.1.4 Family Family were of utmost importance to Maya throughout her life. She experienced love and joy around her family (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). The experiential value under Frankl’s meaning triad involves feeling awe and love for nature or for others (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004). However, Maya was wary of love for most of her childhood for fear of being rejected. Despite this, she did want to be loved and had a need to belong somewhere (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004).

6.2.1.2 Suffering and struggles Maya experienced many struggles throughout her childhood. The following are grouped under this heading to show the conflicts and difficulties that she faced during this phase of her life. 6.2.1.2.1 Abandonment This was one of Maya’s major conflicts throughout her childhood and was highlighted as a major saliency and a prototypical scene in Chapter 2 (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Maya felt angry and hurt by her parent’s abandonment and this caused major psychological conflicts within her (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). These conflicts and concerns were rooted in both the biological and psychological dimensions of human nature and contributed to the conflicts mentioned above (Frankl, 1969; Lantz, 1998; Ras, 2000). Maya believed that something was wrong with her and could not extend beyond her biological body issues and psychological insecurities to attempt to understand the reasons for her abandonment. She was a child who was not able to develop a high level of understanding at her age and therefore

64 was not able to understand (Frankl, 1969). A further instance where Maya felt that she was abandoned happened after she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. 6.2.1.2.2 Rape The rape caused Maya enormous pain both biologically and psychologically. It was highlighted as a major saliency and a prototypical scene in Chapter 2. The rape is situated within the tragic triad as it was a trauma that she had to deal with. However, at this time in her life, she was unable to discover the meaning through her pain and struggles that came from this experience (Frankl, 1985). She completely immersed herself in the event and attributed all the blame to herself. It must be remembered that Maya was a child and could not detach herself from the event in order to make sense of it. She also had little support from her family. Her conflicts were therefore situated within the biological and psychological dimensions especially with regard to her need for love and physical intimacy which remained a major theme until her middle adulthood years. However, this was also an indication of her search for meaning because she was using her experiential values to search for love and connection to other people. This is especially evident during her early adulthood where there is a distortion between love and physical intimacy. During childhood, Maya searched for love and affection from those around her and was confused by it. This could have been due to her abandonment or because she moved a lot during her early years and felt rejected by it (Angelou, 2013; Frankl, 1969). 6.2.1.2.3 Movement Maya moved a few times during her childhood. Although she had no choice over these moves, it set the foundation for her life. During her childhood, Maya sought belonging in each of the places that she moved to (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). She searched outside of herself and to some extent this could have contributed to her awareness of meaning beyond herself (Frankl, 1985). Despite this, Maya’s will to meaning was not activated because she was not motivated to discover meaning. As mentioned above, this is understandable as she was a child and her responses were age appropriate (Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1985). 6.2.1.2.4 Blame/Guilt There were many times during Maya’s childhood when she blamed herself for an event and felt guilty over it (Angelou, 2004). According to Frankl (1967), guilt alerts an individual to tensions within themselves so that they are able to be more self-aware and open up to discover meaning moments. Maya’s feelings of guilt were a result of tension because she was attempting to discover who she was (Pattakos, 2004). She wanted to be beautiful and have love and attention but, she also feared this. She therefore was aware of her feelings and felt

65 responsible (Angelou, 2004). While Frankl (1965) advocates for being responsible, Maya’s responsibility derived from blaming herself and assuming a victim stance. She would passively accept the responsibility without reflecting on the reasons behind an event or the rationality of her blame. She therefore was not able to transcend her conflicts and was focussed on herself and doing the right thing at all times (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004).

6.2.1.3 Active engagement There were a few instances were Maya refused to be passive about her circumstances. These are discussed within the life themes below and show how she actively engaged with her life. 6.2.1.3.1 Religion A major influence during Maya’s childhood was Momma’s religiosity (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). According to Frankl’s (1985) theory, religion and a belief in a transcendental being rests in the spiritual dimension of human nature (Marseille, 1997). Maya did believe in God although she feared Him. She was cynical in her descriptions of religion. She also thought that people should not be passive beings with an unhealthy reliance on an external being (Angelou, 2004). Maya’s belief in God would fall within the spiritual dimension of human nature therefore providing evidence that she had some awareness of meaning (Frankl, 1967). In addition, her belief in an active stance to life was evidence of her freedom to will. She was aware that people had to be responsible for their own lives as she was always displeased by the neighbours and Momma refusing to take some active stance in their lives, especially with regards to the racial segregation in their town (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004; Swanepoel, 1997). 6.2.1.3.2 Racial tensions Segregation defined most of Maya’s childhood. She was aware of racial tensions and politics throughout her life and always took an active stance toward it. Maya was averse to Momma’s passive acceptance to the system (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). This was the beginnings of Maya’s defiant power where she had the ability to deal with social circumstances and her attitude helped to transcend these circumstances in her mind (Lantz, 1998; Ras, 2008). Her active stance set the foundation for her later involvement in Black activism. It was also an indication of her will to meaning and her freedom to will (Frankl, 1985). Maya’s will to meaning was her striving to find a purpose in spite of the dominant hegemonic structures that were imposed on Black people at the time. She chose to be active and responsible for her life (Pattakos, 2004). Maya fought back in subtle ways because she expected something better

66 from her life and was determined to make that happen. This was also evidence of Maya’s attitude towards external situations. She believed that the situation was changeable and was determined to be active about it (Angelou, 2004). Her attitudinal values enabled Maya to strive to make a change and this gave her purpose and meaning (Frankl, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1985). 6.2.1.3.3 Creative interest Maya’s determination to do something with her life was also displayed in her creative nature. She loved reading but she also wanted to apply herself and be active. She therefore began writing poetry from the age of 9. Maya enjoyed writing and expressing herself (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). This was evidence of the creative value within Frankl’s meaning triad (Frankl, 1985). Maya found purpose and discovered meaning through her creative work which would also set the foundation for her later life (Agins, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Poetry Foundation, 2014).

6.2.1.4 The self and the discovery of meaning The above conflicts all contributed to Maya’s identity formation (Angelou, 2004). She was absorbed with herself which gave her a smaller perspective of life and made it difficult to transcend her circumstances (Yalom, 1980). She was not searching for meaning and those meaning moments that she did discover were not purposefully sought (Crumbaugh, 1971). Her interest in writing and her love for family gave her meaning however, at this point in her life, it did not fulfil her as her concerns were situated within a biological and psychological dimension (Angelou, 2004; Wong, 2014). There was a sense of unease and discomfort with her self. Maya could not accept who she was and it created tension within her. However, she chose to passively ignore the tensions. Her active stances against religious and racial oppression were the defining aspects of her identity during this time. Overall, Maya’s identity was still very much developing during this time. They were a few aspects of herself which she was not able to accept but which she could do nothing to change. This led to her insecurity and hyper-reflection to be perfect (Angelou, 2004; Pattakos, 2004). The aspects that were external to her, such as race and religion, Maya contended with because she believed that she could change these. There were a lot of conflicts and tensions within her identity during her childhood years (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.2 Teenage years (1941-1945) During Maya’s teenage years, she experienced many of the same conflicts as during her childhood. However, a few of them fell away as she had moved away from Stamps into her mother’s home. These conflicts all contributed toward Maya’s burgeoning identity (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.2.1 Feelings towards the self and others The conflicts here are similar to those within Maya’s childhood although her relationships with others become less wary. Her notions of herself were still fragmented and it was often difficult for her to contend with. 6.2.2.1.1 Image and insecurity Maya was still very much insecure about her physical appearance during her teenage years (Angelou, 2004, 2013). While hyper-reflection on herself in terms of her looks and body was still situated within the biological dimension, it also had psychological impacts and therefore would also be situated within the psychological dimension (Frankl, 1969). She wanted to be perfect and impress others with her looks. Her conflicts over her body also extended to her sexuality. She was insecure about being categorised as a female as she believed that her features were masculine. Her insecurities over her self led to her need for external validation through acceptance as her sense of self value was low (Angelou, 2004, 2013). 6.2.2.1.2 Acceptance and belonging Maya’s need for acceptance and belonging continued into her teenage years, although, during this phase of her life, she was more aware of the love from her family (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Therefore, while Maya’s need was still situated in a psychological dimension during her teenage years, it had also become less fervent (Frankl, 1967). This could have been because she had become more accepting toward herself and growing towards the spiritual dimension through the meaning she discovered in loving her family (Frankl, 1985). 6.2.2.1.3 Family Family allowed Maya to feel love and to extend beyond herself to care for others (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Maya’s love for family was again a testament to the experiential value within Frankl’s meaning triad. She derived meaning and purpose from her relationships with her family and her experiences with them (Frankl, 1965, 1969, 1985). She believed that she belonged and no longer sought to impress them or compare herself to them. Maya preferred to apply her energies to seeking purpose in her life (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.2.2 Active engagement Maya began to be more actively engaged with her life during her teenage years and the following two themes illustrate this. 6.2.2.2.1 Responsiblity Responsibleness lay in Maya’s defiance and independence (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her sense of responsibleness arose from her values (Frankl, 1965; Pattakos, 2004). She believed that there were morals and values to follow and when she went against these, it created tension within her. These tensions led her to be active about her life and by making changes that were aligned to her values. It was also an indication of her will to meaning and freedom to will. She wanted to strive for a better life and a better way of applying herself to life. Maya also wanted to be responsible for the choices that she made and refused to be a victim (Pattakos, 2004). There was some growth from her previous passive acceptance of events around her where she would accept blame for something that she could not control. However, Maya always believed that she was responsible and was determined to apply herself to discover meaning in a purposeful manner (Angelou, 2013; Frankl, 1969). 6.2.2.2.2 Career Maya began to be goal orientated as she realised that she had a future and wanted to make the best of it as soon as possible (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1985). Her decision to choose work as a street car conductor was the result of her determination to secure a job that was not offered to Black people and was therefore a step towards defeating the system (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013). Maya’s search for fulfilment in a career showed that she wanted purpose in her life. This opened her up to the fundamental triad and all the aspects of it. She had become aware of the existence of meaning, she searched for purpose to discover meaning moments and she believed that she was free and responsible for the choices that she made regarding these. Her attitude to get a job also fell within Frankl’s meaning triad (Frankl, 1965, 1969, 1985). She was aware that Black people could not work as street car conductors but she was determined to get the job (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013).

6.2.2.3 The self and the discovery of meaning Maya was definitely growing as an individual and defining the person that she was to become. However, her inability to fully accept herself and transcend beyond her physical self and psychological conflicts meant that she was still not aware of her spiritual dimension (Frankl, 1985). She was still developing as a purposeful person and discovering meaning moments throughout her process. She had become more accepting of herself however, she

69 still doubted who she was and was very unsure of herself. The arrival of her son was a difficult challenge for her as her identity was still very fluid and she did not know how to be a mother. This led to many difficulties for most of her adulthood as she navigated many roles while defining her identity (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.3 Early adulthood (1945 – 1955) This phase was a very conflictual and fluid time for Maya. It was a crucial time for the navigation and definition of her identity. She was assimilating various roles within her identity and therefore this time of her life was scattered and confused (Lupton, 1998). Many of the previous themes from her childhood and teenage years are present during her early adulthood as she attempted to carve a niche for herself and work through her conflicts. Maya navigated these conflicts in a life outside of her family and these contributed to her fluid and changing identity (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.3.1 Feelings towards self and others Maya’s insecurities about herself were transferred to her relationships with boyfriends. Her focus shifted from receiving love from family to desperately seeking love through physical intimacy with men. 6.2.3.1.1 Insecurity – Superiority Maya hid her insecurity about her self and her body by pretending that she was superior to other people. She often had to reiterate that she was better than most of her peers or fellow employees (Angelou, 2004). Her insecurity was an indication of a psychological conflict within her and a type of hyper-reflection and hyper-intention resulting in a neurosis about herself. The hyper-reflection was evidenced by her need to constantly impress others and gain their approval. She wanted to be perfect in her image and in the work that she did. The hyper- intention was a result of attempting to deny her imperfections and focus on her superiority over others (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1969; Ras, 2000). Her focus on herself meant that she still remained in the psychological dimension of Frankl’s tri-dimensional view of human nature especially because of her need for love and affection (Frankl, 1965; Meyer, 1997). 6.2.3.1.2 Love and affection Family was less of a concern for Maya and she sought love and affection from friends, lovers and the public. She constantly sought to impress the people around her. She stated that she changed her identity many times to suit the people around her. Maya’s insecurity was transferred to her relationships as she believed that she was not worthy of love and had to

70 prove herself (Angelou, 2004; Agins, 2013). This resulted in anticipatory anxiety where her hyper-reflection to keep a relationship led to her fear of it failing (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004). Anticipatory anxiety was a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy as Maya tried her best to ensure that her boyfriends stayed with her but they broke up with her after a short term. Her hyper-reflection consisted of trying to be perfect for them by shaping herself to their expectations. These conflicts were situated within the psychological dimension as Maya was so focussed on herself and improving herself to suit others that she was not able to enjoy the relationships or the process of being who she was (Morgan, 2012; Yalom, 1980). Her need for love and affection was also situated within a biological dimension as there was a distortion between love and physical intimacy. Maya changed her image, her personality and also prostituted herself to show her love for boyfriends. She expressed love through her physicality and at times it extended into a form of physical ownership where her boyfriend would ‘own’ her body (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1969). Maya allowed this because she was very unsure of herself and needed her boyfriends’ to define her through a sense of belonging to them. 6.2.3.1.3 Belonging and acceptance Maya desperately wanted to fit in with others and carve a niche for herself. Her need for external validation was an extension from her early life and an indication of her conflicts being situated within the psychological dimension. However, there was also an awareness of meaning, to an extent, because Maya seemed to be searching for her place amongst others and in the world. Her awareness also resulted from her reflections during her search at this time. Although it seemed as if she was lost and had no sense of self, it was evident that Maya’s roots in Stamps grounded her and helped to shape her identity through her sense of belonging there (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998; Frankl, 1969). 6.2.3.1.4 Stamps as security Maya had always felt comfort and belonging in Stamps. She used her experiential values to derive meaning from the place where she grew up and was taken care of by Momma. Maya discovered meaning by reflecting on her memories of her experience there and the sense of love and belonging that she experienced with Momma (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1969; Shantall, 1997). This was something that Maya later sought from her relationships with men (Angelou, 2004). 6.2.3.1.5 Marriage and family Maya often fantasized about having a husband and more children. She wanted to be taken care of and she wanted a family to take care of (Angelou, 2004). While her need to be loved

71 and taken care of was evidence of her psychological conflicts and belief that she had to be dependent on a man, it also showed that she sought love. She was applying her experiential values to discover meaning (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004). Maya wanted fulfilment within a loving, balanced relationship but her difficulty in transcending beyond the biological dimension where love was beyond physical was difficult and caused her tensions (Frankl, 1985). During this phase, love was sex for Maya. She enjoyed physical intimacy with her partners and described it in detail within her autobiographies. This was an indication of her definition of love – sex and submission of herself. This was difficult for Maya to grapple with and it created tensions within her (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.3.2 Suffering and struggles The major struggle that Maya faced during this time was with regards to her relationship with her son. She wanted to be a free and independent woman and often felt tied down by having a child to take care of. 6.2.3.2.1 Mother role While navigating the various nuances of her identity and attempting to discover who she was, Maya found her mother role the most difficult to integrate into her identity (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). Her love and awe of him was an indication of her experiential values in discovering meaning (Esping, 2010; Lantz, 2008). However, her difficulty in accepting his existence and applying herself to him caused frustrations and tensions within her which she chose to ignore. She thought that she had to make a living for them and she enjoyed being away from him. It was difficult for her to be a young adult and a mother at once. Her ignored tensions led to feelings of guilt which in turn led to an existential vacuum which Maya sought to fill with love or sex/physical intimacy from her boyfriends’ (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004). However, she was not able to be released from the guilt over abandoning Guy. 6.2.3.2.2 Guilt/abandon Maya experienced extreme guilt over having to leave Guy every time she had to work. Maya’s guilt over having abandoned Guy was evidence of the internal conflict that she experienced because it went against her values, morals and beliefs (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Therefore, she experienced tensions represented as guilt, an aspect of the tragic triad. She chose to ignore these tensions which caused even more guilt and conflict situating her within the psychological dimension of the fundamental triad. She had to face these tensions when Guy was kidnapped and acknowledged that she was responsible for him and that she

72 loved him immensely. There was much trial and turmoil during this phase of her life and many instances where Maya was not able to engage with life. There were also moments where she did seek purpose and fulfilment in her life (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1965, 1985; Ponsaran, 2007).

