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Patricia Van Der Spuy on Winnie Mandela: a Life

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Patricia Van Der Spuy on Winnie Mandela: a Life Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob. Winnie Mandela: A Life. Cape Town: Zebra Press, 2003. xv + 287 pp. No price listed, cloth, ISBN 978-1-86872-662-2. Reviewed by Patricia Van Der Spuy Published on H-SAfrica (July, 2004) "Whenever her name was mentioned in secu‐ of Winnie Mandela. The cover portrait captures rity circles, a shudder went through the ranks," the tone of the book: a tribute to a tragic heroine. Eugene de Kock, security policeman. "No one who Her fatal faw in the Shakespearean tradition is has ever lived in this country can gainsay that perhaps her trusting nature; her fall, however, is Winnie was tremendous in her struggle role," attributed to a particular form of post-traumatic Archbishop Desmond Tutu. "Winnie Mandela's stress disorder, brought on by the unrelenting, hands are dripping with the blood of the people of torturous pressures of the apartheid regime. The South Africa," Xoliswa Falati, former friend. tragedy is well captured, although the premise is "[Winnie Mandela] is a political fgure of almost debatable. (Madikizela-Mandela is not, after all, a Shakespearean tragic proportions," Judge Dennis Shakespearean creation.) However, one is left un‐ Davis. certain of the precise nature of Winnie Mandela's These quotations from The Penguin Dictio‐ politics. None of those quoted on the book cover nary of South African Quotations (1999) appear seem to have been interviewed for this book, and on the back cover of Anne Marie du Preez Bez‐ nowhere are their statements analyzed. This book drob's Winnie Mandela: A Life, the frst book- could be critiqued from many different angles. As length biography that takes into account Winnie a popular text it is engaging, informative, and Madikizela-Mandela and the frst to take her life well written. However, from the perspective of story to the (near) present. Such a book is long this historian, the biography is overly sentimental overdue, and this is beautifully presented, with a and uncritical. It is based on a stereotypical view stunning photographic cover portrait of Winnie of "women's ability to face difficulties and misfor‐ Mandela, perhaps from the 1950s. (I could not tune with grace, tenacity and humor, and still em‐ find a date citation for this photograph.) The brace life with delight" (p. x). above quotations set up an expectation of contro‐ The intended readership of this biography is versy, debate, and analysis of the "political fgure" unclear. It seems to be aimed at a non-South H-Net Reviews African readership; there is a glossary containing as their subjects seem to have no personal rela‐ common South African words like baas equals tionships that do not directly impinge on their "boss," and the Freedom Charter is described as politics, in the book under review personal rela‐ similar to the American Declaration of Indepen‐ tionships and emotions overwhelm political anal‐ dence (p. 48). It is important that South Africans ysis. read this biography too. For me, it opens a conver‐ Whether this book is aimed at academic read‐ sation about the possibility, the relevance, and the ers is difficult to ascertain; therefore, I am unsure right to present hagiographic narratives of strug‐ whether an academic review is necessarily appro‐ gle hero(ines). It also raises questions about the priate. The book contains a bibliography and difficulties of writing holistic biographies of politi‐ there are a few endnotes, so there seems to be cal leaders: this is a sensitive tale of personal rela‐ some aspiration to appeal to academe. Half the tionships that underlie political ones, but in the chapters have one or two end notes; the rest have process, it undermines Madikizela-Mandela's po‐ none. The paucity of references is explained as a litical role and does not begin to do justice to her way to avoid clutter (p. 275), but, for this review‐ politics per se. er, it is a serious methodological concern that For instance, in this reading, Madikizela-Man‐ blurs the boundaries between subject and author dela's political position within the ANC fows sole‐ to a disturbing extent, setting aside concerns sur‐ ly from her relationship with Nelson Mandela, rounding plagiarism. For the most part, the writer rather than from any political analysis on her attributes thoughts, feelings and words to Madik‐ part. From attending (participating in?) Unity izela-Mandela with very little evidence that Movement meetings, Winnie Madikizela shifts ef‐ Madikizela-Mandela herself would authorize fortlessly into fund-raising for the ANC (see chap‐ them. There is no evidence that du Preez Bezdrop ter 4). There is no explanation, no analysis of interviewed Madikizela-Mandela. Alan Reynolds, process. Ironically, this is a story of Winnie Man‐ her spokesman, is acknowledged