Bessie Head

Goya's Yard with Lunatics (Spanish: Corral de locos) - 1793 and 1794.

Bessie Head: a stairway to the stars

by: Talal Nayer

Michel Foucault's (1926-1984) theoretical project was based on the study of the 'transcendental human experience'. In his classic book, The History of Madness, one of the references was to paintings that focused on the theme of mental illness and psychological imbalance. One fascinating example of a painting that comes to mind is Yard with Lunatics by Francisco de Goya, a distinguished Spanish painter of 1798, in which a crowd of naked, dishevelled and disorderly men and women fight to the death in a dark prison, with the only light coming from the corner of a high wall. More interestingly, in 1819, Goya took a retrospective look at the same subject: 1819, where the madmen appear to be physically exhausted. The second painting could be considered a sequel to the first, but in the second there are more lunatics in the madhouse, whose roof is closed this time, perhaps to keep them from disturbing the world with their noise.

Goya's The Madhouse, 1812–19. Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid.

It's worth noting that some critics have referred to Bessie Head (1937-1986) as writing has been described by some critics as 'eccentric', a polite way of describing a figure of 'extraordinary human experience', or, to put it more directly and bluntly, 'mad'. Despite being autobiographical, her novels were initially mistaken for a genre of historical fiction due to their dark, hallucinatory characters and bloody conflicts, which only add to their fascination. Bessie's incredible ability to document her extraordinary human experiences, despite suffering from mental illness throughout her life, is truly remarkable. Unlike Goya's paintings, which depicted madmen locked up in walls and ceilings, Bessie Head let her experiences loose on the pages of her books. However, it is important to acknowledge and appreciate the courage and resilience it took for her to reveal her innermost thoughts and feelings.

Unfortunately, her work was not well-received in her country due to her mixed-race heritage. Bessie Head was the child of a wealthy white woman and an unidentified black servant. Bessie was an incredible pioneer, one of the few black women in South Africa to break into a writing field dominated by wealthy white men. Unfortunately, during the apartheid era, literary critics were not always receptive to her work. This was likely since she was a poor black woman entering a field of autobiographical writing that was, and to some extent still is, dominated by white men from the aristocracy. Bessie Head's writing was truly groundbreaking as it highlighted patterns of character that the apartheid regime did not want to see highlighted in literature: Her work shed light on the struggles of the poor, prostitutes, corrupt policemen, political prisoners, the hungry, the lepers, and the mentally ill, and helped to create a more inclusive and compassionate society.

Bessie was born in Pietermaritzburg in 1937. Her mother, who was suffering from mental illness during her time of pregnancy, was sent to a secluded place to give birth away from curious eyes and to hide the fruits of her womb. Later in life, Bessie mythologised this 'secret birth' as the birth of Christ on a tree stump in a remote location, which was influenced by her conservative Catholic upbringing. Bessie was given the same full name as her mother, 'Bessie Emilia Emery', to have identical names on official papers.

However, due to her mother's illness, Bessie was sent to a family who wanted to adopt her. But sadly, the child was soon rejected once it was discovered that she was not Caucasian! Bessie was eventually taken in by a devout Catholic family, but only for a short time. Bessie attended an Anglican school for coloured girls, even though she had been brought up in a Catholic home. This change in environment was a significant and challenging experience for her. The hard-line Church education system left the child with a lonely life and she found solace only in the school library, where she spent most of her day. When Bessie was just fourteen years old, she learned the true story of her birth and upbringing. This revelation left a deep wound in her memory that would not heal until her death.

Bessie began her career in journalism at The Golden City Post, where she made history as the first woman to be employed at the largest non-white newspaper. Despite facing gender discrimination as the only female staff member, she persevered and made significant contributions to the publication. At the same time, as a mixed-race woman, she faced racial discrimination:

she had lighter skin than blacks, so she was not white, and although she was 'coloured', her 'coloured' neighbours acted as if they were culturally superior to her, persecuting her and constantly questioning her ethnic background. Furthermore, although Bessie Head was married and had children, her behaviour and tone of voice tended towards men, leading to rumours that she was a transsexual.

While working for Home Post magazine in Johannesburg, Bessie had the opportunity to meet Mangalis Robert Sobukwe, the revolutionary leader of the African Congress Party, whom she greatly admired. Unfortunately, Bessie also witnessed the tragic 'Sharpeville Massacre' and was later arrested and mistreated by the government of Prime Minister Henrik Vorderud for 'not cooperating efficiently' with the police. After experiencing additional emotional crises, Bessie unfortunately suffered a complete mental and physical collapse, which led to a failed suicide attempt in 1960. However, it is important to note that seeking help and receiving treatment is a brave and commendable step towards recovery. As a result, she spent six years in a mental hospital.

During her hospitalisation, Bessie wrote a draft of the novel The Cardinals, which was neglected because she considered it not suitable for publication at the time, and the novel was not published until after her death. Bessie had a strong desire to escape South Africa, but the Apartheid regime refused to issue her a passport, so with the help of the writer Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014), she fled to Botswana, this time burying the curse of Apartheid once and for all.

Bessie lived in difficult circumstances in Botswana after losing her job as a teacher due to a psychological test imposed on her by the education authorities! She received financial support from her friend Breyten Breytenbach , a South African writer, and lived for years on the money she earned writing for newspapers and articles in foreign magazines. However, this was not enough to prevent Bessie from collapsing again. She faced ongoing struggles both financially and mentally, which ultimately led to her being committed to a mental institution once more in 1969.

Despite facing numerous challenges, Bessie Head persisted in writing until she was viewed as a madwoman with no hope of recovery. This was a significant moment. Bessie Head's journey of self-healing enabled her to break free from the cocoon of her troubled past and, more importantly, to emerge as a butterfly, beginning her meteoric rise with her most important novels: Her two most significant novels, 'When Rain Clouds Gather' and 'A Question of Power', are a reflection of her battle with mental illness. 'When Rain Clouds Gather' provided her with the financial stability she needed to complete a draft of 'Muru' in 1969, which was the same year she was discharged from a mental institution. Her inspiring story is a testament to the power of perseverance and determination.

According to Foucault, mental illness is associated with the institutional system and the practices of authority to show that madness is a natural daily practice produced by social practices, rather than a symptom that can be analysed and treated as a "cultural manifestation" that changes with each social era. Foucault investigated madness as a phenomenon that is part of the history of each civilisation, each civilisation had a different approach to the phenomenon of madness, and some civilisations struggle. Her writing is inclusive of all races and genders, and she advocates for the oppressed as well as the liberated; she writes for whites and blacks, she writes for the liberation of women and men together, and she does not limit her writing to those with whom she shares her suffering so that she can see that those who have oppressed her.

In her final essay, 'Why Do I Write?', Bessie reflects on her motivations for writing:

“I am building a stairway to the stars. I have the authority to take the whole of mankind up there with me. That is why I write.” Bessie Head wrote about and for marginalized groups, she was inspired by the pain of reality to be optimistic towards the future, and she reached the stars by exploring the dark depths of space, so her life was a journey from the darkness of madness to the stars.