6.2.3.3 Active engagement Maya’s active engagement with her life increased from her early adulthood years onwards. 6.2.3.3.1 Religion During her childhood and teenage years, Maya did not have a strong connection with religion. She began to test her understandings of religion and her notion of God during her early twenties. Religion gave her strength and allowed her to transcend the difficulties that she faced (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). This was an indication of Maya’s awareness of meaning which she derived from her faith. This is situated within the spiritual dimension of human nature (Pattakos, 2004). Prayer and faith provided Maya with purpose and meaning and a sense that she belonged somewhere. Despite this, Maya continued her search for meaning through her many travels (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). 6.2.3.3.2 Movement/Geographic mobility Most of Maya’s early life was defined by movement. Her early adulthood years involved a lot of voluntary movement for her career (Angelou, 2004). She seemed to be aware of the existence of meaning and wanted to discover it. Her constant movements were a sign that she was searching for something that was beyond her. She attempted to find purpose during her travels and it contributed greatly to her identity (Devoe, 2012; Lewis, 2011). This could also indicate the existential vacuum that she experienced because she also searched for love and wealth. An existential vacuum being a sense of emptiness and lack of fulfilment from not finding her purpose while searching for hedonistic pleasures –sex, food, power (Crumbaugh, 1971; Frankl, 1985). However, despite this, Maya wanted to make something of her life and be responsible for her choices (Angelou, 2004). 6.2.3.3.3 Responsible Maya had always felt responsible for her life. She wanted to be the best she could be in every way and she aimed to do this independently. She was aware of the freedom that she had within her life but also of the responsibility she had for any consequences. This is situated within the fundamental triad and showed Maya’s freedom to will (Frankl, 1967). There were a few times that her sense of responsibility led her to blame herself and feel guilty for her choices. This created tension within her and Maya chose to apply herself to these. She

73 refused to be upset over her boyfriends’ breaking up with her because she had made the choice to be with them. She was also responsible for Guy and for her career which had become very important to her (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1965, 1969, 1985). 6.2.3.3.4 Career development Defining herself through her career was Maya’s priority during this phase. She worked in various different jobs but often left because she did not derive any purpose from it. Her time as a dancer and singer gave her meaning. She enjoyed using her voice and liked the way her body moved. She also loved to entertain people (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). She applied her creative values, as aspect of the meaning triad, to discover meaning in her life. She transcended beyond herself to make other people happy and this fulfilled her (Shantall, 1997). Maya’s will to meaning was a striving to apply herself to something that gave her a purpose (Pattakos, 2004). She also found that engaging in racial politics provided her with meaning. 6.2.3.3.5 Racial tensions As Maya got older she experienced heightened conflict with regards to her entrenched notions of race. Maya was able to transcend her own conflicts in order to accept people who had previously been the ‘oppressors’ (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985). Her ability to question and transcend her own assumptions showed an awareness of her spiritual dimension (Frankl, 1965, 1985). It was also an indication of the ability to use her attitudinal values to accept people who she did not understand and discover meaning in her relationships (Frankl, 2011; Pattakos, 2004; Wong, 2014). However, Maya sometimes felt guilty about having White friends because she believed that she was doing a disservice to her race after the many years of oppression. This created a lot of tension within Maya situating her, to some extent, within the psychological dimension. However, she engaged with and attempted to navigate her conflicts showing her freedom to will and her will to meaning (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 2011).

6.2.3.4 The self and the discovery of meaning There were many shifts and changes to Maya’s identity during this phase of her life. Her identity was fragmented especially because Maya could not assimilate the mother role into her identity for most of this phase (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). She was invested in finding a niche within her career which was evidence of the awareness of a spiritual dimension, the will to meaning, freedom to will and using her creative values to discover meaning (Frankl, 1965, 1967, 1985, 2011). There were also many tensions

74 experienced which alerted Maya to the suppression of her identity. These tensions were often ignored as Maya found that image and impression were important for her at the time. She therefore did not feel fulfilled and attempted to engage in behaviours such as changing her type of dress, prostituting herself, and wanting to take drugs to keep her boyfriends. Maya also changed her name in service of her career taking on a new identity which would remain for the rest of her life. Her many travels indicated a search for something and she sought freedom and fulfilment from her career (Angelou, 2004; Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1985; Lewis, 2011; Ras, 2000).

6.2.4 Middle adulthood (1955 – 1965) Maya began to understand herself much more during her middle adulthood phase. She faced a few major conflicts with regard to her identity, her relationship with Guy and engaging in a fulfilling career. She had become mature in many aspects of her being and became settled and assertive about herself and her relationships (Angelou, 2004).

6.2.4.1. Feelings towards self and others Maya became more secure about herself and her relationships with others during her middle adulthood years. 6.2.4.1.1 Belonging and acceptance Maya sought belonging and acceptance in love, career and within herself. During this phase of her life, one of the greatest internal conflicts that Maya experienced was between her African and American selves (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). This represented her drive to be accepted and was rooted in the psychological dimension of human nature (Frankl, 1967). However, when Maya began to understand that she was an individual and independent then she began to transcend these conflicts and accept herself which was a possible move toward the spiritual dimension (Frankl, 1967; Morgan, 2012). There were still a few issues that she struggled with that tied her to the psychological dimension. 6.2.4.1.2 Love and affection Maya needed external validation from her partners. It was her deep seated insecurity and difficulty accepting herself that led to her need for love and affection from others. She was somewhat still situated within a biological dimension because her definition of love as sex remained the same during this phase although she had begun to question it. She was also situated within the psychological dimension of human nature as she wanted to please others and be whoever her lovers wanted her to be. Maya did not have a sense of herself within her

75 relationships. She suppressed her voice and her identity. She was intent on being the perfect wife and lover and therefore was not fulfilled in relationships (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1967; Pattakos, 2004). This created frustrations and tensions within her as Maya did not allow herself to be assertive (Lantz, 1998). She sought to be loved and wanted to nurture others which was also an indication of applying her experiential values to discover meaning (Frankl, 1985). Her greatest wish at the time was to be protected and cared for within a marriage (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). 6.2.4.1.3 Marriage and family The need to have a family of her own probably arose from Maya’s broken family during her childhood. She sought comfort and protection (Angelou, 2004). This was an indication of her rootedness within the psychological dimension (Frankl, 1985). However, Maya also wanted a family and not just a husband. Her experiential values were being activated to discover meaning. She wanted fulfilment within a family with a husband, a home and children. Maya discovered that she would not get this if she continued to be subservient to her lovers. She learnt to assert herself and showed her will to meaning and her freedom to will when she left Vus (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1965, 1967). She believed that she could be fulfilled and she made the choice to discover meaning (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Shantall, 1997). She was also able to apply herself more successfully to her struggles.

6.2.4.2 Suffering and struggles During this phase of her life, Maya was able to engage with her struggles and derive meaning from it. Her greatest struggle was with her relationship with Guy. 6.2.4.2.1 Abandonment Maya had become more comfortable with her mother role (Angelou, 2004). She confronted the tensions that she experienced with her role and aligned it with her identity and her values (Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1985). However, the dynamic between mother and son began to shift where Maya craved his love and attention but Guy wanted to be independent and responsible for himself. This was devastating for Maya (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). It represented a deep seated psychological conflict as she was afraid to let him go (Frankl, 1967). However, although the conflict was psychological, it also signalled the awareness of a spiritual dimension as Maya was able to transcend beyond herself to care for another. There was therefore a movement from a psychological dimension into a spiritual one (Frankl, 1985). She had moved from a close focus on herself to wanting to protect and be available for

76 another person. She was also able to engage with her guilt over him which had caused much tension within her (Angelou, 2004). 6.2.4.2.2 Guilt Maya continued to experience guilt over her relationship with Guy. She had abandoned him for over two years to pursue her singing and dance career. When she returned, her guilt was so intense that she considered suicide (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her guilt was alerting her to tensions that she experienced (Mun, 2005). She understood that she was living against her values by being away from Guy and once she was aware of this, she decided to make a change (Frankl, 1965). She also used her attitudinal value to realise that life was full of value. Maya was able to discover meaning through changing her attitude. She had wanted to end her life but had ended up saving herself and Guy through changing her perception of her life (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 2011). However, she continued to experience guilt over Guy especially when he began asserting his independence. One of the major saliences and prototypical scenes highlighted in chapter 2 was Guy’s accident. He was one of the most important people in her life and she experienced immense guilt over not having protected him. It led her to despair and depression and again she had to apply her attitudinal values to change her perspective and this allowed her to live her own life separate from him (Angelou, 2004; Devoe, 2012). It was during this phase of her life that she was able to begin actively engaging with and discovering meaning within the various themes.

6.2.4.3 Active engagement Maya was actively engaged in her life and was able to discover meaning moments in her career and in her involvement with politics. 6.2.4.3.1 Racial tensions Maya had always disliked the racial political system that she was born into (Angelou, 2004). Her belief that she and others could make a change was a result of her will to meaning, her freedom to will and using her attitudinal and creative values to make a change (Frankl, 1965, 1967, 1985, 2011). Maya believed that there was a greater purpose for her by helping out other people. She was therefore able to transcend beyond herself into the spiritual dimension of human nature. She was aware that there was a higher meaning in involving herself in the ‘struggle’. It gave her purpose and fulfilment (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998). She was free to make the choice to join and be involved and knew that she was responsible for her choices (Fabry, 1987). Maya used her creative values to help the cause when she staged a play to raise funds for the Black cause (Angelou, 2004; Esping,

2010). Mostly, her attitude toward helping others and believing that a change was possible gave her strength and purpose. The situation was changeable for Maya and she applied herself to make this possible (Fabry, 1987; Frankl, 1965, 1985, 2000). Black activism played a major role during this phase of her life and career (Angelou, 2004). 6.2.4.3.2 Career Maya’s career fulfilled her in many ways and situated her firmly within the spiritual dimension of human nature where, her will to meaning led her to search and discover meaning through fulfilment (Frankl, 1967; Yalom, 1980). She also experienced freedom in choice and knew that she was responsible for her life and for her happiness. She therefore, wanted a career where she could create, educate and help others. Her transcendental nature and her creative values used to discover meaning suggests that Maya was aware of the existence of meaning and how she was contributing to something that was beyond her (Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1985; Marseille, 1997).

6.2.4.4 The self and the discovery of meaning Growth and maturity defined Maya’s middle adulthood phase. She began to get more comfortable with the person that she was to become. She sought holism for her fragmented identity. There was a move from the psychological dimension to the spiritual dimension as Maya attempted to transcend her psychological conflicts and extend beyond herself to other people (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004). She also moved from the need for external validation to internal validation through self-acceptance. Maya was defining herself in terms of who she was as an individual, mother, lover, career woman and daughter. She believed that she was American and that she was independent. Overall, this period of her life showed Maya’s growth and this would continue into her final years (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

6.2.5 Remaining years (1965 – 2014) Maya’s life began to change after she turned 40. She became more settled about herself and had found her niche and her purpose in life. Her greatest goal was to help and educate others. There is not much personal experiential information about this phase of her life but many people wrote about her achievements and the individual that she had become (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998).

6.2.5.1 Feelings towards others Maya was confident about herself and felt secure in her relationships with other people.

6.2.5.1.1 Family and friends Maya shifted her focus from lovers and marriage to her family and friends. Maya felt accepted, love and belonging from her family and friends. Although this was external validation, it was not something that she craved, but something that she knew was inherent in her relationships. She felt sure of herself and valued amongst her family and friends (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her psychological conflicts about them no longer caused tension and she was able to transcend them into a spiritual dimension. She used her experiential values to derive meaning from her relationships and felt fulfilled through them (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004).

6.2.5.2. Suffering and struggles Family was extremely important to Maya and she was always concerned over Guy’s well- being. Maya experienced guilt over her family throughout most of her life and in her late adulthood years she was able to engage with it and discover meaning through this. 6.2.5.2.1 Guilt When Maya returned from Ghana having left Guy behind, she experienced extreme guilt. Although he was an adult, and chose to be independent, she believed that she was still responsible for him (Angelou, 2004). Her guilt was a part of the tragic triad and had, for most of her life as a mother, signalled the tensions she experienced with regard to their relationship (Frankl, 1965, 1985). Maya was upset at having being abandoned by her parents and she had done the same with Guy many times. This did not align with her values. Through her guilt, Maya learnt that she loved Guy and wanted to be the best mother that she could be. She was able to give him his space and also be her own person (Angelou, 2004, 2013). Her conflicts moved from the psychological dimension to the spiritual level as Maya derived meaning from their relationship even though they were apart (Frankl, 1985). Her love for him had been selfish as she needed him to need her. However, she got deeper meaning from their relationship when she let go and her love became more selfless where she loved him without smothering him (Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998; Pattakos, 2004). It was especially through engaging with her life, and her career, that helped her through this (Angelou, 2013).

6.2.5.3 Active engagement Maya’s remaining year’s involved active engagement with her life where she found her purpose through writing and educating other people.

