Fragmentation and the Evolution of the Soul In Bessie Head’s A Question of Power

Abstract

Fragmentation and the Evolution of the Soul in Bessie Head’s A Question of Power Based on her own personal experiences, fragmented and disillusioned by the early wounds of her childhood; Head sets her third novel in a village named Montabeng, where her intense search for an identity brings about a transformation or what head, herself, refers to as a nervous breakdown. But it is in this condition, where essentially everything seems evil and the dark shadows of humankind are overpowering that Elizabeth is able to turn her bleeding tears into an awakening of the soul, not only representative of her own evolution, but the possible evolution of those souls around her. It is in this communal environment, which is virtually raceless and impoverished, except for their attachments to the land and each other that Elizabeth finds peace in her darkest hour of torment. This kind of liberation of powers and humankind is the revelation that Elizabeth has found in her three long years of madness or transforming process. Essentially, it is a community of minds, hearts, and souls that Elizabeth establishes during this periods. She, along with others, has taken up a place of residency with the hope that individuals can somehow, by facing their own demons, bring about a collective more sane society which moves towards what Head calls collective more sane society which moves toward what Head calls an awakening “to the wonder in their own souls.