as a helpful dela with the politics (practically) left out. Crucial‐ source, but no endnote points to specific input ly, there is no analysis of her participation in the from him. Of all the dozens of possible intervie‐ ANC Women's League, of which she was a leader. wees, the only persons interviewed and acknowl‐ Her shifting relationship to the African National edged in endnotes are the satirist Pieter Dirk Uys, Congress over half a century is largely unexplored journalist Hennie Serfontein and Marinus Wiech‐ and unexplained; a sense that it was a troubled ers, "political analyst and former professor of con‐ relationship is mostly presented via innuendo, stitutional law" at UNISA. All sources listed in the more overtly in the fnal chapters (see, for exam‐ bibliography are secondary, and include two pre‐ ple, p. 271). Moreover, the striking similarities in vious biographies of Winnie Mandela, by Emma the lives under apartheid of Winnie Mandela and Gilbey and Nancy Harrison, and Winnie Mandela, Steve Biko are never mentioned, and her attitudes Part of My Soul Went with Him.[2] The latter is towards, or even the possibility of her activism not actually Mandela's autobiography, as this cita‐ within, the Black Consciousness movement re‐ tion suggests; it is rather a compilation of inter‐ mains unexplored. It strikes me that her activism view transcripts and comments published in the and political leadership are represented as almost mid-1980s. The compiler-editor, Anne Benjamin, accidental and incidental. In my view this book specifically notes that Mandela did not have the represents the fip side of political biographies chance to review the manuscript before publica‐ that typically underestimate the personal, like tion.[3] Every comment attributed to Winnie Doreen Musson's biography of Johnny Gomas and Madikizela-Mandela in the book under review Brian Bunting's work on Moses Kotane.[1] Where‐ has been fltered and/or selected by someone oth‐ 2 H-Net Reviews er than Madikizela-Mandela herself before it more than the prayers of the nation she has came into du Preez Bezdrob's hands. served" (p. 272). The book's blurb tells us that "this In addition to the option of interviewing peo‐ intimate, in-depth and unbiased biography re‐ ple who participated in Madikizela-Mandela's life, veals the enigma that is Winnie Mandela, by ex‐ there are numerous records of audio-visual inter‐ ploring both her personal and political life." In‐ views with Winnie Mandela that could have been deed it is intimate, and does evoke a personal sourced; other archival sources such as court life--Winnie Mandela as caring social worker, lov‐ transcripts--not to mention media reports--would ing mother, Christian, brave but naive fghter to have been fruitful. In the fnal part of the book, keep the Mandela name alive--all within the polit‐ the author does present extracts of transcripts ical context of apartheid. As the writer notes on from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission the fnal page of the book, "Winnie said [in 2003] around Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's alleged in‐ her community involvement was not an exten‐ volvement in abuses during apartheid, although sion of her role as a politician, but a result of the the author does not provide evidence of having fact that she still saw herself primarily as a social interviewed anyone central to those hearings. A worker and a mother" (p. 272). This, of course, key question for me is, why did a writer with jour‐ contrasts directly with Nelson Mandela's oft-reit‐ nalistic skills not conduct primary research erated statement that he "is" the ANC. This vision throughout the process of writing this life story? of Winnie Mandela, as social worker and mother, Or, if she did, why is this not acknowledged? One drives the biography. Her politics, however, are partial answer might be that this book was com‐ reduced to naïve courage in the face of an pleted in haste--why else did the author not wait apartheid onslaught. "From that moment on, she for the results of Madikizela-Mandela's 2003 ap‐ dedicated her life to keeping the cause--and Man‐ peal to be published before completing the book, dela's name--alive" (p. 110). or, given the writer's reiteration of the possible Du Preez Bezdrob's position on Madikizela- significance of the 2004 elections, would that have Mandela is clear: "From the outset, this book was not been worth waiting for (p. 270)? Surely, an ex‐ intended to be more than just the story of a re‐ ploration of all available primary sources is cru‐ markable woman or South African under cial to biography, and where the subject is--for apartheid. I saw it as a parable for the courage whatever reason--not personally interviewed, a and compassion of women in war, and the effects wide range of other oral and visual material of ruthless dictatorship: the brutality of unscrupu‐ should be sought and examined.
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