6.2.5.3.1 Career Career was another aspect that fulfilled Maya’s life and was pertinent during this last phase. She had discovered her passion for writing and producing. Maya had become famous and was fulfilled through her career which gave her purpose (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Ras, 2000). She discovered meaning through her work and strove to continue until the day she died because of the meaning it gave her (Poetry Foundation, 2014). This aspect of her life showed her awareness of meaning, will to meaning, freedom to will, and the use of creative and experiential values to discover meaning. Her work gave her purpose therefore provided her with meaning. She was motivated to write and educate others showing her will to meaning. Maya was aware that she was free to discover meaning in her work and also knew that she was responsible for what she produced. She used her creative values to discover this meaning and most of all, sought to educate and help other people throughout her career. Her autobiographies are an indication of using her creative and experiential values to discover meaning as she reflected on her life and memories deriving meaning from them through her writing (Frankl, 1985; Pattakos, 2004; Wong, 2014). The earliest sign of her awareness of meaning had begun through her experience of racial tensions and her defiance against it. 6.2.5.3.2 Racial tensions Maya used her books to educate people about racial tensions. She taught other people about peace and love and she became the person that she hoped others would be (Agins, 2013, Angelou, 2004, 2013; Winfrey, 2010). She found fulfilment in the message that she was spreading of never being defeated no matter the circumstances and this is the meaning that she derived from life (Frankl, 1969; Lupton, 1998). Her attitudinal value of having hope and faith for the future also gave meaning to her (Lewis, 2011). Most of all, her need and ability to accept and help others was extremely important to her (Winfrey, 2010). 6.2.5.3.3 Transcendence Maya had always sought to help others throughout her life. Once she became famous, her major aim was to educate others. She was aware that she had experienced many struggles, had low self-esteem and had much insecurity. Maya believed that life was a journey of searching for self-awareness (Lupton, 1998). She wanted to share her journey with others so they could learn from it and apply themselves to life as she had during her later phases of life (Angelou, 2013; Lupton, 1998; Winfrey, 2010). In doing this, Maya wanted others to become aware of meaning as she had. She also transcended beyond herself into being selfless through helping others (Frankl, 1985).

6.2.5.4 The self and the discovery of meaning Security, closure, holism, acceptance and self-belief are some of the aspects that defined Maya’s identity during the last phase of her life. She had discovered the person that she was and was settled and comfortable about her self. She was able to transcend her many conflicts as she grew more secure about herself (Angelou, 2013; Frankl, 1967). Maya became more spiritual during the last phase of her life. She had become aware of a purpose and meaning that was above and beyond herself and sought to share this with others through her teachings and books (Yalom, 1980). Maya used her struggles and the lessons that life taught her to reach her full potential and have a sense of actualisation and purpose in her life (Frankl, 1967, 1969).

Below is a summary of the major themes across the phases of Maya’s life in relation to Frankl’s theoretical concepts and triads:

Table 1: Themes across various phases of Maya's life Fundamental triad Meaning triad Tragic Triad Era Biological Psychological Spiritual Awareness Will Freedom Creative Experiential Attitudinal Suffering Guilt Death Childhood:  1. Image   2. Insecurity   3. Love and     belonging 4. Abandonment    5. Movement      6. Religion          7. Race        8. Creative interest      9. Family     10. Blame and guilt     11. Identity   Teenage: 1. Image and    insecurity 2. Acceptance and   belonging 3. Responsible        4. Family    5. Career       6. Identity   Early adulthood: 1. Insecurity and    superiority 2. Love and    affection 3. Religion        4. Belonging and   acceptance 5. Movement    6. Responsible       7. Career       

Table 1: Themes across various phases of Maya's life (Continued)

Fundamental triad Meaning triad Tragic Triad Era Biological Psychological Spiritual Awareness Will Freedom Creative Experiential Attitudinal Suffering Guilt Death 8. Mother role    9. Marriage and      family 10. Racial tensions       11. Guilt    12. Identity  Middle adulthood: 1. Abandonment    2. Belonging and      acceptance 3. Love and     affection 4. Marriage and       family 5. Racial tensions          6. Career        7. Guilt   8. Identity       Remaining years: 1. Guilt    2. Family    3. Career        4. Transcend        5. Race        6. Identity      

6.2.6 The awareness of meaning Maya’s life was filled with much movement and change. As a child, Maya’s life themes did not align much with many of Frankl’s triads. However, she was young and children are often situated within biological and psychological dimensions. There was not much awareness of meaning apart from her defiant attitude to race and religion. These themes were indications that Maya would not allow circumstances to defeat her. As she got older, her themes began to align more closely to Frankl’s triads. She had begun to move from a biological dimension into a psychological dimension as she became a teenager, although her move towards a spiritual dimension began during her teenage years, it was only consolidated during her middle to late adulthood years. As a teenager and young adult there was some awareness of meaning through seeking purpose in her life – a will to meaning and a freedom to will. She was also applying her values from the meaning triad to discover meaning however her insecurity about herself and her refusal to acknowledge tensions rooted her firmly within the psychological dimension. As Maya matured, she was able to transcend many conflicts and moved toward a spiritual dimension where she was able to reflect on life and showed an awareness of meaning (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985). See below for a visual representation of Maya’s movement across the dimensions:

Childhood Bio

Teenage

Early Adulthood Psych

Middle Adulthood

Spiritual Remaining

Changes across Maya’s lifespan

6.3 A succinct view through the life: Applying Maya to Frankl Maya’s life was filled with various conflicts that were grouped into themes. The above discussion was a detailed overview of the phases of Maya’s life and how Frankl’s concepts were woven into these phases and applied to understand her conflicts. There are various themes within Maya’s life and Frankl’s concepts can be applied to identify patterns across these themes. The next section does this within the sections of Frankl’s theory: Tri-dimension view of human beings, neuroses, fundamental triad, meaning triad and tragic triad. In terms of the triads, each element is discussed in an application to Maya’s life and then a visual summary is provided after each triad section. This was used to understand the changes across Maya’s entire lifespan (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985).

6.3.1 Tri-dimension view of human beings There are three components of this view: the biological, psychological and spiritual dimension (Meyer, 1997). All of these dimensions are available to human beings and all must be taken into account to understand an individual (Frankl, 1967). People go through different dimensions throughout their life and this was evident in Maya’s life. During much of her life she was self-absorbed with her body. She was situated within a biological dimension for most of her life because of these concerns. She did not like the way she looked and often compared herself to others as a child and teenager. Maya consistently sought to be loved and wanted physical intimacy. After she was raped, this led to her distorting love and sex. As a young adult, her relationships were defined by sex. Maya wanted to completely immerse her entire being into her relationships and had no sense of self. The only way she knew how to love was to give of her body and this was explicitly evident when she prostituted herself for her partner. She loved him enough that he ‘owned’ her body. The biological dimension described her very physicality and how she was absorbed by it for a great part of her life. Maya’s insecurities about her body and need for love caused her psychological conflict. Therefore, Maya was also rooted in the psychological dimension until her middle to late adulthood years. Her childhood was focussed on her bodily insecurities and during her teenage to middle adulthood years, Maya was figuring out her psychological conflicts. Towards the end of her middle adulthood phase, she began to be more accepting towards herself. This allowed her to transcend beyond self-absorption into the spiritual dimension and work through her neuroses (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1969; Morgan, 2012).

6.3.2 Neuroses Maya’s difficulty in transcending beyond her self was a result of her denying the tensions and frustrations that she experienced. According to Frankl (1965), when an individual denies their awareness of meaning and goes against their values and morals, they experience tensions and frustrations which further alert them to the awareness of meaning. However, these become neurotic when they are ignored (Shantall, 1997). There are two types of neuroses: collective and individual. Maya was aware of the collective neuroses of Black people from her childhood. Momma and her fellow neighbours would bemoan their struggles but they never took any action against it. The collective neuroses were shared amongst almost all Black people that Maya knew and she was completely against this. However, she did search for pleasure and power during her early adulthood years thereby falling in with the collective neurosis of a hedonistic life. A hedonistic life involves seeking immediate satisfaction usually involving physical pleasures but it is not long lasting and did not fulfil Maya. She also experienced an existential vacuum because she was not being fulfilled therefore smoked, drank alcohol and delved in drugs a few times. The existential vacuum arose because she ignored tensions that signalled the existence of meaning and denied her will to freedom and freedom to will (Angelou, 2004; Burger, 2007; Crumbaugh, 1971). Her existential vacuum was a sense of emptiness within her which was also affected by her individual neuroses (Frankl, 2011).

Maya experienced many psychological conflicts or individual neuroses during her life. Most of these were a result of her hyper-intentions and hyper-reflections (Pattakos, 2004). She was very insecure about herself but wanted to ignore this through attempting to be perfect and to impress other people. This was the major aim of her hyper-reflection; she wanted to always be perfect to impress other people. She also experienced extreme guilt over her abandonment of Guy. She was hyper-intent on ignoring this in her search for hedonism and this resulted in her becoming depressed and contemplating suicide (Angelou, 2004). She also used hyper- reflection in her aims to search for hedonism. She wanted to be perfect, admired and successful (Frankl, 1965; Wessels, 2013). She desperately wanted love, belonging and acceptance (Angelou, 2004). Her needs for this resulted in a self-absorption which was present for most of her life. As she reached late adulthood, Maya began to move away from neuroses as she began to settle into her life and accept the person that she was becoming. Her search for hedonism gave way to a search for purpose and fulfilment in her life. She began to feel uncomfortable about her life and these tensions signalled her awareness of meaning. She

86 started to engage with her tensions by acknowledging them and no longer pursued a hedonistic life. Maya wanted to transcend beyond herself by helping, loving and educating others. Once she found her purpose in her career and love and security within her family, Maya felt comfortable within herself. She had acknowledged that meaning existed, she was motivated to discover meaning, she believed that she was free to discover it and used creativity, experience and attitude to do so no matter what her circumstances (Frankl, 1985).

6.3.3 Fundamental triad Frankl (1985) conceptualised the fundamental triad to explain how people can be aware of meaning and how they both strive for it and are free to do so. The three components of the triad are: the awareness of meaning, the will to meaning and the freedom to will. 6.3.3.1 Awareness of meaning Maya’s awareness of meaning was a gradual process that took most of her life. She was aware of the existence of God but did not have a spiritual connection until her early to mid- adulthood years. During her teenage years, Maya was disconnected from religion and focussed on her career and academics. Later in her life, her awareness of meaning came through the realisation that there was a purpose and a fulfilment to be sought through a career. She discovered meaning throughout her involvement in her career as a dancer, activist and writer. Her time as a writer allowed her to discover meaning through her writing as she reflected on her life. Her involvement in racial politics also connected her to the discovery of meaning as she was able to transcend beyond herself to be concerned about other people. Maya was aware of the tensions within herself and this caused her to search for something beyond herself as is evident in the various moves throughout her life. Her late adulthood years signalled a settling down and an inherent spirituality and connection with others. This could be a signal for Maya’s awareness of meaning (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1969). 6.3.3.2 Will to meaning According to Frankl (1985), an individual’s will to meaning is their motivation to lead an actively engaged life seeking purpose and thereby discovering meaning (Meyer, 1997). Maya’s will to meaning was active from her childhood years. She refused to believe in the passivity of Momma and the people in Stamps. She believed that the racial system could be changed and she was determined to do something about it. This was constant in her life and was especially active during her middle adulthood years when she was actively involved in Black activism (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004). Another theme that was evidence of Maya’s

87 will to meaning was her involvement in her career. She wanted a career that would fulfil her and give her purpose. She began to feel restless during her teenage years and this could have been the motivation behind her seeking an active involvement in her life. Maya continued to move from job to job until she felt settled (Angelou, 2004). She knew that she was free to make her own choices and was also responsible for them (Frankl, 1967, 1969; Meyer, 1997). 6.3.3.3 Freedom to will Individuals are free to explore their lives in the discovery for meaning but they also have to accept the responsibility for every choice that they make (Frankl, 1985). Maya believed that it was important to explore and experience life to the fullest. She wanted to be active and engaged in all aspects of her life and was especially vehement against the racial system. She believed that she was free to act against the racial systems imposed on Black people (Lupton, 1998). She was involved in organisations during adulthood and felt free to question her entrenched racial assumptions. She took responsibility for her choices and felt that she had to carry out racial activism in a responsible manner (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1985). Maya also felt responsible for her career. This was evident from her teenage years. She had the freedom to choose the jobs that she wanted and the responsibility to be the best she could in these jobs. She also believed that she was responsible to feel fulfilled in her work therefore sought something purposeful. Racial politics and her career were always a freedom to will for Maya and motivated her throughout her life. Maya believed that, in general, she was responsible for any choices or decisions that she made, even those that were considered mistakes. This included her becoming pregnant with Guy. She was responsible for her life, and his, and was adamant to carry this out (Fabry, 1987; Frankl, 1965; Lupton, 1998; Wong, 2014). 6.3.3.4 Summary of Fundamental triad The three elements within the fundamental triad are the awareness of meaning, will to meaning and freedom to will. It was evident that as a child Maya’s life themes did not align with the fundamental triad. This is understandable because her concerns were situated within a biological dimension. She wanted to be loved and was always wary because of her physical insecurities. As Maya grew older, she became aware that life is meaningful as she sought to find her purpose and her niche in life. She applied her will to meaning in her striving within her career, against racial injustice, within religion and in her relationships. She believed that she was free to make choices in her life that would lead to the discovery of meaning but she also took responsibility for the choices that she made. Her discovery of meaning came

through her striving, motivation and freedom as she applied her meaning values to her life (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985, 2011).

Fundamental Triad

Awareness Awareness

God Career

Race Career Career Race Religion Responsible Responsible

Will Childhood Freedom Will Teenage Freedom Awareness

Race Religion Movement

Race Race Career Career Responsible Will Freedom Early Adulthood Awareness Awareness

Guy Race Guy Career Transcend Self- acceptance

Race Race Race Race Career Career Career Career Will Freedom Will Freedom Late Adulthood Middle Adulthood 89

6.3.4 Meaning triad The meaning triad focuses on how individuals attempt to discover meaning. Meaning cannot be sought after in a linear fashion but occurs through active and purposeful engagement in life. Frankl (1985) coined three values that people have which assist in their discovery of meaning. These values are: experiential, creative and attitudinal (Lantz, 1998). 6.3.4.1 Experiential values There are times when people are surrounded by nature or loved ones that they experience a sense of awe. This translates into meaningful interaction and provides fulfilment to the person (Shantall, 1997). Maya loved Guy immensely and he was her reason for being throughout her adult life. She experienced love and gave love to her family and was fulfilled through this. During her childhood years, she experienced this with some wariness because of a fear of rejection. Her sense of belonging was solidified as she got older and being around her family gave meaning to her life. Maya was in awe of their love for her. During her early and middle adulthood, Maya searched for the same fulfilment in a family of her own but found that she often had to suppress herself which did not fulfil her (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Lupton, 1998). She did however find fulfilment in religion when she experienced awe and joy when attending church. Religion began to mean something for Maya after she had made her own connections. When in Stamps, Maya never felt close to her religion. But Stamps itself held a sense of awe for Maya. It was a place of refuge and protection for her and she often remembered it very fondly. Having friends and having these memories was a way for Maya to use her experiential values to discover meaning (Angelou, 2013; Frankl; 1985; Pattakos, 2004; Ras, 2000). 6.3.4.2 Creative values Maya also applied herself in terms of her creative values from her childhood right up until a few weeks before her death (Poetry Foundation, 2014). Creative values refer to applying oneself to assisting others in the community. It involves carrying out a task that is fulfilling to the individual but that also benefits others (Pattakos, 2004; Wong, 2014). She applied her creative values within her work as a writer and during her political involvement. She enjoyed writing poetry from her childhood and loved entertaining people during most of her adulthood. Maya always searched for a career that was fulfilling but that also extended to other people (Angelou, 2013; Shantall, 1999; Winfrey, 2010). This was especially true during her remaining years where Maya wanted to educate people and provide them with hope for life. She had learnt that she could fight against the odds and had changed her attitude many times to give her a new perspective on life (Winfrey, 2010).

