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MAYA ANGELOU: A PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY By NADENE HARISUNKER MA DISSERTATION submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS in PSYCHOLOGY (CLINICAL) In the FACULTY OF HUMANITIES at the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG Supervisor: Dr. C.F. Saccaggi 2016 i 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. iii 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. iv 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 v 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 ........................................................................................................