Abstract
Starring from an overview relating to the crucial role and ethical agenda of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this paper proceeds to investigate the narrative and representational strategies through which, in The Cry of Winnie Mandela (2003), South African writer and academic Njabulo Ndebele turns away from the "spectacular" towards a more nuanced and introspective dimension. While inspired by the TRC's hearings concerning gross violations of human rights, this dimension foregrounds (black) women's endurance, suffering, and psychological distress. My essay highlights the lyrical intensity and open-minded approach informing Ndebele's portrayal of Winnie Mandela and the imaginary conversations that the (fictionalized) "Mother of the Nation" holds with other four women, whose historical models are similarly linked to the TRC's hearings. The theme of the "women-in-waiting" (for their husbands' return, but also for their voices to be heard) is examined in connection with the archetypal figure of Penelope, a Western myth which Ndebele borrows and moulds in African terms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 79-100 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Anglistica Pisana |
Volume | XIII |
Issue number | 1-2 |
Publication status | Published - 4 Jun 2018 |