6.3.4.3 Attitudinal values The final point of the meaning triad refers to changing one’s perspective or attitude to a situation (Frankl, 2011). According to Frankl (1985), one can either change a situation that is changeable or else change one’s attitude to an unchangeable situation. Momma once told the same thing to Maya (Agins, 2013). She experienced extreme frustration to the passive acceptance of Momma toward the racial system. Maya was aware that she was not able to change it herself therefore she changed her attitude to one of active defiance and pledged to make a change somehow (Angelou, 2004). This attitudinal value remained throughout Maya’s life. She was wary of White people, but learnt to accept them and towards the end of her life, attempted to spread her message of love, hope and acceptance of all people (Winfrey, 2010). Maya had also applied her attitudinal values to Guy. She had initially abandoned him and experienced guilt. When he became independent of her, she was reluctant to let go. However, she soon learnt to accept her guilt and love him even though she was no longer responsible for him (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2013; Frankl, 1985, 2011; Lupton, 1998; Pattakos, 2004). 6.3.4.4. Summary of meaning triad The meaning triad was evidence of Maya’s engagement with her life from a young age. Since her childhood, she strove to be active about the struggles that she faced, especially with regards to racial tensions. She always knew that she wanted to become someone who made a difference in the world. She enjoyed reading and applied her creative values from the age of 9 when she began writing poetry. Her creative values provided her with the greatest purpose and meaning throughout her life. They were also linked to her writing and reflecting about her life. Writing gave her meaning as she processed memories and remembered her struggles. This was also an indication of applying her experiential values to discover meaning. Throughout her life, Maya loved her family and derived meaning from her relationships with them. She had some negative experiences with them that caused a lot of tension earlier in her life but she also applied her attitudinal values to change perspective. This was one of the most strongly applied values from the triad which Maya applied throughout her life. She refused to accept the difficult circumstances and struggles that she faced and was always determined in her attitude to make the best of her life in every way that she could. Despite this, Maya experienced many conflicts, struggles and difficulties on her path to the awareness of meaning (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1967; Yalom, 1980).

Meaning Triad

Creative Creative

Poetry Career

Family Race Family

Experiential Childhood Attitudinal Experiential Teenage Attitudinal Creative

Career

Guy Stamps Religion Marriage Race

Experiential Attitudinal Early Adulthood Creative Creative

Race Race Career Career

Guy Guy Family Marriage Race Education Race

Experiential Middle Adulthood Attitudinal Experiential Late Adulthood Attitudinal

6.3.5 Tragic Triad The tragic triad involves the discovery of meaning through trials and struggles. The above triads hint at more positive means to discover meaning. This final triad includes the discovery of meaning through guilt, pain/suffering and death (Frankl, 1965, 1985). 6.3.5.1 Guilt According to Frankl (1985), feelings of guilt alert an individual to tensions and frustrations. The individual therefore becomes aware that they are not living a fulfilling life that is aligned with their values and morals. During her childhood, Maya took the blame for many events in her life and experienced guilt over it (Angelou, 2004; Pattakos, 2004). She believed that she was responsible for being raped and for her parents abandoning her (Angelou, 2004). This guilt was about self-absorption and could not signal an awareness of meaning because it was about Maya’s insecurities and feelings of unworthiness (Frankl, 1965; Yalom, 1980). Throughout the rest of Maya’s life she experienced guilt over Guy. This was a constant concern for her although there were many shifts and changes. During early adulthood, Maya felt guilty over abandoning Guy for her career. Thereafter, she felt guilty that she was not protecting him or supporting him. She was averse to his independence. These signalled tensions within herself and allowed her, later in her life, to let go and let him live a life that was separate from her. This gave her fulfilment within their relationship (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2013; Devoe, 2012; Frankl, 1967). 6.3.5.2 Pain and suffering Almost all of Maya’s conflicts could be seen as pain and suffering in her life. Pain and suffering refer to both physical and psychological pain (Sharp et al., 2004). Maya experienced many struggles throughout her life and it was in the way that she handled them that gave way to a discovery of meaning. In her childhood, her pain was a result of her abandonment, rape, insecurity, movement, racial tensions and need for belonging. She was an ‘undefined’ child who required external validation. Her pain was a result of the lack of belief and value in herself. Racial tensions caused pain throughout her life, however, when Maya began to be involved in politics and accept people of all colours, then her pain began to lessen. Most of Maya’s insecurities and her need for belonging and acceptance remained until her late adulthood years when she began to accept herself. This was a result of the frustrations caused by ignoring the pain. Maya’s suppression of self and her need to belong somewhere was difficult for her. Once she realised that she had to be independent and loving toward herself, this pain began to decrease. Her sense of self was more defined towards her remaining years therefore she was able to reflect on her life in a fulfilling way and this

93 removed her sense of pain and suffering (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998; Winfrey, 2000). 6.3.5.3 Death Death signals an awareness of the finiteness of life. It is meant to motivate the individual to live their lives fully and purposefully (Morgan, 2012). There were a few experiences that Maya had with death of other people. During her childhood, she was aware of Mr F’s death and believed that she was responsible. She chose to not speak for a while and therefore ignored motivation to meaning. Maya again faced death when Momma died. She was extremely close to Momma and decided that she would thereafter live her life as fully as possible (Winfrey, 2010). She also faced the deaths of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004; 2013). She realised that she had to do something worthy and important with her life. Prior to this, she had been afraid of death. But she learnt to accept that it was a consequence of life. Her thoughts renewed her and made her believe that she was capable of anything thereby suffusing her life with meaning (Frankl, 1965, 1985; Winfrey, 2000). 6.3.5.4 Summary of tragic triad Maya experienced many struggles throughout her life which fit into the categories of the tragic triad. She had many instances of pain and suffering from her childhood – her parents fighting and divorce, abandonment, and rape, amongst many others. Her earlier life themes could all be categorised as pain and suffering. Although she found it difficult to contend with and took a victim/martyr role in her earlier years, Maya was able to actively engage with her struggles and found meaning from them. The most difficult struggle to engage with was her feelings of guilt. She often assumed blame for many events in her life and found it difficult to detach and transcend. However, in her later life, Maya was able to reflect on her guilt, accept it and transcend thereby discovering the meaning moments inherent to those events. This was especially true when she was able to release Guy from her control and found meaning in her selfless love for him. The final aspect of the triad, death, was something that Maya faced a few times in her life. She was also aware of the finiteness of her life and chose to live life as fully as possible.

Tragic Triad

Guilt Guilt

Rape Guy Abandon Family

Guy Image Sexual All Themes Mr F Acceptance

Pain/Suffering Death Pain/Suffering Death Childhood Teenage Guilt

Guy Race Responsible Race Love Belong Mother Insecure Suppression Momma Pain/Suffering Death Early Adulthood Guilt Guilt

Guy Guy

Love Belonging MLK Suppression Malcom Pain/Suffering Death Pain/Suffering Death Middle Adulthood Late Adulthood

6.4 Summary and conclusion This chapter was an analysis of the life of Maya Angelou. This was done through the theoretical lens of Frankl’s theory. The main aims of the analysis were to provide for an understanding of Maya’s life. Maya had been through many struggles in her life and yet she became an influential individual. Her earlier years were defined by biological concerns and psychological conflicts. She was able to come to terms with these and move towards transcendence into a spiritual dimension of existence (Frankl, 1967, 1969). Maya had become aware of meaning during her adult years and had an active will to meaning and freedom to will. She was motivated to create and to educate. She wanted to tell people about her experiences and struggles so that they could learn from them (Lupton, 1998). She wanted to spread love and peace across the world. She had the freedom to choose her attitude and accepted responsibility for her life. She chose to do something worthy and purposeful with her life (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2013; Frankl, 1985; Winfrey, 2000).

Maya believed that people should always face the challenges that life throws at them and never back down (Lupton, 1998). She applied her meaning values throughout her life to discover meaning. Maya had experienced much pain and suffering but was only able to apply her attitudinal values to this and to her guilt and death of loved ones during her middle to late adulthood years (Frankl, 2011). Overall, Maya aimed to live an active and engaged life. She had taken on a victim role in terms of external circumstances during her early life. However, as Maya got older, she was determined to be active and lead a purposeful and fulfilling life (Pattakos, 2004; Winfrey, 2000). This was possible after she began to find holism within her identity and accept herself. Her main reasons for being were her friends and family (Angelou, 2013). She also cared about the plight of humanity in general and wanted to help all people. Most of all, Maya was able to transcend her self-absorption and contribute to society by educating others and spreading a message of hope. She did not allow external circumstances to control her or internal conflicts to define her. She made the decision to actively engage with life and be responsible for the discovery of meaning in her life (Frankl, 1965, 1985; Winfrey, 2000).

Chapter 7: Conclusion 7.1. Chapter preview This chapter concludes the research study. It revisits the aims within the study, highlights the main findings, and provides a discussion of the value of the study, its limitations and recommendations for future research.

7.2 Aims of the study The primary aim of the study was to explore and reach an understanding of the life of Maya Angelou through the application of Frankl’s existential psychology. Maya’s life was multifaceted and set out in Chapter 2 of this study. Frankl’s theory was detailed in Chapter 3 and then an analysis and discussion was provided for in Chapter 6. The major aims of exploring an individual life, applying a theory to understand its concepts and contributing to the field of psychobiography as a whole, were adhered to (Carlson, 1988; Elms, 2005; Lupton, 1998).

7.3 Summary of findings Maya Angelou engaged with many struggles throughout her life. Some of the major themes that were salient within her life were: identity development, image, racial tensions, family, love, career and abandonment. Through the application of Frankl’s theory, a basic understanding of her life was derived. The basic findings were that Maya’s life moved through stages from lack of awareness of meaning into a spiritual dimension where she was able to discover and appreciate meaning moments. Maya’s early years were focussed on her biological and psychological conflicts. She sought to impress others with a positive and perfect image of herself because of the insecurity that she experienced. As she grew older, Maya became more secure within herself and sought to extend beyond herself (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1969, 1985).

During her younger years, Maya was somewhat actively engaged with her life and this activated her will to meaning and freedom to will. She refused to passively accept racial injustice and wanted to fight against it. She was aware that it gave her purpose but only derived meaning from it later in her life. Her career gave her purpose and allowed her to discover meaning. She also used her creative values within her career to discover meaning. As a teenager, Maya had become aware of the tensions within her which alerted her to meaning. She wanted to apply herself to life and was sure that there was a purpose to it. Her

97 career was one of the constants during her life that brought her closer to the discovery of meaning (Angelou, 2004; Frankl, 1985; Lupton, 1998).

Besides her career, Maya’s family was always of utmost importance to her. During her early life, they caused much tension and insecurity within her. As she got older, Maya realised how their unconditional love fulfilled her. She was applying her experiential values to discover meaning. Her love for her family also allowed her to transcend beyond herself to love and care for other people. Her family, and many other themes within her life, caused Maya much pain and suffering. During her younger years, she often passively accepted these and felt responsible for many events outside of her control. However, as she grew older, she learnt to engage with her life and change her perspective of events. She believed that if she was active then she could engage with her life and this gave her meaning. She also experienced much guilt which also caused pain. But again, Maya realised that the guilt signalled a tension within her where she was not living her life fully. She experienced many pivotal moments in her life that caused her to change and transcend beyond herself. Some of these included the deaths of her friends and of her paternal grandmother. She realised that she wanted to find purpose in her life, actively engage with her life and, in the process, discover the meaning within it all (Angelou, 2004, 2013; Frankl, 1985, 2011; Winfrey, 2010).

7.4. Value of the study The value of this study lies in the understanding of a famous individual through the use of Frankl’s existential psychology. A psychological portrait of Maya was provided enabling an understanding of her as an influential individual who grew through the struggles she faced. This study was beneficial because it revealed how Maya became the iconic figure that she was through the choices that she made. It showed the nuances across her life providing explanations of her development and her reasons for being. The value also extends to the use of Frankl’s theory in the understanding of a human life. Although Frankl had applied the theory to his own life, the theory did not have much structure, and therefore, this study hopefully also contributed to the illumination and application of Frankl’s theory within research (Yalom, 1980). It has also provided insight into the subject’s life by highlighting aspects that are common to all humans: meaning, life, death and suffering, to name a few. Therefore, the application of an underused theory within psychobiography has hopefully contributed to the field of psychology and especially to the methodology of psychobiography as a whole.

7.5 Limitations of the study There are a few major limitations to the study: the amount of data available, biased information, the use of Frankl’s theory and limitations inherent to psychobiography. There was an extensive amount of data available on Maya and it was difficult to decide which information to select to provide for an in-depth account of her life. Additionally, her books and the biographies used mainly provided information on her life until the age of 40 (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2009; Lupton, 1998).

Another limitation was with regards to the use of her creative works and the fact that she was famous. Maya was a highly influential and revered individual; therefore the information on her may have been biased. It was therefore difficult to engage with the data while questioning the level of objectivity and fact. It was also difficult to organise this information. Her own work provided scattered memories and, biographies written by others sometimes left out certain events (Agins, 2013; Angelou, 2004, 2009; Lupton, 1998).

Another limitation was with regards to the theoretical framework. It was sometimes difficult to apply Frankl’s concepts in a structured manner. His concepts were often used as a therapeutic approach and were never considered much of a conceptual theoretical framework to be applied (Fabry, 1987; Yalom, 1980). There were also limitations with regards to psychobiography as a methodological approach (discussed in Chapter 4). The problems with ensuring quality and ethics were vital to consider. Psychobiographical studies have also been criticised for the study of an absent individual and within this study, Maya herself was recently deceased therefore the only first person information were her autobiographies which may have been biased (Elms, 1994; Schultz, 2005a).

