Fictions of power : the novels of Bessie Head

Bessie Head's fiction reflects the author's consciousness of power as the definitive force in the South African context. By considering Head as a social realist, the thesis relates sociological evidence to authorial interest and demonstrates Head's treatment of the power issue in her three novels, When Rain Clouds Gather, Maru, and A Question of Power. Biographical data, particularly Head's unique, though socially marginal position as a political exile, a Coloured, and a woman are also applied. The thesis covers three areas--politics, race, and gender. The first explores the nature of power in South African politics within the time-frame of the present, past, and future. The second which focuses on the institution of apartheid examines racial relations between the blacks and whites and also among the blacks, with attention given to the dilemma of the Coloured. The third section discusses sexual politics, looking at male-female relationships in both traditional and contemporary societies