Adeola James (Essay Date 2000)

SOURCE: James, Adeola. "Bessie Head's Perspectives on Women." In Black Women Writers across Cultures: An Analysis of Their Contributions, edited by Valentine Udoh James, James S. Etim, Melanie Marshall James, and Ambe J. Njoh, pp. 13-38. Lanham, Md.: International Scholars Publications, 2000.

In the following essay, James discusses Head's analysis and interpretation of contemporary feminism in South Africa in her novels.

Background

Bessie Head, who died prematurely in 1986 at the age of forty-eight years, is recognized today as one of Africa's leading writers. At the time of her death she had published three novels, a collection of short stories, a book based on oral traditions, and an historical book.¹ Since her death, there have been further evidence of her fecund mind; another collection of short stories, a selection of her letters, and a full biography have been published.² There are researches being done...