7.6. Recommendations for future research I would recommend that a more comprehensive study be carried out on the life of Maya Angelou. The data used was mostly based on her life until the age of 40. Maya did not write much on her life afterwards and therefore more experiential information is required to fully understand the changes and nuances of her identity during her later life. It might also be beneficial to use interviews done with her, as well as her works on fiction. A literary analysis might be necessary because it must be remembered that she was an artist and this could provide some of her unconscious themes. It is also recommended that interviews with some of her family members and friends are considered as this may allow further insight into her

99 life. It is also advisable to seek out a biography that includes events and details up to her death. Another major recommendation is with regards to the use of Frankl’s theory. It is an underused theory in application for research purposes and it has proven valuable in an understanding of Maya’s life. Therefore, I would recommend that Frankl’s theory be considered in the use of psychobiographical studies and, in addition, models providing structure to Frankl’s theory be investigated and considered in application.

7.7. Summary This chapter provided a conclusion to and summary of the major points of the research study. It revisited the aims of the study and highlighted the major findings about Maya Angelou’s life. It also discussed the value of this study to psychobiographical research. The limitations of the study were detailed as well as recommendations for future research.

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References: Agins, D. B. (2013). Maya Angelou: A biography of an award-winning poet and civil rights activist. Berkely Heights, NJ: Enslow Allport, G. W. (1962). The general and the unique in psychological science. Journal of Personality, 30(3), 405-422. doi: 10.1111/1467-6494.ep8932837 Angelou, M. (2004). The collected autobiographies of Maya Angelou. New York, NY: Modern Library Angelou, M. (2013). Mom & me & mom. New York, NY: Random House. Angelou, M., & Elliot, J. M. (1989). Conversations with Maya Angelou. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. Assefie, B. (2012). Experiences of marginalized women: Maya Angelou’s ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ in focus (Doctoral dissertation, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia). Retrieved from http://etd.aau.edu.et/ Bruner, T. (2012). Frankl metapsychology revisited: Is there a Franklian epistemology? International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, 4(1), 45-59. Retrieved from www.existentialpsychology.org Bulka, R. P. (1969). An analysis of the viability of Frankl's logotherapeutic system as a secular theory (Masters thesis, University of Ottawa, Canada). Retrieved from ruor.uottawa.ca Bulka, R. P. (1971). Denominational implications of the religious nature of logotherapy. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa, Canada). Retrieved from ruor.uottawa.ca Burger, D. H. (2007). The applicability of logotherapy as an organisation development intervention (Doctoral dissertation, University of Johannesburg, South Africa). Retrieved from http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/Library/. Burnell, B. (2013). The life of Beyers Naudé: A psychobiographical study (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Free State). Retrieved from http://etd.uovs.ac.za Cadet, D. (2014). Michelle Obama’s tribute to Maya Angelou will give you chills. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/09/michelle-obama-maya- angelou_n_5473991.html Cara, E. (2007). Psychobiography: A research method in search of a home. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70(3), 115-121. doi: 10.1177/030802260707000304 Carlson, R. (1971). Where is the person in personality research? Psychological Bulletin, 75(3), 203-219. doi: 10.1037/h0030469 Carlson, R. (1984). What's social about social psychology? Where's the person in personality research? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47(6), 1304-1309. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.47.6.1304 Carlson, R. (1988). Exemplary lives: The uses of psychobiography for theory development. Journal of Personality, 56(1), 105-138. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com Challener, D. D. (1997). Stories of resilience in childhood: The narratives of Maya Angelou, Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodrigues, John Edgar Wideman, and Tobais Wolff. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Chéze, E. (2009). Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (Masters dissertation, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). Retrieved from http://dspace.nmmu.ac.za/ Coetzer, P. T. (1997). Viktor Frankl the man. In F. Crous, A. A. Havenga Coetzer & C van den Heever (Eds.), On the way to meaning: Essays in remembrance of Viktor Frankl, (pp. 11-19). Benmore, SA: Viktor Frankl Foundation of South Arica

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Appendix A :Alexanders Saliences: (Angelou, 2004; 2013) Primacy: Primacy refers to the earliest memory or first experience mentioned Book one: Maya began her first autobiography with a memory of Easter when she was a child. She had to recite a poem. She was going to wear a beautiful purple dress which she believed would transform her into a beautiful blond blue eyed girl, however, when she wore the dress she remained the same. This saliency revealed many of Maya’s core conflicts: image, physical appearance, identity, racial tension and insecurity as her failure to recite the poem caused her peers to laugh at her. Book two: The second autobiography began with a description of the festivities signalling the end of World War two. Things had improved for Black people during the war and she had a sense that the lines dividing Black and White had begun to blur because of the need to work together to defeat a common enemy. The prologue also revealed her deepening maturity, the responsibility to care for her son and her search for a career. Book three: The third book starts with a song about loneliness and losing love. Maya Angelou’s life at this time was very much influenced by art: music, dance and performance. Her immersion in this was evident throughout the autobiography and described her passion and love for music. Book four: Maya opened with a spiritual about movement and used it to describe the US where despite the racial confusions; there was slow movement forward, hopefully towards democracy Book five: The book opened before the previous one ended. Maya described her entry into Ghana again and retold the story of Guys accident. However, this retelling also involved her emotional status. Book six: The 6th book opens with a spiritual about movement and the subsequent return to home, which aptly described Maya’s position: she was leaving Ghana and returning to the US (Angelou, 2004). Book seven: Despite Maya’s context and circumstances she believed that she grew into a good woman and credited her grandmother and mother, she wanted to show others the power of motherly love (Angelou, 2013).

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Frequency: There are many core conflicts or themes that recurred frequently throughout Maya’s life. These are described individually below: Image: This image refers to Maya’s incessant need to dress well and be presentable to others. Book one: 1. The first mention of this was her beautiful purple outfit which would transform her during the Easter poem recital at church. 2. A second mention was her beautiful yellow graduation dress and her well-oiled hair Book two: 1. Maya began to enjoy sex and enjoy her body, clothes and dressing became important to her 2. On the train to L.A. it was important for her to look presentable, despite the ten hour trip and a fussy baby, image was important for her 3. Despite the extreme heat in Stamps, Maya dressed up to visit a shop Book three: 1. Maya took pride in her image. She was proud that she never let customers buy her drinks at the Garden of Allah, however, when she was forced to, as part of her job, she committed to never using her dance or body to seduce them 2. When Maya succeeded in the show business world she met many people. Her third autobiography was flooded with the many names of people that she met, heard of and worked with. It seemed important to her to have this image of a well-known star 3. She was ashamed at her excitedness at being abroad and was determined to adopt the blasé attitude of her fellow cast members. Her image among cast members was important. She said she was ‘goody-goody’ so when a man asked her out in Greece she did not want to be seen by the other performers leaving with him to go to his hotel room as they might think badly of her Abandonment and movement: As a child and teenager she moves from place to place often. This is especially highlighted in the beginning of ‘Caged Bird’ where Maya’s poem refers to movement – not staying for long.

Book one: 1. Maya was preoccupied with having been abandoned by her parents. She used to dream that they were dead to explain the reason for their abandonment however, when her father returned she acknowledged that they were alive but still did not know the

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reason for their abandonment. She carried out vengeance on the doll sent by her mother by tearing it up. Once they were living with her mother she expressed gratitude at having her mother’s attention but she was always wary of being returned back to Stamps. Book two: 1. In the second book, Maya often had to leave Guy with babysitters. She only found it difficult to walk away from Guy the first time she leaves him 2. Thereafter, it became easier; she did not concern herself with him. Her major preoccupations were work and love. Maya left Guy with many babysitters and sometimes saw him once a week. She felt guilty but was torn between earning money and buying clothes Book three: 1. The third autobiography included many instances where Guy was left in the care of others while Maya worked. For the past two years, before getting the job at the record store, Guy was in the care of a sitter for the entire week. When she eventually saw him he displayed extreme separation anxiety, clinging to her and screaming. 2. Guy blamed Maya for the marriage (between herself and Tosh) failing, and feared that since adults can fall out of love so easily that it may happen with Maya towards him 3. Maya never reprimanded Guy, she often felt very guilty at having abandoned him so often. She allowed him to blame his imaginary friend for his misdemeanours. She might even have overcompensated for her guilt by supporting him when he asserted himself in class and getting in trouble for it at school. She often reassured herself that her abandonment of him was temporary as it was necessary for them to have a good life later. She blamed herself and felt extremely guilty and often had to coax him or teach him life lessons to change his perspective: he wanted to be a soldier and Maya dissuaded him from this career by allowing him to get a cat from a shelter and encouraging him to make the connection between life and those that kill. 4. Maya had to leave Guy again to travel with Porgy and Bess. She found this very difficult but reassured herself that it was for the best for their future. However, she experienced a moment of fear and guilt when, upon arriving in Paris, she heard someone call out her name and immediately thought that something might have happened to Guy. Half the money that she earned was spent on basic necessities and the rest was sent home “to pay for Clyde’s keep and to assuage my guilt at being away from him” (Angelou, 2004, p.534). Each time she mentioned Guy she had to

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reassure herself that she was doing her best while “never admitting that I was revelling in the freedom from the constant nuisance of a small child’s chatter” (Angelou, 2004, p. 598). 5. When Maya returned home from Rome, Guy clung onto her, staring at her face. When they go to bed he kept waking up to check that she would not abandon him again, he had become withdrawn and quiet and Maya reflected that she “had ruined my beautiful son by neglect, and neither of us would ever forgive me” (Angelou, 2004, p. 609). Book four: 1. Guy asserted himself many times – argued that he was a man and required independence. When Maya went away for a short stint to sing, he stayed alone in Chicago. When Guy was threatened by a gang he refused to allow Maya to help and wanted to prove that he was strong and independent. He also stated that as a man he knew which man suited her best and preferred Vus over Thomas 2. After the threat from the gang, Maya was afraid to force a move on them as she “could lose his friendship and thereby his love” (Angelou, 2004, p. 678) 3. Maya was also afraid to fight with Guy, to move him, to scold him. She tried her best to understand him – that he was maturing, and becoming a man (he mentioned this many times). She was afraid to lose his love Book five: 1. Guy moved out, searching for his own identity and this was very difficult for Maya, she felt abandoned by him 2. During a talk given by Malcolm X, Maya was touched that Guy ‘allowed’ her to sit next to him, although warned her not to embarrass him. 3. Maya found that she no longer had a mother role and was upset with Guy’s search for independence “How could his life be separate from my life? I had been a mother of a child so long I had no preparation for life on any other level” (Angelou, 2004, p. 1005)

Book six: The movement of abandonment remained the same as the previous book where Guy became more independent and Maya expressed her difficulty accepting this. She felt that she always had to protect and care for him. She experienced guilt at leaving him again.

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Book seven: Maya was very distrustful of her mother; she was afraid to meet her and did not want to live with her when her grandmother took her back when Maya was 13. She found it very difficult to forgive and forget what her mother had done and was disappointed and hurt when Bailey forgave so easily, she felt that he had also abandoned her, as was her grandmother Family: Book one: 1. Maya was very close to her family, she loved her grandmother, uncle and brother. She described Momma and Uncle Willie in a respectful, caring manner. Her love for Bailey was consuming and explosive – she was beyond happy that he loved her despite the disparity in their looks. She often used hyperbole to describe her parents and brother, and referred to them as having mythical, Godlike features. Her mother was described as a sprite and as someone unreal to her perhaps because she found her beauty and nature difficult to identify with. 2. There was a sense of enmeshment when Maya mentioned Bailey, they were one shared being during childhood and were always there for one another. When Maya had her baby, the enmeshment was transferred to their relationship as the baby became her possession, and a part of her. Book two: 1. Maya revealed her difficulty separating her sons self from hers when she bumped into girls from her high school who ridiculed her and said that her son could not be hers. She went home and examined him, finding features that were hers confirming that he belonged to her. 2. The second autobiography introduced a few instances of fantasy with regard to family. She revealed this when she saw the Baxter family in L.A and dreamt of having a husband and a home with flowers. She fantasised about meeting the perfect man when she moved to Stockton. Her husband would love her immensely and bring her flowers and he would be older and protective. When she met her older boyfriend she fantasised about leaving her job and living with him in a house with brightly coloured rooms and her baking. She fantasised about marrying him again when Bailey’s wife died, she imagined having a home with him and a room for Bailey so she can care for him. When she met another man, she fantasised about marrying him. 3. Maya again had a sense of enmeshment when she found Guy to be unreal and more like a doll and her possession then a fully formed person. But she realised that he was

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a separate individual when he was kidnapped by his babysitter. He was not a possession and she stated that “never again would I think of him as a beautiful appendage of myself” (Angelou, 2004, p. 368). Book three: 1. Maya’s imagination continued in the third autobiography and there were many instances of fantasy. She longed to be married so that Guy would no longer be abandoned. She dreamt of having a home with two more children, Deidre and Craig and a garden which she would tend. Upon meeting Tosh, she fantasised about a husband who played outdoor sport with her sons while she baked indoors with her daughter. When she auditioned in New York, Maya fantasised about moving there and meeting a guy and having fun with him and Guy at Central Park Book four: 1. Maya tried very hard to make the best life possible for Guy, she always tried to please him – favourite foods, playing scrabble 2. Guy was the major concern for Maya and she sought to protect him – from teachers who could not understand him, to gang members that threatened him Book five: 1. Kojo was Maya’s little helper in Ghana. Kojo and Maya became close, he reminded her very much of Bailey and she found that she was back in the mother role when helping Kojo with his homework Book six: 1. When Maya was fetched by her mother and Bailey from the airport, she was very happy to see him and recounted their history together 2. Bailey helped her understand Guy, he helped her after Malcolm was shot and he helped her get a job in Hawaii so she could come to terms with the death 3. Maya mentioned many times when she relied on her mother, and her mother’s many axioms which she enjoyed immensely

Book seven: 1. Maya described a few times the fierce love of her family, her mother’s parents and siblings were violently protective of their family members and Maya’s mother would often threaten to hurt and kill anyone that hurt her or her family

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Love and affection: Book one: 1. Maya grew up without expressive emotion as her grandmother believed in obedience and religion. Her first notion of being loved came from Bailey 2. Maya also received physical love from Mr Freeman. She perceived him as a loving father who held her without understanding his intent. 3. Mrs Flowers was a stranger to Maya who offered her love and attention allowing her to feel special. 4. Daddy Clidell was another person that came into her life and showed her love and care. 5. Maya received love and affection from her fellow homeless friends Book two: 1. Maya met her first boyfriend and she bought him things to impress and keep him. However, she was aware that he had a girlfriend and that he could never really be with her 2. When Poole entered her life Maya again felt that she had to impress him to keep him and did so with a show of splits. She also quickly fell for him but again lost him to another woman 3. Maya revealed her need to impress a man again when she met her older boyfriend. She did not ask questions about his business, dressed up for him in school girl clothes which she hated, became a prostitute for him and called him ‘Daddy’ which she detested. Book three: 1. This book centred on searching for love and belonging. The songs she identified with were aligned with this as she felt lonely and lost. She desperately sought love 2. Maya agreed to marry Tosh just because he asked her, she was very desperate to be loved and for attention and love for Guy. But her desperation for love created a subservience in her where Tosh was entirely controlling but she ignored her resentment because of the safety that came with Tosh’s love 3. Maya went to a bar after hearing Tosh’s anger at her, she agreed to have a drink with a much older man at his hotel. She mentioned many times her desperation in needing love 4. She enjoyed the attention of customers. And was extremely pleased at the attention and affection given by an admirer when he called her a Goddess.

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5. A frequent theme in Maya’s musings was her wariness of men. While she desperately sought love and companionship, even berating herself for not going out with a man who she discovered was an Olympic swimmer, she often assumed that men wanted to take advantage of her sexually Book four: 1. Maya stated many times at the beginning of this phase that she was lonely, although her sexual appetite was satisfied, she longed for more permanent love 2. She suggested that she and Thomas marry and even though it happened very fast, she comforted herself with the knowledge that she would have someone to love herself and Guy and that was most important. She passively accepted Thomas’s control over her 3. Maya was torn between Thomas and Vus. Thomas would provide safety and quiet. But Vus would allow her to get closer to her African roots and provided a sense of adventure, she chose him because she believed that they could overcome racism together 4. She tried very hard to impress Vus- cooking and cleaning, she “was unemployed but I had never worked so hard in all my life” (Angelou, 2004, p. 754) Book five: Maya refused to be submissive with her boyfriend in Ghana, and asserted herself by ordering her own meal. She did not want him to have any control over life, refused his attempts to buy her gifts and eventually broke away by refusing his marriage proposal Book six: Maya’s mention of her lover was strange, she never mentioned him by name but they had a close and intense relationship while she was in Ghana. She broke it off because he was too demanding and authoritative. When he came to visit her in the US it caused great tension for her because she was so overwhelmed by him, feeling both love and fear and she wanted him there but could not contend with his sense of entitlement.

Book seven: Maya learnt love from her grandmother and mother. Her grandmother showed love through pride in her while her mother showed love through touch. Her mother loved her enough to change her name to ‘Lady’ for her Blame/guilt/self-esteem:

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Book one: 1. Maya blames herself for her parents’ abandonment as she believes that it must be her fault that they were sent away and experiences extreme insecurity and uncertainty. 2. Maya often compared her ‘ugliness’ to her family’s beauty. She described her body as undesirable. 3. She could not believe that she was her father’s daughter as he was too handsome. 4. She was extremely grateful that Bailey loved and protected her despite his beauty. 5. Maya was in awe of her mother’s beauty and believed that this was the reason for their abandonment. 6. Maya blamed herself for being raped and for Mr Freeman’s murder. She believed that her words had power and she was sinful and evil because of it. Book two: Maya refused to allow herself to be hurt and angry when her boyfriend left her for his girlfriend, because it was her fault as she knew all along that he was taken. She often took the blame when he boyfriends returned to their previous partners Book three: 1. It was in this book that Maya began to find some acceptance of herself. She still believed that she was not pretty – with a too tall body, big teeth and rebellious hair, but she was proud of her intelligence. 2. She never believed when people told her that she was beautiful and believed that Tosh was blinded by her race and not her beauty (Lupton, 1998) 3. When her marriage to Tosh disintegrated, she blamed herself for not having tried hard enough 4. Maya was afraid that her family would not enjoy her performance at the Purple Onion, and was very anxious about it. She did not believe that people really enjoyed her singing or that they admired her. However, she became more sure of herself when she started with Porgy and Bess, her self-worth was tied to her voice and dancing

Book five: Maya did not understand Guy’s need for independence and blamed herself for having abandoned him, she believed that if she had been a better mother then their relationship could have been stronger Book six:

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She felt extremely guilty when he was in a car accident in San Francisco and blamed herself even though she was aware that it was not her fault and she was powerless to prevent it Insecurity and superiority: Book one: Maya often differentiated herself from other people, especially her peers. At school, she was academically advanced and intellectually matured in comparison to her fellow classmates. Book two: 1. Maya first chapter opened with her anger at having failed a simple test, she believed that she was superior to the circumstances and to the receptionist 2. Her job as a bus girl was beneath her and she called the other girls working there dumb 3. Maya called the two prostitutes that work at her brothel sinful and stupid because she was hurt by them laughing at her inexperience with drugs. She believed that she was better than them because they were lesbians and prostitutes therefore she tried to best them by getting into business with them. Maya’s superior nature masked her insecurity which she was aware of as she stated that she “had managed in a few tense years to become a snob on all levels, racial, cultural and intellectual. I was a madam and thought myself morally superior to the whores. I was a waitress and believed myself cleverer than the customers I served. I was a lonely unmarried mother and held myself to be freer than the married women I met” (Angelou, 2004, p. 271). 4. She was ridiculed for her superior nature when, in Stamps, a few people invited her for a night out and then spiked her drink and left her alone. She was saddened by this 5. Maya intended to be dignified and show Black people how to dress and impress White people in Stamps. She believed that her style could elevate the Black status. In a shop, she was rude and condescending to the shop attendant because she pitied her small town thinking and way of speaking 6. Maya left her job as a waitress when she danced with Poole because she believed that it was beneath her

Book three: Being approached by Louis terrified Maya and she immediately got defensive, her insecurity was masked by her superiority where she “was a queen, not to be approached by peasants like her, even on bended knees” (Angelou, 2004, p. 394). Suicide:

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Book one: 1. Maya seemed to consider death as an escape. When her father was about to take them away from Stamps, she considered drowning herself in the pond. 2. After her rape, her grandmother asked that she remove her dress in front of Mrs Flowers and she wished death upon herself. 3. Maya envisioned death again when she was stabbed by her father’s girlfriend and imagined bleeding to death. 4. Not too long after the episode, when she was staying over at her father’s friend’s house, she considered suicide before settling on running away. Book three: 1. Maya hoped for death before her first performance at the Purple Onion, knowing that a slip could be fatal but it would be better than facing her anxieties 2. Maya believed she was losing her mind upon returning from Europe and seriously considered suicide as she was engulfed by guilt at having left Guy for so long. She felt a loss of pleasure in everyday life Religion: Book one: 1. Maya grew up living in a religious home, her grandmother taught them the values within the Bible and they attended Church regularly. However, Maya often described church visits and pastors with cynicism. She greatly disliked a reverend because of his greed and was hugely entertained by people who were visited by the Holy Spirit in church. She and Bailey used to laugh uncontrollably. 2. Maya also did not understand the annual revival and called the temporary church blasphemous. She also called the people that attend “a race of masochists and that not only was it our fate to live the poorest, roughest life but that we liked it like that” (Angelou, 2004, p. 95). She believed that people relied on religion for vengeance against their unjust employers.

Book two: Maya discussed religion with hushed tones and slight cynicism in ‘Caged Bird’ however, it seemed that after living with her mother for a few years, she identified less with the rigidity of religion. While she still believed that she belonged with all the church goers on the street, she did not have to attend to be righteous.

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Book three: 1. Maya began to research other religions such as Christian Science and Judaism. 2. But Maya returned to the comfort of her childhood religion when she was married, her faith was her rebellion. She may have given in to Tosh but her history and her race was entrenched in Christianity and she refused to submit to him about that Racial tensions: Book one: 1. Maya found it difficult to navigate the understanding of racial tensions as she learnt to both be afraid of and never trust white people. She secretly loved Shakespeare and other white authors but would never mention them to her grandmother as it would not be allowed. 2. She expressed anger and resentment when she was faced with a possible visit from the Klu Klux Clan. Black men were often seen as a threat to the virtue of white females and the Clan members sought to seek justice for any real or perceived wrongdoings. Maya was angry about the submission and fear that Black people had to face 3. Maya greatly disliked the poor white children that visited the store. She hated their disrespect of older Black people; she envisioned shooting them and often pinched them when they get close to her. 4. Maya internalised distrust of White people and expressed anger at the unjust circumstances that Black people had to face. At 10 years old, she asserted herself to her white employer who insisted on calling her Mary. She wanted to take revenge for all Black people whose names had been changed for the ease of their employers therefore relished in breaking her employer’s favourite dish. 5. During graduation, Maya was again angered at the intent of the guest speaker to ensure that Black people understood their hopeless future but she also came to understand that she had to have faith and never give up. 6. Maya was again faced with prejudice when a white dentist refused to treat her. The pain of her corroding teeth decreased in accordance with her fear of being in the white area of Stamps. Book two: The first instance of prejudice (in this book) occurred during Maya’s visit to Stamps when the shop assistant referred to her as ‘girl’. She was furious and called the lady names. Her grandmother was extremely upset with her and slapped her many times to teach her that there were laws and rules to follow.

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Book three: 1. Maya began to question her entrenched racial assumptions. She was very suspicious when Louise took an interest in her. Her friendliness and offer of a job broke through her preconceived notions of race and her rigid mind-set which had been structured through decades of racial tensions 2. Her preconceptions were tested again when she fell in love with Tosh. She wanted to be with him but felt torn by her history 3. During a party given by a singer at the Purple Onion, Maya got very angry and defensive about Black people. She believed that her anger gave her power and elevated her. She felt like an equal amongst her White friends but found it difficult and experienced confusion and distrust. It was easier for her to accept rejection and be angry, and a victim because that was her history. She believed that her distrust was ingrained as “We are all so cruelly and comprehensively educated by our tribal myths that it did not occur to me to question” (Angelou, 2004, p. 494). 4. Maya enjoyed being accepted by White people abroad. She felt free in Canada and enjoyed the attention of Italians, she indulged an elderly couple in Yugoslavia who have never before met a Black person. In Paris, she was shocked at a pianist being nice to her. She felt uncomfortable and ashamed to be around him because his Southern accent reminded her of racism and slavery 5. Despite the changes she had experienced, on returning home from Porgy and Bess, Maya did not believe that the white male therapist could understand her emotional pain because he would be unable to empathise with a Black female Book four: 1. It really irritated her that the Killens family were obsessed with talking about White people and denigrating their nature and character, she believed that the continuous interest in them gave White people power over them 2. After she joined the struggle, she felt that she was not doing enough and was especially annoyed that white men were involved in the SCLC. She questioned their intentions and never seemed to understand it 3. Maya was amazed at the many white volunteers at the SCLC and amused herself by giving them jobs that Black maids might have done for their mothers or grandparents 4. She enjoyed playing the White Queen in ‘The Blacks’ – she wanted to ridicule White people and force them to understand the difficulty that Black people went through Book five:

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1. She got extremely irate when she overheard a conversation in the university’s common room. She berated the lecturers and walked away 2. Maya was upset at Germans for the genocide during the Holocaust, she might have taken revenge by inviting a Jewish man for breakfast to a Germans home. Their story telling confused and upset Maya and she became physically ill Book six: 1. Maya detailed her experience in Watts, she had a job interviewing woman at home about the products they used. Her research showed the peoples dissatisfaction with their country, laws, government and their lives. Her description seemed odd, however; it was a forewarning for the riot that occurred a few weeks later. The description helped to explain the situation and prevent judgement. Identity: Book one: 1. Maya internalised racial tensions into her identity development. She longed to be white – during the Easter recital, and believed that God was white and good. However, she was also torn by her dislike for white people. 2. It was only during her graduation that Maya began expressing an acceptance of herself through her pride in academics and her well-behaved hair. 3. Maya began to navigate the nuances of her identity. Her search led her to discovering a fascination and identification with lesbians/hermaphrodites. She believed that the two were synonymous and thought that she must be one because she had less feminine attributes then her female peers. Her confusion over her sexual identity led her to proposition a handsome neighbour, they had sex and she became pregnant. Book two: 1. Maya began testing her sense of self. She gave her Creole employer the name Rita as it better fitted a Creole identity 2. She mentioned that she was deciding who to be when approaching her first boyfriend as she “had spent so many years being people other than myself” (Angelou, 2004, p. 240). 3. Her relationship with him made her appreciate her body and she began to dress to show it off, however, she later adopted the dressing style of her dance teacher because she was unsure of how to dress

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4. When she was with her older boyfriend, she dressed for him and adopted ways to impress him, even though she disliked most of what she is doing. With another boyfriend she was willing to experiment with drugs as he was involved with it Book three: 1. The third autobiography was a display of Maya’s attempt at defining her identity, there was a lot of conflict within, she both accepted and denied parts of herself (Lupton, 1998) 2. Maya restricted herself through Tosh’s control and became submissive, and suppressed her identity (Lupton, 1998) 3. When Maya got a job she kept the name Rita – her dance identity. Singing at the Purple Onion however meant creating a new identity, one that fit the role therefore Maya Angelou was born Book four: 1. Maya really began to question her self during this phase of her life. She had to be strong for Guy and threatened a gang member that had threatened him – aligned herself with both her mother and Momma who she had considered strong and courageous and who would always protect their family 2. She shut off certain parts of herself to be more appealing to Thomas – never discussing work, or sometimes never having a conversation 3. She also sacrificed herself for Vus because she believed that she could learn more about her African identity. She stated that if she “didn’t already have the qualities he needed then I would develop them" (Angelou, 2004, p. 737) 4. Maya had romanticised and idealised notions of her African identity and believed that being with Vus would connect her to her African self but found that she did not enjoy suppressing her strength or being alone as a housewife. She never knew the source of his money and submitted herself to him accepting that he was in complete control of their lives 5. However, Maya had always worked hard and taken care of herself and was feeling ‘useless’. Her “position had always been that no one was responsible for my life except me. I was responsible for Guy only until he reached maturity, and then he had to take control of his own existence” (Angelou, 2004, p. 755). She could not accept her passivity 6. Even though she was with Vus and living in Africa, she still connected with her American identity. She wanted to ensure that she and Guy were taken care of so got a

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job and was terrified at Vus’s reaction. She did not argue with him but allowed a friend to convince him 7. She considered confronting Vus about his many infidelities and wondered “how I would fare when I dropped the obeisant attitude of an accepting wife and allowed by black American femaleness to appear” (Angelou, 2004, p. 853) She eventually discovered that she no longer loved him, she was aware of her values and decided to stick to them by leaving him. During the palaver, she shed all pretence and told her side of the story and through it she felt that she had regained her independence and control over her life Book five: 1. She desperately wanted to fit in with other Black immigrants, and did. They all had idealised notions of Africa and believed it would be better than America 2. Maya was infatuated with Ghana, believed it to be home, or a Heaven like in the spirituals sung at church, she was hopeful of being welcomed but was disappointed at largely being ignored 3. Maya believed that she was treated unfairly by a receptionist in a media house. She found the situation similar to the confrontation with the salesgirl in Stamps. Later, a friend told Maya that Ghanaians blamed Afro-Americans for slavery but also could not forgive themselves for their role on the slave trade. Even though Maya wanted to become fully acquainted with Africa, it was very difficult for her to acknowledge Africa’s role in the slave trade where people may have sold their family members 4. She felt neither here nor there: she did not belong to America but also did not fit in in Ghana. When there was an attempt on the presidents life Maya felt the isolation and rejection strongly 5. It was when Maya visited the rural areas that she felt her displacement slip away. She felt a connection to the slave trade in those areas and wept bitterly for her ancestors. She was welcomed and accepted as a local in a nearby town 6. However, she deeply missed America, and felt restless in Ghana, she felt too aware of herself. She believed that she had become soft and undefined but being in Africa had also helped her understand herself further Book six: 1. Her sense of strength came from her mother and grandmother. When staying by herself she realised that she could not feel self-pity, instead she looked at the positive

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in her life and was grateful. Her grandmother had taught her to change what she did not like if she could, and if she could not then she should change how she perceived it 2. Maya showed a renewed faith in her life, she knew that there was a purpose for her because “life was waiting on me and it wasn’t wise to test its patience” (Angelou, 2004, p. 1084). 3. Maya began to establish her career, she realised that she was not a singer or a dancer and began to enjoy writing. She mentioned working on plays, poems, she wrote for radio and tv. And finally was challenged into writing her autobiographies.

Emphasis: Book one: 1. Maya refers to an incident when she was 10 years old which she believes in the “most painful and confusing experience” (Angelou, 2004, p. 26) involving her grandmother. A group of poor white girls mock her grandmother, and while Maya sits in the house and cries, her grandmother does nothing but hum and sing spirituals. The scene portrayed Mommas inner strength and determined attitude to a difficult situation. Maya’s is mollified by her grandmother’s beauty and calm. 2. Another scene that Maya emphasises is when she was raped by Mr Freeman. She describes the experience in detail from a child’s perspective where she was innocent, confused and enquiring. She describes the pain of the event with metaphors as it was so intense. 3. Maya also emphasises her enjoyment of Mrs Kirwin’s teaching. She had no prejudice whatsoever and treated all students equally. Maya appreciated Mrs Kirwin’s teaching methods which showed a love for learning and applied knowledge. Book two: 1. The scene describing the babysitter that kidnapped Guy is detailed when revealing her idiosyncratic drinking habits – one day in a month she would visit a bar and drink out of a coffee mug 2. Maya recounts her experience as a prostitute without detail or emotion, she seems to have blocked most of the experience

Book three: 1. Maya gives a very detailed and emotional description of her visit to the church, her supposed last visit before dedicating herself to Tosh and Guy. The visit is pivotal for

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her as she is taken over by the Holy Spirit and feels pure. It was this visit that created the greatest cracks in the relationship therefore having the opposite effect of what she had intended 2. Maya is deeply hurt and shocked at Tosh’s rejection of her, she described her emotion as intense and jarring 3. Her description of Momma’s death was very short, distant and lacking in emotion Book four: 1. Maya was very emotionally affected when she heard that Guy was threatened by the gang member, she had a sense of being removed and described the scene in detail 2. She was completely overwhelmed over by Vus, she yearned to touch him and was obsessively entranced, wanting to know everything about him 3. Maya was very nervous and anxious about how Guy would take the news of her engagement to Vus, she was afraid that he might disagree 4. She got calls from the South Africa police warning her of Vus’s imminent death – this caused her to become very anxious and scared 5. Maya was extremely emotional on the plane to Ghana as she thought about the slave trade which had begun in Africa and felt the pain of her ancestors 6. Guy’s accident was extremely distressing for Maya, and she broke down and worried “if he was going to die, and wondering how I could ever go on, where I could go, what I would have to live for if he died” (Angelou, 2004, p. 872) Book five: 1. After the accident, Maya described herself as consumed, depressed and empty 2. Maya was extremely distraught at Malcolm scolding her for being upset at Shirley 3. The scene at the German home was very difficult and emotional for Maya to handle, she was shocked at how they behaved around one another 4. It was extremely difficult for Maya to sit through Guy’s last speech before she left Ghana, he was his own man and he would fend for himself (Angelou, 2004). Book six: 1. The murder of Malcolm X was very difficult for her, she was lost, distraught and dissociated. She could not remember where she was and what she had done. She was extremely angry and shocked to see that everything was going on as normal as if the event had not impacted anyone else. (also unique to her) 2. Maya gave a very detailed account of the riot within Watts, and her emotions were intense: fear, anger, loss, overwhelming

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3. Martin Luther King’s death was also very difficult for Maya. She expressed confusion, disbelief, anger, sadness and despair and went through a bout of depression Book seven: Maya placed emphasis on her experience waiting to get the street conductor job and described it as ‘hateful, awful, awkward’ (Angelou, 2013, p. 50). She only persevered because she did not want to disappoint her mother however, once she got the job her mother helped her discover her power and determination (Angelou, 2013).

Instance of isolation: Book one: 1. Maya describes a neighbour, Mr McElroy, however, her inclusion of him within her life and the chapter seems odd. She admires him and describes him and then jumps immediately to describe her love for Bailey. She seems to be fascinated by him – his clothes, independence, and courage at not attending church. Book two: 1. Maya describes Bailey’s distancing very lightly. When she was rejected from the army she sought him for comfort, and was shocked at how untidy his room is. She begins to clean it for him then finds marijuana is his bed sheets and smokes it. The scene is odd because it seems incoherent and devoid of emotion. More like a scene from a play. 2. Maya gets distraught and furious at Cain, her employer, when he does not stop the fight with Billy. Billy reminds her so much of Bailey and she wanted him to be safe. She is actually happy for leaving her job as long as Bailey is safe. It seems strange Book three: 1. Maya misses Guy a lot but is afraid to bring him over as he may either be molested by homosexuals or else influenced by them. This just seems odd and out of place Book five: Maya was extremely upset when a fellow American, Shirley du Bois, did not immediately make herself available to assist Malcolm X. Although the incident was coherent within the narrative, Maya’s emotional response was confusing and out of place. She described her vehement anger, disappointment and disgust and Mrs du Bois’s behaviour but did not explain the reasoning behind her emotions. She also countered her response to her friends who were confused at her behaviour (Angelou, 2004). Book six:

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It seemed odd that when Maya heard about the riot in Watts, she could not wait – but she does not say what she waited for. It was very important for her to be there, and she risked her life twice to go to the town during the riot. She commented on her invisibility, her fear and later her serenity. She did not know anyone personally but was drawn to the place. She even mentioned being prepared to go to jail (Angelou, 2004).

Uniqueness: Book one: 1. The scene where her grandmother is mocked by poor white girls is unique to Maya and stands out to her as an emotional event where she saw the strength and beauty in Momma. Book three: 1. Maya describes the scene with Louise as odd and confusing to her. It is the first instance where she was treated equal to a white person and it made an impact on her 2. Her perceptions about White people are beginning to change, she is at a party and notices that during a discussion about racial politics, she is more interested than angry as she has never heard White people discuss race 3. Maya is utterly astounded when a Yugoslavian family beginning singing a song about slavery. She joins them and finds the entire experience odd Book four: Maya was overwhelmed by Malcolm X and “had never been so affected by a human presence” (Angelou, 2004, p. 779) Book five: Maya could not understand Efua’s emotional response to a man’s body being found and not claimed. She found it odd (Angelou, 2004). Book six: Maya enjoyed being with and making friends. However, she was taken on a joyride by some new friends which resulted in her urinating in the car because the driver stopped on train tracks in front of an oncoming train. She used the experience to learn a lesson: when someone tells you who they are, listen to them (Angelou, 2004). Error: Book two:

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1. Maya had never mentioned her sons name in the first autobiography. And in the second she calls him Guy, however, his registered name is Clyde Johnson which he only changes to Guy later (Agins, 2013). Book three: 1. Maya refers to Guy as Clyde throughout the book. It is jarring at first because she had never mentioned his name in the first autobiography, and referred to him only a few times in the second book as Guy. 2. Maya spells Daddy Clydell with a ‘y’ whereas in the first two books she had called him Clidell. Book seven: There are many errors when compared to the previous autobiographies 1. Maya said that Bailey was two years older than her, she was three and he was five when they went to Stamps but in her first autobiography she was three and he four 2. The story she retold about visiting her father had many errors. She called his girlfriend (book one) his wife here. She said she was wearing a red carnation instead of a white one. They lived in a bungalow instead of a trailer park. The girlfriends name was Dolores Stockland in book one but changed to Loretta here. 3. Maya told of how her white employer Louise was friendly and offered her a job, which was important within the context of the third book, however, here she revealed that she applied for the job 4. In book three, Tosh had found out about Maya’s visits to church from a call and that was the beginning of the end of their relationship. However, here she stated that her mother was involved in her airing out her dissatisfaction and Tosh had known about the church visits for a while 5. Maya had worked in the Garden of Allah and had costumes made at the suggestion of a fellow dancer, but here she calls the club Bonne Nuit and said that her mother helped her make costumes (Angelou, 2004; 2013).

Negation: Book two: 1. Maya repeats many times that she is not a whore, she was merely carrying out a service as a favour to L.D. He is not her pimp and they are in love therefore she is different and better than the actual prostitutes. Her work there is temporary, was a sacrifice for her and serves a purpose for her man. She reiterates this by saying that

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often married woman are more shameful than she is as they give in to men, while she has really love Book three: 1. Maya finds it difficult to accept white people. She rationalises her relationships with them to assuage her guilt: Tosh is Greek, Louise, Jorie and others are different. She finds it important to separate her loved ones from white oppressors Book four: 1. Maya continued her support and friendships with certain Whites as long as she could rationalise the reason for their relationship, here it was fine to support Castro as he never identified as a White and the Russians were communists therefore against Americans 2. She found it very difficult to accept the assumptions of the play ‘The Blacks’. She refused to believe that Black people would ever be like White people as Black people were better, more respectful, merciful, caring, charitable, spiritual and forgiving (Angelou, 2004).

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Appendix B: Major themes within Alexander’s Saliences: Primacy: Maya began each of her autobiographies with a narrative that summarised her life phase. The major issues were identity, image, race and family. Most of these are contextualised within the greater socio-political climate. Frequency: Image: Maya placed an importance on physical image during early years of her life. She was very insecure in herself and believed that she was not physically attractive. She was absorbed with comparing herself to her family and other people. From childhood until her mid to late twenties she believed that she had to dress well and be presentable. This later changed as Maya became more secure and accepting of her body. Her image extended beyond her physical self into how she represented herself to other people. Her image was also shaped by the people that she knew. She focussed on her psychological image in terms of her involvement in the racial movement and her general intellectual impact on other people. Abandon: The major theme within abandonment referred to family. Maya believed that her parents had abandoned her as a child. This abandonment was transferred to her as an adult leaving Guy while Maya either established her career or had to travel for it. The theme of abandonment moved from Maya to Guy as he became independent from her during his teen and adult years. Each of these phases of abandonment were very painful for Maya and in every instance, she blamed herself for the abandonment. She was not good enough for her parents. She was guilty for wanting a career and relationships with men. She was also to blame for Guy’s need for independence because she believed that she had not tried hard enough to be a good mother. Movement: Maya’s life revolved around movement. As a child she moved constantly from St Louis to Stamps to Los Angeles and to San Francisco. As a young mother she moved to at least five different places in the space of two years. Her life represented movement and indicated a difficulty settling into one place. It seemed as if she was constantly searching for something. Family: Maya’s love for her family had been a constant throughout her life. She credits them with shaping her and supporting her through her difficult times. She was surrounded by family throughout her childhood and teenage years; she did not make many friends therefore her

129 family was of utmost importance to her, especially Bailey. She had always wanted to belong and at first thought that her family were too beautiful for her. Maya felt insecure around her family. But she eventually learnt that they loved and supported her. Family and close friends were extremely important to Maya. They were the focal point in her life. Love and affection: Love was reserved mainly for family; they were the most important people over and above all others. While Maya had lovers and friends, her family were her pride and most cause for concern. During her childhood, Maya did not receive much overt expressions of love or physical intimacy. She was confused about love and affection. She longed for it. During her teenage years she began to feel belonging with her family. During Maya’s adult years, she searched for love and affection from the men in her life. Her need to be loved and taken care of in her early adulthood had led to fantasies of having a husband and children. She had many relationships which revolved around her trying desperately to impress her boyfriends but the relationships never lasted too long. She seemed to sacrifice her sense of self to be loved. Maya needed validation through love from family and friends until she was about 40 years. She would suppress her sense of self to please others. But in her late 30’s Maya felt that she could no longer do this. She began to love and accept herself. She believed that she had value and was worthy of love as opposed to her desperation to be loved. Blame/guilt/self-esteem: Maya was extremely insecure about herself. She had low self-esteem and lacked confidence in herself. She considered herself to be ugly and often compared herself to other people as a child and teenager. As an adult, Maya’s self-esteem improved. But she often blamed herself for her relationships ending. She believed that events that occurred around her must have been her fault. She blamed herself for being a bad daughter, lover and mother. The major influence of guilt was in relation to Maya’s ‘abandonment’ of Guy, she felt that she should still be responsible for him. Maya became more sure of herself as she aged and her sense of blame and guilt waned as her confidence increased. Her self-esteem increased as she found her niche in writing and acting. Insecurity and superiority: Maya masked her insecurity and lack of confidence through a sense of superiority over others. She did not have many friends in school because she often felt separate from her peers and could not relate to them. She believed that she was superior to children her age but was also often ridiculed by people. During her early adulthood, Maya often expressed her superiority over many people. She dressed well and was intelligent and therefore believed

130 herself to be better than other people. When Maya began to feel more confidence her need to compare herself to others lessened. Suicide: Maya might have been depressed and lonely a few times in her life and often considered killing herself when things seemed too tough to handle. This happened a few times during her childhood and teenage years. But they were fleeting ideas used as a mental escape from struggles faced. The last time Maya felt suicidal was when she had returned from Europe during her mid 20’s. Her description of her suicidal ideation after returning to Guy was visceral and highly emotive. Her resolution of the intense emotions was due to her friend who forced her to appreciate the many good things in her life. Religion: Religion was of utmost importance in Momma’s home and Maya had to navigate the lessons from Momma with her own conflicting thoughts on religion. Maya did not identify with religion during her childhood and teenage years. However, during adulthood Maya found that religion provided a space to question issues about life and it also gave her hope and safety. Religion was not mentioned after her marriage to Tosh but Maya always considered herself to be spiritual and connected to many religions (Oprah, 2010). Racial tensions: Maya was explicit and open in revealing the racial environment in Stamps, St Louis and San Francisco. It was a major part of her context and Momma and neighbours spoke of it often. Although she was taught to never rebel against the system, Maya found that her thoughts were conflicting against these teachings and sought many times to overcome her burden. Racial issues created a lot of tension for Maya during much of her life. In her younger years, she expressed a lot of anger, hatred and hurt towards White people. But she often yearned to be White during her childhood. Her hatred became diluted as she got older and made White friends. Maya also married a White man and chose to take his surname as her stage name and writing name. Her interest in racial tensions resulted in her involvement in politics. She continued to find White involvement in the struggle difficult but felt fulfilled through her engagement. Maya wanted to help ensure justice and equality and she had become more accepting of all people. She was aware of tensions around her and aimed to explain them within her books so that readers and others may understand the underlying difficulties experienced by Black people

Identity:

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Maya’s identity involved a lot of shifting and changing as she adjusted herself to accommodate the people around her. During her early life she experienced many internal struggles. She traversed many different selves and attempted to become more self-aware. She initially had no sense of self as she was so close to Bailey and followed the teachings of Momma but she soon began to question things and discover more about her physical, emotional and psychological self. Maya’s identity was mainly about belonging and finding a space for herself. During early adulthood, Maya balanced many roles: mother, employee, lover, sister and daughter. Her identity was almost flexible, changing to suit the person she was with or the situation. She found it extremely difficult being with men as she believed that she had to change herself to impress them. It was through her relations and her career that Maya attempted to define her identity. There was a lot of conflict within, where she both accepted and denied parts of herself (Angelou, 2004; Lupton, 1998). As she grew older, there were definite tensions that Maya navigated within her identity. She wanted love but believed that she had to sacrifice her character for it to happen. However, she discovered the difficulty in supressing herself (Angelou, 2004). Besides love and career, Maya found racial identity difficult. She longed for belonging in America and in Africa. Belonging was a major issue for Maya, she sought to find her niche within Ghana but found it difficult to integrate it with her American self (Angelou, 2004). It was only during her late 30’s that Maya was more relaxed and accepting of herself. She identified as an American, as independent and as being in control of her life (Angelou, 2004). Overall, Maya described her identity as a reflection of her grandmother, mother and Bailey’s teachings. She learnt her morals and values from them, and admired her mother’s strength, determination and power. Maya also explained that her mother taught her to be positive and count her blessings (Angelou, 2013).

Emphasis: Major issues involve: race, her rape, education, prostitution, religion, anxiety over Guy, the effect that Vus has over her, racial tensions, amongst others. It was issues that were pertinent to her during her different life phases and aligned with the salient themes above. Instance of isolation: These seemed to be about her longing to be loved by or like others. She expected things to be a certain way and made it seem out of place when it was not.

Uniqueness:

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Events that stuck out for Maya were mostly related to race. Where she was upset at the treatment of Black people and later amazed at the positive response and acceptance of White people towards her. Error: Maya made the most errors in her last book. During the first books she called Clyde nothing and then Guy. It could have been that she had initially not seen him as being separate from her and therefore he did not have a separate identity which warranted a name. Her later mistakes were to do with her memories at her father’s house when she was fifteen. She changed many details related to her father’s girlfriend at the time. Negation: Negation was related to Maya’s insecurities and need to rationalise her situation and reason for doing something. She rationalised being a prostitute by protesting that she could not be considered one because the job was temporary. In addition, she was very much unlike the actual prostitutes because her boyfriend loved her. She also rationalised White-Black relations and stereotypes. Her White friends were not discriminatory and their ancestors were never a part of the slave trade therefore it was fine to be friends with them. Maya also believed that Black people would never be unjust because they were good people.

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Appendix C: Chronology  1928- Marguerite Ann Johnson was born on the 4th of April  1931 – Maya and Bailey were sent to live in Stamps, Arkansas with their maternal grandmother  1935 – Maya’s father returned to take them back to their mother in St Louis  1935 – Maya and Bailey move to a new house with their mother and Mr Freeman, a few months later, she was raped  1936 – Maya and Bailey were sent back to Stamps  1940 – Maya, aged 12, graduated from Lafeyette County Training School  1941 – Maya and Bailey moved back permanently with their mother, they also met Daddy Clidell who was the closest to a father that Maya had ever had  1942 – She received a scholarship to attend California Labour School where she studied drama and dance  1943 – She stayed with her father for the summer and was bitterly disappointed at her reception  1943 – She became the first ever Black female street car conductor  1944 – Maya lost her virginity to Babe, her 19 year old neighbour, and discovered that she was pregnant  1945 – Left her mother’s home, worked as a bus girl for a week. Then as a Creole cook. Met first boyfriend, Curly  1945 – left her job, moved to San Diego. Worked as a waitress at the Hi Hat Club. Also ran a brothel.  1946 – Poole and Rita were borne. Maya was a part of a dance team but they soon broke up. She moved to Stockton to become a fry cook. She met L.D Tolbrook and became a prostitute to help him pay of his debts  1946 – Bailey’s wife died and Maya returned to care for him for a few weeks. When she returned to Stockton, her son was kidnapped by his babysitter. Moved to Oakland, worked as a restaurant manager and then as a chauferette  1948 – left her job and sold women’s clothes for her lover, Troubador. Their relationship did not work and she returned to San Francisco  1950 – Maya was working at two jobs, but left those once she was offered a job at Melrose Record Shop, Guy was five and Maya 22. She met Tosh Angelos, married him a few months later and left her job  1952 – Maya and Tosh divorce. She got a job as a dancer, six months later started her singing career at The Purple Onion  1953 – Maya joined Porgy and Bess and toured Europe for the next two years  1955 – She took a job in Hawaii and Guy joined her  1958 – Maya and Guy moved out of their houseboat commune in Sausalito to Laurel Canyon, thereafter they moved to West Lake District  1959 – after a year and a half, Maya decided to join the Harlem Writers Guild and moved to New York. Maya became more involved in racial politics and produced a play for the SCLC, she then ran the SCLC

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 1960 – She was engaged to Thomas Allen, but left him to marry Vus Make a few months later. She and Vus moved to London and then back to New York where she and her friend founded CAWAH. Maya joined the play ‘The Blacks’. She, Vus and Guy moved to Cairo  1962 – Maya worked as an editor, and after almost two years decided to leave Vus. She and Guy moved to Ghana  1962 – Maya was 33 and depressed over Guys accident. She got an admin job in Ghana and a few other jobs to supplement her salary  1964 – Toured for a week with the cast of ‘The Blacks’ and then decided to return to the US to assist Malcolm X, who was shot before she could join him  1964 – Maya moved to Hawaii to sing in a club, after 6 months she moved back to LA  1965 – She carried out research in Watts and was moved by the riot that occurred  1966 – Maya moved to New York  1968 – She was asked to assist Martin Luther King but asked for some time as she wanted to celebrate her 40th birthday. On her birthday she discovered that he had been shot  1968 – Maya pursued her writing career, wrote screenplays, and began writing her first autobiography  1970 – Her first autobiography was published

Works by Maya Angelou

AUTOBIOGRAPHY o I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Random House (New York, NY), 1969, many reprintings. o Gather Together in My Name, Random House (New York, NY), 1974, many reprintings. o Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry like Christmas, Random House (New York, NY), 1976. o The Heart of a Woman, Random House (New York, NY), 1981. o All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes, Random House (New York, NY), 1986, many reprintings. o A Song Flung up to Heaven, Random House (New York, NY), 2002. o I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou (omnibus edition of all six autobiographies), Modern Library (New York, NY), 2004. o Mom & Me & Mom, Random House (New York, NY), 2013.

POETRY o Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie, Random House (New York, NY), 1971, many reprintings.

135 o Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well, Random House (New York, NY), 1975, many reprintings. o And Still I Rise, Random House (New York, NY), 1978, new version published as Still I Rise, illustrated by Diego Rivera, edited by Linda Sunshine, Random House (New York, NY), 2001, many reprintings. o Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?, Random House (New York, NY), 1983, many reprintings. o Poems, four volumes, Bantam (New York, NY), 1986. o Now Sheba Sings the Song (illustrated poem), illustrations by Tom Feelings, Dutton (New York, NY), 1987. o I Shall Not Be Moved, Random House (New York, NY), 1990, many reprintings. o On the Pulse of Morning, Random House (New York, NY), 1993, many reprintings. o The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou, Random House (New York, NY), 1994, many reprintings. o A Brave and Startling Truth, Random House (New York, NY), 1995. o Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women, Random House (New York, NY), 1995, new edition published as Phenomenal Woman, paintings by Paul Gaugin, edited by Linda Sunshine, Random House (New York, NY), 2000. o Amazing Peace, Random House (New York, NY), 2005.

Also author of The Poetry of Maya Angelou, 1969. Contributor of poems in The Language They Speak Is Things to Eat: Poems by Fifteen Contemporary North Carolina Poets and to Mary Higgins Clark, Mother, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

ESSAYS o Lessons in Living, Random House (New York, NY), 1993. o Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, Random House (New York, NY), 1993. o Even the Stars Look Lonesome, Random House (New York, NY), 1997. o Hallelujah! The Welcome Table, Random House (New York, NY), 2004. o Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me, Random House (New York, NY), 2006. o Letter to my Daughter, Random House (New York, NY), 2008.

CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS o Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship (selection from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) illustrated by Etienne Delessert, Redpath Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1986. o Life Doesn't Frighten Me (poem), edited by Sara Jane Boyers, illustrated by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1993. o (With others) Soul Looks Back in Wonder, illustrated by Tom Feelings, Dial (New York, NY), 1993.

136 o My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me, photographs by Margaret Courtney- Clarke, Crown (New York, NY), 1994. o Kofi and His Magic, photographs by Margaret Courtney-Clarke, Crown (New York, NY), 1996. o Angelina of Italy, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, Random House (New York, NY), 2004. o Izak of Lapland, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, Random House (New York, NY), 2004. o Renie Marie of France, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, Random House (New York, NY), 2004. o Mikale of Hawaii, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

PLAYS o (With Godfrey Cambridge) Cabaret for Freedom (musical revue), produced at Village Gate Theatre, New York, 1960. o The Least of These (two-act drama), produced in Los Angeles, 1966. o (Adapter) Sophocles, Ajax (two-act drama), produced at Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1974. o (And director) And Still I Rise (one-act musical), produced in Oakland, CA, 1976. o (Author of poems for screenplay) Poetic Justice (screenplay), Columbia Pictures, 1993. o (Author of lyrics, with Alistair Beaton) King, book by Lonne Elder, III, music by Richard Blackford, London, 1990.

Also author of the play Gettin' up Stayed on My Mind, 1967, a drama, The Best of These, a two-act drama, The Clawing Within, 1966, a two- act musical, Adjoa Amissah, 1967, and a one-act play, Theatrical Vignette, 1983.

FILM AND TELEVISION SCRIPTS o Georgia, Georgia (screenplay), Independent-Cinerama, 1972. o (And director) All Day Long (screenplay), American Film Institute, 1974. o (Writer of script and musical score) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, CBS, 1979. o Sister, Sister (television drama), National Broadcasting Co., Inc. (NBC-TV), 1982. o (Writer of poetry) John Singleton, Poetic Justice (motion picture), Columbia Pictures, 1993.

Composer of songs, including two songs for movie For Love of Ivy, and composer of musical scores for both her screenplays. Author of Black, Blues, Black, a series of ten one-hour programs, broadcast by National Educational Television (NET-TV), 1968. Also author of Assignment America, a series of six one-half-hour programs, 1975, and of The Legacy and The Inheritors, two television specials, 1976. Other documentaries include Trying to Make It Home (Byline series), 1988, and Maya Angelou's America: A Journey of the Heart (also host). Public Broadcasting Service Productions include Who Cares about Kids, Kindred Spirits, Maya Angelou: Rainbow in the Clouds, and To the Contrary. Writer for television series Brewster Place, Harpo Productions.

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RECORDINGS o Miss Calypso (audio recording of songs), Liberty Records, 1957. o The Poetry of Maya Angelou (audio recording), GWP Records, 1969. o An Evening with Maya Angelou (audio cassette), Pacific Tape Library, 1975. o I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (audio cassette with filmstrip and teacher's guide), Center for Literary Review, 1978, abridged version, Random House (New York, NY), 1986. o Women in Business (audio cassette), University of Wisconsin, 1981. o Making Magic in the World (audio cassette), New Dimensions, 1988. o On the Pulse of Morning (audio production), Ingram, 1993. o Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now (audio production), Ingram, 1993. o Phenomenal Woman (audio production), Ingram, 1995. o Been Found, 1996.

OTHER o Conversations with Maya Angelou, edited by Jeffrey M. Elliot, Virago Press (London, England), 1989. o Maya Angelou (four-volume boxed set), Ingram (London, England), 1995. o (With Mary Ellen Mark) Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey, Aperture (New York, NY), 1998. o Great Food, All Day Long : Eat Joyfully, Eat Healthy, Virago Press (London, England), 2001.

(from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/maya-angelou)

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Genogram of Maya’s Family

Father Mother Mother Father

Mother Father

Boyfriends

Mother Father

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Table of themes Key Era Autobiography Key Events Core Themes/Conflicts Relationships Abandoned by parents Bailey Religion

Moved to Stamps Momma Race

Memory of covering Uncle Willie for Uncle Willie Abandonment fear of Klu Klux Clan Mother Image Moved to St Louis Uncle F Identity development Rape I know why the Caged Childhood Blame/guilt Bird Sings 5 year mutism Insecurity – Return to Stamps Superiority Momma beings teased Love and affection Graduating from school Creative interest

Movement Move to San Francisco Mum Family

Summer with her father Daddy Acceptance and belonging Teenage I know why the Caged Years Bird Sings Homeless for a month Clidell Identity – career and purpose

Job as a street car conductor Bailey Identity – sexual tensions

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Birth of Guy Responsible – blame and guilt

Image Moving out of Mum’s home Guy Responsible

Running a brothel Lovers Identity navigation - suppression

Getting slapped by Momma Momma Career development and purpose

Dance career Mother Insecurity – superiority

Prostitution Tosh Stamps as security

Gather together in my Guy’s kidnap White friends Love and affection name

Early Marriage to Tosh Friends in Mother role Adulthood Singing and Swinging and Porgy and Getting Merry like Death of Momma Bess Racial tensions – navigating and Christmas questioning entrenched assumptions Divorce from Tosh Marriage and family Dancing at the Club Religion

Name change Guilt - Abandonment - Guy

Travelling the world Belonging and acceptance

Movement The Heart of a Woman Suicidal ideation Guy Guilt – suicidal Middle Adulthood All God’s children need Guy’s name change Fellow writers and Career – actualisation, purpose, Travelling Shoes activist meaning

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Joined SCLC Thomas Allen Abandonment – Guy of Maya Marriage to Vus Vus Racial tensions – active involvement Move to Cairo Expats in Ghana Marriage and family African Palaver Identity navigation – tensions with Guy’s accident suppression

Visiting Keti Identity – African versus American

Leaving Guy Malcolm’s death Bailey Guilt over Guy

Guy’s accident Martin Luther Identity – closure, holism, acceptance, belonging, self belief Kings Death King Career - Purpose and meaning in life A Song Flung Up To Book publications Mum Remaining Heaven Educating others Years Movies produced Guy Mom and Me and Mom Racial tensions: Clinton’s inauguration Du Feu Hope, love and peace for others – Marriage and divorce from Du Feu extending beyond the self

Honorary degrees and awards Family

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